4 Social Media Sites Your Small Business Should Be Using
Our top 4 underutilized social media sites that, with a little effort, can greatly improve your website’s traffic and your online brand awareness.
1. Foursquare
What It Is- This social networking site caters to Smartphone users, who ‘check in’ selecting their location from a list of venues provided by their GPS. Naturally, upon checking in, all of your friends on Facebook and Twitter will see where you are, because the site syncs up with all your other social networking feeds.
Why You Should Use It- The more check-ins you have, the more points/badges/incentives you earn. We just found out our favorite sandwich shop gives $1 off each order if you check in on Foursquare first. Think about the all the word of mouth they’re getting, for insanely low costs! They have 233 check-ins to date. Genius.
2. SlideShare
What It Is- If your business gives presentations frequently, then you NEED to check out Slideshare. This fantastic site allows you to upload your Powerpoint presentations and share them.
Why You Should Use It- You can keep the presentation private, or you go public and let the 50 million – yes, you read that right- monthly visitors to the site view, critique, comment, and share your presentation across the interwebs. Exchange ideas, learn from the experts, and gain access to a huge amount of information- ready for presenting.
3. Quora
What It Is- Quora is a Q&A site on crack. The questions can be anything from Chinese cooking methods to the best villains in English Literature to fashion fails of the 20th century – there’s something for everyone. You can follow topics, ask and answer questions, and vote up answers. Become known as an expert in your field, and people will start noticing. Not only is it a fantastic source of information on every topic, you’d be surprised how many heavyweights in your industry are probably already using it.
Why You Should Use It- Quora is a fantastic way to become a improve your website rankings. Why? Because Google admitted a few month ago that they use Quora in their rankings- just like Twitter and Facebook. However, unlike these social media giants, Quora has a fraction of their users. That means if you can become an active member of the community, you can use it for branding like crazy (and link building, of course.) Follow me on Quora.
4. Yelp
What It Is- Yelp is an oldie (2008) but a goodie. Yelp allows users to review your business, and also search for local products/services (restaurants are big on this site.) Primary demographic that uses this site is 26-35 year olds, so if that’s your market, you need to be here. Set up a business profile. Every time you interact with a satisfied customer, get their email address and send them a link to your Yelp profile, asking them to review you.
Why You Should Use It- The more good reviews your local business has, the more likely I’m going to choose you over the plumber/veterinarian/pharmacy with no feedback. It helps your Google rankings too.
Other social sites worth checking out? Techmeme, Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Del.icio.us, Technorati, Crunchbase, StackExchange, Scribd, About.me, Hacker News, Kaboodle, Fark…just to name a few.
Want a customized social media marketing plan for your business? Contact Ad Astra for a free consultation today!
