The Power of Social Media for Business–No Matter Where You Are

We live in interesting times. I’ve been blogging about the power of Social Media for business for 5 years and I’m just now starting to hear from a lot of owners and managers who want to get real and leverage its advantages. Social has shifted in those 5 years and it’s only become more prevalent. But how do you know for sure it’s right for your business?

This week I spent some time with a Ford dealer 20 group and I’m impressed with their knowledge and use of online marketing. Social Media is a big component of their marketing plans and they were asking all the right questions. When you do Social Media marketing for a living (like me), there are many times when you feel like you’re the only one singing from the song book. This week strengthened my faith.

One Ford dealer has a salesperson at his dealership who sells 40 cars a month. She used to sell 15 cars a month. I asked him, what made the difference? “Social Media.” That dealer now requires his salespeople to learn social media and encourages them to emulate her. Not everyone gets it immediately because it’s hard. However, with strong leadership and staying open to learning, they’ll eventually become a social business.

I had some great questions come up in the meeting and I’ll share one of the stand outs with you because it may apply to your business, no matter where you are or what you sell. The question was,

“I’m a Ford dealer in a small mid-west town. Do I really need social media and if so, why?”

The answer is YES for these 4 main reasons:

1. Qualified, relevant content – supported by Facebook ads – drives traffic, leads and sales.

If your ideal customers spend time on Facebook, that’s where your attention should focus. 84% percent of automotive shoppers are on Facebook. 38% of consumers will consult social media in making their next car purchase. No matter where you are, if you’re business sells to consumers, social media is how to reach them.

Facebook ads can help you grow your likes, promote your content to increase engagement and generate leads to convert sales on your website. Blasting messages is not how we sell to the modern consumer. Reaching your target audience with information they WANT to know about paves the way to the sale.

2. SEO and Social Media are no longer separate.

To drive traffic, generate leads and convert sales through your website, you must have quality content on your site. No matter where you are or what you sell, Google has told us that fresh, relevant content ranks higher when it’s shared and engaged with on social sites (aka: social signals). “Syndicating” your quality blog content on social media increases online authority and moves you into the top positions on search. Quality content means answering the questions your customers are asking and telling the story of why people buy from you.

3. Semantic Search.

When the Google Hummingbird and subsequent Panda 4.1 updates rolled out, conversations became just as important as keywords in the new algorithm. Semantic search means that now Google looks for the meaning behind the words your prospects enter into their search query. The most qualified and successful searches are driven by conversations. Where do you have those conversations? Social Media.

No matter where you are or what you sell, conversations are taking place around the products and services you sell. Use the power of Social Media for business deliberately. Research and determine the questions your prospects ask, incorporate them in your content and invite conversations via Social Media.

4. Social Selling.

The top salespeople have already created their own online presence and their own referral network. I mentioned above how just one salesperson was able to go from 15 cars to 40 cars a month using social media to leverage her expertise and become a trusted authority. No matter what you sell or where you are, people want to buy from an expert they can trust. Your customer is online, your products are online, why aren’t your salespeople online?