Social Marketing, The Small Business Marketing Secret Weapon

Small businesses are usually long on passion and short on cash–the perfect combination for social marketing success. The rise of social media and Web 2.0 can give entrepreneurs big bang for little to no marketing spend. Turning your small business marketing plan into an Internet marketing plan is smart and affordable.

Your Message

Any good social marketing campaign starts with the message–in social media we call this conversation. Broadcasting brand statements, the mainstay of big agency marketing, falls on deaf ears in emerging media.

Social environments like online networks, blogs, podcasts, and videos expect engagement. Consumers in this environment want raw and personal. Small business is built for this gritty, no rules media. Put them together and you can launch a compelling online small business marketing campaign.

So, flip open your laptop, plug in a headset, and look into the web cam to talk directly to your customers.

Exchange Sweat for Cash

The primary reason that social marketing is ideal for the small business or entrepreneur is the price. All of the tools are available for little to nothing. Laptops are cheap, microphones and web cams are built-in, and Web 2.0 makes most software free. There are no barriers.

Marketing and ad agencies have no advantage in this media. Their polish and orchestration only gets them filtered. So, the primary advantage you have to overcome is distribution or social syndication. But, again you can make the price right for you.

With a little sweat and hustle you can get your personal brand and small business message into every corner of the Web using RSS, Twitter, and various content syndication tools like TubeMogul.

Passion is Viral

Never underestimate the inspirational value of a passionate entrepreneur. Every small business owner is on fire with their idea. That  passion is more often than not contagious in and of itself. So, when you take marketing into your own hands and fan that flame with direct conversations you will ignite others to pass and endorse the message.

Internet marketing lets your small business instantly reach a bigger audience. Going national is only a web page or blog away. While keeping it local is as simple as keywords and local link exchanges. Either way you will extend you reach far beyond the traditional yellow pages and flyers, at a fraction of the cost.

But, the really big bang is how your passion can take your Internet marketing viral with email, IM, or a variety of other social networking tools.

Web 2.0 Gives You Scale

Scale is another challenge in traditional marketing campaigns. TV, radio, even websites require cash to scale to an effective audience. However, Web 2.0 creates tools and mash-ups that give you the ability to build and leverage already large audiences–making your internet marketing plan on par with the big boys.

The Internet and Web 2.0 helps to level the playing field for small businesses. Social marketing is free–stoke it with sweat and passion and you will set your small business marketing on fire.

image credits to Max Williams