As a business owner you must always look for ways to reduce business expenses while maintaining or improving business efficiencies. At the same time, you have to always stay abreast to changes in technology, marketing, and fine tuning your customer base.

Using social media is a must for all businesses today from retailers to service providers. It is a way to stay in touch with your consumers and continue to build your customer base. There are many media outlets including Facebook and twitter. Tying your social media with text marketing can increase your profit margin and bottom line. Most social media outlets are at no or minimal cost. The cost associated with getting into the social media arena includes employing someone to produce your site, make posts, send out your messages or the cost in getting educated in the tools and techniques needed yourself. There are all sorts of online sites that have programs to teach you how to utilize social media platforms and direct your marketing approach.

The skill set required to begin using social media begins with consistency of communication. Planning time in your schedule or assigning this duty to someone with a specified timeline for submittals, submission and design. Social media is a tool that can be a component to building your brand and give your business increased recognition and credibility. Make sure you connect with your customers frequently and provide useful information that they can share with their friends, family and business associates to continue branding your business.

Marketing researchers have studied this phenomenon and have validated social media as an important tool for businesses. It is not just a way to stay in touch with friends and family but a way to building long term relationships with your clients and customers. Business articles indicating how a retailer sold out of a product in a very short time or websites being shut down because of the massive amount of inquiries generated from a well-placed short message shows the power social media has. Some businesses are soliciting celebrities as the source for a quick blitz to increase sales volume in a matter of minutes. This might not be inexpensive enough for a small business owner but there are smaller recognizable figures in your local market that could still have a large impact in your community in supporting your business and keeping you in the black.

How do you get started using social media today? Begin by analyzing or revisiting your target customer or client to determine what message you need to send out that would appeal to them and motivate them into a predetermined action. Please note, make sure that you are ready and have the product(s) or service in place to take advantage of the increased market demand that you just created.

Much success!