Do business owners take Facebook seriously?

So Facebook has been established as a beast in the marketing world. Its nearly perfect for a small business to get some real exposure for free other than a little key tapping. But the question is do these people take Facebook seriously as an effective form of advertising. Now I can easily start naming off multiple examples of businesses that have success with Facebook but I don't think thats going to change the non believers minds. I think the main reason that people don't want to get involved with Facebook is because its unfamiliar.
Lets just lay it all out on the table...... I'm young and I have grown up with the dawning of all the new wonderful technology. A lot of small business owners are older and they grew up in a world much different then mine. Now I'm not saying that all oder people are effected by this but a large majority are. So if I was in they're shoes I would also be hesitant to use a unfamiliar form of advertising to represent my business that I have poured my life into. It seems like a recipe for disaster so they stick to the tried and true. Tried and true, Lets think about that..... Just because its tried and true doesn't mean its the most effective way to go about it. Sure its effective to some extent but in order to really get the business where it needs to be they need some cutting edge forms of advertising.
Facebook has proven it self as the king of effective advertising for businesses. Facebook is effective for small business & large business. Facebook is the most effective way to advertise, target consumers, and get your name out there for FREE.

HOW TO: Setup an effective face book page.

Okay okay, I know what your thinking. I keep talking about these social networks but "how do I set my page up?"

Step 1- Log on to http://www.facebook.com/login.php?m2w , this is the login screen. All the way at the bottom of the page it says "advertising" click that link.

Step 2- You should see a page that gives you some idea as to why your creating a page. If you want you can read both the overview tab and the case study tab. After your done reading you can a link in the text of the overview tab that says "facebook page" This is what you going to need to click. Yet again you will come to a page assuring you that making a page is a great idea. At the top right corner you can find a green button that says "create page"....click that. Then you will find your self with a few options, community page or official page. If this is for a business then choose the official page. The choices are self explanatory, but when it comes to the page name I suggest it would be named after your business so that fans and customers can easily find it. Now on to the creating!

Step 3- Now your going to have to get dirty and make the page jive with your business. Make sure that you have plenty of ways for the customer to contact you....e-mail is a must! Also your best bet for your profile picture is a business logo of your own. This assures that you are establishing a professional appearance. Next you will want to add some custom tabs to your page if needed but don't go crazy with the tabs because out will make the page less appealing to the eye. And we want people staying on your page not just clicking through. My suggestion after you have your page setup is to send it out to some close friends and ask what they think about it, If all is well then on to step 4.

Step 4- Add fans! I would start by inviting people who you have friended on you personal profile. If you don't have many friends then what are you waiting for this is a social network. Once you have established a nice fan base them its time to promote.

Step 5- Promote. The best ways to do this is through contest, giveaways,& discounts. An example of a good give away promotion is this- what ever your business offers is what your consumer wants. So find an item that you can afford to giveaway and offer it to the consumer.....but wait! There is a hitch, they must like the post to be entered to win the giveaway. Once they have entetered 3 will picked from the group. Now make a poll on your page with the 3 users and tell them they're friends must come to the page and like it, then vote for their favorite contestant. What rusts going to do is have them sending and posting links like crazy to win the votes. Your best bet would be to choose 3 with the most amount of friends and are the most active.

Tip: Post often and dont repeat things over and over. You will sound like a robot and robots are not social.

Check back soon for tips on managing you page and more, dont forget to follow to get all your updates on cutting edge small business advertising.

Superbowl advertisers jump on the Social media wagon

Millions of dollars are spent every year by companies for 30 second spots during the superbowl. The super bowl could be called the king of all advertising spots easily. This year the advertisers realize that social media is the future and they are not.going to miss out. Kia, Mercedes, Audi, & Volkswagon are all using unique social media campaigns to get a chunk of the social media pie. That's right, the big dogs are using the exact social networks that you an sign up for today for FREE!!!
Advertisers are expected to spend 55% more money in 2011 on social network advertising then they did in 2010. They are doing this for plain and simple reasons......its on its way to the top of effective advertising.

Bottom line is that you can have a bigger price of the pie for free right NOW...what are you waiting for?

