Podcasting

social-media-bandwagon — Creative Commons by Matt Hamm

Even with the proliferation of news media outlets reporting record uses of technology and social media and tons of success stories of how smaller organizations are able to use social media to increase their bottom line, there are still some people “on the fence” about whether or not social media will work for them and their company (Check out this cool infographic on How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media).

For those few, still sitting on the sidelines wondering if Social Media will work for them, I propose the following 5 Simple Steps to Get Started Using Social Media Today:

1. Stake Your Claim: Grab your name on all of the social media networks out there (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.). It’s always better to be safe rather than sorry and risk losing your name to someone else who picks it up once you’ve become popular. Also, if you grab a name, like a Twitter account, but don’t intend to use it that often, note that on the profile, and tell your visitors the best place to find you online.

2. Make It Look Professional: If your goal is to lead people to your company’s website or blog, make sure it looks professional and is user-friendly when visitors arrive. You only get one chance to make a first impression. If visitors check out your site once and don’t like it, they likely won’t return again.

3. Try It for Three Months: Start with 3 months of content to give yourself an opportunity to learn the tools and how best to use them, and to figure out some of the better strategies for engaging your audience in the social media space.

4. Review Your Analytics: After the first three months, have a look at your web and social media analytics and decide what they’re telling you. I suggest you only look at your analytics AFTER a few months have passed, because it will drive you crazy to look at them on daily or weekly basis, especially since you likely won’t see much change in the early days.

5. Repeat Step 3 for Another Three Months: Building relationships and capitalizing on the widespread popularity of social interaction for business use is something that takes time. Let your first three months be the “test case” for whether or not you can handle adding a social media marketing strategy to your marketing mix, and finding out of social media venues truly work for your brand and your customers. Also, be prepared to tweak things here and there as the need arises. Now’s the time to ask yourself a few questions: After three months, can you see the potential of where this can lead? Have you uncovered some new information about yourself, your customers, or your competition that can give you the edge for how you market to your customer base? Can your business afford not to be engaging customers in some capacity on social networks, given the millions of people that roam the web every day?

At the end of the day, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to be proactive in marketing your business online. At the very least, give it a six-month concerted effort and see if it’s for you. And don’t, I can help. Feel free to use me as a resource, either for Social Media Training (where I show you how to use these tools for yourself) or Social Media Consulting (where I use these tools on your behalf). Fill out the Contact Us form to get started.

What’s stopping you from using social media in your small business?

Kindra Cotton, Small Business Survival Specialist

In Part 2 of An Overview of Social Media Tools and Outlets, I want to talk about other avenues that are used for sending out messages and connecting with others in the Social Media Space, specifically Blogging, Podcasting, and Email Marketing (See Part 1 here).

One of my personal favorites in social media is Blogging. Blogs provide a way to establish yourself as a thought-leader in your field, and regular blogging on a consistent schedule can help you grow your small business because it allows you to build web traffic by providing useful information to your blog’s visitors. At SSS for Success we specialize in providing Branded Blogs which are highly customized blogs built around your brand and designed to amplify your company's message in the blogosphere and throughout the World Wide Web. One good thing about blogs, versus say a regular website, is that blogs are better for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes because a blog is updated more than a traditional website, thus prompting search engine spiders (or robots) to crawl your blog pages more frequently and increasing your chances of being found through search engine results for specific keywords.

The next social media outlet is Podcasting (or digital audio broadcasting) which is like broadcasting your own radio show, where people can choose to download it and listen to it at their leisure. Podcasting can help you drive traffic to your small business's website by providing a platform for you to talk about your area of expertise via your very own broadcast known as “podcast”. It is a great way to amplify your company's message and reach a new audience in a different online medium. Some interesting stats on podcasting: Approximately 45 million people in the U.S. have gym memberships. Why is this relevant? Because most will need something to listen to during the 30-60 minutes that they work out. Another stat: 97 million people who drive to work along on a daily basis, with an average commute time of 25 minutes. Again, a podcast for this lonely driver definitely fills a void. One of the things that I like about podcasting is its relatively low cost of entry into the field. All you really need is a microphone, some recording software, and web hosting space to store your files. This is something you can get started with for $50 or less. As with anything, once you get more sophisticated in your podcasting, it can get more expensive, but I like how you can tinker around with it first, and see if it’s really for you before making a huge financial commitment. If you visit this blog often, you might also be interested in checking out our podcast in iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sss-for-success/id420375160

Last but not least, I want to talk about Email Marketing because even in the age of mobile internet and text messaging, there’s still some people out there that are using email marketing and using it well. It will certainly depend on your industry and audience, but a well-run email marketing campaign can be the difference between an empty inbox and your phone consistently ringing off the hook! Email Marketing through e-newsletters can be used to build bring traffic either to your website or blog, and ultimately enhance your small business's overall brand by nurturing the relationships you have with your customers. For instance, email marketing builds your reputation as an information resource to your core audience, and it lets your audience know that you know what you’re talking about. It also keeps you connected with your audience, and it gives you the opportunity to stay relevant and provide useful information that they’ll appreciate. If you sell things, or at one point will want to promote something, it’s a great way to have a “pre-sold” audience who trusts you and your opinions, and it helps you build traffic and enhance your brand, while engaging in activities that help your business’s bottom line.

Another hot topic in the Social Media Space for business professionals is Mobile Marketing. It definitely has people buzzing, especially as more and more people are using their mobile devices to get more things done. I’ll be talking about Mobile Marketing soon on this blog, so please stay tuned for updates.

So, that’s a general overview of social media tools and outlets, and there is certainly more to share. The main point that I want you to walk away with here is that you want to be sure to choose the right mix of social media outlets that fit with your company’s message and branding. As always, you can feel free to give me a call at 615-336-4325, if you have any questions about how you can better utilize social media in your small business, and I’ll end part 2 of this series by asking: Have you tried any of these outlets, and what’s been your experience with them?

Kindra Cotton, Small Business Survival Specialist

An Overview of Social Media Tools and Outlets (Part 2)