You keep hearing about social media and how it's continuing to grow. In the past few years there has been an explosion of social media and social networking sites - they range the from professional (LinkedIn), to fun (Facebook, MySpace and YouTube), to informative (Twitter, blogs, and comments on others' sites). But as a business person you need to know: Is there any real business value to social media, or is it mostly buzz? And if there's value, how will I have time to learn it and use it effectively? Companies often overlook the positive impact which can be gained through Social Media Optimization. Facebook has over 800,000 members in Ireland alone, with membership growing in all demographics. If conducted in a planned manner social media marketing can improve your search results, lead generation, customer service, brand awareness, reputation management, and other measurable outcomes. Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention, generates online conversations, and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. The message spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it is coming from a trusted source, as opposed to the brand or company itself. Click here for Video Tutorial
Twitter
So what is Twitter? It's a great place for keeping people informed on what you are up to without the need to spend a lot of time crafting an entire post on the subject. You just say what's up and leave it at that. In essence, micro-blogging is for people who want a blog but don't want to blog. A personal blog can keep people informed on what is going on in your life, but not everyone wants to spend an hour crafting a beautiful post about the vibrant colors seen on a butterfly spotted in the front time. Sometimes, you just want to say "went shopping for a new car but didn't find anything" or "watched Dancing With the Stars and Warren Sapp sure can dance." Twitter is Social Messaging, news reporting, Social media marketing and more. Twitter is a communication platform that helps businesses stay connected to their customers. As a business, you can use it to quickly share information with people interested in your company, gather real- time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and other people who care about your company. As an individual user, you can use Twitter to tell a company (or anyone else) that you've had a great—or disappointing—experience with their business, offer product ideas, and learn about great offers. Click here for Video Tutorial