An Overview of the Article: How to Use Social Media to Retain Customers

This article provides some useful tips on how to turn your new and existing customers into active customers.

The author states that: there are many times or reasons that a small business will receive an influx of new customers — such as around the holidays for retail stores, during a new product or service launch or after a local advertising campaign. While new customers are great, returning customers are even better. Social media offers a number of opportunities to turn your new and existing customers into repeat customers and fans.

The author also suggests that you can turn new customers into return customers who will in turn attract more new customers for you. To achieve this, the article suggests that you should:

1. Direct new customers to your social media sites by inviting them to become your friend, become a fan of your fan page or join your group or follow you on your blog or on Twitter.
2. Offer opportunities and incentives to keep them interested — engage them with new content, great information and resources and exclusive offerings.
3. Promote your business — your services or products. Offer exclusive deals.
4. Build a community around what you do.

 To read more:

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Author:
Dr. Cheryl Cottle is an Educator, Instructional Technologist and System Analyst. She is the Founder of Cottle’s Professional Consulting. Dr. Cottle is also the creator of two online forums — Women in Business on Facebook and CPC Women in Business.

Copyright © 2010 by Dr. Cheryl Cottle ● Cottle’s Professional Consulting

The Importance of Social Networking - - Great for Women in Business

Social networking helps us to form friendships, access job opportunities, form business arrangements, keep connected to family all over the world, form love relationships, as well as facilitate business development. Programs such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn facilitate social networking.

I am an avid fan of Facebook and I find it to be great. It is user-friendly and it affords you with great opportunities. You can form networks by joining others through their circle of friends, or you can also request people to join your circle of friends. This connection enables you to connect with many people. It is a multi-layered approach to building your network. In addition, there are many groups of which you can also become a member. If you are innovative and like to coordinate, you can also create a social networking group to bring people with similar interest together. On Facebook, I manage a group for women entrepreneurs call "Women in Business". It is an interesting group comprising of both women and men from our global village. It provides opportunities for networking, advertising and marketing your product or services. It is also a great platform for learning and sharing.

Here is a video on how social networking works and its implications.

Please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc