Want to get more customers and earn more loyal fans? You need social media. This method of marketing can help you promote your solutions to your ideal customers. Using Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and other social media sites allows you to interact with and build a relationship with your audience in real time. You can take communication between individuals and turn it into an interactive, community experience.

Social media builds trust – and it can build it faster than traditional forms of media. For example, you may be familiar with email marketing, email newsletters and different types of broadcasts that are sent via email. It can take you weeks, months or even longer to develop relationships with those people using email marketing. Although the relationship develops over time, it can be a little slower than you anticipate.

Social media allows you to build relationships very quickly and give a boost to your business. You can interact with your audience on a very regular basis and build trust rapidly and reliably.

Why is trust so important? When your target market trusts you, they’ll be more likely to buy from you. You’ll become the relied upon expert that they come to when they need the solutions that you offer. You’re the first person they think of when someone in their network needs your services. In short, trust is the foundation of a successful service practice.

Social media allows you to create a personal connection with your customers. You can incorporate them into the process of planning new products and new services. By looking to your social networks for ideas, feedback and market research you can tap into the exact problems and frustrations that your market is facing – and become the problem solver that they are looking for.

Using social media regularly puts you at the heart of where your ideal customers are hanging out. More people than ever are using social media, and in addition to using it to connect with people they are using it to find solutions to their problems. When you are looking for a resource or a solution, what do you do? Chances are you ask your friends, colleagues, your social network, etc. You ask “Do you know anybody who does this?” or “Have you heard of anything that can help with this specific problem?”

Having a strong presence on social media can encourage people to keep talking about you, which is great for visibility and great for your business. You’ll become the answer to the question “Do you know anybody who does this?”

Through social media, you’re going to build strong relationships with your ideal clients. Your customers are going to become your advocates. They’ll do marketing for you as they spread the word about your expertise and your solutions. You’ll end up having an influx of customers due to your great relationships.

In order to get more business, you need to build trust with your ideal clients and social media is a terrific, easy and cost-effective way to do that.

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Sydni Craig-Hart, The Smart Simple Marketing Coach, is founder of SmartSimpleMarketing.com. She is known for teaching her clients step-by-step how to fill their practice with ideal clients and create more money in their business. Check out www.SmartSimpleMarketing.com for your free marketing tools and to schedule your own “Profit Breakthrough” session with Sydni!