21 Ways to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business
21 Ways to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business
By Rob Macdonald
RISMEDIA, May 18, 2010--As Twitter, blogs and the many forms of social media continue to dominate all conversations about sales and marketing, Robroy still hears from doubting CEOs.
“Who cares if I’m hauling out the trash or playing with my kids on a snowy day?” they scoff. “Give me one good reason to take my company in this direction.”
Will you take twenty-one? Because that’s at least the number of fundamental changes in the way the marketplace communicates today. Here are some of the ways you can benefit from joining social media:
1. Let people know who you are
2. Reach people quickly
3. Build company culture
4. Give voice to the company’s personality
5. Release new features and ideas
6. Get the truth from the community, like a focus group
7. Interact with users and fans with questions and comments
8. Recruit talent
9. Share company content
10. Share customers’ content
11. Generate Web traffic
12. Get answers quickly
13. Correct mistakes / improve products
14. Stay informed on industry trends
15. Get feedback on what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and what you should do next
16. Make the company feel smaller and more cohesive
17. Use as a sounding board
18. Establish expertise
19. Attract the media
20. Humanize the company
21. Build your brand
In the old days, no one expected to befriend a CEO, or know what he did with his personal time. Social media changes that. It makes everyone more accessible. And if everyone is accessible, including your competition, my friend, do you need another reason?
Rob Macdonald is a creative business consultant and writer. As the founder of Robroy & Company, LLC, he helps CEOs and their teams tell their stories in ways that inspire their audiences. His column appears in the Baltimore Business Journal.
Phil Hobson, Prudential Texas Properties, Hobson Real Estate Group
www.hgroupdallas.com