Social Media and Your Business November 13, 2009
How Necessary is Social Media for Your Business?
Social media marketing is the buzzword on everyone’s lips these days. If you own a business then you’ve at least begun to think about whether or not you need to be using social media to promote your product or service. But is social media marketing really necessary for your business? Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if, and how much, you need to be using social media.
- Does your target market use social media? The majority of people who are using social media today are young or middle-aged people. If you sell a product that is geared only towards the elderly then you may find that it’s not actually necessary for you to use social media. However, more and more people are starting to make use of social media, even people of the elderly generations, so you should be sure to stay on top of user trends and jump on the bandwagon if your target market starts utilizing these sites.
- Do your competitors use social media? Identify who your competitors are. Are they using social media marketing? If so, then you probably don’t want to let them get ahead of you in this area. Figure out if you like the strategy that they’re using and whether you want to mirror or it or try something else.
- Is your business local or global? A business that is marketing only to local clients may find that it has different social media needs than a business that is marketing its products globally. Assess whether and how your local customers will take an interest in any social media efforts that you make.
- Do you have the time and money to invest in social media marketing? The fact of the matter is that you have to weigh your different marketing options for your business. Make an honest assessment as to whether or not an investment in social media is feasible right now given your other commitments. You should re-assess this in 4-6 months.
- Do you enjoy using social media? Social media isn’t intended to simply push out your products and shove them down the throats of your readers. It’s intended to allow you to participate in ongoing conversations with customers. If you don’t enjoy using social media then that fact may come through. If you don’t like using it, are you willing to hire someone who does? If not then social media marketing may not be right for you right now.
- Which social media sites should you be using? If you do determine that some level of social media marketing is necessary then you should ask yourself which sites and methods of social media promotion are right for your business. Not every business benefits from being on Facebook and not every business gains useful traffic from Twitter. You’ll have to learn more about your options to determine which ones are right for your business.
Most businesses are discovering that some level of social media marketing makes sense for their businesses. However, you don’t necessarily have to jump in whole hog. You can use these questions to guide you in determining how much of yourself to invest in social media and what areas of social media to focus your efforts on. Then you can expand outward as you see results.
