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At last count, over 800 million people actively use Facebook alone every day, and probably millions more more are catching up on blogs, reading the latest Tweets, and getting connected on LinkedIn. Consumers are shopping more at their home computers, using advice from reviews and social networks to make purchasing decisions.
[Photo via Flickr]
Social media marketing can be intimidating to the novice, but you don’t have to do everything at once; look over your options and decide which one(s) seems like a reasonable place to start. Here are 4 ways you can extend your business by meeting your customers where they are (online).
Build & Communicate With Your Community On Facebook
When the iconic social networking site rose to popularity in 2004, most businesses likely saw it as a threat to productivity more than a marketing tool. Today, the average user is connected to 80 pages, groups, and events, which has been a great motivation for businesses to encourage Facebook use, even including it in job positions. Business pages allow you to stay connected with your network and customers on a community level, so keep content friendly, personable, and relevant to your audience. The occasional coupon or special doesn’t hurt, either.
Update Your Followers With With The Latest On Twitter
Twitter operates differently than Facebook, encouraging short, frequently-updated bursts of information. With Twitter, current is key—in order to make it on your followers’ feeds, you have to post when they are most likely to be reading it—midweek and in the afternoon (Eastern Time Zone), and at least once per hour, according to research by KISSmetrics. Don’t forget to follow and interact with others, retweeting interesting content and thanking anyone for mentioning your business.
Network With Other Professionals On LinkedIn
Take an e-stroll around LinkedIn and you’ll find a more business-to-business oriented environment. Unlike the other social media tools discussed, you primarily represent yourself as a professional rather than your business as a whole. Connect with other businesses and acquire public recommendations from other LinkedIn members that have worked with you. Word of mouth is as powerful as it ever was, and a few testimonials go a long way. On the flipside, you can use LinkedIn to connect with businesses that might be of service to you.
Position Yourself As An Expert By Blogging
Every type business can be blogged about; what does yours have to say? If you haven’t invested time in a blog, you should. This social media tool can be successful with updates only every few days, and it has some great marketing benefits. Rather than using it as a “sales tool,” use your blog as a sort of industry publication, positioning yourself as an expert in your field by posting relevant, useful content for your audience. Remember, readers are looking for information that is useful to them; that means an automotive repair shop should post maintenance tips, a salon should post tutorials for great hairstyles, etc.
While these are four of the more popular social networking tools, there are certainly other frontrunners, like the growing Google+. What social networking tools are you planning to try, and which ones have made a difference in your business?
Author Bio
David Ching is a marketing strategist for EQA Office furniture, a San Francisco based office furniture retailer. EQA offers office furniture including office chairs, cubicles, conference tables, workstations and receptionist desks.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I am in love with social media……my online business is taking quick heights…..it is really amazing!
It’s awesome soical media is best source.