Social Media: Connecting With Clients By Nina A. Koziol
Love it or hate it, social media is a tool your company needs. But what should your firm use and why? What’s the best way to engage current and potential clients and is there one best way to do that?
like Tumblr, Spotify, Foursquare, and Pinterest entered the arena, and today, there’s a wide variety of social networking sites, including Houzz, SnapChat, Reddit, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and others.
Mer r ia m-Webster’s d ic t iona r y defines social media as “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos).” But at this year’s iLandscape, Kathy Jentz summed it up like this: “Social media is a time suck. It can suck up all the time you give it.” Jentz is editor and publisher of Washington DC Gardener magazine and she spoke to an overflow crowd. “However, one of the best things about using social media is that it’s free marketing,” Jentz said. “Currently, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter don’t charge you.” And who can argue with free?
Then and Now
When television arrived on the scene, many saw it as the demise of radio. Didn’t happen. When the Internet was born, others said it would be the end of books and just about everything else in print. Didn’t happen. Likewise, social media platforms are just another tool for promoting your business. It’s been nearly two decades since the first blogs appeared. YouTube launched in 2005 and the following year, Facebook and Twitter were worldwide attractions. Other sites
GROUNDWORK 1 8 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 1
Posting on social media could be a full-time job or something you’d contract to a marketing firm, but that’s costly for many small businesses and may not be necessary. “There’s a big universe out there,” Jentz told the audience. “Do you need to be on all
