Online blogs and social media such as Facebook and Twitter are incredibly powerful marketing tools that no new business can afford to ignore. If you’re not yet up to speed with these awesome communication platforms and their unlimited scope for finding and winning customers then it’s time to jump on the bandwagon.
Blogs and other social media platforms have big benefits which small, medium or large businesses can utilise:
A blog is a type of website or part of a website. Think of it as being a bit like your diary or business journal. But everyone can see it. You can put a wide variety of content on your blog – from articles, images or videos to links or contact information.
The difference between a blog and a conventional website is that a blog is interactive: visitors to your blog can leave comments and even message each other.
On your small business blog you might:
As of early 2011, there are over 156 million public blogs sitting on the Internet – it’s time you joined them!
Anyone can start a blog. And every day around 20,000 people do! Here’s how to launch yours:
Facebook is a social networking website designed to connect your friends, family and business associates. Although it began as a way for friends to find each other and communicate, Facebook is proving to be a highly effective business marketing tool.
It’s easy to set up your business’s Facebook account. Once you’ve done so, you can:
Privacy settings can be applied to your Facebook account so that only your business’s Facebook friends can see some or all of your information. Or you can have no privacy settings if you want everyone to see your information and there’s nothing you want to hide.
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging website that enables you to send and read messages called Tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters.
The benefits of Twitter for small business:
YouTube is an often-overlooked platform for building low cost, high impact content. All you need to “broadcast yourself” or your business on YouTube is a camera and editing software. It pays to take the time to learn the basics of video production as you’ll want your business video to be engaging and look professional.
Some ideas for your YouTube video:
Include your business name, contact details and domain name so viewers can find you.
First and foremost, keep in mind that every piece of content you post online – whether it’s on your blog, your Facebook page, YouTube or other sites – could boost your business and drive search results and traffic at very little or no cost. Here are some tips:
Become an expert: People crave good information and great content, and it can be as niche as the products or services you’re selling. By blogging, tweeting, sharing, and updating about things relevant to your industry, you can build credibility in your field.
Create content: Whether about your products or something relevant to your industry, content creation is something you should engage in regularly. Write articles and film short videos then post them to YouTube, your website, Facebook, Twitter and your blog.
Real time updates: Post pictures and tweet out commentary from industry events to keep your fans in the loop.
Look after your fans: Thank and reward those who love what you’re doing and post positive remarks and reviews. Great reviews from your “business brand ambassadors” are priceless!
Learn more about how to market your small business on a budget.