Monday, December 12:  We had a great meeting in Merrillville this morning! We invite all NWI businesses to come for a cup of coffee and networking on Mondays from 7:15 am-8:30am in the meeting room at AJ Specialties, 1308 E. 85th Avenue in Merrillville.  Next Monday, Dec. 19 will be our last meeting of 2011.  Happy holidays to all!

Small business owners can enjoy a higher level playing field with large companies through social media marketing. Accessing social network sites and social media tools enable you to connect directly to your customers and get a clear idea as to what they want, where they are and what makes them tick. And we all know this is the key to success – Know Your Customer. Once you know them, it becomes easier to reach out to them and create brand awareness by increasing your visibility, branding and name recognition.  You can also show your customers that you listen to them.

Using social media on a regular basis is a good marketing strategy.  The possibilities are endless, from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Podcasts to online communities and blogs.  To benefit from social media you need to first develop and formulate a sales and marketing plan for the Internet. What’s the best way to utilize social network sites and content platforms to reach your target audience? How can you improve traffic and start a word of mouth campaign that will positively impact your business? Does sending out surveys to your customers or providing them a forum to give feedback work for you?

Current research has shown that almost 67% of users that access the Internet is for social networking. That’s the power of social media. It can help you build new relationships and networks, strengthen existing relationships, meet likeminded people with the similar interests, create brand awareness, inform customers about new products and services, get feedback from clients to improve your business and customer relations, increase customer loyalty, know your customer base better and target them more effectively, win new clients, generate direct sales and establish a reputation as a forward thinking company. Using social media is a cost effective sales and marketing program.

How are you using social media?