Social media is a powerful platform that enhances the growth of your business. Whether you’re a small business owner or a multi-faceted entrepreneur, social media marketing should be incorporated into your advertising campaigns.

When properly done, it can be the difference between a successful business, that meet customer’s need, and a company that went bankrupt in her first 5 years.

I want to share with you the 5 essential elements of social media marketing. These are not just benefits, but they act as a starting point to harnessing the great potential in your business. Whatever your niche may be, there is a place for you in the social environment.

Also Read: 3 Poorly Used Social Media Avenues For Improving Your Blog

1. Well Defined Channels

One crucial aspect of every business lies in planning. The clearer your goals and objectives are, the easier you attain them. That is why you need well defined channels for your business expansion. Businesses don’t grow until a clear direction is mapped out.

Social media marketing helps to initiate a clear view of the future. This is because, you get to understand individual customers and what their preferences are. In this way, you would be able to meet their needs and elevate your business in an interesting way.

2. Marketing Redefined

Doing business on the internet has never been this simple and rewarding. When I flash my mind back to the recent developments in the technology age, I’m glad that social media emerged. Popular web 2.0 sites like Facebook and Twitter have made marketing easier.

Check out: 5 Tips for Using Printable Content To Market Your Website

Instead of constantly running after the latest technology fad, looking for a loophole to drive targeted traffic, social media sites helps you by-pass these rhetoric sequence and give you instant results. Although the results may not be overnight, but it’s pretty fast.

You choose your niche, set your campaigns in order and allow technology to deliver results. Whatever your niche may be, gardening, health, boat making, coaching, martial arts, etc, the channel to market your expertise have been redefined using social media sites.

This was the exact method I used while building my review blog that shares free sittercity coupons and 6pm discounts deals.

I was able to deliver my products to the right people, basically online shoppers who want to save. Marketing is all about targeting the right people – social media sites help you achieve this feat.

3. User Friendly & Human Edited

I haven’t seen any marketing platform that allows so much interactivity. When you promote your blog or website via Twitter for example, you would be able to network with several like minds. It doesn’t get easier than this when you begin to see a significant growth your traffic stats.

Everything that makes doing business online, a fun and interesting adventure, is present with social media. You can upload, share and bookmark your favourite content.

There is no waiting for adminsâ€™ approval before your content, advertising campaigns reach your target audience. It’s instant, human edited and user friendly.

4. Safe Business Transactions

Contrary to what so many social media users believe, these sites are actually safe to use. As a wise marketer, I have been transacting business across the world with friends, colleagues and family using twitter.

Of course you don’t have to display your public profile, but you can control who sees you and what they do in your walls, as in Facebook marketing.

You can give access to business-oriented minds, allow them to add you as friends and transact business safely. However, be keen in doing this, there are so many unscrupulous people who are somewhat cunning. But don’t close your mind to the great benefit of doing fabulous businesses using social media sites.

5. Social Networking System

We all cherish multinational companies today. But have you asked yourself why these companies are making success, despite the economic meltdown. The reason is simple, they have got a firm chain of networks that powers them.

Take for instance, Apple Inc., the famous companies that manufactures iPad and the most famous iPhone, they are unique, multi-faceted and have a lot of networks across the social media sites. That is why their products sell like hot cakes even within the first few weeks.

They have built huge followers, fans and likes. That is what social media helps you achieve. But your products and services have to prove to your world (customers), that you’ve all it takes to make their lives better.

Don’t neglect the social networking system, and how it can lift your business up the success ladder. With the above benefits, your business would experience a timely break-through into the economic world. Think about this, take action and meet me at the top. 😉

This is a guest post written by Michael Chibuzorn.

Image credit: fred