Social media is the craze these days and it appears things will most likely become crazier as new players invent new ways of keeping in touch either with friends or in the case of business – with clients.
Originally, when social media began its rise to popularity it was mainly focused for personal use between individuals, such as MySpace and Facebook. However, businesses soon began to see the massive potential for marketing their brands to large audiences online at a single time, and soon these social apps being studied by marketing departments from East to West.
Today, the evolution of social media tools for business is still evolving, however it can safely be stated that it has started to generate some traction as applications have provided business friendly features or versions, such as Facebook Pages and LinkedIn.
No matter how many social apps are out there, companies must learn how to best utilize existing platforms in an effective and practical manner suitable for their business.
Here are three areas to consider when incorporating social media for your business.
Blogging for Business
A blog can be used two ways for a business. First, a blog can be the business if it is an online business which generates income through affiliate programs and advertising. Secondly, a blog can be used as a part of the marketing initiative for a company’s website, being accessible through a navigational link to a separate area of the site. It is under the premise of the latter which this section will focus on.
The purpose of a company blog should be to “add value” to a company and its image/branding. For example, if you happen to sell online phone services, I would not expect the blog to be a place where prospects would fill out quote forms. However, it is a place where the company could provide industry specific information and content relevant to their line of products, albeit a list of Lync SIP providers, or the latest Cisco IP phone.
The benefit of adding value to a website is twofold. On one hand, it shows that you are actively keeping up to date with industry happenings, and this creates a positive image for your business. Additionally, blogging can be used to add fresh new relevant content to your site – something which the search engines, especially Google, like to see when they rank pages.
For example, if your company sells an organic clothing line, the company blog could discuss topics such as what “organic” means, the government’s role in organic standards, and so forth. Over time, Google will begin to recognize that there is a common element, or elements, such as the term “organic” throughout your site. This in turn gives greater validity to the nature and content of your site – a big part of Google’s ranking algorithm.
Facebook – To have or not to have
I am not a believer that every business needs to have a Facebook account – unless your products are very consumer oriented. A perfect example is baby diapers. Your target audience is not babies – it is the parents and most of the time it’s the mothers. Moms love joining online groups which discuss baby products. Parents are some of the most interactive groups of bloggers, commentators and distributors of information online because they are aggressively looking for relevant up to date information for their families. In a case like this, you want to actively promote your Facebook page and encourage active interaction among consumers.
If your Facebook – or even blog, generates a lot of consumer feedback and opinions, it is critical to listen and review each comment that is posted. Use this opportunity to gather information on what works and what doesn’t, what your consumers like and what they don’t like. You will also find useful insight, ideas and suggestions freely given for improvements on your existing products.
Facebook – when fitting to your business model – is a powerful promotional and research tool – all for free.
Twitter – Use it carefully
Twitter has become increasingly popular in exponential ways. This tool is a great way to get quick snippets of information or updates out to clients or potential customers who might be following you.
For business purposes you should first determine what Twitter is to be used for. Is it used for promotions? Is it used for company news? This is important because you must be careful as to how much information should be released from a company. Too much information giving away too much insight into the direction of the company for example, could give your competitors an upper hand on knowing plans you may have for the future direction of the company.
Twitter can also be used against you by your consumers. I saw this first hand when my husband and I chose a VoIP provider for our small home based business. Part of their marketing materials one of the companies sent us included screenshots of unhappy customers blasting one of their competitors on Twitter. I’m not sure I agree with this method of marketing, but the point is to use Twitter in a way that promotes positive comments.
If you use Twitter to report service issues, down times or other maintenance status updates, expect negative comments to appear. However, using Twitter for notifying customers of special sales and promotions will more than likely produce the positive tweets which bode much better for online social marketing purposes. Choose wisely what information you make public and how.
To stay up to date with the latest social media tips and applications, subscribe to reliable online articles and magazines which focus directly on social media so you can keep up to date and continue to improve upon the best social media tactics that best fit your business.
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Twitter: mohaguru
says:
I like it. Exactly about twitter marketing feature you describe. Very good initiative and a true idea.
Ziaur recently posted..How to add animated tag cloud for blogger blog
Twitter: TechieSaves
says:
Wonderful article. People will learn a bit about promoting a business site. It’s 10X harder to promote a business site than your personal blog. The same rules do not apply
Marty recently posted..10 SEO Tips to bring Traffic to your Business Site
Twitter: PRLuv
says:
Absolutely. I started my whole marketing career with a company marketing and promoting smaller business sites – it’s nothing like a blog.
Fantastic website you have, BTW! We have similar taste in WordPress themes!
