Social Media

What is social media? It's a place where people go to socialize, post content, stay in touch with family/friends, review businesses, recommend companies, products and services, advise fellow consumers ...sounds a little like word-of-mouth marketing, doesn't it?

While sites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube may be thought of as sites for teenagers or college students, that mind-set appears to be changing. In a recent issue of Audience Development it states the anticipated percent change in adult (18+) social network users will be 49.5% between 2008 and 2013. Is that where our current or potential new customers will be hanging out? I'd say it is!

Getting started in social networking may sound overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be! I recommend starting off with one or two sites and going from there. There are plenty of business networking sites you can join, like LinkedIn. I started with LinkedIn so I could ease into social networking and learn how it could work for me.

You can check out some of the social networking sites listed on this page (or click the Share link) to see how they fit with your company. Start with one or two sites and schedule updates to them as a part of your weekly/monthly marketing plan. At the very least, you'll drive more traffic to your website with a 24-hour active business presence around the world!