Tweet

How social networks will help your online business

Guest post by: Roy Derrick

Article Overview: There has never been a more exciting time to promote your business. With the ever increasing social networks now available there is no limit to the amount of potential customers that you can meet whilst socialising on line. Here are some tips on how to reach your target audience by using the social networking sites to promote your business.

How social networks will help your online business



Social networking is the gathering of individuals into specific groups. These groups can be physical or virtual. Sports clubs, associations and neighbourhoods are all social networks and are easy to imagine. In this day and age however, social networking is the term more commonly used to describe an online community where literally millions of people can come to share common interests.

With more than 10 social networking websites with a reported excess of 100 million active users, there's no doubt that the social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn are extremely powerful tools. Although difficult to prove, there are many statistics bandied about which reinforce the power of these networks. Facebook, which was launched in 2004, had an astounding 600 million users by January 2011. Twitter, on the other hand, which was launched in 2006 (and doesn't disclose its membership levels), is reported to have had 65 million tweets per day in 2010. So there's no doubt there's a big audience to be tapped into. What's more that audience is live, active and connected. They are consumers. So what can they do to help you grow your online business?

Before you think about launching a social networking campaign, the two most important things you need are: first an address on the web or a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and second a clear and concise message. Why do you need a URL? If you think about it, there's no point whatsoever in getting social networkers excited about your message unless you have an online location to direct them to. Furthermore, it's essential that your online presence is "tip top" before going out to the masses and spreading the word about your activities.

In terms of your message, if your online business has been well planned, this will take you no time whatsoever to put together however, it's a good idea to look on your social networking campaign as an opportunity to refresh and refine your message. Do you have a slogan, do you have a mission statement, have you clearly identified your unique selling points (USP's) and your target audience? Once you have these things sorted out, then you can set to work on planning what you want to communicate to these masses on the social networks. When planning your message, make sure it's consistent and clearly targetted towards your potential customers.

Once you have identified your target audience and have your kit bag of slogan, mission statement, USP's and so on, it's time to select the appropriate networks for your business and get into them to start a buzz about your business. If you're unsure as to which social network(s) will work best for your business, spend a bit of time getting to know them and you'll soon see which might add power to your marketing elbow. The key is finding communities within these networks with interest in what you're offering. Once you're pretty sure about which ones will offer the best opportunities, set up accounts with them and spend a bit of time getting to know their "bells and whistles" so you can use the networks proficiently, professionally and to their maximum effect.

Another really important thing with social networking is you. It's essential to your success that your personality, your beliefs and your goals are clear. At the end of the day, you're using these platforms as ways to meet people, not organizations who may be interested by your offering (even if your offering is B2B: business-to-business). In order to successfully attract your potential customer base you need to aim to build a relationship with the people you interact with. Use appropriate methods of communication to promote your online business at all times and remember to keep your message consistent. Think hard before you act, for example, if you're promoting an online counselling business, it's unlikely to be appropriate to use YouTube to host a funny video as a means of promotion!

The big thing with social networking is to keep your objective in mind at all times and measure the results you get. It's only too easy to become distracted by non-business related communications when they're all around you. Try to avoid this temptation. Try to stay focussed on your goal. And remember, although social networking will cost you no more than your time, you owe it to yourself and your online business to value your time and use it wisely.

Related Articles
  How do I use Social Networks for Marketing?
  Social Networks... are they for you?
  Top 5 Green Social Networks
  Online Social Networks Part 1 Social Networking
  WordPress Blogging Tip - Get Known in a Huge Way Using Social Networks
  Americans would rather play games on Facebook than reply to emails
  Social Networking A great resource or simply a waste of time
  The Impact of Social Media on Online Dating, Dating Agencies and the Singles
  Using Social Networking Websites to Promote Your Business
  Four simple ways to use social media to help your job-hunt
  Leveraging Social Media to Market a Non-profit
  Communicating your Brand Online
  Social Networking: A prime location for advertising
  Google Gadgets & OpenSocial: A Social Media Marketing Toolset
  3 Good Ways to Get Wows From Your Holiday Season Business Networking
  Basic Marketing Tips With Maximum Results
  Using Social Media for customer relations purposes
  The New Face of Professional Networking: Online Social Networks
  Social Media Marketing: The Evolution Of SEO
  Don't Let Social Media Give You a Bad Hangover, Says Leading Recruiter

Article Tags: add power to your marketing elbow, appropriate networks for your business, build a relationship with the people you interact with, grow your online business, launching a social networking campaign, measure the results you get, methods od communication to promote your online business, offer the best opportunities, online presence, planning your message, potential customers, social network campaign, start a buzz about your business, stay focused on your goal, successfully attract your potenitial customer, target audience, video as means of promotion, which social network will work best for your business, why do you need a url



Related Forum Posts
Re: Social Media Effectively? - Thanks for your feedback. I am currently reevaluating my use of Twitter as I am the other major networks. Seems that while I have focused on social business networks and have a good presence there, I have not been using Social Media Effectively with the big networks. Some of the better site tools include theses networks in evaluating your marketing strategy. While I don't care for the Twitter limits, I can see that just by cleaning up my following's to focus more on business connections will help
Re: How do you get your clients? - Depends on the type of business and whether online or offline Since we are online, I get my clients from Social business networks where relationships can be built and sale. When you think about it, and like it or not, social business network friends and members are LEADS After that comes blogs, articles, forums, etc
Re: Earn Customers For Life On Twitter - Most social networks in present are used in businesses already. This is caused by the fact that most people spend most of their time surfing the net and updating their sites. This post gave a lot of tips on how to earn customers through social networks and it is the same as treating your clients as your friends too, building up a relationship with them which you can use for your business purposes.
Re: Earn Customers For Life On Twitter - [quote="tyroneshum":3ecia3ub]Most social networks in present are used in businesses already. This is caused by the fact that most people spend most of their time surfing the net and updating their sites. This post gave a lot of tips on how to earn customers through social networks and it is the same as treating your clients as your friends too, building up a relationship with them which you can use for your business purposes.[/quote:3ecia3ub] That is the main point, to build a relationship first. Doing business whether it is online or off your sales base is dependent on building a good relationship with your potential customers. People still are happier buying things from someone they feel they know and can trust. MichelleJ
Re: How should i promote a new website? - For a starter, the best way to promote your site is by placing it as a link in your social networks. Most internet marketers do this strategy especially when they finally figured out their target market. In your case, it is best to use social networks first and then blogging to get attention, soon visits and then client.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Purchasing Real Estate using the SBA 504 Loan

Providing Feedback

Presenting Yourself With Impact at Work

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.