News July 2010
Each month a staggering 2.7 billion searches are carried out on Google making it the world’s number one site. Search engines are great and with appropriate use of keywords and landing pages they can attract customers to your company website. Where search engines fall down is that they have no knowledge of the visitor and can only rely on their search terms to profile them, unlike social media sites.
Facebook is the most successful social media site worldwide. Only today (22nd July 2010) have Facebook announced on the BBC website that their site has reached the 500 million active users milestone.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10719042]. This site along with others such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and My Space comprise large populations of pre-profiled and pre-segmented potential visitors.
It is safe to say that Social Media is a global phenomenon removing all barriers and creating a social ‘buzz’ amongst its users. Web users are no longer ‘content consumers’, instead they are fast becoming ‘content producers’ with the ability to exchange their content across hundreds of social media sites.
Many businesses are already on the Social Media ‘bandwagon’ and know how to utilise it as a marketing tool. Businesses should be considering the opportunities of using social media to exploit pre-profiled and pre-segmented potential customers as well as building and creating a good reputation. This is reiterated by David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company that is Connecting the World, who notes that companies can use the site for advertising and marketing "based on the extremely exact demographic data volunteered by the individual". [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10705923]
In particular LinkedIn is great for Business to Business marketing, with over 70 million registered business users. Businesses can create targeted Pay Per Click advertising campaigns that are produced with registered profiles in mind. Clickers arrive direct to your website, exactly where you want them. Facebook works the same way for businesses; however it is more driven towards Business to Consumer marketing.
Twitter on the other hand has grown from announcing what you ate for breakfast into a very important business communication tool that enables you to extend your reach. If you have something interesting to post, whether it is an announcement, a newsletter, an update, a link to another relevant website or article then post it on Twitter. You can reach even more people when you integrate Twitter with LinkedIn, sending serious business and marketing communications to your connections and followers. Social media has become the new “tool” for effective business marketing and sales.
As experts in Software Marketing for small to medium software companies, Terry Forsey Consulting can help you to embrace the power of Social Media and ensure that your website engages potential customers and generates more leads. Terry Forsey Consulting can support and guide you into building online marketing activity into your overall strategy and plans. For a free no obligation consultation please Contact Us or call 01536 771440.
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