Quick and easy tips on how to use Social Media to market your business presented by The Business Journals. 
How to Market with Social Media
See you on the web!
Growing a successful business means you have to network. Networking is simply connecting people and among those are YOUR customers. Networking opportunities come in a variety of forms through social media, business associations, and industry specific organizations, to name a few. I want to share an article that gives excellent advice on how to use networking effectively. I encourage you to use the tips as your action plan in making networking a successful marketing tool to help grow your business. Get out there and connect with your clients!
The Power of Face-to-Face Networking | SBA.gov.
For those of you in business that have mastered the many details of using Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Google+ and Pinterest, you are probably shaking your head and wondering how to find the time to manage all these posts. As an Accountant, I am big on planning and schedules. To determine when you need to make posts, it is helpful to know when the peak times occur giving you the most readers and potential leads. This is a great tool I use to make my posting schedule and helps make my time effective with social media.
To learn more, scroll all the way down for recommended reading. Good luck out there and let me hear how you are doing adding social media to promote your business.
Source: jonloomer.com via Connie on Pinterest
Related Reading:
Interested in learning about social media (SM)and how you can make it work to promote your business? It is the latest and greatest way to promote your business. Marketing professionals say it should not replace traditional marketing but rather compliment those avenues. Here are some ideas to get the training you need to begin or expand your social media campaign.
Here is what the experts had to say during the recent National Small Business Association’s Social Media Forum.
Your focus should be on your goals for using social media in your business rather than the tools themselves. The recommended key goals should be used to develop and promote your company brand (perceived emotional corporate image as a whole) rather than any particular person.
Social Media can serve many purposes to a business owner. Not only can you engage your clients, making connections to develop relationships, but you can use social media to collect input, address concerns, provide customer service and attract new customers.
Five good reasons to use social media:
Important Considerations:
The experts discussed future developments within the SM industry:
Get informed and put social media to work for you. Connect with the big wide world out there and grow your business.
How do you use social media to grow your business? Share your story. I know you have one…My husband laughs at me for calling posts on Twitter as “Twits” rather than “Tweets”. But hey, I’m a numbers gal!
Social Media is alive and well and getting bigger. About.com defines Social Media as a social instrument of communication. With traditional methods of communication such as a newspaper or magazine you are simply given the information. Social Media interacts with you while giving you the information. Today, if a customer has a need, they turn to the internet and their friends. Social Media allows the two to combine by allowing interaction through the ability to make and read reviews on products and services. I attended a seminar that showed the Nielson Ratings for consumer trust by advertising type. Radio, billboards, magazines, newspapers and TV rated between 55% to 61%. The top two ratings were from consumer opinions online at 70% and recommendations from someone known at 90%. (Understand the consumer opinions online are from anyone and not usually known by the customer searching for the information.) Social Media is a must for marketing a business in today’s environment.
Need to learn about Social Media? Tune in for the Social Media educational session streamed live from the National Small Business Week Conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, May 22 from 3 – 4:30 PM EST.
This panel includes insights on ever-changing advancements in social media and how small business can take advantage of them. Speakers include experts: SBA guest blogger and GrowBiz Media CEO Rieva Lesonsky, Wall Street Journal’s Brian Moran, and business leaders from Yelp.com, Constant Contact, Twitter and Google. Special guest Sarah Bernard, Deptuy Director for the White House Office of Digital Strategy, will also join the forum.
For more information on how to watch these live webcasts, visit the National Small Business Week website. You can also follow SBA on Twitter and Facebook for more details nearer the time.
Let me hear from you and how you are connecting to your clients through social media. Hope to see you out there tweeting and blogging with the best of them!
Connect with your customers using the Customer Message field. QuickBooks has default messages to choose from or you can create you own. The message field is available for Invoices, Sales Orders or Estimates. Use the customer message to market your special offers, thank your client, or ask for referrals. Be sure to update the messages as needed. One more way to connect to your clients. Continue to Read
Social Media is alive and well and getting bigger. About.com defines Social Media as a social instrument of communication. With traditional methods of communication such as a newspaper or magazine you are simply given the information. Social Media interacts with you while giving you the information. Today, if a customer has a need, they turn to the internet and their friends. Social Media allows the two to combine by allowing interaction through the ability to make and read reviews on products and services. I attended a seminar that showed the Nielson Ratings for consumer trust by advertising type. Radio, billboards, magazines, newspapers and TV rated between 55% to 61%. The top two ratings were from consumer opinions online at 70% and recommendations from someone known at 90%. (Understand the consumer opinions online are from anyone and not usually known by the customer searching for the information.) Social Media is a must for marketing a business in today’s environment.
Need to learn about Social Media? Tune in for the Social Media educational session streamed live from the National Small Business Week Conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, May 22 from 3 – 4:30 PM EST.
This panel includes insights on ever-changing advancements in social media and how small business can take advantage of them. Speakers include experts: SBA guest blogger and GrowBiz Media CEO Rieva Lesonsky, Wall Street Journal’s Brian Moran, and business leaders from Yelp.com, Constant Contact, Twitter and Google. Special guest Sarah Bernard, Deptuy Director for the White House Office of Digital Strategy, will also join the forum.
For more information on how to watch these live webcasts, visit the National Small Business Week website. You can also follow SBA on Twitter and Facebook for more details nearer the time.
Let me hear from you and how you are connecting to your clients through social media. Hope to see you out there tweeting and blogging with the best of them!
Manta offers some great tips for Customer Service for Small Businesses. Click on the link below to read them and compare to your customer service. In today’s competitive market, delivering quality customer service may be the one factor that gives you the edge over your competition.
10 Important Customer Service Tips for Small Businesses | Manta Small Business Center.
In the last week I have experienced sales clerks that do not smile, coffee shop staff that do not utter a word when they give you your coffee, and a professional interrupt an active conversation to conduct their business. All these actions reflect on the business they represent. It appears some very basic lessons in manners would be beneficial.
What happened to “Service with a Smile”? Adding a simple thank you to the end of an order goes a long way in leaving a customer with a positive experience. As employers, we need to understand that simple manners are not always taught at home. You may find yourself with the need to instruct staff with basics of “it is not polite to interrupt when someone is talking”.
I noticed two important words on a business card I was handed this week…Expect Excellence. I really like that. This firm understands the importance of identifying their customers needs and desires, and then delivers. Wouldn’t you like to do business with someone whose goal is to deliver excellence? We all would, including your clients.
Ask yourself:
I challenge you to re-define your customer service using a spirit of excellence. Your efforts will be rewarded through the successful growth of your company. Positive actions deliver positive results.
I know excellence is out there! Share your story on your experience with a spirit of excellence. Get it the spirit and post your comments! 
