Small Biz Social Media Marketing Tip III

Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips

As a small business, does social media marketing baffle you? Haven’t got a clue as to how it all works and where you even start? Then take a look at our tips below as to how you can increase your marketing efforts triple-fold by getting to grips with social media.

I have included 2 strategies – a basic strategy, perfect for those who simply want to get their toes wet, and an advanced strategy – for those who want to spend a bit more time and go a bit deeper into their social media marketing efforts.

Firstly though, you will need to outline clear goals for your social media marketing and figure out how you’ll measure success. Once you’ve outlined your goals, you’ll be ready to read through these tips and begin to use social media for your marketing efforts.

Up this week is the Company Blog. . .

Company Blog - Basic Strategy

At a minimum, you should consider reserving a domain name for your blog – if you don’t already have a custom domain for your business.

If you’re comfortable enough to set up your own blog, that’s generally the best way to proceed – although this requires a bit more technical knowledge (many hosting providers offer a 1 step easy setup for blogs that will automatically install Word Press for you).

You can also setup a blog directly at WordPress.com (it’s easier to do, but you don’t have full control over everything that you would on your own site).

One easy alternative is to set up a simple blog at Posterous – a place to post stories, photos, videos, MP3s, and files. There are pluses and minuses to all of these options – you should take some time to compare them and do what makes sense for your business. I caution you only about spreading yourself too thinly.

Company Blog - Advanced Strategy

Now that you have decided to start or improve your small business blog, how do you build an audience for it? It all starts with great content.

Decide on a focus for your blog, and write awesome content that people will enjoy. For example, a little while ago, we decided that we wanted to write more about small business issues, so we’ve been writing original posts focusing on issues affecting small businesses. Think about your expertise and, more importantly, think about the things that you’re interested in writing about. A blog requires a long-term investment of time (and resources), and you don’t want to be stuck writing about things that bore you.

You will also want to consider how you can make it easier for your readers to help promote your content. For example, install helpful plug-ins, such as a TweetMeme button, which makes it easy for people to retweet your posts on Twitter. Don’t be afraid to experiment with plug-ins to add to the functionality of your blog, but keep it simple. You want to keep the blog focused, and easy for your readers to use.


Keep checking back for more tips on social marketing media for small businesses. Next week we’ll be looking at Linked In . . .