The Basics of Social Media for Business - Searching For The Happiness

Article by Wendy McCance

A good portion of my business is in social media. I manage social media accounts for clients and I also offer online image consulting services. These days if you don’t have a strong online presence, you aren’t considered relevant in the eyes of a potential customer. Consumers want to research the companies that they buy from and if you are difficult to find on the web, you are going to miss out on many additional sales.

It seems that there is a pattern among businesses, the company is either very savvy when it comes to social media, or they avoid it like the plague. Times have changed and traditional advertising isn’t the end all to getting more business. In fact, being a strong presence on the internet will not only net you additional customers, but it’s free advertisement that will always be there. You don’t have to worry about high costs or a set time period to get your message out there before the advertisement deadline hits.

To increase your value online, I would recommend you have:

1. A company website. This is your online business card and where consumers will go to learn more about you.

2. A LinkedIn business page. The owners of the company should also have completely filled out personal profiles that link to the company website.

3. A Facebook page. It’s a great way to show off the company’s personality. Share links that take the reader to your website and increase traffic.

4. A Twitter account. It’s a good place to get traffic over to your Facebook page and ultimately back to your website. Use Twitter to acquire followers who are influencers in your demographics.

5. A Google+ profile. By creating a profile with a link to your website, you will show up on the top right in the first page of search results. Being at the top of the first search page for your product or service equals more exposure, appearing more relevant and getting more sales.

This is just a fraction of the information I share with clients who want to amp up their image online. By implementing the above suggestions, you will be well on your way to covering the basics of social media. Once you have this base in place, think about blog articles for your website, creating a contest on Facebook or share discount codes on Twitter. Make sure you have links back to your website to gain traffic and never forget that now that you have an audience. You can ask them questions which will help guide the company when making decisions about inventory, what’s hot, what price point they will buy at and so on.

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Wendy McCance

Wendy McCance is a Michigan based freelance writer and social media consultant. Wendy has gained attention as the founder of the popular blog Searching for the Happiness which can be viewed in 9 local papers online, including the Oakland Press. The combination of writing skills and social media knowledge is what makes Wendy such a powerhouse to work with. Stay tuned for opportunities to advertise, guest post and as always, have your questions answered.

To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]