Marketing on the Web is changing and becoming more social and less boring. This is exciting because Internet users are more perceptive and are more likely to research your brand, reputation and industry. Many small business owners that we talk to are very interested in social media marketing, but have no idea where to start. Here is a three-step introductory plan to get you (and your business) social on the Web.
1. Listen.
In the business world, they refer to listening as “competitive intelligence.” While that totally sounds like a moment in the life of James Bond, it boils down to simply listening, reading and scoping out the environment for your community. You can listen by simply searching for what people are talking about with easy to use tools like Google Blogsearch, Technorati or BoardReader.
When I refer to your community, I don’t only mean “Acme Widget Co.,” I mean to include your industry, your name, your competitors. This is your community who contribute to the overall brand and reputation of you and your small business. Social media marketing starts with listening.
ACTION: Use Google Blogsearch or Technorati to seek out fresh content published from blogs and news sources. Find qualified blogs in your industry with Alltop or Blogged and connect with industry peers through forums and online communities. Finally, keep up with all the information with an RSS aggregator like Google Reader.
2. Establish a Presence.
As you listen to the community, you’ll probably get an idea on what people will like based on the level of buzz there is on a given topic. Continue to lurk among your community and at the same time, build and establish your presence on the Web. I strongly recommend you establish your personal presence through a blog, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn profile, and check out other services on the Web.
As you establish your presence, it’s ideal to be transparent and provide legitimate, real information that business partners and customers would respect. In social media, people don’t tolerate deception or questionable practices.
ACTION: Purchase your own domains for you and your company with a great domain registrar or Webhost. Your brand(s) are worth more than $10 a year, aren’t they? With many hosts, you may be able to place multiple domains under one account and even auto-install popular blog software such as WordPress to get going in minutes.
3. Provide Value to the Community.
The only way you’re going to attract people to your brand is to provide value. That value needs to be more than free eBooks (which are nice, too); the value needs to be in the form of responsiveness, loyalty and respect for others. One way to provide value is to share relevant industry news and your unbiased perspective. An additional example of providing value is to share much-needed tutorials within your industry.
Once you feel you have a large enough customer base, you can build a community for them. The only pre-requisite (so you don’t disappoint yourself) is that a community must actually exist. A sign that you need an online community is people creating their own user groups and support resources without you. It’s not a bad thing, it’s a great sign that your users want to unite and discuss topic valuable to them and your company. There’s a number of free online community solutions to help you get started — from the leading forum software, vBulletin, to the community-in-a-box implementation like Ning to KickApps. These are great ways to facilitate a community for your users with very little headache.
ACTION: Listen to the community, then take common questions, misconceptions and write about them openly. Because you’re already following many blogs with your Google Reader, share important and useful news with your community with you being the leader. You don’t have to know it all, you just need to be present for your people. Offer pro-bono help to others in your industry to demonstrate your knowledge and willingness to help others. People are attracted to those who help others. (Maybe that’s why ladies dig firefighters, eh?) Be that trusted adviser to others in your community and they will pay it forward later. When appropriate, consider building an online community for your customers so they can discuss your products and services and industry.
You can learn more about social media marketing by reviewing our blog entry at: http://tinyurl.com/covbpt.
