There was a time when businesses were faceless entities that simply sold a product or a service.
Thankfully, those times are long gone, and one of the biggest contributing factors to that is the rise of the internet. Not only has the web enabled businesses to trade in brand new ways, it has also brought with it lots of social networks.
These social networks are packed with potential and existing customers, so it’s no surprise that companies are now using them to boost their profiles and (with any luck) their profits too.
If you run a business, or your part of a marketing team, and you’ve not yet started using social media, what are you waiting for?
Whether you sell the best broadband deals or quality golf shoes, you’ll find social media a real help. Here are a few simple steps that will have you up and running in no time at all.
Make a free profile on the ‘big two’
Just like supermarkets, there are certain social networks that dominate the arena.
There are two in particular: Facebook and Twitter. Luckily both of these social networks let you create profiles completely free.
All you have to do is go to the homepage of each network and fill in your details.
In the case of Facebook, you’ll find a link in the lower part of another companies ‘page’ which will allow you to create your own.
Once your profiles are complete, you’re all set and ready to make the most of your social media efforts.
Find fans and followers
Unfortunately it’s not as simple as creating a profile and waiting (unless your company is really big), so you’ll likely need to source subscribers to your profiles yourself.
You can find followers and fans in a number of ways.
The first thing you’ll want to do is send an email to all of your existing customers inviting them to join your page or follow your profile.
This should get you a good initial flow of people to kick start your community, after that you’ll need to implement some consistent promotion like links on your website or email footers.
Keep them entertained and interested
It’s all very well creating your profiles and luring a community to them – but the most important step is keeping them engaged.
You could have thousands of followers but if you don’t give them anything of value you’ll soon see that number dropping – sometimes drastically.
One good idea is to create a plan for your status updates.
If you have a blog, ensure that you post regular updates that your visitors will actually be interested in. For example, if you’re an art company you may want to post some step by step guides for free.
It needn’t be all free content though – make sure you throw in some promotional updates now and then.
Just try not to spam people; you can avoid this by retaining a balance of content.
Competitions and special offers
If you’re finding it difficult to keep your social media content fresh, you’re certainly not alone.
It’s a lot of hard work and there’s no clear financial benefit, so it’s a very slow process.
One of the best ways to gain new members to your community and boost awareness is to launch social media exclusive competitions and special offers.
You can make it so that people need to follow or ‘like’ your page in order to take part. This will boost your numbers and bring more people’s contact details into your database at the same time – so it’s definitely a good idea.
Overall, social media has changed the world of business. It’s allowed businesses to form more personal and friendly relationships with their clients, and opened the door to a world of new customers.
And of course, having a pool of existing customers on tap is a fantastic way to get some free market research done!
If you’ve got a new idea for a product or service, you don’t need to take a risk anymore: you can tap out your idea, post it on Facebook, and see what people think of it.
Simple!
So if you’ve not already got involved in social media don’t wait any longer – get online and get involved now.
About the author:
Isabella Woods
12. October 2011 at 4:43 pm
Thanks for the interesting post,
Isabella :
nowadays Social Media is vital for business!
13. October 2011 at 5:41 am
I totally agree with this post , once there is no social media sites, online business is nothing. so people must try to harness the social media sites for them to become successful. one part to be considered is linkbuilding.
Kate Brown Wilson recently posted..10 Ways on How to Improve Leadership Skills
13. October 2011 at 9:13 am
Well said, Kate !
13. October 2011 at 9:41 am
Thanks for this post, I so agree! With the presence of social media, businesses now a days are engaging to this tactic. Social media helps businesses to gain popularity of brand and it thus help gain your profit through that. Being more interactive and keeping update is most likely the things that customers are looking for.
16. October 2011 at 7:05 pm
Thanks for the comment, Andreas …
Socializing is key !
13. October 2011 at 1:23 pm
I find Twitter very effective on promoting my site. People followed us on Twitter because they find your niche or topic interesting so if ever I tweet a new gig from my site I can see the traffic was increased greatly.
Julie Hayes recently posted..קייטרינג לבית
16. October 2011 at 7:07 pm
Twitter is a great Social Media tool to spread your contents…together with Facebook, but also StumbleUpon and Reddit, I would say…
Digg is pretty less popular than time ago…
13. October 2011 at 7:36 pm
Twitter is a huge source of traffic on my site, as is Facebook. Great post!
