Is My Social Media Generating Business?

By Don Kyle

Several months ago, I posed the question, “Is social media right for my business?”  As more and more business owners answer this question “Yes,” the next logical question has to be, “How is it working for you?”

I constantly receive requests to “like” business Facebook pages.  When I get these requests, I wonder what good my “liking” a particular page does, other than perhaps allowing special naming privileges for the page.

The most important question that should come to mind related to business social media pages is, “Is it generating (or going to generate) business for me, or am I simply entertaining my fans?”  As more business owners become convinced that they MUST participate in social media, the overall results may not be supported by increases in customers, revenues and profits.

To analyze the effectiveness of your social media strategy, I suggest taking a hard look at what you are currently doing.  Several specific areas you should address include:

1. Am I generating more business and making a profit on it, and are the profits generated from it greater than the amount of time and money spent on it?
2. Is my content interesting and attractive and do I have the most effective “call to action” tools on my pages?  (If not, how do you expect to drive new business to your website or physical location?)
3. Is my social media strategy consistent with and working hand in hand with my overall marketing strategy?  (In other words, does one strategy conflict with another for your business?)
4. If applicable, is my outsourced social media support company performing effectively and as promised?  If not, why not?  (Anyone can claim to be a social media expert, but only a few truly are.  So you must perform due diligence, including assessing the experience and knowledge level of those who will be maintaining your social media sites and responding to fans on your behalf, before deciding to commit to any contracts.  Make sure you can cancel if you’re not satisfied.)

These issues, along with any others you identify, should be addressed fully.  Then, modifications should be made, as necessary, to your social media strategy.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about growing your business.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Competing in Today's Economy

By Don Kyle

Most small businesses are facing a number of challenges today.  As our economy continues to flounder, consumers are more likely to be cautious with their purchases, leading to decreased sales and lower profits or quite often losses for businesses.  Consequently, businesses are struggling to meet their financial obligations, which can directly impact their ability to survive.  So what are small businesses to do?

Small businesses have an advantage over large businesses in that they can make decisions much more quickly to modify their strategy, workforce, product or service offerings, or even their company image to adapt to the ever-changing economy.

In the words of Michael Gerber, author of E-Myth, “Most entrepreneurs fail because you are working IN your business rather than ON your business.”  In fact most are so busy just running their daily operations, they rarely have the time to take the necessary steps to improve their businesses.

Here are several suggestions that may help you create a “plan of action” to compete in our challenging economy.

1. Take a look at your business by creating a flowchart, documenting how your business currently operates.
2. Review and assess your current business plan, specifically describing your current market area, target customers, competitors, demand for your products or services, threats, opportunities, etc.
3. Review and assess your current marketing and promotional strategy, including the effectiveness of your current advertising.  Calculate the returns you currently achieve from these.
4. Assess your competition and look for opportunities based on any identified advantages you have.
5. Research similar businesses in markets outside of yours and look for new or different ways to grow your business.

By taking the time to perform some or all of these steps, you may identify some areas you can modify or change very quickly, which may lead to higher revenues and profits.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about growing your business.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Overcoming Objections

By Don Kyle

In my last article, I discussed the importance of an effective sales script.  One of the points I raised was to “address and overcome common objections prior to being raised.”

If you prepare your presentation strategically, responses to the most common objections can be incorporated, thereby overcoming them before they are even raised by your prospect.

Some of the more common objections I have seen include:

• Price,
• Competitor products or services,
• No need for the products or services, and
• No room left in the budget.

There are effective ways to respond to these after they are raised by your prospects; however, if your pre-responses are effectively included as part of your presentation, there only would be a need for clarification and follow-up.

For example, price can be addressed by including “returns on investment” (ROI) others have achieved using your product or service.  By demonstrating how they achieved ROIs that far exceeded their outlay and generated new customers and revenues, the price objection can be overcome.

When it comes to competitors, never speak badly of them.  Instead, you should point out some of your competitors, stating they are very good as well, and highlight the key advantages of your products and services.

