Relationships with your audience on Social Media

Are you an online social networking freak? If yes, it’s not too surprising. People's inclination towards social sites is on the increase, which means it's never been easier for businesses with a social media presence to attract and interact with their social savvy customers. Social media is a tool that has revolutionised the way in which businesses provide information, promote their services and engage with their target audience.

Most businesses start out their social media strategies by simply posting their latest updates/features on their Facebook page or Twitter account. They usually post regularly but without any idea of how best to tailor it to suit their audience. This can be a waste of content as without an end goal in mind, the social media strategy has no direction.

The solution to this stumbling block is to be more interactive and engaging with your audience. A good question to ask is 'how can we be more captivating to this particular audience?' People will not find you interesting if all you are doing is trying to sell yourself. It's a good idea to constantly evaluate your social media strategy and to tweak it appropriately.

People love to read interesting information, yes! But they also love it when a businesses listen to their needs and opinions. So begin with asking them questions and take note of the positive and negative responses.

Another good idea is to encourage voting polls on a certain topic which requires feedback from the audience. Also small giveaways can work, whether it be in the form of a simple ebook or a sample of the product you sell. This way user’s trust is gained by the brand. And there are a lot of other ways to increase interaction such as building relations with influencers via twitter. Remember, don’t respond to criticism or messages with the same standardised custom message, make it personal!

Once you have secured enough faith in your customer’s mind about your brand, then you can surface with your content strategies as now you have perceived the taste and interests of your target audiences. The moral of the story is you should share only 20% of the information/assets about your services on social media and the rest should be fun, interactive posts that suit your customers interests.

This kind of relationship keeps the users content and assured.

Power To You(tube) – Why Vodafone Is Dumping Its Sponsorship Deals For Social Media

Sport is big business. Millions pay through the nose for season tickets, £60 replica shirts, poorly made scarves, overpriced beer and expensive TV subscriptions just to see how their favourite player or team fares in their latest encounter against their latest enemy. Last month BT sport paid £897 million for the right to broadcast European football in the UK for three years, highlighting the immense amount of money in the game. Advertisers have often seen sport as an opportunity to advertise their products not just to the fans, but on a global scale. For example, according to the Premier League, the companies that have their insignia emblazoned on the player’s shirts are seen by 4.7 billion people in 212 territories around the world and in return, the individual or team receives a healthy remuneration for the privilege. The symbiotic nature of this relationship is important at the highest levels, where it is almost seen as a necessity to maintain pace with sporting rivals.

Who to follow on Twitter for businesses

Following the right accounts on Twitter is just as important as tweeting the right content. Following certain accounts can increase your business’ profile, both on Twitter and in your area, by connecting your business with your customers and local media outlets.

By following trendsetters within your industry, you can stay abreast of interesting and important developments that may affect your company. Also, Twitter can be used to keep an eye on the activity of your main competitors, as well as the larger companies you want your own business to emulate.

You will be able to see all the public tweets of the people you follow in your stream. Follow a diverse group of accounts to ensure that you get the most out of the service.

Industry leaders

Look for some of the bigger businesses that work in your industry. If you are opening a bakery why not check out Millie’s Cookies, Cinnabon or Dunkin’ Donuts. If you run a sportswear shop, have a look at Nike, Adidas orPuma.

You can monitor the leaders in your industry by following their activity on Twitter . Perhaps they will use the service in a way that you hadn’t thought of to promote themselves. Imitate their more successful or innovative ideas.

Follow the companies that provide you with your stock. Big brands often tweet about new product releases. SayNike football boots are one of your sports shop’s best selling products, if Nike were to tweet about a new football boot you could retweet it on your business page, alerting your followers.

You could then make sure that your shop was one of the first in your area to get the boot in stock and tweet about it, attracting more customers to your store.

Industry Voices and the Media

Follow the accounts of those in your industry whose views are respected. Look for the accounts with the most followers in your network and, perhaps more importantly, those that are getting the most retweets and favourites.

Following these accounts could lead to interactions with them, making their followers aware of your business. Their tweets may also prove to be very informative and useful to your business, tweets that you could retweet yourself.

Search for the Twitter accounts of the media sources in your local area. To do this, you can use the “Browse categories” list in the Discover tab, or you can use websites like Wefollow, Muck Rack and Twellow.

Building a relationship with newspapers, magazine publishers and radio stations on Twitter could persuade them to feature your business in articles and reviews.

Customers

When your business is just starting out on Twitter, it is a good idea to follow some of your current and favourite customers. Ask for your customers Twitter handles or email addresses, then use this information to search for them on the site.

People use Twitter to interact with brands and business. Following your customers will show them that you want to interact with them on the site, making them feel valued. Following customers will also make them aware that you are on Twitter and, if they thank you for the follow, it will make their followers aware of your business’ Twitter profile as well.

Competitors

Use Twitter to keep an eye on your competitors. Many of your rivals will already have Twitter accounts on which they will post company information and updates. If you can’t find a competitor type their email address into Twitter’s search engine, or have a look for their Twitter handle on their web page.

If you don’t want your competitors to necessarily know that you are following them, use a private Twitter list to keep tabs on them. You can follow lists without following the Twitter accounts listed within them.

Followers

There are two opposing schools of thought concerning follow-backs. Some say that businesses should follow all the users (those proven to be humans and not robots) that follow them, while others argue that businesses should only follow those more active and influential on Twitter.

The people who think that businesses should try to follow as many followers back as possible argue that not only does it show potential customers that the company appreciates their support and cares about their opinions, it also provides users with a way to communicate with companies privately on Twitter via direct messaging – a fantastic customer service tool.

The opposing argument, though obvious, is a good one: too many followed accounts clog up a business’ Twitter stream and bombard it with lower quality information.

If your company is not already on Twitter, it is unlikely that it is well-known. I suggest following as many people back as you can (having made certain that they are people) as this will help build your profile on Twitter, as well as off it.

Suggestions

On your Business’ Twitter home page there is a small list of suggestions entitled “Who To Follow”. In this list, Twitter collates accounts that you could follow based on your interests, activity and the people you follow. Clicking “follow” on one of the suggestions opens up a larger list of options: Twitter encourages users to follow as many accounts as possible to increase engagement and networking on the site.

