How to Use Facebook & Twitter

You have no doubt seen all the websites displaying facebook and twitter icons everywhere. It has gotten to the point that they even have them on their TV commercials. And in the long tradition of following the leader you probably want to do the same.

We get calls daily asking how to add facebook and twitter to customer websites. The first question I ask is "do you have a facebook account?", usually followed by another question, "what is that?".

A large percentage of small business websites add facebook and twitter to their websites just because they see everyone else doing it.

So will it help your business? Can it get you sales, new customers, big internet money?

Probably not. And that is not what you wanted to hear, but it is the fact.

Large companies with hundreds of thousands of customers use the social networks to communicate with their users. It is the new version of a mailing list. It has replaced bulk email which replaced bulk mail years ago.

In the right application even for smaller businesses these tools can help business. They won't likely get you new business but they can help maximize exiting business provided that you can get your customers to sign up, add you or include you in their lives.

In most cases, people use social networks to, well, just as it sounds, socialize. Meet people, get dates, find friends and so on. While the theory of them adding your business as a friend, it really isn't a friend and while they might be interested in sales at Bloomingdales they likely won't be interested in non stop ads from hundreds of other businesses. Mostly because it interferes with what they want to do, socialize.

If you heard there there was a big party in town, would you expect to go there and sell your products? Probably not. Because people will not be there to buy anything. They are there to party.

So breaking into the social networks is not an easy task and in most cases a waste of time.

Large companies use gorilla marketing techniques such as posting fake profiles of attractive males and females to get friended, then push suggestive or subliminal ads out to their bases. This is nothing new and has been exploited since the first chatroom opened on the internet. They expend great resources to make these campaigns work. Companies like Walmart even started their own social network to try to lure people into their stores.

Do you have the budget to do that? Is it even legal? Do you want to be that kind of company?

All great questions that you need to evaluate before getting into social networking and a marketing option.

My amazement is how people just assume that they can add a facebook page and make millions of dollars. If that was the case, there would be billions of millionaires and every other teenager would be able to retire at 16.

If you want to add facebook and twitter to your website, first learn what they are, and if they can help your business.

I am always asked if it is possible to add a counter to a homepage. I always tell my customers that the last thing you want to show people is how many people used your website. If it is low, they just wont shop with you, if it is high they might not want to shop with you. In either case, it just information you don't want to share.

Adding facebook and twitter icons to your website and having someone click over and see that your only 2 customers are your Mom and aunt Martha could be very embarrassing if not detrimental to your online sales.

Don't use facebook and twitter because you see everyone else doing it, use it because it works for your business. If they don't work for your businesss, just skip them.

After all, just because someone else makes money selling shoes does not mean every business needs to sell shoes to make money.

Do you remember blogging? Every business set up a blog, failed with it and quickly moved to social networking. It is only a matter of time for the next gold rush and people stampede for the next path to easy riches. You can join the stampede or sit and watch and find the tools that really help your business using resources more wisely and effectively.

I am not trying to discourage anyone from using social networking. It can be a very important and effective tool if used properly. But before you make a fool of yourself and your business, make sure it is what you need and the positives out weigh the negatives. Understand the marketing, the time required and the results you will achieve through your efforts.

Don't add facebook and twitter just because the next guy did!