Social Media

I'm Andy Smith, the social media consultant at 270net Technologies. I can be reached on my Facebook page, on Twitter, or via more archaic means such as email, phone (301.663.6000) and smoke signal.

By now you've heard the buzz, you've seen the little "chicklet" icons at the bottom of so many websites, you're wondering what exactly is social media, do I need it and how do I get it?

I'll give a basic overview to these questions here. For more specifics, feel free to contact me directly.

What is social media?

Social media is interacting with your community through online resources. Facebook and Myspace began primarily as platforms for teens to post photos and short, personal updates online to keep in touch with friends. A lot has changed. Businesses have discovered the necessity of expanding their internet presence beyond a rarely updated website. Corporations as established as Walmart actively maintain Facebook pages and use them to converse with their customers.

What You Need to Know
The Starting Point
Popular Social Media Tools & Sites

How do I start marketing my business via social media?

Start with a goal. Ask what defines success and makes this marketing venture worthwhile? Success needs to be measurable; in terms of readers, or sales, or interactions, or hits to your store, etc. Then do a little research. Not all social networking tools will work for your goals. Talk with someone. Perhaps you have a business contact who is using Twitter or runs a blog. Ask them about the return on investment. Talk to me, this is what I do.

Once the goal has been defined and the social media services identified, the next step is to create accounts. These are free in almost all cases (some blogs do charge). Link your website to your social media accounts to direct your visitors to engage with you, and then just keep the conversations going. A few pointers:

Post some images. Consider using a personal photo instead of your company's logo, it's more personal
Don't just talk about yourself; it bores everyone
Invite community participation
If someone asks a question or raises a genuine complaint, address it
Check the accounts regularly
Have fun!

What do I need to know about social media for business?

Here are some quick facts about social media for business. (For an overview of the most popular social media networking sites and services, see below.)

Social media requires participation. This is in contrast to a traditional website. How often do you update your website? Social media should be updated at least three times a month for blogs, and a little more frequently for other media.
Social media is social - it's not one-way, monologue advertising. Don't post about how great your business is, instead ask questions and respond to comments posted by your readers/followers/friends/customers. Again, social media is about interaction, so think of it like an ongoing networking event.
Everyone is doing it. Remember when you first heard about websites and how your business had to be online? This is the same. Your customers either expect you to already be listed on their favorite social media sites, or they soon will. Check your competitors, they will either be tweeting about new shows and coupons or they soon will be.
Compared to traditional marketing (radio, TV, billboards, magazine ads, newspaper), social media marketing is inexpensive.
You can do it yourself.
Better yet, we can do it for you or with you.

Some popular social media tools

Facebook

Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform. There are around 400 million unique FB accounts, more than the entire population of the USA, and it's growing. Facebook lets you post "status" updates, upload photos and add links and polls to your account.

Twitter

Microblogging - twitter is all about short little posts called tweets. These are limited to 140 characters or less. Following celebrities is a big draw on Twitter. But you don't have to be a celeb to tweet. This social media platform is more popular with the 20+ demographic, less popular with teens.

Blogs

"Blog" is a word that means web-log. We recommend using WordPress or Blogger. Another option is 270net's content management (CMS) tool that includes a blogging module which integrates a blog directly into your 270net website.

YouTube

Online videos. You can create your own channel for free, then upload and store your videos. This is ideal if you have a lot to show or have access to video equipment. (Did you know that YouTube is actually the 4th largest search engine in the world? Wow.)

Others - LinkedIn, MerchantCircle, Digg, Stumble Upon and many, many more!