MORE THAN ONE IN 3 SMALL BUSINESSES NOW USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CONNECTING WITH CLIENTS

In 2008, I predicted a meteoric rise in the use of social media websites for marketing purposes on the part of small businesses. At the time, the majority of business owners did not have the foggiest clue as to what Twitter even was, let alone taking the time to use it as a marketing tool. Today, practically 40% of small businesses are using social media sites to reach out and connect with potential new clients.

National retailers caught on to the trend long before local small business owners, but we are still seeing some amazing breaking developments in the corporate retail sector. I was shocked when I came home from Walmart on the previous day to find a “Find Us On Facebook” message printed on the back of my store receipt. That took the cake! But this is the trend in full swing, and the wave is starting to gain strength in the small business community.

There are several reasons why it is finally catching on in the small business sector. First and foremost, it is a practically free marketing strategy. With the economy down to bare bones, no small business can afford to spend money without considering every cost-cutting alternative. Secondly, with the monstrous growth of Facebook, it is rather obvious that you’ve got to meet people on the Facebook platform if you want their attention. This holds true because Facebook is where most people are spending their waking hours these days, no matter what age they may be. Lastly, technology has made social media more accessible to the general public more than ever thanks to the smart phone explosion.

All of this adds up to one thing… the small business community is finally cluing in to the goldmine of prospective clients waiting to be courted on the social media scene. Read more about it right here on the Read Write Biz blog site.

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I’VE GOT A GREAT WEBSITE… BUT I GET NO TRAFFIC!

So you are a business owner, and you are trying to increase your sales by offering your products or services on a website. You spent a pile of money paying a designer and a programmer to get your site up and running. The day finally came that your site went live, and after all of the fireworks fizzled, you discovered the fact that you have a little bit of a problem… YOU HAVE NO VISITORS!

The buildup and letdown described in this scenario is a common occurrence with brick-and-mortar business owners that are trying to increase their cash flow with web-based sales. Most will turn to SEO “expert” consultants or other marketing consultants and spend yet another considerable amount of hard-earned money to fix the problem and bring the much-needed traffic to their website. But the fact is, they are overlooking the most effective and cheapest solution to the problem… Twitter marketing.

Twitter just happens to be the fastest social media community on planet earth for attracting and retaining new potential clients within a specific geographical area. There is no other way to accomplish such a feat on any other platform on or off the internet. When properly implemented, a Twitter marketing campaign can start bringing in targeted customers within days of getting started. To tap into the ever expansive reservoir of potential clients dwelling within the Twitter community, follow these simple steps:

1. Create A Friendly Twitter Presence – If you don’t already have an account, get one now. Post your picture so people can identify with you as a person. Make several well thought-out tweets to introduce yourself to the community, and tell everyone about yourself and why you are there.

2. Create An Inviting Profile – Your profile should be clear about your business intent, but it should also let people know that you are a human being who likes to interact with others, have fun, and give back to the community.

3. Link To A Custom Landing Page – Create a special Twitter landing page just for your Twitter visitors. Focus on selling yourself before your products or services. By doing this, you will create long-lasting relationships that will translate into sales from life-long customers instead of one-time buyers.

4. Use Twellowhood.com To Find New Prospects – Use www.twellowhood.com to find people in your local target market to follow. Introduce yourself and get involved! This will create the bonds that you need to grow a loyal following of new clients for your business.

5. Post Every Day - Don’t let a day go by that you don’t post to Twitter. Give more to the Twitter community than you take by sharing meaningful information and interact with your followers. This will give you the best long-term return for your investment of time!

For advanced ideas on aggressive Twitter marketing, check out my Twitter Turbo program at my blog site, www.carltonzone.com!

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WILL THE RECESSION ELEVATE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN 2010?

“The Great Recession” has brought hard times to businesses in just about every sector, and has everyone re-thinking and re-prioritizing business expenses and operating strategies like never before. During economic “high times”, waste abounds. But during tough times, deep thought is put into every aspect of business. Couple this with the fact that we are seeing a trend where more and more people are moving away from television and traditional media, and we have a problem worth paying attention to. As a result, companies think twice before dumping the usual amount of cash into traditional media marketing and advertising.

Unless a certain traditional advertising method is tried and tested and producing positive results, it’s risky business to throw large amounts of cash at new untested marketing ideas. However, testing new concepts and ideas can now be done relatively free of cost through social media communities. And the good news? There’s a huge audience waiting on sites like Twitter and Facebook to participate in your marketing and advertising ideas.

High levels of participation can normally be achieved, and the success of testing the market in this manner is due to the insanely large percentage of people participating in social media communities. Just today, it has been reported that Facebook alone has registered 400 million users worldwide. This figure is up 50 million from the last estimate I read just one month ago. Another staggering statistic is the fact that 50% of the registered users check in on a daily basis. This creates an enormous opportunity for businesses.

The goal in advertising and marketing is to get your message and/or brand in front of as many people that you can, and to engage your audience accordingly. Common sense would tell you to take your message where the majority of the people are gathering and paying attention, which just happens to be Facebook and Twitter. Does it make sense to spend advertising dollars in a declining media market? Of course not. That’s why social media marketing is making more sense by the day.

That gets me to my main point. I see social media marketing becoming a cost control measure in the coming year as companies and agencies slash budgets vehemently to survive. Pulling money out of the declining traditional media outlets and doubling down on social media marketing is a complete common sense cost cutting strategy that we are already seeing, but you can bet your bottom dollar that it will become a strong trend in 2010.

Have you observed an increase in the use of social media for marketing purposes among small businesses, corporations and government agencies in your area? Tell us about it in the comments section below!

