Wednesday 7, October 2009

Benefits of Social Media to Business

In late 2009, social media continues to be a buzz word that excites and confuses people, particularly as it relates to their job or business. According to Wikipedia:

"Social media is content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies."

Examples of such technologies include blogs,Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Flickr and many, many others.

At YasTech we recommend utilizing at least Twitter and Facebook. These have proven to be extremely beneficial to businesses, small and large. A couple of examples of creative uses of these two social media platforms by businesses:

• A bakery sends out an announcement (called a 'tweet') to their followers on twitter that fresh bread has just come out of the oven. Who wouldn't want to be notified that there was fresh baked bread at their local bakery?
• A customer of an auto repair shop complains about poor service on their blog. Because the auto repair shop is searching for mentions of their company name, they are able to comment directly to the blogger and offer a solution or suggestion for next time.
• A retail store can make use of Facebook's "like" feature by offering fans of it's Facebook page a coupon for 10% off purchases. Facebook users will gladly pass along the details to their friends by "liking" the store's offer.

One of the key benefits to businesses is the low cost of being involved and active. Aside from the initial set up of your Facebook page or twitter account and some training for staff, you can run as many promotions and be as creative as you want with next to no ongoing costs.

It is important to remember that every tweet or Facebook mention doesn't always lead to a direct sale or purchase.  What it does do is give you exposure to a much wider audience so when you do want to get word out about a new product or news item, you're speaking directly to people who are interested in you and your business.

Not sure where to start with social media?  Contact us to find out about our Social Media Starter Package that will help you harness the power of these tools.

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New Services at YasTech

Watch for more details in upcoming newsletters and on our website, but here's a few services we offer that you may not be aware of:

• e-Newsletter Service: Just like this email you're reading - plus a whole bunch of stats on their effectiveness.
• Search Engine Optimization: Get your website to the top of Google search results.
• Video Production: Visual tours of a home for sale, podcasting or perhaps an interview with you explaining your business.
• Product Photography: Allow us to take higher quality photos to present the best face of your business.

Get in touch with us if you have any questions about how these services could benefit your business!

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