As print media is declining, and broadcast television is losing audiences, Social Media continues to grow and has become a valuable tool for Internet marketing. It is important to understand that Social Media provides the opportunity for a brand to have an open conversation with their consumers/potential consumers. Essentially, Social Media integrates social interaction/networking through technology; allowing people to share images, thoughts, facts, audio, and video in a relatively quick and easy manner all for FREE.
Is there a specific case Social Media has benefited a small business or non-profit?
We have experienced Social Media profit many types of businesses and non-profits. The perfect example is the Boys & Girls Club of the West Valley, a non-profit organization we are proud to support.
Our esteemed chairman of the board Gary Thomas recently created a profile page on Facebook and posted his status as; “Gary is looking for Silent Auction items for an upcoming Boys & Girls Club fundraiser. Can anyone help?” Two of Gary’s friends responded to his status and donated valuable auction items. Thanks to them, the silent auction will now include a beautiful leather wine carrier with glasses and a bottle of Bordeaux, as well as, a round trip plane flight.
What more can you ask for? It took Gary 5 minutes to post this his status, and it did not cost him a dime. Now the youngsters from the Boys & Girls Club of the West Valley will benefit from the money raised by Gary’s Facebook status.
How can my brand benefit from Social Media?
• Listen: know what your customers are saying about your brand.
• Learn: stimulate and energize your customers by letting them know you are hearing and reading their thoughts.
• Deliver: promote while your customers don’t have their guards up.
• Give: communicate value and insight to your customers.
• Support: offer your customers assistance in time of need.
• Receive: help your search engine rankings by properly linking back to your company page.
What are some Social Media platforms?
• Blogs
• Online Chat
• RSS
• Widgets
• Social Networks (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter …)
• Social Bookmarks (Digg, StumbleUpon, Technorati)
• Podcasts (This has the potential for the largest growth, we will definitely cover this in a future blog)
• Video Sharing Sites, Photo Sharing Sites, Virtual Worlds…
And these are just the most popular ones.
You can now tweet with members of the Infinite team at www.twitter.com/InfiniteCMO and www.twitter.com/InfiniteVP.
