8 Reasons Why Your Business MUST Invest in Social Media

With the innovation and expansion of social media platforms old and new, along with the impressive, sustained growth rates they’ve experienced in both number of users and amount of time in use, it has become virtually impossible to view social media as just a passing fad anymore. In fact, social media may very well be the most powerful weapon you have when it comes to increasing revenue for your business.

Why you ask? There are hundreds, but let’s start with these 8 reasons why your small, medium or large business NEEDS to be committed and invested in Social Media (SM):

1. Brand Awareness:

It wasn’t that long ago that targeting those who watch tv, listen to radio, read newspapers and pass billboards were essentially the only methods capable of reaching massive audiences. Reaching those audiences usually cost millions of dollars each year, meaning large corporations with that type of capital had a sizable advantage over small and medium-sized businesses in those medias. Social Media has changed all of that; leveling the playing field and allowing mom & pop shops the opportunity to reach the same millions of people for .1 % of the cost.

2. Create Buzz:

When it comes time to launch a new product or service, the companies who have put time and resources toward establishing themselves in SM now have an immediate audience to help spread the word. This has been a powerful vehicle for a lot of companies, and one that is sorely missed by those waiting for the SM fad to fade away.

3. Establish Yourself as an Expert/Authority:

Blogs, message boards and forums, especially if you’re in a niche market, allow for communication and interaction. If you’re able to give good advice and provide value, people will begin to trust your opinion and look to you for answers.

4. Open Lines of Communication Between Clients/Customers and Owners:

Anyone who has ever owned a successful business can attest to how important this is. With SM, getting feedback and gauging the temperature of your consumer-base is easier and cheaper than ever. SM gives business owners the ability to listen to their customers in real time and make adjustments accordingly.

5. Compete with Larger Corporations:

This is one of my personal favorites. Whether you’re a small business or large corporation, you have access to the same tools and same opportunities to go viral and reach millions of consumers. This point is covered a bit more in a great post by Dave McClellan- “How Social Media Can Put Your Business on the Same Playing Field as the Big Dogs”

6. Drive Traffic:

When you consistently utilize all of the different SM outlets, they eventually become inlets and will drive traffic to your site! So many companies are missing the boat on this right now. Simply put, more traffic and visibility translates into dollars. Regardless of the size of your business, you can’t afford to miss out on this.

7. Search Engine Optimization:

SM is revolutionizing the way SEO will be done in the future. SM sites tend to not only rank very high on search engines, they also tend to rank very quickly!

Everything you do with SM can be SEO’d. Facebook profiles and pages, Blog sites, individual blog Posts, Twitter, Myspace, Linked In, etc., have the potential to make their way to the homepages of Google, Yahoo and so on. Taking advantage of these numerous points of entry can mean A LOT to the bottom line of your business.

8. Much Cheaper than Traditional Marketing and Advertising:

The myth that SM is free should be featured on Myth Busters as the biggest bust of 2010! To run an effective SM campaign, it takes a ton of time and knowledge. If you can’t afford to have an accredited SM employee run your campaign, it’s in your best interest to outsource it entirely.

The truth is…..you can’t afford not to-

Post by Shon Van Orden

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Tags: business, marketing, social media