Social Media: What is it and why does your business need it?
Think of social media as another part of your overall marketing plan. You may already advertise or build your brand through marketing channels such as: print ads, radio ads or direct mail. Social media (engaging with your customers/potential customers through online social platforms) is another channel (a very powerful one!) for marketing and customer service.
Your customers are online: connecting with friends and family through Facebook; watching videos on YouTube, following people on Twitter…so your business needs to be visible in the online marketplace. Choose several social media platforms that are the best fit for your business, put together your plan and start being “social”!
Some of the most popular platforms today are Facebook with over 700 million users worldwide, Twitter with over 200 million users, YouTube, LinkedIn and the newly launched Google+. Not all of these platforms may be right for your marketing strategy (and there are many other platforms not mentioned here), but you should plan on choosing 2-3 to get started.
Word-of-mouth advertising can be one of the most successful ways to market a business. As consumers, we all are more likely to visit a store or use the services of a business that a friend/family member recommends. Since so many people are on social media platforms, business recommendations become part of the online conversations, for example: a friend is looking for a good auto mechanic and you recommend your local shop, a new Chinese restaurant opened near your neighborhood and you recommend it to a friend….
When a business is recommended during a social media conversation, the potential customer is likely to search for that business on the popular platforms to learn more about them. You need to be there – on the social media platforms that your potential customers are using on a daily basis.
Now that you know why your business needs social media, read more about the steps to start a social media program.
About Terry League