For a long time we couldn’t figure out how useful social media would end up being. Sure, a lot of people use it, but in terms of a business, could it be more useful than the phone book which has long been the currency of cold lead generation in most niches?
It took the better part of five years to work it out, but these days, there isn’t a question. With 500 million users on Facebook and over 150 million on Twitter, people are definitely using these technologies, and businesses are making huge jumps in their local markets by tapping into them. But, which ones are most important and how should you be using them?
That’s where our list comes in handy – with the top 5 social media platforms every business should take advantage of.
Facebook – The biggest of them all is Facebook, providing access to about one third of the US population and a plethora of customization, automation, and advertising features. If you own a business, you should have a Facebook Page to go with it. It takes only 5 minutes to setup and the options to draw interest are numerous.
Twitter – Twitter is growing…fast. And no wonder. This site is immensely powerful, providing you with the kind of tools you could only dream of before – direct access to your customers with minimal time investment? Yeah, that’s a good deal.
LinkedIn – If you’re a professional or work with a lot of vendors or contractors, you should be on LinkedIn. Even if you don’t, the ability to network with old classmates, colleagues, and neighbors is extremely powerful.
Flickr – Yes, it’s a picture storage site, but it’s also a very popular social network where you can interact with your customers, post pictures of sales associates and special events and ask for feedback on whatever you can dream up.
YouTube – The ultimate video destination can be a fantastic place to draw leads from. Whether you’re posting short promos of your business or funny little viral clips to draw attention to your staff, YouTube provides the distribution and audience you need to build rapid new traffic sources.
Social media isn’t a fad. It’s massive and for some businesses, it’s all they need to build a fantastic source of fresh leads and potential customers. Even if you haven’t built your business’s website yet, get yourself on these five sites. Then, when you have your website up and running, you’ll already have a nice chunk of visitors to send to it.
