Social Networks – Should Your Business Be Using Them?

Apr 26

MikeGeneral Business Practices, SEO, Web Industry , , , No Comments

Although they have been about for a few years now, social networks have been the big buzz in Internet marketing circles.  Everyone, especially businesses, are busy trying to figure out how to get the most from them.  The fact is social networks like Twitter and Facebook give you the potential to reach thousands if not millions of customers, depending upon your business.   Truth is, many businesses hear of Facebook, Twitter, etc. and deem it necessary to join in.  First, every business should consider which ones are most appropriate for their individual businesses instead of following others.

Think about it, you have your brand, you have your products or services, you have set up a great looking website, but now you’re missing the customers!  In terms of Internet marketing, social networks are worth their weight in gold, providing a cost effective (if not free) means of reaching out and telling people you are there.  But before you rush off and open accounts on every site you find, you need to take a moment to consider what you want to achieve and how social networks can help you do it.  A look at your target audience should help you to determine which social networks are the most viable, for instance Facebook are generally used, although not exclusively, by a younger demographic, students, young parents etc.   On the other hand, Twitter has become popular with many businesses, politicians, celebrities and various agencies, in addition to the same market that Facebook serves.

Not every social site will be of benefit to you and a quick tour around them will help you to determine which ones are right for your particular business.  While all of the popular social networking sites have millions of users, finding potential customers among them can be difficult if you do not use the features and tools of the site effectively.  For instance, Flickr offers a means of sharing photographs, ideal if you manufacture products, but not so well for service industries that would probably find Facebook or Twitter a better choice.  Before embracing social media, know your audience. For example, companies whose target market is the federal government may want to research which social media applications the government allows its employees to use. If employees aren’t able to use the technologies at work, is there a point to launching that particular social media application?

Social networks offer additional methods of improving your web presence and elevating your business in the search engine rankings.  Creating profiles on various social networking sites will give potential customers plenty of scope to find out more about you and ultimately be directed to your website.   But you need to maintain these sites, ensure all links are active, profiles are up to date and information is current and accurate.   This has created a need for staff to be able to use various social networking sites and know how to update them as necessary, and this in itself can be a crucial factor in your choice of site.

Social networking websites have become the way forward for increasing web presence and when combined with other Internet marketing techniques they can be very powerful tools in increasing business and attracting customers.   In essence there has never been an easier way of spreading the word so quickly and on a global scale.