Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is the process by which clients can gain traffic or attention through social media sites.  Using social media sites is relatively inexpensive and a great way to build brand awareness.  This type of marketing is often times much more personalized than traditional marketing because it utilizes the social aspects of the web.
Facebook

Creating a Facebook business page is a must to stay competitive in this market.  A Facebook business page enables your company to interact with customers, advertise special events or promotions, and build credibility.  Facebook enables a business to get quick top Google placement as business pages are indexed for optimal search engine positioning.  A Facebook business page is also a cost effective way to reach a wide audience as well as targeting your specific industry.

Twitter

Twitter is kind of a cross between blogging and instant messaging and is also a great tool for interacting with customers.  Twitter enables your followers to see what is new and exciting with your company and gives them an outlet for reviewing your company as well.  When a customer is happy with your services, it is an easy way for them to let others know.  If a customer feels there are areas that need improvement, this can help you address those issues and in turn improve your business interactions.  Twitter is also a great outlet for questions and blog promotion.

Foursquare

Foursquare is a location based social networking website based on software for mobile devices.  Users with GPS enabled mobile devices can use this application to “check- in” to their locations allowing other Foursquare users to see where they are.  This application can also be integrated with Facebook and Twitter so the users friends and followers can see their locations as well.  This is great for business promotion in that when a user checks in to your location, their whole network of people see it.  A business can offer discounts as an incentive for checking in to their location, in turn taking advantage of free marketing to several users networks.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site.  There are several ways LinkedIn can be used for business.  First, LinkedIn enables your clients to write recommendations that are published on your LinkedIn profile as well as the entire LinkedIn network.  There are also many forums you can participate in to share your area of expertise.  You can sync your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts to keep clients up to date with your business as well as your blogs.  Lastly, LinkedIn is a great place to network with peers in your industry for repeat business referrals as well as seeking out complimentary businesses that you can share referrals with.