Social Networking for Businesses

In the past, companies could only market their products or services to potential customers in a unilateral manner.  In other words, it was a one-way monologue.  “Here’s our product, now please buy it.”  Through the use of social media, companies can now receive feedback from customers and respond accordingly.  Being able to have an open dialog and communicate with customers in this way is extremely powerful.  In addition, the general population seems to be spending more time on social networking sites than they do watching television, reading magazines or being exposed to other forms of media that may have previously dominated the advertising world.

Times have changed and if your company hasn’t changed along with them, you will be left behind.  For those of you who are already participating in social networking activities on a business capacity, this article may appear to be somewhat uninformative.  However, to business owners who have not yet taken full advantage of what can be accomplished on these sites, you will now be brought up to speed.

Social Networking Sites

The social networking sites that are most important are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, etc.  At this time, Facebook appears to be the king of social media.  Statistically, people seem to spend more time on this site than any other.  LinkedIn is an excellent business-to-business site that can connect you to company decision makers and other people of interest.  Most LinkedIn members indicate their company title, which can be very useful.  Pinterest and Instagram are good for companies that have a visual aspect to their business.  For example, if you want customers to see images of your products.  Google Plus and YouTube are important because they are both owned by Google which is the most predominately used search engine.  Twitter is an excellent microblogging tool that can allow you to present short pieces of information to the masses.  You can also use it to provide links to more extensive information.

Getting Started

The best way to begin the process is to create accounts with the social networking sites mentioned above.  You can also research other social networking sites to see if they would work well for your business application.  Once you’ve created these accounts, personalize your profile to make it visually attractive, professional and easy for customers to contact you or at the very least, be directed back to your main website.

Developing a following on these sites is really the hardest part.  Many companies alert customers to their social media accounts by placing the site logos on print ads, brochures, signage, letterhead, business cards, email signatures and someplace prominent on the company website.  Through paid advertising, you can boost the visibility of your Facebook page in order to attract, “likes”.  Many times when you follow certain people on Twitter, they will extend the courtesy of following you back.  As your LinkedIn network grows, it may become easier for you to connect with others.  This is a very time consuming process but once your social network is large enough, your communication channels become very powerful.

Content is King

Once you’ve created your accounts and begun the networking process, the development and dissemination of content will be your next challenge.  If your main company website doesn’t have a place to post articles and press releases, you may want to consider starting a blog.  There are some free blogging platforms such as WordPress and Blogger where you can write about all the goings on of your company.  In this blog, you should write about every product you offer or service you provide.  You can also include information regarding special events, company news, discounts, staff changes, interesting factoids or any other information that you believe your customers would be interested in reading about.  Once you’ve posted this information to your blog, type the title of the article on your social media accounts followed by a link to the article on your blog or website.

Be Social

If a person comments on your post, you should respond in some way to let them know that the company is interested in their feedback.  This could be an excellent form of communication between you and your customers or potential customers.  Through this dialogue, you may learn a lot about your targeted demographic that you didn’t know before.  Social media also helps you locate your target audience more efficiently so that your message can get through to them directly.

In many cases, you will also find that your company will acquire new customers through these channels, giving your company a new and effective way to advertise.  You can also use social media to drive traffic to your website by posting links that provide information, discount offers and other interesting features that will attract customers.  Perhaps more importantly, it gives you and your company and opportunity to develop relationships with your customers which could positively affect your company’s image or reputation.  This could also be a very appropriate forum in which to respond to poor reviews in an effort to execute damage control.

In addition to posting articles, press releases, product images and short company blurbs, you should also consider anecdotal memes and infographics.  This may require some Photoshop skills or outsourcing to a graphic designer.  Sometimes people are too lazy to read articles and a brief message associated with an image can make a very powerful statement.  Even videos are excellent tools to get your company’s message across to the people who are not engaged enough to read through your blog.

For more information about how to participate in social network marketing for your business, please contact Ashlar Consulting Corporation at 305-849-9399 or visit www.AshlarConsultingCorp.com.