When you hear the term "social networking," do you think of teenagers and college kids? That is where it started. But if you think it's just a trendy place for young people to meet up, you're missing a powerful marketing tool that your competitors may be taking advantage of. In the U.S. alone, social network advertising is expected to jump 169 percent between the end of 2007 and the end of 2008. By 2012... it is expected to increase by 450 percent.
And no... we're not just talking about advertising to Generations X and Y. Two companies with names you might recognize, Del Monte and New York Life, are using social networking to tap into an exploding method of marketing. They do it by providing information that is useful or fun for their target markets, in the form of interesting Web sites, white papers, links, blog sites. Here's an example: Del Monte has established a "Moms Online Community," where mothers can interact and exchange ideas and information. And of course, it also provides a platform for Del Monte to advertise... perhaps adding interesting new recipes built around Del Monte products. CPAs can use social networking to do the same thing, such as providing simple tax tips or publishing items of wide interest to the public, like the 2008 list of best and worst 529 plans.
Then again, CPA firms looking to recruit will find a compelling venue for advertising their firms to members of the younger generation. Find out more about using social network marketing as a significant recruiting tool for kids who are looking for career guidance, as well as their parents and grandparents who are hungry for financial guidance.
Find out more about social networking and your business by reading BizActions article: Don't Ignore Today's Version of Watercooler Marketing
Teresa Ambord
Assistant Editor
BizActions LLC
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