Social Media – It’s the New Word-of-Mouth Advertising and It Can Vastly Increase Sales and Profits

We’ve all heard a lot about social media the last year or so. Some people exaggerate its importance while others underestimate its effectiveness. When used as an advertising tool it has many similarities to traditional ad campaigns, i.e. television, radio and print. It can likewise reach a wide or specific audience and introduce your products to people who don’t know about you. The main differences are that in social media online there is more of an ongoing process of cultivating relationships. In a way, it is like old fashioned, word-of-mouth advertising transformed into an electronic medium with far greater reach. For the savvy business owner interested in increasing sales and profits this form of communication should be taken seriously–not only because it works, but because it is free!

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Today and tomorrow the Twitter Conference is being held in Los Angeles with its primary focus on Twitter use for business. It has some well known speakers such as Anthony Robbins and Guy Kawasaki, as well as Biz Stone the co-founder of Twitter.

The New Entrepreneur in Business Week writes

……“The standalone tools and their sophistication are the key to effective business use of Twitter. A running search of a company and/or product name allows brand managers to know exactly what users are saying (good and bad), and to quickly respond in real time to any criticism or praise.

Following (and connecting with) industry leaders and opinionmakers is much easier and more effective on Twitter than with many other channels. (As one example, my guest blog spot here on BusinessWeek arose directly out of tweets I sent to BusinessWeek.com editors making the pitch, as did my own speaker slot at the Parnassus Twitter conference.) Twitter communications are not impacted by e-mail spam filters (although an overly aggressive marketer may find itself blocked by users or reported as abusive to Twitter), and once the business gets customers to follow it, its messages are automatically pushed to those customers rather than requiring them to visit a Web site.”

…”In fact, Twitter has become a tremendously valuable resource for businesses, and is growing more so by the day.”

With Twitter increasing recognized for it’s value as a business tool the rapid growth of users is only likely to continue.

This video is of Shane Gibson speaking about social media

What do you think?

Many small business owners are highly suited for marketing their business with social media. By combining their passion for their business with a desire to build relationships with their customers and potential clients they can build their exposure and branding through social media fairly easily.
Social Media Marketing for Small Business Entrepreneurs
I enjoy the initial phase of a search engine optimization or pay per click management campaign for any new client. We call this the discovery phase where we gather quantitative and qualitative information about a business to lay the groundwork for the project. The more we know about what they do, how they do it, who they are trying to reach and what their goals are the better we can develop and implement a successful online marketing strategy for them.<p>
One big difference I notice almost immediately when talking to an entrepreneur is the desire to talk about their business. You never have to worry about keeping the conversation going that’s for sure. Entrepreneurs love to talk about their business. It’s their passion. That’s why they are doing it. Many businesses, if not most, are built based on the personality of the owner and more often than naught these owners have an outgoing, engaging personality. That is why social media marketing can be so powerful for small business owners.
Social media marketing is not just about creating profiles on facebook, myspace, linkedin and other social media networks to try to create buzz and links to your web site. It’s about being actively engaged in the networks. Let people get to know you. Be real. Tell them about your business, why you do it and how you do it. Not from a sales and marketing stand point so it sounds like every other Tom, Dick and Harry selling the same thing but from your personal stand point " your personality" let it shine through. Just a warning here, if you are a real drone with a negative view point on the world this might not work. :&gt;) Find people with the same interests as yours and participate in their discussions. It has to be a two way network for it to work best.<p>
Are you thinking how in the heck am I supposed to find enough time to do this plus run my business? This is a valid point but if done correctly this can reap big benefits for your business. Millions and millions of people are participating in social media networks every day. Instead of actively participating in 4 or 5 determine which one best fits your desired demographic and focus predominantly on that one. Also, you might really enjoy it. Just talk about your favorite topic ��" your business.<p>
By Lynn Jebbia

Lynn Jebbia is a Senior Project Manager at ArteWorks SEO, a search engine marketing company. Her focus is SEO Strategy, Keyword Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Web Site Audits, Pay Per Click Management and Client Account Management.

Traditional marketing methods are fading with the rapid growth of social media and networking. This article explores the opportunities for advertising in the new social media arena.

Social Network Marketing – The Wave of the Future.
Social media websites are only beginning to realize their full potential and are quickly offering improved advertising opportunities for businesses.
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Here are some guidelines for best practices for marketing a business using social media. Jean Klett explains different ways your business can grow , build relationships, and get word of mouth referrals by using social media tools.
Social Media Marketing: A Great Way to Build Your Online Business
Social media marketing is all the rage these days. By actively using tools like Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace, you can create traffic for your online business, which is vital to increasing sales of your product or service. You will also get to interact with lots of folks who share common goals and interests, which can lead to forming profitable business relationships as well as making important personal contacts. But as with any form of marketing, there are some general guidelines that you need to follow in order to be successful.

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A blog is an important an foundational tool for business to use for social media marketing. The powerful tools contained within this software platform can be used for any type of business marketing.
Social Media and the Skinny on Blogging with WordPress
Social Media and Blogging;
A tool called WordPress is the best social media resource available to help you not only design a site, but also manage the content. WordPress is not just for blogs, but it can also be used for online portfolios, which artists and writers can use as a means to showcase samples of their work and art. It can be used to share the news or acts as a magazine site offering specifics to the needs of many who need information on various topics. WordPress also allows you to add a shopping cart so it’s perfect for people who want to carry out e-commerce.
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