Social media is now one of the primary platforms to get the word out about your business. Most social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter are free to set up and the target marketing campaign through Facebook is rather inexpensive. This is a great way to test your marketing message and get your marketing campaign rolling.
Often, small businesses are face with challenges in adequately marketing their business. We are inundated with information and distractions from our various media devices. We live in the days of spam and useless information so people crave valuable content. By educating people about your industry, rather than having a direct advertising angle, you will be set apart from the rest. If you blog, tweet and share information about topics relevant to your industry, you can attract viewers to your web page and establish credibility in your market.
Whether you are selling candles or computer applications, you more than likely have a great deal of information and expertise that can be shared with potential clients and customers. You can author how-to articles or create educational videos about your products or services and market them online. Keep in mind that each and every bit of content that you create and post online has the potential to create awareness about your brand and drive search engine results and traffic to your site at an unbelievably low cost, if any cost at all.
Sites like You Tube are often overlooked by small business owners. In reality, You Tube is an excellent platform for creating high impact content at a low cost. Typically the only investment that may be required is that of a quality camera and editing software. With proper preparation and time to learn the basics of video creation and editing, you can create a video that could lead to big time exposure.
Social media has changed the medium and message for small business owners. Years ago, the most common form of advertising a small business was print advertising. Unfortunately, this form of advertising is also costly. Unfortunately, many small businesses failed because they were unable to afford to get their message to their market. Now, you are able to not only get your message out, but can also use social media to maintain control of your company’s image. The key to getting the word out about your business is by cultivating super users and targeting your market. Super users are individuals who are already fans of your brand or product and are interested in sharing their positive beliefs on the web. It is possible, on Facebook to create a fan page, where you can attract potential super users. From your Facebook fan page, you can provide valuable information about your business and also add in a call to action to prompt all those interested to contact you or view your page for further instruction and information.
Before jumping into the social media scene, you must be sure you have an effective website for your business. Your website should describe your product or service. Once your website is complete, you will need to attract as much traffic as possible. In addition to sites like Facebook, Twitter and You Tube, you should also consider setting up a blog. Small business owners who blog have realized they can attract a new audience by writing in a style that exposes the human side of their business. Pod-casting is also new and simple technology that will help you build credibility and awareness of your brand. For some, a voice, rather than target words can convey the personality they need to become interested in your business.
As you can see, there are unlimited methods that can be used to market your small business. They key to success is having a well thought out marketing plan where your target market has been clearly identified. Once you have identified your market, you can use the many forms of social media to inexpensively and effectively build your business and obtain success you never imagined possible.