There is also a longer list in the discover tab with even more suggestions of who your business should follow. Often these suggestions are very good, so it is worth having a look at this list – which is constantly updating itself – every week or so.

Others

Of course, you don’t just have to follow those within your industry or the people who follow you first. Why not follow the accounts of celebrities or people who interest you? Following interesting accounts may provide you with inspiration when you can’t think what to tweet, while interacting with celebrities might lead to an endorsement.

You should be using Twitter to display how interesting and multifaceted your business can be, so following the right mix of people can really help imbue your company’s Twitter account with more personality.

The Importance Of Knowing Your Audience On Social Media

To create a successful social media strategy for your business you must know your audience. Social media is all about communication and conversation, how can you have a proper conversation if you don’t know anything about the people you are talking to? Before you create or post any content, you need to know who will see it. If you only know a little about your audience to start off with, using that to your advantage when creating a strategy can help you not only engage with your audience, but also understand more about your audience as a result. Here are the questions you should ask yourself in order to help you get to know your business’ audience on social media:

1. Why?

Posting content without prior knowledge of its potential audience is just a Random Act of Marketing: you might have some success, but your content won’t have anywhere near the same amount of engagement as content posted with a targeted audience in mind.

For your social media strategy to have any success, you must first work out who you are trying to reach and then the best way to reach them. Be aware that different networks will have different audiences, so make sure you create content which suits each social media site.

2. Who?

So, knowing your audience on social media is of the upmost importance. After the ‘why’, though, comes the ‘who’: who are all the people following you on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Google+? Who are all the people sharing and engaging with your content? Who is retweeting you on Twitter and repinning your pins on their Pinterest boards?

You need to work out who engages with your content in order to work out what sort of content they are more likely to engage with. Find out what demographics your fans belong to: their age, gender, professional status, location and income. For example, if your fans are predominantly of a younger demographic, they might be more likely to share funny or fashionable content.

If you’re not sure who your fans are on social media (bear in mind we haven’t got to the ‘how’ yet) it’s a good idea to find out what demographics your brand appeals to outside of the world of social media. Your customers in the real world will give you a great insight into your fans on social media. However, there are other variables that need to be taken into account, so don’t just presume that your fanbase is made up purely of actual customers: you may discover a completely new support base online thanks to your adoption of social media.

Always be aware that the number of people engaging with your content is miniscule compared to the number of people who aren’t, but could be. There are those that see your content but don’t engage, as well as the millions who haven’t even see your content yet. Make sure you don’t just create content to please the people engaging with it already, create content that will attract new fans and followers: after all, you want to be building your support base, not just maintaining what you’ve got.

Having worked out who your fans and followers are, and what makes them tick, you should work out who the most influential people within your fanbase are. Find out which of your fans have the most followers themselves, and which fans get their own content shared the most often. If you can identify the influencers within your fanbase, you can engage with them more frequently and perhaps create a few brand ambassadors.

3. What?

There are actually a number of ‘what’ questions you need to ask yourself when researching your social media audience. The first, and arguably the most important, is ‘what are people saying about your company?’ Not only will this give you an insight into what your audience want from your company and from your social media presence, it will also help you better engage with customers and monitor what they think about you. You should always be monitoring sentiment analysis to get a better understanding of your customers and how your brand is perceived.

You should also find out what your fans and followers are saying on social media in general. Very often a throwaway tweet or Facebook status can give you a great insight into what a customer’s wants are. By monitoring what people say and post, you can also find out what your audience’s interests are. Create content that will pique the interests of your audience and make them more likely to engage with you.

What networks are your fans on? If your audience is far more active on Twitter than on Pinterest, and you don’t have enough time to manage both, focus on posting content and engaging with followers on Twitter to make the most of your social media presence. In answering this question you may also discover more about your audience, as different demographics prefer different sites. Of course, this means that if you have a similar number of fans on Pinterest and Twitter, they won’t necessarily be the same, so you should tailor your content to the site it is posted on and the people who will see it.

The final ‘what’ question you should ask of your audience, a question that is getting more and more important as mobile social media use increases, is ‘what devices are my fans and followers using to check their social media?’ It is no good posting image-laden content if all of you followers are on mobile, as they won’t get the full impact of a large image on a phone.

4. When?

There is only one question in this section, but discovering its answer is vital to the success of your business’ social media strategy: when are your audience active online?

Don’t post your content in the evenings if your audience is using social media in the morning, as they won’t necessarily see it; post when the majority of your audience is active on social media so that they are more likely to see it and interact with it. Ideally, of course, you will be able to post content regularly throughout the day but, if not, work out the best strategy in order to get the most views, engagement and reach.

5. How?

So, the burning question: how do you find out all you need to know about your business’ audience on social media? Well, you can always ask. Ask questions on Twitter and Facebook about what your customers like and dislike, what makes them tick, or create surveys to discover more about your fans and followers.

Take the time to research your audience. How do your followers describe themselves in their Twitter bios? What have they liked on Facebook? Don’t forget to measure the success of your own campaigns within your audience.

Another important question to ask your followers is how they found out about you. This can give you a great insight, not only into the minds of your audience, but also into how successful your social media presence is. Again, you can use a survey to do this.

There are a number of analytical tools which you can use to make researching your audience easier: Klout can help you work out which of your fans and followers are the most influential, while Followerwonk can help you delve into the details of your Twitter followers.

How do you research your social media audience?

DIY PR Success - 7 Social Media Tips

Business owners can be the best PR managers. Using social media and the Internet as a distribution platform you can match the results of even the best PR agency. However, the amateur marketer can need a little help learning the short-cuts to early success.

Here are some easy steps to get these social media tools returning real PR and branding results:

1. Set-up your PR and Branding Platform. Start small and focused. This platform is going to be where you drive people to learn more about your business, products, and services. Pointing back to this central focal point with all of your PR and branding campaigns with assist lead generation.

If you are technically inclined a simple blog is a great place to start. However, it is not necessary--you can chose to make Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn your personal brand platform. Make sure a visitor is engaged with your strategy when they arrive.

2. Listen First. Once you have a good platform, a base station, you need to start listening to your market. Consumers are all over the Internet and making it easier and easier to survey their needs.

A great place to start listening is on Twitter--the premiere social networking and conversation tool. Search for key words associated with your market in the Twitter search engine, then sit back and see what they expect.

