Talk to anyone in marketing and they’ll tell you that your business needs to be on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and a host of other social networking sites. Oh, and you better be Twittering too. But when you ask them “why,” the answers are less forthcoming.
One good answer is the sheer number of people now hooked into various social networking outlets. According to Network World. “Social networks like Facebook (150 million users), Twitter (4.4 million users) and LinkedIn (34 million users) are some of the fastest growing sites on the Internet and they’re not being used for aimless chitchat or sharing the latest gossip.” You can’t afford to not reach these people with your message, industry knowledge and expertise.
Serious business gets conducted across these sites and savvy professionals use them to stay current on events, trends, news and opportunities in real time. Individual business owners are using social networking to build personal PR, create brand for their services and establish themselves as experts in their field. Enterprise marketers are collaborating with colleagues, promoting products at minimal cost and taking advantage of the viral nature of many of these sites.
When it comes to keeping people informed of the latest news and activities, Twitter rules. Twitter is a feed that lets you post a steady stream of updates to subscribers (and other social network sites) and it is especially useful for getting quick answers from your subscriber base and promoting blogs. According to the Pew Institute, one quarter of bloggers use Twitter to draw attention to their posts. You can follow me at twitter.com/simasays.
No matter what your business, your product or your service, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t join and participate in one or more social networks. And remember to keep the conversation flowing in both directions. After all, social networks are all about connections and relationships that require both speaking and listening.
Tags: marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter