social media marketing for local businesses

The Social Media Factor: What is Social Media?
“Social Media” is a red-hot buzz phrase in case you haven’t heard. Everyone is using it including women, men, and children of all ages. Most importantly, your customers are using Social media as well and they expect that your business is in the social loop too.
Social media can be described as information content that is created using new technologies with an aim to facilitate influence, communication, and interaction with the world; including friends, family, peers and customers.
In other words, social media is an advanced way that people can interact using the latest digital technology. Social media networking usually happens through mobile communications networks and the internet, which allow instant access to these platforms.
Social media does not stop at simply publishing information; the real goal is to get people involved. As a local business owner, you want to get reactions and comments from your audience on the information you publish – this is powerful for many reasons. You can look at it as “starting a conversation” on the internet as opposed to “delivering a speech” on the internet.
Social media is perceived as the glue that holds people together in an online community; not only with text, but also images, videos, and other types of online media.
Most people hear “Social Media” and immediately think of Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks of this caliber. These social platforms are the most popular, but this is not the final list by far.
There are a lot of different social media platforms online. Depending on your type of business, you should do some research to see which ones fits your type of business best.
However, using the top four social media sites would be a good start. Chances are, most of your target audience is already logging into these sites every single day.

Social Media Statistics
There are incredible opportunities for small businesses who utilize the power of social media. We will look at actual numbers just to show you how powerful it has become.
As you’ve probably noticed, social media constantly changes year after year. The good news is that people are embracing it and moving right along with it every time it changes. Even people who are 50+ in age are jumping into social media at staggering rates.
Therefore, as a small business owner, most of your customers and prospects are using it, so it’s time to reach them through this amazing marketing channel that is already made for you.
The following statistics will assist you in understanding why social media is important and how you can use it to the advantage of your business’ performance.
The Numbers
The most popular social media sites that you can take advantage of include but not limited to:
? Facebook
? Twitter
? LinkedIn
? Google Plus
2011 was a good year for social media networks; Facebook hit the 800 million users mark with 200 million fans joining in a one-year period. Twitter and LinkedIn both are enjoying over 100 million users.

There are approximately 2 billion internet users in the world and at least 50% of them use social networks.
This shows you just how much social media has taken the internet world by storm. Below are a few quick, but interesting take outs covering social media statistics for the year 2012:
2012 Statistics: Facebook & Twitter Alone
? Facebook, the most popular social media network, has approximately 800+ million users
? The average Facebook user will have a minimum of 130 friends and will like about 80 pages
? On average, 3.5 billion content pieces are shared via Facebook
? Approximately 56% of consumers have reported that they will recommend a certain brand after becoming a fan of the related page.
? Approximately 77% of consumers have admitted that they interact with businesses on Facebook before purchasing their products
? Approximately 50% of Facebook users will log on every single day
? Approximately 55% of users use their mobile phone to access the Twitter platform
? Approximately 34% of business marketers have managed to generate leads using Twitter
General Social Media Statistics
A study by Nielsen shows the following:
? Approximately 80% of Americans use social media networks
? Internet surfers will spend a considerable amount on social networks as compared to other websites
? About 40% of the people will use their mobile phone devices to access social media networks
? Social media fans are more influential and active offline
Experian released a report on the use of social media and these are some of the highlights:
? About 129 million, or 91% of American adult internet surfers, use social media networks every month
? An average Facebook user will spend at least 20 minutes every time they log into their accounts
? Approximately 20% of social media users are more likely to visit other social media sites after they exit from one
The above statistics are more than just mere numbers. They are an actual representation of just how much social media has impacted our daily lives. From these numbers, you can see that one of the best ways to reach out to your prospects and customers, without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising, is via social media.
Your business can easily communicate with your prospects through social networks and convert them into long-term customers. Your audience can get information on your new products, as well as give feedback on products and services they’ve purchased for you.
It is also a great way to build customer reviews. You should encourage your satisfied customers to go online to social media sites and give a review. Online reviews are instrumental in influencing consumer buying decisions these days. Most people go online to do a little research before they purchase anything.
So it would benefit your business to have a lot of glowing reviews online for everyone to see.
And let’s not forget about Online Reputation Management. Social media allows business owners a way to monitor and respond to what is being said about them online. With a strong social media presence, you will be given a chance to catch and correct any customer service issues that may be made public by an unhappy customer.
With the right approach, local businesses can build a healthy relationship with their customers, as well as with other like-minded companies through the use of social media. In a nutshell, it could be the key to creating more sales and profits funnels into your business.
The number of social media users is projected to increase substantially in 2012 with more than 100 million additional people joining the various networks.
As you can see, when it comes to attracting new customers and prospects, social media must be a part of the plan if you want to grow and expand your local customer reach.
We can no longer look at social media networks only as a thing for the “young generation” to express themselves. We have to look at it as a powerful marketing and advertising vehicle that can take your business to the next level without damaging your wallet.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular social media platforms online today: Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn.The lesson will continue later.