Social Media & Your Business

I read an article today that I couldn’t agree with more, and raises points that I recently addressed with a client so I wanted to talk about it a bit more.
To start, my story w/recent client:
    Client hires me to set up his social networks (there is more to it than just registering and putting up a profile). He provides me with a list of sites he wants a presence on; I make suggestions on his presence and start gathering & requesting information and content (including website location).  Client says he is having the site built and asks for any feedback/suggestions on site info he presented.  I learn that the site is actually a ‘page’ where only a signup form for a newsletter will live.
I quickly started discussing with him why he needs to have an actual website/blog and not just a signup page.  For one, you have to give visitors an f’in good reason to sign up - people are extremely protective of their inbox and don’t just sign up to any and everything just because you want them to.  You need to be delivering value and you can’t very well do that with nothing more than a signup page.
For two, where are you going to send your visitors via these social networks - just to another social network where you can only provide a certain amount of value and information about yourself/services/etc.?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg on why you need a site/blog.
He did take my advice and decide to set up a website rather than just a ‘page’.  I believe his success will be far greater since he has done so and the options for his business are multiplied.
You can be on social networks all day but you need to have a place for visitors to really see what you’re about and what you deliver, and engage them via various resources and content.  It doesn’t have to compete with giants like Microsoft or anything; it just needs to be a place for your visitors to “visit” you.
Social networks are an avenue for you to connect with people and vice-versa, you can create awareness and drive traffic through them, but you need to have a place to drive it!
As a sidenote to that: it’s as simple as just setting up a WP blog.  [oh yeah, I'm for hire for that, I don't do just 'social networks/media', blogs are social too =)]
Now, take a look at the article that prompted this post which discusses 5 Easy Social Media Wins for Your Small Business.  (errr, but don’t forget all about my little post here after you venture over there!)
If you’re not yet utilizing Social Media for your business, what are you waiting for?  Would love to hear why you haven’t made the implementation yet?
I would also love to hear the successes those of you using it have had, big or small - no matter the size, all success is SUCCESS!  Are you getting more traffic; are you  making more sales; has  your reputation grown; are you making connections; gaining partners?  What’s your success?

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