Every day we hear about the words social and community, and it’s easy to see why, given the kind of traffic headed to social networks right now! Social marketing is the newest thing going.
Do you know which site gets the most views? Would you believe Facebook. Thats right they are ranked #1, with over 1 billion visits per month. Myspace is #2 with 800,000 + visits. Twitter is #3 with only 54,000,000 visits, but it was ranked #22, just a short while before.
There’s no doubt that social networking strategies are the hottest thing going
right now in the Internet marketing world, partly because there are so many new sites and software types and methods springing up all the time, and partly because there’s a lot of testing going on to figure out what social networking strategies work best, on different types of business.
You can use social sites to:
.Get to know your market better, including their needs and wants
.Answer questions from present and future customers
.Respond to concerns or issues before you end up with “bad press”
.Stay in touch with what your competitors are up to
.Build a strong community of loyal, lifelong buyers
And there are many other ways and possibilities. One of the biggest challenges for many marketers is figuring out how to build a presence without making a direct pitch, something that they’ve been trained to do everywhere else, but an approach that rarely flies on social sites.
That’s why focus on building credibility. That’s right instead of directly promoting your business, focus on sharing valuable information that your customers and colleagues can actually use! And you become an authority in your industry and a sought after expert. The best part is people will seek out your business.
Any way this leaves them feeling at ease, and sets up a solid foundation of trust. Use this credibility and buzz-building strategy on almost any social networking site, from a blog to posts on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn, all the way to discussion hotspots like forums and Yahoo Groups and Google Groups.
Don't mention or promote your buisness, but make sure they can clearly see the URL of your business site. Entice them to check you out, but don't push them there.
Do have a compelling opt-in page to catch their information, even if they’re not ready to buy that day. Then you can follow up with them via email, as well as on the social networking platform.
Your credibility is your calling card, but the foundation of trust and terrific reputation you are building are nothing short of priceless! Social Marketing is just getting started, so get out their and get your feet wet.
