5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs To Be Using Social Media

Submitted by: Edward Gagnon Kundahl

According to a study by comScore last year, people are spending more time on Facebook than they are on Google. So, while search engine optimization (SEO) continues to be a vital aspect of online marketing, having a presence in social media is also vastly important. Below are 5 reasons why your business needs to be using social media.

1. Helps you stand out in an increasingly noisy world

In order to attract attention and stand out in this crowded world we called the web, you can t rely solely on traditional marketing methods. By building relationships with customers and prospects via social media and sharing helpful content with them, you ll generate word-of-mouth advertising and boost your business s visibility. According to Social Media Examiner s 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 88% of marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses

2. Diversifies traffic sources

In online marketing, one of the biggest mistakes people make is putting all of their eggs in one basket. If you rely too much on one source of traffic, your business will be on the rocks whenever traffic from that source drops for whatever reason. Many business owners learned this the hard way in February of 2011, when Google rolled out the infamous Farmer Update and thousands of websites suffered a massive dip in search rankings and traffic. By incorporating social media marketing into your promotional strategy, you can diversify your website s traffic sources and prevent uncontrollable changes from having a significant impact on your business s bottom line.

3. Helps you reach more potential customers

Social Media marketing helps you reach more potential customers. When you have a social media presence, people can find you through Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other websites, rather than just Google. And considering the fact that some internet users bypass search engines altogether and only use social media to make purchasing decisions, having a social media presence is particularly important.

4. Warms up prospects and increases referrals

Customers who find you through social media and have a good experience with your business are more likely to talk positively about you online and recommend you to their friends, family, and coworkers. Furthermore, prospects that are referred to you by someone they trust are more likely to become your customers. On the other hand, when people find you through a search engine, they have less of a connection to your business and are therefore less likely to buy from you or visit your website again.

5. Increases sales

While the results of social media aren t as direct and tangible as those of other marketing methods, the consensus is that social media marketing helps to increase sales. According to Social Media Examiner s 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 72% of marketers who have used social media for more than three years indicate that it has helped them close business.

It takes time to develop social media relationships that lead to more traffic, trust, and sales. If you don t know where to start and want to avoid wasting time on ineffective strategies, contact us to set up a free social media marketing consultation. We ll ensure that your social media campaign gets off to a successful start.

About the Author: For more information on our services, please call visit our website,

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or call one of our web and marketing specialists toll free at 1-866-864-2836.Edward R. Kundahl, Ph.D., is President and owner of IdeaOverTen, LLC, a full service search marketing and web development company locat

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