Are you the Local Fairview & Marino business fearful about NOT USING social media

 It is a statement of fact, that social media is a powerful force online that is not going to go away any time soon. Can your local Irish business really afford to ignore it?

I could bombard you with statistics to make the point, but I believe that today most Irish businesses are very aware of the reality of social media either through information viewed online or indeed in the media.

One statistic however always comes to my mind – it took 75 years for the telephone to get 50 million users but today as recently as of last July Facebook had almost 1 billion ACTIVE users. Think about this.

Some people online tout social media as the cure for all business ills – it is not – but used properly social media should and I suggest MUST form part of your overall business marketing strategy – love it or hate it folks. Two important words for you to consider ????

1. DISTRACTION

 Since the arrival of the digital age, more and more information has hit us.

In the past we were not distracted as much.

Think about it – back then when you sat down to watch TV for the night, if you did not like ads you changed channel or made a cup of tea. However many of you watched the ads and in your subconscious you were influenced – they had a good chance of doing their job on you because there was little competing distraction. So did newspaper advertisements do their job. Nowadays there are many many distractions.

 This struck me because only yesterday I was in a taxi to the city centre – looking out the window I noticed billboards outside shops, large advertising hoardings etc – but guess what – my iPhone distracted me from all of this offline marketing, because of the simple fact that my iPhone was busily notifying me of tweets and texts and like many many consumers out there my iPhone WON OUT because stuck in traffic I joined in the tweeting and texting. Mentally I had already forgotten the billboards….nor did I look at any more of them…..I was Distracted !!Twitter had my attention and your business could have got my attention on Twitter.

 Now I am not suggesting for a moment folks that traditional off-line marketing is not an essential part of the mix too, but what I am suggesting is that consumers just like me and you are also available online to do business with. Remember bottom line is that your off-line marketing efforts are competing with online distractions – and worse still maybe your competitors are online using social media to distract existing or potential customers away from your business because your business is not there.

I was in the pub the other night, waiting for my nearest and dearest to arrive, and just looking around I noticed not far from me a lady and gentleman sitting separately waiting for their boyfriend girlfriend husband or wife. Guess what ….they were both playing with their smart phones and indeed as I saw later both were on Facebook- that distinctive blue logo clear for all to see – my point is that they could have for all I know on for example the local hairdressers Facebook business page , maybe checking for special offers etc. Maybe they were talking to a friend looking for a recommendation as to where to go after the drink ?? Your business should be up there too.

2. VISIBILITY

 By using social media, the bottom line is that you have an opportunity for your business to be visible online. People today – consumers – can easily see – who you are – and more importantly what you or your business or your expertise are all about.

 Like it or hate it, nowadays the fact is that people expect to find you or your business online and in social media. Admittedly there are skills to be learnt sometimes the hard way because if you do not implement a social media strategy correctly, it is not an exaggeration to say that you may be wasting your time.

 However social media used correctly and in a targeted fashion…. your business has the opportunity to be regularly in the consumers eye – reminding them that you have not gone away and are still available for business- with people who are interested in your area of business.

 Remember that social media gives you the opportunity easily to tell people an awful lot about your business – this beats hands down any small little ad in the golden pages. Visibility through social media further gives you the opportunity to promote great products and services, promote special offers, advertise your achievements – the list is endless and up to you.

 Conclusion

I started off this post by talking about the telephone. Yes we all need a telephone – but just because we have one does not mean that consumers are going to ring us. It is only a tool !

In bygone days you had to do something more- Marketing – to get people to ring you. Nowadays I suggest that your business needs to use social media too to get consumers new and old to ring you.

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 Rosemary O Shaughnessy