8 Reasons For Social Media In Your Business

Posted on | April 5, 2009 | 1 Comment

by Jack Smith of JackSmithToday. Follow him at @jackalert

Jack L Smith - Creator of TheSocialLatte.com

The Time is now – With all of the recent media coverage on social media, it is rare that I attend a business meeting or networking event without someone talking about their Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter account.  The conversation then often turns to whether or not social media can help their business.   I love talking with business owners on this topic and finding solutions that make a positive impact to a business’ bottom line.  Here are a few of the many ways social media can make an impact in your business.

8 – Branding & Buzz – Create a recognizable identity for your product or service. This can be extremely important for a small business.  You can also get the word out about your products and services in a way that promotes online conversation.

7 – Establish yourself as an expert – Use forums and message boards to answer questions professionally, honestly, and correctly, which will earn you respect as an expert in your niche. People will look to you for answers.

6 – Small businesses can compete with the large companies - In the past, this was very difficult with the advertising and marketing budgets of large companies. With the right type of viral social media, you could get an immense amount of traffic with quickly-growing natural links, and keep traffic coming for a long time.

5 – Increase your link-ability – One way to move up in the search engines is to have links from other sites pointed to your site. Natural links – or links that come naturally to your great post, awesome video, or amazing picture, are the best kind for your business. They’ll not only bring in traffic, but should also help move you up further in the search engines.

4 – Much cheaper than traditional marketing and advertising – Social media marketing shouldn’t cost a small business nearly as much as traditional advertising. And, if you do it yourself, it might not cost a dime. However, it will cost you time.  Depending how much your time is worth, it might be worthwhile to hire someone to help with the social media marketing. But, all in all, social media marketing is just a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing and advertising.

3 – Direct conversation to a specific niche - There are social networking, social bookmarking, and social news sites that are dedicated to specific niches.  You have the ability to speak directly to these people and not have all the other noise of unrelated topics getting in the way. If you are speaking their language, you have a better chance of them actually hearing what you are saying – and you’re getting the RIGHT KIND of following.

2 – Word of mouth & relationship building - Customers need to trust before purchasing – people trust their friends and loved ones more than anyone else. So, if they hear from someone trustworthy about your product, chances are higher that they’ll buy. Market your products using word of mouth virtually.

1-  Provides another way for potential customers to find you – If you’re not high enough in the search engines for potential customers to find you, they can still find you through social media.  So, even if you’re not on the front page of Google, it doesn’t mean you can’t receive traffic. Social Media has the potential to send you TONS of traffic – when done properly.

If you have used it in some other creative way, or have your own thoughts and ideas, please be sure to share a comment.

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