Uses of Social Media in a Growing Business
Social media has risen to a prominent position. Millions of people visit these sites everyday, many visiting multiple times in a day. With social media being relatively new, many businesses are still struggling to understand how to take advantage of the power of social media. In this blog we hope to give a basic understanding, so you can take your first steps to becoming a part of the large community of social media.
Principle 1 – Be Where the People Are
If you want to be seen, make yourself visible.
- As of October 2012, Facebook had 1 billion active users. That’s almost 10x the amount of people who watch the super bowl. (Facebook)
- As of September 2012, 60 million active users use Facebook mobile products monthly. (552 million daily users) (Facebook)
Top 3 Social Network Sites:
- Facebook reached 1 billion monthly active users October 4, 2012. (Zucherberg)
- YouTube now has over 800 million users each month. (Youtube: Statistics)
- Twitter hits 400 million tweets per day. (Farber)
Principle 2 – Basic Business on a New Media
Social media can be used to do a lot of the basic business activities you know will help and grow your business.
Social Media Is Used For:
- Making Connections with potiential customers
- Customer Relations
- Customer Service
- Building Relationships
- Name Recognition
- Branding
- Marketing
- Advertising
Other Benefits:
- Sign-up is free
- Go Viral (people share your business with others)
- Great Advertisement
- Build Relationships
- Drive Traffic to your Website
- Build & Manage Your Reputation
Invite everyone you know to come and like your page. Then post statuses and interact with your customers. Check out our post on how to set up a business facebook page.
Here are a few ideas on how to use your business facebook page:
- Advertise Your Items
- Promote Sales Events
- Post Pictures of Sales Items, Special Events, etc.
- Highlight an Employee of the Month
- Make Special Announcements!
- Share a “Tip of the Day”
Facebook is a great way to interact with your current and potential customers. Once they begin liking your page, keep them coming back often by keeping your page updated and relevant.
YouTube
Creating a YouTube channel allows you to upload videos, create playlists and respond to videos with comments.
Types of Videos
- Advertisement/Commercial
- Training Videos
- Viral Videos
- Educational
- Vlog – Video Blog
Any video your potential customer base may be interested in viewing.
Unlike Facebook and YouTube, Twitter is less about interaction and more like a billboard of tweets. In 180 characters or less you can:
- Advertise your latest product.
- Announce Specials/Events
- Share Insights & Quotes
- Announce a new video you’ve posted on YouTube or Facebook
- And More
