Understanding the different forms of social media

Social media is a wonderful tool to help you expand your companies marketing program and to reach out to new customers. Social media has a number of different forms and it is not just limited to Facebook and Twitter like many people think. Social media is interactive and it is educational. Here are some of the different forms of social media that are available for you to use:

- Blogging - One of the common types of social media is blogging. Many people use blogging to post informative information that their niche market would find valuable. Consider what your niche market is and determine what some of the things are that they would like to hear before you randomly start blogging. Use your blog to post videos that you create as well, or you can choose to do a live stream radio or podcast. Look at other blogs to help you determine what type of information is out there and what information you need to add or change in order to provide your niche market with more value.
- Twitter - Many businesses are using Twitter in order to market their business. With Twitter, you have 140 characters that you can use in order to send out short bits of information to your niche market. It will allow you to post information that must be engaging and informative in order to get your customers to retweet the information. Having this information shared is the key goal as it will be able to gain more exposure and you can start increasing your sales by getting a large number of contacts to work with.
- Facebook - This social media site is focused more on relationships. You have more room to talk and you can create stronger relationships with your customers here because you aren't limited to certain character amounts. With Facebook you can also post several pictures and videos for your customers. With Facebook you will deal more with relationship building and gaining insight into what your customers think rather than dealing with short bursts of information. Use this site to help you capture great market research information and then use it to create better products and services for them.
- Email - This is still considered a form of social networking as you have a chance to keep in touch with your customers and to communicate with them in longer than 140 characters. Use emails to send out great information like newsletters to your customers that provide them with not only discounts but also informative information that they will find valuable. Perhaps you can start writing articles and offering a small paragraph of information in the email in order to get people to click on the link.
- Web Conferencing - A great way to connect with your customers is to turn to web conferencing. This is an interactive way for customers to ask your company questions and for you to offer them educational information and more insight into your company.
- Live video streams - A wonderful way for you to use social media is to use a live video stream on your website. News stations use this but it can also be a great option for any business to have on their website in order to strengthen your online presence and to also make a great impact in your industry.
- Apps - Many smartphone users will appreciate having companies launch apps that allow them to access their information on their phone or in another way to make their lives easier in some way. Create apps that can be used for the business or you can create fun apps such as those that are created for gaming needs. Apps have a great way to make a lot of money for your company but you do need to design them appropriately so they can get the right type of results you need.