Updated 2022 - Social Media for Business

When I look back at the post I wrote in 2012, I have to laugh a little. Social media was still the wild, wild west and I spent a good deal of my time convincing business owners to get on the social media train for marketing their business.

Today, it's a no-brainer! Most businesses KNOW they should be utilizing social media more, but many still don't have the resources, time or budget to do it properly. Despite the tools and accessibility of social media, it's still a struggle.

Reflecting back over the past ten years, here are the significant changes I have witnessed:

  1. Platform Evolution - while some social platforms have sustained over the years (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube) others have disappeared altogether. Those that remain have become powerhouses of their own right. Facebook dominated the advertising scene for years, offering great results with little budget. Twitter seemed to falter for a time before making a comeback. LinkedIn evolved as the number one B2B social platform and YouTube became the second largest search engine online.
  2. New Platforms Emerged - Instagram made a huge hit and continues to grow in domination. Once thought of as a platform for teenagers, it has grown in popularity in most age demographics. Also relatively new on the scene and the fastest growing social network is TikTok.
  3. Video Rules - Back in 2012, YouTube dominated videos, but since then, every platform has adopted video in one or many formats. Video marketing is considered the greatest social selling tool because it builds authority, likability and trust.
  4. Organic Video vs. Produced - when video first became popular, it required a well-produced, professional approach. Today, pulling out your cell phone and shooting a selfie-video raw is common AND desired!
  5. More Sophisticated Tools - Ten years ago there were only a handful of tools you could employ to create and schedule social media content. Today, there are hundreds - maybe thousands of options for content creation, scheduling, advertising, optimizing and repurposing. Many of them are available as a phone app too!

I said it before - social media is NOT going away. However, it will be interesting to see how it evolves, particularly where controversy exists over platform rights and censorship. Let's come back in ten years and see what has evolved, shall we?

Original Post in 2012 - Social Media for Business

You’d have to have been living under a rock if you haven’t heard about Social Networking via Social Media.Β  In fact, you’ve probably heard that you should be using it to grow your business.Β  So what is it really and what is the point?

What Social Media is to me

I imagine Social Media to be a channel (like Facebook) on a global TV (the Internet) where each of us has our own show.Β  We are the newscasters, comedians, family programs, commercials, editorials and movies of our own lives.Β  We can reach as many or as few people as we choose based upon our privacy settings.Β  We can sell things, advocate things, lecture people, entertain them or just complain if we want to.

For business, this is a whole new frontier.Β  It is a form of advertising that is more cost efficient than ever before.Β  If you put in a lot of time, creativity and effort, you can grow a community of customers that turn to you for expertise and products.

Knowing your customers

Feedback mechanisms available on Social Media are like the Nielsen ratings for TV.Β  You get immediate feedback based upon people’s comments and reviews.Β  Never before have you been able to truly know your customers as you can with Social Media.Β  Social Media is a two way street.Β  It’s about engaging people so that they get to know you and you get to know them.

Engaging your customers

And if you don’t get enough data from the feedback you read, then you can ASK them directly or in a public manner.Β  You can ask them what they like, don’t like and wish for.Β  You can ask them where they spend their time, what’s important to them and how you can help them.

Growing your customers

While the data to measure business growth from using Social Media is still somewhat ambiguous, the fact remains that you can’t afford to ignore it.Β  Your customers are looking for YOU on their favorite Social Media venues.Β  They want the information at their fingertips, on their phones, tablets and laptops. Β It’s like having additional websites for them to find you and allows them to champion you.

The Cost of Social Media

To get on Social Media, it’s free and anyone can join.Β  You can start your own personal profile and/or business profiles any time you wish.Β  If you don’t have time or the technical savvy to do it yourself, you can hire someone to set it up and manage it for you.Β  You can pay for ads on Social Media.Β  You can pay a Social Media Writer to create content for you.Β  There are options for every budget level.

The bottom line is that Social Media is a terrific way to gain exposure for your business and grow your customers.Β  So, what are you waiting for?Β  Get started today!

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