Social media is a type of online media that expedites conversation as opposed to traditional media, which delivers content but doesn’t allow readers/viewers/listeners to participate in the creation or development of the content.
Why should you participate as a business?
Time is money. Especially when you’re running a business. Traditional marketing campaigns often require a huge time investment to develop and launch. If you’re looking for instant gratification for your marketing efforts, social media is a great solution.
Setting up a social media marketing campaign can be quick and often you’ll see results within days (sometimes even hours!). With the use of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and other social media outlets, you are able to quickly create an Internet presence and be connected to potential clients.
Radio, television and newspaper advertising can be costly; especially if you’re trying to create a creative and eye catching campaign. Social media, on the other hand, is extremely inexpensive. In many instances, it’s even free! There’s no cost involved in creating a Facebook page, Twitter account or LinkedIn profile. And you can upload a video to YouTube for free.
Many companies do make the small investment of having contests and giveaways to attract attention. However, the premiums associated with these giveaways often cost just the fraction of the price that you would have spent in a traditional marketing campaign.
Social media enables you to make smarter connections with potential clients. You can be much more targeted with your efforts than with advertising and other traditional marketing methods. Friends often solicit each other for advice before making a purchase or enrolling in a service. They want to utilize a company that others like them trust. On Facebook and Twitter people are connected with others who have similar interests and needs. Simply by getting your current clients to “Like” your Facebook comments and become “Fans” of your Facebook page, you are becoming connected to all of their likeminded friends.
According to INQBATION.com, the average Facebook user is a member of 12 groups and has 130 friends on the site. This opens you up to a huge potential market! Think about it. If you get just 20 clients to become a fan of your Facebook page, you have an additional 2,600 potential customers who are being exposed to your page.
The more a person can get involved with your company and its products/services, the more likely it becomes that you’ll be able to convert them into a customer. And, thankfully, people go onto social media sites with the sole purpose of being active.
In fact, according to INQBATION.com, the average Facebook user not only spends more than 27 hours per month on the site, they also do the following on a monthly basis: write 25 comments, become a fan of 2 pages, and click the “Like” button 9 times.
You can get these potential clients involved in your business through other social media outlets, too. We recommend utilizing Twitter to solicit real time feedback from your followers. This can be especially useful when you have launched a new product or Web site that you would like critiqued before you spend thousands of dollars through a traditional marketing launch. And with YouTube, you are able to provide current and potential clients with informative and entertaining videos that will introduce them to your products and services.