How to Use Social Media Sites To Market Your Business

Twitter

Interested in using Twitter to promote your small business? This is a great choice. As of early 2012, Twitter has an impressive base of six to nine million users.  

How to Use Twitter

• Create an Account With a Relevant Name. Additionally, include pertinent info about your company in your profile. Ensure that your profile is clutter-free and visually striking.
• Follow Other Relevant Businesses, Organizations, and People. You should “follow” users with whom you wish to conduct business with in the hopes that they will follow you back.
• Engage Other Businesses via Twitter. You can engage these users by retweeting their posts, answering their questions, and commenting on their tweets – or even commenting directly on their blogs.
• Post Consistently. To position yourself as an expert in your field, post new tweets on a regular basis. Make certain that the vast majority of your tweets offer helpful resources, links, and general information.
• Get Involved With TweetChats. To get further acquainted with Twitter users, chats are a great idea. If you are not familiar with TweetChats, they essentially function as online conversations that utilize Twitter as a “chat room.”
• Respond to People. Remember to reply to users who retweet, comment, or send you a direct message.
• Generate Buzz. Run a contest or provide followers a chance to win a prize by retweeting your posts.
• Actively Advertise your Twitter Account. You can market your Twitter account on your emails, business cards, and other marketing material.

Google+

Google+ is essentially a social networking website that resembles Facebook and Twitter. While Google+ is still behind Twitter and Facebook when it comes to number of active users, the website is still important for general marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) purposes.

How to Use Google+

• Share Photos and Other Images. Displaying individual images such as charts, slides, and photos helps to generate traffic and starts conversations.
• Post Status Updates. Ensure that these posts interest and educate your target audience. Moreover, you can also engage with other users by commenting on their posts.
• Take Advantage of the Unique Video Chat Feature. In order to help foster relationships, Google+ offers a great video chat feature that you can utilize.
• Remember to Add Recommended Links. To create additional business leads, add links to your favorite blog posts and other business offers.
• Market Your Google+ Page. Some great places to promote this link include on your business website, emails, and other marketing materials.

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking tool to be reckoned with, especially considering that the site attracted 500 million members in just six short years. Consequently, promoting your small business on Facebook makes excellent business sense, as more people spend time on this social networking site than any other. One of the best ways to promote is by creating a Facebook page.

How to Use Facebook

Keep in mind that many of Twitter’s marketing strategies also apply to Facebook. And remember: Your objective, at least initially, is to build relationships with potential clients, not to make direct sales.

• Post Links to Your Blog or Website. In addition, link to other pertinent content.
• Ask Questions. In order to interact with users, engage them in conversations.
• Offer Special Deals. To reward your Facebook fans, provide special offers on a regular basis.
• Upload Plenty of Quality Images. Since Facebook Timeline is more visual than previous versions of the Facebook interface, this strategy is an excellent one – images can create a great amount of interest and traffic.
• Upload Content Frequently. As a general guideline, upload fresh material at least a few times per day.
• Issue Promotions. In order to keep your audience interested, offer promotions on a weekly basis.
• Make It a Habit to Market. Remember to include your Facebook page web address on your emails, business cards, and other marketing materials.