There are a lot of social media networks that a business can use to market their business to their customers. There’s only so much time in the run of business day. Business owners need to choose the right social networks that will give their business the best visibility according to the time that they have to work with.
One of my talks that I gave in June 20, 2013 “It’s All Social” social media conference for business in Truro, Nova Scotia focused on helping businesses decide which social media networks they should get involved with, and how each social network can help them grow their business. Here’s a taste of what they learned…
“Businesses have to go where the customers are to create business opportunities. In this new “Pull” economy, customers are pulling the information they want. Learn how your business can be park of the “Pull” process and how you can get in front of your customers using social media“.
The list of social networks that a business could be use is very large. A business cannot possibly use all the social networks and be successful. There is only so much time in a business day. Spreading one’s business efforts out among too many social networks is counterproductive. Furthermore, it will dilute the marketing message of the business.
Two of the most important social networks that a business should consider involving themselves with are Facebook and Twitter. Facebook has the largest number of people in its social network. Twitter is quickly becoming the business tool of choice amongst top businesses and companies globally. I will talk more about other important social networks below, but let’s focus on these top two social networks first.
Facebook draws its users from a wide cross-section of the public. Pretty much everybody is on Facebook. They use Facebook on a fairly regular basis. Businesses have to go where the people are. Facebook is where most people are on a fairly regular basis.
How can Facebook help your business grow? Facebook can help you convey to your customers your business story, and how your business can help them. You can use photos, videos and text to convey your message to your customers. You can also use Facebook as a customer service tool. The goal of Facebook is to have your Facebook post shared by many others through Facebook. Facebook is a harder network to create visibility on, but it’s a great social network to reach and share your story with others. You can create “like” and “trust” for your business here.
Twitter draws its audience from older teens and much more serious social media users. Twitter is considered a top social media tool by Fortune 500 companies. Its aggressive means of contacting and connecting with others makes it a top choice for business. Business can happen faster on Twitter.
How can Twitter help your business grow? Twitter can get you in front of the people who matter for the success of your business. Twitter can start the conversation that helps create opportunity for business. Twitter can help you start a strategic business alliance with others. Twitter can help get your business message out to others faster because it is much more viral than many other social networks.
There are other social networks out there such as LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Plus, and Pinterest. Each of these social networks have their specific advantages for business. This list is not exhaustive either. For example, LinkedIn is a social network that is business to business. If you need to connect with someone in business, LinkedIn is an absolute must.
When business thinks about Google Plus, they have to keep in mind who owns Google Plus. Google owns this social network and Google is heavily invested in search. This is one of the social networks that businesses seriously have to consider joining, and at least getting his business information posted there. There are so many reasons why Google Plus can help your business grow. But this is for another blog post.
My talk this Thursday will help businesses understand which social networks they should involve themselves with, and what the advantages are for involving themselves with each social network. The right choice of social networks for a business to use is critical for success. Each network performs a certain function for business. Knowing what your business needs is key to understanding with social network you should involve yourself with.
Please let me know your thoughts by posting your comments below. Thank for reading this post. Here’s to a great day of business for you. Go hard today and make it happen.
