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Social Media

Success Strategies for Growing Your Business with Social Media

By Kelly Cannings

Ah, the fall season! With the hectic “back to school” demands, urgent client projects, vendor supply issues and 1,001 other priorities competing for our time as Mompreneurs, who really has time to tweet on Twitter, network on Facebook and share videos on YouTube? I mean, is there really anyone who cares about my kids’ soccer scores or the status of my latest PAC meeting?

Since fast-growing channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube stormed onto the scene back in 2007, social media has grown exponentially among both average Internet enthusiasts and the business community. Many small business entrepreneurs have jumped on the social networking bandwagon with the hopes of igniting brand visibility, generating hot leads and maximizing income potential.

A December 2009 study from the University of Maryland Smith School of Business revealed a jump from 12% to 25% in the number of small businesses adopting social media into their overall marketing practices – that’s almost one in four small businesses now using social media in the United States; Canada’s stats are likely similar.

Here are a few driving factors:

1. Social media presents a highly cost-effective marketing channel in a less than robust economy. Businesses are seeking creative and low-cost ways to drive traffic and results for their business, and social media fits the bill!

2. Social networking tools such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn allow businesses to build rapport and relationships with their ideal customer audience.

3. Social media provides a digital stage for businesses to listen, collaborate, share ideas and even provide support to their customers in an authentic fashion.

4. Social media is the fastest growing viral marketing channel the business world has ever seen – an interesting tweet, YouTube video, blog post or Facebook update can be spread to the masses in very quick order. (Just ask the young wedding couple who decided to upload their wedding entrance dance video to YouTube if they thought it would be viewed over 12 million times in a one-

week period!)

5. Social media channels are highly indexed in the search engines and have the capacity to generate high listings for your target keywords. For example, Google loves videos and will look at YouTube titles and descriptions; it often lists videos high in their regular listings.

Try this: Pause for a moment and Google the main keywords for your business to see how many listings in the top 20 are connected to social media!

Social media can be a very potent marketing channel for virtually any type of business. But how do you actually get started? What social networking channels see the best results? Where should you invest your time? Read on for a roadmap to get started with social media marketing…

What it is:

• Largest social network with 450 million+ users worldwide and adding new users at a rate of 500,000 per day.

• People spend over 500 billion minutes per month

on Facebook.

• Over 25 billion pieces of content (video, status

updates, notes).

• The 35+ demographic represents more than 30% of its user base.

• The 55+ audience grew a whopping 922.7% in 2009.

• Facebook Business Pages are currently one of the hottest pieces of real estate on the web!

How to use it:

• Set up a profile and branded business page to serve as an ideal platform for increasing visibility, sharing content and connecting with your target audience.

• Research and build a targeted business-aligned fan and friend base.

• Post Facebook Events for your local and online events.

• Post regular status updates on your page and profile offering helpful tips, news items and information that would be relevant and interesting to your audience.

• Enlist Facebook Social Ads (pay per click tool) to target prospective clients based on gender, age, location,

interests, etc.

What it is:

• Largest business social network with over 55 million listed professionals.

• Ideal business-to-business channel for connecting with potential JV partners, new vendors, venture capitalists and other industry-specific professionals.

How to use it:

• Create a professional profile featuring your top skills, business experience, accolades, associations and recommendations from other clients.

• Build a targeted base of connections with potential JV partnerships, key suppliers, industry thought leaders and prospective clients.

• Participate and moderate industry-specific groups.

• Post your local events and share relevant content with your audience.

What it is:

• The most responsive and interactive social network on the web.

• Second largest social media tool next to Facebook with over 90 million unique visitors in May 2010.

• Growth rate of 300,000 new users per day.

• Known as a microblog that allows you to post messages with up to 140 characters.

• Similar to a big chat room, except you can choose whom you will follow.

How to use it:

• Create a “listening post” for following the tweets and conversations related to your business, brand, competitors and industry.

• Provide ongoing support to your customer base

on Twitter.

• Build a targeted following of prospective consumers, clients and JV partners in your industry.

• Leverage local Twitter tools like nearbytweets.com, Twellowhood.com and various smartphone apps to follow local conversations related to your market.

• Share helpful tips, blog posts, news items, surveys and other information that will add value to your community.

• Promote relevant events, business news, special discounts and contests.

What it is:

• Launched in 2005, YouTube is the premier video sharing site on the web!

• Two billion video views per day.

• 24 hours of video uploaded every minute.

• More video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than the three major US networks created in 60 years.

• Currently the second most popular search engine

behind Google.

How to use it:

• Create a high-quality branded YouTube Channel featuring interesting and relevant content.

• Create and distribute all types of videos including “talking head” videos, slide shows, and how-to videos.

• Optimize your YouTube video titles and descriptions with specific keywords to improve your search listings.

• Distribute your YouTube videos through your Social Media channels, including Facebook and Twitter, for increased visibility.

• Embed your videos in a relevant blog post.

Introducing the BIG Four

While the focus may differ from business to business, a good starting point is to connect with your target audience via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and/or YouTube. An important principle to remember for social networking is “Less is More”. It is better to make great connections within a couple of social networks rather than run yourself ragged optimizing a tonne of different ones.

An important

principle to remember for social networking is “Less is More”.

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