Should Your Company Start Using Social Media

We all use some form of social media, whether it's Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or LinkedIn but should your company start using social media?

Fist, here are the facts:

· 90% of internet users know of at least one social network site

· There are more than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month on Facebook alone

· LinkedIn is the oldest of the four sites, having been created on May 5, 2003

· Twitter gets more than 300,000 new users every day

· Over 72% of the internet population is active in at least 1 social media site

· YouTube receives more than 2 billion viewers per day

· There are currently 133 million blogs listed on leading blog directory Technorati, corporate blogging accounting for 14% of them

Here are some pros and cons of using social media for companies.

Pros:

· Social media allows companies to offer sneak previews of new products, services and events to help build demand and brand awareness to a larger group of potential customers

· Through social media, companies can not only run promotions more frequently than coupons in the mail will permit but also devise a more interactive and engaging campaign

· A quick search for mentions of your company on Facebook, Twitter and YouYube can yield a goldmine of information concerning your reputation positive or negative. This information will allow you to focus on improving the negative feedback and thank those who recommend you

Cons:

· A happy customer tells one friend, an unhappy customer tells everybody. Social media is a great vehicle to let customers express their feeling and experiences with your company, unfortunately this also means that unhappy customers will have a greater channel to share their frustrations. To limit this, it is very important that your company quickly resolves whatever issues the customer has. Apologize to the customer, resolve the issue and offer a coupon or discount for their troubles.

· While social network users have proven to be open to marketing—especially if it involves a discount—they're not flocking to Facebook or MySpace to hear sales pitches. If your profile or blog reads like an ad, it will turn visitors away.

Statistics from:

http://dannybrown.me/2010/07/03/cool-facts-about-social-media/

http://www.inc.com/articles/2010/01/30-tips-for-using-social-media_pagen_2.html