Using Social Media to Improve Your Business | Social Speak Network Social Media + Digital Marketing Education

Most of us have used social media at one time or another. Not only is it a good place to find old friends from school, but it can be used for online marketing strategy. You probably have heard of Facebook©, Twitter©, and LinkedIn©, with the latter being geared more towards business people in general. I am going to show you how to use these networks to benefit your business.

Here are some amazing statistics about Facebook© alone.

In 2010 a 207% over 2009 in searches.
It was the most searched term in 2010.
A record-breaking 750 million photos were uploaded over New Years weekend.
71.2% of all U.S. internet users are on Facebook©.
Ad revenue for Facebook will top $2.2 billion in 2011.
700 million active users on Facebook©.
175 million users on Twitter©.

Using social media can be very advantageous for businesses worldwide. I know myself I use all of the above mentioned social media companies for my business. Your contacts that you acquire by finding someone you know or who might join your network can become a social media tool for you. What I do occasionally on my own Facebook© page is drop a link to one of my websites. I will either have someone give me a comment about the link which opens me up to extend conversation with that person more on a personal basis. Below I have listed what I consider the best free ways to use social media to improve your business.

Be your self– What I mean by this is to engage in conversations online like you would in person. Tell the person a little about yourself and what your goals are. Build a relationship and later they could become your customer because you have gained their trust.
Place a link to your website on social networks– My placing an occasional link to your website or an offer you may have that would benefit someone you can also receive comments back from people and tell them more about your business. Sites like Facebook© and Twitter© permit links as long as you keep from spamming. Do everything in moderation and you can be rewarded.
Create a page for your business– Another free way to gain exposure for your business is to create a page on Facebook©. By creating your own business page you can reach thousands of people.

We just covered a few free ways to get your business seen using social media, now let us look at paid advertising on these networks. As I told you currently 700 million people use Facebook© alone and another 175 million use Twitter©. It only makes sense to target your advertising campaigns on these social media networks. Using social media advertising you can target your audience my age, income, and demographics. Pin-pointing your advertising is more cost-effective and will give you a bigger piece of the pie.

My advice to you is not to overlook the power of social media. Indulge frequently with your contacts and reap the rewards of trust.

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