Oftentimes when I talk with at home based business entrepreneurs about social media, I have to admit it is not uncommon for their eyes to glaze over – or worse, for them to stifle a yawn. I believe this initial reaction from people unfamiliar with the promotional possibilities of social media is because for many, social media is viewed as “silly” and not worth thoughtful consideration from savvy business entrepreneurs?

Work from home company people whom have not invested the time to study the astounding advertising potential of social media are doing themselves a immense disservice. Regrettably, they have decided that social media is not a sober advertising tool for businesses. Possibly they see “little” kids “tweeting” away and think that’s fine, but have persuaded themselves it is only for young people.

But for top home based business entrepreneurs that have fully examined the promotional capabilities of what we call the “big four, (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube), they now understand their fabulous reach and with it, their opportunity for earnestly boosting their company’s fortunes!

Here’s why – in March 2010, Facebook surpassed Google as the most visited site in the world with over 400M users and Twitter is not that far behind with 114M. Seeing these astounding numbers, a home based small business person should easily understand the tremendous potential. People all over the world are seeing that it is more beneficialfor them to be on Facebook, than to be on Google.

Google is super, but it’s very impersonal, being mainly used only for search. There are no real ways of connecting with people on Google! What generates “awe” is the short amount of time with which the “big four” have pulled up a chair alongside Google at the tech world’s adult table. 

Once derided as pushers of childish missives, (“my latte is cold!”), the “big four” have unveiled themselves as accurate barometers of mass culture. Today, if a subject isn’t talked about in one of these social media platforms, did it happen? They are now the world’s water cooler. They’re a place where you can listen what millions are saying and feeling, unbiased and in real time. 

Today ardent followers vary from CEOs of mega corporations, (IBM, Coke, Dell, Apple, General Motors, Exxon, etc. etc.), to average Joes all chatting in the digital town square, and all with the ability to impact almost everything. Consider the awe-inspiring possibility of being a leader in talking about the benefits of a new product or service your top home business just launched? Even if you are part-time just trying to earn extra money from home, you will see the promotional potential with the capability to showcase your company with a half billion person audience at the “flip of a switch”!  

Marketing Sherpa, an online marketing analytics company, conducted a new analysis of why people use social media? I’ve attached below the results which is a synopsis of their survey. 

Max Connectors are those people with over 500 social links. If you consider your local chamber of commerce, Max Connectors would be those individuals who are the most tuned in, tapped in and successful of your immediate circle of business associates.

The Chart below answers the inquiry “Why consumers “friend” or follow organizations?” (Of course we now “like” instead of “follow” on Facebook.) 

Chart Title: Why Consumers Friend or Follow, (Like), Companies

Learn about new products/features/services

• Max Connectors: 61%
• Daily Users: 61%
• All Respondents:  62% 

Company culture, environmental responsibility, workers policies, etc.

• Max Connectors: 48%
• Daily Users: 41%
• All Respondents:  30% 

Learn about specials, sales, etc.

• Max Connectors: 46%
• Daily Users: 65%
• All Respondents:  64% 

Entertainment – funny or insightful

• Max Connectors: 37%
• Daily Users: 34%
• All Respondents:  35% 

The vast majority of the “Hyper-Connected” or opinion leaders are there to do business!

They engage social media to:

• Check out new products, features, or services.
• Learn about the company culture and to see if the company is one whom they will feel comfortable giving their business to.
• Check out any specials and sales available?
• Finally, and significantly less often, they use social media for entertainment.

It is easy to contemplate that social media is fluffof little significance. Twitter with its 140 character limitper tweet, Facebook with the pictures of your aunt Betty you might be better off not seeing, YouTube with arguably the biggest vault of hilarious, and “zany” videos on earth, but LinkedIn has always had its primary target toward business. These are also where a overwhelming majority of people make their buying decisions.

I am certainly not saying that people spend all that money using the Internet. But if you are not utilizing e-commerce, you could be missing out on a mega potential to add more sales outside the confines of your companythe current limitations of your business?  And if you are not involved innot taking advantage of social media to promote  your e-commerce endeavors, it is likely your firm is not as profitable as it shouldcould be.

So I’ll leave you with this: social media is a tool to engage in business, and it should be a important part of your marketing strategy!

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I found this checklist and thought it may be helpful to those who are having a hard time understanding the value of Social Media for their business. Hope it’s useful 

The 7 Secrets Every Business Needs To Know About Facebook…

1.
Know the FOUR Business Goals for Your Facebook Account:

Get found by people who are searching for your products or services
Connect and engage with current and potential customers
Create a community around your business
Promote other content you create, including web pages, blog articles, and your advertising.

2.
Every business should (must) create a page, so your customers can become your fans. The myth is that Facebook is only for kids or Gen Y. It is for everyone. Older people and especially Baby Boomers (the oldest Baby Boomer is now 63 years old) which means most boomers are still working, in pretty good shape, and don’t think or feel old like they are ready for the rocking chair.

