How You Can Benefit Offline From Using Social Media Sites

Just because you don't have a business website or blog, doesn't mean that you can't benefit offline from using social media sites.

Here is how you can benefit offline from using social media sites.

• In order to take advantage of social media sites, you must first recognize their impact on how consumers look at things.

This means you need to search for and locate each and every comment about your business you can get your hands on.

Find out how your business is viewed by consumers, so you can use the information as a sort of 'report card', to improve your business and your sales.

Gather both positive and negative comments to get a realistic read on how your business looks to your consumers. This way you can correct problems you identify from the negative comments, and improve on positive comments.

• Assuming that you have a good product or service; encourage your customers to rate your business on Internet social media sites.

Print up some coupons or discount tickets, and offer them to customers that provide you with a positive business review on the social media site of their choice. Or, you can just overlay your checks, or bills with a friendly suggestion for your customers to visit their social media site, and review your business.

The more positive business reviews that are seen by consumers online, the better off your business.

• Don't ignore negative comments. Most of us shrug off serious criticism or try to justify it when we encounter it.
  

However, when you own a business, it's foolish not to pay attention to criticism. That does not mean that every time you get a critical comment, you need to make a change to your business. But it does mean that you need to pay attention when you receive a valid comment or a series of negative comments from your customers.

Remember that they are discussing your business using social media sites online, and if there is a major problem, you need to handle it quickly.

• Social media sites are used for socializing.

This makes them a great tool for businessmen on the go that need to communicate with each other. They are also a great place to get in a little free advertising.

Twitter and Facebook are two of the fastest growing social media sites on the Internet, and meeting people in your market niche on these sites is no problem at all.

Once you meet some people on one of these sites; tell them a little bit about your business, what you do, and once you build a rapport, offer them a free or discount coupon by email to get them into your establishment.

• Join a message board that focuses on your market, if you own a home or small business.

Once you join, share your knowledge and expertise with other members, establish yourself as a member of the community, and then exchange information about your business to anyone who is interested.

By using these ideas, you can benefit offline from using social media sites, even if you don't have a business website or blog.