ODX Fusion is asked to speak to many businesses and professional groups about how Internet Marketing can help boost a brand and ultimately bring more sales.  It’s fun, we love to do it and further love seeing the “ah-ha!” moments on our audience members’ faces when they begin to realize what we’re saying.

But make no mistake, the one question that’s been asked Every. Single. Time. is… “How do I find the time?”

It’s a good question on the surface, we agree.  It appears that gaining any ground in the social media and online environment takes an inordinate amount of time.  Aside from being untrue, we believe the question is disingenuous even if the asker doesn’t realize how.

We make time for our books, we make time for our employees.  Let’s make time for our business marketing.

The real question then becomes: “Why am I resisting the internet marketing plunge?”

Read on to see the answers we believe businesses are resisting online marketing.

1. Fear of Change

You’re doing your offline marketing, you’re out there shaking hands and kissing babies and you get a few sales.  You’re comfortable with that.  Internet Marketing / Social Media brings a whole new set of headaches that you just don’t need, right?

Wrong.  Marketing online has given us a forum to engage our customers and put information out to them in real-time.  REAL-TIME! When was the last time your direct mail campaign did that?

Marketing is a necessary evil of doing business and the landscape is always evolving. You need to keep up.

2. Fear of Marketing

If you’re in business, you NEED to market your product!  In some way or another, you need to get the word out.  Too many business owners believe that their product or service speaks for itself.  I’m here to tell you – it’s not speaking to anyone if not a soul knows about it.

As with any other type of marketing, a good strategy is all you need.  Once you have that in place, it’s not so much a fear as much as a project to be treated as such.

3. Fear of Competition

Some folks are not comfortable in dealing with competition.  Marketing online puts you in front of a lot of people, including your competitors.  Be confident in your craft and let your competitors see you.  Ever thought they might fear you?

What you’re doing by not using the internet to your advantage is allowing your competitors to use it to theirs.  You’re letting them speak to your past and present customers.  And forget about future customers. You may not have any (maybe a bit harsh).

4. No Idea Where to Start

This is common and completely understandable. It’s a big online world out there and you have no idea how to get started.  Check out our recent series of posts on Getting Started on Social Media for Beginners.  If you don’t want to hire someone, you’re going to have to look around to determine where to start.  This blog is by no means the only one out there interested in helping you.  Sign up for a social media account.  Buy a book.  Start learning about search engine optimization.  Read about Pay-Per-Click marketing. Start a blog (it’s free!). If you don’t want to do all that leg work, we know someone who would love to help with your internet marketing efforts <wink>!

5. You Hate Your Website

Internet Marketing is really about bringing qualified (primed to purchase) customers to your website. But your neighbor’s 11^th grade son built your website a few years ago and frankly you’re embarrassed to send anyone to it.

When you can’t afford a professionally designed website, it’s an even better argument for using social media. While customizable, your profile can give you a look that’s on par with everyone else.  For the record – a Facebook page does not replace the need for a well-designed website, but it can act as a lead generator in the absence of one or until you can afford one.

6. Fear of Leads

Make no mistake about it, some people have anxiety attacks when it comes to following up on leads. “what do I say to put my company in the best light?” or “what if they ask me a question I can’t answer?” and you might be surprised how scary it is for some people to ask for money.

When your internet marketing efforts are working and generating qualified leads for you, these people WANT to give someone their money, it’s your job to convince them that someone should be you.  They’ve reached out to you, now go shake your money-maker.

Any questions?

This is just the surface of why you’re resisting online marketing and social media.  If we’ve missed the boat then we want to hear from you.  Why ARE you resisting?  If “time” is all you come up with, look deeper and really ask yourself what’s keeping you.  If you can’t answer the question, let us know and we’ll get you there.

Your Comments Welcome

YouTube and other online video services are great platforms for marketing your business, but it’s also a wonderful tool for learning about topics of interest that you know little about.
In keeping with the Internet Marketing theme, I’ve compiled 10 of my favorite YouTube vids for your viewing and learning pleasure.

Interested in podcasting? MobilePhone2003 uploaded the video above and it offers great information for the beginner.

