Objectives of social media
Social media: it’s the buzz word among businesses large and small. Everybody wants to get into doing it but not everybody understands how and why. Many business owners begin using social media tools without really understanding what exactly they are trying to accomplish by updating their status and sending out tweets.
Think back to the last time you created a marketing campaign. Every good campaign has a goal they want to accomplish, whether it is making sales, bringing in new names or building brand awareness. The same goes for using social media in your business-you have to have something you want to accomplish! Why else would you spend your precious time on setting up profiles on LinkedIn or accounts on Facebook?
If you don’t know what you want to achieve, how do you know if you are the right path to success? Businesses that set up profiles, write blog entries and send out Tweets without knowing what they are doing it for will surely fail.
There are four common goals for integrating social media in your business.
1. To better engage your existing customers.
Smart business owners know that it costs more to get new customers than it does to keep your current ones. All of the social media tools can be used to keep your existing fan base happy and coming back for more. Zappos.com, an online shoe retailer is a great example of a company using social media successfully to interact with their existing fan base. Zappos created a page on their website that pulls in all mentions of the company. Wouldn’t you love to show off how many people are talking about you? Pages like the ones Zappos created successfully conveys brand loyalty and legitimacy to all its visitors.
Existing customers want to know that you care and appreciate their continued business. Customers want to be loyal! Social media is a great tool to use to accomplish this. Ask open ended questions on Twitter, Facebook or any other social media tool to which they can reply. Posting interesting, thought provoking questions fuels conversation and engages customers. You may even find solutions to problems or gain insight to where you can take your business in the future.
2. To drive traffic
The more traffic you have, the higher your chances are to make sales. Getting traffic is not an easy task. Some large businesses spend millions of dollars to improve their page ranking and drive traffic to their website. The tools of social media allow you to drive traffic for much less and in most cases free!
Think of your website as a hub and all of the social media tools as the spokes that jut out from it. Use all of the tools to link back to your hub. Anytime you post any new content or photos to your website, link to it using any number or combination of social media tools. Write a short description or post a snippet of the article and link back to it.
Own a restaurant? Use one of the social media tools like Facebook or Twitter to post your daily lunch specials. Include photos and descriptions. Link back so readers can see your full menu and more specials.
Own an online retail store? Post a new picture every day of an item and ask a question about it. Link back to your website for more information.
3. Convert Leads to Buyers
The biggest question on every business owner’s lips is how to monetize the use of social media. You want to know that your efforts are effective and worth your time.
Business owners understand that customers won’t buy from companies they don’t trust. Customers need to be reassured that the business they are interacting with is legitimate and trustworthy. Customers can gain that trust through social media sites. Potential customers can read tweets from others mentioning good experiences they’ve had, research products through posts on Facebook, get glimpses of production through Flickr to make sure the quality is there and so on. All of which should convey to potential customers that your company has the solutions they’ve been seeking.
You can also use social media to find leads. Use the search tool on any of the social media websites to find mentions of products you sell or topics you cover. Then reach out to those leads via the same social channels. Let them know that you have the solutions to their needs without being pushy or making them feel like their being pitched to. Provide as much value and assistance as possible to get you closer to converting them to a sale!
4. Public Relations
Building a better reputation is the least common objective for small businesses, but it can provide the biggest bang for your buck. If you have a good reputation, leads, traffic, customers and higher sales will ultimately follow.
You can use social media to build your reputation and promote a better understanding of your business. OnStar, the in-vehicle communications system that provides navigation, tracking, and safety to drivers, does great job at reminding it’s followers why they are better off having the system in their vehicle. They regularly post customers stories on Facebook that detail how OnStar saved their lives, or helped them out when they got a flat tire, or got police to the scene of an accident quicker. All stories are first person accounts of how OnStar helped them out. Companies would gladly pay money to advertise their good deeds like that, but social media does it for them for free!
Use social media websites to post customer feedback and positive remarks. These comments will not only show others the strengths of your company but also provide more information about all of your available services. All for free!
With all of the different technologies out there it is easy to get overwhelmed and shut down. Do not allow this to happen! Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, and such are great ways to grow your business. You just have to know what you want to accomplish first. As with everything you do, you must first figure out what are your goals and objectives. Social media can help you engage your existing customers better allowing you to keep more of them coming back, drive higher amount of traffic therefore increasing the chances of making sales, find and convert leads, and build a better reputation for your business.
Good luck!
Ethan Warrick
Editor & CEO
