BUSINESS WEBSITES AND THE SOCIAL MEDIA THEY ARE USING

This assignment was a huge eye opener for me. I had no idea how many businesses have now embraced Social Media. It was almost impossible to find a business website that didn't list some kind of Social Media. I knew it was important to take this class and to get with the program regarding Online Marketing, but I had no idea how important it is. I realize that I need to really narrow down our customers into categories then target those specific categories with online advertising. It's as tedious as any other kind of advertising, but so much more targeted and easily far reaching. The websites that stood out the most for me that are basically only using Social Media to market themselves and if there is any other kind of marketing that they are using it is very minimal.

1) Zappos.com
    - Zappos lists Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter as its Social Media links. They also have an
      entirely separate website that is specifically for their very own blog. It is at blogs.zappos.com.

2) Yelp.com
    - Yelp is a well known site that has been entirely on line. It is a national local search website. Yelp
       is based on users reviews and Social Networking. It is as big as it is because of Social Media.
       They also have a mobile app for their website. The Social Media sites that they have
       incorporated into their site are Facebook and Twitter. These two Social Media sites are the most
       popular with businesses and work extremely well for sites like Yelp that are totally based on user
       input.

3) Modcloth.com
    - All of Modcloth's success is from Social Networking. There was a great article in the New
      York Times just recently that talks about how Modcloth got started and how they have become so
       successful in such a short period of time. The article states that ModCloth has built a fan base
        that includes more than 2.2 million followers on Pinterest, almost one million likes on
       Facebook, more than 100,000 Twitter followers and more than 200,000 followers on
       Instagram.Their Social Media links are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram,
      Tumblr, and Youtube. They also have a few different blogs.
Link to article mentioned above: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/fashion/modcloth-is-selling-an-era-they-missed-out-on.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

4) Thebluebook.com
    - This is a website that lists General and Sub Contractors. They are connected through Youtube,
      Facebook, and Linkedin. It is a construction search website where you can find contractors, bid
      listings, plans and specs, etc.

5) Cockrellelectric.com
    - This is the website that I am building for our company. It is one of those rare businesses I
       mentioned earlier that isn't utilizing free Social Marketing. We are currently implementing a
       Service Department and would like to begin advertising online and using Social Media to our
       advantage. There are no Social Media website links on the website now. I am not sure yet which
       ones will best for our business. I know that I will be adding Facebook, just because it is the most
       popular and fastest growing for our customer base. I think that Instagram would not be
       beneficial for our business, but Twitter might be a good idea. I would love to hear others ideas
       on what Social Media websites would be the best for our situation.