September 17, 2009 | Category: Business Networking | Tags: Media Logo Design

Is traditional marketing falling short of your expectations? This may be due to a shift in the way people shop. While newspapers, television channels, and the radio were once the places most people turned to for product advice, more and more people are looking at social media sites and online networking as a way to meet others and learn about products. You may have heard of these websites, which include Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Flickr. Here are just a few of the benefits that these and other social media sites hold for small businesses and how you can use social media to promote your website.

Branding. You probably already have a logo and a website, but part of building your brand is to get it out in the public eye. Having your brand in a variety of social media sites will give you more face time with your potential customers. More people will see your brand name, logo design, and other basic information, building brand recognition. If your presence or your message resonates with your target audience, you will also be building positive regard.

Improve Search Engine Ranking. Having your name in a variety of places along with links to your corporate website will drive your search engine rankings up. No website is an island, but your website may be as isolated as one if you don’t make any connections. Social media are just one way to put your website ‘on the map’. Because they are so popular, any links from your profile to your website will be weighted heavily by search engines and perhaps might also get you a lot of media coverage.

Increase traffic. If all of your profiles link back to your company website, this will funnel people who are interested in your small business to your website. Think of your profile as a billboard. Not everyone who passes a billboard is interested in it—most people don’t even notice them. However, the image still makes a subliminal impact. Even better, some people will notice and be interested, and hopefully become customers. Because millions of people are visiting social media sites every day, even a small percentage of interested parties can add up to a lot of extra traffic for your website. The social media networking logos are actually tailored to be friendly and inviting. They usually have the web 2.0 logo style and bright colors.

Get to Know Your Audience. Social media is one of very few opportunities to have a meaningful discussion with your prospective customers. You can talk to them, listen to them, and even poll them for information. If there is a product or service they are clamoring for, you will be the first to know. If there is a barrier keeping them from buying your product, you can identify and remedy it. You can get to know your customers on a personal level—and best of all, they’ll get to know you just as well. This will increase your small business’s image as well as the power of your brand.

Network with Other Businesses. You aren’t the only business using social media to attract more customers. This means that you can make meaningful connections not just with your competitors but with possible suppliers and vendors as well.

Social media are an incredibly effective and, even better, completely free way of getting your business, your product, and your message to increased number of people. You don’t have to spend hours per day on these sites to get the benefits; simply build a simple, professional profile on a few social media networks that are popular with your target audience and include links to your business website as well as contact information. The purpose of social networking for the small business isn’t to add yet another chore to fill up the day, but to get your message out to more people.