This seems to be the time of year for lists. In preparation for a presentation I am giving here in Livingston, Montana to a group of local business owners I decided to make my own list. One of the biggest challenges when discussing social media in this town is the vast differences in prior social media knowledge. In a room filled with 20 Livingston business owners there might be a few who have already fully integrated social media into their marketing campaigns, some who are set up but haven’t done much with it, and a handful of people who have either never been on Facebook before or are very skeptical of  it for some reason. My hope with this list is that it will provide a little something for everyone.

1. Listening

One of the best uses for social media that many people overlook is listening. Three main things that you want to listen to are: your customers, your competitors, and other professionals in your field. You can do this by setting up Google Alerts and Twitter searches for any term that is relevant to your business including your business name. Social Mention is another great tool that lets you set up alerts similar to Google Alerts but from social media channels.

2. Customer Service

Now that you are listening to what you customers are already saying about you, you can use social media as a customer service tool. People use Facebook and Twitter regularly to share good and bad experiences with their friends and followers. Your business now has the opportunity to either thank them for positive recommendations or address any negative experiences people have had. Because of the immediate response capabilities of social media, it is also becoming a preferred method for many people to have their questions answered about businesses and products. You only have the chance to answer those questions if your business has a social media presence.

3. Networking

In addition to listening to what other important players in your field are saying you have the opportunity to interact with those people and build a strong network within your professional community. LinkedIn is one of the best places for this but Twitter and Facebook can be great too especially now that business pages can write on other business page walls on Facebook.

4. Showcasing Expertise

Social media is all about sharing. And one of the best things to share is how knowledgeable you are in your area of expertise. The best way to do this is to provide useful bits of information (from yourself and from other sources) that people might then pass on to their friends. At the very least it will make people think of you when they are in need of your services or know someone who is in need.

5. Telling Your Story

Social media allows the world to have the feel of a small community such as the one I live in. Word of mouth in any community is huge and people are more likely to trust and recommend someone they “know” than a stranger. So let people get to know you. Tell them your story, share your passion for what you do, give them a face to go along with a business name and logo. If you share a little of who you are (but not too much!) it will help your customers feel a personal connection to your business.

6. SEO

Blogging, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter are all great ways to help your Search Engine Optimization. If you have a website and add a blog to it that you update fairly regularly your search engine rankings can improve in ways that are not possible with a static website that never changes. Social media channels are already optimized for search and utilizing them in addition to a website will help your business name come up when people are searching for terms related to your business.

7. Focused Advertising

Facebook advertising is some of the most affordable targeted advertising you can find. When you run an ad on Facebook you can specify a geographical location, age, gender, specific or general interests for the audience you are trying to target. You can also decide whether you want to direct people to your Facebook page to get more people following what you are posting there or you can direct them straight to your website if you are trying to convert sales there.

8. New Product Announcements/Launches

Using social media can help create buzz when you are announcing a big change in your business or you have a new product launch. The more outlets you use to make an announcement, the more likely it is that people will hear about it. If you generate enough excitement about it with the customers who are already following you, they will spread the news within their networks. A cohesive approach that strategically utilizes email, website, Facebook, Twitter and more will allow for a much higher success rate.

9. Sharing a Variety of  Media (Videos, Photos, Podcasts)

This ties right in with many of the points I have already made. Photos and video with the right tags are great for search, they can be good ways to show off your knowledge with tutorials, they allow people to get to know you and your business better, and they can be shared across platforms allowing for greater exposure. Some platforms to consider: YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Tumblr, Pinterest, iTunes

10. Market Research

This can be done directly and indirectly with social networks. It is very easy to specifically ask your customers what they are looking for, where they would like to see improvements, what products they want and more. Indirectly, if you are listening to your customers you can take note of trends in what they are talking about and use this information in your advertising.

11. Mobile Presence

One half of all local internet searches are done on mobile devices. If you do not have a website, or if your website is not mobile friendly, social media is one way to give your business a mobile presence. More and more people are using smartphones and they are using them to access social networking sites. If you want to reach your potential customers you need to be where they are.

12. Community Building

If you build a sense of community around your brand by connecting with customers, being generous toward other businesses, spotlighting non-profits and important causes, your customers feel more comfortable recommending you and other business owners will feel more comfortable recommending you.