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Social media is a great tool for small business. Facebook and others can reach out into the community and put a friendly face on your business.
Pictures on Facebook attract attention, remind people who your are, and get passed around to others. It's a marketing tool not available just 20 years ago.
Example: Takisha has sites on eBay and Etsy. On both of these, she puts items up for auction or sale. The items come from her consignment store, an active bricks and mortar operation. To attract more attention, she has a Facebook page where she posts a picture every day of an item. Usually, Takisha's cat or dog can be seen, prominently included in the picture. All of this is meant to drive traffic to her store or to her sites on eBay and Etsy. She includes the cat or dog to help attract attention and get the picture passed around or mentioned to other viewers.
Example: Bud is a landscaper who is stepping his business up to a new level. On social media he shows yards he has done, gardens he takes care of , new designs he is planning. All of this entices new clients with pictures of stone terraces, fish and lily ponds, gates and trellises, and other landscape/garden features. He regularly posts pictures on Facebook and other social media. These have brought in new clients looking for more than lawn-cutting. Bud's business is growing and attracting new up-scale clients.
Example: Elaine is a business coach. She has attracted several small and medium-sized clients--some are regulars, others are one-time propositions. She noticed that business owners need funds to expand, but they were discouraged by the current downturn in availability of loans to small businesses. At the same time, Elaine noticed that on-line lending firms were springing up to fill the void left when banks declined loan requests. She used social media to reach out to area businesses, offering to help them access on-line funding. She posted pictures of stacks of coins with the edges of $100 bills peeping out from behind, along with the tag line "Need a loan?" Having researched a dozen on-line lending firms, Elaine used her expertise to guide her new clients through the maze, significantly growing her business coaching operation.
Social media can grow your business in ways unheard of several years ago. Put on your marketing hat and see what Facebook and others can do for you.
For example, if you have never used Facebook to promote your business, it's time to get your feet wet. Jump in, the water's fine.
