Michael Kurz, CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, recently posed this question for an upcoming panel session on web marketing - it's an excellent question. "Where do you see the single biggest success opportunity in Web marketing for small businesses?" -- Michael Kurz
No other Internet movement or consumer adoption phase surpasses the breadth and depth of social media; without question, marketing opportunities abound for clever businesses. The promise of engaging and helpful online forums and conversations on the Internet, popularized in the late 90’s and early part of this decade, is realized in social media and Web 2.0 applications. The Cluetrain Manifesto is the watershed work on this subject - originally penned in 1999, this work asserts that Internet is unlike traditional media - it's about conversations. "A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter—and getting smarter faster than most companies." -- Cluetrain Manifesto, 1999
Nearly 10 years later, evidence this document predicted the future can be found everywhere you look today - user-generated content (UGC) has recently begun to dominate the Internet and will continue to grow at double digits rates in the coming years. Blogs, syndicated content, second-tier search, and flow applications represent the dominant activities by consumers on the Internet. Why? Consumers have always wanted transparent, engaging conversations to help them decide how to spend their money. Historically, businesses have been reluctant to engage in direct conversational marketing on the Web. But consumers are relentless; they seek out advice, cultivate relationships with domain experts, and engage in networking to facilitate their knowledge and understanding about everything that matters. As a business person, you must ask yourself - when they start searching for knowledge and socially-based content about your market segment, do you want to be invisible and leave a void for your competitors to fill? Or, do you want to be part of the conversation? What is Social Media? Social media is a term that describes the topology of online conversations. It includes blogs, forums, social networks, and flow applications. Anywhere users can publish, share, consume, and participate in dialogue are considered elements of social media. How do small businesses get started? While much of this may seem overwhelming, here are three tips to help you get started: - Download and read our 7 Simple Steps to More Effective Business Blogging. This will set the stage for more productive use of your time while engaging in social media.
- If you have a small business, create a "business blog" using a good (but free) blog tool such as Wordpress or Blogger. If your business is large enough to have a chief marketing officer, give us a shout - there are some additional tips you need to know and we have some additional whitepapers we can provide.
- Get a Twitter account for your business name and start making daily observations about your brand and your business. Trust me on this - it will generate new leads. ;-)
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