Top 10 Reasons To Get Connected

There is no denying that over the last 5 years social media has taken over the World! I know most of you will say that’s so dramatic (I suspect that those who say this are among the few that aren’t “connected”. All jokes aside, we live in a world where you have the ability to have real time access to people’s lives, breaking  news, and direct contact  with company executives.  President Barack Obama has a twitter and Pinterest account. When I talk to people who don’t have an email account ( which this day in age is just unacceptable),  Twitter, Flicker, Pinterest, YouTube, FaceBook  or a host of others, I am immediately drawn in,  I need to know WHY, and  the answers that I received the most are, I don’t know how  to use Social Media, I don’t want people in my business, and I’m to grown to have a twitter account ( that was the social media network that most people identified).  I realized that the common denominator in each conversation was people are uneducated on social media! Yes! I smell a project, I’m going to educate the WORLD, (yes, I said the WORLD) on the benefits of Social Media. Okay maybe not the world but hey it was better than saying I want world peace.  Here are my Top Ten Reasons to get Connected:

Over the past few years, to say social media has exploded would be an understatement. Members of social media sites have discovered it’s the easiest way to find, learn about, and share information that directly influences their purchasing decisions. It is this reason alone that every business should be on multiple social media sites in an effort to reach as many people as possible.

Below are the top 10 reasons to use social media in business:

1. Build relationships  – personal and professional; connect with all types of people – past and present coworkers, past class mates, competitors, and marketing professionals to build your network

2. Be Your own Biggest Fan – share your blogs , share interesting and useful articles and videos , other blogs, webinars, podcasts, presentations.

3. Extra Closet Space ( Hold On let me explain)  –Who needs to go out and spend money on bulky Encyclopedias when  you can research everything you need to know both past and up to date material in real time.  You can find similar products/services, competitors, marketing tips, blog ideas recipes, video tutorials.– the amount of information available is virtually endless.

4. Join a social network of like-minded individuals or start a new interest group where you can further brand your product/service, build relationships, and share ideas and information

5. Stay current with the latest trends in Social Media and protect you r Kids  – write a blog or join one (http://luvtippy.blogspot.com)  a discussion on a trending topic; become aware of new social media sites that might fit the needs of your business and personal life. Learning how to navigate Social Media networks will allow you to protect your kids from cyber bullies and creeps.

6. Land a great new job – using your new connections on various social media sites, you can get the inside scoop on companies that are hiring, as well as resume and interview tips

7. Discover a new passion in life, become a volunteer, or start a fundraising event

8. Get found by prospects by using inbound marketing tactics – spread the word about your product/service through social media sites; to form a complete marketing plan, combine this with outbound techniques (interruptive marketing)

9. Build business reputation and brand – constantly add value to all your posts and become a trustworthy leader in your industry; to quote Bob Burg, “All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and trust.”

10. Build a marketing department inexpensively – for start-ups, employing inbound marketing tactics is a cheap way to start marketing your product/service; most social media sites are free to join, while others have a minimal monthly or yearly fee

11. Help increase conversion rates – use social media and inbound marketing to steer more organic traffic to your website and convert more leads into sales; the average conversion rate is 2.3%, but varies by industries according to ClickZ, Marketing News & Expert

I recommend choosing a handful of sites to manage and start getting your feet wet. Not every social media site available will be right for you or your business and it would overwhelming to try them all. The Remi Group consistently maintains a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google Plus pages, a YouTube channel, as well as a Twitter account. For our type of business, a Pinterest, Tumblr, or Flickr account isn’t worthwhile, but obviously they are great for other brands.

If you need help getting started, there are countless different types of resources. I have used the An Hour a Day book series on Facebook Marketing, Twitter Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. They address each entity in a step-by-step fashion that is very user-friendly. I also find Hubspot to be extremely helpful. They are continually publishing user guides that contain valuable information, tips, and tricks. Lastly, when creating your profile on the various social media sites that best fit your marketing plan, it’s a good idea to connect with other marketers to check out what they are doing to boost business.

Do you have a tip or trick to share with newcomers to social media? Share it with us; you are more than welcome to post questions and/or comments here!

 Source ( via biznezzquest.com)



Tweet