Dark Ops

Don’t Overlook The Importance Of Social Media For Your Business

Click! Click! Then click again! Determining how social media for business ‘works’ is more important to your future marketing strategy than you might think! Think! Think! And think again! Even if your business doesn’t have a website, people are talking about you. If you don’t have a website you’d better have a darned good answer.

One thing is for certain. Socializing on the web isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s here to stay and it isn’t controlled by any one entity. Each platform grows and dissolves through its popularity with its user base. When the members of LINKEDIn get bored they head over to Facebook. When Facebook gets old they migrate to Ecademy. When they tire of Ecademy they move over to one of the other socializing platforms that will fill there need for fresh information, new people and intelligent discourse.

So wake up and start clicking around. When was the last time you did a ‘search’ on your name or your business’ name? If you’re a ‘Mom & Pop Op’ you probably haven’t given much though to networking on the web. Sure, you’re busy but who isn’t? Keying into your customers and getting to know why big business uses socialized platforms is your key to the future.

Gone are the days when people merely looked to networking sites as a resume posting vehicle. Small business and big business alike are dedicating a large chunk of their marketing strategy and budget into developing communication tools for the future. Today, they’re using popular networking platforms such as Twitter, MySpace and Facebook.

If you’re still trying to figure out how your business should be using networked platforms for marketing and customer service needs then you’re not alone. Experts pop up every few seconds telling you they’ve found the ‘big secret’ to using social networks to increase ROI. But in reality, even the largest sales and marketing firms are still trying to figure out how they will be strategizing this medium for their clients into the future.

One complaint that many business owners have about social media is the amount of time that it takes to administer a well optimized social networking campaign. Fortunately, there are resources available that allow you to automate many of the most tedious of those chores. Two of those aids are GooBert and Miracle Traffic Bot, which we have reviewed elsewhere.

But what’s that you say? Your business is highly localized and can’t possibly be hurt or helped by a global presence such as LINKEDIN or Facebook? Silly you for thinking so small. The world has changed as much as advertising has changed. People located in Bali might well seek your business out the next time they visit San Francisco. That is, if they even know you exist. That local crowd, who visits your shop now and again, they’re LINKEDIN even if you’re not. They’ll think better of you if they know your business is approachable online as well as offline.

The ‘best’ of the best practices in using social media for your business are virtually enigmatic. They’re difficult to see primarily because it’s more about what is happening behind the scenes. Peek into your own personal networks and chances are you’re connected to someone who is being paid to socialize. They’re so good at doing it that you would never know they are a paid professional. Get behind the scenes and develop your own stealth campaign. Who knows? Tomorrow, your business could become the poster child for socialized online success.

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