In these dicey economic times, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to make the most out of a limited marketing budget. The good news is that technology has made it possible to market yourself directly to customers in cheaper and easier ways than ever before. The bad news is that many great little businesses seem completely lost as to where to begin. They have a blog, but they either don’t use it or don’t use it effectively. They signed up for Facebook and Twitter, but they don’t know what to tell people their up to. And they bought a video camera, and last month they got their friends nephew to make them a YouTube video to show people what goes on inside their shop.
Well, that just isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Effective marketing is pretty simple. You have a service or product that you’re offering to the public. In order for the public to come to you and do business they basically need three things: they’ve got to know you’re there, they’ve got to like what you have to offer, and they have to trust that you’re going to be the best place for them to go to get the service or product. So marketing is just a way for you to deliver the message to your customers that you can satisfy those three things.
Good blogs are a platform that you can use to become an authority in your industry of choice. For example, if you’re a dog breeder write about what’s new in the world of animal nutrition, training and breed standards. If you’re a hair dresser use your blog to tell people how to style their locks with the latest looks that they can get at home. By doing so your audience learns to trust you as an expert on all things…whatever it is you’re selling. And that authority and expertise can be turned into sales.
With Facebook and Twitter, the focus is a little different. You’re not really building authority, you’re building a network or fan-base of customers that you can rely on for repeat business. They’re both great tools for keeping your customers in the loop on any specials your running, special events you’ve got planned or just what’s happening inside the studio. But the key here is to keep it brief, and keep it updated. And this is where you’ve got to be creative. If you have a blog, let people know when you’ve just posted a new article. If you come across a news story or video that’s relevant to your clients and industry let them know in your updates. The key here is to stay visible, without being obnoxious, irrelevant or inappropriate (so posting about your religious or political views are probably something you’ll want to avoid).
Now, let’s talk about video. The reality is that people would rather watch a short video than read, well, just about anything. Especially in today’s technologically-overloaded world, a well made video can get your point across quicker and easier for your customers than having to try and navigate through a website, blog or a bunch of one-liners on Twitter or Facebook. It also has the added bonus of literally taking the viewer there to experience the sights and sounds of what your selling.
But there is a catch. Not all videos are created equal. Don’t believe me…just head on over to YouTube and take a look around. Your video needs to be on point. You need to know what it is that you’re selling. Are you selling you’re personal services as a counselor? Then the focus should be on you. What do you have to offer as a therapist, and what’s your approach? Are you selling handmade quilts on Etsy? Than maybe a video showing people the time and care you take putting together a quilt is the way to go. The main thing is the message. Make sure that it’s there, and that the video gets to the point and once you’ve got that down worry about the quality. You don’t need a super high-end expensive commercial to get your point across. But you do need clean, properly lit, nicely composed video. There are lots of videographers out there with training, expertise and time on their hands who can do the job for not a ton of money. Just do an internet search for video production in you’re area and you’ll find more than a few. They should have a demo of their work online, for you to check out before you even contact them. So get out there and get your video up and running.
(Note: There are also a couple of national companies that hire local freelancers to do quick and dirty web videos, but I personally don’t recommend them because they pay the videographers nothing and take a large cut for themselves just to be the agent, and most of the real professionals I know won’t work for them.)
This by no means is an all-inclusive guide to new media marketing for small business. But it’s a good start. So I hope that at least some of you will be inspired to take a look at what you can do to get your new media marketing working for you.