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At Alternative Marketing Connections, we strongly believe that the social media should be treated as just that: online networking.  Social media are not traditional push advertising.  They are about inbound marketing, connecting with customers and prospects and creating top of mind awareness.  Your small business social media strategy should also be integrated with your website presence, driving traffic from the social media to your website, where you can continue to interact with your audience through blogs with commenting features, feedback forms, and more.

If you need help setting up and managing your social media presence, give us a call (or tweet or facebook IM!).

Need to send a file to a friend or colleague but don't have their email address?  Here's a quick tip: use Facebook messaging.

1. Navigate to your friend's wall.
    
2. Click the Message button.
   
3. Click the Paperclip (Add Files) icon.
   
   
    
4. Select the file from ensuing dialog.
    
5. Press Send.
   
   

Yes, this is very similar to how you would attach a file to an email.  Since 1 out of 6 people on the PLANET now have a Facebook account, it's a great alternative to email.

Keep in mind, however, that this may not be acceptable for corporate use.  Check with your IT manager for acceptable use and security policies. 

Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (and more recently Pinterest, Instagram and Google+) have evolved over the past few years from being a curiosity, to “the next big thing,” to a more mature marketing platform for small businesses.  While they are still rapidly developing, I think it’s safe to say that most small businesses should seriously considering some sort of presence on one or more social media networks.  However, it’s important to have realistic expectations and goals when approaching this new marketing frontier.

It’s unrealistic to expect the social media to provide some sort of “magic bullet” that will drive thousands of new customers to your business.  In my opinion, part of the reason that larger businesses are now cutting back -- or pulling out entirely -- from social media is that they had unrealistic expectations as to what social media would provide for them.

The good news is that social media lend themselves to small business marketing.  Used properly, they are low cost, flexible, and help to put a human face on your business.

Here is a list of ways you can use the social media to enhance your small business marketing.  I consider them to be in order of effectiveness or priority, but your goals or results may differ:

1. Top Of Mind Awareness (T.O.M.A.).  Social media is a great way to keep your business name and what you do in front of a receptive audience.  By posting to your social media channels on a consistent basis -- at least once or twice a day -- followers (and friends of followers) will be reminded about your business so that they will think of your business the next time they, or someone they know, needs your product or service.
    
2. Audience Engagement.  Social media provides a unique, interactive channel to directly engage with prospects and existing customers.  By asking questions and encouraging feedback, you give your audience an opportunity to interact directly with your business.  The more engaged your audience, the more they’ll trust your brand, which will likely turn into more sales and repeat sales.
    
3. Public Relations.  Because of the interactive nature and the mindset of your audience, social media lends itself toward softer, public relations-style marketing.  In this vein, your goal in social media participation is more about brand awareness and generating a positive impression of your company than actively selling your product or service.  Build bridges with your audience through social media that lead to your more active sales tools.
    
4. Customer Service.  Customers like to be heard.  Making your business available through the social media gives your customers the ability to express their opinions about your product or service.  This is a great way to generate first-hand testimonials for very effective word-of-mouth marketing.  Handled properly, even neutral or negative experiences can build trust in your brand, since you can show the public how you handle criticism and that you can “make things right” if needed.
    
5. Website Backlinking and Traffic Building.  Ultimately your online marketing efforts should center around generating inbound traffic for your website.  Social media are a great way to introduce new blog articles, new specials and products, new employees and more, but if you add this content to your website and then link to it from the social media, you are creating both click-thrus and inbound links from popular social media websites to your own site.  This has the added benefit of showing Google and other search engines that your website is fresh and up to date, which in turn will improve your organic search engine rankings.

How are you using the social media in your marketing mix?  What have been your greatest successes? Give us your feedback!

Alternative Marketing Connections specializes in helping small to mid-sized businesses set up and manage their social media presence.  If your business needs help with social media, contact us at http://altmktg.com/contact