BigBuzzBlog

5 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

July 30, 2009 at 6:24 pm Leave a comment

Social Media – also called “new media” – refers to the collection of sites such as Facebook, Twitter and others that allow people to interact. They make so much sense for small businesses for one very good reason: they’re affordable. However, Social Media can be daunting to the newcomer; the language alone with “tweets” and “linkbacks” and “seo” is enough to scare the small business owner off. Here are some suggestions to help you navigate Social Media without drowning:

1. Get educated in Social Media. For example, Facebook is a great way to promote your business to people you already know, who might help you promote it to their friends (that’s called “viral marketing”). Twitter, on the other hand, is better for making contact with new potential customers.
2. Make sure you website has a blog. This is the cornerstone of what is known as “Web 2.0”, or the interactive website. Communications today are all about two-way conversation and a blog, to which readers can make comments, is a great way to encourage discussion. It can be set up so that you can review comments before posting them.
3. Get on Twitter. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know how this communications platform has exploded. With Twitter you can find interesting people – such as other small businesses, SCORE and others– to follow. Sharing information results in everyone being better informed and is a great source for articles and topics for your blog.
4. Create a Facebook Fan Page. Of all the ways your small business can be present on Facebook, a Fan Page is the most viral, meaning, it is the most likely to be shared. Invite friends to join your Fan Page and then populate it with product and service updates, special offers and links back to your website and blog for more information.
5. Pay attention to your Social Media every day. Once you’ve set your blog up, invite staffers to add posts. Tweet at least three to five times a day (again, you can invite other staffers to help you). Try to update your Facebook Fan Page daily. You must keep the conversation going and give people fresh reasons to spend time with you on the web.

If all of this seems overwhelming, hire a professional. Have a company – like bigBUZZness – train you and your staff. Or, have them manage some or all of your Social Media. For a fraction of the cost of traditional media, you have the potential to reach far more people with your message than you ever thought possible.

For more information on how bigBUZZness can help you with your Social Media needs give us a buzz. You can follow bigBUZZness on Twitter at @bigbuzzness. Or join the bigBUZZness Fan Page on Facebook.

Entry filed under: Blogs and Blogging, small business, Social Media for Small/New Business, Twitter. Tags: blogging, Facebook, small business, social media, Twitter.