Social Media Success for Small Business: 5 Important Tips ...

With the growth of the internet and social media throughout the past decade, small businesses have been given access to low cost marketing like never before.? Facebook, Twitter and blogging are inexpensive ways for small businesses to market themselves without the large costs traditionally associated with advertising.

For those of us that were involved in a small businesses 10 to 15 years ago, marketing looked much different.? Advertising came in the form of an overpriced Yellow Pages listing or perhaps a print advertisement in a local newspaper.? If you had a larger budget, you could advertise on your local radio station and hope that the message was received and that it would translate to higher sales, but all these types of advertising were very one-sided.? The small business owner could not predict how their marketing efforts would be received by the target market.

There had to be a better way!

Enter websites, blogs and social media.? The advent of social media and blogging presented small businesses with an enormous opportunity to connect with their customers on the internet.? No longer was advertising one sided.? Blogging gave small business the opportunity to communicate with their customers on a daily basis, for little to no cost.? Social media took it one step further and allowed businesses to actually have conversations and build relationships with their customers online.

Social media, when managed properly is a powerful tool that small businesses can use to their advantage.? Below are 5 tips that small businesses should keep in mind when marketing on a social media platform like Facebook, Twitter or Google+.

1. ?Be Consistent ? Lots of businesses have great intentions when setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account but good intentions don?t get the job done.? Set a schedule for yourself to communicate on your social media accounts.? Nothing looks worse than seeing 2 posts from 2010 on your businesses Twitter account, and no other interaction for 2 years! It makes your business look outdated and out of touch.
2. Be Gracious ? Social Media will open the door to communication from your customers, both positive and negative.? When negative information is presented on your social media accounts, be gracious when responding rather than using the platform to get upset with a negative comment.
3. Be Humble ? A local caf? uses Twitter to thank their customers for their business at the end of a busy day.? It?s a heartfelt thank you that seems to resonate with their customers and keep them coming back. ?Don?t forget to thank your customers, or admit a mistake.
4. Be Creative ? Use your social media accounts to be creative when communicating with your customers. ?Say creative, funny or pithy things that will get the attention that you are looking for and will set you apart.
5. Be Careful ? This goes along with #4.? Be careful what you say.? Make sure that what you say won?t be viewed as offensive to your customers.? If in doubt, err on the side of caution rather than writing something that might cause you to offend a certain demographic for a comment that could be interpreted negatively.

If you?re a small business and you haven?t yet embraced this method of advertising and communicating with your customers, you?re missing out.? Take the time to develop a social media strategy and seek help if you don?t know where to start or you just don?t have the time or interest to keep up with this crucial form of communication. ?It?s one of the most cost-effective and useful forms of advertising that exists and each day you don?t take part, you?re missing out on your opportunity to connect with your customers.

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