Social media is in the forefront in many areas of business and social circles and has been steadily rising in the past few years. Interacting in social media hubs is where many people send and receive information online, learn of happenings in the news and gain insights to products and services others are recommending. Without a doubt social media is here to stay and online businesses cannot afford to ignore it.

Social Media is Powerful

With that in mind there are certain things to be aware of when dealing with social media for online business. It can be a powerful tool for your business, but you must be mindful of resources, time and and response in implementing a social media plan to ensure you make the most of the opportunity social media offers.

Social Media Power

I want to mention the evolution of social media because what you find today, may not be what you'll find tomorrow. Most people think of social media giant, Facebook, or longtime player, LinkedIn but most of the other big social networks have only been around a few years. That makes social media a very new business tool, so there is plenty to learn and plenty of exploration to do.

Social Media Stats:

  •  According to a 2011 Q3 report by Nielsen, more than 80% of Americans use at least one social network. That is a staggering number and should definitely get our attention as business owners.
  • In a 2011 report from Comscore, they stated that Facebook users account for 1 out of every 7 minutes spent online. Remember, as mentioned earlier, social media is becoming the way people send and receive information. It’s their go-to place.
  • Social Skinny.com reports that 91% of social marketers increased website traffic through social activity. That’s what we all want, right? More eyeballs on our web pages is always a good thing.
  • Lab42.com surveyed 1000 Facebook users, a relatively small amount considering the vast number of Facebook users, but in any even the numbers were quite interesting. The survey found that 50% of Facebook fans prefer brand pages to company websites, which leads us to an obvious question. Do you have a Facebook page and if you do, are you leveraging your Facebook page effectively?

There are several topics we'll cover over the next few posts to help you understand the impact social media can have on your online business.

Get Real

While I've mentioned some pretty impressive stats, we have to mix it with a dose of reality. Many people are flocking to social media, but our businesses are not social media. That’s where I see a lot of people making big mistakes. They put so much time and effort into social media, they forget that they are actually running a business.

Social media is an awesome lead generator and can help us create relationships to our existing customers and audience, but all that is worthless if we neglect everything else we need to be doing for our business. I'll show you how to use your time wisely and how to streamline things, wherever possible.

A few of the topics I'll cover in the coming posts include:

  • Understanding the big social networks and deciding where you should be
  • Tools to streamline your marketing, without looking like a robot
  • Growing your following and establishing yourself as a valuable resource
  • Managing your time effectively

…and a lot of other great information. We’ll even talk about some unexpected benefits of social media marketing, so hold onto your hats, we’ve got a lot to cover.

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