AA, an OPEN Forum community member and founder of AV Magazine, recently asked, “What is the best way to advertise? Facebook and other social media outlets are okay but not working very well. Is there a way I can get more out of social media? Are there any alternatives to social media that are cheap and effective? I have a great product that I know people will like if I can just reach the right people. How can I do that?”
When To Use Social Media
According to Lisa Fahoury, marketing expert and chief creative officer of Fahoury Ink, while social media has definite value in advertising your business inexpensively, you shouldn’t consider it the total solution.
“Every business seems to be jumping on the social media bandwagon, but just like any other marketing investment, you need a strategy before making the leap,” she says. “Will you use social media for lead generation, communicating with existing customers, or simply to demonstrate you’re keeping current with the latest and greatest technology?”
When you do use social media, Fahoury suggests carving out a strong presence. “A weak social presence can do more damage to your brand than no presence at all, so don’t launch a page or open an account unless you have a solid plan in place and the resources to support it,” she says.
Your best use of social media is using it to drive traffic to your website. “Think of tweets and posts as the bait that reels people into your website, where you hook them with relevant content and compelling offers,” Fahoury says. “Post on social media, but make sure the actual asset resides on your site, rather than a third-party platform like Google+ or Facebook.”
Know Your Customers
Beyond social media, creating a winning marketing plan for your business requires that you first discover exactly who your customers are and where they reside.
“Think of your customers in terms of a very specific person rather than generic demographic ranges, and then determine which websites they use,” says community member Simon Tam, an author and digital social media marketing strategist.
“It’s about your customer, not the ad media,” agrees community member Linus Rylander, co-founder of RadicalAnimal.com, which provides marketing assistance. ”What you say and who you say it to is far more important than where. Go to your customers and tell them what they want to hear. Eighty percent of this whole game is research.”
“Focus on the customer and then craft the message that is most appropriate,” another community member suggests.
Boost Your Marketing Plan
Once you know your customers and where they hang out, you can create a marketing plan that uses the following affordable yet highly effective advertising methods.
Original content.
“By providing a steady stream of quality content created by you, you demonstrate your expertise more powerfully than any ad ever could and turn more prospects into customers,” says Fahoury, who suggests showcasing your knowledge in useful pieces that would interest your clients, such as blog posts, white papers, tip sheets and email newsletters.
“By educating prospects with informative materials, you drive traffic to your site, while positioning your company as a helpful thought leader rather than an aggressive sales machine,” Fahoury says. “Collecting names and email addresses gives you the means to continue the conversation and keep prospects in your sale’s pipeline until they either opt out or convert to customers.”
Sponsored blog posts.
Also known as paid posts, “sponsored blog posts can work well if you are in the right niche market,” one community member points out. You pay a website to run a blog post written by you that mentions your services and includes links to your website.
Inexpensive online advertising.
It’s possible to advertise online without spending a great deal. Online marketing specialist Sean Dawes, co-founder of Rocket Dove, suggests using pay-per-click advertising, which only requires that you pay when your ads are clicked, and SEO-friendly text ads, which are inexpensive, because they only contain text. Retargeting can also be highly effective. This cookie-based technology tracks whoever has visited your site and left without converting. It places ads in their path at a later time so they come back and convert to customers.
Networking groups.
Considering that a lot of business is still done over coffee or on the golf course, face-to-face interactions are a viable way to boost business. Many networking groups are inexpensive to join, and you can usually attend an event as a guest for free before deciding if the group is right for you and your business.
While social media is still a viable way to inexpensively advertise your business, all good marketing plans require a multi-pronged approach to be effective.
A freelancer since 1985, Julie Bawden-Davis has written for many publications, including Entrepreneur, Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle.
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