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No one who sets up a business in the twenty-first century can hope to achieve success without embracing social media. It doesn’t matter how conservative you are or whether you think of your customers as stick-in-the-mud fogeys who prefer to avoid newfangled ideas; without social media, you won’t succeed.

Why?

Because, whatever you’re selling, you have competition. That’s probably always been true, but now your competition is visible to your customers. Even if your customer lives in the same street as you and your nearest competitor is a continent away, your customer can still see them because your customer uses social media and so does your competitor. And so, if you want the neighbor’s business, must you.

Social Media Starts With The Web

When we talk about social media, we mean Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Ping, YouTube and a whole bunch of smaller applications. When we talk about the Web, we mean the Web. The Web and social media are separate – but they are inextricably linked and social media does not work for business without the Web because the function of a business’s social media accounts is to drive potential customers to the company’s website.

Social Media Is A Big Leveler

A fabulous website is cheaper (and easier) to build than a flagship store or office building that takes up a whole city block and houses hundreds of people. You may be a one-woman or one-man band competing with the giants of your sector – but there’s no reason why your website should make that clear when Facebook or Twitter drives potential customers to it. The star performer today isn’t the window dresser who draws customers into the store with a magnificent display but the social media manager who ensures:

• That what is shared on your social media accounts accurately reflects your brand; and
• That it’s attractive enough to make people click through to your site and convincing enough to convert visitors to customers.

The “BIG” Advantage of Social Media

We can express this in one word: size. Facebook has 1.3 billion users. Google+ has 540 million, Twitter 250 million and LinkedIn 187 million. Compare that with the number of people in your home town. Even if you live in New York City, it has a population that will fit into LinkedIn eight times – and LinkedIn is the smallest of the Big Four. Imagine getting one thousandth of 1% of the people in the whole of the USA as customers. Now picture the same penetration, but this time of Facebook’s user base.

The One Constant of Social Media is Change

The way social media works is constantly changing. How you use it must change accordingly. Fortunately, you the business owner don’t need to stay abreast of every tweak and nuance – what you do need to do is make sure you’re in touch with the agencies who do keep up to date. Social media and web marketing are two of our core services. To learn how we can help you grow your business in line with the increasing importance of online communication, visit Servistree.com or call us at 866-944-3244.  Let’s build your online presence together!