Thomas recently posted..Blog Contest, Our Free WordPress Theme Giveaway!
Twitter: CPASiteSolution
says:
It’s very interesting that parents are usually the viewers of blogs. I’ve always thought it was young entrepreneurs or businesses. Great post, gives a lot of insight on what we should expect or do.
Twitter: PRLuv
says:
I think that’s great advice for people on the lookout for potential niches. It might be a little crowded but with the right product, service, or information, you can get a ton of very active traffic to your web site.
I know as a single Dad to a 4yo girl, there are times when I really ransack Google and other sites for information on something I need as a parent.
Speak of the devil, she’s crying from bed she wants apple juice.
Thomas recently posted..Find And Buy REAL Facebook Fan Pages!
I never would have thought that parents count for such a large percentage. This is a real eye opener and I have ideas for new niches already from reading this.
Richard Brown recently posted..Choosing the Right Budgeting Methods
Twitter: LondonTheatre1
says:
Hi Liz,
A very well written article about businesses using Social Media to promote your business. The problem is, how many social media sites can a business use in an effective and meaningful way, and NOT just use it to try to generate business and give next to nothing in terms of interaction with others.
I think it is a case of using a handful (at most) and working well with those few rather than some businesses who seem to try to add meaningless content on a lot of social media sites. I use four and it is as much as I can do to keep up with them all. Twitter and Facebook are probably my favourites for keeping in touch with people and LinkedIn with business contacts and MySpace for those in the entertainment industry. I wonder how many of the ‘smaller’ social media sites will last long-term?
Social media seems to be an important part of marketing a business now. There always needs to be talk about your brand, products, and offerings and it seems that search engines such as Google put a lot more weight on sites that have some social discussion going on as opposed to sites that no one is talking about.
Thanks for the insights and reminder that I need to work on the social aspect of my own sites.
Janice
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Twitter: opportplanet
says:
Social media should be part of any marketing campaing, if a business doesn’t use social media it’s losing a lot of opportunities and potential clients, thanks for sharing these tips
Kostas recently posted..SMO for Coupon Code Websites – Sections that your Facebook Fan-page must have
Great article. All of these Social Media platforms are fabulous to use for business purposes. I find that blogs are somewhat more substantial when it comes to business and product news, reviews and an overall discussion. I also think the “Like” feature of Facebook is fantastic when promoting a business. Thank you for sharing.
Twitter: RachaelSlorach
says:
Hi Liz,
Social media can be very overwhelming when first starting out, but it is imperative to just get in there and start using it – even if you don’t know what you are doing yet! As long as you are being sincere and truthful in the content you are providing you can’t go wrong!
Providing a blog site for brand recognition/building and for starting the conversation is the most important. Also, it gives you or your company the chance to get creative, show off your knowledge, skills and expertise and get recognised by search engines.
Thanks for your post
Rachael Slorach recently posted..Build ANY business online with these three steps – Mike Dillard’s “YOU, INC”
Twitter: PRLuv
says:
I do think you can get away with a very MINIMAL amount of time spent on Twitter, if it’s not really a network that suits you. Especially if you’re promoting yourself on Facebook strongly – fan pages are great tools (especially posting on Facebook AS your fan page) for consolidating fans.
Remember LinkedIn also allows businesses and soon you’ll be able to follow them.
Great post, Liz!
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Twitter: shahzinapluse
says:
Productivity in the workplace can be hindered but also heightened depending on the usage of the application. Companies can opt to block or not block social media apps. Those companies who choose to block social media apps are missing out on that grey area where social media apps can be utilized to further inovation and productivity. Palo Alto Networks came out with this whitepaper talking about how to block social media apps and when it is appropriate to let employees utilize these apps productivly.
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Twitter: sandee1991
says:
Social media is the gateway to an array of potential customers and we should certainly use it in the right way. Good post Liz
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Twitter: jaynepleysier
says:
Hi Liz
You have raised some excellent points here about how to use social media effectively for your business. Too many people send out spammy information just to have something out there instead of engaging with their list – who are potential clients.
I think once the frenzy to get friends in places like Twitter and Facebook (and to an extent Google+) has settled down, you have a more controlled and targetted way of getting out your message.
Regards
Jayne
Always good to have input and information about social media and what other have found to be useful and not useful about it.
Sam Turner recently posted..RSA Certificate
Grate post contains deep information about the social networking sites to permote your buisness. Recently i start using social networking site to permote my site and i make a fan page on facebook and my traffic to the site get double.
