You can’t listen to a colleague, read an article or see any news reports that don’t clamor about the benefits of social networking for business. That’s great, but how do you unleash its power for your business? And what are companies getting out of their social media sites?

The first step is choosing the proper social medium for your business. When selecting a social media venue, Facebook is clearly the dominant choice, according to a report by InSites Consulting.  In terms of membership, Facebook had 51% penetration by members, followed by 40% among MySpace members, 31% Linkedin, and 18% on Twitter.  A study done by Forrester found that 62% of social media users are sharing influence on Facebook, followed by 15% on MySpace, 10% on Twitter, and 6% on Linkedin. The share of influence on these social mediums includes ratings/reviews (32%), discussion forums (29%), blog comments (24%), and blog posts (16%). Your business can experience an unbeatable amount of information sharing and word of mouth exposure through social media.

The penetration rates, as well as the rates of information sharing and influence, are helpful in deciding the proper social media outlet, but why should your company get involved in social media in the first place? Diving into a new medium may sound scary, but consider these reported benefits, according to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, from a social media campaign and the percentage of its effectiveness for users.

• Generated exposure for business (85%)
• Increased traffic/subscribers/opt-in list (63%)
• Resulted in new business partnerships (56%)
• Helped company rise in search engine rankings (54%)
• Generated qualified leads (52%)
• Helped to sell products and services/close sales (48%)
• Reduce overall marketing expense (48%)

The benefits of social media are astronomical for businesses. In order to be successful and reap the highest potential of these benefits, you have to develop a strategy for your social media presence. What are your goals? What are the needs of your customers? If you think social media is the right path for your business, give us a call.

Quick Tip:

Having a presence in social media means nothing unless your site is up to date. If you’re not active, making comments, connections or suggestions, you will be portrayed as nonexistent! Make sure that you can commit to keeping your social media tool alive before you begin to build it. Don't have the time? We can help.

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