Facebook/Twitter Marketing

LizD_2

Hi

I'd like to use Facebook/Twitter etc to do some marketing for my business. I understand that you can do this without spending any money and I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for information on how to do this.

Many thanks

vivajustice

i use twitter for my business, i just tweet every so often about new things added to my site, and where i am currently working etc. I think its more about brand awareness more than anything. But facebook has adverts, just like google does, which could be worthwhile if you have something worth selling.

I think social media marketing works well if you have a business in 'hot topics' (technology, gadgets, etc) but for some businesses it might not be as effective. Im a plasterer and i do think that twitter/facebook would'nt be a place where people go to find a trade but its still brand identity so i still use them. Plus unless you use ads etc, it is all free so its not like your losing anything!!

amancalledmartin

Both options are used primarily as an optimisation tool to draw people to an existing website. There's not much point doing it unless you already have your own site. To a degree, updating Facebook or Twitter with new products, offers, etc. will market to your existing followers and customers in the short term, but the long-term aim for Twitter marketers is to draw traffic through your website to improve its rankings on Google and other search engines. It is well worth doing, particularly if you are in a competitive market. The BBC published an article on using Twitter for marketing purposes a couple of years ago. It should still be around somewhere if you Google it. Hope that helps. Good luck!

Kiramanic

There's a lot of freely available information on this but before I give you some links I just want to mention rule #1 of social media marketing.

Don't just advertise your own stuff! It's about actually making it worthwhile for people to follow you, helping them out, sharing interesting stuff you've seen online and generally interacting. If you just post an endless stream of your own offers, it will not work.

Tons of awesomeness at Social Media Examiner and Laura Roeder, I'm sure you can find more dedicated blogs but just be careful because there's a lot of misleading info out there.