If your business hasn’t invested in social media yet, then this is the year to do it! And when I say invest, I don’t mean just sign up for profiles and then forget about them. Social media is not about set it and forget it - it’s about engagement. Find out why you need your business to be on social media!
Want to get your business in front of a growing audience? Social media traffic in the US alone for the top social networks range from 14 million (Google+) to 162 million (Facebook) visitors per month.
Those are the kinds of numbers you cannot ignore. No matter what industry you are in, you are likely to find your potential clients on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, or all of the above. Start looking at your current customers and their demographics. Then start looking for those same demographics on social media networks so you can start connecting with them.
The more that social media grows in popularity across every generation and demographic, the more that people will expect your brand to be on social media. Not only that, but they will expect their customer service to be delivered via tweets and updates. Social media is also becoming a strong factor in the buying process.
While this report shows that 61% of people use search engines to research a product, 75% in the 18 - 26 age group will also use recommendations on social media sites. This means that you need to be on social media so more people will be talking about you! Even if they don’t talk about you, when they talk to you, the evidence will likely be on their public profiles for all of their friends and follower to see!
You know how you are more likely to remember something if you see it over and over? Social media allows your potential and current customers to see your brand repetitively. Even if you cannot get your website visitors to buy something while they are on your website, you can encourage them to at least follow you on Twitter or become a fan of your Facebook page.
By doing so, they will be able to receive your latest social media messages in their news streams. This can be a powerful way to keep your brand name in people’s minds, so when they are ready to buy, you will hopefully be the first one to pop into their mind.
Have you ever wanted to know what your customers were thinking? If so, then social media is the perfect place to be. People’s thoughts are public in their Twitter streams, Facebook shares, Google+ updates, and latest YouTube videos. Social media is not just at tool to share your business’ latest news upon. It is a powerful listening tool.
Once you have developed a following, you can begin to ask your followers about your brand. What would they like to see more of? What would they like less of? It can be the best research marketing tool, and the best part is that it is free and available to your business 24/7.
If your primary concern has been your search engine rankings, then you better start working on your social media strategy. Social media is becoming more and more incorporated into search results. It all started with Bing and their connection to Facebook. Now, Google is integrating the Google+ social network into their search results.
This means that, with the right connections on social media, your website could actually rank higher thanks to the people who share it on their social profiles. So in addition to your own profiles, you need to make sure your website is social sharing friendly by incorporating social share buttons from the top networks, including and especially the Google +1 button!
Is your brand on social media yet, and if not, why? If it is, what results have you seen from social media? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
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