Often, a prospect may bring up the topic of not needing your product or service as a stall tactic.  If you do your homework and know that you probably can help the prospect, you can point out in your presentation how your products or services can provide a competitive advantage in the market place and help grow the prospect’s business.

Finally, I have heard many prospects state that there was no room left in their budgets.  I have found that the best way to approach this objection is to reinforce your discussion on the ROI and competitive advantages that can be achieved through the use of your products or services.  If you are still unable to overcome this objection, you always can reschedule for a later date when the prospect is ready to prepare their next budget.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about growing your business.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Should I Use A Sales Script?

By Don Kyle

How often have you been in a position where someone is trying to convince you that his or her products or services are the best thing since sliced bread and that you MUST take advantage of the opportunity?  How convinced were you in these situations and how often have you actually purchased?

First of all, keep in mind that people in business are always in sales positions.  After all, without sales, you have no business.  Over my career, I have observed that many people make the mistake of not being prepared in these sales situations.  In fact, most are not.

Being prepared does not simply mean remembering and reciting a script.  Most scripts I have seen do not address the key points necessary for an effective, convincing presentation.  Several key points I would recommend for an effective sales presentation include the following.

1. Put the prospect at ease,
2. Present the benefits of your product or service, with total product (service) knowledge,
3. Address and overcome common objections prior to being raised,
4. Have passion for what you are offering,
5. Perform the presentation in a manner that matches your persona, and most importantly
6. Ask for the sale.
   

I have seen a great presentation on paper become a disaster when actually presented, due to a lack of passion and belief in your product or service.  I believe this one aspect, along with product (service) knowledge, can make or break your presentation.

Furthermore, conducting your presentation in a manner that is not natural to you can cause the prospect to feel he or she is just another sales target.  Therefore, it is critical to practice your presentation until it becomes a part of you.

Finally, you must ask for the sale.  I was recently a party to a sales interaction where it appeared to go very well.  In the end, however, the presenter did not ask for the sale.  No conclusion was reached and no follow-up steps were discussed — it was simply a business discussion between people.  So ask for the sale or at least agree to follow-up!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about growing your business.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

He Said What?

by Don Kyle

“He said what?”  As a business owner, this can be one of the most terrifying statements you can overhear from a customer – particularly if it’s about one your employees.  Your staff can make or break your business.

A position which is quite often overlooked and underappreciated is your receptionist, or in the case of retail, your greeter and/or cashier.  These folks often have the first and possibly last contact with your customers, yet we often ignore their importance.

There are many studies that confirm that an individual makes an assessment of another person within the first three minutes.  Yes, first impressions can be and are critical to a positive outcome in any interaction.

For example, when you go to a doctor’s office for the first time, is the person greeting you friendly, welcoming and empathetic?  After all, you probably are there because you are ill, injured or requiring a check up, not because you enjoy going there simply to pass time.  If the person greeting you seems uninterested or unconcerned, you will likely form a negative opinion of that doctor very quickly.  The same is true of any business you visit.  You are there to give your hard-earned dollars in exchange for a product or service and rightfully would expect great customer service.  This is where many businesses fall short.

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that your customer’s first impression of your establishment is a great one, one that will allow the customer to happily purchase your goods or services – preferably on a repeat basis.

When someone experiences great customer service and purchases from you, he or she is more likely to tell others about your business, leading to more customers for you.

Many responsibilities fall on a business owner.  Creating an environment with properly trained associates providing great first impressions and outstanding customer service is probably one of your most important.  If you assessed your current operations, you may determine that this is not the case.  This should prompt you to properly train your staff to create this environment, or possibly, hire new associates who can.

You may then hear, “Wow, I really love coming here.”

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about growing your business.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Tools vs. Strategies

by Don Kyle

Since the early 1990s, tremendous technological advances have been made in promoting businesses.  The primary goal of these tools is to help improve your market reach, thereby increasing sales and profitability.

Prior to the advent of these tools (such as email marketing, text message marketing, online coupons, websites, and of course social media), we conducted business the old fashion way — print advertising, networking, building the brand, word of mouth, community involvement, etc.