3. Participate. Listening is important, but participation builds trust, relationships, and targeted audiences. Ultimately, and online PR and branding strategy online is community building.

Community building means conversations and conversations build audiences. Audiences that will trust your recommendations, marketing, and services. Participation in your community will create sales leads for your business, if done appropriately.

4. Give Value First. Consumers are naturally skeptical, especially online. Nothing brings a sale faster than "giving first" and breaking that natural skepticism. Online publishing tools and platforms have made is a snap to leverage the Internet for big-time audience generation and distribution.

Creating valuable content targeted at solving problems for your ideal customer can make a big impact. This can be as simple as a blog post, eBook, or amateur video. This little effort and value given freely and distributed widely will bring enormous return.

5. Build Relationships. You have to care! Consumers and customers see this in a heartbeat--and they react. Quickly returning emails, phone calls, and even tweets show a passion for your business and the customers you serve.

Customers greeted with a sense of urgency can be the biggest advocates and promoters of your products and services.

6. Be Helpful. Consumers are using the Internet more and more to find information and solutions to their problems. Being helpful is one the most powerful marketing tactics. The psychological principle of reciprocity can produce incredible returns on a simple helpful tip, pointer, or referral.

If you know the answer to a question--help someone. There are lots of ways to help online and build your brand. Check out LinkedIn Answers or Yahoo!Answers.

7. Promote Others. Having a successful PR and branding strategy is not all about you. Promoting others builds your audience and reputation. This technique has two benefits: Getting the reciprocity of helping someone else with a campaign. Second, you get the attention and trust of those who follow your advice and gain value.

Promoting others is like doubling your product base and increasing your marketing reach.

7.5 Engage PR and Marketing Professionals. With so many social media tools available and free advice on the Internet it is easy to rush in without a plan. Doing PR and branding without clear objectives and concise messages can be an obvious train wreck to consumers--a lasting bad impression.

Professional advice and guidance from PR and marketing professionals can help you set firm footing and foundation under your idea. Then you can make do-it-yourself have real impact.






Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1912105

7 Social Media Tips to Get You Started on the Path to Success!

The number one question we get from beginners is; "How do I get started?"

There are so many social media websites out there, and we understand it can be very intimidating. The Social Media Square One objective is to reduce those stress levels, and make the online process not only profitable for you, but fun too! We would like to share with you 7 tips for getting started with your social media marketing plan.


Use Your Real Name - For some reason, buying a product or service from "HotMama352" does not seem very attractive. Make sure to use your real name when signing up for social accounts. If your name is taken, then it would be acceptable to add some numbers so that it is still recognizable. For example, if your name is a common one like John Smith, it would be OK to use JohnSmith950.
A Photo of You - When choosing an avatar (profile photo) make sure to pick a one that is fun and representative of your professional personality. People do not want to do business with a logo, cartoon, pet or eyeball. Let them see your beautiful face so they know who they are talking to. People are more responsive when they can put a face to a name.
Know Your Audience - Many small business owners are working hard to sell to anybody and everybody in order to increase revenue. While this has you working hard and achieving some amount of success, we know that identifying your target market is one of the most important things a business can do. With so many social networks out there, you want to find the ones that your customers and prospects are using. For example, you might hear that a site like Myspace is out of favor in the social media world, but for a musician, it is still a must. On the other hand, if you want to target the 13-17 year old demographic, LinkedIn might not be the best place to be spending your time. Our advice is to do some research, find out where your customers and prospects are spending their time, and get yourself set up on those social networks as soon as possible so that you can jump into the conversation and start generating leads!
Listen - Once you are a member of the social networks, take the time to listen to what the community is talking about. If you jump in and use the platform with a megaphone to sell your product or service, your credibility will be lost. There is nothing virtual about this online social world, these are real people having real conversations. So act in the same way you would at a live networking event in your hometown. If you would not bombard me with a sales pitch at a live event, don't do it inside of social media either.
Build Relationships - People want to do business with others they like, know and trust. Social media gives us an amazing platform to earn that trust by simply taking the time to build great relationships with them. Just like in real life, this takes time. You must share something about yourself. Don't be afraid to talk about your likes, interests and passions. Nobody wants to do business with a logo or pushy salesperson, so open up and start making friends. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing there is, and you have almost 500 million people out there with the potential to become brand ambassadors for your company. Let's make the most of it by caring about the people, creating value, and showing them that we are here to meet their needs.
Don't Worry About the Numbers - If you only have a couple of hundred people in your network, do not let that get you down. The key is to target your followers, and many times less can be more. We have seen people time and time again try to automate the process in order to increase their friend/followers, but most of the time it leads to a large number filled with bots, spammers, and vacant accounts that bring no value to you, your business, or the community.
Budget Your Time - Minutes can quickly turn into hours on social networks if you are not careful. Many people get caught up playing Facebook games like FarmVille, surfing YouTube for hours watching funny videos, or hitting the refresh button over and over waiting on responses from a post. Our advice is to log in with a set time goal and stick to it.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4687893

Top 10 Social Media Tips for Business

1. Plan Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
As with any small business marketing campaign or business strategy, you have to create a plan and stick to it in order to be successful. Outline the goals and the steps you will take -- in addition to the tools you will need -- to meet your marketing objectives.

2. Find Your Customers
With so many social networking platforms available to consumers, it can be difficult to choose a social network for your business to use. I recommend Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube to start with. You can also research to find out where your customers already congregate online. You might find some specialized sites to join in addition to the big four.

3. Schedule Social Time
Once you become a social resource for customers you have to stick with it and be there on a regular and frequent basis. Using social networks is time consuming, so schedule social media posting time for yourself and your internal or outsourced employee.

4. Be Authentic and Human
People are more likely to create relationships with other people more so than with businesses. You can encourage customers if you use a "human" voice -- not a corporate presence -- when connecting in social spaces. You can do a few simple things like show a picture instead of a business logo on your profile, and assign one or two people within your small business to be your social voice.

5. Be an Expert
One of the best ways for a small business to interact with customers is to be an expert in social spaces. By joining existing communities where your customers are, you can easily insert yourself into the community by being a voice of expert advice. For example if your small business is plumbing hardware, find those online social communities on Facebook, Twitter, discussion forums and blogs and start answering questions and offering advice.

