This was done by Tim a little while ago. It’s a nice little tip for showing some Facebook love to your friends or favorite business pages without manually re-posting the content. It’s the closest thing to a re-tweet on Twitter.

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The term “social media marketing” is new to many small business owners, and they often think of it as just another outlet to market their products and services, but social media and social networking are changing the landscape of marketing. If you want your brand to venture into the world of Facebook and Twitter, you need to check your traditional marketing hat at the front desk. It’s just not the same, and many people don’t realize it. They start a facebook page and a twitter account, start sending out daily updates about their promotions and discounts, forget about it after a couple of weeks, and never go back to it. This will get you nowhere, and there’s no point in starting a social media marketing campaign if you approach it this way.

So what is it?

It’s a conversation between you and your customers. You’ve always wanted to connect with your customers on a more personal level, but you don’t have the time or resources to greet them personally. When you throw yourself out on in the world of social media, it gives your customers a chance to comment on your new products, tell you how you’re doing, It gives customers the chance to interact with your brand.

Interaction is Key

Ask a question. Start a discussion. Share relevant information with your social media followers. Make it fun with photos and videos. If you have an event or do something in the community, take pictures or video. If you have a new product out, take photos of it. Create a video demonstration of it.

Keep it up-to-date

Your social media marketing strategy will never work if you set it and forget it. I always think of that lame info-mercial about that rotisserie grill with the tag line, “set it and forget it!”. My mother-in-law bought it and said she set it and forgot it, and her house almost went up in flames. You must keep up with social media marketing on a daily basis or it won’t work. You must respond and react to comments in a timely manner and answer questions as quickly as possible.

Insert Shameless Plug: You probably don’t have the time to keep your Facebook page, Twitter account, LinkedIn account, and other social media outlets up-to-date, but Presence Media does have the time. This is one of the main reasons we tell business owners they should outsource their social media marketing campaign, because they often don’t have the time it requires and social media requires a different voice. You must sound fun and hip, because you will initially attract a younger audience.

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Social Networking sites are changing the face of the internet. The internet started out as a one-way resource for information where voices were heard through anyone willing to take the time to build a website and post information about a particular niche topic. The internet has now evolved into a conversation. Millions of blog posts are posted daily and billions of comments and ratings are published in reaction the content produced. We are a social society, so it’s only fitting that the internet become a social web of interactions.

Small business is slowly realizing that having a website isn’t enough anymore. Or if they do have a website, it better not function solely as a business card. Web visitors want to interact with brands. They want to build trust with you before they use your products or services. The best way to do this is by implementing a social media marketing strategy. Social media works with small business, because it is designed to help businesses connect with customers on a local level. In downtown Orlando, many night clubs, bars, and restaurants are finding that connecting with people on Facebook and Twitter is a great way to get the word out about their promotions and discounts. This is happening all over the country, and here’s why it works:

Customers take ownership of certain small businesses

Most people can list off the top of their head their favorite bar, favorite breakfast place, favorite boutique, and favorite pizza place. We naturally like to take ownership of local businesses that we enjoy patronizing. Engaging in social media with your customers helps them solidify this ownership mentality. By starting a Facebook page, you can respond to customer requests, update them on new menu items and concert events. If you are a franchise of a larger brand, you can separate yourself from other franchisees by offering incentives on Facebook and Twitter to encourage repeat business by casual customers.

Gain Customer Trust

Creating a presence on social media sites puts businesses at a certain level of vulnerability. They are now opening up the conversation stream for customers to critique them, praise them, and offer suggestions. What many small businesses fail to realize is that customers appreciate when they see small businesses making an attempt to reach out to their customer base. If you are honest on your social media outlets and you respond to customer inquiries, you’ll gain their trust, and they will choose you over your competition.

Establish a New Voice

Do you want to tap into a younger demographic? Do you find that no one young comes into your store? Then, you need to go to where they are. They are never going to find your website no matter how much search engine optimization you do. Building a Facebook page and sharing it with friends and family will start the snow ball effect of viral word-of-mouth advertising. But, having a Facebook page means nothing. You must fill it with fun, relevant content. The content is your voice. Don’t sound like a business owner. Don’t sound like someone’s parent. Sound like their friend, and they will respond favorably

If you’re a small business with questions about marketing your business on social networking sites, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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