With social media becoming more and more prevalent it’s not surprising that businesses are turning to this as a marketing tool. Some examples of the positives of having a Facebook page, joining Twitter or LinkedIn, are the potential to bring in new leads to your business and build brand loyalty. It can also be a fantastic way to speak to your customers and gain essential feedback on your company without the expense and time of creating feedback questionnaires.

Social media is one of the most cost-effective ways of marketing, even if you have a team dedicated to this. From examining the analytics that you have access to, you can establish a great deal about your target market. Conventional marketing methods may not reveal such an accurate picture.

A recent and regular report by Michael A Stelzner, the founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com, found that 90% of marketeers think that social media is important for their business. YouTube and video marketing are fast becoming popular outlets for business and were the top area marketeers invested in in 2011. However, it takes time, and more than a third of marketeers spend over 11 hours a week on social media.

There are of course some negatives that come along with social media marketing. For example, you will lose some control of your marketing efforts and criticism you receive is up for all to see. As mentioned, it is also a time-consuming job: regular content must be created and pages maintained to keep interest in your company high. Stelzner’s report also showed that one third of all social media marketeers want to understand how to monitor and measure the ROI (Return on Investment).

Social media marketing also gives so much more flexibility to ensure the branding behind your company is as you intend. Abercrombie and Fitch paid a large amount of money to someone from the TV programme Jersey Shore on the condition that they wouldn’t wear their brand on the show anymore. That’s a good example of brand importance and how a company must protect its vision of what their brand and their audience are.

The iPad has also seen itself become more and more prominent in the office place. There are a number of apps available for all types of business: from Dropbox so you can easily sync and share files online and across computers; to dictation apps; Keynote for presentations; apps for analytics; and ways in which taking meeting notes will never be the same again! There are also a multitude of design apps making working away from the office or working in meetings much easier.

During the London 2012 Olympics, companies whose offices are likely to be affected by people getting to Olympic venues, are being asked to help with the inevitable congestion, whether it be by allowing flexible hours, changing their usual route to work by cycling, or encouraging employees to work from home. Applications such as the ones mentioned will ensure that this isn’t wasted time and staff can still work as well as they would in the office and stay connected.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/apps/

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/40-useful-ipad-apps-for-web-designers/

Author -Morag Smith, Client Relationship Manager