5 Great New Social Media Strategies

I was skimming through the news archives on Google today and an article caught my eyes, so I decided to take a look at it. The title of the article was “5 Great New Social Media Strategies.” It basically discussed the effects of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn on businesses and how effective they are. The article also mentioned five great new social media strategies that businesses should engage in to market themselves. They are as follows:

1. Claim your business profile on Yelp. If you have a storefront or office, you absolutely must list it on Yelp. Why? Because Yelp has a great mobile app that is very popular for finding products and services when you are on the road. It is quicker and easier to use than Google's iPhone search app, making your store hours, phone, and location instantly accessible to the large group of Yelp users.

2. Improve your business search results with a listing on Google Places. In its recent efforts to improve search results, Google now gives greater weight to local data, most notably from its own Google Places. The first step is to simply Google your company name, then locate it on the Google map for your area. Like Yelp, you then claim your business identity (creating a Google account if you don't already have one) and are able to add lots of information about your business.

3. Engage with other experts in your field on Quora. One stand-out social media tool isQuora.com, which operates on a simple premise: there should be a place to go on the web for clear, concise answers to specific questions. With a minimum of hype and noise, Quora does just that. It is an excellent way to increase your visibility and connect with others interested in similar topics. Its interface is also clean and relatively easy to master, unlike Facebook with its endless settings and options.

4. Create big value with a very small camera. If there is one gadget that will do more to boost your online presence than anything other than your phone, it is a video camera. Whether you use your iPhone 4, a Flip camera, or something else, the technology is well within your grasp to create short, fun videos on topics of interest to your customers, and upload them to your website, blog, Facebook page, or YouTube channel in minutes.

5. Join or create a group for local events on Meetup. If you regularly hold informational meetings about your business, consider expanding your reach by listing them on Meetup.com. And if you want to network with others in your area with similar interests, you are most likely to find them on Meetup. Unlike most tools mentioned so far, Meetup results in actual face-to-face meetings with like-minded people from your own area. It gives event planners the tools to set maximum attendance levels, send out reminders before the meeting, and easily keep in touch with group members.