Social media for entrepreneurs: how to find the contacts your new business needs | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk #SoulcialMe

A social media presence can be a huge asset for small companies and those starting out in business on their own. Not only will social media sites help you to drive custom towards your enterprise, they can also be an invaluable networking opportunity helping you increase your market awareness and engage with customers while building a portfolio of contacts in the industry.

If your start-up is registered on sites such as Twitter and Facebook, you are already on your way to developing the strength of your business brand. If carried out correctly, marketing through social media can increase revenue and help you glean knowledge from experts in your field. If your business experiences rapid growth, you may need to review any business insurance quotes to ensure that your cover meets your ongoing needs.

According to new research by eMarketer*, over 1.2 billion people across the globe now use social networking sites at least once a month. This figure is set to grow over the course of 2012 to an estimated 1.5 billion internet users. 

To help grow your corporate contact list, try maximising your use of social media sites in the following ways:

Set up a Facebook page

Setting up a Facebook page will allow you to gather a solid base of customer and business contacts. As these people become ‘fans’ and forward the page link on to others in the industry it can only contribute to your market profile. Many SMEs are even using it as an additional tool to recruit staff.

Increase your Edgerank

Each item posted on your Facebook page has an Edgerank, and those that are low in this ranking may not appear in your top newsfeeds. Make more use of interactivity to increase an item’s Edgerank. Posts that encourage a “call to action”, such as trivia questions, or those that spark a discussion, such as questions on a current debate, will help to drive natural traffic to your page.

Use Twitter to promote your brand

If you have been unable to get hold of key players in business over the phone, you may be able to reach them more easily through Twitter. Start by sending them an email asking them to follow you, and then use Tweets to update contacts about developments in your business that others may be keen to invest in.

Increase your pool of contacts in an instant

LinkedIn will calculate your ‘degrees of separation’ between other contacts, allowing you to use common connections to forge new contacts. The site is also ideal for generating B2B links, especially on the site’s forums. There are numerous industry groups on LinkedIn, and these can be found by browsing the site’s ‘Groups Directory’ or the ‘Groups You May Like’ facility.

Making good use of social media sites will invariably boost the presence of your business, helping to give you a competitive edge in the market. While Social Media may help to generate revenue, it’s important however to consider the latest legal obligations for using these sites, and check to see whether you are covered by your business insurance or professional indemnity insurance.

Sources

*http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/world-overview/137-social-networking-and-ugc

via menmedia.co.uk