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David Skul from the Skul of Relativity has put together an incredible library of videos to help business owners use Social Media and Blogs to promote their business. Above is just one of the many Blog Marketing vids he’s offered.

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You’re not using Google Alerts to keep up with what’s being said about you or your brand online? Shame on you. Watch this video and learn how.

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If you can get past the Crocodile Dundee accent, here is 10 Things You Can Do For Your Small Business Online. Great beginner video.

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Gary Vaynerchuk is an amazing speaker, especially when it comes to social media and business. And he’s not interested in keeping it Rated G either.

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Perry Belcher on the most common question I receive with regard to using social media and time constraints. This is right on in addition to Perry always sporting an awesome shirt.

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Don’t Be That Guy. No really, please don’t be that guy. Chris Brogan talks about aggressive selling on social media. Oldie, but a goodie – and unfortunately too many people are still that guy.

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Ian Lurie is the grumpy Internet Marketer that knows his stuff and co-author of “Internet Marketing for Dummies”. This is setting up Google Analytics, which is a must have for any business with a website. It’s an older video, but the setup is virtually the same.

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Another of Ian Lurie’s tutorial vids, this one for finding out what you should pay attention to within Google Analytics.

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This is an easy and basic video tutorial for setting up Google Adwords, Google’s Pay-Per-Click service. A great way to get started.

Sometimes Internet Marketing can seem daunting, but these videos are a good way to become familiar. If you have questions about any of the services covered above, contact me and I’ll guide you through.

At ODX Fusion, we cherish the little things.  Of course we love “Boosting Brands Online,” it’s what we do.  But when college senior Delores Huffman asked to interview our Patrick Shaughnessy for her Business Management final we thought it was cool.  When she sent us the term paper itself with a big red “A” stamped on it, we got a little giddy.  We offer you the excerpts (with links, of course):

“…the internet can work for small business owners, you have to know where to look and who to ask.  There are businesses dedicated to building webpages that are eye catching and informative.  There are also businesses that develop online strategies to bring customers to your small business website.  One such company that does all the above is ODX Fusion Internet Marketing based in Syracuse, New York.

As a young and upcoming web development, enhancement and marketing business, ODX Fusion helps small businesses reach their customers online.  They believe too many businesses build online fliers for their products and services, they never solicit any traffic and definitely do not bring qualified traffic.  Additionally, the ODX Fusion website includes a blog on how to make the internet work for small business and they answer common questions of the small business owner.  Their posts include, “Why Every Small Business Needs a Website“, when to use a shopping cart on your website and the ins and outs of using PayPal.

…they also cover the ever so intimidating social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and how a small business owner can leverage the power of social media.  They also offer their services to those who are less computer and internet inclined, which describes many business owners.

Their motto is simple: “Boost Your Brand Online”.  They’re able to design a business webpage, optimize potential on the most popular search engines, link in to the social media networks enhancing popularity, assist in content development and put your brand anywhere your customer may be.

So why do small business owners need the internet to market their business and products online?

ODX Fusion has broken it down into ten very simple reasons listed here in no specific order:

• your competition is already marketing online,
• your website is open 24/7 when your storefront isn’t,
• sharing information with your customers online has never been easier,
• it keeps you competitive in your market and lends credibility to your offering,
• it sells your product,
• it allows your business to be found online when customers search for your product/service,
• enables you to offer specials and coupons without print and distribution concerns,
• provides descriptions and pictures of the products/services you are selling,
• helps others to promote you,
• an online presence helps you expand beyond your current offline market.”

Delores goes on to explain Patrick’s take on Search Engine Optimization and Social Media:

“…is Google is number one?  Mr. Patrick Shaughnessy, the founder and co-owner of ODXFusion.com believes so.  He quotes a recent article from Searchinsider which states that Google holds over seventy percent of the market share and the other top three search engines are losing large percentages of users to Google.  While Google’s usage is rising, Yahoo Search, MSN and Ask.com are decreasing by 17%, 20% and 10% respectively.

