Social Media Marketing for Your Business

Everyone is on Myspace, Youtube, Facebook, and Yelp. Social media or UGC sites, where users socialize and share what they like (or hate) with their friends and the global community, grow big and grow fast.

Social media include blogs, blog communities, wikis, forums, podcasts, video blogs (vlog) or your own online "TV show", social bookmarking, widgets, and social networks.

What are the benefits of using social media? How do you maximize social media marketing? How do you get started with social networks? I threw in a quick-start checklist.

The only reason you shouldn't tap social media for your business is... too many prospects might come in and you might sacrifice the quality of service for each prospect or client using online tools. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

What is Social Media? (Definition and Examples)

Popular social media websites include Myspace, Youtube, Facebook, and Yelp. Social media (or high-power user-generated content (UGC) sites includes the ever-growing number of web applications that allow users to socialize and to share what they like (or hate) with their friends and the online community. Social media can take the form of blogs, blog communities, wikis, forums, podcasts, video blogs (vlog) or your own online "TV show", social bookmarking, widgets, and social networks -- all with consumer-generated media (CGM).

Benefits: Why should you use Social Media?

Marketing with the use of social media can provide your business with extra visibility to complement your traditional advertising campaigns and search engine marketing (SEO and pay-per-click campaigns). However, it takes a lot of time and dedication to building rapport with the online community. Facebook already has over 80 million active users. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, by 2011, UGC sites are projected to attract 101 million users in the U.S. The possibility of massive reach online to complement your company website is overwhelming.

Possible uses of Social Media

  • Generate leads
  • Ask your social contacts for referrals
  • Market research
  • Competitive intelligence
  • Brand awareness
  • Elevate yourself to expert status
  • Feedback mechanism
  • Publish testimonials

How To: Introduction to Social Media Marketing Basics

Before formally setting goals and KPIs, stay for awhile on the coast and take in the view of the vast sea of social media.

Set aside at least 30 minutes each to register your accounts and click around these top social media sites. Browse some profiles, experiment with your settings, track the popular users or groups, and add some contacts.

Creating an account will take 5 minutes; setting up your profile to project a professional and trustworthy image can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3-4 weeks. Have these at hand:

  • Business website URL
  • Credentials
  • Your profile photo or "avatar" (have a copy in 100x100 pixels)
  • Company logo (have a copy in 100x100 pixels)
  • Personal description
  • Business description
  • List of keywords related to your products and services
  • Address book in webmail or Outlook to import contacts

Find out and join the niche social network for your industry or locality. For example, real estate brokers share profiles and referrals on Active Rain, pet care professionals and dog lovers are on Dogster, and science researchers network on ResearchGATE.