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Like all forms of marketing, the more planning you put into it the more successful it will be; this is no different when you’re starting out with Social Media. There is a huge amount of choice, different sites have different user demographies, some are niche focused, some more general. With more ways to communicate online springing up every day, it can be very confusing and not surprising that many businesses have no idea where to begin, and for this reason alone often don’t.

This is why we ask our clients what it is that they are trying to achieve from Social Media. It’s an important question and the more detailed and targeted your answer is, the more benefit you will be able to gain from Social Media. This is because it will help determine where your Social Media activities should be; for example if you’re looking to network with other marketing people, Myspace is probably not the best place for you.

Types of Social Media Platforms that Businesses Can Use

This post expands on the one from yesterday and goes into more detail about the different areas of Social Media and what they might mean for your business. In tomorrows post we will talk more about your user profile and why this is important.

Social Networking Platforms

These are the larger sites that attract huge amounts of traffic. These types of sites can be very useful from a networking perspective, especially the likes of LinkedIn. There are also industry focused sites that cater for different sectors and smaller niches, they are a great way to keep up to speed with trends within your market. If you use these platforms correctly, they could lead onto other networking opportunities such as invitations to speak at events or interviews with press. Creating the right type of profile is very important, as is balancing the time you put into the platform.

There are a number of sites (Yahoo Answers, LinkedIn Answers) that are used by people for research purposes or to ask advice. This is a nice way to contribute to a Social Media Platform as it adds to your expertise reputation. It is great to be associated with helping people and creating an Internet Footprint of your company being helpful is not a bad thing.

Blogging

We’ve already posted in detail about the business benefits of blogs, suffice to say there are plenty. If you currently have a web site and are not taking advantage of a blog, then you are missing out on targeted traffic and a whole host of other benefits.

Microblogging

Microblogging via sites such as Twitter is growing in popularity. These platforms offer a service where you can post a “small communication” (less than 140 characters) to your customers and subscribers. If used correctly, there is nothing wrong with you carefully pushing your products and services, although you should definitely not over do it. You might also consider using Microblogging as a way to build your brand and be in contact with your customers.

Forums

Forums are a great way to grow your online reputation and brand. Businesses have the choice of either running their own forum or contributing to others. Both are ways to communicate with your customers, talk about your products and services and demonstrate your expertise. We have seen some incredibly successful forum development strategies that delivered a massive growth in target traffic and high conversions.

Video Sharing

The behemoth video sharing site that we’re all aware of is YouTube. There are others, however they do pale into insignificance when compared with youTube. This is because of the incredible reach they have, which if used correctly can be hugely beneficial to your business. For tutorials, product information and tips; video sharing is something that your users will start to demand in the next 12 months.

Photo Sharing

Similar to video sharing; photo sharing can be an important part of your Social Media strategy. They are used more for driving traffic and interest. If you’re running regular seminars or events, posting the photos and videos afterwards is a great way to encourage your attendees to come back and visit you again. The trick is to make sure that as well as the photos, they are seeing a call to action they can not refuse.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is when your visitors bookmark and share the details of your web page with other members of their community. This can sometimes lead to one of your web pages going “viral”, which means that many people have began to share it, which results in a huge increase in traffic. The trick to social bookmarking is to make it as easy as possible for your visitors to share the details of your pages.

Social News

Posting your news and press releases to established Social News sites introduces your story to a new audience. It also has the opportunity to grow as a story, since the community will be able to post and comment on your news. Well written Social News pieces have the potential to be massive traffic generators, as well as an important way to build your Internet Footprint.

What to do now? You are more than welcome to post your comments regarding this post. Alternatively, if you would like to speak to Generate UK, please do not hesitate to call us on 0845 388 9185 or via our contact us page.