Use social media to boom your business

I recently talked about the significance of Google+ and how you can use it as an integral part of your digital marketing. Now let's look at Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook has over 1 billion registered users and Twitter has close to 200 million. Using these channels as marketing tools can be more useful for you than leveraging any other medium. These two major social networks have cut across geographical boundaries and evolved to a breed where traditional advertising barriers such as age and language can't hold back their undeniable growth and popularity.

More businesses are now looking at ways to effectively utilize social media and reach out to their clients. Yet, only a few have been able to enjoy the benefits this medium promises. Most businesses seem to think that simply having a social media presence is enough. Some even make the effort of posting and updating regularly. Yet, they fail to see the results they were expecting and give up.

The key to social media success lies in understanding that it is all about building relationships with your online network. Ironically, many businesses seem to forget this aspect of social media. You need to engage with your target audience, and that engagement can only come from providing real value. You need to objectively ask if what you're saying is engaging and entertaining. Otherwise you may end up just making noise that no one wants to hear.

* Brand Building: You no longer need to depend on television commercials or other very costly marketing mediums. Social media can help you build your brand online.

* Win Customers: The immediate benefit of being a recognized brand is business growth. You can leverage social media to drive traffic to your website and even foot traffic to your store.

* Customer Service: You can leverage social media to interact with your customers and answer questions or address any complaints they may have.

* Feedback: You can stay in contact with your customers to better understand their needs, concern and feedback, and use the information to improve the product or service you're offering.

Use Facebook to build brand

Facebook sees more than 3 million likes, comments, and shares every single day. If you can build a strong network on this platform, these likes and shares are enough to set you soaring.

Begin by building online relationships with your existing customers. Provide incentives to help you reach out to their networks. Word-of-mouth marketing continues to remain one of the most powerful tools, and Facebook is great for this. A strong presence on Facebook matched by good products and services can lead to your business becoming a topic of conversation in your smaller network. This, in turn, can lead to recommendations to the larger network, enabling you to reach new prospects and extend your circle of influence.

Facebook Insights, Facebook's proprietary business analytics tool, enables you to track the activity on your page. This helps you to measure what is working for your business, and accordingly adjust your efforts to get the most mileage. There are vast amounts of data at your disposal. Key metrics that you can track using this tool include page activity, demographics of your visitors, new subscriptions and people who have unsubscribed, and the posts that are getting the most visitors. Leverage this information to fine-tune your campaigns as you go.

Join Twitter conversations

Twitter can help you spark conversations about your brand. It can also help you meet potential brand ambassadors who will indirectly promote your business. By following conversations within your industry, you can gain insight into your business as well as the mindset of your customers.

Identify the people interested in your brand, seek out forums which your potential customers regularly follow, and hone in on the individuals who are considered leaders in your field. Engage them in conversations and position yourself as an expert in your industry. Provide a call-to-action that encourages them to either visit your website or to connect with you directly.

Twitter can be a very effective market research tool for you. Use it to keep your finger on the pulse. Hear what people are saying about your products or services. Use this information to become more client-centric in your approach. Listen in on what your prospects are saying about your competitors. This can provide valuable insight into what your target audience is really hungry for and will reveal any gaps or cracks that exist in your industry.

Research who the key influencers are in your market, engage them, and work on gaining their trust. One important goal will be to encourage discussions about your brand. Gain first-hand knowledge on trends and best practices to quickly adapt. Use this knowledge you've gained about your market along with the customer intelligence to plan your strategy. As your industry evolves, you need to stay ahead of the curve and become a leader - and don't hesitate to display your expertise to the public.

Jacob Myong is a WSI Internet Consultant with The CDA Press. He has worked in Digital Media for over 15 years. Email Jacob@cdapress.com or call 208.416.5173. Visit www.cdainternetmarketing.com