Think social media is a fad? Think again. If your business is not taking advantage of the social media revolution, you are ignoring a lot of potential customers! Consider this: Over half of the world’s population is under 30 years old and 96 percent of them use social networks. Studies show that spreading the word about your brand to 50 million people will take 38 years by radio, 13 years by TV, 4 years on the Web, 3 years for iPod… and yet, Facebook has over 200 million new users in less than a year. That doesn’t include other social media sites like Twitter, MySpace, or LinkedIn. Now, do you think social media is still a fad?
Whether brick-and-mortar or Web-based businesses, old school marketing strategies don’t work in today’s market. How do you promote your brand in a market saturated with self-pitches without turning consumers off? Spreading the word about your business on the Web can be done easily and cheaply, but you must also be attentive to keeping your good reputation. So, how can do you do it effectively?
How to Use Social Networks to Gain More Customers
1. Be Genuine
Don’t fake it! Your readers will know. It’s all about ‘networking’ and making that connection with people from your local area and across the world. Listen. Then, Sell. Connect with your customers and know what their interests are. Build a conversation about your brand and be sincere. You don’t want to spam people or have them flag your post.
2. Content is King!
Design is Queen. Keep that in mind. Your Web site needs to contain real value to your readers. What you put on the Web about your brand will always stay there so be careful. If you are uncomfortable writing for your business, hire someone to write for you. Blog, tweet, post in many free sites on the Web as possible. Get exposed!
3. Communicate
Now that you’re spreading the word about your brand on the Web, you need to make the time to monitor responses. You must maintain consistent communication with your readers. Answer questions promptly. Don’t keep anyone waiting. You wouldn’t want to wait; neither do they.
4. Social Proof Your Biz
If you have good feedback from your recent customers, flaunt it. These testimonials help build credibility or ‘social proof’ and can be placed on your Web site. You can also use LinkedIn to connect with your customers and get great feedback as well.
5. Spread Trust
There’s a difference between gossip and news? Many forget that you don’t only spread the word about your business on the Web, but you must also spread trust. You don’t want to be a clone of another brand. You are building YOUR brand, not theirs.
Now is an ideal time to join the social media age as the new way of communication. It’s here to stay for the next five years, or more. Your customers are simply a mouse click away. If you do it right, you may be the next big thing.
Tags: business social media marketing, social media business, social media for business, start successful business, start up entrepreneur, starting home business, starting internet business
[...] the ‘talk.’ You have to engage people and have meaningful conversations. In the age of social media, creating a buzz is like sharing a 14″ pizza with your audience; You can’t eat it all. [...]