Social media has been front page news this week, yet it’s hard to believe some people are unsure of its potential for their business.

A recent poll of US SMEs by insurer Hiscox found only 12% considered social media essential to promotion, with 50% not using social media in a business context at all.

Among the remaining 50%, there is probably uncertainty about how social media positively impacts ROI, and that it is a ‘fad’ and ‘something big brands do.’

Whether on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, the concept of starting a conversation with your customers, a more direct and instant one than ever before, is here to stay.

The key is to remain focused about your overall business objectives. If you sell shoes, then you need to interact with your customers on social media where they are likely to want to engage with your content and offers.

In the non-virtual world, this is like ensuring your shoe shop is on the high street where people do their shopping, or placing an ad in women’s fashion magazine.

Social media is no different. What you do, say, offer and discuss needs to be relevant, timely and engaging.

It is true that not all your potential customers are glued to Facebook and Twitter twenty-four-seven, so you need to consider social media as part of your marketing mix and get the right strategy in place.

Knowledge is power. And arming yourself with the know-how about what works in social media and what doesn’t is the first step to getting it right.

Tags: facebook, google, Hiscox, social media, twitter

This entry was posted on Friday, August 12th, 2011 at 10:49 am and is filed under New Media, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.