To the small business owner this may mean Google delivers while other search engines don’t, so why look anywhere else when Google is obviously the search engine of choice.  Mr. Shaughnessy’s answer is that you cannot ignore other search engines like Yahoo! and MSN because there are still customers loyal to those services.  Many small businesses make the mistake of only targeting Google.

Where else might a small business owner who is looking to expand their client base to include customers from the internet look to find these customers?   The social networking phenomenon of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace are also on the rise in business marketing.   There are many blogs about how these websites and how they can help the small business owner.

Mr. Shaughnessy from ODXFusion.com recently posted a blog on his website that told his users not to listen to him talking about how great Social Media is for business but to experience it themselves.  Mr. Shaughnessy chose Model Airplanes as his test subject.  He then described how each of the above listed social media networks had vendors blogging, tweeting and posting about Model Airplanes.  This little experiment proved that even for something so obscure as a Model Airplane business, there is still a market for it online and there are customers out there willing to buy Model Airplane products.

Incidentally, there were more than just those four social media networks talking about Model Airplanes.  Other websites like Digg and Google Blog Search also came up with results to the Model Airplane search.  As Mr. Shaughnessy points out “get connected or get left behind”. (Shaughnessy, 2009) Imagine if you had a more mainstream business and what a social media network could do for you.  It could help launch your site, your brand and your product into a whole new market and bring business like you have never seen before…”

We happen to agree… And we’re done bragging.  Thanks Delores – we were glad to help!

I like Twitter.

I like it because of its simplicity, because of its connectivity, because of the absolute wealth of information and willingness to share amongst its users.  I have learned an abundance through some of the professionals who are so confident in their craft that they don’t mind throwing a bone to “n00bs” here and there – that’s impressive.

There are things on Twitter, however, that don’t make any sense. And these are sometimes committed by otherwise sensible people. 

Here’s one issue:  Why are some so obsessed with the number of people following them and try at lengths to garner more baseless readers?  Are you the cool kid in gym class if you have 4 or even 5 digits of followers?  Are you more profitable?  The answer may be yes to both, but what do I know?  I’m happy with my hundred and change followers.  I’ll even admit that some of those followers auto-followed me, so it lends no credibility to me as a person, as a professional, or as an interesting read.  However, I can actually read all the Tweets of my followers (and those I follow) because I have a manageable number of both.

That leads me to another not entirely separate oddity: Someone tweets “Help me get to 5,432,623.53 followers by the end of today!” or worse “RT: My Friend @WhatevaHisOrHerNameIs needs to get to 5,432,623.53 followers by the end of today! Please help him or her, (s)he is a really great guy/gal, you will love his/her Tweets!”  I personally don’t care about that many followers, especially if I don’t reel them in based on something that actually interested them.

Note: I totally subscribe to and engage in recommending other Tweeters based on credence or likability.

Disclaimer: If you are stuck at 666, it is ok to try and reach 667.  No one wants to be stuck at that dreadful number. 

I’m a live and let live kind of guy.  I am not offended when I am auto-followed or auto-DMed.  I don’t even care when I am followed by someone who is firing off follows one after another without regard to whom they’re following. 

The reason I’m writing about this is… I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.  This person below has FAR more followers than me with 5 updates!  He is not the first one to do this, won’t be the last so I’m only kind of sorry I’m picking on him.  But Mica happened to follow me when I had nothing else going on so I decided to try a little experiment:

That many followers with that many updates?

At midnight on Sunday, January 25, 2009 (the life of a web marketer, sheesh) – immediately after Mica followed me I went to his Twitter page to check him out (as I usually do for new follows).  That’s when I noticed the anomaly.  I repeatedly hit the refresh button to watch as “1852 Following” and “172 Followers” became “1842 Following” and “193 Followers”.  Let me break that down: Mica adds as many people as he can as he is auto-followed by many in response.  Then Mica unfollows folks he realized didn’t auto-follow him in return.  So, he follows fewer people as his followers increase.  It was kind of fun to watch in real-time.  So I’m a nerd. (FYI – Mica’s account @MMMaverick09 was suspended before I finished writing this post so I didn’t get a final screen shot of his followers vs. following dern it!)

