Using Social Media to Market Your Small Business
It seems like everybody’s doing it. "Social Media Marketing" has become quite a buzzword, and conventional wisdom says that if you’re not using it, you’re missing out on a huge marketing opportunity. But many businesses waste time and money by not using these platforms effectively. What can you do to avoid those pitfalls and get the most out of this technology?
What is Social Media Marketing?
Well, it depends who you ask. Some would say that social media marketing is making use of social media networking platforms, such as MySpace or Facebook. Others would give it a broader definition, saying that it’s the sum of all your interactions that make use of “social media” (namely the web and email).
Twitter, Facebook & Myspace
I’m starting to see more and more businesses advertising, “Check us out on Facebook and MySpace!” or “Follow us on Twitter!” But before you spend time and energy setting up these networks, consider what real benefit they will bring to you and your “network” (the people who sign up to be your “friends” or “followers”). A mere presence on these networks won’t do much to enhance your customer relationships. Building a following isn’t easy; consider these statistics when predicting the ROI you may get from social media networks:
Number of Twitter followers of some very large companies, as of April 2009*:
- Direct TV: 3380
- Rubbermaid: 2769
- Burger King: 2598
- HP: 2093
- E-surance: 293
Social media marketing is not a “set it and forget it” type of undertaking! The most effective role for these types of networks is to enhance an already existing web presence, and to serve as a gateway for conversations and interactions between you and your market.
Make it Meaningful
Succeeding at social media marketing means figuring out just how your business can get meaningful conversations started with your clients (including your internal “clients” – your employees), and that can be quite a challenge. Do you want forms and forums on your website? An email newsletter? Are the social media networks mentioned above actually a good fit for your business? What do people want to know? What are they thinking about? Before you jump into a plan, spend some time brainstorming things your contacts will want to hear.
One Way to Use Facebook
As you can tell, I’m not a big fan of simply building a following on social media sites in order to spread the word about my business. That said, I do think those sites, especially Facebook, are a great way to spread the your knowledge and expertise. I recently added “Share this on Facebook” links to each article on my website. That way, if someone with a Facebook account finds my articles helpful, they can share it with their friends. I find this use of social media to be much more authentic than the “friends and followers” method, and expect it to increase traffic to my website over time.
Looking Forward
One of the secrets to using technology effectively is to always be ahead of the curve, so I started thinking about the possible futures of social media:
5 years ago, MySpace was the predominant social media network. Today it’s Facebook. There are also Flickr, LinkedIn, and numerous other platforms. Yahoo used to be the premier search engine, but it’s been far surpassed by Google. Without a doubt, what’s popular today will be passé tomorrow.
The newest version of Opera, a web browser, has built in applications that allow users to host their own social networks without using a middleman like Facebook. While this technology isn’t widely used at this time, its availability will certainly change the social media landscape.
Twittering is new and cool today. But will it be the SPAM of tomorrow?
When you’re considering investing time and money into marketing that uses any kind of technology, don’t forget to consider how that technology’s changes over time will affect your marketing plans.
One More Thing…
Here’s the biggest mistake in thinking you can make when implementing a social media marketing program: forgetting that it is marketing. Relationships matter – very much. But Twitter and Facebook aren’t really built for generating and maintaining meaningful relationships. Nothing can replace personal communication, or the expertise, value, and trust that brought your clients to you in the first place.
*Source: http://youcantbuythat.com/2009/04/24/is-social-media-a-fad/