For several years now, the online-world has seen a large spike in social media efforts to promote media, music, small businesses etc. For these industries, social media marketing has proven to be very valuable in terms of raising brand awareness, client-conversions and building networking opportunities.
Until recently, industries including IT, real-estate, government, law and finance have been hesitant to incorporate a social media-based strategy into their business format. These professional sectors are now seeing a large surge in social media usage to market their businesses and enhance business processes.
Social networking platforms including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and blogs are highly effective marketing tactics that businesses can use to engage a specific audience. By using specific keyword searches in any social networking platform, social media websites can help connect your business directly with its respective audience. In turn, media sharing (photos, videos, podcasts etc.) can help you to better engage your audience, build a corporate story and create dialogue with your target market.
One of the major concerns that many corporations have when it comes to social media marketing is the ‘transparency’ that it can bring to a business. In other words, business owners fear that they will receive openly negative comments, bad-reviews and negative press.
If you have upheld the integrity of your business you will most likely have nothing to worry about. Social media marketing can also be an excellent way to engage in a dialog with your target audience. Instead of being concerned about what they will have to say about your business, you have the opportunity to listen to your market and cater your services to the needs of those who will most likely use them.