6. Learn to Listen
It's easy to fall into the "broadcast trap" where you spend too much time talking about how great your products are or how fabulous this week's sale is. In a social network you have to stop broadcasting and listen to what your customers have to say. People use social networks to converse, and the best way to build a strong social relationship with a customer is to be a "friend" who can listen.

7. Be Social
A small business also needs to demonstrate good conversation skills -- after all responding to people is the best way to show you are listening. The point of a social network is to converse, and customers will get bored very quickly if you don't participate in the social flow. You can demonstrate good listening skills and boost participation by responding directly to questions and comments in a timely fashion.

8. Respond Often
Successful social media marketing depends on your own ability to respond to customers in a timely fashion. You want to show customers that you are a "reliable friend," so stay active and participate in all conversations related to your company or area of expertise. If you see new questions or comments, be sure to answer immediately.

9. Provide Value
You'll find that just your own conversation and participation is not enough to keep a continued interest in your social network. There has to be value in the interaction for people, and you will need to provide the reason for people to stay and participate in your social network.

10. Offer Exclusivity
Your social network should not just be about deals, but there is nothing wrong with making your fans, friends and followers feel special. One way to do this is to offer rewards or promotions exclusively to social networking customers.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6418511

Social Media Tips - Top 10

Don't just broadcast a sales message

The key to a successful social media presence lies with the social part. Your business should engage with others and assist where possible rather than just trying to sell all the time.

Choose your social media sites

There are few business owners who have time to use all the various social media platforms. It's best to try some out initially and see how useful they are before deciding on one or two to focus on as an addition to your marketing mix.

Set your success parameters

Before using social media sites it's wise to decide on what you're trying to achieve. This could range from brand awareness to generating more comments on your blog or increasing the number of sales leads gained online.

Be persistent and consistent

Like most things in business, social media requires a consistent approach in order to get results. If you fail to regularly update your Facebook page or Twitter account then you can't expect others to maintain a level of interest in them.

Don't jump on the bandwagon

If for example you're using Twitter and a big story breaks in your industry, don't just comment echoing what the majority of others are saying. It can be hard to stand out from the crowd but if you take a considered approach and try to think of a different angle to the story, more people may sit up and take notice.

Share other's content

Building relationships online can be done through sharing other people's content. For example if you read an interesting blog post via Twitter or Facebook on your industry then you should share it with your contacts (quoting the original source). If you share content then others are more likely to reciprocate.

Brand your accounts

When setting up your social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter you should get the pages custom designed to match the rest of your branding so it's instantly recognisable.

Don't post things just for the sake of it

There may well be days when you don't have anything interesting or relevant to say. If this is the case it's better to post nothing rather than something nobody's interested in like what you're planning to eat for dinner.

Relevance is everything

It can be easy to get hooked on these sites and desperately try to get more fans and followers than your competitors. Remember that it's better to have a small number of followers who are interested in what you've got to say rather than hundreds who couldn't care less.

Put links to your accounts on your website

A good way to gain more followers and fans on social media sites is to integrate logos for the relevant sites on your website's home page.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5478675

DO's & DON'Ts for bloggers

We got the lowdown on all things blogging from some of the top industry experts in the blogosphere. If you’re wondering what you should and shouldn’t be doing when you’re blogging – check out our expert panel’s top tips.

Here’s what you SHOULD be doing:

"DO be tenacious - don't give up, regular and disciplined posting pays off eventually." Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

"DO think about brands and how you can work with them." Vicki Fogwill – Social Media Manager for Next.

"DO make real world connections as well as online ones - the contacts you can make at events and seminars will be invaluable." Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

"DO value your work and your own worth." Kat Williams – Rocknrollbride.com.

"DO become friends with other bloggers. Rival blogs in London have become my best friends – it becomes a family. You should see bloggers as friends rather than enemies. Networking is huge!" Emily Johnston – Fashionfoiegras.com.

"DO look for stories and be proactive." Pat McNulty – Wed Editor at Cosmopolitan.co.uk.

"DO collaborate. Invite other bloggers onto your blog or channel then do the same with them. Post or publish together, linking to each other’s posts - your traffic should benefit." Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

Now take a read on what you SHOULDN’T be doing:

"DON’T blog/vlog thinking it’s a fast track to riches or even freebies. The audience and potential clients can tell and will run a mile. The pure passion and enthusiasm of your blog is what will make it successful." Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

"DON’T just email asking for free stuff and invites to events." Vicki Fogwill – Social Media Manager for Next.

"DON’T write things and assume everyone is interested. You may not have an audience." Andreas Pouros – Greenlight Digital.

"DON’T be controversial for the sake of it." Kat Williams – Rocknrollbride.com.

"DON’T get frustrated. Stick with it – it’s not always a quick fix." Emily Johnston – Fashionfoiegras.com.

"DON’T make enemies of other bloggers or brands. If you have a non-constructive, negative opinion of someone or something, keep it to yourself or tell your Mum, just don't tweet or post about it." Dominic Smales - Gleam Digital.

"DON’T give away your rights or content. Your audience is valuable - so don't be afraid to constantly question, 'What's in it for me?'" Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

Read more: http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blogs/cosmo-blog-awards-2013/Do's-and-don'ts-for-bloggers#ixzz2acJQTJRo

3 Twitter Don'ts

Everyone has been talking about making use of Twitter to reach out to more targeted audiences, and getting more customers using this extremely easy to use social networking platform, you need to use it the correct way in order to reap maximum benefits from it.

As with all marketing mediums, there are certain things you need to look out for (and make sure you do not make the same mistakes) to make sure that you get maximum results from your marketing efforts (and not seeing hard work going down the drain).

In this article, you will discover 3 Twitter don'ts that you must avoid at all costs if you want to have an effective marketing campaign using Twitter.

1. Unrelated/Poor Quality Content

People choose to follow you for one reason - And that reason is that they believe that you do have something that they are interested in (in the subject they are interested in).

If you want to retain your followers, make sure that you post only quality content (meaning, content that is related to the niche that you are in).

You can either write these content yourself, or you can post links to contents that you come across which you find interesting and think will benefit your followers.

2. Spamming Your Affiliate Links

Do not spam your followers with nothing but affiliate links to products and services that you are promoting. By doing so will result in your followers gradually unfollow you, simply because you are nothing but a spammer.

