The ever-growing world of social media is establishing itself more and more as a foundation for any business. Look at social media as a dance floor—is your business being a wallflower?
If you've yet to set up a social media presence, or maybe you've got the accounts set up but unsure how to go about maximizing its potential, let's make it a New Year's resolution to get your business out on that dance floor and showing off your fancy footwork.
Social media is a place where you can interact with customers, form conversations, and turn your customers into your best sales tool. The potential audience your business can garner is almost unfathomable. According to Comcast's
white paper, Facebook gained over 100 million users in the U.S. from January 2009 to January 2010, marking a 145 percent growth rate within a year. Now, there are over 1 billion users worldwide on Facebook.
Not only do millions of people have a social media presence, but 86 percent of users post more than once a week and 31 percent have multiple profiles on the major social media sites. Just look at all those people your business can interact with.
Possibly the best thing about social media, outside of the ability to reach and converse with millions, is the fact it's free. You can turn your business into a major online player without spending any money—just time.
It's important to not use your social media profiles as broadcast channels. When you hit the dance floor, you don't get out there and start yelling everything about yourself. Use social media as a tool to speak, listen, and ultimately, sell. Develop a clear strategy for your profiles and realize what social media profiles are good for what. For example, your Twitter can be used to offer a product discount for a week, while your blog can be the way you build customer loyalty.
Social Media is a way to create real fans of your business who will do word-of-mouth marketing for you. Social media isn't just about sales, but getting people who will defend your reputation and will drown out any scrooges and naysayers over time.
Once you've got your accounts set up, take a look at some of the things people may already be saying about you. You may come across some negative things, but take that as an opportunity to begin engagement.
There's lots to traverse in social media, but with some time dedication, you'll find yourself cruising through the platforms while enhancing your business. Get off that wall, and onto the floor.
To learn more about social media and discover the six steps to social media success, read
via
.
Sponsored content provided by Comcast.