Are Your Business Social Media Marketing Activities Bringing You More Customers?
There is no denying the fact that business social media marketing is becoming more important. I doubt that you are able to go through a single day without hearing the words Facebook or Twitter in a sentence. Everyone from newscasters, to talk show hosts to big name businesses are using social media to target their customers, clients, and viewers.
With the continuing evolution in mobile technology, your customers continue to become more mobile and are accessing the internet through their mobile devices. They are interacting with their favorite social networks (Facebook has nearly a billion users and continues to grow) to discuss and share their experiences.
Statistics indicate that only about 26% of businesses have a website, not to mention a social network presence. This means that those businesses who make the effort to establish their business presence in the social networks have the opportunity to gain an early market share in their industries.
Your business social media marketing strategy does not have to be complex, and often it is quite easy to create a presence that attracts an increasing number of visitors (=new customers).
 |
| Are Your Business Social Media Marketing Activities Bringing You More Customers? |
Business Social Media Marketing, Using The Leverage Of Social Interactions To Your Business’s Advantage
If you own a business and aren’t using social media, you’re potentially giving away sales to your competitors who are using these networks. Why? Because social media has the power to drive hoards of customers your way, whether your business is local, national or global.
A common reason small business owners often shy away from using social media as a marketing tool is that they don’t understand it or know how to use it. If you’re one of those business owners that has been standing at the door of social media marketing, and not sure how to open it, then you’re doing your business more harm than good.
The mystery of social media networks, and how to use business social media marketing to boost your business ends today.
What is Business Social Media Marketing?
Social Media: A place online where people connect and interact with other people and businesses. Social media applies to business by providing a platform for businesses to engage in, and participate in conversations with their existing and potential customers.
This interaction now also spills over into the mobile phone market. Many customers are interacting on social sites through their phones, but that topic is for another conversation.(Learn more about how business mobile marketing can positively affect your business.)
As a business owner, think of social media from a business point of view. Whether your target audience is consumers or other businesses, social media networks are primed for locating existing and new business.
Not only can you reach your target audience through these networks, you can find them in large numbers. In some of the social networks you can specifically target demographic groups.
One of the most important aspects of correctly using social media for your business is that it can position your business as a trusted authority in your industry and community.
Positioning your business as a trusted authority adds credibility and trustworthiness. Here are a few tips to create a trusted authority image for your business:
- Share information about your products, services or industry that speaks to resolving a specific problem your ideal customers are having.
- Monitor and quickly respond to the good and the bad conversations that are taking place about your business or industry.
- Offer your social network followers and friends special offers that nobody else receives.
- Respond to complaints or issues that customer s may be discussing about your business.
One of the benefits to using social media in your business is that when one of your existing customers has something positive to say about how great your business product or service is, or how it solved an issue, everyone in their network is able to see the positive message.
Of course this can also be a disadvantage if a business is under performing in their service or products. People talk about that also.
Societies Need To Be Social and The Role Of Social Media
Just for a moment, think about the type of old-fashioned word-of-mouth discussions that have been taking place since the beginning of time.
For example, when you need to buy a new product or need a service, you often talk to friends, family, or other business owners about their experiences with the product you’re considering.
For instance I needed a new notebook computer a few years ago. I happened to know a guy who ran the IT department for one of the local high schools.
This is a guy who is responsible for keeping something like 250-275 computers up and running at all times. So I asked him what his recommendations were for a new computer. He gave me the inside scoop on which computers in his department he had the most problems with, and which brand he purchases personally.
Do you think that was some useful information to me? And that is the type of stuff that gets shared and discussed on social media networks. These are the types of conversations can benefit your business.
Of course that information may not be the only factor considered in making a purchase, but receiving a recommendation from someone you know and trust may be the deciding factor, especially when the source is credible.
This is your business’s role in the social networks, to be that credible and trusted source of information.
Social media plays the same word-of-mouth role, however the reach is much larger because the discussions are not limited to a one-to-one interaction with the neighbor. These conversations can extend into work connections; parent interactions, social clubs, family members and anyone else that’s a “friend” or “following” in their social networks.
That ability to really reach multiple segments in a local area is where the power lies in using business social media marketing. Being a part of these conversations allows you to add your insight, product knowledge and even offer a special discount, which can place your company in the role of a trusted advisor. And the word continues to spread, to further position you as the expert and your business the place to go to for quality products and services.
This is how you leverage the use of technology to get a wider reach for your products and services.
How Business Social Media Plays a Role in Business
Simply put, social media is one of the many of marketing tools you should be using to get in front of current clients to bring in repeat business. You should also be using social media to get in front of new or prospective clients and boost your business.
When you use social media as part of your business, you’re creating a persona for the business. You’re demonstrating that there are real people behind the business—people who care and want to be there for their clients.
The proof is in the numbers:
- By November 2007, social networking usage (time) surpassed email usage
- By July 2009, the number of social networking users had surpassed the number of email users
- Social networking accounts for 50% of all mobile Internet traffic
- Nearly a billion people have social media accounts
The Best Places To Begin Your Business Social Media Marketing Efforts
With a dizzying amount of social media networks that exist, and new ones popping up every day, it can be a confusing task to choose which ones you should be focusing on for your business – especially, if you’re a new to using social media.
At first keep it simple by focusing on the primary social media networks, like:
- YouTube
- TikTok
While each one of the social media networks has a similar purpose, which is to facilitate interactions between others. It can also be very helpful in promoting and marketing your business through online communication.
Each one also has its own unique set of advantages and tools that make it different from other social networks.
Visit each one and see how each one works. Then determine which one would be the most beneficial for your type of product or service.
A Few Benefits of Adding Social Media Marketing To Your Marketing Plan
Integrating social media into your marketing mix is just one additional tool that allows you to turn existing customers into repeat ones, but it is a powerful one.
Check out some of the benefits you get from including business social media marketing in your approach:
- Social media extends your reach to attract new customers
- It allows you to extend your sales force without drastically increasing your marketing budget
- Social media marketing gives you an opportunity to effectively generate and respond to conversations about your business or industry
- As well as, get your marketing messages out there
- You can use social media to build up referrals as a way to boost Business, whether your company is business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C) focused.
Post a Comment