What you should do instead is to have a mix of good quality content along with product promotions - For example, you can post 3 to 4 good quality content in your tweets, followed by 1 product recommendation.

By doing so, your followers will be more receptive to your product recommendations - And hence are more willing to check out (and buy what you have recommended) rather than you flood your entire Twitter account with your affiliate links.

3. Non-Activity

As with all social networking sites, you need to participate frequently in order for your Twitter marketing efforts to be effectively.

On the average, I would recommend that you post a tweet every single day (or every alternate days).

On top of posting tweets to share contents or promote a product/service, you may also want to participate in ongoing discussions, or responding to your followers' questions.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4988450

Social Media Tips - Expand The Voice Of Your Business

The world of social media is ever changing and is very fast paced. To use the social sites available for your business here are some social media tips for you to get you started. Keep reading as there's some great stuff for you if you're starting out

1. Firstly you need to be yourself on social media. Just because you are a business doesn't mean you have to be corporate. In fact, on social sites people are looking to connect with people. They want to know who is behind the business and not be faced with some faceless corporate entity.

2. Here's one of the most important tips of all. Listen to your customers. They're making the effort to be on social media. They're looking at your stuff, they're obviously interested and social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter are fantastic sites for you to find out what they're saying. Look at their posts, read their comments, and above all else take action on what you learn. They can be your biggest advocates so treat them like real people and listen to them.

3. Social media is a long term game so you need to be patient. It takes time to build a brand, but because of the reach of social media, once you've got your name out there, it's very hard to hold back the floodgates! (If you do it properly). Give helpful tips about your niche, interact with people and that will go a long way to building and establishing your brand.

4. You need to make the most of every opportunity to get your name out on social media. There are many different social media platforms and if you're serious about building your business using social media, then try to structure your posts to the various platforms. One of the most important tips is to have a schedule of what you're going to post and stick to that schedule. That way you've got a plan of what you're going to say, it prevents you going off on tangents, and will build a better brand for you in the long term.

5. We said above that social and online media is forever changing and that means you need to be flexible. Websites change all the time, Facebook is forever changing and new players are constantly coming into the market, so you need to be nimble enough to allow for these changes. Post great content and you can't go wrong.

6. Collaborating with others is key to your success. Don't think of your competition as competition. Think of ways that you can work together to spread both brands. Social media makes companies very transparent and if you're a small business collaborating with other similar businesses is a great way to get your name visible and noticed.

7. The last of our tips is to be humble about your achievements. You need to let people know what you're doing as you can be sure your competition is doing exactly that (but read point six above!). But you don't need to blow your trumpet from the rooftops. Just be subtle and quietly let people know about what you're doing and if you treat people with respect, and show them your successes you will find your social media marketing to be much more effective.

These seven tips give you an overview about how you should treat your social interactions. You use social and online media to keep your business and brand ahead of the curve and to give yourself high visibility. Use these easy ideas to turn marketing strategies into a successful brand.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7265491

8 Advantages Of Using Social Media

Today, the article will be discussing about social media, and how it has helped many sites get bigger everyday. Bigger sites are continuing to use the power of Social "awareness" on these Social Sites.

I have been able to attract the majority of traffic so far from social media, and it has been a great starting point to do so. Every new blog will need to first attract and mobilize the advantages of social media sites.

One of the advantages being the use of its traffic already on the sites. The ability to add connections on each site. And finally having to use it anytime you are in need of any two of the previous points.

With one mention of a social site, everyone knows the growth of it everyday. Pinterest. It is now officially the "third" largest social media site, surpassing even LinkedIn. It has been named, "50 Best Websites of 2011" according to Time.com and its list.

Every social site's trend right now has to be the visualization of the interface. The trend has been growing with Pinterest's example as the prime interface. It has grown a trend to put that style into practice on Internet Dreams.

Social media in general has been a huge focal point of success on the internet since the "human" seems to find connection to each other a must-need aspect of life.

This article will list the top 8 advantages social sites offer. You, too, take advantage of the social site's offers. Find out below, and get the "Advantages" identified! Please share!

1. Get Instant Traffic

With Facebook having over 845 million monthly active users according to jeffbullas.com and Pinterest with 10 million, it shows to prove that social media is one of the most accessed feature of the internet.

Why not take advantage of the traffic some of the social media sites receive? It would be beneficial to your site to get that traffic and get your brand more "aware".

Not all of that traffic is what you are going to need. Only a small portion of the numbers. The small portion that is high-targeted and what you are really looking to attract to your site.

There are some stats that is worth taking note on the internet. Of all of them, it is pretty obvious Facebook is the "King" and worth investing time into. It could be different for you, since you could be more engaging on Twitter.

It is all about what time you invest in a social site and based on that is the yielding return.

2. Talk And Connect With Your Peers

Your peers could be site owners or bloggers that have their content and they're distributing it to the social masses. Social media has made it a possibility and a "must" to form relationships with your peers.

Connect and talk with them. That is one of the most important tasks for a beginner. Just saying, "Hi, how are you" is a killer opening to a connection. Also offer to let them know if you could share any content they may have.

Having the right top wordpress plugins at your disposal is one step closer to taking full advantage of social media.

Ask them personally to make sure they know you shared their content as they are more apt to respond with the same action.

3. Capture A Following!

Getting traffic from social media is one thing but to get them to like or follow you is another. Since social media traffic is known for traffic that comes and goes, it creates huge spikes then dwindles the next day.

Half the time you are looking to get traffic from a social visitor, try the other to get them to follow you. Asking is a start and providing unique content is also a start in getting them to sign up.

4. Get More Help To Share Your Content

Since social media is about connections and sharing what best interests them, posting your article there might interest them as well. They will look at it and what they see, might help you get started with sharing.

One way to get more shares form a piece of content is to involve your peers in it in some way and asking them to share it. The other is to contact your "legit" readers or followers you are in good connection with and ask them the same way as well.

5. It Is Free To Use

There is no cost involved and use them as much as you can. Set up a profile that looks worked on and has all of your current "information". Start following and making friends with as many as you can, and slowly refine your search.

It is free to share and use the features of the social site, such as meetings or groups. Be aware of the possibility of connecting with other "similar" people and sharing what you have to offer. Keep this strategy at a consistent basis. You'll see the rewards.

