Staying Connected - Facebook and Twitter
One of the fastest growing segments of the internet over the last few years is what’s known as Social Media. Facebook and Twitter are the two most well-known examples of social media sites.
Having a Facebook page is becoming more and more important, because people have come to expect it. There are over 600 million users on Facebook, and if you don’t have a presence there you’re missing out on a lot of potential business.
Plus, for many people Facebook has become synonymous with the internet. A lot of people spend most of their time online using Facebook, so if you aren’t reaching them there, you may not have a chance to reach them at all.
Facebook started out as a way to connect on a personal level, but over the last couple of years they have added a lot of features that are targeted at businesses. You’ve probably already started to notice a lot of big companies adding “Find us on Facebook” to their websites, advertising and other places.
It can work just as well for local businesses, in fact it can work even better. Because Facebook is by nature a place to be “social” a local business fits in much better than a big, faceless corporation.
Setting up a Facebook Page for your business gives you a way to connect with your customers “virtually” and it can help to create a real sense of community.
Twitter is another social media site where you should definitely have a presence. It’s a little bit of a different beast though, because the whole point is to post short updates (up to 140 characters at a time) so you can only share so much information.
It can be useful for sending out messages about special offers and other news, but more importantly it’s another way for your customers and potential customers to contact you.
Your customers can send you messages, called “Tweets”, via Twitter so it is similar to email in some ways. But because the messages are so short, it can be an effective way for them to ask quick questions or give you quick feedback, without having to invest a lot of time to do it.
Aside from reaching potential customers, there’s another reason you should have a presence in these places – managing your brand. People will talk about their experiences with your company on the internet whether you’re part of it or not. It’s important that you are.