If you ask any business owner about social media, they will either tell you that it is 1: The best tool out there for marketing your business or 2: The scariest venture they’ve ever had to undertake. There is no question that social media marketing can be challenging. This is especially true when you don’t prepare yourself ahead of time for the work that goes into launching a successful social media strategy.

Many business owners will tell you that using social networks to market their business has been:

Ÿ  Overwhelming

Ÿ  Fickle

Ÿ  Immeasurable

Ÿ  Cutthroat

Ÿ  Time consuming

We will take a look at each of these obstacles that business owners face when they start out on a social media strategy and how you can overcome them to get the results you want.

Social Media is too overwhelming!

It is true that social networks are growing daily. This massive monster can be a little intimidating, especially if you’ve never been on a social network before in your non-work life. The key to overcoming this overwhelming obstacle is to start out slow. Don’t be afraid to wade in there and splash around in a few of the larger social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet and can handle the basics of social networking, then you can gradually add other networks to your social media marketing arsenal.

Social Media is too fickle!

This is very true. A social network that is today’s darling can easily be tomorrow’s joke. Look at MySpace: A few years ago, everyone wanted to be a part of it and Facebook stuck to the background like a wallflower. Today, you will be hard-pressed to find someone who is still using MySpace. Right now, Facebook is on top, but this is a fact that can easily change a few years down the road. You have to be prepared for these changes. To counteract this fickleness in social networking, focus on creating a blog that your fans and followers can migrate to. By turning it into a social hub, you don’t have to be too concerned about the ups and downs of other sites.

Social Media results are immeasurable!

If you spend all of your time trying to determine the Return On Investment (ROI) from all of the effort you are putting into your social networking strategy, then you are going to have a long and miserable time. Instead, turn your attention to key performance indicators (KPI), like how many new fans you have on each site, how many more sales you have had since you started on social media, etc.

Social Media is a cutthroat world!

This can be true. Businesses of all sizes and industries have made their marks on social media. The goal is to get yourself out there and build an online presence. Even if you have a small local business, you can benefit from using social networking to increase business. The first thing most people do when they want to find out about a business is look it up online. By having a strong presence out there, you’re giving yourself a lot of free advertising!

Social Media is too time consuming!

This is true only if you don’t utilize the tools that are available to you. Social networking can be very monotonous work when you spend hours posting and tweeting. Thankfully, there have been a lot of developments in creating tools that can help automate your social networking. When you take a look around, you will find tools for scheduling posts and tweets, scheduling newsletters, analytics and brand monitoring. The tools are out there, you just have to know where to find them!

When you embark on a social networking strategy to market your business, it’s important to have a clear idea of your target audience. With so many distractions out there on social networks, it is easy to get off track. When you have your target lined up, though, it makes it easier to focus on what you need to do.

What are your social media woes? Have you found some tricks and tools to help you make the most of your social networking? Share with us!

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With the expansion of social media networks, many businesses have embraced them and jumped on the bandwagon, reaping the rewards that come with taking part in social media communities. There are still a lot of business owners out there, though, who are trying to decide whether or not it’s worth the time and effort of taking part in social media.

Some of them are asking:

• Is it really as great as everyone says?
• How do we form our own strategy?
• How do we know its working?
• Can its impact be measured?
• Can we work it into the budget?

Social media is not a fly-by-night trend that is going to be over in the next few weeks, months, or years. It’s a long-term business strategy that every business- from home-based entrepreneurs to multi-million dollar corporations can utilize in order to see a wealth of new customers. By building up large networks, you’ll meet the people who may someday become your biggest clients.

Here are three of the top reasons to get off the fence and dive in with social media:

#1 Businesses Need People

No matter what type of business you’re in- port-o-potty rentals, automotive, health care- you need to have customers in order for your business to be, well, a business. The more customers you have, the more successful you will be. Social media is one of the strongest tools any business can use to build up a huge network of clients. The larger your social network, the more customers you have for your business. Businesses need to have people in order to thrive, and social networking can bring you those people.

#2 The More Things Change…

Everyday, our world is changing, and those changes happen fast! Today, you know exactly what you’re selling, who you’re selling to, and the best way to do it. But how about six months from now? Or next year? In ten years? Social media works in Real Time. Being a part of social networking communities lets you keep up with those changes and adjust your business practices accordingly. You could easily go from selling just one product or service to providing dozens. If your present customers are coming to you for all of their software needs, who says they can’t also come to you later on for, say, video games? Look at your social network as your own distribution center- you can push through any products you choose.

#3 Better Customer Service

Customer service is even more important today and it has to be given to customers NOW. They don’t want to sit patiently on hold while waiting for their call to be answered “in the order it was received.” Customers want their problems dealt with as soon as they realize there is one, and the faster you can help, the better off everyone will be. How you handle a customer’s complaint will speak volumes and determine whether or not you still have their business.

There are tons of reasons why social media should be used by any business, but these are the main ones to keep in mind if you’re weighing the pros and cons of a social media strategy.

What benefits have you seen to your business through social media? Have you noticed an expansion of your client base? What are some of your stories? We’d love to hear about your social media strategies!

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