Why Your Business Should Consider Using Social Media

Come on In. The Water is Fine.

Why Your Business Should Consider Using Social Media

Don Minner, Senior Consultant

Productive Strategies, Inc.

dminner@productivestrategies.com

If you're still one of those holdouts waiting for that social media “fad” to go away so that you don't have to apply it to your business, you can stop now. It isn't going away.

While not all social media outlets are right for every company, most businesses will benefit from getting their feet wet and connecting to their current and prospective customers using one or more of these channels.

If you're actively using social media in your business today, you should be looking for ways to increase your usage while continually seeking new ways to use it more creatively. If you're not experimenting with social media, you need to be.

Five Reasons You Need to Be Using Social Media to Market Your Business

1. The Way of the World

Social media adoption in business is a fact of life. Morgan Stanley published a study a while ago on the future of web-based retailing. The report included data on the number of years it took for various forms of mass media to hit the 50 million-user mark: Radio (38 years), TV (13 years), Internet (4 years), iPod (3 years), and Facebook (100 million users in only 9 months). In just 12 months Facebook attracted 200 million users and has multiplied that number several times. It now has over 500 million users. LinkedIn recently surpassed 100 million users and Twitter has over 175 million. While it's nearly impossible to keep up with all the statistics being reported, A June 2010 Nielsen study said social network or blog sites are visited by three quarters of global consumers who go online. According to eMarketer, four out of five US businesses with 100 or more employees will use social media marketing this year. That's a dramatic change from 2008 when just 42% of companies marketed via social media.

2. Your Customers Use It and Like It.

In 2008, 24% of consumers had some personal profile on a social media site. In 2010 it was nearly 50% and that keeps climbing every day. Converseon says that 73% of consumers participate in social media and almost 60% expect brands to have a social media presence. Individuals who are working full-time use more often than anyone, and people who use social media more frequently are more likely to follow companies/brands on social media sites. 75% of ‘brand likes' on Facebook come from ads, according to Mashable. People using the site are following brands. Why not yours?

3. Cost-effective and Efficient

It doesn't take a large investment to get started. Marketing using social media can be a cost-effective option for building brand awareness and generating leads. At the onset, the largest investment is the time you need to devote to ensure that your social media marketing activities are relevant and impactful. Analytics are critical to the understanding. If you don't have the budget to spend on leading services like Radian6 (http://www.radian6.com/), here's an interesting list of 20 free social media monitoring tools (http://oneforty.com/PamSahota/20-free-social-media-monitoring-tools). Social media can help support your sales team by providing them with new avenues to communicate with customers and share information. It can help you by creating a deeper, more passionate connection between your business and customers. And it's fun!

4. All that Feedback

Conversations about your brand are happening every day whether you like or not. Wouldn't you rather be aware and have the opportunity to participate in the dialogue? At its essence social media is another form of conversation with your prospects and customer, albeit one where others are watching or reading. It's likely some of your shortfalls may be exposed publically. Yes, that's scary to most companies. But you have the chance to get it on the conversation and share the facts or admit something wasn't right and correct it. Honesty is everything and can ultimately inspire greater allegiance to your brand. In this world, the customers are in control and you'll need to determine how you will engage them, inspire their confidence and help them with solutions to their problems.

5. Easy to Get Started

First you'll have to overcome that internal resistance to change or trying something new. Find someone on your team who is passionate about social media. You also may need an external resource to help get you started, but on an ongoing basis you should have someone at the helm that really knows your company and can communicate with your voice and personality. Create a plan outlining which media you will use, how you intend to use, and what outcomes you seek. Ask yourself who you are trying to reach and for what purpose? Where do they spend time online? Take an inventory of your existing assets…papers, tips, coupons, offers, press releases, etc. What do you have that you could share with your customers on an ongoing basis? What do they want to know about your business or products? What do you have of value to them? Don't be afraid to experiment. Try something and if it doesn't work, then try something else.

It's time to get moving. What are you waiting for?

Don Minner is a senior consultant with Productive Strategies Inc., in Northfield, Ill.,(www.productivestrategies.com) a sales and marketing consultancy that helps businesses get on the most productive path to growth. He can be reached at dminner@productivestrategies.com