Social media and you

By Troy Stiles 

We've all heard about this social media stuff and there’s more to it than just narcissistic status updates and net shorthand. (Which btw: I had no idea there were this many chat acronyms – http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php LOL!) Facebook and Twitter are the current rulers of the social space as we know it, but there are many others like Foursquare, YouTube, and LinkedIn that are vying for a piece of the online pie, too.

But, really, what does this all mean? There are hundreds and thousands of articles on the World Wide Web that talk about the importance of social media to the new business climate. Most businesses have at least a Facebook and/or Twitter page regardless of whether they use it or not. When businesses do utilize these platforms they are often used to promote the business and its products. Social media platforms are great avenues to market, but what many people haven’t figured out is the right way to market via these channels. Savvy marketers understand that the dissemination of information to potential consumers can no longer be a monologue; it’s got to be a conversation. With the availability of information available online, if the consumer doesn’t feel engaged, they’ll bounce to the next piano playing cat they can find. You know it’s true. You do it too.

Social media can be confusing with all its lingo and terminology, but if you think about it, it’s really a way to boost word of mouth advertising for your business. It’s like an online networking event, the more people you connect with and talk to; the more advocates you’ll have for your business. Social media marketing may not produce noticeable results to your business’ bottom line as fast as traditional advertising, but it engages much more effectively which helps in building longer-term relationships.

Twitter is growing at nearly 500,000 users each day, Facebook has over 800 million active monthly users, and with Google+ opening its doors to the public earlier this week and having an estimated 43.4 million users, so, unlike Betamax, we can see that social media is not going away anytime soon. You may have a Twitter account, but do you use it? You may have a Facebook Fan page set up for your business, but do you monitor that page? If not, why not? Get with the program. I can already see your competitors running away from you.