Are You Where Your Customers Are?

We have established that social media is not going away. We have….right?

In fact it is widely agreed on that it will only explode from here and we are still seeing “the beginning”.

Social media will be one of those thing that we will all look back on and tell our grandchildren “we remember a time before ______ even existed”. To them this will cause giggles and proof of just how “old” we really are.

So the question remains, are you where your customers are?

I hear you saying “Yes, I am on Twitter, LinkedIn and I set up my Facebook pages.”

But there is more to today’s social media sites that Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I know for some this is new information, but trust me it’s true.

There is in fact an emerging type of social media that brick and morter business people should be VERY aware of. And also those people out there that host events where (hopefully) large groups of people gather.

These services so far are referred to as Location Based Social Media. And believe it or not there are more of them out there than you might think.

So why should you care?

You don’t want another goofy game to play or another app on your phone, you say?

Well there is another way to think about these sites. You need to think about them from the destinations point of view.

What I mean is….is your business listed on all of these sites? Is your event listed on all of these sites?

Because if it isn’t you can bet that the people that use them will just add you in. And then you are stuck with whatever they enter in for you.

Also if you are not listed when someone goes to “check-in” then you are missing out on potential FREE advertising.

Here is why.

I personally like Foursquare. Now, if I go to check-in somewhere and they “don’t exist” I tend to take the time to add them. But if I don’t have time or I can’t figure out the actual address of the place I need to add, then I skip it. Now that business has missed the opportunity to have me (and who knows how many other people) advertise them to my “friends” and “followers”.

But if you take the time to add your business or event, you have control. You can make sure the information is right. You can make sure you are listed. Now you can take advantage of that free publicity.

Here are a few of the sites that are out there right now:

• Foursquare
• Gowalla
• Brightkite
• Yelp
• Loopt

And more are coming online every day. Smart phone apps are created and people are signing on and checking-in.

Social Media is not going away, no matter how many people stick their heads in the sand and try to avoid it. At a certain point it becomes a “if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em” situation.

Do you want to be the one with your head in the sand or the one standing on top of the castle?

Are you where your customers are?

About The Author:
Cindy Clemens is a mom, author, speaker, marketing consultant and Co-Founder of Your Marketing University. Her goal is to teach marketing in a simple easy to understand format that businesses can use to help gain marketing ideas & market their businesses to boost sales.

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