With social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn gaining more popularity and being regularly featured on the news, many companies are considering the use of social networking sites to further their business. As these sites already have an established user base and widespread popularity, you are better off using these existing sites rather then developing your own social networking site that is specific to your business.
The reason is simple: exposure. Millions of people visit these sites daily, including your employers, partners, suppliers and customers. Any company, large or small, can maintain a presence on social media sites. There are multiple reasons to do so. If you are a start-up, or small enterprise, it can help you acquire new employees, partners and customers. There are countless examples of entrepreneurs, such as restaurant owners, nightclub promoters and clothing vendors who use social media to acquire the vast majority of their customers.
Even if you are a larger business with an established customer base, it is possible for you to use these sites to your advantage. For example, Facebook lets you create “groups” that people can subscribe to. Your employees, customers and potential customers can then join your group. You can use it to post information about your company’s current products or upcoming releases. You can also set up a discussion board to discuss general or specific issues pertaining to your business. This can give you unique opportunities to interact with customers who have questions or complaints about your products. Facebook also has a powerful advertising platform that you can use to acquire new business. You can purchase pay-per-click ads that promote your company or a specific product. One of the advantages of using Facebook Ads is that you can easily target specific demographics, for example by geographic area or age group. This can give you a good return on your investment as your ad will appear to people who are more likely to buy from you.
LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site that is comprised mostly of professionals. Its purpose is for members to maintain a list of business contacts that they know and trust. Businesses can use LinkedIn to acquire new employees, business partners, vendors and suppliers. By adding your company info to LinkedIn, users who search for it will be able to view details such as the location of your headquarters, the industry that you are in, the number of employees you have, etc.
Twitter is a microblogging service that allows users to send short messages (less then 140 characters) to their followers. By default, the messages that you send (called Tweets), are viewable by anyone who accesses your Twitter page. Using Twitter can be an efficient way of sending out updates about your company’s products, or to give information on an upcoming event such as a trade show. You can also search for your company’s name in Tweets sent by other users. This can help you to interact with customers, especially if they have a problem or complaint.
With a great number of people using social media, you will find it as a powerful tool to further your business. Remember that the online world is constantly evolving and there will certainly be new social networking sites that will become popular in the future as well. In the modern business world, using new tools and technologies can help you stay one step ahead of your competitors.
