How important is social media marketing to the small business owner?
Well it depends on what you want to achieve with social media. If you
are looking to take your brand to a national or global marketplace then
yes - invest in social media marketing. If you are a small business
whose products and services are primarily geared to servicing your local
area, then the question needs to be asked:
'How much time do you
have to dedicate to raising your social media profile and what return
on investment will it provide in terms of sales or market growth?
Websites versus Social Media - what to focus on?
Websites
make sales, social media pages generally do not. Establishing good
search engine rankings for your website should be the first goal for new
start-ups so potential customers can find you. Great content and the
ability to convert visitors into sales create a successful online
campaign.
Building a list should be the prime focus of tapping
into the potential of your site traffic, otherwise opportunities are
lost. You have the three time convincers, those people who need to
connect with you more than once to be convinced to invest in your
product or service. List building provides the opportunity to stay in
touch with customers that have yet to purchase and gives them a chance
to get to know you more.
Social media can help connect at a
deeper level with potential customers and used well can drive traffic to
your website via promotions and competitions. Integrated with your
blog; social media pages can create a coordinated online marketing
campaign with your website to build your brand. Most people using
social media are doing so for the same purposes as you - to promote
themselves and for its social aspect. That means sharing photos,
videos, music, humour, inspiration, information, advice and connecting
with stars, media and people of interest.
When embarking on an
integrated social media campaign you will need to think about what it is
that you are going to share (that's not directly selling) with your
followers? What have you got to offer that other people and businesses
will find intriguing, inspiring, entertaining or useful?
Building Your Brand - Facebook, Twitter and Blogging
One
thing I know is that people want to connect with you personally, they
want to see your face on your social media profile not a logo. The
exception to this is if you own a well-known magazine, trade journal or
charity. Otherwise, my advice is to post a good photo.
Social
media web design provides the opportunity to build your brand through
images, slogans and profile information. Important is your by-line, if
people get what you are about in an instant through the use of visual
media and a one liner, the light goes on…connections can be made. When
creating your slogan or by-line ask yourself 'What is your higher
purpose' for doing what you do. Think in terms of how your products and
services create value for people, ultimately what is it you are trying
to achieve for them?
Transfer that message and branding through your Facebook page, Twitter
page and Tumblr blog and when integrated with your website you have
created a coordinated online social marketing campaign. Social media
web design gives the 'wow' factor to your social media pages.
Let's talk about Blogging
Blogging
if used cleverly can boost your search engine rankings and establish
you as an expert in your field. To save time, write your blog posts all
at once and queue them for release at set times each day with automated
posting to your Twitter and Facebook pages. EBusiness Courses offers
an integrated social media web design package that does all of this for
you, except for writing the blog content. Writing a blog takes
commitment on your part and if you are using the medium to establish
yourself as an expert, no one knows your business like you do. The
rise of social media marketing is only going to get bigger and changes
the way we connect with each other and our customer base. I guess at
this point, the question is can you afford not to have a social media
profile?
Rosemary Burnett, CEO EBusiness Courses is based in Perth, Western
Australia and has 9 years' experience in web design, internet marketing
and SEO, expert content development and building customer bases online.
EBUSINESS Courses provides affordable web design packages for small
business start-ups, local trades and services. Plus small business
courses and coaching to help you become the best you can be! Visit www.ebusinesscourses.com.au to find out more...
Article Source:
http://www.articlebiz.com/article/1051620453-1-social-media-web-design-for-small-business/
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