Social Media: A Growing Marketing Trend for Businesses

Go to a frequently visited Website: CBSNews.com, Time.com, WholeFoodsMarket.com, and NBA.com. What is one thing they all have in common? Links to their social media sites! It seems that the number of businesses adopting social media practices continues to grow. In fact, according to a study done by the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, one in five business owners are integrating social media into their business processes.

Social marketing is a trend that business owners need to pay attention to. For all of those claiming social media is a fad, you are wrong! Businesses are adopting social media to promote, grow and manage their reputation online.

Due to the high usage of social media sites, the ability to reach out and attract potential consumers has increased massively. By making a few minor adjustments to your social marketing efforts, you can strengthen your position within your industry.

Below, I have included a few helpful tips for analyzing and growing your business through social media. For more information follow Webolutions on Twitter or become a fan of Webolutions on Facebook.

A Few Helpful Twitter Tips:

• Use free available applications to analyze your Twitter account. For example:
  
  Twittergrader – A free tool that allows you to check the power of your twitter profile compared to millions of other users.

Hootsuite – Allows you to easily manage multiple Twitter accounts. With this tool you can schedule tweets and measure your growth.

• @Replys – Keep track of who is replying to your tweets. You will find this on the right side of your Twitter screen. When someone replies to your tweet, this provides a perfect opportunity to engage in dialogue.

• Add a bio and your location. Studies have shown that profiles with a bio and location are more likely to increase followers than profiles that don’t provide either.

• Consider keywords. In the past few months Google has begun to index tweets. This means your tweets can gain more exposure from searches. For more insight into this, join us at our next Social Marketing for Business event: Social Media’s Role in Your Search Engine Placement.
  

A Few Helpful Facebook Tips:

• Engage with your fans and friends by posting comments on their walls or tagging them in posts. This will help you stay involved in conversations surrounding your industry and provide exposure to those who are not familiar with your company.

• Connect your blog and Facebook page. By adding your blog/RSS feed, you will generate more traffic to your Website and stand out as a leader in your industry.

• Develop a unique landing page for your Facebook page. To learn how to do this view How To: Build a Facebook Landing Page.

• Incorporate videos and photos onto your Facebook page to engage fans and promote the experience associated with your brand.

The time spent updating your social networking pages will prove to be well worth the effort. As the industry continues to evolve, your business should grow too. By staying on top of the current trends, your company will thrive in its own industry through social media.

This is not a task that can be done and forgotten. Social media needs constant attention and engagement. If you cannot commit to that, find someone to help you