Social Media Marketing for Small (and Micro) Businesses and Nonprofits
Today I’m reading “The Millionaire Messenger” (see below) by Brendon Burchard. Burchard is an “expert” about how others can become “experts” and make money delivering their messages. (If you’ve heard me talk, you know that I believe each business owners is an expert in his field.)
He discusses at length how simple it has become to make that expertise known, especially compared with the difficulties and costs involved in doing so just a few years ago. [Read more...]
As more small and micro business see the need for social media marketing, we’re seeing them at every level of experience, from absolute starters to experienced marketers.
And we’re seeing businesses with a full spectrum of needs for consultants as well. Some need only general guidance, some need regular sessions as they learn to do more and more and others simply don’t want to be bothered with setting up “all that stuff.”
Which this diversity of interest and training levels in mind, Prism Communications has introduced three packages, or “kits,” to help businesses move ahead with social media marketing.
The first is a “starter” kit that offers setup of all the basic social media, from blogging to Facebook and Twitter.
The second an optimization package for those who already are up and running, but want to be more effective and have more reach.
And the third is a branding kit that allows the business to create a graphic image and use that image throughout the internet and in off-line marketing as well.
All of these will be introduced at the Women in Business Conference tomorrow at Cochise College Sierra Vista Campus, sponsored by the Small Business Development Center. The price of each kit is $695, but $100 off coupons are available through Oct. 31.
“One size fits all” is perhaps the biggest marketing lie ever!
This man would love the social media!
Similarly, one type of marketing is not going to reach everyone.
Consider the AIDA consumer model that’s been around for decades. It assumes that any particular individual is, at a given time, at one four mile markers along her road to making a purchase: Awareness, Interest, Desire or Action.
Unless you specialize in impulse items, it’s unlikely that someone who has just become aware of your product or service is immediately ready to sign on the dotted line. Similarly, your Twitter fans need different messages, appropriate for their particular place on the road.
I’m using Twitter in this example, because the messages are short and it’s feasible to list a few here, but the same concept is true for Facebook, blogging, email newsletter, face-to-face, etc., as well.
I’m going to use for this example, because it’s consuming much of my thought right now, a new business I’m creating: Jules Verne Audiobooks. Sales are programmed to begin July 11, but I want to build audiences ahead of time. That’s the same as having a billboard in front of your building with similar words. [Read more...]
I have to be somewhat careful about what I say here, because I’ve been a professional writer for the past 40 years and may not evince the sympathy you would expect. But believe me: I’ve stared at a lot more blank screens than you’d care to imagine!
What I would encourage you to do, however, is to rephrase the question in the headline a bit. Since this is all about social media, ask instead, What should I talk about?
Is that an easier question?
Also, don’t just see yourself sitting behind a computer, but put yourself into a social situation, talking with a few friends or customers. (With luck, they’re both.) Envision a recent conversation in which you chatted about your business. What did you say then?
If it’s like most conversation, there was a mixture of short statement, questions, replies and longer stories or explanations. And that’s what your social media marketing is about as well. [Read more...]
Small businesses certainly miss out on a lot of the benefits of the IT revolution because they can’t hire a staff of experts to do it for them.
But even big business, with all its resources, is struggling to keep up. Here’s a look at what a CEO needs to understand, and the questions he needs to ask, from today’s Wall Street Journal.
Some just-released figures from the Newspaper Association of America show a decline in newspaper advertising that I hadn’t thought possible. Certainly newspaper ads are off, but dropping from a peak of $48.7 billion in 2000 to less than half of that — $22.8 billion — is just astounding to an old newspaper editor.
The biggest single decline came in 2009, when total newspaper advertising revenue fell 28.6 percent in one year. Certainly that wasn’t entirely due, or even mostly due, to online competition, but low-cost advertising, such as social media, absolutely was a force that pushed the decline.
One of the advantages of social media marketing is that it can be done for free — in terms of cash out of the pocket, at least. Facebook and Twitter both are free and with a Blogger or WordPress.com account, you don’t pay a dime. Nor is there a cost for YouTube.
Blogger's free like a butterfly, but what does free mean? And can you afford it?
So if your micro business is just getting off the ground and you have lots of hours and no dollars, these services can be the way to go. It really doesn’t matter how many hours it takes to set up your accounts and you have plenty of time to learn the ins and outs of each process.
And then once your business takes off, you’ll be much more knowledgeable about each of the social media you’re using and you’ll feel more confident in making decisions about its place in your overall strategy. [Read more...]
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