I have noticed, however, that many are confusing these tools with strategies.  Strategy is defined as “a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result,” while Tool is defined as“anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose.”

While these technological advances can be of great use in more efficiently reaching your market, they alone are not a strategy; rather they are simply tools to help you implement your marketing plan.  You must be able to achieve all the objectives you have in the past, but much more efficiently and effectively through the use of these tools, particularly in today’s competitive economy.

So how can you utilize these tools to grow your business?  Here are a few suggestions for you to consider.

1.  Review the objectives and goals for your marketing plan.

2.  For each objective, identify the available tools that can help you reach the stated goal.

3.  After identifying the tools to use (within your budget), review how these will interface and complement each other.  In other words, the selected tools must mesh and not conflict.  An example of a conflict may be your email marketing targeting one market while your social media targets a completely different demographic or market.

4.  Leverage your tools, by cross-promoting, e.g., push tools such as email marketing driving traffic to your Facebook page.

5.  Take a 20,000 ft. look at your strategy.  Make sure it makes sense.  Make sure you are taking the steps necessary that can generate results, in an efficient, cost effective way.  Then, implement your strategy and monitor your results.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about growing your business.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Are You Sending the Right Message?

by Don Kyle

Over the years, I have seen business after business sending their messages to their markets.  But are they the right messages?

Quite often, a message sent through ads and promotions does not match what your company offers or the audience you target.  For example, if you are a family oriented restaurant, does it make sense to advertise in a media channel that focuses on singles?  Or, if your business caters only to other businesses, would you advertise to the general public?

What you say, and how and where you say it can be the difference between an effective message and a total waste of your hard-earned money.

Here are several things you should keep in mind as you develop or update and then send your business message.

1.  If you are currently using an established theme or message, take a hard look at it to make sure it matches what your business actually does.  Solicit input from your employees, customers and outsiders as you do this.  If your message does not fit or match, create the right message.

2.  Does your message include a call to action?  If not, you shouldn’t expect prospective customers to take action.

3.  Is your message effective?  Are you getting results from your current advertising and promotional strategy?  If you are not currently keeping track of why and from where your customers come, now is the time to start.

4.  Analyze where you are currently sending your message.  Are you using advertising vehicles and tools that are going to your desired markets?  If not, why not?

5.  Once you have prepared your ideal message and where your target markets are, select the optimal media channels and tools that will allow you to send your message.

You should now be prepared to send your message and begin monitoring its effectiveness.  If after giving your new or revised message ample time to penetrate your target market, alter your future messages as necessary.  However, don’t be too hasty in making changes as profitable results rarely occur immediately.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how to prepare the right message for your business or any other questions related to promoting your company.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Is Your Business Ready for the New Year?

by Don Kyle

As 2013 approaches, have you set your goals and prepared your plan to meet them?  You should have done this already, but it’s not too late to start if you haven’t.

It’s quite common for business owners to not plan properly for the future as they are so busy running their businesses.  While this lack of preparation is understandable, it often can become a recipe for disaster.

So I thought I would offer several suggestions to help you through the process.

1. Take a look at your results for the current year and set overall goals for the coming year.  First, these should be defined in broad terms, such as total planned revenues and estimated expenses, desired net income, growth rate, etc.  The current state of your business and anticipated future economic conditions, competition, demand for your products/services, etc. should be considered as you set these goals.

2. These overall goals then should be broken down into monthly, weekly and daily budgets.  Be sure to account for seasonal fluctuations for your business.

3. Review what you have done in the past and are doing currently to promote your business.

4. Assess which growth strategies have worked well and those that haven’t worked as well.

5. Determine marketing tools and strategies that are available for your business and the expected costs and returns.  During this process, you should consult with peers, other business owners, and experts and select those that you believe can provide optimal results.  Do your research and select the best options available to fit your budget.

6. Prepare your marketing plan and budget.

7. Implement your plan, then monitor your results and make adjustments as necessary.  Don’t be too hasty to make changes though; give your plan a chance before making unwarranted changes.  Remember, most effective promotional strategies will take a little time before they generate results.

