Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that a large percentage of people use social media to build their businesses. Unfortunately, some people believe that utilizing social media sites is like magic for their business and…
BOOM 
- instantaneous boost in profits! As a result, they litter their web pages with promotional links. Eventually, most business owners discover this method of marketing brings little to no increase in profitability.
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Many businesses using social web sites don’t use them effectively. Posting too many promotional advertisements makes your followers nervous. They begin to wonder if you are a scam artist or a spammer. The key to using social media successfully is increasing brand visibility, building relationships and using contacts to produce leads.
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Social media users trust web sites that they frequent. The last thing your contacts want is for their favorite site to become a platform filled with obtrusive advertising. If a social web site user is interested in your product, he or she will follow your profile. It is crucial to periodically update your profile with relevant, useful and interesting information – make yourself memorable and grab customers’ attention! (click to tweet)
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If your profile offers something of value to your readers, they are more likely to trust you and your business. Followers will be more inclined to make purchases from your site. Your products should be professional and valuable to your clients, creating a desire to purchase from you on a regular basis. Securing satisfied, repeat customers allows you to rely on income generated online.
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It is not enough to build a fan base and have a large following. You must concentrate on building relationships and sharing your knowledge. Once you capture their attention, you can then engage them and nurture the relationships. Truly understanding who your clients are and what they need enables you meet those needs and begin to see an increase in conversion statistics.
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Wishing you an exceptionally success-filled week!
Harrington Brooks was deregulated for VAT over 10 years ago and received an enormous back payment of 17.5 percent of all their clients payments, which to this day, has never been given back to the clients of Harrington Brooks & all associated companies under the control of Nick Holmes & Miles Grady (All Clear Finance and the directors of Paymatters). Worse still they kept charging the equivalent fee for nothing. No clients ever found out that Harrington Brooks did not have to pay VAT. I believe this has kept going on to this day. more details here
Nice post i really glad to read this informative post, thanks to share
Tim the Gold Guy
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Lipozene Reviews
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Hello Helson! It does sound like the manner in which you were using digg was considered spamming. Never fear…live & learn. We all learn from the pitfalls we encounter along the way. I’m pleased that the information you read in my blog was helpful. I hope you have a great week.
I totally agree with you about Social Media! Since I started my own business I had focus on all the social media sites. So far it never let me down. I mostly endorsed my product on facebook. In my own experience not only social media helps us to sell but it also help us to build our reputation.
chanikacha recently posted..הודעות MMS
Greetings Chanikacha! It’s great to hear how social media has benefited yet another entrepreneur. With the international aspect of business, social media is an essential tool for success. Have you considered also including links to your blog site on your business facebook page? That is another great way to drive traffic to your web site…another method of integrating social media to create a “flow” of traffic from one social media platform to another. Thanks so much for dropping by today and sharing your thoughts & experiences. Have a super week!
Hi Lynn,
nice article on the power of social media.
I totally agree with what you say when you remind us to nurture our contacts, it is about keeping alive the relationships rather than leaving them in a state deep sleep.
Thanks for reminding us the importance of relationship marketing.
Hi Patricia! True….and, hopefully, the content we deliver isn’t causing the state of deep sleep!
I’m glad you dropped by today and shared your thoughts. Hope you have a fantastic week!
Hey Lynn, agree with you. Thanks for the post. Increasing our brands visibility through social media sites is really very effective method. Social Media sites plays major role for increasing our Business Relationship, websites traffic. Backlinks and Page Rank.
SMOS: Absolutely…social media has become a vital player in the success of businesses. If you compare the statistics of small business owners who don’t utilize social media with those who do, I’m confident the results would speak for themselves. Thanks for stopping by & sharing your thoughts. Have a great weekend!
Hi Lynn,
Most people think social media is the market place where everyone is buyer and seller. This is twisting the meaning of the word “Social”. Your advise on how to go about it is valuable. It’s not just a blog post buy value. Thanks for sharing it
Enstine Muki@EasyRetweet.com recently posted..WordPress Bloggers are in grave danger! STAY SAFE!
Enstine: So glad you dropped in and found my advice beneficial! Your words are so true…the meaning of ‘social media’ has become distorted by the bombardment of spam ads & aggressive sales strategies. Unfortunately, unscrupulous individuals will find their way into every nook & cranny possible, leaving a wake of distaste behind. I guess that means we have to double our efforts to utilize social media correctly & really place value upon creating authentic connections, sharing ideas/advice and mentoring those who are new to the playing field. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I hope you have a fantastic week!
Lynn,
as many times before, I like to thank you for being so great in writing about the importance of using social media to benefit ourselves and others…
This article is no less than perfect for someone like me who is learning a lot and doing my best to learn from experienced and caring people like your self…
Slowly I am finding my way into it… and I know that connecting with you has enhance my learning experience so I can support others much better.
Thanks so much again Lynn for providing such a great content on social media, for all of us to learn, progress and do better in this section that is so important at this time of our business and personal life.
Thanks again.
nick c
Ahhhh, Nick…thanks so much for the kind words!
I’m so pleased that you found the information helpful in the quest to achieve your dreams & goals! Don’t worry about how quickly (or not) you’re working, it’s the end product that matters and it’s important to take the necessary time to learn as much as you can. Those that leap, head first, into the social media pool without thought, plans or strategies are the ones most likely to face huge hurdles in their path to success. Those, like yourself, that take time to plan & seek guidance increase your likelihood of success by leaps & bounds! If there is anything I can do to assist, please feel free to contact me. As always, thank you for stopping by & sharing your thoughts! Wishing you a productive & peace-filled week!
