Online Marketing for Your Small Business: Networking and Social Media

Online Marketing for Your Small Business: Networking and Social MediaI attended a huge networking event today, and I really enjoyed most of what I was involved in. Austin is filled with great people, and passionate business owners, and lots of entrepreneurs who don’t know the next step. They’re considered (by me) to be very successful, and they know their industry inside and out. Still, though, they don’t understand the power of the Thing They’re Missing about online marketing. The Thing They’re Missing is what drives me to do what I do. The Thing They’re Missing is the Thing that could matter the most for their online marketing; the next era of small business, or the Thing that makes or breaks their business completely. For most, the Thing That’s Missing is not a website, or a Facebook page, or even an online newsletter–it’s the culmination of ALL of those channels, working together in tandem to create a seamless presence online for whomever may one day stumble upon it. Sound familiar? The Thing They’re Missing is part online marketing, part social media–a topic I love to soapbox about, because it’s what I grew up with.

If you met me yesterday at the Chocolate, Blues, and Business networking event, you’ll immediately remember one thing about me: I was younger than you. Sometimes by a lot, sometimes not so much. The key to what I do that sets me apart from the other guys who claim to be “social media” or “online marketing” experts is that fact. While I wasn’t around for the latest developments in your industries (health care, insurance, mortgage, etc.) I grew up with mine. I was there when Facebook was only open to college kids (I remember bugging Mark Zuckerman to let my high school have Facebook accounts). I was there when MySpace sucked (wait–it still does?). I was there when Twitter was just a twinkle in an addicted Facebook-status-er’s eye. I was there when that Thing They’re Missing was that Thing We’re All Missing.

In a not-so-small way, I built my online marketing/social media industry. Rather than having years of experience or multiple accredited degrees in traditional marketing that I’m trying to transfer into the digital space, I have years of experience growing up with newer and faster ways of creating, regurgitating, reaching, discovering, and sharing information. Throughout all of this, I’ve been listening to my friends, peers, and mentors about what works in the world of online marketing.

So–entrepreneurs–what do you do now? Do you try to find the Thing They’re Missing and apply it to your business by blogging, Twittering, Facebook-ing, and newsletter-ing? Maybe. For some, it’s easier to understand that privacy (at least superficially) is dead. The idea of “push-based” online marketing (or offline!) is dead. The concept of “interruption advertising” is dead. Stop Missing The Point with your online marketing and start listening to what your kids are telling you!

Right now:

  • Set up an account at Twitter (in your own name, if you can; privacy is dead), and send out a Tweet about what you do.
  • Then, search on Twitter for a keyword that applies to your industry with the “#” sign in front of it (#socialmedia, #marketing, #online marketing #insurance, etc.).
  • Find and read some of the articles linked in the search results, and re-Tweet some of them that you like.
  • Rinse and repeat at least 5 times today.
  • And tomorrow.
  • And the next day.

You’ll soon have a feed of Tweets that you’ve sent with keyword-rich hashtags (#) for others in your niche to see. After you’ve got a page or two of Tweets sent out, seek out some other people in your industry (start by finding the ones who originally sent the Tweets you re-Tweeted…). Follow as many as you can. This is the birth of your online marketing campaign–that’s it! Nothing else to do until you complete this easy task!

What you’re doing is building a network of like-minded individuals who are one step closer to trusting you (which is many steps closer to actually doing business with you).

Sound familiar? It’s called networking, and it’s not your father’s networking. We did it yesterday together in 3D, but this way is faster, bigger, and just as useful for your online marketing if you do it right.

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Related posts:

  1. How to Use Social Marketing for Your Business
  2. Social Media Influence: 3 Steps to Boost Your Social Media Productivity
  3. Where Does Social Media Fit In With Your Marketing?
  4. Social Networking for Small Business
  5. 7 Ways to Land Clients With Social Networking

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  • Claire Wagner

    Dude, I hate to tell you, but "the culmination of ALL of those channels, working together in tandem to create a seamless presence" is just old school integrated marketing that us senior citizens practiced! *smile* Anyway, you make good points. Like keep learning, don't get stuck in a rut, and respect everybody who really cares about the industry regardless of their age/experience/fancy degrees.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/NickThacker NickThacker

      Hmm, maybe you're right… haha good point. Let me rephrase that statement to better explain:

      It seems like most brick-and-mortar stores and businesses that decide to market do one small part at a time. For example, they'll make business cards; then a year later they'll design a postcard; then finally a brochure. Because they're marketing strategies/trends have changed, their design and message isn't fluid throughout each medium.

      It's the same online: I see business owners jumping on the "I need a website" bandwagon without understanding what they want their site to do. Eventually they have a blog, newsletter, Twitter account, Flickr account, etc. all designed and maintained differently. They still have a "presence," but one that's not playing nice with the other streams.

      Basically, we want our marketing channels to equal something greater than the sum of its parts, online or offline!

      Thanks for comments and for checking out the article! Talk to you soon (maybe in a week…)

  • http://www.mikepedersen.com Mike Pedersen

    Well…Nick, you say, ""I need a website" bandwagon without understanding what they want their site to do." and that is where I am at with my newest blog…LOL! I have launched it anyways, as waiting around will get me no where. I have a general theme, so I'm going with that right now, but I thoroughly realize I need to target it more for a specific market, and I'm working on that :)

    Cheers,
    Mike