Welcome to Part 2 of our social media series. Today we discuss why you should be using social media for your business.
Location, location, location. Retail locations don’t set up shop where there's no foot traffic. As more and more evidence demonstrates, consumers are using social media and increasingly prefer it over active marketing. In addition to being where the consumers are, the following outlines why it is important for businesses to incorporate social media into their marketing strategy:
*You can reach your market by simply engaging in the right conversations with the right people. This is more effective than advertising.
*If your business can’t be found, isn’t engaging with the market or worse yet ignoring the market you are not likely to be creating transactional opportunities while your competition does.
*Communications is a system to leverage your organizations ability to communicate with your market. Social media is the new communications system.
*Social media saves time and money if you use it right for the right things.
*If you learn “how” to use social media correctly then you’ll understand “what” your market is looking for and “where” they are looking. You want them to look for you.
*When your customers and prospects are engaging about you, your industry or your products and services, you need to be there listening. Otherwise how will you gain the necessary market intelligence, be enabled to respond or even be aware of problems or needs? If you are not present when and where the conversations are occurring you are basically out of touch with your market.
*Communications is about reach. Communicating is about relational dynamics between people. Social media provides the means to effectively communicate with your market, communicating in human rather than institutional terms.
One of the key components in successful social media marketing implementation is building "social authority". Social authority is developed when an individual or organization establishes themselves as an "expert" in their given field or area, thereby becoming an “influencer” in that field or area.
It is through this process of "building social authority" that social media becomes effective. That is why one of the foundational concepts in social media has become that you cannot completely control your message through social media but rather you can simply begin to participate in the "conversation" in the hopes that you can become a relevant influence in that conversation.
However, this conversation participation must be cleverly executed because while people are resistant to marketing in general, they are even more resistant to direct or overt marketing through social media platforms. This may seem counter-intuitive but is the main reason building social authority with credibility is so important.
Location, location, location. Retail locations don’t set up shop where there's no foot traffic. As more and more evidence demonstrates, consumers are using social media and increasingly prefer it over active marketing. In addition to being where the consumers are, the following outlines why it is important for businesses to incorporate social media into their marketing strategy:
*You can reach your market by simply engaging in the right conversations with the right people. This is more effective than advertising.
*If your business can’t be found, isn’t engaging with the market or worse yet ignoring the market you are not likely to be creating transactional opportunities while your competition does.
*Communications is a system to leverage your organizations ability to communicate with your market. Social media is the new communications system.
*Social media saves time and money if you use it right for the right things.
*If you learn “how” to use social media correctly then you’ll understand “what” your market is looking for and “where” they are looking. You want them to look for you.
*When your customers and prospects are engaging about you, your industry or your products and services, you need to be there listening. Otherwise how will you gain the necessary market intelligence, be enabled to respond or even be aware of problems or needs? If you are not present when and where the conversations are occurring you are basically out of touch with your market.
*Communications is about reach. Communicating is about relational dynamics between people. Social media provides the means to effectively communicate with your market, communicating in human rather than institutional terms.
One of the key components in successful social media marketing implementation is building "social authority". Social authority is developed when an individual or organization establishes themselves as an "expert" in their given field or area, thereby becoming an “influencer” in that field or area.
It is through this process of "building social authority" that social media becomes effective. That is why one of the foundational concepts in social media has become that you cannot completely control your message through social media but rather you can simply begin to participate in the "conversation" in the hopes that you can become a relevant influence in that conversation.
However, this conversation participation must be cleverly executed because while people are resistant to marketing in general, they are even more resistant to direct or overt marketing through social media platforms. This may seem counter-intuitive but is the main reason building social authority with credibility is so important.
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