Advantages of Social Networking for Businesses
Free social networking sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are ideal for business networking. These sites will help your business capture sales by appealing to a wide range of potential customers.
You will:
- Build your customer base;
- Connect with your customers;
- Enjoy ‘Real Time’ communication;
- Learn what your customers think about your company;
- Find out what your customers want;
- Build a referral base; and
- Sell products and services.
Here are some ideas for social networking for business:
You’ll lose customers fast if all you do is blast sales ads. Soft selling is the best way to sell on social networking sites. However, Twitter is perfect for asking your customers about their interests, and promoting your most recent blog post by adding the link. Add a few words about the link to peak their interests so they will click through to your blog.
LinkedIn is a must for business networking. It is a virtual Rolodex where you can keep up with your contacts as they are promoted or move to different companies. You can identify prospects for your products and services, make connections virtually that would be hard to make otherwise, and cultivate referral sources. It is an ideal site for business to business connections: make a recommendation, start a discussion or ask a question.
Social networking for business is achieved easily with a Facebook fan page. Facebook is more informal than LinkedIn, and this is a good place to share the human side of your company. Promote your employees’ outside interests, and post pictures and videos of the people that make your company great.
These are just a few social networking sites to help you reap the many advantages of social networking for business. Learn why your customers choose to join different sites, and add to the conversation.