Advantages and Disadvantages when Using Social Media for Your Business
Posted on July 8th, 2009
The “know-how†entrepreneurs are finding ways to market their businesses through social media. You know why? Simply because of these figures: in March of this year, 61.2 million visited Facebook; in April of this same year, Twitter boomed to 3,000 percent. In addition to this attraction, social media can be accessed for free which means, a free access to potential clients.
But there is a question if social media is a suitable way of advertising your business and considering the time to be spent in maintaining this type of advertisement. Is social media a costless substitute for the conventional and expensive advertising plan?
Business strategist Olivier Blanchard, who is also the principal of The Brand Builder Marketing, said that traditional advertising and marketing is still alive. With an advocacy of integrating social media and traditional marketing and advertising plan, he said that combining the two will give your business a healthy mix, an expansion of marketing.
Sarah Granger, founder of Public Edge which is a technology communications strategy firm, promotes having a solid website, e-mail list, and contact base; depending on the type of business, for small organizations prior to engaging in social media.
BLOGS
Blogging can build customer loyalty according to Kristi Colvin, chief creative officer at We Heart and Twitterface. She believes that blogging can disseminate information about a company and be a ladder to brand attachment. A significant aspect of great customer service is having a real relationship with your customers and inviting their perspective. And this, according to Colvin can be achieved by blogging.
In order to have a boost in the ranking in search engine, blogs should be refreshed regularly. An hour to two will be enough to make a post. Blanchard said that in order to maximize regular working hours, writing can be done during evenings or on weekends.
Before, Granger used to advise starting with a blog first but now she said that companies should get on Twitter first. Many customers prefer a personal touch and this can be possible by connecting with them through Twitter. Keeping it up with an on going conversation can be a lot easier with the use of mobile tools such as Tweetie and Tweetdeck. In such way, tweeting entrepreneurs can manage his time yet still be able to announce the company’s new product or promotion.
Colvin said that entrepreneurs who have built a network have the added bonus of “instant answers to questions, feedback on brand elements, product ideas, etc.,†all because of Twitter’s rapid-fire conversation.
YOUTUBE
Another fast way to test the market is by uploading a short clip on Youtube. Steven Weathers said that to find your place in the market, freebies should be released, then look for the demand and make the product. Weathers used Youtube in documenting his adventures in China.
With his videos, Weathers who is the founder of American English Circle and producer and host of Foreign Perspective, gives Westerners a quick look about life in Asia and help the Chinese learn English.
Weathers suggest watching some viral videos to learn how to create a good content. He said that by posting video clips in Youtubes, wider audience can be reached compare to a network TV.
On LinkedIn, you can easily post collected recommendations. An online career history and connection to others they have worked with can be done by creating a profile. Having recommendation whether it is from a former colleague or present client, may help convince potential customers as well as investors.
Kimberly LeRiche of JK Virtual Office Resources said that LinkedIn gives an opportunity of connection to others who are looking for partners or collaborator. Open discussion threads and special interest groups are the additional social networking capabilities that LinkedIn has incorporated.
Weather says that time is money depending on how you manage it. With this social media such as Twitter and Facebook, time wasted before is now can be spent doing and promoting business.
As for Blanchard, the true value of social media, regardless on the platform, is found on the message.