13. October 2011 at 7:46 pm
Ana,
I do not get why some problogger assumed that Twitter is dead…in my opinion it is a social networking that is still very popular and a medium where you can promote yourself and your business.
And Twitter not also will help you build up your social media presence, but it will bring you massive amount of traffic.
14. October 2011 at 6:46 am
Thanks Nick that is my own opinion regarding to this post.as we can see online business using these social media sites is the easiest way to earn income.
Kate Brown Wilson recently posted..הדרכת הורים
15. October 2011 at 5:43 am
It’s true that Social Media sites could boost your business but i just want to emphasize that in these sites, you really have to look and attract potential customers and not just “auto-follows”. Most internet marketers suggest that in order for you to be successful in social media marketing, you should follow “auto-follows” first then look for real people. However, they don’t realize that this would only take much of your time and would put all your efforts to waste. You should look for real people and post useful information to your followers. By doing this, you’re actually earning their trust and when by the time that you earn their trust, that’s the moment that you will introduce your product to help them solve their issues.
16. October 2011 at 7:08 pm
Nice point, Gregg, thanks for mention this.
There are many software that make Autofollow and Messages automatically …. sometimes it’s better few but good, that many and unnecessary …
16. October 2011 at 12:33 am
Social media is, indeed, very powerful. However, it is also time consuming and quite addictive, so a person has to find certain balance between business aspects over social media and his private life which a lot of times has to be put in the background for the sake of boosting our business.
Kristina L.@Naneu Coupon Code recently posted..Naneu Coupon Code
17. October 2011 at 2:51 pm
Hello Kristina,
time ago I read a good article by a famous blogger, who explained the fact that you can lose whole days in a “hamster wheel”, while you spend too much time in your “social media online life” and too little in focusing what you have to actually do, whether your job or your online business …
Thanks for the comment, very interesting!
17. October 2011 at 3:06 am
One thing I dont like with facebook is that the company page needs to be created by and associated with a real persons account. This means you cannot effectivly have a “brand” account you need to assign it to a user. If you are a business you want to have control over the account and not have the account controlled by a user who is effectivly an employee and could one day leave.
Lessa recently posted..New driver insurance
17. October 2011 at 2:52 pm
Lessa,
you can do this or you can do a sponsored Facebook page headed to your brand…
18. October 2011 at 5:55 am
Social media has been one of the famous free ways to advertise a business. The good thing with social media that one post have the possibility to reach thousands of people in an instant. So basically, what a business must do is to capture their markets’ attention and keep them updated from time to time. In that way, they could maximize its use.
18. October 2011 at 9:54 am
Thanks for the nice consideration,
the lever is to have many contacts in Social Media Networks…
and above all, the right audience for your business.
19. October 2011 at 3:22 pm
Absolutely true! Too many fans or followers to the business fan page is a good thing, but a business owner must make sure that these # of people are really potential buyers/customers. Otherwise, business won’t be able to maximize the benefits of social media.
19. October 2011 at 9:01 pm
You, as a new convert to the “social” scene, might also want to set up a Google+ account, if possible, to cover your bases. After all, you are trying to get your site found in the Google search engine, and…well, you just never know. That’s all I’m sayin’…
Sonny@diy-day recently posted..Design a Cover Too – Madden NFL in Adobe Photoshop
20. October 2011 at 10:06 am
Hello Sonny,
a part of Google+, there are many more Social Networks that you should apply for a free account : see Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, just to mention some famous ones…
Thanks for your comment !
21. October 2011 at 6:20 am
Social media sites are a great way to build backlinks. I really find them useful when trying to rank on search engines. Great post Erik, keep up the good work man.
Anthony@fast cash commissions recently posted..Fast Cash Commissions: Traffic + Commissions… in Real Time??
21. October 2011 at 2:14 pm
The social media is a powerful tool that gives significant results in boosting a business. Who doesn’t have a social media account? Bringing your business in the social mediasphere is a perfect idea to let a business be known to a lot of people. With the use of the internet, social media is accessible 24/7, anywhere and everyhere.
21. October 2011 at 2:21 pm
Mitch,
internet has definitely changed the way people do business and marketing…
a lot easier !