6. A Huge Database Of Ideas

On the social sites, in some areas of it, there are many looking for answers to their problems. People are looking for solutions and one of the places they are looking is in social media where they might be following one of their teachers such as a blogger or mentor.

Problems = Ideas. You can also get ideas by looking at what is the trend out there and capturing some of that vibe. Look at other content and analyze for yourself what is getting hits on it. It isn't hard to figure that out. Just look at the social signs such as comments or likes, retweets, etc...

Spying on your competition basically.

7. Social Media = Social Networking

Absolutely the fundamental aspect of receiving success on Social Media. That could be possible as its other name. If you are not networking with others on these sites, and just pumping just your own content and hoping it gets recognized.

Nope. It isn't.

The only way it would be is if your followers or close ones share and help you promote further. That is something I had to learn and didn't think of it that way. So, contact your close connections and help each other out with sharing. That way, you will be able to reach further down the channels of social media.

8. Increase Your Brand "Name"

Even "big" name companies that have existed prior to social media madness, have jumped on this medium to grow their business even more. According to eMarketer.com, 88% percent of marketers agree that social media has helped grow their brand "awareness".

Even if you haven't had your website exist before social media, now is the time to grow that name of your site into the brand that can be known by a wider mas, when grown. A smart strategy is to take a look at the big dogs and catch "some" of those tricks they use, cause they have more experience in the field.

Recap Of The 8 Social Media Advantages

There you have it. The 8 huge advantages listed here you can't miss of social media engagement. It could also be the top ten advantages of using social media for your site.

No more excuses not to use social media like it is, and if you are using it, I am sure you are not using the full advantages of it. I was doing the same till I rediscovered, myself, on what the true meaning of social media is.

Work on each of these eight points, one at a time. These are meant to be working points and stepping-stones to the next level of your social media engagement.

Out of all these points, the true key to success on any social site is engagement and time. Time you spend on getting better on that specific social media site.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7153890

What is Social Media? A Guide to Profiting From Social Networking

SM is an umbrella term that encompasses the technologies and the activities that people use to share experiences, ideas and information with each other. The term is still evolving. The term "SOCIAL MEDIA" most often refers to activities that integrate technology, social (or human) interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio - better known as "user generated content" [an example of UGC would be videos on YouTube.]

Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing (crowd outsourcing), and voice over IP, to name a few.

Examples of social media applications are Google Groups (reference, social networking), Wikipedia (reference), MySpace (social networking), Facebook (social networking), Youmeo (social network aggregation), Last.fm (personal music), YouTube (social networking and video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), Flickr (photo sharing), Twitter (social networking and microblogging) and other microblogs such as Jaiku and Pownce.

--- What is Social Media Marketing (SMM)?

SMM is where you use social media networking and user-generated content platforms to promote a product, service or content. SMM typically involves creating and participating in a "conversation" with the target audience, rather than blatantly advertising to them.

SMM can also include creating and promoting viral content that is meant to be shared by users. Many marketers are not comfortable with the lack of control over social media but when approached properly, social networks can be extremely effective channels for building product evangelism, reputation management or corporate branding

--- Why is it becoming so popular?

I believe it's simply because it mirrors our true nature. We are gregarious by nature and for once we are able to use technology easily to reach out and connect in new and exciting ways. It's still all so new too, there are new frontiers popping up regularly and it's a bit like the early Internet "gold rush" days during the 90's

--- Is every Social Media site for every entrepreneur?

They might not think so, but it is. You do it naturally every day, SM online is simply the same thing applied technologically.

--- How does a business owner determine which site is the best match for them?

Good question. Not all SM Sites are equal. I typically advise people to think "classical marketing" and don't let the 'flashing lights' fool you. Visit the site, pat attention to the conversation. "Lurk" for a while. Ask a question, see what happens. Each environment has its own rules. Blunder in and start shouting and you'll get flamed. Respect the environments 'sub culture' and you'll do fine. An obvious example of this in action is a site that caters to "gamers" - you instinctively know that if you're selling insurance you would have a tough time in that environment. Like I said, think like a classical marketer.

--- Are there some "best practices" steps to starting and maintaining your SMM sites? And how do I make social networking work for me?

- Social Media Marketing

Many a company has forgotten the old maxim, "Act in haste, repent at your leisure..." The same warning should be applied to companies rushing to get in on the social media marketing wave.

If you hear things at work like "We should have a blog," or "Let's join Facebook," I suggest [respectfully] that maybe you are about to make a whopper of a mistake.

Here's why...

- Backwards is bad

You are starting your social media strategy design backwards - and this will lead to trouble.

In any other business endeavor we start by figuring out what we want to accomplish. Social media technologies are not magical. They're just tools too. It's time to stop doing social media marketing because it's trendy and instead do it because it works!

- 4 Things to Remember

(1) The web is about people. You need to know your audience. Understand their capabilities, their hangouts online, their language and behaviors. If you're targeting business travelers then consider rating and review sites for example. Just don't guess...

(2) Figure out what will be different when you are done. This is the "why" behind your plans. Do you want to create a close knit community or a product testing ground. Understand the motive's behind your actions.

(3) What outcomes and objectives are you seeking to achieve. Consider the end result and how you will measure it. A fuzzy or fluffy end result is almost as bad as not specifying one at all. How will you measure success?

(4) What technology to choose. Only answer this question when you've completed the others because then you'll know with clarity and confidence.

In conclusion, if you recognize classic business planning and management principles amongst these notes you'd be correct. The game may have changed, but the rules are still the same. Plan first, then act with confidence.

--- How long is this new type of marketing going to take to master?

The actual skills are quite simple - you likely already have them mastered. What you need to learn is the PROCESS. That takes a little time, but frankly not that much.

--- What if I don't know many people to invite to my network?

No problem. Answer this question "If you are the ANSWER, what was the QUESTION?" Armed with that answer you can locate groups of people who would need what you offer. You can then invite them to participate and you can SHARE your knowledge and expertise to PROVE you are the answer to their problem. Use your favourite search engine to locate these people - simply type in the QUESTION or problem. Remember, if people knew the answer they wouldn't be looking :)

--- How can I get business through SMM?

It's a funny thing when I'm asked this. We do it daily, so I marvel at the fact people think it's different online. Sure there's a layer of technology in the mix, but it's still about people getting to know people. Remember the old maxim, people buy from people they like and trust.

