Millions of people are accessing one form of social media or another every minute of every day. It is hard to imagine someone who is not talking about a picture they posted or viewed or a video they liked or a group chatting about a status they saw on Facebook or Twitter. With all of these people using this medium regularly, it gives you a perfect point to try and market your business or services. Whether you are a small home-based operation or a Fortune 500 company, the importance of social media in your Internet marketing strategy is key to your success.
One of the big positives in using social media in this way is the cost. Other advertising methods you may employ for your website all have some type of cost associated with them, which is to be expected with advertising. However, social media offers you the opportunity to use marketing and strategies without costing you a penny, if that is the way you want to approach it. All you need to do is establish an account for your business and you can be on your way to using it to promote your business.
If you set up a page on Twitter or Facebook or even establish a blog somewhere to help promote your business, the only real costs to it will be the time you take to put into them. You want to make sure you do updates fairly regularly so those who are follow your pages see that you are interested in not only the upkeep of your pages but in communicating with them. Customers can get easily disappointed in your site if you only do postings and updates every few weeks or once a month. You should set aside some time daily to maintain your pages or have someone in your office who is dedicated to the upkeep.
It is also important that you take the time to recognize and interact with customers both current and potential on your social media sites. Customers want to know that you are interested in what they have to say, both good and bad, and are willing to react and talk back to them. Do not be worried about criticism or comments; deal with each individually and go out of your way to answer everything you can either through your site or personally on the phone or through e-mail. People like to see that you quickly respond to any questions or comments. It shows that you care about the people who are supporting you.
Creating a brand for yourself on social media is important. You want to make sure your titles of things like your blog or your accounts all carry the brand, message and logo that you want to get out there to the masses. Things like background colors and page designs may seem like minor details when you are first starting, but they can be quite important to the success of your pages. Different colors have a more positive impact on viewers, so you will want to choose a color that is inviting and warm.
You also want your pages to be clean and free of clutter. Having too many links and images can not only clutter up your page, but make it very slow to load for users. Potential customers and viewers do not want to have to wait for a page to load and if they do not get immediate results, they will move on to something else. Choose a look that not only suits your brand well but works well for those coming to your pages.
If you are using a blog for your business already, you will want to be sure that you link it to your social media accounts. This will make it easier for those that follow your blog to also follow you on pages like Twitter or Facebook. This can give you a much larger base of potential customers to work with if you have everything linked together.
If you have a Twitter account and a lot of followers, you may want to consider using something like an auto-responder to help you answer any queries that you may get. This allows you to send an automatic message to anyone you sends you a tweet, letting them know that you have received their message and providing them with a response. This can help you maintain a good relationship with your base as they will receive an answer from you quickly.
Of course, you can use your social media sites to offer special s and promotions only to those that follow you. You can offer discounts to loyal followers who receive your message or even run contests on Twitter or Facebook where the winner can get something like a gift certificate or other prize. Put on your main website or blog that you have social media pages where you offer contests and discounts, giving people an incentive to follow you.
You can also run private sales to all of your members or sneak previews of new products or services. Use your accounts to show pictures or video of a new service you are offering or a new item you have for sale and give a promotion code to all of your followers so they can use it for your new items. Your options are endless with this type of sales strategy.
Using social media for your Internet marketing is a necessity today. The marketplace is highly competitive and businesses need to try and gain any advantage they can to close a deal or make a sale. Social media gives you the ideal platform to establish a good relationship with current and potential customers so you get the edge you need.
Author’s Bio:
Kenneth Ifeanyi is a seasoned internet marketer who runs a blog where he shares on how to get google traffic plus easy ways to make money online
