Students have always been big customers for many businesses. However, with the rise of the technological era, getting sales from these students is becoming harder and harder. Young people from high school to master's degree programs know exactly what they want, and with the Internet at their fingertips they're more willing to reach companies online than go out of the way to do business with anyone else. Unless you want to exclude students from your customer base (which few businesses can afford) you have to learn how to use the Internet to your advantage, and nothing does that better than social media.

Since the advent of services like MySpace, FaceBook, and Twitter, the majority of students have become a deluge of socially networked users. Social media give them ways to keep with the second-to-second and minute-to-minute dealings of friends, family, and even businesses. Many students connect with businesses online through these services, if only just to know when they are having sales or updating their product lists.

If this sounds like an opt-in mailing list, it should, because it basically is. Few marketing materials have the same power as a simple social networking page. Students can find these pages very easily, so you don’t have to worry about search engines mucking up your rankings. Failing to take advantage of this marketing method is like pulling all your commercials, stopping the mailed postcards, refusing to send e-mail, and erasing all your newspaper and radio ads. Doesn’t sound very smart, does it?

When you use social media to reach students, you can't be timid. That doesn't mean you have to be brazen about everything, but have some confidence in what you're saying. Speaking of which, what should you be saying? This is the problem many businesses have at first, because they aren't used to reaching out to students as a particular class of customers. Talk about what's going on inside the business, share a funny story, mention discounts, or talk about that new product launching in a few days.

Also, always reach out to the students and ask them to comment back. Nothing is worse than a post with absolutely no comments. Even if other readers think the post is interesting, they may dismiss it because no one is saying anything. It’s like having a commercial that everyone watches but no one responds to. Of course the number of comments your business' posts receive depends a lot on how many customers have connected with your social media presence. On the other hand, keep in mind that more comments may lead to more followers as other users see what their friends are commenting on.

Always add a small something at the bottom of your post to invite comment or interaction. Oftentimes opinionated students are more likely to take you up on this invitation than other kinds of customers.

Building up a social media page to help your image and connect with students is a great idea sure to help you build a list of loyal customers. The time investment to maintain a social media presence is quite minimal, but the payoff for businesses is immense. The investment is most worth the effort when you target your social media use, and in doing so it's critical to keep in mind that students are the prime users of social media and your most receptive audience.

Provided by Guest Blogger Cyndi Laurenti - While she figures out her next career move, Cyndi Laurenti works as an online writer and editor. Her primary interests are education, technology, and how to combine them. She enjoys the trees and beaches of the pacific northwest, and looking things up on other people's iPhones.