 |
| Source: pixabay.com |
How Does a Small Business Define Itself as Social - You keep hearing about how your business needs to jump on the social media marketing train, but what exactly does that mean? Can you really call yourself a social business if all you have is an outdated Facebook page?
According to Forbes, 73 percent of Fortune 500 companies admitted to using Twitter for business purposes. The Business Journal reported that 80 percent of American companies claim to use Facebook to network with consumers.
While these statistics are astonishing, it makes one wonder what percentage of these companies truly have an effective social media marketing plan in place. Probably a very small group. This means that there is a lot of opportunity for your business to stand apart from the competition by adopting a social mentality.
But how can a business truly define itself as social? Social media coach Janet Fouts shares some essential elements of what a social business looks like:
1. A Social Business Uses Social Media as a Listening Tool
What is your target audience saying about your brand or your competition? You can take advantage of social media monitoring tools to keep you in the loop with these online conversations and allow you to actively participate.
Smart businesses will use this readily available feedback to tweak their business models to best meet the needs of their customers.
2. A Social Business Actively Engages With Fans and Followers on its Social Media Sites
More and more people are following their favorite brands on social media sites, which opens up a door for businesses to further connect with their target audiences.
Think about a time that you may have commented or asked a question on a business’s social media site that you follow.
If you received a prompt and personalized response, that probably left a positive impression on you and deepened your loyalty for the brand.
3. A Social Business Strategically Uses Social Media to Drive More Traffic to its Webpage
Instead of using social media for push marketing efforts, a social business understands that it needs to use its social media sites to share content that its target audience will find relevant and meaningful.
Ideally, this content will inspire the prospective customer to visit your website, driving more qualified lead traffic to your page.
Be sure to check out Janet’s blog to see an interesting infographic about the evolution of the social business.
After reading this article, do you think that you could truly classify your business as social? If not, what would you like to change?