In the whole scheme of things related to running your small business just how important is having a social media presence? When considering direct ROI it’s not very important – most small businesses I know don’t make ANY MONEY directly from their social media presence. That doesn’t mean it’s not important, here’s why:
1. Search engine optimization. Links to and from social media have become incredibly important in the search engine world. Bing gives preference to sites that have lots of social mentions and Google gives tremendous preference to sites that have a presence on Google Plus.
2. Attracting a younger audience for your products. Like it or not there’s a generation gap between people searching for services and those (established) companies providing those services. If a young searcher finds out you have little or no social media presence they are a lot less likely to spend money with you.
3. It’s not about ROI it’s about ROR (return on relationships). Marketing in 2013 is ALL about building relationships and social media still provides a great way of building relationships and improving customer service.
Remember you don’t have to be everywhere in Social Media – you just need to be a) where you feel comfortable and b) where your potential customers are. Stretching yourself too thin doesn’t accomplish anything other than giving you heartburn!
Where are you with Social Media and do you have a plan for 2013?
Posted by John Tully
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Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net