The document discusses how businesses can use social media in various ways beyond just marketing, including building their brand, finding new prospects and leads, building a community around their business, giving their business a personality, ranking better in search engines, networking with influencers, providing customer service, staying connected with their target audience, gaining market and competitor intelligence, and for marketing. It emphasizes that having a social media strategy does not need to be complicated or expensive and can provide benefits with just some planning and time devoted to social media.

1. Social media isn’t just
about marketing!
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2. There are still businesses out there that are
not engaging their audience through social
media.
Whether your business is B2B or B2C, social
media is a powerhouse that isn't going away.
Luckily, you can use that power to help build
your business in the following ways (and yes,
there are many more than these)…
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3. Build Your Brand
Interacting with others gives you an element of control
over what people think of you and your business
which can help with brand recognition.
People are always more likely to buy from a business
or brand they feel they know.
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4. Find New Prospects And Leads
Through social media, you can connect with potential
customers and clients alike.
Social media allows people to connect with your
business because they like you and want to hear from
you.
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5. Build A Community
By building a community around your business, you
create fans that trust you and are loyal to you. And
the thing about great communities is that there are
always new people who want to join.
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6. Give Your Business A Personality
You can use social media to give your business a
face. Not only can you be the voice of your brand, but
you allow your customers to have a voice. It's
genuine two-way communication.
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7. Rank Better In The Search Engines
Create profiles on every major social media platform
and include a links back to your website.
Post enticing content often to create buzz for your
brand and increase website visits.
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8. Network With Influencers In Your
Industry
Do your research and find the right platform to
accomplish this for your business sector. Not only will
you get noticed, you could also gain some lucrative
business opportunities.
© Black Dog New Media 2012

9. Customer Service
Your customers are less likely to complain when they
feel they are dealing with people.
Social media gives businesses the opportunity to be
more accessible and available to their customers and
demonstrate how good they are at handling
complaints.
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10. Stay Connected
When things get hectic, it's easy to forget your target
audience and how to appeal to them.
Constant interaction with your market through social
media is a necessary element for a business to keep
in touch.
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11. Market And Competitor Intelligence
Knowing what potential buyers are talking about gives
you a huge advantage. When you know what they
want, you can tailor your business to fit their needs.
Find out what your competitors are doing and what
consumers think of the competition. If a rival is doing
something wrong, you can make sure you do it right.
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12. Marketing!
People are more likely to buy from you if they feel like
they know you. If you build a presence on popular
social media platforms, you will create a community of
consumers already pre-sold on buying your products
or services.
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13. So there you have it. It’s not rocket science,
just good basic business practice.
In most cases, the reason for this not
happening is simple - a lack of planning and
forethought.
Social media strategies needn’t be overly
complicated or cost the earth. All you need is
to give it some time and maybe a little
advice…(ahem!)
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14. Black Dog New Media
Social media for business ::
strategy, management, training and design
Follow us on twitter @BlackDogMedia for more
tips, tricks and free resources
Free 1 hour consultancy available upon request
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