Using Social Media To Boost Your Brand

Using Social Media To Boost Your Brand

Social media is more than a means for re-connecting with old friends. If you?re an entrepreneur, it can be a great way to boost your brand and your revenue.

Many of the old models of sales and marketing don?t work for 21^st century entrepreneurs. Like many other business owners you probably run operations yourself or as a team with a few other persons. Your strategy may be based on earning large returns with a relatively small amount of capital. You therefore don?t have the resources to spend on expensive ad campaigns.

Through social media you can promote your business in a cost-effective way. Inc. magazine lays out some of the ways that social media can increase the visibility of your company?s profile and its value. You will be able to:

• Raise brand awareness
• Grow sales
• Enhance your company?s reputation through thought leadership
• Improve customer service and satisfaction
• Broadcast your success stories

Most of these are pretty straightforward. However, something more should be said about the third item on the list. One of the quickest ways to draw attention to your company is for you or your partners to become thought leaders.

Business schools and management consultancies are no longer the sole centers of new ideas in industry. A host of websites and online magazines have enabled entrepreneurs and business professionals from various backgrounds to share their experience and insights. Submitting an article or becoming a regular contributor to such a site will make anyone associated with your brand stand out as a thought leader, which will in turn increase the regard with which your company is held.

And who may be looking at your company?

Investors. If your goal is to eventually sell your company, then you want to do things to catch the eye of buyers. The companies that interest investors most are those which have found a particular niche within an industry. Thought leadership is one of the ways of proving that your company has attained such a status.

With all of this said, it is important not to become too reliant on social media. The other fundamentals of running a business?service, product development, financial management, and strategic thinking?must also be given careful attention.