Everybody wants a robust, healthy, growing business. A big part of having a strong, healthy business is making sure you’re getting your message to the right people. Taking advantage of social media can be a big help in building (and flexing) your marketing muscles. Here are six reasons social media is a good way to build your business.
1. Last one in is a rotten egg! Remember that old taunt at the swimming pool when you were a kid? It’s true for businesses today. If you don’t talk about what’s going on in your industry or niche, your competitors will. If you’re the first one out there offering potential customers helpful information and insights with your blog, you establish yourself as a leader. Everyone else is just “following the leader.”
2. It doesn’t cost much. Your actual out-of-pocket cost to start blogging or using other social media tools (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) is pretty small. Even the cost to engage an inbound marketing agency is reasonable compared to what you’d pay for conventional marketing options.
3. You can get up and going fast. You could have a blog going in a matter of a few days. Same thing with creating a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Sure, you want to think through your strategy and have content lined up, but that can happen pretty quickly. There’s not a lot of “ramp-up” time involved.
4. You get instant, measurable results. The beauty of social media efforts is that you can actually track the results—right away. You don’t have to wait weeks to see what’s working. And when you find things that work, you can repeat them. And the really cool thing is that you will be interacting with customers. It’s a two-way street.
5. Potential clients will actually find you. Approximately 90 percent of people start the buying process with online search engines. Social media activities (if done properly) make it much more likely that your target audience will find you when they search.
6. It’s the way business gets done today. Outbound, or traditional marketing efforts
(direct mail, telemarketing, unsolicited emails, print ads, TV and radio ads) are invasive and ineffectual. They try to push their way into busy peoples’ lives. Inbound marketing, on the other hand allows potential clients to pull you into their lives—because you’re offering information they want through your social media and blogging efforts.
What are you doing to develop your social media muscles? It’s OK to start small, but make sure you start now. Otherwise the other businesses will be kicking sand in your face!