Good luck and may the new year be the best ever for you!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about preparing your marketing plan for the new year.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

How Can I Generate Customers?

by Don Kyle

Customers are the life blood of any business.  Whether you operate your business from a storefront, office, or online, without customers, you have no business.  So how can you go about generating customers?  There are various ways, and I have discussed many of these in past columns.

The first thing to keep in mind is that different techniques work for different businesses.  Those in the professional services industry may choose to utilize business networking as a primary source, while those in retail storefronts may decide to emphasize advertising in various media.  Whatever methods you choose, your strategy must be the right fit for you.

For example, if you operate out of a highly visible retail or office location, you may choose to promote your business through media advertising to your market, combined with community involvement activities, such as sports and group sponsorships, participation in local events, etc.  This kind of approach can provide you with exposure to the general market place while getting targeted messages out to specific areas of the community in which you are involved.

For those who operate companies offering personal or business services, such as insurance, home repairs or tutoring, it probably makes more sense to develop referral sources to generate customers.  This can be achieved very effectively through participation in local business groups and other local community organizations.  Getting involved with a group such as the Acworth Business Association can open up many new avenues for generating customers through referrals.

Regardless of the type of business you operate, various online and mobile techniques are becoming more prevalent today.  Email marketing, text message marketing, and online coupons are some of the most common ways this is being done today.

If you are not sure which methods may work best for you, you should review last month’s article on business marketing plans.  Choosing the right marketing strategy can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars you may lose, should you go down the wrong path.

Finally, do you homework.  Research which customer generation techniques are working for others in your line of business; talk with other trusted, successful business owners; seek advice from marketing experts; then choose your strategy.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about generating more customers and clients for your business.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Do You Need A Business Marketing Plan?

by Don Kyle

As Michael Gerber, one of my favorite business authors, says, entrepreneurs are too busy “working IN their business rather than ON their business.”

Why is this the case?  Most business owners start their businesses because they loved what they did as employees and decided to become their own bosses.  However, most of us are not as good when it comes to promoting, marketing and operating our own businesses.  As a result, many fail very quickly.

So what is one of the most important things you can do to improve your chances of becoming a success?  I submit that developing and implementing a sound, realistic marketing plan is critical for your business.  After all, if you don’t have any customers, you surely don’t have a business.

The overall steps in developing your plan are as follows.

1. Gather all relevant information about your company and list your competitive advantages and disadvantages.

2. Assess your current local economy and analyze your market — size, boundaries, composition, demographics, etc.

3. Evaluate your competition.

4. Prepare your marketing plan.

Using the data gathered in steps 1. through 3., you are ready to develop your plan.  You should then:

1. Evaluate your current marketing and promotional strategy.  Determine which ones are working and which are not.

2. Review and evaluate all promotional options (advertising, alliances, etc.) that are available and their related costs and establish a reasonable monthly budget.

3. Analyze how these options can benefit your business.  Don't simply take the word of others without doing your own homework.  Always keep in mind that not all strategies work for every business.  The nature of your products, services and market will determine the best strategies.  For example, if you sell insurance, group coupons probably are not right for you.

4. Determine the time commitment that will be required of you and your staff.

5. Prepare and implement your plan.

6. Monitor your results and make changes as necessary.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about preparing and implementing your business marketing plan.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Email Marketing Basics

by Don Kyle

Can business owners effectively market their products and services through Email Marketing?

Yes, if the proper strategies and tools are used.

As with any marketing strategy you decide to use, you must know your target market — composition, size, location, demographics, etc.

We will discuss some of the key issues you should address before you begin.

1. What is the geographic range for your business?  Determine the boundaries of your prospective customers.  For example, are they within 10 miles of your business or can you sell your products and services to anyone, anywhere?

2. Are there enough prospective customers in your target market who are internet savvy?  With a little research, you can see how many email users are in your target market.

3. Will you purchase an email list or will you build your own?  If you build your own by having existing customers and their friends sign up, you will be using permission based marketing, whereby the members on your list have asked to be sent your emails.  On the other hand, if you purchase a list, you will be sending out emails to those you expect will respond and opt-in for future emails.  You must be very careful with this approach as you want to avoid being flagged as “spam.”

