Social Media Marketing: What’s The Point?

Many people have heard about Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media sites but they don’t know why they should use them for business.  The fact is that more and more people are relying on the internet for research, shopping, selecting suppliers and staying connected to business contacts.

• Statistics show that 60% of people do research on the internet before purchasing items that are a couple hundred dollars or more.
• According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2007…84% of buyers searched on the internet before buying a home.

If you don’t want to be left in the dust by your competitors, you need to be visible on the internet and you need to use Social Media to your advantage.  You can use Social Media sites for a number of different reasons including:

• Reconnecting with people you’ve lost touch with
• Meeting new people that may become customers
• Meeting new people that may become referral partners for you
• Having up-to-date contact info for your acquaintances & business contacts
• Your contacts having up-to-date contact info for YOU
• Incoming website links which help search engine ranking
• Establishing an internet presence so you are easily found
• Increasing your internet presence (more entries in the search engines)
• Improving your image on the internet
• Establishing yourself as an expert in your field
• Feeling connected or networked (especially if you work from home)
• Having resources that you can call on for help or refer out to other people
• Collecting testimonials of your work or service
• Maintaining current business relationships
• Being able to easily announce specials, contests, events, new product/service, low rates, great deals, etc…

Before you join every Social Media site you come across…it is best to have a Social Media Marketing Plan.  You need to know what your goals are, how much time you are willing to invest (or outsource) in Social Media Marketing and what you have to say to the world on the Social Media sites you use.

Contact us if you would like help developing a plan and determining which Social Media sites are best for your industry and your specific goals.

Related posts:

1. What Is Social Media Marketing?
2. Social Media Marketing: Making Time For It
3. What The F**K is Social Media: One Year Later by Marta Kagan
4. Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Michael Stelzner
5. 4 Step Social Media Strategy: C.I.M.A.