7 Reasons Why You Should Use Social Media For Business

Not sure if you should be using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other various social media for business? Here are a couple of things to consider:

1. Your potential customers are using them. If you’re not on Facebook and Twitter, they’ll just find someone else who is.
2. It’s free. Sort of. Social networking requires time and time is money. So in that respect, it’s not free. But yeah, it’s free.
   

   Use Twitter and other social media to stay on top of industry trends

3. It’s networking and networking is imperative if you want to grow your business. While it doesn’t replace going out there and actually meeting people face-to-face, it is a heck of an ice-breaker! It’s also a great way to stay in touch with someone after you have a brief face-to-face with them. Use social media to network with potential customers, suppliers, referrers, and industry peers.
4. It will help you stay trendy. Staying on top of what people are saying about your industry via Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn will keep you game-ready.
5. You can show off. What have you been up to? What are you working on? What makes you so amazing? Post content that shows what you are made of. Just don’t go overboard; have conversations and listen too.
6. You can use social media to position yourself as an expert. Post valuable third-party content that will interest the kind of followers you want to attract. Be a resource for great content. Be a fountain of knowledge.
7. Show them you’re human. Give your public a glimpse of the wizard behind the curtain. After all, no one is ALL about work. Are you a mom balancing business with family? Are you learning how to sculpt? Can you cook? Do you like zombie movies? Do your cats drive you crazy? Don’t take the “social” out of social media, even if you are using it for business. Connecting with your followers on a personal level will deepen your professional relationship. Just don’t get too personal and weird. Don’t talk about stuff you wouldn’t talk about on a first blind date with your mother watching.

Much like “real-life” networking, social networking requires time, dedication and consistency. You cannot expect miracles overnight.