4. Will you purchase an email tool such as Constant Contact or iContact, or will you manually send emails through your own email service?  Email tools vary in price and can provide you with all kinds of features that can simplify list maintenance, scheduling, design, etc.

5. Design your emails in manner that will allow the highest open and response rates.  Any email you send out is an advertisement for your business.  Will the recipients bother to open it, read it and then take action?

6. Establish goals for your Email Marketing campaign.  Will your emails be designed to attract new customers?  Send promotions to existing customers?  Provide useful information that will generate more customers?  How often will emails be sent?  Establish a plan that will allow you to meet your goals.

These are just some of the basics you should consider to determine if Email Marketing can be a good fit for you.

If you would like assistance promoting and growing your business, feel free to contact me.  Additionally, feel free to submit questions about growing your business and I will address them in future articles.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Fish Rots from the Head Down

by Don Kyle

“Fish Rots from the Head Down” is a proverb of ancient origin and means, “When an organization or state fails, it is the leadership that is the root cause.”

Just how does this proverb relate to small businesses today?

In last month’s article, I discussed why your business’ reputation is so important.  If you own a small business and rely on the support of your local market place, it is of the utmost importance.

More often than not, businesses reflect the philosophies and views of their owners.  These often flow down to the staff level.  If it’s OK for the boss, it MUST be OK for us.  Therefore, it is critical that owners operate in a manner that can be emulated by all those who can affect the business.

How often have you heard others talk negatively (or positively) about a business in your neighborhood?  You’ve probably heard more bad than good.  This often the results from customers feeling they were mistreated or cheated and the lack of proper response from a particular business.

Over the years, I have seen many business owners talk about how important it is to serve their customers, but their actions were just the opposite.  Instead of meeting their customers’ needs, they were meeting their own, at any cost.

It may sound cliché, but people really do want to be treated as they would treat others — with fairness and respect.  Hence the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.”

Over the years, I have also seen many businesses that were acquired from the original owners who had established great reputations within their market place.  A change in philosophy to those of the new owners has lead many businesses to their downfall.  Conversely, rarely will you see a business that has created a negative image rebound with new owners.  By then the damage has been done, and it is virtually impossible to repair the reputation of an established business.

If you own a business, you should take an in depth look at your current operations, specifically how and why you are in business in the first place.  If your goals, philosophies and views are not consistent and congruent with the nature of your business and your market place, you are probably struggling and destined to fail.

If you have questions or would like more information on branding your business, please feel free to contact me.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

How Important Is Your Business Reputation?

by Don Kyle

Just how important is the reputation of your business?  If you own a small business and you rely on the support of your local market place, it is of extreme important.

How often have you heard a friend or neighbor talk about a bad experience they encountered at a particular business?  Then again, how often have you heard someone raving about a particular business?

It is much more common to hear bad things than good.  Based on a 2011 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer Survey, consumers will tell others about their customer service experiences, both good and bad, with the bad news reaching more ears.  Americans say they tell an average of nine people about good experiences, and nearly twice as many (16 people) about poor ones – making every individual service interaction important for businesses.

Therefore, it is critical that business owners be ever vigilant in providing the best service or product to their customers in order to maintain a good reputation.

If your business has created a bad reputation, what can do about it?  Here are some suggestions.

1.  Take a deep look at your business, putting yourself in the shoes of a consumer, and then assess your business.  Would you use your own services or products?  If you are too close to your business, ask a trusted friend or another business owner to do this for you.  This step should allow you to identify and make necessary changes to your operations, personnel, products or services offered, etc.

2.  Google your business and see what comes up.  Numerous websites also allow consumers to rate and make comments about your business.  If you encounter negative comments that you believe are erroneous, many sites will allow you to input your own comments.  It is also a good idea to try to contact those who made negative comments and see if you can do anything to resolve their complaints.

