Today’s social media has become a free way for companies to build their brand image, connect with consumers, and reach a mass audience. Now more than ever new businesses must utilize this free medium to attract potential customers. Businesses are forced to construct detailed and intentional strategies for social media marketing to be able to compete with the clutter on most social media websites.
In Justin Sach’s article on Huffington post he compares 7 of the best social media websites for businesses. He not only lists social media websites like Linkedin and Yelp which are made for businesses but he also assesses social media giants like Instagram and Facebook. Justin placed Facebook and Twitter as the two most important social media websites for businesses to utilize because of their reach and ability to convert prospective buyers into actual customers. Twitter and Facebook both have the right demographic of users who are able to afford to buy products and remain loyal to the company if they are impressed by the value provided. Businesses should focus on posts and content and the type of posts that can be created on these websites.
Personally I feel that Yelp can be a bad website for businesses to focus on. Most consumers are not interested in writing good Yelp reviews when they are provided good service but customers that feel cheated of shorted will write terrible posts about your company’s bad service. It is very difficult for companies to rebound from these bad reviews that end up happening on this social media. Companies should focus on social media outlets that allow them to communicate with consumers instead of just reviews of their products. Social media can easily make or break a company’s perception in the market. This forces businesses to focus on social media marketing to make their business perception on the internet positive.
Social Media definitely is a necessity for businesses today. Social media is a great way to interact with the community engaged with your brand and also a great way for the community to interact with each other. Twitter has also proven to be a great tool for customer support and communication.
Facebook is a key to small business success. It offers an incredible format for advertising both free and paid. Facebook also allows businesses to check out the ads analytics for free. Social Media gives an incredible platform for targeting consumers because our profiles show our personality and interests. I agree with the statement that businesses need to utilize these free platforms.
Social media is a fantastic tool to use to leverage your business. The biggest positive is that for the most part, it’s free. It also has fantastic analytics tools to track how certain advertised items are performing, which is a huge benefit to any startup business.
I thought your analysis on Yelp was very interesting. I find that Yelp reviews mean quite a bit or very little depending on who your target market is. It seems that many people are very very interested in what Yelp reviews say while others take all Yelp reviews with a grain of salt and look at other sources for reviews.
Great post, Mark! Facebook is so important for entrepreneurs and startups to utilize. Not only is it free, but like you said, it has a ton of reach! Mastering communication through Facebook can be a game changer for a startup.