Pankaj Rattan recently posted..How To Recover Deleted My Document Folder
Twitter: vinayagaonline
says:
Excellent message Liz, lately search engines also focusing their attention to social media networks. But as you mention above not all business will get success result from social network strategy. But some how all business should get to know social media networks to perform better on SEM in future. And you have bring useful information to help understand about it, thanks Liz.
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Better way to market in social sites is having an automator in updating your sites to maximize your time and you can simultaneously update the social sites. I learned from this stuff from an expert in Doupto.com… i got the cheapest advice in getting my sales boosted… Nice post ma’am Liz..
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Twitter: motleyhealth
says:
I have been using Facebook more in the last couple of weeks and although I have not any surge in referrals I have seen some small improvements. I think that the key is, as always, engagement. Up to 431 Likes but only a few people ever interact. But the number of people “talking about this” rose from 50 to 111 in the last couple of days. Hopefully a good sign.
Jon recently posted..A Guide to Losing Belly Fat with Diet and Exercise
Awesome ideas, thanks for taking the time out for sharing this with us. I know I appreciate it. I am almost always looking for new ideas. Social Media is a great way to help get your name out there. However, many forget to write good content in the first place, which is the key to keep people there and more. Thanks for the read.
Your In-Trance To Success,
Ricky Strode
Florida Hypnosis
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Twitter: Burnworld
says:
I have just started to use Twitter more for my marketing. It’s slowly but surely growing and I am starting to see the benefit of this service.
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Twitter: wpwebhost
says:
Twitter can make it go viral very fast. All it takes is just a tweet and if your followers retweet. It’ll be like a pyramin in no time.
Ricardus recently posted..Oktoberfest with 50% off for Freedom Plan
Twitter: lifenleisure
says:
Great article, Liz. It’s so easy to get so caught up with using so much social media networks available these days and still not get that much results. I agree with you to choose those that work for you and focus on those.
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Social media is a great new marketing platform. I am in healthcare; have to be very careful about sharing Confidential Personal Information about patients, etc. They need to sign waivers, etc.
thanks for a great article.
Twitter: Exabytes_SG
says:
Some people start ignore twitter as a tool to promote business because less active users in twitter and it become widely use for spamming purpose and cause the click rate low.
I still waiting for Google + to open to business. I believe Google + still work on it , If they do not allow company to use alike Facebook fan pages, i believe Facebook still be the top social network .
There is no greater tool in promoting than social media and this article provides a great initiative for bloggers and all..
terry recently posted..Tactics and Fencing’s Tactical Wheel
Twitter: reklame76
says:
I also believe that social media networking like facebook and twitter can be a great tool in developing a business especially a community gathering and benefits of the feedback given. Careful concept conveyed very well because it also can result over issues that are less interesting or disappointing customer service. Moreover, your business competitors an opportunity to play in the community you build.
Do you recommend any more books on Social media?
I am very interested in taking this as a career path and since this field is just new their are not certifications yet about but I think in the future Social media consultants will be n demand and good thing I am trying to start right now while I am in college.
Min recently posted..How To Create An Audit Trail in Java
I’d suggest extreme john.. extremejohn.com. He sells a book on it..
Facebook is one of the highest lead generation source for most online business. You can easily find some leads and customers to your business by using facebook wisely and it’s really easy.
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I just want to add a small tip, if you are not using social media effectively try at least to use ping.fm and su.pr
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Social networking sites have been the most famous media nowadays. Whether you’re into a business or just an individual who simply loves using networking sites. Despite of the advantages of social media, we must also consider its disadvantages so its really important for us to use our social media accounts wisely to avoid any problem.
Mary recently posted..How To Slow Down Wrinkles And Keep Your Skin Younger
Twitter: sanjaykhemlani
says:
Nice suggestions, and I agree that not every business need facebook fanpage. You should watch your niche and your audience to where they usually be.
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Twitter: armansyahrachim
says:
before there was social media, the promotion was so complicated. but after using social media, promotions so so easy. We seemed to connect with people very easily.
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Social media, specific Facebook is a key factor to promote any business including small bloggers to high techies. After creating facebook fan page, I can see 20% traffic increase on my blog.
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Social media is a key factor in every online business success. It’s the easiest way to reach out to your customers right away. But it should be used wisely and in moderation.
Farrell John recently posted..Jigsaw Uses simPRO to Solve Business Puzzle
Twitter: nexusmagicstore
says:
Much of what you say is totally accurate, people have become much more savvy and they can smell a salesman a mile away. You have to be much more creative when you approach marketing. I like your tips! Thanks….
ringleader recently posted..A Knight To Remember – Devin Knight’s 2011 Lecture Notes
If we just start a marketing business, for better promotion via social media
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I would say that social media promotion will be big in the future.
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