Carlton Flowers
Marketing Strategist

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People have often admitted that I know a whole lot of stuff about technical computer-related subjects, and also motivational speaker/trainer stuff. But recently, someone asked me why I have proclaimed myself as a Social Media Expert. I’m glad this person asked, and ready to share the answer with everyone!

Besides the fact that I spend way too much time studying social media until  all hours of the night each and every day, imagining all the different ways that businesses and professionals could be doing twice the volume of whatever it is that they do if they just woke up and noticed the social media revolution, there are also two other very important reasons that I have become an expert, and a few more reasons to boot. That said, let us now cover the reasons.

2 Reasons why Carlton Flowers is a Social Media Expert

plus 4 bonus reasons…

1. Carlton learns from the best – the only way to build credibility in any business is to associate with those that are experts in their field, and wisely choose the best possible mentors. Carlton’s main mentor of choice is Dr. Ron Capps, better known as “The Niche Prof”. Dr. Capps taught at the University of Wisconsin, and currently teaches at Northwest Missouri State University. He is an expert in communications, sales, education, and everything Web 2.0. He speaks at conferences and events all over the country on the subject of social media. Carlton uses Dr. Ron Capps’ guides, studies, articles, and training materials as he consults businesses on leveraging their market penetration via social media.

2. Carlton is a student of SMUG – Social Media University Global is a consortium of the best individuals in the field of social media worldwide. They offer top-rate course materials, and are constantly growing in this brand-new field. Only a handful of the world’s best are students of this new media learning institution.

BONUS REASONS

B1. Carlton is a former computer geek - he had a computer business for ten years up to 2001, and has extensive experience in computer hardware, software, programming, and multimedia production. It is a naturally strong foundation for social media.

B2. Carlton is a motivational speaker and seminar trainer -  He teaches on a wide variety of subjects ranging from Championship Customer Service to Transformational Leadership. Again, a naturally strong foundation for the new social media revolution.

B3. Carlton is a former business owner - having owned an auto repair shop, a body shop, and a retail tool store, Carlton understands what businesses are going through, and how important it is to be on top of creative marketing techniques. Social Media only enhances his ability to put his former marketing experience to work for his clients.

B4. Carlton is an audio & video production expert - having produced his own local television show for 4 years (and coming back soon), Carlton is swift in the field of video & audio production. Knowing how to crank out professional-looking video content is a definite advantage in creating social media campaigns.

B5. Carlton is a schmoozy, likable guy – you can’t help but fall in love with Carlton the minute you meet him. He has a contagious laugh and energizer-bunny enthusiasm. He is known for his ability to inject his natural zeal for life into helping his clients. What more could you want in a consultant?

So there you have it. That’s what they say about me, and that is why I am officially a self-proclaimed social media expert.  Are you ready for me to optimize your business? You better call me soon, because I am getting busier by the day. The word is out on the streets that I have the best social media optimization solutions, and good news travels fast!

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Twitter is steamrolling the social media society. In my opinion, it is the hottest social site on
the internet today. What started as just an idea to get attention on a broad scale has morphed into a possible tool that can be used to enhance local prospects for entrepreneurs.

With all of the new Twitter accessory sites popping up on a daily basis, you have a plethora of tools that can be used to actually help develop a business, and even do market research. But what I find most interesting is that practically nobody in my local area is aware of this.

Jefferson City Missouri boasts about a dozen twitter users to my knowledge. I only see one politician (Peter Kinder), and one business owner using the service to their advantage. It appears that the market is wide open. But once the word gets out, there will be a mad dash by local area businesses to gain the biggest influence from using the social sites. I predict an overnight explosion of small business Twitter use.

What I really find exciting is the fact that the first business in each particular sector will stand to gain the most by jumping into the social community before their competitors. The first movers will reap the biggest rewards. All others will have to fight long and hard, and use creativity to put a dent in the market influence of the first movers.

What is really intriguing is the fact that the first movers will be able to establish themselves as the reigning authorities in their field of expertise, just by their own designation. It’s human nature that we follow the ground breakers and give them respect as authoritative experts, simply because they arrived on the scene first. That is why companies like Nike and IBM still sit atop the roost to this day, because they were of the first to break through in their fields.

I’ve been studying the social media phenomenon on a daily basis, but my focus has mainly been on the benefits of using these sites to expand and conquer market share with a small business. I have found that even some of the Fortune 500 companies have successfully implemented social media campaigns to launch new products and services. For example, Cisco just completed a long social media campaign to launch their new routers nationwide.

What these large companies have effectively done is to set the groundwork for small businesses to reproduce their positive results. It’s jsut a matter of having the right strategy for each individual sector.

Do you have a question about social media use in business that I can answer? Comment on this posting, or send an email to carlton.flowers@gmail.com and I will be glad to look into your question and provide an educated answer!

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I am in the middle of doing some serious research on something that I stumbled upon by mistake. There’s a hot category on eBay that many people have no idea exists. Plus, there’s a ton of scammers posting ads on this same category. However, I noticed one seller who was getting 30, 40, 50, even 60 bids per auction for a product that had barely no description at all, and each of his auctions were closing for several hundred dollars.

But it gets better… this guy was making huge money on his auctions while identical listings (with the same crappy, scant information) were only making a few bucks, with 1 to 2 bids at best. I could not figure out how he did this. It perplexed me. Well, after digging and reasearching, I figured it out. Funny thing about it, the method this person implemented can actually be used in an honest way to get mega exposure and results on auctions for any product.

I plan on finishing my study and publishing my findings very soon. Stay tuned!

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