In a word - YES!
Chances are you have a personal Facebook account - in fact, more than 750 million people do! You probably even have a LinkedIn account - another 100 million users! In a two months, Google+ has over 20 million more!
Think about these numbers. What is the likelihood that, no matter what kind of business you're in, your customers are using one or more social networks? I'd venture the chances are close to 100%!
Big business already knows this: Marriott shifted 50% of its 2011 marketing dollars to digital, Pepsi replaced its 2011 Super Bowl advertising with a social media campaign, Starbucks has over 24 million Facebook fans!
For as long as there has been research on marketing and media, the #1 driver of new customer conversions has been word-of-mouth communication. Your best resource for growing your business is your current, satisfied customer base. Social media is nothing more than a tool that improves communication with your customers and gives them a forum to advocate for your business. Who wouldn't want that? Like any successful business venture, though, launching your business page on any of the social networks requires a plan.
1. Think about what we learned before: Social networks are a way to activate your customer base to create advocates for your business. This must be the key driver of your initiative. This is not a traditional advertising venue - you will not succeed if the focus of your social messaging is the selling of your products and services. Your job is to connect with your audience and create interaction. Engage your customers in a dialog, speak to them like you would if you bumped into them at the grocery store. This is your chance to make them an important part of your business community.
2. Make a commitment. A set it and forget it strategy does nothing more than turn your page into a 21st Century Yellow Pages Ad. Your social network activities reflect directly on your business. A neglected page will not only stunt audience growth, it may even turn off existing customers. Your page must be monitored, updated, and measured.
3. Get creative. Use videos you have from events, trade shows or even those supplied by vendors. Give exposure to your customers. Post photos and interesting links. Don't make the mistake of thinking the page needs to be all about you and your business. Think about how you would create a place where your customers would want to hang out in real life and apply those ideas to your page.
4. Educate yourself. There are numerous tools available that can help make your page more attractive and "sticky." Spend some time on the more popular Facebook pages and get a feel for what is possible. You don't need to copy everything you see, but I promise the few minutes you spend will be an eye opening experience!
5. Measure your progress. There is much more to the success of your page than collecting fans. There are many free and inexpensive tools that help measure the level of engagement you are building with your base. Take advantage of them. Test different approaches to see what works best for you and continue to innovate.
A recent study shows that 64% of small business owners think social media is unnecessary. If you are in the 36% you have a 2-1 advantage over companies lagging behind. In today's business environment, that is too big an advantage to hand to your competitors!
Remember, social networks are nothing more than a tool for building word of mouth and advocacy. If you could put your customers to work helping you to sell your products and services, why wouldn't you?
Chances are you have a personal Facebook account - in fact, more than 750 million people do! You probably even have a LinkedIn account - another 100 million users! In a two months, Google+ has over 20 million more!
Think about these numbers. What is the likelihood that, no matter what kind of business you're in, your customers are using one or more social networks? I'd venture the chances are close to 100%!Big business already knows this: Marriott shifted 50% of its 2011 marketing dollars to digital, Pepsi replaced its 2011 Super Bowl advertising with a social media campaign, Starbucks has over 24 million Facebook fans!
For as long as there has been research on marketing and media, the #1 driver of new customer conversions has been word-of-mouth communication. Your best resource for growing your business is your current, satisfied customer base. Social media is nothing more than a tool that improves communication with your customers and gives them a forum to advocate for your business. Who wouldn't want that? Like any successful business venture, though, launching your business page on any of the social networks requires a plan.
1. Think about what we learned before: Social networks are a way to activate your customer base to create advocates for your business. This must be the key driver of your initiative. This is not a traditional advertising venue - you will not succeed if the focus of your social messaging is the selling of your products and services. Your job is to connect with your audience and create interaction. Engage your customers in a dialog, speak to them like you would if you bumped into them at the grocery store. This is your chance to make them an important part of your business community.
2. Make a commitment. A set it and forget it strategy does nothing more than turn your page into a 21st Century Yellow Pages Ad. Your social network activities reflect directly on your business. A neglected page will not only stunt audience growth, it may even turn off existing customers. Your page must be monitored, updated, and measured.
3. Get creative. Use videos you have from events, trade shows or even those supplied by vendors. Give exposure to your customers. Post photos and interesting links. Don't make the mistake of thinking the page needs to be all about you and your business. Think about how you would create a place where your customers would want to hang out in real life and apply those ideas to your page.
4. Educate yourself. There are numerous tools available that can help make your page more attractive and "sticky." Spend some time on the more popular Facebook pages and get a feel for what is possible. You don't need to copy everything you see, but I promise the few minutes you spend will be an eye opening experience!
5. Measure your progress. There is much more to the success of your page than collecting fans. There are many free and inexpensive tools that help measure the level of engagement you are building with your base. Take advantage of them. Test different approaches to see what works best for you and continue to innovate.
A recent study shows that 64% of small business owners think social media is unnecessary. If you are in the 36% you have a 2-1 advantage over companies lagging behind. In today's business environment, that is too big an advantage to hand to your competitors!
Remember, social networks are nothing more than a tool for building word of mouth and advocacy. If you could put your customers to work helping you to sell your products and services, why wouldn't you?
