Social Media is all the buzz today. In the current business climate, there are questions many companies are asking themselves regarding the marketing efforts they should or should not be doing. Many of these questions center on Social Media.
- Is Social Media important to my business?
- Should my marketing plan include Social Media efforts?
- What type of Social Media should I engage?
- How will engaging in Social Media help my company?
- How do I make time for this effort when I already have a full plate?
I have heard it said before, by both small and large business—I don’t have time for Social Media. And I do understand because people are working at their maximum capacity these days. But now is the time to make time and learn all you can about it.
Social Media can be important to your business because it allows you to have a conversation with your customers. It also allows you to converse with potential customers. The world today is very social and very digital. Combine both the social and the digital and you have Social Media.
Here are a few of my reasons why I think including Social Media in your overall marketing plan is a good idea.
- Everybody is doing it—I don’t usually like just following the crowd, but it makes sense in this case. At the very least, your competitors are doing it.
- It’s a low cost marketing activity—The largest part of this investment is your time. Even if you outsource the management of this process, it is still a relatively low cost activity.
- It is your chance to talk to your customers—Social Media is a conversation. You can humanize your company by having conversations with your customers and potential new customers.
- It is your chance to hear, first-hand, from your customers—What a great opportunity (and learning experience it is) to hear about what you are doing wrong and what you are doing right as a company. And you will hear it directly from the customer and not through “channels”.
- It is your great opportunity to fix a bad situation that may arise—If you are honest and forthcoming about a problem or issue you are having, the goodwill you may create can help you and your company in the long run. And the honest feedback you receive from customers can help you improve your product or service.
I stress this one very important factor again. Your competitors are doing it and they are probably having conversations with your customers.
Here is an article by Infusionsoft. They give tips on how to get started and how you can be involved on a very minimal level. Who knows, you can start small and perhaps you will “get into it” and decide to get more involved.