No one can deny the increasing role that social media has enjoyed in the business landscape. With Facebook closing in on a billion users worldwide and Twitter topping 500 million (and working hard to bridge the gap) the business owner looking to get ahead would be foolhardy to ignore the potential to reach consumers via these social networking sites. And while it’s easy enough to set up professional profiles with several popular outlets, the more difficult proposition is learning how to leverage these accounts to bring in more business. In short, how can you get an edge in the social media landscape to maneuver commercial success? It’s not enough to see continuous gains when it comes to your number of followers; you need to develop calls to action that result in capital gains and turn your “friends” into brand ambassadors. And the Social Media for Business application for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch can give you the knowledge and tools you need to make the most of popular social media outlets.

This free app may not seem like much, with only five measly chapters of content, but there is plenty to keep you occupied within the five sections presented in this educational app. You’ll start with Introduction to Social Media and then progress to Mastering Facebook, Twitter Tips, Utilizing LinkedIn, and finally, Better Blogging. These chapters sound pretty straightforward; and they are. But they offer you more than simple advice on how to get your accounts up and running. The problem for many business entities is that they see the possibilities inherent in social media when it comes to communication, but they lack the base knowledge to get creative and use the medium to its full potential. Social Media for Business aims to rectify that situation, connecting you not only with your target demographic, but extending your range to include their contacts (friends, colleagues, their moms…) and transforming your personal interactions into business transactions.

Along those lines, the app offers video seminars created by industry experts for topics such as “How a Corporate Twitter Account Can Benefit Your Business” and “Twitter Chatting as Online Marketing”, for example. In addition to the valuable information and insight offered by the video content, each section provides users with resources that will help them to take their social media efforts to the next level. This portion of the app offers articles and templates with titles like “6 Tools that Make Twitter Easier to Use” and “Affiliate Program Agreement”, and all have been created by social media experts to make social media marketing more accessible.

You might think that utilizing social networking accounts for your business is as simple as setting up profiles and posting once in a while, but there’s a lot more making these tools work for your company. You really need to engage with followers and direct them to action if you want to turn “likes” into consumer dollars. Just like ignoring a complaint from PeopleClaim.com will result in negative press online, failing to properly utilize social media can make your company look bad. So download the free Social Media for Business app and get started on your path to better social media management.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

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