You often hear that if you are a small business owner, you have to use social media sites effectively to market your company. Before you jump on the social media bandwagon, you have to understand what each one offers. You also don’t want to market your business only through social media. You need to make sure you build your name recognition. It’s no accident that McDonald’s advertises in as many different areas as possible.

Benefits of Facebook

When you have a Facebook business page, you increase your exposure to potential customers, can get more leads, lower your marketing expenses, reach a targeted audience, use Facebook insights, build brand loyalty, increase your web traffic, boost search engine optimisation and spy on competitors. Facebook is great if your business is business to consumers, such as a products company or a restaurant.

Benefits of LinkedIn

You can smart connections that are the right ones for your business. LinkedIn allows you to make a list of companies and people you want to meet. You can research them and connect with them using thoughtful messages. You also can link other people who you think would work well together. You can start up a conversation and get to know a person before you try selling. LinkedIn is great for leveraging your brand. LinkedIn was designed as a business to business type of social media. This is beneficial for companies who are looking for others for business-related conversations.

Benefits of Twitter

You can state your message quickly because you only get 140 characters to say what you need to say. If someone follows you, you can follow everyone on his or her list. You can keep up with industry trends and what’s happening in the world in general. Twitter offers advertising and groups that will help you market your business.

Benefits of Pinterest

With Pinterest, you can highlight your pictures or find the groups that match your industry or product. Pictures tell a story, especially if the story is about food or herbs, crafts, photography or other visual businesses.

Benefits of joining forums in your industry

Many industries now have social media sites dedicated to that particular field. You should join these two. You will be given a link back to your website. You will learn about trends in the industry. You can get help when you need it. And, you can share your unique problems.

What else should you do?

While social media is beneficial to companies, they should be complemented with a well-rounded marketing campaign. The more ways you show people who you are, the more likely they will remember who you are and what you do. You need to continually remind people of who you are, why you are better than your competitors and what you have to offer. Here are some marketing tips.

1. Send press releases but make them newsworthy. You should send press releases regularly. This will get the media to learn about your business, and when you have a big event, you are more likely to have them return to do a story on you. While you can’t calculate the rate of return on your investment, you can monitor exposure.
2. Write blogs and link to social media. When you write a blog, post it on your website. Add a link on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to let people know about it. You also might want to add a link to your forums.
3. Use flyers. You can put door hangers on people’s doors, especially if you are a restaurant. You also can hand out flyers around town or use postcards. You can give postcards at networking events.
4. Attend networking events. The best way to get people to know about you is through networking. You also can host your networking at your offices. You can build trust and ask for referrals.
5. Use video. It’s is a great way to make your site searchable and tell more of your story.
6. Google reviews and ads. Ask for testimonials that you can post on your website and Google. You also can use ads through search engines to get people to know about you.
7. Be a speaker. Offer to speak at local events. It allows you to meet new people and give back to the community. It also establishes you as an expert.