How Social Networking Helps Business
Remember when the World Wide Web was first introduced? Some resisted the technological change while others ran with open arms to embrace the new world of virtual exploration. There was an Internet boom and an Internet crash but all in all the virtual world survived and at the same time another world was born. Enter the days of social networking.
It’s uncommon to be without an email address or a social page these days but the interesting thing is that it’s no longer just a younger generation phase to have a Facebook or webpage. It’s turned into a marketable business tool for any company, small or large.
Through social networking sites businesses are able to reach a larger audience with the click of a button. According to Manta, an online forum for small businesses, a recent survey of 600 companies showed that 78% of businesses use social networking as a viable means of marketing to their audience.
Businesses are no longer confined to their local area to reach customers and advertising online is more cost effective that other means that are now considered outdated. With the use of sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and FourSquare; companies are able to advertise for free and reach a greater audience at the same time.
Let’s face it, who isn’t on Facebook for instance? Advertising your products and services is bound to reach someone on your friends list, their friends list and so on. Word of mouth referrals naturally increase when someone notices your ad online and knows someone that could use your service or product. Gaining even one customer on any social networking site pays for itself 100% since the sites are for the most part free.
While only a small percentage of small business owners claim to not have pages on some of the major social networking sites they still admit to receiving traffic through their website. For some it’s about having the manpower to update and track their sites while others are comfortable maintaining the customers they already have.
The good thing about going online is that it will never be too late to join the revolution in one way or another. Once your information is online, it will always be there. As a business owner, longevity in business stems from longevity of your customers so why not grow with the every changing climate of the online world? After all, there’s no better platform of advertising than the instantaneous gratification of social media marketing.
Guest blogger bio: Ryan Franklin is a writer and small business owner who blogs on behalf of www.ordoro.com.