The Use of Social Media to Gain Customers The increase in the extent of social medias impact on almost all

aspects of human existence has attracted the attention of marketing strategists. They consider social media an effective way to influence the outcome of a business venture in the consumer market. Today, there are an increasing number of people who say that social media and social networks have influenced their buying decisions and behaviors. Preferred Social Media Networks Popular social media networks are now being frequently used as professional communities. Based on recent statistics and analysis, users were asked to rank their top 5 preferred professional networks online. The social media LinkedIn leads the rankings, preferred by 92 percent of the respondents. It is followed by Facebook, which is preferred by 51 percent of the respondents, the fast growing network Twitter, which has a 41 percent preference, the smart address book Plaxo, which got 13 percent, and the social network intended for small businesses Xing, which got a 7-percent preference rating. Facebook and Users Buying Characteristics The analysis determined that 47 percent of Facebook users said that the social network has great effect on their decision of what and where to purchase. This suggests that Facebook is the leading social media for businesses to advertise their products. The study also found an increase of almost 106 percent in the number of consumers that follow their favorite brands on social networks. Increase in Communities With More Buying Capacity A recent survey also indicated that the 45-54 year old age bracket is one of the fastest growing communities in social media. This means that more users with buying capacity are now using social media to research products and make purchases. Mobile internet access is also increasing, with the increasing availability of smart phones and tablets. The Importance of Social Media to Improve Your Business Standing There are five basic roles that social media plays in improving business. 1. Advertisement: Social networks supply a venue for businesses to showcase their products and services for prospective customers. Business can take advantage of the

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space provided by social networks in order to publish feature articles and promotional brochures. Connection: Businessmen can use social media to build relationships and credibility for their company. Teach and share: People use the web and social media to improve their knowledge or learn something new. Users can post questions on several community sites or post suggestions and comments in forums that can create useful threads. Job outsourcing: Businesses focused on services can make online posts of the job opportunities that their line of business offers. Save time and resources: Engaging in online transactions allows business managers to do multiple tasks at the same time and save time travelling from one office to another. Less money is also spent on travel costs and allowances since most transactions and even conferences can be done through social media.

The Role of Social Media in Business A recently conducted study that looked into the effect of social media on how managers and owners make business decisions concluded the following points: 1. An increasing number of managers and decision makers rely on social media to acquire information about a business issue and confirm the decisions that they plan to make. They would like to gather all data taken from in-house studies and market trends on the web. Before social media, managers relied on market researchers for data. Now, they can simply connect to the Internet and see the trend themselves by going to some of the social networking sites that feature their products. They can even conduct productbased surveys that involve their actual target market. 2. The top three social media platforms, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, have a large impact on businesses. Marketing professionals often prefer the use of mobile social media to get information through to the customers and build business relationships between partners and similar networks. 3. Marketing professionals increasingly trust information they obtain from social media as much as data obtained from physical sources. Professionals trust in the former as much as in-house research data. 4. There is a major increase in the reliance of marketing analysts on social media networks and other online communities to obtain data for the decisions that they make. 5. Almost all age brackets are well-represented in social media communities. There isnt a more diverse environment than social networks, which makes it an ideal venue for conducting reliable surveys for businesses.

Tips on How to Use Social Media to Effectively Gain Customers 1. Understand the role of each of the leading social media networks and use it to your advantage. Facebook is the best venue for sharing promotional presentations, photos of the products, or announcements of company events. Twitter is best used to give out the latest news on company activity and product updates. LinkedIn is best used to introduce the company to potential clients. 2. Get top management involved in the social media networks of the company. Potential clients feel important and impressed when the owner or manager of the company has time to interact with them through social media updates and shout outs. 3. Make sure that the proper personnel respond to all inquiries. Be very consistent in making responses. Potential customers often make inquiries about the product before making any purchases, and the companys response or lack thereof can influence their decision. 4. Stay true to all your interactions made in social media. Provide all the important information about your company and products so your clients and potential customers can get to know you more. 5. Maintain the quality of your products and services and enlist current users as your real product endorsers. When buying or trying out new items or brand, people usually rely on someone they know for endorsement. You can encourage your current users and clients to endorse your products in return for gifts and rebates. 6. Social media networks provide a highly varied environment and an ideal venue for product testing. There are several other ways to use social media to the advantage of your company and direct consumer traffic your way. These include applications, mobile tools, and widgets to widen your target market and increase the visibility of your product promotions.