Social Media Marketing and you

Let's face facts.

Joe's Burgers up the block is not likely ever going to have the marketing budget of the McDonald's across the street. The simple fact that I can use McDonald's as a basis of comparison speaks volumes about the power of their brand name - there are probably a relative few people on the planet who don't know the McDonald's name.

So what do the folks who run Joe's Burgers need to do to get the word out? Well, they can hope people just come in. That works sometimes, but not usually.

They can do some TV ads, some print ads, maybe even some banner ads on the internet. That certainly worked in the past to a certain extent, but they'd still be getting drowned out by the big boys of the burger world, and those ads can also be expensive, and not necessarily go to the target audience.

Ah, there's a clue. What is the target audience? What is the niche for Joe's Burger? Are they going to get the die-hard McDonald's fans? The ones who NEED their quarter-pounder with cheese fix? Probably not.

But if the burgers are good enough, they'll pull in that crowd that loves a good burger, and many places, through a few good reviews and some fantastic word-of-mouth, have blossomed into viable businesses that have been around for the long haul.

It used to be that word-of-mouth was like that old Faberge TV commercial. If you spent any time at all watching TV in the 70s, it stuck in your mind:


These days, that word of mouth can be multiplied exponentially, not fractionally. Why tell just two friends, when you can tell hundreds of friends? or even thousands of friends? And in some cases, tens of thousands, and maybe even hundreds of thousands of friends.

That's where Social Media Marketing and online networking come into play. A fan page on Facebook, an active blog, or a well-followed Twitter account can get you in the ear of lots of different folks, and it can do so at a time that is convenient for them, when they're more willing to hear what you have to say. A nicely groomed ning.com site can give a forum for customer feedback, where you can easily be an active responder.

The New York Times touched on how this brave new world can really play into the hands of small business. Whether you prefer the term grass roots or DIY, there is something very much organic about using these tools within an arm's reach to grow your business.

You've already dug the dirt, planted the seed, watered it a bit, and watched it sprout. Now is your chance to truly help it grow and blossom, and without breaking the bank to do so.

Social Media is growing by leaps and bounds, and while some major companies like Starbucks are learning quickly how to harness its power, others are either slow to respond, or because of their size, not capable of doing so.

This is a fantastic opportunity for small businesses to make a move, to increase market share, to maximize growth and potential, and also, of course, work on making the business both sustainable and profitable.

Sleep on it now, and it may be too late later.