SMM simply enables (or should I say empowers) you to do this more effectively.

--- Why Most Brands Fail on Social Networks

A new report from JupiterResearch sheds light on what many online marketers suspected for quite some time. Most brands are failing to make impact on social networks...

Naughton's Law states: "We invariably over-estimate the short-term implications of new communications technologies, and we grievously underestimate their long term impacts." Every brand should be online in the best way, know its consumers, and maximize the benefit of its online offering to those consumers.

Here are some startling facts from the report:

- Startling Facts:

(*) The average branded social networking page has only 6,494 friends.
(*) Many advertisers are still building branded social networking pages that broadcast content rather than inviting users to interact.
(*) "Most advertisers simply don't know how to market properly within social networks." - JupiterResearch

- New Research Suggests:

(*) You should promote your SM pages with paid adverts rather than relying on viral marketing to get the message out. Building viral buzz is harder than you think.
(*) You need to engage users on the page. Even simple forms of engagement, such as contests, on average doubled the number of friends acquired by each branded page.
(*) You must also appeal to social networkers' love of multimedia to get noticed. Social Networkers are twice as likely to visit a branded page focused on media content than a branded page focused on products.

--- How does the non-writer do this type of marketing?

It really shouldn't pose a problem. The 'Net is vast and there's room for each of us to be AUTHENTIC. Even behind the shield of a computer many of us seem able to sense a scoundrel or someone "putting on airs".

If you can email you can do SM. If you can talk you can SM. If you have a pulse... you get the idea.

--- Do the Social Media Marketing sites have fees to pay?

Typically NO. I advise you to initially avoid any sites that ask for payment until you know precisely what you are paying for. There are some good fee based sites out there, but the good ones also offer a free version too - start there if you wish. Let the results determine the level of investment you are prepared to make.

--- Are there some sites that you would recommend for business people?

LinkedIn.com
eCademy.com
SelfGrowth.com
Ning.com - 'create your own' Social Media website.

--- Will I have to spend hours a day keeping in touch with all of the people who write to me?

You will need to invest time and energy in your online marketing. Whether it's YOU that does this or one of your staff is entirely up to you. But you cannot expect a "set and forget" solution to something that is inherently human.

--- How can I protect myself from "weirdoes?"

Be careful. Don't give away sensitive or private information online. You will always be exposed to some degree to odd people. I get some very odd emails and propositions, however you need to remember this is business, and although you are using "personal skills" to network online, never forget that.

--- How can I come across as a professional on these sites, and is it possible to do "real" business this way?

Yes. Publish a professional PROFILE. Show you are a professional and act accordingly and you will be perceived as such. Include family photos of you dressed as a clown at your kids birthday party at your own peril. Remember, online your "goofs" are eternal and will haunt you forever. Online reputation is area you need to tread carefully within. It's a bit off topic, but that's why I tell teenagers that they should be very careful about the pictures and posts they put on these social websites. Because in a few years the recruiters will be Googling them and this will be part of their "resume" and frankly it can be a career killer before it even starts.

--- Why do some people seem to get good results and others just get discouraged?

As with all things in life some people quit too early. Social Media Marketing and Social Networking takes time. It's like any relationship you develop with another human, rushing to the finish just gets you slapped... Metaphorically and literally too!

Also, success online isn't about one big thing, it's about a cluster of little things done consistently with focus and commitment. The strongest trees take the longest to grow. Online things happen a lot faster, but still there is a time commitment, think 6 to 12 months and you'll be thinking along the right lines.

--- Is there a "fast start" strategy once I sign up for a Social media marketing site?

There is. Create a professional profile. Publish some content establishing you as an expert in your field. The 'readers' will approve and so will the search engines. Explore the active or "hot zones" within the SM site, pay attention to the type of communication and then dive in. Give first. Build kudos and credit before you try asking for anything.

To keep up, use technology to "feed" your SM presence from your other sites like your blog or website. I use technology to syndicate and publish my content to all my SM sites with the push of one button. It makes connecting and staying up to date a breeze.

Remember to invite your friends to join you. Add a promotional button on your "other" sites - for instance if you decide to join Twitter, you can put a "Follow Me" link on your website. Connect, Communicate and Commit. Now 'rinse and repeat.'

--- Extra Topics...

- The 16 Rules of Social Media Optimization

Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, adding a Digg or Share This button, blogging and incorporating third party community functionalities like Flickr photo slides and galleries or YouTube videos. Social media optimization is a form of search engine marketing (SEO.)

Social media optimization is in many ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way the engagement with blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogsphere and special blog search engines such as Technorati.

Rohit Bhargava was credited with inventing the term SMO. His original five rules for conducting Social Media Optimization have grown to 16 (as of today.) For reference, here is an aggregated list so far:

1. Increase your linkability

2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy

3. Reward inbound links

4. Help your content travel

5. Encourage the mashup

6. Be a User Resource, even if it doesn't help you

7. Reward helpful and valuable users

8. Participate

9. Know how to target your audience

10. Create content

11. Be real

12. Don't forget your roots, be humble

13. Don't be afraid to try new things, stay fresh

14. Develop a SMO strategy

15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely

16. Make SMO part of your process and best practices

Much of what is listed here is common sense, some say it just Web2.0 marketing. Whatever you may think it's definitely good advice no matter what. I'm just pleased we are taking the subject seriously now and promoting strategic content creation as an important aspect in the mix.

- 15 Social Media Facts That You Should Know

(1) Approx. 3 out 4 people in North America use the web
(2) Women are a growth area online.
(3) 44% of the Internet users are between the age of 35 and 54.
(4) Approx. 3 out of 4 people in North America use social networks.
(5) They spend an average of 6 hrs a month on these social networks and view more than 800 web pages.
(6) 51% of social network users are female - they also consume about 200 pages more than men and spend an extra 2 hours online.
(7) Canada is a Facebook nation, the USA is a MySpace nation.
(8) 65.7% of Canadians use Facebook each month spending an average of 350 minutes and consuming 725 pages of content.
(9) 35+ is the biggest age growth sector on Facebook.
(10) Online video and multimedia has grown over 300% in North America.
(11) The average length of a video online is 3.4 minutes
(12) 89% of all Internet users have watched a video in the past month.
(13) 57% of all videos are consumed on YouTube.
(14) Blogs reach more than 60% of all (online) people in North America. Blogging is growing at almost twice the rate of the Internet.
(15) Social networking and multimedia has a reach of more than 80% of the North American population.