So ok, fine.  That’s Mica’s way.  But why?  Is it possible that spam still works? Is it worth it to go through the trouble?  It’s pointless as far as I can see…

I’ll probably never have 4 digit followers and I’m ok with that.  And I don’t follow everyone who follows me.  I like my little clan of “Tweople”, I can keep up with them. Twitter works for me because I follow who I want.  Interest me and you’re getting followed – like it or not.  I’m not even concerned if you don’t like me enough to follow me back.

Whew – done and thanks for the outlet.  If you enjoyed this mumbling, go ahead and subscribe.  It’s free and I would love to have you along.

So, what are your Twitter annoyances? Surely Mitch and I are not the only ones!

Everyone has been yapping to you about Social Media Marketing.  I’ve even been yapping to you about Social Media Marketing. The real question is:  Who hasn’t been yapping to you about it?

I want to take a break from the Getting Started on Social Media for Business series for a moment even though this goes right along with it.  The uncertainty in the Small Business realm with regard to Social Media (SM) and using it to your business benefit is still too often overlooked.

“I own an {insert obscure business niche here} shop – how could I possibly use {SocialMediaSite}.com for that?!”

Well, it’s time to stop listening to me.  This is not a “get social media / a blog / connected or get left behind” post that we see so much of in the blogosphere (Guilty!) as much as it is an “I’m tired of telling you, see for yourself” post.

Below I’ve provided you with search results from specific SM platforms for a specific niche. Nothing too fancy or techy, just some good old fashion search material.  You can stop taking my word for it and decide for yourself.

Start by labeling your niche: Adolescent Fitness, Affluent Travel, Rubber Pants, Not-For Profit Doorstoppers – whatever.   If your niche is not really a niche (shame on you), apply a broader category like: Retail, Arts, Crafts, Technology etc…  Now the fun begins.  Now you search for others on the different Social Media Platforms.

In this example, we’ll say Model Airplanes is your business.  I’m going to start by finding out who blogs about Model Airplanes.  Surely NO ONE, right?  I’ve done a Google Search for you:

Blog Model Airplane

WOW!  There really is someone blogging about Model Airplanes.  A few actually.  If my business is Model Airplanes, I might want to take notice here.  I might read what’s being said, make a comment on a post including contact info or a link back to my website.  Wouldn’t hurt, right?  So there’s your blogosphere representation.

Note: Some of you will ask “Why didn’t you use Google Blog Search?”  Simple:  I don’t love it.  Try it out, if you like it by all means use it instead.

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What about Facebook?  Sure, there may be specific individuals that enjoy Model Airplanes as a hobby (which by itself is a great reason to join if I’m in that business!), but are there actual profiles, groups or pages dedicated to it?

Facebook Model Airplane

Holy Cow, there are!  In fact, pages of Model Airplane Results.  The group R/C Model Airplanes alone has 254 members at the time of this post.  It’s easy to see more than 5 groups dedicated to the Model Airplane market on the first results page.  That’s a bunch of folks practically begging for more information on your business.  What say you?!

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Next, let’s try MySpace. MySpace sometimes gets a bad name for being primarily kids, rock bands and general riff-raff.  That’s not entirely true, there are some very popular and mature profiles.  In fact, let’s see if our Model Airplanes are represented here:

MySpace Model Airplane

Would you look at that?  Model Airplanes on Myspace.  I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, 2 whole groups with a total of 27 members.”  Fine, there’s not a HUGE representation of Model Airplanes on MySpace, but I wouldn’t mind reaching out to those 27 potential customers.  They’ve joined that group for a reason, to interact with people that also enjoy their hobby.  Speak to these people!

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We move on to LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is a professional networking site and I thought I might have trouble finding something specifically associated with model airplanes.  I was right.  A specific search on Model Airplanes returned nothing of value, so I broadened the search to Arts and Crafts.  This is what I found:

LinkedIn Arts and Crafts

(Note: if the link to the search results doesn’t work, type Arts and Crafts into the “Search Groups” Box in the upper right hand. It appears LinkedIn uses a dynamic URL for the searches)

Can’t win ‘em all, but this is not a total loss.  As a Model Airplane business owner, these are still people I can connect with, share thoughts, ideas and good arts and crafts times!

