The new form of advertising via social media

These days if you are not using social media to advertise, and to build your business, you are missing out on a great opportunity. The advertising world has changed forever, and while traditional advertising in print and media are still important, utilizing social media as a form of advertising is continually growing, and the importance is huge. Here is how social media such as Twitter are changing advertising and creating opportunities for businesses big and small:

First it means reaching customers in a different way. Instead of predicting where your customers will be, and what they will be doing, and then advertising there in order to hopefully reach them, you get to reach your customers where they are. In many cases, instead of finding them, they find you.The ability to reach customers more readily and not waste money and time on advertising in places you hope your customers will be is huge for small and mid size businesses, and those with limited marketing or advertising funds.

Second, it means being able to only advertise to those who care about your product. You get to target your customers direction and send your messages only to those who care. They became a fan of you because they like what you have to offer, which means again, no more wasted ink, time, resources, and money on the people who don't care about what you have to offer.

Third, it means reaching your customers all day long, not just during prime time television spots, or drive time radio, or whenever they happen to open a magazine. It means having the option to get content and messages to your customers at all hours of the day, all day, every day, not just here and there, or once a month, or during the big game or finale, or whatever the case may be. Branding and building brand awareness becomes much simpler because of the frequent contact social media provides with you and your customers or potential customers.

Advertising on social media means advertising to the people who already care or have a vested interest in your product or service, and then helping them to spread the word by providing them with something worthy of spreading about your company. In other words, you create something of value, and then place it in their hands, and let them do your advertising for you. It is powerful. It means reaching more people, and better qualified people (those who are more likely to care), than other sources of advertising, and it is not going to cost you a cent beyond the effort, time, or resources required to create the original thing of value, such as an article, information packet, sale, etc., much of which you are already going to create anyway.Those who do not take advantage of social media to advertise their business will be at a significant disadvantage.