Here are my answers to Lewis' questions:
- Has social media resulted in new business for your company? Yes
- If yes, explain how, why and/or who? When I first started blogging I was struggling financially, was working full-time (for someone else) and I had just started my businesses. However, I started becoming more active online and joining social networking sites. Traffic to my websites and blogs have increased exponentially since I've become part of social media. Nowadays I have clients left and right and sales for my jewelry and greeting cards keep rolling in...All of it is due to social network marketing and word-of-mouth. I don't do any traditional marketing.
- If no, explain why you spend company time on social media? n/a
- Do you have a presence on the social networking sites (i.e., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Plaxo Pulse)? Yes
- If yes, why? I want to give people more of a chance to get to know the "real" me which I reveal through my online profiles. It also allows me interact with friends, family, and customers online.
- If no, why not? n/a
- Which Social Media tools do you use (i.e., blogs, vlogs, podcasts, Twitter, other)? I use blogs and Twitter
- Which ones are most likely to grow new business? Why? I would say blogs because the search engines index your blog posts which results in more web traffic. Also, readers/customers have a chance to find out more about your business. Blogs help build that trust for you and people spend money with people they trust.
- Overall, what has been your experiences using Social Media tools? I've thoroughly enjoyed using all the different social media tools out there. The only problem is that there are so many out there! I recommend doing research and finding which ones fit with your personality and schedule.
- Do you encourage your customers to use Social Media? Why or why not? Yes. The more I can connect with my customers, the better.
- Might the above answers differ depending on whether or not a business is b2b or b2c? Why or why not? I don't think so. People are people. Whether you're selling to other businesses or consumers, I believe interacting and communicating with them is the same.
Photo Credit: Brian Solis
Maria,
Thank you so much for sharing your blogging success. Way to go!
Posted by: Lewis Green | May 6, 2008 7:21 AM | Permalink to Comment