Over the past few years, to say social media has exploded would be an
understatement. Members of social media sites have discovered it’s the easiest
way to find, learn about, and share information that directly influences their
purchasing decisions. It is this reason alone that every business should be on
multiple social media sites in an effort to reach as many people as possible.
Below are the top 11 reasons to use social media in business:
- Build relationships – personal and professional; connect with all types
of people – past and present coworkers, current clients, prospects, vendors,
competitors, and marketing professionals to build your network
- Share information – share your blog posts; share interesting and useful
articles, other blogs, webinars, podcasts, presentations, and poll/survey
results with your fan base
- Gather valuable information – research similar products/services,
competitors, prospects, marketing tips, blog ideas, create your own poll/survey
– the amount of information available is endless
- Join a social network of like-minded individuals or start a new
interest group where you can further brand your product/service, build
relationships, and share ideas and information
- Stay current with the latest trends – write a blog or join a discussion
on a trending topic; become aware of new social media sites that might fit the
needs of your business
- Land a great new job – using your new connections on various social
media sites, you can get the inside scoop on companies that are hiring, as well
as resume and interview tips
- Discover a new passion in life, become a volunteer, or start a
fundraising event
- Get found by prospects by using inbound marketing tactics – spread the
word about your product/service through social media sites; to form a complete
marketing plan, combine this with outbound techniques (interruptive marketing)
- Build business reputation and brand – constantly add value to all your
posts and become a trustworthy leader in your industry; to quote Bob Burg, “All things being equal, people will
do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and
trust.”
- Build a marketing department inexpensively – for start-ups, employing inbound
marketing tactics is a cheap way to start marketing your product/service; most
social media sites are free to join, while others have a minimal monthly or
yearly fee
- Help increase conversion rates – use social media and inbound marketing
to steer more organic traffic to your website and convert more leads into sales;
the average conversion rate is 2.3%, but varies by industries according to
ClickZ, Marketing News & Expert Advice, http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1691779/benchmarking-average-conversion-rate.
I recommend choosing a handful of sites to manage and start getting
your feet wet. Not every social media site available will be right for you or
your business and it would overwhelming to try them all. The Remi Group consistently
maintains a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google Plus pages, a YouTube channel,
as well as a Twitter account. For our type of business, a Pinterest, Tumblr, or
Flickr account isn’t worthwhile, but obviously they are great for other brands.
If you need help getting started, there are countless different types
of resources. I have used the An Hour a Day book series on Facebook Marketing,
Twitter Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. They address each entity in a
step-by-step fashion that is very user-friendly. I also find Hubspot to be extremely helpful. They are
continually publishing user guides that contain valuable information, tips, and
tricks. Lastly, when creating your profile on the various social media sites
that best fit your marketing plan, it’s a good idea to connect with other
marketers to check out what they are doing to boost business.
Do you have a tip or trick to share with newcomers to social media?
Share it with us; you are more than welcome to post questions and/or comments
here!
Jennifer Daugherty is a Business Development Coordinator for The Remi
Group LLC, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information visit The Remi Group
website, www.theremigroup.com or
call 1-888-451-8916 #1.
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