Using Social Media Networking To Build A Successful Business at ...

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by Alberta Parish

As we continuously advance in this age of modern technology, we need social media networking skills now more than ever before to effectively compete in today?s job market and to generate additional streams of income. Many business owners from Corporate America to mom and pop stores use social media marketing as an important source of business advertisement. Because social media advertisement is far less expensive than prime time television ads, many businesses utilize web content to advertise their services and products. For startup businesses, it is far more cost effective and economically sensible to use social media networking sites to generate buzz for your business.

One minute of prime time television ads could cost thousands of dollars, which many small business owners may not be able to afford. But posting a Youtube video featuring your business will cost you absolutely nothing. To effectively maximize your customer base, you must connect with potential customers online. Never underestimate the power of social media networking when it comes to gaining new customers and retaining existing customers. If you are serious about building your online reputation as a business owner, you must have quality business profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Dailymotion, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Myspace, WordPress, Blogger, Digg, HootSuite, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Ning and more. As a legitimate business owner, it is no longer enough to have your business listed in the Yellow Pages. You must operate and maintain quality social networking sites featuring your business and the services/products you offer. This is where my expertise as a web content writer and social media manager comes into play.

I perform the skills that many entrepreneurs either do not possess the time or skill set for, which is manage the company?s online presence. Most business owners prefer to hire social media experts to maintain and update web content for their business, and utilize social networking sites to engage the public about the products and services they offer.

Through Internet marketing, you must be able to optimize your online presence and build your company portfolio one click at a time. When it comes to building your customer base, make sure you provide a product that your customers actually want and can afford. In today?s economy, if your prices are not competitive, consumers will quickly move on to the next competitor who has affordable pricing. Once you know your company?s niche, it is easy to identify what products or services you?re offering that caters specifically to your customer base.

Most smart business owners know that a great company reputation is very important in maintaining a financially healthy and successful business. One bad review on Facebook or Twitter can reduce your customer base, jeopardize your profits, and threaten the future of your business. Most successful companies utilize social media experts to manage and build the company?s online reputation, because they know negative reviews are bad for business. Your company?s reputation means everything. A great reputation makes customers feel comfortable in trusting a company?s services and products.

To be a financially successful business owner, one must utilize every online marketing tool to effectively build the company?s brand. This can be achieved through search engine optimization, generating traffic to the company website, and online marketing campaigns through networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, etc. With very little traffic to your website, your customer base will be small.

As social media continues to advance with increasing technology in video streaming, web conferencing and instant messaging, companies are finding cheap and cost effective ways to utilize contractors for jobs that do not require them to commute to the office, punch a clock, and be on the company payroll permanently. The contractor can be utilized for a specific period of time and for cheaper wages than someone who is a permanent employee. The contractor can work from the comfort of his/her own home and/or report less to the work location. Many companies are now hiring contractors to handle all of their Information Technology needs. Contractors replace company workers for whom corporate owners spend millions of dollars on health insurance coverage and pensions. Many companies have grown richer by outsourcing labor and cutting employee costs. The cheaper the labor, the more a business can maximize profits. Business owners constantly look for ways to cut expenditures. After all, what?s the point of being in business when expenditures exceed profits? The economically responsible action for any business owner whose expenditures exceed his or her profits is to slash company costs by laying off employees, renegotiating pension contracts, providing cheaper health insurance group coverage to employees, and outsourcing labor to contractors.

Information Technology is continually changing with new web infrastructures and technological advances. Today, I am able to connect with someone on the other side of the world through Skype and other instant messaging services. Who knows how far this technology will take us?

Social media has shaped the very ideas that produced the newly invented networking sites like Pinterest and HootSuite. Businesses should never overlook less popular sites for the more favorable ones. If a business does not have a strong customer base, it is possibly due to poor advertising, lack of a strong online presence and negative reviews. Internet marketing is far more effective than television ads. So beware of your company?s online reputation, because this could mean the difference between a thriving business and a business that is barely surviving.

bullet columnist Alberta Parish is best known as a take-no-prisoners?Youtube?commentator, you can also follow her writings on?Freedom Tribune,?Myspace?and?Twitter.

Source: http://thebuffalobullet.com/using-social-media-networking-to-build-a-successful-business/

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