Refer your friends & Win a PS3 Slim!
Social Web, meet Small Business 2.0. Shake hands, be friends. Don’t be scared — Facebook doesn’t bite. Neither does does Twitter. In fact, social media needs you as much as you need it — you are essential to their bottom line. Keeping with the Facebook and Twitter examples, remember that they are businesses too. They will never survive or even grow without being able to make money in some way, and the most efficient way for them to do that is to help small business owners (the largest business sector in the world) such as yourself to leverage their huge user base to increase business.
You can either learn to use their platforms to drive traffic to your website or business organically, or you can pay for ads that are locally focused and driven by network interest (on Facebook, anyway — and Twitter isn’t far behind). Whatever you choose, social media should be added to your business plan for long term success. You can’t ignore social media anymore — it’s not going away.
Some Facts:
- A recent survey by online payroll service SurePayroll showed that 55% of 120 small businesses surveyed believe that social networking online can be beneficial to their business.
- More than 50 million non-college attendees are using Facebook now (Facebook started as an inter-college network).
- Professional networking site LinkedIn grew over 187% in the 2008.
- Twitter’s stats are off the charts, growing exponentially in very short periods of time.
- Universal McCann discovered that 36% of your customers that use the web are probably going to have kinder thoughts toward your business if you have a blog — and SurePayroll discovered that 85% of your peer group are already connecting with the social web by blogging.
What Does All of ^THAT^ Mean?
It really just goes a long way to illustrate the obvious: Social Media isn’t going away… It’s growing. This is no fad or trend, folks, this is the real deal, and if your business isn’t taking advantage of these vehicles to inspire new customers to buy from you, then your business is missing the proverbial boat. The good news is, while it may benefit you immensely to become an expert in the field, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. There are numerous companies and consultants popping up that try to connect you better and help manage your company’s online profile and reputation. Some are better than others, and , like with anything, some are fly-by-night, so do some research first and come to the table armed with at least the fundamental knowledge you need to make a good decision. We’d be happy for your business, ourselves, but we’re just as happy to help you out in making an informed decision on another company, or to direct you to the resources you need to do it for yourself. Mashable is a fantastic source, and we hope to make our humble Bluetoque Marketing Tips blog a decent one to come back to as well!
Does Social Media Fit Your Business?
I know at least some of you are probably thinking “How on Earth am I supposed to take this kind of business to Facebook or Twit-whatever? There’s no way that it will fit in…”. A reasonable thought and one that we’ve had voiced to us from our own customers. This is no conundrum, though. With a little out of the box thinking, any business can take advantage of social media, no matter the size or type. Social media is not about selling — it is about connecting with communities. Positively interacting with multiple communities helps your business to build a good “word of mouth” on the web and in the world at large. Talk to people, let them know who you are and what you’re about. They’ll trust you more and they’ll be more likely to turn to you when they have questions about things that you do sell, handing you an already engaged customer. The concept is actually no different than traditional networking practices, only the medium is different, the reach broader. Don’t let the newness of it scare you away.
The main thing to remember when considering bringing your business to the modern, social web, is that this necessity doesn’t have to cost you an arm, two legs, and your first born child. It can actually be one of the best, and free, ways to build your company’s online presence and search engine optimization. If you do it yourself, of course. It can run you a bit of a tab if you use a 3rd party to get you started and manage your social media efforts, but if you are active in gaining an understanding of the medium, or have contracted a company that helps you to move forward on your own, the investment will quickly pay for itself. Social media tools are just another way to accomplish what we always recommend you do online: Conquer the world (or at least interact with its peoples) to gain notoriety and drive up sales at home.
How do you use Social Media for your business? Leave some tips for people out there who are trying to get started!
Organic search engine optimization is the key to long term love from search engines. Yes there are other (sometimes shady) methods that you can engage in, and these might even give your site a quick boost, but they are not necessarily the best practices for your longevity... 
Refer someone who signs up for a package of $3,000 or more, and you will not only receive a new Netbook, but you will be entered in a draw to
Well, the time has finally come! We've been working with several clients on the down low recently and we're excited to get things live and focused on production. Check out our modular online marketing solutions in the 
