Cool Tools to Market Your Small Business

I've lived in the Phoenix area for almost two years now.  I had no idea that moving would change the platform of my business, nor did I realize business would take a hit because no one knew me.  That’s all changed in the last six months since I’ve learned more about social media marketing.  Just yesterday I was on the phone with a prospect and when I looked at his social media profile while we were on the phone, I recognized someone who I recently met.  Knowing someone in common helped us make that connection on my cold call.  It makes sense to be in the know to who your prospects know, doesn't it?  Social media warms things up!  Is it heating up the climate for your business?

Fact: More than 1 million businesses have some integration with Facebook on their website. 

Fact: 40% of marketers use Google+, 67% want to learn more.

Did you know that Facebook and Twitter are a couple of the top social media websites.  You may even have your own accounts, but are you using them to get the maximum business benefits, or are you simply wasting your valuable time? (Such as when you log into your Facebook account planning to just "check-in," only to later realize that hours have passed. Urgh!!)

These full-of-potential marketing tools are relatively easy to use once you know how to take full advantage of your social media marketing initiatives.

Put simply, "social media" is an organic online relationship. These relationships might take place on social networking sites (like Facebook and Google+), business networking sites (like LinkedIn), blogs (like WordPress and Blogger), microblogs (like Twitter) and a variety of other up-and-coming sites like Pinterest. Therefore, when you take part in "social media marketing," you are using these tools to promote your business, with the ultimate goal of increased sales thanks to the exposure you receive.  

You -- as a small business owner -- will likely also use social media to feature your expertise, connect with others in your industry, and meet like-minded people across the planet. The good thing is, social media marketing is easy to use, at your own pace. Let's begin with some benefits of using social media marketing for your business.

• Build brand/name recognition. The more visible you are in the online community, the better. Getting your name out there is easy on the web, and at virtually no cost. Always use your logo, tagline, and photo on these sites to build your brand.

• Establish yourself as an expert in your area.  Share what you know. Teach your followers.  Become the resource for invaluable ideas.

• Increase website traffic and search engine rankings. On your social media sites, include links back to your company website. Invite people to visit your site to get more information and to sign up for your newsletter. Bonus: The more links back to your company website (especially from established sites like Facebook and Google+), the better your search engine rankings!

• Increase sales and profitability. The ultimate goal for most: By bringing in qualified leads, you'll hopefully attract new customers and clients. They get to know you on your social media sites, then they visit your website to learn more, and the relationship grows from there.

If you want to get more focused on your social media, email me for a free market analysis of your business and one competitor.  You'll quickly see where you stand in the marketplace.  We can then choose the social media websites that are right for you, how to figure out what to write about, how to strategize and organize goals, and how to analyze your results.  2014 is going to be an amazing year. 

In the meantime, now that you understand social media marketing a little better, give it a try. Visit my sites at http://twitter.com/annemcgurty,  http://www.linkedin.com/in/annemcgurty, http://www.facebook.com/strategizeandorganize.   Join my network and invite me to join yours! Let's learn more about each other!