Fad or the future?
Published 1 Jul 2011 09:30
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With the social media revolution in full swing, businesses across the globe are joining the stampede to join in.
From high street shops to multi-national companies it seems that if you are not in it you won't win it.
But how important is it to be LinkedIn, Facebooked-up or Twittering?
Thames Valley marketing expert Steve Mills believes it is crucial and that businesses will be missing out "big time" unless they embrace social media.
Mr Mills, of Steve Mills Marketing, says websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, should be in any modern company's networking and marketing armoury - whether a fledgling start-up or one of the world's giants, many of which boast dedicated social media teams.
Steve is putting his company's money where its mouth is, connecting on LinkedIn which hosts 160,000 companies within a 20 minute radius drive of his Theale offices.
He said: "It's an area that is growing massively. All these sites can be used in a variety of different ways. You can market your company, products and services, connect with others in the local area, nationwide or around the world, or just find out the latest news among the business community.
"The great thing is there's no cost. The investment is time and understanding what to do and how to use it, but even just 10 minutes a day is enough to get results."
Steve, 51, who founded his company in 1995, dismisses claims that social media is merely a fad by highlighting its incredible rise, particularly LinkedIn, which saw users double from around 50 million to 100 million over the past year.
He added: "There has been talk about Facebook losing a couple of million people but it still has more than 500 million and if it were a country it would be the fourth biggest in the world. I firmly believe it will overtake websites in terms of generating business."
In Reading, Dinamix Hair and Beauty Salon has been using Facebook for the past year leading to remarkable results. When the salon has a clear diary, for example, it will put up details of a special offer for the next day and see its appointments book fill up within hours.
Owner Diane Cheshire said: "It gets instant results and is completely free. I would definitely encourage others to sign up."
* Steve Mills has launched an online social media training course at www.thelinkedinacademy.com
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