Social Media: Marketing Considerations for Small Business

It’s clear that social media has grown dramatically over the last few years and that with an increase of than 800 million active users, the amount of Facebook users is easily more than twice the size of the complete population of america!

Its growth has been astronomical now, millions of people are posting more personal and business information online than ever before. It’s happening at lightning speed with a large number of posts, tweets and uploads occurring every hour.

Recent research conducted by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) commissioned by Sensis Pty Ltd (May 2011, p. 10) indicates, that “62% of Australian Internet users use a variety of social media marketing sites, with many visiting each day and most at least a few times a week.” It’s no surprise that with the an incredible number of prospective customers from around the globe using these sites, each day, that so many businesses are determined to include social media into their marketing mix. Nonetheless it also important to get a knowledge of how these sites are being used and what’s involved in maintaining or resourcing your organization presence on these sites. Your online footprint can stick around for years so don’t underestimate how this may affect the perception of your brand available in the market place. Spend some time upfront thinking about whether social media marketing is right for your business.

1. Seek first to comprehend – It is crucial that you understand the fundamentals of how is social media marketing actually works and how it’s being used. What are people and businesses doing with social media? What gets them results? A few of you may be thinking, how do I do this? Perchance you could consider trying it out on your own by setting up a personal account, then testing a few of the features, or get a trusted friend to show you their account and guide you through. Alternatively you can find so many resources and ‘how to’ items online about social media marketing, that you could run a explore Google or on YouTube on a specific topic of interest watching the video tutorials to obtain informed.

2. Understand your purpose – What’s your purpose is for using social media? What do you desire to achieve for your business by using it? It’s really important that you identify your purpose so you can get involved in social media (or any marketing activity for that matter). Personal Growth need to workout why you are taking part. What do you expect to achieve? Do you simply desire to build brand awareness, engage with your customers or identify new sales opportunities? Remember to be realistic about what you think you will be able to accomplish.

3. If you decide to engage in social media marketing, which sites are best for you? – With the plethora of social media marketing sites available, those are best for your business? Think about where your target audience would socialize online, and think about the period of time and resources you’ll realistically be able to commit to maintaining and administering your site presence. Those are right for you? You will probably find that some certainly are a better fit than others.

4. Quality Content – If you decide that social media is right for your business, carefully think about the amount and quality of information you want to share in the online sphere. Remember it will probably stay there for some time, so you need to make sure it accurate and reliable information that’s valuable to your target audience. It must be relevant, otherwise people won’t read it.