Utilizing Social Media Marketing in Your Small Business (Part 1 of 2 ...

Whether we?re ready for it or not, the online world and the business world have collided in many ways. While at one time you could afford to skip out on the online aspect of running a business, today that?s just not an option. The internet and business have become married to one another in many different ways?not the least of which being business marketing. While social media and social networking sites could at one time be viewed as trendy outlets for angst-ridden teenagers and college party picture albums, today they are tools for increased business revenue, professional networking, and global marketing strategies.

Small and large businesses alike are using social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others to capture followers, instill brand imaging, and market new products and services to their customers and the mass public. With over 900 million users as of April 2012 on Facebook alone, it?s no wonder that business professionals have been flocking to the world of social media for many years now. Marketing is the primary area in which small businesses are applying social media and social networking. With such impressive user resumes, major social media networks have become one of the primary avenues for mass marketing.

While social media networks have long touted free use and free exposure?sure, they?re free to sign up for and use?the bottom line is that social media just isn?t free when you?re using it for business purposes. Larger businesses devote significant portions of their budget to hiring social media teams, marketing managers, and strategy specialists to perfect their online social marketing plan and components. The fact of the matter is?developing a successful social media marketing campaign takes money and takes some expertise. But, what does this mean for small businesses with few resources to begin with? How can small business owners make the necessary transition into social media marketing? How how can small businesses best utilize social media to their advantage? All important questions.

Consider these tips before embarking on your social media excursion as a small business owner:

1.????? Learn the Ropes

In order to actually become successful with your social media efforts you?re going to have to get your hands dirty a little bit. Small businesses don?t have the luxury of simply shuffling over a large amount of money to let some outside company run your social media. You?re going to have to learn how to use the stuff yourself. Don?t stress over becoming an expert on all things social media marketing, but do learn enough to be able to ask the right questions. As always, the web is a resource of information on the topic and there are numerous tools and tutorials that can help those new to the world of social media from a business perspective.

2.????? Get the Big Picture

Before you completely commit to a new social media plan, be sure you do some research first. Talk to your existing customers and scope out your competition to get an idea of how they use social media. Where do your existing customers spend their time online? What types of social media are they most active on? What are your competitors doing with social media? Where have they been most successful? Once you?ve educated yourself on social media marketing to some degree, scoping out the bigger picture is the next step.

Next Wednesday we will share tips 3 and 4 for using Social Media Marketing in Your Small Business but for now, here is some homework:

1) Check out as many social media applications as possible, if your not already using them.

2)?Spend some time thinking about what social media applications would be?beneficial?for your business.

Lauren Bailey is a freelance blogger who loves writing about education, new technology, lifestyle and health. As an education writer, she works to research and provide information for those comparing the best online colleges and courses and welcomes comments and questions via email at blauren99@gmail.com.

Tagged as: advertising, free marketing, marketing, online marketing, part 1 of 2, Service Magic, service magic pros, servicemagic, servicemagic pros, servicemagic.com, servicemagicpros, small business advice, social media, social media tips, tips

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