subject: Boost Your Business with Social Media Marketing [print this page] Social networking sites allow people to stay in touch with their friends, family and relatives. Through these sites you can also meet new people and make new friends. Popular networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter allow people to post pictures, videos, discuss interests, hobbies and much more, making social networking the most popular trend in recent times. These amazing sites also produce great marketing opportunities for small businesses and companies. Through social media not only can they market their products and promote their website, but they can also get honest feedback and communication from their customers.
People of all walks of life, including students, professionals, housewives and entrepreneurs, join social networking sites. The millions of users provide companies and firms with an abundance of potential customers to do business with. As the popularity of social networking sites are reaching a new high, huge amounts of money are being invested on advertising to attract more businesses.
One of the simple ways of integrating social media to the marketing mix is by regularly updating your profile status on every networking site you have a presence on. Actively participating in group conversations and creating business pages to promote products and events can bring a lot of potential customers to the table. In order to gain internet visibility you can link all your article and blog posts to every one of your networking sites. Recent studies have shown that businesses get more response if they contact their customers through networking sites rather than through traditional email.
For small business owners who are shifting from traditional marketing to web marketing, there are many online tools available for social media marketing (SMM). The tools which you use to engage your audience vary accordingly with the business you are involved in. For example you can post how to' videos and other product trials and endorsements in your social networking site. Like all other media, marketing through social media has costs: time, resources and people. There are free tools but they are hard for people with no marketing experience to use. It is becoming highly advisable for people who are entering the realm of SMM for the first time to hire a social media marketing consultant to set realistic goals and attain them.
Depending on your audience and the targets you want to achieve, you can use SMM supported by traditional marketing like radio or print advertising, as it often increases results.
In simple terms, social media offers a very powerful marketing tool for small businesses. To use it correctly and to integrate it into your marketing mix you have to learn the intricate details. With proper knowledge and guidance, small businesses and companies can reach out to a huge pool of potential customers very easily.
Boost Your Business with Social Media Marketing
By: Rich Timmons
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