News flash, the online networks are increasing daily through social media outlets such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Well this is not exactly breaking news in fact these social media gorillas have member increases by the minute. Each day the number of users worldwide that login to Facebook and LinkedIn are increasing. It was estimated not long ago that Facebook had over 350 million users, probably closer to 400 million by now and LinkedIn with over 50+ million users to date. If your business is global you can sure bank on increasing foreign numbers as well considering roughly 70% of Facebook users come from outside the US.
There are many reasons to set up a Facebook Fan Page or a LinkedIn profile to act as a bridge to contacts, consumers and friends all over the world. Setting up a business fan page on Facebook and creating a LinkedIn profile allows at the very least for people to find you or your website through back linking. When you’re able to create an online presence and marketing buzz you create momentum and drive traffic to your website. This is a goal that can be reached when you use these social media tools. Depending on your target market or your business you can determine which one works best but you should certainly set up both accounts. Here are some reasons you should consider.
1. A Facebook Fan Page creates a platform to provide prospects, contacts and customers to connect with your business. You can provide company news feeds, sale information, set up a calendar for upcoming events. Another communication bridge is always a positive.
2. When you set up a fan page you can invite friends and colleagues on Facebook to join your page. When they subscribe they will be informed of company happenings which also creates word of mouth buzz. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
3. The most important reason to set up a Facebook Fan Page is it creates brand recognition and awareness. You can explain your business and or services for anyone on Facebook to view. These are just three proven reasons for creating a fan page and for reasons on using LinkedIn are discussed below.
1. LinkedIn can be described as the formal version of social media. LinkedIn is a business network for educated and connected people that can help bridge the gap for job opportunities, networking, job postings and just a great way to connect with industry leaders.
2. A LinkedIn profile can be used as a running resume, so to speak, that can help keep your contacts up to date with current projects or recommendations. Another great feature of LinkedIn is you can request recommendations from previous relationships or jobs that act as your own review source.
3. Visibility. If we haven’t emphasized it enough, if you stay active in social media you’re staying active with your community.
There are many reasons to use Facebook and LinkedIn and the applications and way we search the web are changing with each passing month. Social media is a great platform to promote, help, correspond, advertise and educate.
Successful Business Uses for Facebook and LinkedIn (GF202)
How to Blog Effectively for Business (GF101)
It’s become a very important aspect of any business to inform, educate and simply keep customers in the loop of what is going on with your business. Blogging for business can be just about any aspect of your business from new products and services to special promotions or reviews. Keeping your readers informed and up to date about your business helps keep your business relative online. Here are 3 tips to help you keep your blog organized and relative.
1. Content – This is the most important ingredient of your blog. You can have beautiful images and eye catching headers but if your content is garbage you will never see return traffic. If your content isn’t up to date or you haven’t added a post in months, there is a good chance it will lose value. A relative blog will be up to date with weekly post additions on industry related topics. The best content relates to the broader topics covering your industry which will ultimately attract a broader reader base.
2. Reader Comments – Another important aspect for business blogs is to allow for reader comments. Whether the comment is positive or negative, this gives your business a great opportunity to get feedback. A lot of people can be scared off by negative comments or delete them from their blog but if you receive a negative comment this will provide an opportunity to interact with this person and find out why they feel the way they do. No business gets 100% positive feedback but only the strong minded businesses can turn a negative into a positive. A key component to internet marketing is interacting with your customers. If you take the time to understand the person behind the negative comment and look to build off it and reassure the person that you take their comment seriously, you could change their outlook on your company. When you’re able to respond to positive and negative comments you’re able to expand your customer base by simply showing your readers that you are constantly working on improving your service.
3. “Busy” Isn’t Always Good – Sometimes people or businesses get carried away with images or sidebar content, polls of all sorts. If your reader doesn’t know where to look when they land on your blog, there is a good possibility they will get confused or frustrated and bounce. Keep your layout clean and preferably just one sidebar. If your blog is full of advertisements or flash banners, the distractions could be fatal to your blog. Make sure your layout is defined and your readers know where to go for the latest blog post or to find information out about your business. Sometimes too “busy” is not good.