3.  Ask your current customers what they like and dislike about your business.  Ask them what you can do to improve.  Be humble and thank them for their input.

4.  If you have raving customers, ask them to spread the good word to others in your market place and online.

If you would like assistance promoting and growing your business, feel free to contact me.  Additionally, feel free to submit questions about growing your business and I will address them in future articles.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

How Can I Make My Ads More Effective?

by Don Kyle

Over the 13 plus years that I owned and operated a direct mail community magazine, one of the most frequent questions I heard from advertisers was, “Why am I not getting responses to my ad.”  As I pondered this question over the years, I have reached a conclusion which has become very clear to me.

Put simply, most ads do not have the three key ingredients necessary for an ad to be effective and generate desired results.  Assuming that your ads are targeted at the proper audience, these keys are:

1.  Is there a headline (or other attention-getter) that will cause prospects (your audience — readers, viewers, listeners, web visitors, etc.) to look at (or listen to) your ad?

2.  Is there a compelling message for your prospects?

3.  Is there a call to action or an offer in your ad?

If you do not have an attention grabbing headline or image, your prospects will not bother to look at your ad, regardless of how great your product or service may be.  This is probably the most important factor as you want your prospects to look at what you are offering.  Keep in mind that people are most attracted to people and animals (animate objects) rather than “things.”  This can definitely help attract prospects to your ads.

If your message is not compelling, why would prospects look any further to your offer or call to action?

Finally, if you do not ask prospects to take action, they will not.  Be sure to emphasize how prospects can contact you (and of course, where you’re located).

Business owners are very good at what they do within their business; however, this talent normally does not carry over to ad design.  Therefore, it makes sense to take advantage of those who do, in designing your ads, i.e., the resources at the advertising medium you choose.

Ads utilized by competitors in your field, preferably in markets other than your own, are another great resource in designing your ads.  I have seen many clever and effective ads over the years in other publications in other locales.

However you decide to design your ad, make sure you address these three key factors.  Remember, the goal of your ad is cause your prospects to take action and contact you.

Please feel free to submit questions about your business and I will address them in future columns.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com

Is Social Media Right for My Business?

by Don Kyle

Over recent years, we have been bombarded by a barrage of hype about Social Media and how a business owner MUST get involved to succeed. Today, Facebook and Twitter dominate Social Media, along with several business-specific platforms, such as LinkedIn. The first question you must ask yourself is, “Do I have to play, and if so, how will it benefit my business?”

The marketing gurus first told us that we MUST have a website and that we MUST expand our horizon to reach the global market. Over the years, it has become crystal clear that these gurus were a slight bit off, and that as a small business owner, you must first focus your strategy on your local market.

Social Media has followed this trend and was viewed as a way to create fans and connections around the world. Recently, this trend has changed for small business owners, and Social Media is now being used in an attempt to gain fans within their local marketplace. The second question you must ask yourself is, “Can Social Media work for me and how can I make a profit through this strategy?”

Here are some key questions you should address before you decide to focus your marketing strategy through Social Media.

• Who are my target audience and will Social Media help me reach them effectively?
• Why do I want to create a large fan base through Social Media – increase sales to current customers, attract new customers, specials, information, entertainment, etc?
• How can I monetize my Social Media strategy, i.e., how can I make money using Social Media?
• How can I avoid simply offering discounts (hence, lower profits) to a finite fan base?
• How can I publicize and grow my Social Media platform?

Be very careful with Social Media “experts” and check them out before you decide to hire outside help. Anyone can claim to be an expert, but only a few truly are.

In the end, you may decide that Social Media can be a great way of attracting new customers or perhaps that it’s just another way you can get more exposure for your business. Whatever you decide, you must be sure to create a strategy and budget, and assess your preliminary results before you decide to go “all in” with Social Media.

If you would like assistance promoting and growing your business, feel free to contact me.  Additionally, feel free to submit questions about growing your business and I will address them in future columns.

Don Kyle is the CEO and Founder of Small Bizz MBA, a company which assists businesses with their marketing, branding and advertising needs.  (404) 580-6331, dkyle@smallbizzmba.com