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Let’s try Digg.  For those that aren’t familiar with Digg, it’s a collection of user-rated articles and content.  Users “digg” something they find on the net, other users check it out and “digg” it too.  After an article has been “dugg” so many times, it ranks high on the site and the originating website gets somewhere around a gajillion views.  How does this help you as a Model Airplane Entrepreneur?  First, you’re able to see what people are saying in the industry.  Many times you can leave comments with your contact info for people you KNOW are interested in Model Airplanes.  Next, if you have a website or blog, you can write something so awesome that’s so full of rich content that you get “dugg” many times.  Then you say welcome to the gajillion potential customers to your blog or website, bringing you even closer to converting them from visitor to patron.

Digg Model Airplane

There you have it – Model Airplanes on Digg.  Keep in mind, where you see the number of “diggs” down the left hand side that that’s not the number of people who have viewed the article, it’s how many dugg it.  Views could actually be in the tens of thousands or more.   Would you like to speak to that many potential customers all at once?  I thought so.

All you have to do now is plug in your niche to a few of these sites to see your market’s representation on SM outlets.

This is by no means the end-all, be-all for determining your Social Media arrival, but it’s a good start.  It gives you a good idea about who is talking about your product or service, what they’re saying and possibly where you fit in.

On the rare occasion you find no representation of your type of business in SM, maybe that’s a sign too (find another business!).  You decide.

Just remember this: By you not connecting on SM outlets, you’ve provided businesses in your niche that are connecting a free pass to (openly and without interference) speak with your past, present and future customers.   Why don’t you just mail them your client list while you’re at it? (ok, I went too far, you get the picture)

Do you have any other tools in your arsenal for checking on your niche in the Social Media world?  If so, let us know!

If you enjoy talking small business online marketing, go ahead and subscribe to us.  It’s free, it’s easy and we’d love to have you along for the ride.

You know Social Media Platforms are great tools to keep in your marketing arsenal.  If you’ve been following along, you’ve looked around at some of the Social Media sites out there, you’ve seen some of the movers and shakers, and you’ve developed a plan or goal for what you hope to accomplish with these great tools.

Now it’s time to:  Participate!  Interact!  Engage!  Make friends!  This is Part Three of Getting Started with Social Media for Business Series.  If you haven’t already, check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Choose your favorite Social Media outlet whether it be Twitter, MySpace, facebook, LinkedIn etc… and set up an account.  Most profile setups are similar in that they ask for your name, a profile name, e-mail, city and state and so on and they also walk you through the process.  Your profile name is what people will see you as, use whatever profile name you’d like, whether it is your business name or real name.  Choose a valid e-mail as this is how the site contacts you for profile validation (to make sure you are not a bot or spammer) and this is how you will be notified of connections made (friends, followers etc…) You do not typically receive unsolicited emails for the site nor do they typically advertise your e-mail to visitors unless you specifically tell them.  There are optional fields on the setup screens, so put only what you want people to see.  It might be a good idea to detail your location, after all you do WANT people to find your business.

There is some debate on what to use as your profile picture, but we recommend using a personal picture, not a logo or product.  Remember, this is about engaging your customer, humanizing your business – not about direct advertising.  Many of these sites offer picture galleries where you can show off your marketing collateral, graphics and logo.  Put a face to your business and use your own picture.  If you require some anonymity, crop the picture to show half your face or some other crafty adjustment, but not so much you are completely unidentifiable as a person (Email me if you need help with this).

As far as layouts go, choose something basic the site provides for you.  The layout is the background look of your profile.  No need to go crazy on customization at this point.  Once you get comfortable using the site, you can revisit the layout and change it at any time.

Once you’ve gone through the setup process, you will usually need to check your e-mail for a message from the site and verify that you are real.  Click the link within the e-mail and you are all set.

Next, work on your profile so people who visit you can get to know you. Upload pictures (people LOVE pictures!), logos too if you like.  Then input some things about you and your business, your hobbies, favorite movies or quotes.  List anything people might be interested in – you’d be surprised the connections you make from weird associations.  I once got a lead from a golfer because we had the same last name and he saw a golfing picture on my facebook profile – two items not included in my overall marketing strategy that a customer used to connect us.

