Social Media: Technology To Promote Your Business
In today’s technology-driven age, businesses both large and small, are continually trying to utilize their resources to identify new ways to market and grow their business as well as gain an edge on the competition. It used to be that traditional marketing methods and a high-quality website were enough to promote products and services. However, the evolution of social media has really transformed the business world.
Many companies and organizations are utilizing social media to interact and engage their audiences to build brand awareness and generate excitement. In addition, social media is a very cost-effective way to reach a large audience within a short time frame. With some of the technologies, you can “Friend” a person on Facebook, “Tweet” a message to your followers, connect to your professional network on LinkedIn and even post a video to YouTube. Not to mention, there is an App for just about anything imaginable.
There are a lot of social media avenues out there that might work well for your business. The key is to find what works best for your business and what is going to be realistic for you to manage. Here is a brief overview of some of the main social media sites:
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service that was created in February 2005. As of January 2012, Facebook has more than 800 million active users.* Users must register to join this site and create a personal profile. Once this has been completed, you can add other users as friends to exchange messages and join common-interest user groups ranging from schools to businesses. This is free to join and is a very good way to build brand awareness and generate excitement about your products and services. For additional information, visit www.facebook.com for complete details and to sign up.
Twitter
Twitter is an on-line social networking service and microblogging service that was launched in July 2006. This is free to join and users can send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, called “tweets.” This social media site has over 300 million users as of 2011*. For more information or to sign up for an account, visit: www.twitter.com
YouTube
YouTube is a video sharing site that was created in February 2005. Users can upload, view and share videos such as movie clips, television clips and music videos. This is free to join as well. For more information, visit www.youtube.com
LinkedIn
LinkedIn, another free social media site, is a business-related social networking site that allows users to network professionally with their clients, colleagues, etc. LinkedIn was launched in May 2003. As of November 2011, LinkedIn reports more than 135 million members in over 200 countries and territories. For more information or to setup an account, visit: www.linkedin.com
Text Messaging
Text messaging is another great way to reach your customers via their mobile device. This is an excellent opportunity to promote specials and offers to customers who sign up to receive this electronic communication from your company.
Social media is a very important aspect to keep in mind when developing your marketing and advertising campaigns. According to Amy Murphy, director of JJC’s Corporate and Community Services there are a lot of benefits to utilizing social media. She stated, “Your social media sites not only communicate your message about your products and services but also are a great way to help generate excitement with both new and existing customers.”
This is also a great way to promote your business in a very cost-effective way. Murphy continued, “Utilizing social media can give you an edge on your competition because you can reach a large audience in a very quick method.” And just like a website, your social media content should be current and interesting so customers continue to return to your sites.
Joliet Junior College Corporate and Community Services offers two classes this Spring to increase knowledge of Facebook. Facebook-Getting Connected (LLC 4254) is a hands-on class that will show participants how to get started with Facebook. Participants will also learn how to set up an account, profile, find friends, create a photo album and write posts. Facebook safety and privacy settings will also be discussed. Students need to bring a valid email address and password. Class sessions will be held on Thursday, February 23 (T1) from 9 to 11:30 a.m. or Saturday, April 21 (T2) from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Both sessions will be held at the Main Campus and the fee is $34. Joliet Junior College main campus is located at 1215 Houbolt Rd., Joliet, IL 60431.
For more information or to register, please contact the Joliet Junior College Corporate and Community Services at (815) 280-1555 or visit: www.jjc.edu/llc.
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***www.wikipedia.com as well as the individual social media websites were referenced for information and contributed to the data that was listed in this article.
www.facebook.com, www.twitter.com , www.youtube.com, www.linkedin.com