Social Media for Start-Ups - An Effective Marketing Tool

Social computing involves the use of online social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn to reach consumers in innovative ways. Businesses of all types are getting involved in social media in an attempt to reach to a new audience and reinforce their ties with existing customers. As one is starting a new business, the major concern is with creating a product or service offering, finding first customers, building partnerships to help grow more quickly and ensuring one has enough money to sustain the company. The question in hand is, does social media play a role in helping one get their business off the ground. Is it worth investing your time in social media early in your start-up? Do social media really make a difference in marketing efforts?The purpose of this study is to investigate how marketing efforts in social media can be successful in attracting customers for start-up companies. It also tries to understand how an owner of a start-up, recognize using social media to grow its business and uses social media to engage with its customers. The paper has shown that Facebook is more efficient and that social media is effective in spreading word-of-mouth and communicating with customers. This was reinforced by several case studies and two live start-ups which were examined. As a result, suggestions for social media marketing strategies are recommended to the companies. The conclusion of this study is that Facebook is an effective tool for start-up companies, to reach new consumers and also to retain current customers.