Once the pictures and “About Me” type sections are complete, it’s important to make sure you update the micro-blog as applicable.  Twitter, MySpace and facebook all have these available.  In short, the micro-blog is a limited text area to tell people what you’re thinking, how you’re feeling, cool links you’ve found etc…  Update as often as you like, the more the better!  Be wary of trying to sell here!  You need stay away from pushing your product, services, website or blog and instead talk about you!  It’s fine tell people you posted to your blog or have a special going on here and there, but make sure the majority of your updates are personable.

Here, we’re going to take the first step in connecting with other people.  An intuitive act, and not altogether a no-no, is to add every person you know that also uses the social media site.  Use some caution here:  I have added “friends” from college that like leaving comments about their party habits that don’t really fit with the image I’m trying to portray.  If you have a drunken uncle (we all do) or college friends that might leave a visitor with a bad impression of your business, by all means, don’t add them to your friends.  Otherwise, add people you know – it’s a great way to get started and feel a part of the community.

Assignment

This assignment entails you seeking out those “movers and shakers” you’ve admired thus far and adding them as a friend.  Each Social Network is different: Twitter allows you to follow someone without reciprocation whereas MySpace, facebook and many others require you to request a connection from someone before you’re allowed to view their profile, updates etc…  Don’t be afraid to send a friend request!  We love getting friend requests.  It’s like validation!  For better results, send a message along that resembles:

“Hi, my name is Awesome Aggie and I’d like to connect with you.  The interesting information you provide is great and you really help me out with X, Y or Z.”

Flattery always works, you know that.

Getting acquainted with people you know and some you don’t (yet) should keep you busy for a while.  Shoot me any questions you have and don’t forget to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss more Getting Started on Social Media for Business tips!

Congratulations!  You have completed your first assignment of lurking in some of the Social Media outlets and you’re ready for the next step!

This is Part 2 in the Getting Started on Social Media series.  If you just got here, see Part One here. 

Here is what we know:

We know Social Media can be a wonderful tool on your marketing strategy toolbox.  With millions of active consumers waiting to hear from you, it’s a no-brainer that small businesses are using it to connect.  However, if your intention is to sell directly to users of these sites, STOP right there!  Spend your efforts on a Google ad or post on Craigslist instead, they are more effective from that standpoint.

Let’s be very clear: Social Media outlets are for connecting.  They’re for sharing information which means GIVING and RECEIVING.  If you have nothing to offer, you won’t be successful.  If you don’t interact with people, they have no reason to create a bond with you.

No matter your business, you have something to share.  If you’re in the knitting business, you talk about what the prices of yarn are expected to reach.  If you have a dog-walking business, you talk about the great doggie parks in your area.  Someone wants to know about what you have to share.  Likewise, someone has to share what you want to know.  See how that works? 

There’s our recap.

With that out of the way, now it’s time to ask yourself one question, a very important one:  What do you hope to gain from Social Media Networking?  Of course you want to boost your brand, but in what way?  For many small business owners it’s to bring traffic to their website or blog, for others it’s to develop themselves or their business as an authoritative source.  For some, they show up because they know competitors are chatting to their customers on these platforms.  All of these are great reasons to get started and using these platforms you can accomplish those tasks.  Whatever your reason(s) for showing up, make sure they’re clear so you can develop a successful strategy.

Assignment

Your next assignment is to continue lurking on Social Media Networks, but this time try to determine what you think each one of your favorite people are doing there.  What are their goals within these networks?  Some are obvious, some maybe not so obvious.  Keep in mind, the folks trying to connect or give value to their customers may be harder to figure out. 

Once you’ve done that, what are your goals?  Do you want more traffic to your website, better qualified traffic to your website, do you want to establish credibility – like we said, there are many reasons, what are yours?

Keep me updated on your progress and feel free to ask questions along the way.  I know you want to get down to business, but this is a very important step.  Next time, we create an account and get talking!

So don’t forget to subscribe to this blog to see Getting Started on Social Media (pt3)!

