When you go fishing, you go to where the fish are biting. Â As a small business owner, you want to go where the customers are biting. Â In this post, I offer additional reasons why failing to participate on internet social networking programs will be dangerous to the future of your business. Â Enjoy and prosper.
Here are some facts about customers and social networking programs.
• The 18-25 year olds are considered a key demographic group by advertising professionals.  Most people establish their buying habits in this age group and continue these habits into later years.  This group spends four times more time on social media programs than TV, radio and newspapers combined.  Why would you paid for a newspaper ad?
• On a daily basis, You Tube gets more hits than Google.  You Tube’s best month was 84 million visitors.  Squidoo another networking site had 4.8 million visitors in January 2009.  How is your video marketing doing?
• Studies show that people using social networking make 20% more income than their counter parts that are not using these sites.  These social networking participants have 25% more disposal income than others not using social media sites. Go where the money is!
• Twitter a new micro blogging tool has now grown to 7 million people.  Face book is adding 100,000 people each day.  Social networking sites are doubling in number every six months.
• If the money is in your list of customers and prospects, where are the lists being formed today?  They are being formed on social networking programs.
• On these interactive sites, you talk with people about things that concerned and interest them.  By being part of their conversations, you and your business gain credibility.  You attract people to your business.
• Where can you invest your time most wisely?  In physical groups that have a limited number of people?  In one to one sessions?  What if you could expose of your products and services to thousands of people with only a small investment of your time?  Where is the bigger payoff for your small business?
• Just last week, two major TV networks featured stories on the roaring success of Face Book.  While social networking is taking audience away from the TV, they are still required to report on their competition because it’s the competition making news!
Clearly a massive shift has taken place in how people are shopping and buying.  Retail stores and strip malls are declining. Social media and social networking programs are increasing.  They dominate how people are now using the internet—people number one buying preference.
Conclusion
If your business needs to be where people are, where the money is and where people like to buy—where are you going to put the eggs?
To be  continued, your comments are welcomed…
Al Hanzal
Thanks Marie for your comments. Time today is perhaps more valuable than money. So we need to use it wisely in building successful business relationships.
It all makes a lot of sense, however, you must also be will to interact with these people on your list and get to know all about them to form a relationship, and that takes time and commitment….and when you do take the time to get to know them and communicate with them, they will remember you and your effort.