Social Media Distilled for Business

I have been traveling over the past week and haven’t had much time to blog.  However, I come across a piece that I would like to quickly share.

Much has been written about social media – what it is, how to use it, etc.  Still, most businesses have a difficult time deciding how much time and resources to put in to social media.  This is because social media lacks a broadly accepted set of metrics to measure return on capital.  Though in my opinion the real reason has nothing to do with metrics, rather a lack of understanding about what social media is.  Social media is simply word of mouth – that’s it!  If more businesses understood this, they would be far less reticent to shift marketing dollars towards it.

The folks over at HubSpot published a great piece yesterday about why businesses should use social media.

The three main benefits businesses get from social media:

1. Listening

   Every company needs to listen.  Doesn’t matter if you sell solder paste, CRM software or fencing supplies.  You need to listen to your competitors, your customers, your prospects – your community.  Social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook make this easier.

2. Reach

   Reach is important to any marketer.  It’s the number of people you can communicate with directly via email, telephone, or any other channel.  You need this whether you’re selling to consumers or businesses.  Social media tools media it easier to build.

3. Nurturing

   Nurturing is another critical marketing task for all companies.  Regardless of what you sell, you need to build trust with potential customers and educate them about your company and your products.  Social media facilitates the development of personal relationships at scale.  This makes it an ideal tool for nurturing in any business.

Read the entire post on why businesses should use social media from HubSpot.