Has Everything About ‘Marketing’ Changed?

 No aspect of how we run our businesses has been turned more on its head than “Marketing”. That being said, there are some things that never change; like the objective for marketing itself. The ‘traditional sales funnel’ is alive and well. The goal remains consistently the same – to get visitors, to turn those visitors into leads, turn leads into opportunity, and turn opportunity into sales.  What’s drastically different is how we accomplish that age-old goal using brand-new 21^st century technology.

Despite the learning curve involved in this change, small business remains the top beneficiary. Social Media Marketing demands marketers provide a more personable, engaged and uplifting experience for their visitors, in return for their time and attention. Long before any money changes hands, potential customers want to receive something of value. Of course, this is something small business excels at naturally. It’s easy to walk up to a customer, shake their hand and start a conversation. What’s tough, is to take that conversation,…and put it into written words.

Approach your Facebook fan page with the same enthusiasm, creativity, and focus on customer-satisfaction that has always comes second-nature to you. Make your page fun, informative, and draw your customers in! Mari Smith wrote an article for the SocialMedia Examiner detailing “21 ways to increase your Facebook Fan Page”. Check out the article to read all 21. Here are a few of our favorites!

• Make a Compelling Welcome Video – ask for the “Like” via a video plea – it’s extremely effective! Check out how Steve Spangler (the science guy) uses it! – Steve Spangler

• Run a Contest – Note: Facebook has a lot of Apps that allow you to become very interactive with visitors. A contest is a great way to keep things fun! WildFire App

• Embed Widgets on your website – Select from a number of the new Facebook Social Plugins and place them on your website and blog.

• Get Fans to Tag Photos – If you host live events, be sure to take plenty of photos, load the photos to your fan page and encourage fans to tag themselves. This, again, pushes out into their wall and friends’ News Feeds, providing valuable (free!) exposure. And, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Check out the full article, it’s well worth the read!

Take away – Approach your Facebook fan page with the same enthusiasm, creativity, and focus on customer-satisfaction that comes second-nature to you. Make your page fun, informative, and draw your customers in! Here’s some great idea’s to accomplish that –

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