What is Social Media and why would you want to use it for your business?? It’s the most popular and effective way of socializing, networking and communicating with those you know including your customers. It is a platform that allows you to keep in touch in real-time. Social Media allows you to share pictures and information, organize events and stay in the loop on what’s happening around you. Tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and LinkedIn are the new tools of the trade. These resources have become the medium that customers are using to research your company before they buy. They are the new standards by which you are judged much like the BBB, Hoovers and Dunn & Bradstreet. These “tools” if you will, have become one giant resource that can be summarized as Encyclopedia Britannica, Google and the Yellow Pages all rolled up into one extremely available and powerfully influential internet resource.
So how do you use these tools? Here are the top 20 most popular Business uses of Social Media (in no specific order):
- Share company information
- Humanize the company
- Education
- Answer FAQ
- Announce new products
- Share invitations to key events
- Post jobs
- Share Expertise
- Announce important product information
- Reminders
- Marketing
- Spotlight customers
- Employee recognition
- Contests
- Increase / improve Customer Service
- Discussion Forums
- Share pictures & videos
- Customer Feedback
- Diversify the audience you are reaching out to
- Relationship building
