Social Networking is no longer just for connecting with friends; it’s also for connecting with customers. Today it’s almost impossible to find someone who isn’t on one of the major social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are just some). But not every social network is going to benefit your business, and using all of them can be a drain on resources. You wouldn’t use every tool in the box to hammer in a nail, so why would you use every social networking site available?
Knowing how each different social networking sites works will give you an idea of pros and cons of each one. Keep in mind your final goal, and as always on how much time you are willing to invest.
Leading the market of social networking is the ever-evolving Facebook. It provides businesses with a variety of tools to reach customers. If you’re starting out, Facebook is an excellent way of communicating to customers new products and promotions. But also take advantage of being able to look at what customers are saying (good or bad).
Facebook also provides an easy to use platform for launching a “pay per click” or “cost per thousand (exposure)” campaign. What does either mean? Well a “pay per click” means that you only pay after someone clicks on your ad. This leads the consumer to your website or Facebook page where they can engage with you.
A “cost per thousand” is paying per thousand times your ad comes up. At first you might be saying to yourself “A thousand is a lot of exposures and will last me a while.” But if you think about it at any single time there can be over 100 million users on Facebook, and at any time those thousand exposures will get used up pretty fast.
Birds of a feather flock together; and in this case like minds follow each other. Twitter allows users to publish quotes 140 characters long for followers to read. This social network is very popular amongst politicians, celebrities, and really anyone else where saying something is part of the business. For the business industry it’s great for showing off your knowledge and sharing ideas.
Twitter is great for ASAP updates, and keeping up on the worldwide chatter. It is not likely to be beneficial if you’re not the type to say a lot often. The only way to really keep and gain followers is to have a constant chatter going.
When it comes to social networking for business it’s best to remember that not everyone else’s tactic is going to work for you. It’s smart to keep up with the competition, stay true to your own goals, and to how you do business.