ProBlogger: How to Go Beyond Your Small Business Blog and Create a Social Media Footprint |
How to Go Beyond Your Small Business Blog and Create a Social Media Footprint Posted: 21 Aug 2009 07:52 AM PDT Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Mark Hayward. You can follow him on Twitter @mark_hayward. Image by Tyla 75 Is this you?You have a polished website for your small business and even a professional blog where you publish posts a couple of times per week, and both are meant to help spread your story and bring more sales. However, you are a bit frustrated because based on your initially optimistic website and blog marketing expectations, for some reason the customers just aren’t coming. Many small business owners that I know (myself included!) have faced a similar predicament. It can be a bit disheartening on a daily basis knowing that you have a mortgage and bills to pay, yet your online efforts aren’t really providing a return. When I started my business a few of years ago I made a nice website and a companion blog and waited for the customers to come rushing down the road and break down my door. Well, I continued to wait for about six months and it garnered minimal results… *insert crickets chirping here* At first I didn’t really know what the problem was. The information I was posting to my small business blog was not spammy, and in fact was just the opposite, as the site was developed to act as a helpful resource. What was the problem?Looking back and analyzing the situation now, the main issue as far as I can tell was that in my mind, my business was being well represented online. Though, in reality, I was only doing about one-tenth of the work that was required to manage the reputation and promotion of a small business online. Lucky for me, one day I had what I call, “a social media awakening,” wherein something struck a nerve and I finally realized:
The plain and simple truth about marketing your small business online is that there’s much more to Internet promotion and gaining social media traction than a stellar website and blog. Social Media FootprintDon’t get me wrong, having an optimized website and small business blog is a fantastic start, but it is not enough. Creating a social media footprint is the process of getting the name of your business and brand recognized on the Internet at various sites where your niche customers are likely to find you. The ultimate goal is to establish the online identity of your small business and to proactively manage your reputation. If for nothing more than the simple fact that, the more locations we (the customers) can find you, the more we can begin to understand and trust what you’re about. The end result being, we are more likely to purchase your goods or services. How did I do it?Armed with this new knowledge I decided to take a different approach and move beyond my blog and create a social media footprint for my business. Disclaimer: It’s very important to remember that there really is no right or wrong way to delve into social media promotion for a small business. You should feel confident in know that we are all learning. (Although, I hear that being a jerk does not provide very good results.) My specific strategy might not work for you, but listed below is a good portion of the steps that I undertake to promote my small business online:
When you review the list above, it might not seem like much, but I always try to remember that it’s the little things (the basics!) that we do on a daily basis that really help with small business promotion over the long term. Also, it’s not about what anyone else does, the hope here is to get you thinking creatively and to expand your online marketing efforts. After you spend some time developing a consistent strategy, sooner or later you will figure out what works best for you and which actions are providing measurable results. Unfortunately, there are NO shortcuts. Hardwork, consistency, listening, engaging, and helping are all required over a period of time to establish a well distributed social media footprint. I often like to explain to people that you have to tend to your small business social media efforts (almost) everyday like a garden in order to make them bloom and grow. Have you moved beyond your small business blog to promote your small business? What is some of your strategy? Mark Hayward lives in the Caribbean and built up a clientele for his small business using nothing but social media. He tries to help beginners make sense of social media and how they can use it for business promotion. You can follow him on Twitter @mark_hayward. Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger. How to Go Beyond Your Small Business Blog and Create a Social Media Footprint |
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