Bottom line, if you are not engaged in social media conversations with your marketplace, then you face a very uncertain future. As I'm fond of saying "Be Found, Be Noticed or Be History!"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1470894

How To Optimise Your Business’ Page For Facebook Mobile

Browsing Facebook on iOS and Android devices is one of the public’s most popular pastimes: the average smartphone owner spends 18% of the time on their device accessing Facebook, while in the UK alone mobile usage has increased by 22% in the last year.

As more and more people purchase tablet and smartphone devices, using them to access social media networks like Facebook, it becomes increasingly important for businesses, both big and small, to optimise their Facebook business pages for mobile devices.

If you are a business owner, don’t worry: optimizing your Facebook page for mobile devices is very easy. Just follow the three simple steps I have outlined below.

1. Make the most of the space

When optimising your Facebook page for mobile devices, the biggest concern is space. A severely truncated version of your business’ page for desktop devices appears on smartphones, missing the majority of the timeline, the iframes, the comments box and even some of the text from longer posts.

If you are trying to promote your business on mobile, try to use simple, eye-catching pictures and snappy, concise text. Of course, you need to make sure that the stuff you are posting on your page with mobile devices in mind won’t look terrible on desktop devices.

If you want a post to stand out you can pin it to the top of your page. Pinned posts appear beneath a page’s profile picture, cover photo and calls to action, so they are on a user’s screen as soon as they visit the page. Pinning posts is an easy and effective way to ensure that the content you want to get seen is seen.

2. Make the most of the features

It is extremely important that all the information on your page is correct, especially the address information because, using Facebook’s Local Search feature, potential customers and clients are able to find and visit your business.

All Facebook business pages feature call to action buttons, visibly displayed beneath the cover photo. On mobile devices, local business pages with a fixed address (as opposed to the pages of larger corporations and brands) feature a ‘Like’, a ‘Check In’ and a ‘Call’ button. Try to encourage customers and clients to check in or like your business when they visit by displaying clear signage which gives them information and specific instructions on how to find your page. The more people like and check in on your business’ page, the more people will discover your business – also, it will improve the interaction stats on your page.

Beneath the interaction stats are photos. In the case of local businesses, there are two photo tabs: one for photos taken in the location and one for photos posted by the page administrators. Post photos of you and your colleagues enjoying themselves in your business and encourage customers and clients to do the same – people are more likely to visit businesses where people have fun.

3. Use the Page Manager app

You should not only be optimising your page for Facebook Mobile, you should also be optimising your page on Facebook Mobile.

The Facebook Page Manager app is a great tool for page administrators who cannot always access Facebook from a desktop device. On the app, you can post updates and photos, respond to comments, access and send messages, set up notifications and view your Page Insights.

The newest version of the app even allows admins to apply Instagram filters to their photos before posting them and add stickers to messages.

How do you encourage people to like and check in on your business’ page?

Will Sigsworth

How Social Media Can Boost Sales

As we all know, the sales manager is a major part of any organisation. It is their responsibility to ensure that all of the sales quotas set by executive management are met and that the business delivers its targets. The responsibility on the sales manager’s shoulders can be intense. Thankfully, sales managers are typically former sales people who have been promoted to a managerial position, so they know what hard work is needed from the bottom up. When they encounter any problems, they can use their personal knowledge, experience and know-how to can solve them.

The sales manager has to know their sales areas well and be on hand to assist the sales team when required. A crucial quality of any sales manager is the ability to motivate his/her team. To encourage hard work and dedication, sales managers often establish leader boards and hand out prizes to the best sellers. The role of sales manager is always evolving and many sales managers are turning to social media to create competition within their department. Using social media to create competition is easy, all you have to do is:

1- Create a Facebook page

2- Get your employees to unite on the page

3- Set up internal competitions, sales targets and post how employees are competing

4- Interact, upload pictures/videos of the development

By following the tips above, you could motivate your staff in a more social and interactive way and encourage them to get involved more, which could in turn lead to more sales!

The competitive sales and social environment

Traditionally, ‘sales’ is a very competitive environment. Sales personnel are known for trying every little trick in the book to get one step ahead of rival companies. The emergence of social media has improved and updated the work of a sales executive by providing sales departments with a plethora of resources and vital information.
Websites like LinkedIn allow sales managers to research and analyse companies in various different ways. They can use LinkedIn to introduce themselves to potential clients, gaining direct access in a way which would never have been possible without the internet. The sales manager now has the ability to connect with individuals without any geographical barriers. By asserting your position, you can display your credibility and establish key contacts. Physical meetings can subsequently materialise as a result of your initial social media strategy. As a result of these wider markets, an increase in sales is inevitable.

The Alternatives

There are other social network sites such as Twitter which have become extremely important to all sales managers. Twitter is a rich source of information, often showing users the trends and fads of the moment. Any self-respecting sales manager uses Twitter to keep up to date with what is going on in the market, as well as their own existing client base. Companies often display information which is useful to a sales person, such as the details of an upcoming event or a project that they have undertaken, on social media sites. By following certain companies and organisations on Twitter and Facebook, sales managers can stay informed and up-to-date, putting themselves in a very strong position to sell their services or products to potential clients.

Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are generally used as sales aids as opposed to direct selling tools. It is the responsibility of the sales manager to attract customers to the main website by encouraging their followers with interesting facts about the company and keeping them informed of the latest events.

Various strategies can be used by sales managers to assist them in their roles. Some might opt to create videos and integrate them on the company’s Facebook page, allowing them to speak directly to the customer and humanising the company as a whole. This strategy will create interest and make the organisation stand out from the rest.

In Conclusion

Social media helps the company to engage with their customers on a human level without the hard sales tactics seen in the past. Sales will ultimately increase as a result, as followers who are passionate about the company tend to post complimentary messages on the site, messages which are then viewed by other potential customers.

Social media is proving to be much more than a flash in the pan and we will certainly see many more sales managers embracing it with enthusiasm.

What has your sales job involved and how has social media affected you?

Please leave your comments below.


Jenny Beswick