Social media allows users to interact with each other and discuss shared interests. Popular social media sites include: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace, Wikipedia, Digg, Delicious, Friend Feed, Flickr, Ning, Skype, Stumbleupon and many more. However, the three most popular sites include Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn which is what we will discuss this month.

If you are not currently on these sites, try one for a week. You may be surprised with who you find: competitors, vendors, news sources, your dry cleaner, even your elementary teacher. You will certainly notice the number of businesses that not only have accounts but also are advertising on the sites. Here are some tips to help you establishing yourself online:

Experience Social Media – If you are not already established, visit these sites and choose a user name for you or your business. Start connecting with friends, family, and neighbors. Also start connecting with clients, vendors, news outlets, and leaders in your industry.

Find your Audience – You know all of that money you spend trying to reach your audience with television, radio, newspaper, and even search engines? Your audience is already using social media – you just have to find them. Use the search function on the site and type in your ideal buyer keywords. You will find groups dedicated to your industry, hobby, neighborhood, and even your pet.

Create a Social Media Plan – Identify the goals of your social media strategy. Do you want to increase your customer base? Offer advice? Increase sales? Increase website traffic? Find your high school sweetheart? Whatever your goals, write them down and create a plan of action to achieve them. Plan how you will measure the success of the strategy.

Measure Your Results – One of the key benefits of social media is how easy it is to measure. Measure the number of followers each week using a simple spreadsheet. You can also measure how many times your company is mentioned, linked, or your content is redistributed.

Call ITensure today about taking advantage of marketing through social media.