Your current marketing strategy for you small business may be working well for you, but how can you take it to the next level? Specifically -- how can you take it to the next level using social media?
Social media might seem like a crowded world, but if you harness it correctly, you have the ability to attract that crowded world.
First, you need to run your spreadsheets. How much can you realistically invest someone's time into social media? Major Fortune 500 companies have teams dedicated to social media efforts, but your small business just may not have the resources. And while its free to sign up for Facebook and Twitter, the time and resources you put into it is certainly not free.
Business Grow offers some great tips to help you figure out the best way to implement a social media plan into your business' marketing efforts.
They first recommend surveying your customers and your competitors. Are your customers spending a couple hours of their time on Facebook each day? Are your competitors offering special deals via Twitter that is sending sales skyrocketing? If you're the first in your company's niche in your area to turn to social media, you can certainly have the leg up on the competition. Take advantage of that.
For the younger generation of small business owners, social media is almost second nature. If you don't feel totally comfortable, learn the basics. There are plenty of tutorials sprinkled throughout the Internet that can teach you how to get the most out of the many different social networks.
Next you need a goal. Whether its a number of followers, level of interaction or even a business sales goal as a result of social media. Set up something that's realistic and try to achieve it just as you would with traditional marketing tactics.
If you're still struggling to figure out to make the most out of your Facebook page, it might not hurt to invest in a social media consultant of some sort. After a few rides on the big bike with an expert, you'll be riding alone in no time.
I mentioned social media versus "traditional" marketing tactics. Well, social media is quickly becoming the traditional way of marketing your company. It's not an add on, it shouldn't be viewed as a chore. It's a resource that if done right can be a huge benefit to your company. Take advantage of this opportunity! Nothing is instantaneous, but social media is pretty close. Waiting for an advertisement in the newspaper takes time. You can get an idea on how a product would sell by posting a photo of it on Facebook and asking your fans for their reaction. The possibilities are endless.
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think of entering social media like the first time you went to a small business roundtable, or a chamber of commerce meeting. You didn't know anyone, you didn't have any connections, but slowly and surely, you began developing those relationships. Article courtesy of http://www.calbanktrust.com/smallbusiness/
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Best to succeed in a business is to market your product or service through your customers.The only way to do so is satisfy the existing customers and make them spread the business to their friends and relatives.Social is the best platform to achieve it.
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