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Are you anxious about using social media in your business?
| Guest post by: Maribeth Kuzmeski |
Article Overview: Should you be afraid of social media and the changes and consequences it may bring to your business? It opens your business to the scrutiny of the masses, making you instantly accessible and requires a consistent watch. It depends who you are and what business you are in, but in some cases social media can be a little unsettling. Does that mean we should avoid it? Cross our fingers that it blows over as a passing trend? Well, here are some of the more memorable comments I have heard from financial advisors over just the past several weeks about this topic...
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Free Download - Free can get your clients going wild! But what's in it for you? By Maribeth Kuzmeski |
Are you anxious about using social media in your business?
Should you be afraid of social media and the changes and consequences
it may bring to your business? It opens your business to the scrutiny
of the masses, making you instantly accessible and requires a consistent
watch. It depends who you are and what business you are in, but in some
cases social media can be a little unsettling. Does that mean we
should avoid it? Cross our fingers that it blows over as a passing
trend? Well, here are some of the more memorable comments I have heard
from financial advisors over just the past several weeks about this
topic:
1. “It’s just another new technology and I really don’t
want to learn anything new right now or have my staff wasting time on
this.” Translation: Prove to me social media is valuable and then I will consider venturing into this space.
2. “My compliance department said I would be terminated if I used any social media, including LinkedIn.” Really?? Most compliance departments have rules set into place, but I had not heard of termination. Don’t risk it!
3. “I don’t want to share so much with the whole world. My business and its clients should remain private.” Translation: The benefits don’t outweigh the potential for negative consequences.
Ultimately
you have to do what is right for your business. There is certainly
enough value in social media to make it a part of your business – even a
small part.* But first, determine if you are hesitant because you feel
out of your personal comfort zone, or if you actually believe there is
no benefit to your business.
Social media is not a replacement
for the face-to-face communication or your regular marketing. But
devoting just one hour per week can be significant in enhancing the
contacts you have already made as well as becoming a source for finding
new ones. Set up a LinkedIn profile, create a Facebook fan page for your
business and begin a blog.* And, if you have compliance concerns,
begin by focusing on your social media as a push not pull method for
communication. You can push information out to be seen, but set up your
social media sites so visitors will not be able to make any comments on
your sites.
Statistics have proven outside of financial services
that social media can make a difference in the acquisition of new
clients. Within financial services, the same results are happening.
Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC conducted a study Creating Growth: The Increased Use of Social Media by Independent Advisors, designed to measure
advisors’ use of social media to attract business. The study found that
social media does pay off in generating increased revenue or fees and
helps in efforts to reach new prospects.
And
finally, social media is free. Wouldn’t you use a free tool – for 1 hour
per week – if it had the potential of attracting new clients and
building your brand? And why oh why would you pass that up unless you
have all of the business you already need.
*Consult with your compliance department first if you are a financial advisor.
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About the Author: Maribeth Kuzmeski RSS for Maribeth's articles - Visit Maribeth's website Click here to visit Maribeth's website   Winning Needs a Plan Not Just a Vision People ARE listening The question is Are you saying anything worth hearing 10 Questions Great Connectors Ask at Networking Events Red Zone Marketing Seminar Tips Do You Have a Reputation |
Related Forum Posts
Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance
- Has anyone read any good books on social media they'd like to share? I've been considering reading one, but wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations on an informative one.
Someone earlier mentioned a lack of time. That is one reason I'm still in the dark ages as well but I realize that I may be falling behind the times by not at least considering the business case for social media against the time consumption.
I'm also hesitant to use facebook and the like fearing it will turn into a platform for old friends to reconnect v. a way to grow my business. I also am unsure how much time it really takes to maintain various social media...any thoughts?
Anyone made any mistakes or had any huge successes using social media for business that they'd like to share?
Re: How much is social media part of your marketing strategy?
- Most of the companies make gross mistake by using techniques listed on the internet without even looking into whether they are suitable for their business or not.
If you are dance company, music company etc etc then you simply cannot afford to ignore social media. There are several other businesses which perform well in social media promotion.
You need to look whether social media will help your business or not. If you see huge pool of customers who are searching for your services on Youtube, metacafe, then surely you must jump for it.
Re: Twitter, Social Networking: What's Your method?
- The bottom line:
You can have thousands of friends, and it takes only a second to add one, if you don't make conversation with them, it is a useless tool, like all social media sites.
I know many people who concentrate mainly on social media marketing, and they make money, but it takes time.
Personally, I rather skip social media and focus on other stuff, like article marketing, and I use social media only for fun and communicate with best friends.
Re: Social Media Effectively?
- FranchiseTweets,
In my part, social media is very effective especially in promoting one's business! I never doubt social media in that.
Re: I thought social sites were a waste of time. How wrong I was
- According to my point of view Social media sites play vital role in online promotion. You can interact with your customer and improve your services and even you can spread your business everywhere through social media sites. Now days people use social media sites to interact with their friends, family and everyone. Below are the famous Social media sites:
1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. LinkedIn
4. Myspace
5. Google+
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