3.
Profiles are for people, Pages are for businesses.
Do not create a personal profile for your business. This is one point that many people who are successful at Facebook are not even aware of (including me). A Page is similar to a Profile except that it is, by default, public and users can become a “fan” of your Page without first requiring approval from the Page administrator. Creating a Page is completely free but will require your time to build and maintain. To get started, visithttp://www.facebook.com/pages

4.
Make Your Page Easy to Understand
Use Tabs (The Tab Interface) – This allows you to group the content and applications as per your requirements. Not only you can edit the default tabs, but you can also add new tabs giving you complete control in its customization.

You can freely drag them to arrange in required order. With new Facebook application standards in effect, almost every new application (internal or 3rd party) can be integrated with Facebook tabs. This opens endless opportunities to create customizable tabs with your choice of third party applications.

5.
PROMOTE – PROMOTE – PROMOTE
Know the Six Best Ways to Promote Your Page

Draw on your existing network. Start promoting your page to your own customer list.
Although Facebook is a do-it-yourself type of endeavor, have your webmaster make sure your pages are indexed just like your website pages. The results are amazing with this little fix.
Create Events, Discussion Boards and/or News Flashes about your business and community.
Join the various networks of people who would have an interest to buy from you.
Buy a Facebook Ad. For some reason this is not as widespread.
Every quarter, create a poll to get your fans’ feedback about their views on various pages or page elements.

6.
Schedule a block of Facebook time (15 min?) each day to monitor your account/keep up with things/add new content.

7.
Go to http://Facebook.Grader.com to grade your profile or page for free.

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Here are some tips and ideas about how to spend your time daily on social media sites .
1. Facebook.  Search for new groups and friends in your area of interest ie MLM,approve any new friend requests. Change my status. Wish you friends Happy Birthday. Post a new piece of content or some information about you or what your plans are  . Usually I use the share this button or auto-posting to post automatically a new video, blog post or link , a few time each week I take a few extra minutes to write a Facebook note and tag some of my friends. I will also request to add 10-15 new people.

2. Add 40-60 new Twitter followers and send out 10-15 tweets daily . you could use a twitter tool such as Twellow to find people in your area of interest or of who your target market is, this will only take about 15 to 20  minutes.

3. create some content to share on one of the above networks or updating and sharing on another social media site. Write a Blog Post or Check out http://www.stufftotweet.com for the most popular tweets and posts which can be shared with your followers and friends

4. Develop a daily and weekly marketing plan. Write it down and have a clear picture of what you will do and when and on which social media site you will do it.

5. Avoid games and silly applications such as mafia wars, egg braking and other quizzes and games.

Social Media Marketing is based on building trust and that foundation will make Social Media a dominant player in Marketing.

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In the last couple of years, Facebook has gone from a college photo-sharing and tagging site to a business , networking platform for self-promotion, advertising and multimedia interaction. With new apps and add-ons,Facebook is one of the most effective FREE marketing strategies (similar to MySpace) But you Must know what you are doing or all of you hard work could be ruined ! Facebook is a lot more business oriented than MySpace and you will be able to find very qualified targeted traffic and leads within its walls: professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, sales prospects, essentially the EXACT type of person you are looking for to build your online business and self branding .Remember, YOU DO NOT SELL YOUR BUSINESS or ADVERTISE on Facebook directly …that’s considered SPAM and Facebook is like any other social media networking tool…they don’t care about your business anyways! You want to promote YOU as a leader, an expert in your niche,and most importantly  a person who can bring value into their world and solve their problems . It comes back to the Principles Of ATTRACTION MARKETING…this is the ONLY way to use Facebook effectively and really the ONLY way to MARKET EFFECTIVELY in our industry, period. (hopefully you know that by now).The social network of facebook not only helps you to interact with your potential customers in a very convenient system but it also helps to enhance brand reliability, brand consciousness, and sales growth.

Facebook best utilizes “viral” marketing in order to promote your business. Facebook pages help your business interact directly with the users and establish trust between them and the product. When a facebook user joins a page, a story appears in the mini-feed announcing that they have become a fan. Friends in the list are instantly notified and this increases the opportunity of rapid awareness on the network. In addition, facebook also gives advertisers the advantage to reach the exact targeted audience based on:

- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Interests
- Relationship status
- School/Companies
- Activities and more

Based on such keenly targeted information, the benefits of marketing products and services on facebook certainly give maximum push in business sales. Furthermore, according to facebook statistics, there are more than 200 million active users on facebook and a user has an average of 120 friends in their list which gives a good chance of giving your brand maximum promotion.

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You can build a big list for free using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook and make good money in the process. But you have to know what you are doing or you’ll end up with nothing but a waste of your time. My favorite social media experts, Perry Belcher and Ryan Deiss, just released some great content and it is definitely the right way to use social networks and media to build your business. He has single handedly built one of the largest Twitter followings in the marketing industry of over 101,000 followers  not only is he amassing an army of followers Perry is the only guy I know that is consistently making THOUSANDS of dollars each month JUST from his social media fans and freinds. Go get his report now that explains STEP-BY-STEP how he does it.

Grab your Free Report  HERE:

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