Social Media

Just this year Twitter grew by 3,000 per cent. Facebook hosted 61.2 million visitors and LinkedIn garnered 20 million users worldwide. The Social Media scene has a truly big potential, and because of this online entrepreneurs are looking to unlock the secrets of social media. They see social media as another channel wherein they can get the word out about their business. Free access to a lot of social media accounts just adds to the attraction.

But before you take that plunge into social media, do you think it will work for your business? Could social media be a free substitute for traditional advertising? How much time should be spent in the care and feeding of all those profiles? The answers might overwhelm you.

“Traditional advertising and marketing is not dead,” according to Oliver Blanchard, a business strategist. Blanchard promotes the integration of social media into a more traditional marketing and advertising plan. According to him “So you can have a healthy mix, much like a diversified investment portfolio.”

Even if the platforms vary according to the type of business, small businesses are encouraged to have a solid website, email list and a contact base even before they venture into social media.

Blogs: Compose and write your way to success
Customer loyalty can start by providing informative blogs to your audience. Social media is considered as an important tool when it comes to online advertising; however you need to learn how to write informative blogs before anything else. I know some aspiring entrepreneurs are not savvy when it comes to blogging platforms, for a newbie using Tumblr is highly recommended. This platform can be easily customized, extremely easy to use and has an additional factor that allows you to follow people and also re-blog their content with ease.

Blogging is an effective way of spreading information about your company. This is a step beyond any official press releases, publicity ads, and marketing leaflets. The magic of social media happens right there and then in your blog. A well-maintained and managed blog invites peoples’ perspectives and also provides an opening for a real relationship to be formed which is a significant facet of great customer service.

To Tweet or not to Tweet.
Twitter a social media tool and at the same time a micro-blogging instrument. It allows you to key-in up to 140 characters and update people who are following you. Connecting with a business owner via Twitter provides a personal touch which is preferred by most customers. Through this social media tool a company can announce new product or promotion and you can easily link back the details on the company’s blog or website.

Youtube
Another social media tool that an entrepreneur can capitalize on is Youtube. With a little creativity and relatively low overhead uploading a short video clip can be a rapid way to test the market. You can release freebies to people which will enable you to capture a niche.

Keep in mind that no matter what platform you use the true value of social media is found in the conversation. Truly social media has changed the communication between entrepreneurs and customers.

Here are some more tips on Social Media that can help you grow your business.