We know using social media for your small business can seem a daunting task. Stick with us and we’ll get you through!

This is the first post of the Getting Started with Social Media series. It is written with the complete novice in mind so no one is left out. Hopefully by the time the series is complete, you will know exactly how to harness this super power.

The first thing we recommend is getting out there to see what’s going on. “Lurk” in a few of the media outlets (herein called “site/s”) and read a few blogs to get the general feel. Each site is different and caters to a diverse group of like-minded folks.

You may hear people say that Facebook is for college kids, LinkedIn is for snobby professionals, Twitter is for people that talk too much, MySpace is for obnoxious teenagers and bands, StumbleUpon (et al) is for information nerds etc… The truth is you’ll find every kind of person on every kind of site. Often, you’ll see the same people with accounts on multiple sites. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be connected!

As you navigate through the sites, try to find the people that are doing business. What are they saying? If they’re using the sites correctly, you may have trouble (at first) seeing how it applies to their company. Because social media is not about lambasting anyone and everyone with your advertising, you will see that people are out there connecting with one another, talking about their families, friends, weekend activities etc… You’ll often see a link to a cool site or an updated blog post. Every once in a while you might see a link to a special offer on products or services.

These guys and gals are building a following and developing themselves as credible sources on the chosen topic they represent. They are not greasy salespeople waiting to pounce on your vulnerability.

Assignment

For many small business owners, Social Media is that thing you heard about that everyone is telling you to embrace.  Upon further examination you determine it is something either:

A. Your children use but you can’t possibly see its business marketing application;

B. You’ve thought about using but you can’t possibly see its business marketing application;

C. You personally use but you can’t possibly see its business marketing application.

Which one are you?  Whatever the reason(s) you’re not using social media outlets for your business, it more than likely boils down to:  you can’t possibly see its business marketing application!

Businesses large and small all over the world are using Social Media to further their reach.  Some examples include the HUGE home improvement store The Home Depot and a small restaurant The Tucson Tamale Company. And don’t forget yours truly here and here … (add me!).

There is a reason all these companies are learning more about Social Media:  This is a viable channel to connect with real live people (consumers) that are interacting on these media platforms. The reason not to use it for your business? There are none.

Listen, there is nothing scary about it, if 13 year olds can do it, so can you (I apologize to any 13 year olds in the audience).  The trick is, you just have to get out there and do it.  Lurk on a couple media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, see how the interaction is done.  It took me a few days to figure out that @PaddyShaughn meant someone was replying to my tweet on Twitter.  On Facebook I was sent a “Thinking of You” request and felt special until I realized the sender sent it to everyone, not just me. Once you kick it around a while, you’ll see how easy it is.

So hop on and find out what other sites people are using and get a feel for the community.  And don’t worry about the “pros” you see that have 50,000+ friends or connections.  Many of them are on social sites for the same reason you should be.  They’re marketing themselves or their company and they want to connect to other people. They’re approachable, often friendly and rest assured they’re still learning too.

Stayed tuned and we’ll cover the next step in Getting Started on Social Media for Business.

Even better – subscribe to my blog via the RSS feed so you don’t miss a single golden nugget!

For newcomers, the wikipedia definition of Twitter is the free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Syracuse.com setup a Twitter-feed in order for Syracusans to keep their fellow cold-weather mates up-to-date on the holiday shopping happenings around town last week. Tweeters merely type “#cny” or “#syracuse” in the micro-blog for it to post to this feed.

Not only has this been fun for social media users to connect with others locally, and an ingenious idea for a fledgling newspaper industry, it also reinforced how others in the local area believe in the power of web interactivity.

More and more small business owners will see the limitless possibilities with social media marketing. As I’ve said many times before – interacting with your customer builds brand loyalty. Beyond that, it’s an easy and fun way to generate new leads and keep previous customers up-to-date. Best of all, it’s FREE! And isn’t that what it’s all about when your business is small and up & coming?

If you’re interested in Twitter for small business, here is an introduction from Small Biz Trends (with Twitter tutorial video).

Now that you’re a pro, come and follow what I’m doing right now.

Until next time!