One of the great things about using social media for business is that you can discover things.  Information about all sorts of things is strewn across the internet – most of it in the public domain for us all to read.

Research has become so much easier due to social media sites.  We can hear what people are saying about our products and services – good and bad (giving us the opportunity to amplify the positive comments and respond to negative comments).  Set up some Google Alerts to see what’s already being said about your company.

We can listen to conversations to find out what needs our customers have, helping us refine what we offer and tailor our social media content (blogs, videos, free reports etc.) to help answer their questions and drive traffic to our websites.  Find a Discussion Forum where your target market hangs out and browse the topics being discussed – you might be surprised at what you find.  Take a look at Social Mention and listen to the conversation across 80+ social media sites.

Social Media advertising can be very specifically targeted because of the information people fill in on their profiles.  Take a look at Facebook Ads or LinkedIn Ads and see how many people you could reach.

The same profile information also helps us find and connect with prospective customers, suppliers and referral partners.  Try the Advanced People search on Linkedin or take a look at www.followerwonk.com and hone in on your target market on Twitter.

Make a point of discovering things on social media on a regular basis and act on what you find – it’ll definitely make a difference to your social media marketing efforts.

You can discover more about social media on my Facebook Page - come over and introduce yourself.