December 20, 2012
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Small businesses play a vital role in any capitalist economy. They create jobs for citizens, pump out innovative products and offer services that are integral in the success of our society. You know your small business is important, now you?ve just got to find a way to tell everyone else that. One of the biggest challenges of any small business owner is getting your name out there. With the proliferation of social media and a new-found appreciation for buying local, spreading the word about your small business on a limited budget has become more feasible within the last few years. Having success with these marketing avenues is simply a matter of learning the tricks and putting in the time.
A Social Network for Every Small Business
Social media is fast becoming the most efficient way for small businesses to reach a large, targeted audience. With a vast selection of social networks to choose from, any business can find the perfect network or combination of social networks to promote their unique business.
Facebook continues to dominate the social scene with recent data showing over 955 million users. Small businesses shouldn?t be intimidated by this incredibly vast user base, but rather embrace it and take advantage of the targeting capabilities available to you within Facebook. Facebook provides you with powerful user data, so that you can funnel your message to the people who will find it the most relevant.
Facebook Ads
Small businesses can benefit from Facebook?s ad platform to promote their brand and generate a buzz surrounding their latest promotion. Facebook ads allows you to narrow down your target audience by demographics, profession, and interests. Facebook ads are perfect for small businesses with a relatively small marketing budget because they allow you to set your campaign budget, and it runs on a pay per click system so you only pay when people are clicking on your ad.
Facebook Events
Planning events is simple with Facebook. It allows you to create the invitation and write the guest list in one fowl swoop. Once you?ve hashed out all the details and sent the invitation, you can track RSVPs and give updates about the event.
Tell Your Story
One of the reasons people feel so compelled to support small businesses is that behind every small company, there?s usually a pretty compelling story to be told. Small business owners all started with passion and found a way to turn their dream into reality. Facebook Timeline allows businesses to map out their journey from fantasy to fruition. Try not to think of your Facebook page as merely a ?profile? but rather a blank canvas on which you can paint a picture of your brand?s unique and inspiring story.
Twitter is a great platform for interacting with your customer base. Keep followers informed about the latest happenings at your company and listen to valuable feedback by monitoring the conversation taking place around your brand. Twitter has become a means for customers to express their opinions about brands, both positive and negative, as well as seek out advice and business referrals. It?s very common to come across a tweet along the lines of:
?Going to Door County this weekend. Anyone know of a good place to grab dinner??
or
?Pretty weak room service at @ABChotel?waited over an hour for food!?
Keep an eye out for tweets like these so that you can be there to do damage control if necessary or to recommend your business to an inquiring potential customer.
Pinterest is the latest craze on the social media scene. It?s visual, it?s interactive, and best of all, it?s viral. Popular pins spread like wildfire and help to drive traffic to your website and ultimately bring you business. Small businesses with some type of visual component to their company (such as a retail product, design or photography) can benefit immensely from incorporating Pinterest into their small business marketing strategy. Use Pinterest to show off your product lines, portfolio and your corporate culture. Allow followers to contribute to your boards and develop relationships with your followers by re-pinning their pins whenever possible.
Email Marketing
Another way small businesses can reach a large, targeted audience is through email marketing. Email allows you to push information out to people who want to know what?s new with your business. Launch a monthly e-newsletter campaign to inform customers of promotions, new products and services, and exciting events happening at your company.
Blogging
Blogging is another great big impact marketing tool for small businesses to implement. Not only does it enable businesses to spread their message to a large audience, it also helps drive traffic to your website and gives you a platform to establish yourself as a thought leader. Blogging gives your business a human voice and shows consumers that you are the expert in your industry. Update your blog regularly with how-to posts, industry news, useful tips and new product offerings.
A big impact?marketing plan is going to look different for every small business. Depending on variables like target market, product or service offering and marketing objectives, the solution will involve a different mix of tools and strategies. Stay tuned for next week?s Big Impact Social Media Marketing blog post to learn about location-based strategies for marketing your small business.
landon collins dorial green beckham mike kelly kristen bell colbert super pac colbert super pac sloth
