Social Media Marketing Tools and Trends
If you are a business owner and you haven't taken a serious look at how social media marketing tools can help grow your business, you should add that to your business plan for the year. The incorporation of social media marketing tools is one of the biggest growth trends for 2013, going hand in hand with the use of mobile technology.
Social Media Is Not Just a Game
Statistics regarding social media trends show huge growth for 2013. Companies can no longer ignore this type of marketing. With the proliferation of mobile technology, many social media marketing tools are designed for phones and tablets. Searching, browsing, and buying can all be done from mobile devices, and a smart business owner needs to decide how to take advantage of these trends for 2013.
Several social media marketing tools are free to use and can drive sales to your small business. The most well-known tool is Facebook, which allows companies to create business pages. Facebook has a mobile app for pages, so you can add text and pictures to your business page right from your phone. Customers can like your page and follow you to see what your business is up to from moment to moment.
Mobile Technology in Business
These days, small business owners see regular customers coming into their business and using both phones and tablets to take notes, keep contact lists, and search for products. This means you need to research how social media marketing tools can help you leverage your business via this new technology. Sometimes it is worth your while to investigate creating your own app for your company, but most often, you can use existing social media trends to your advantage.
Companies such as Yelp offer apps that allow you to list your business for free, allowing customers to leave reviews or locate special offers. Pinterest and Instagram allow you to post images featuring products, services or your staff and allow your customers to comment on (or simply "like") your updates.
Cost of Social Media Marketing
One of the best things about social media marketing is that it is inexpensive. If you are just starting out with this trend, you can dip your toe in without paying any money. You will have to invest time, and possibly staff labor hours, but what takes the longest is learning the ropes of marketing with social media marketing tools. However, it is not rocket science, and it can be a lot of fun. It's a great way to keep up with market trends and what's on your customers' minds.
The forecast for 2013 is a continued upswing in social media marketing, the use of mobile technology, and more ways to interact with customers. As a smart business owner, you can learn to use social media marketing tools to your advantage to expand your business to new customers and cement your relationship with your older customers.