In 2004, the world changed as we know it, Facebook was born and a couple of years later, Twitter was launched.

Social Networking these days has become a must have for businesses of all size & types.

You can’t blame them. After all, which other medium can get your company’s name, brand and product information in front of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people every day?

What better way to promote your product, event, company or even yourself than reaching out to hundreds or thousands by a simple yet effective message on a social networking site?

It’s a  free but highly effective way of promoting and advertising that you should make full use of.

Social media is becoming THE way to promote & reach out .

If you are not familiar with social networks then terms like micro blogging, Facebook wall posts, tweets and the like can hold you back from using social media to promote your business.

Most successful businesses focus on their core competencies and outsource or contract out competencies which they don’t specialize in.

You can do the same! {hint, hint}

Whether you decide to do it yourself or hire a social media expert you can no longer ignore the power of social media to promote your business.

The two most popular social media platforms that you should aim to start with are Facebook and Twitter.

Both are social networking sites that let users connect with other users from the convenience of their living rooms, cars, or almost anywhere they wish.

They both revolve around profiles, relationships, connecting with new people.

Facebook tends to be more personalized since the user connects with ‘fans’ or people who like the same product or service that he/she does. They tend to shares more opinions, feelings, thoughts by liking, commenting or sharing a post.

Twitter tends to be more information & content driven focusing on news, links, thoughts, feelings shared with a wider and most times a less personal audience.

Not sure which one is right for you? Both? Or Just one? We did talk about choosing your social networks wisely since as a small business owner you don’t have all the time in the world to socialize online, right.

So, today, let’s take an in-depth look at what Twitter and Facebook are and what can they do for your business:

Twitter Benefits: Simple user interface & easy to create new contacts and expand your social circle beyond your friends. Highly interactive. You can communicate directly with your customers and address their comments or concerns. Advertise customer appreciation. Short 140 characters messages or “tweets,” liked by your followers are often rebroadcasted as re-tweets. You can search all messages and discussions on Twitter for key words relevant to your business or interest. Drawbacks: Tweets are a moment in time, and then lost in a user’s Twitter feed. Limited to 140 characters for a post. Direct messages can only be sent to one user at a time. Can’t post videos, but can add links to YouTube videos.

Facebook Benefits: Photo albums and older posts remain on your wall long after initially made. Not limited to 140 characters for status updates. Can be as long as you wish. Large user base. Can add videos to your page. Facebook provides detailed insights on the users of your Page.   Drawbacks: Difficult to attract new fans. Requires the fan to initiate contact. Initial setup of a Facebook Page is more labour intensive. Although fans can “share” your posts, it doesn’t occur as often. Facebook users tend to be looking to make connections with people or groups they already know.

Yes, the benefits of social media are vast. Realize the potential and use these tools to provide a fillip to your business growth and customer base.

So, is your small business on Twitter and Facebook? Do share in the comments below and let’s connect!