Mr. Decal's Blog

Recently I was vacationing on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, while there I attended a seminar hosted by the Kauai Chamber of Commerce. The seminar subject was “Social Media” the seminar’s presenters where two local experts concerning the subject of social media. The seminar also included a panel of local business enterprises representatives that have and are involved with social media.

The social media topics that was presented by the experts and evidence illuminated by the panel focused on the social media tools of “Twitter,” “Face Book,” “LinkedIn,” and “Blogs.” The message that the seminar communicated was loud, clear the networking that all business people use, and rely has changed.

Networking can be defined using a phrase we are all familiar with “word of mouth.” The business owners, sales people, and marketing department, are aware that a customer referred to them is a warm lead and is almost an assured sale.

The networking in the past was accomplished by asking for referrals from your current satisfied customers, or your client referred your company to their colleagues or friends. Hence the term networking by word of mouth, one person at a time.

Electronic media as not changed the dynamics of networking referrals or word of mouth, because the easiest sale is still the referral. Social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogging has changed the effective footprint of networking. The tools available in social media if used correctly allow the business owner, sales representative, or the marketing team to reach and influence thousands.

Promoting of a product or service on a national level use to be only reserved for the company who possessed the monetary fund has to grease the wheels of advertising. Today the small business owner can promote their product and services to the nation. How can the company with limited funds reach a market that yesterday was not a consideration?

The blog is a tool so you can tell your story to the world, by presenting the knowledge, experience, and how your service or product enhances the market place. The use of Twitter’s 140-character limitation used as short promotional word bites of products or services and using Facebook a company can use inexpensive video commercials seen by thousands transmitted free of charge.

One of the panel members at this seminar on social media, who is a marketing director of a hotel company, informed the attendees how she used Twitter to promote their hotel to potential vacationers to Kauai. This marketing director would go outside with a camera and take some beautiful pictures or videos of the palm trees and the sun-drenched beaches of Kauai. Then a link of the pictures or the video sent via Twitter to the Twitter Followers of this hotel with this caption “Don’t You Wish You Were Here?”  This promotion sent and viewed by thousands at no cost.

Unlike e-mail, the people who follow a company on Twitter by following that company give their permission to receive information from the company they follow. The followers of a particular company on Twitter can also stop following and by doing so will block promotions from that company. Therefore as a marketing team the promotions of your products or services are welcomed and will be seen and viewed, not deleted as so much spam e-mail is.

Marketing with social media is here to stay it is to your advantage as a small business to utilize this free advertising medium. Connect with your customers, and your potential customer. Electronic social media extends your networking reach to the nation and the world at virtually no cost.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 15th, 2010 at 8:44 am and is filed under Electronic Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.