Social media is the best way to increase with your online business as on social network you can easily share your business with a lot of people very simply and in a less time.
nilesh recently posted..Apple peel can lower your high blood pressure
Hello Nilesh! Thanks for stopping by today and sharing your thoughts. Yes, social media can be your best friend — if you’ve prepared & put in the hard work ahead of time — or your worst enemy if you haven’t! Hopefully, the latter will never be the case! Social media is such a major player for business owners & customers, alike. If we plan on achieving/maintaining success, we must understand & embrace the impact of social media.
There is a fine line between being social and doing a little promotional effort on social media for businesses. If a business is having a special sale or a giveaway I do not mind them promoting it via social media. Many people follow businesses for coupons and specials. But if every tweet or post is all about them and how great they are – forget it!
Lisa recently posted..Do You Remember Your First Time Using A Computer?
Lisa: True, true, very true! People especially pay attention if there is an offer of exceptional value, especially during tight financial times. Offering discounts or special deals is a great way to garner attention, but not (as you mentioned) all the time. If that type of message or self-promotion is all they ever see from you, they quickly learn to ignore any information you present…exactly the opposite of the desired result! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Have a wonderful week!
Hi Lynn,
Social media is meant to build relationships and it should be social, not a market place
Well, I guess so. If we consider social media for business, we need to be social there rather than being a promotional agent as you’ve mentioned in this post. The relationships can be converted into sales as they learn to trust us and our products or services. That should be the methodology, right? 
I think though they are contributing to our businesses, we should not depend on ‘em. Did they exist 20 years ago? Nope. But there were successful businesses too. However now social media is a weapon of every online business, but still they doesn’t know how to socialize as I see. They are making it complex and follow false leads. Do they need overnight success? Do they think investing social media or outsourcing is just enough? Problem may not with the business but how they manage social media. It can lead to success or ruin business with more cost. I think mostly there would be a problem with prioritization. Don’t you think Lynn?
Cheers…
Mayura recently posted..Notify When Someone Else Access Your Facebook Account
Mayura: You make some valid points. Small business owners must prioritize many aspects of running a business in order to be successful…and where/how/how much time they spend on social media is just one piece of that pie. Of course, as business owners, we do want to convert “followers” into “customers/clients,” but we should also want to network/share/learn as well. It is, indeed, a fine line that we walk. As always, Mayura, I genuinely enjoy your thoughtful comments and appreciate you taking the time to drop in and share! Have a great week!
Social media is absolutely essential today! Consumes demand a brand that they can get to know… and get feedback heard by! Everyone from the mom & pop to the big corporation has come to understand that social is something you must be doing. Even Google has gotten on the wagon and these days social plays a large role in SEO. Some great advice here!
Kim
Kimberly Castleberry recently posted..Hootlet AutoScheduler vs BufferApp Browser Add-On
Yes, Kimberly, it is definitely here to stay…and is especially important during times of economic difficulty because consumers want the most bang for their buck! They are compelled to find the best value and tend to only spend their hard-earned $ with companies/small businesses that they trust, so that makes social media even more essential — for both parties. Thanks for dropping in and sharing your thoughts!
Great advice as always Lynn. I’ve been finding I especially enjoy being ‘social’ in FB groups. I look at my feed and all I see is one photo or pitch (subtle or not so subtle) after another) so it’s hard for me to consider that an opportunity to interact. However with the groups I belong to it’s very different and I’ve seen good results from that increased interaction. Now I’m going to work on creating that same activity on my FB page. Thanks for the inspiration!
Great point about the facebook groups, Marquita. I do understand how everything tends to run together in the feed & how it might be a bit less “friendly” for a high level of interaction. I completely agree about the groups. They really do offer a deeper level of interaction & collaboration…not to mention enabling a greater visibility. I’m glad to hear about your plans/goals for your facebook page! I’m sure with your dedication, determination & planning you will quickly & easily create a wonderful facebook community. Thanks for stopping in and sharing such thoughtful comments. Have a super weekend!
Hi Lynn,
Social Media is just that Social!!! I rather have quality than quantity. Using my blog, FB Fan pages, and other social sites provides the social proof when sending emails to my list.
Every once in a while I lead them to a blog post or something on my FB Page that is relevant to the topic.
Thanks for showing us how Social sites all fit in,
Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Masterminding
I completely agree, Donna…quality beats quantity in my book as well. Your comment, “…showing us how social sites all fit in” brought the image of a puzzle to my mind. Using all the sites, efficiently & effectively is a bit like a puzzle…with a bit of time, patience & determination everyone can make all the pieces of the social media puzzle fit together nicely for their needs! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Hope you have a great weekend!
Your articles are always interesting and understandable. Thank you!
Appreciate you stopping by and glad the information was helpful. Please feel free to visit again soon.
Lynn Brown recently posted..Key Points To Improve Your Small Business Confidence For Success
Right (write?) on, Lynn!
The way to make social media work is to provide readers with the information THEY want. Not the end results you desire.
Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. recently posted..Shh. We really don’t want to talk about this.
Exactly, Roy! So glad we’re of like minds! If business owners can’t provide value to their customers, they won’t be very successful…that’s for sure. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Have a great week!