Social Media Benefits for Businesses

“Everybody’s on Facebook.” You’ve probably heard this statement before. While it may not be absolutely true in the literal sense, there’s a good reason why the expression exists: In the United States alone, there are 151.9 million Facebook users. Thus, Facebook offers a great opportunity for businesses to reach large numbers of people.

It’s not only Facebook. Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and many other social networking sites are other popular platforms that you can use to enhance your business exposure. It’s safe to say that you are missing out on a lot if you’re not utilizing social media for your business. Why? Consider these:

• Social media is an easy method to know your audience – the foundation of business success.

• Social media provides specific targeting. There are plenty of categories, such as location, interests, age, gender, and many others within social media that can help you direct your efforts in the right directions.

• Social media enables interaction with your audience. You can easily answer inquiries and get feedback, ultimately building relationships with potential customers.

• Social media is a more effective yet less costly means of lead generation.

Remember, though, that while social media is a strong online marketing tool, it’s not the be-all and end-all solution. It cannot replace a well-designed website with relevant content, and email continues to be a powerful business prospecting method. You have to use social media in tandem with these other methods to be truly successful.

Tips on Successful Instagram Marketing

Instagram is one of the biggest social networking sites there is, and the numbers back it up: As of December last year, there are 300 million reported active monthly users. It’s no wonder that these numbers also reinforce the potential of Instagram as a marketing medium. If you’re an entrepreneur of the same mind, you can heed these tips.

Use hashtags – Hashtags play an important role if you’re marketing on Instagram. An analysis of over 120,000 photos reveal that the more skillful the use of hashtags with their accompanying photos, the more “likes” they get. Great hashtags enable the photos—and message—to reach a wider audience. However, be sure not to overdo it. Each hashtag you use should directly reference your company’s name or any other relevant identifier.

What Is SMO and Why You Should Care?

SMO stands for “social media optimization”, a process that uses social media to increase awareness of a brand or product. It has the same goal as SEO in that they both aim to drive traffic to a website. Today, you can see SEO companies including SMO in their services. There’s a reason for that.

In the past, social media was seen only as a content-sharing platform. But now, social media is more than that: it is a powerful vehicle for marketing and customer service. One can interact with existing or potential customers on a personal level via social media.