Top 5 reasons your small business will benefit from facebook

In todays day and age there are many online resources that businesses can use to improve they're image and establish themselves as a go to spot for the products or services they offer. Predictions for the growth of impact of social marketing is through the roof. This means that small business owners need to get on the train before it leaves the station.
I know that these internet things can be intimidating but its really easy and almost failproof. Just hope on google and do some research on facebook and soon enough you will be promoting your business on facebook.
These are 5 reasons to become a part of facebook

#1. True definition from your services and competitors. Are your services of higher quality? Do you have superior customer service? If you are better but need to get the word out facebook WILL let the people know.

#2. You will be able to have direct access to to demographic that is literally growing everyday. As the young generation is moving out into the world they are relying more then ever on internet ads to influence the purchases they make and less on traditional forms of ads.

#3. Networking with other businesses in your industry. You can share ideas and with other peoplebin your industry for free! Its like holding a meeting with business owners from around the world while sitting at your desk. Fresh current ideas in your area equals more business for you!

#4. Network with a broader area of people. Maybe you can't afford to expand your advertising range then facebook is the perfect tool for you! You can promote your page for FREE! FREE! And even bought ads on facebook can really get your business booming!

#5. ITS ABSOLUTELY FREE! Seriously if I offered you unlimited advertising with world coverage for 100% free would you decline? Its literally a time commitment and that's all.

Verizon & Google give small businesses a leg up!

Verizon and Google are offering deals for small and medium sized businesses on the bundles including voice,internet, and or t.v. With those bundles you will receive 3 free Google Apps and 1 year free web domain. Small businesses should be tearing down the doors for this one and ill tell you why.
As I have stated before, cutting edge advertising is probably the most important way for businesses to spread the word and generate leads. Your saving a few bucks on the bundles and getting a chance to really hone in on your internet marketing productivity. If you own a small business Verizon and Google are your ticket to fulfilling your businesses potential right now.

Fear of change for small business owners

When I was fresh out of school I picked up a job at a small business that sold and delivered furniture. This store is still the best store in the area because our customer service was above and beyond the necessary. We had good quality products and the best delivery service.
I bet your thinking that this business must me doing great right? WRONG! The other small furniture stores in the area couldn't touch us as far as quality and service but they had far superior advertising. So when people would ask where I worked I rarley received a different response than "where?" No one had heard of us and no one would with advertising comparable to something that of a preschool musical.
So we had the service, we had the quality, and we had a store on the only road leading to the brand new walmart super center, and we had a lot of happy customers. Our only new customers would be from word of mouth unless the people happen to see our tiny newspaper ads, horribly cheap and poorly time placed t.v commercial that ran for very short lengths at a time, or seen our micro sign placed about 200 feet back from the road. My boss was afraid of technology and afraid.of investing into advertising. Not only did he rarley use traditional forms of advertising he chose the cheapest way of doing it. Because of these things the business struggled constantly while the other guys just kept growing. What would drive a person to do such a thing to they're business?
We also lacked computers which would have made accounting for inventory and keeping track of sales and customers much easier then our books and books and books of customers, products, delivery shedules etc..... we could have easily made more sales and more deliveries with one simple computer. This same guy had us delivering furniture in some of the worst possible vehicles that you could show up to a customers house in. Yet his wife and him drive a Mercedes. I know he cared about his business very much so he Must have been afraid of upgrading to current technology.
The reason he acted like this was probaly the very same reason were seeing all these small businesses miss out on some of todays popular ways to advertise. They're all afraid that its gong to take to much time and in result cost them money and headache. The problem is that they believe that since things have been doing good from traditional adds that there isn't a reason to change the way things are. But they are wrong, yeah it been working but its only working on a demographic that is literally getting smaller everyday. That sounds like a surfire recipe for failure to me.
If you are a small business you NEED current technology to succeed!
Here are some ideas....
-face book fan page
-twitter
-myspace page
-Email newsletters
-Blogging
-Website
-Mobile phone text promoting!

Yet another reason why traditional advertising is losing effectiveness

Yahoo released these stats recently


..... what it says is that 86% of people use mobile phones during they're t.v time. What that says to me is that 86% of people are looking at they're phones during commercials! 86% of people would be effected by internet and mobile advertising better then high cost commercials!
What does that mean for businesses, Particularly small businesses? It means that these people need to be utilizing internet marketing,mobile marketing, and social marketing better! Now this one is going to be short because im going to let you cogitate.

Small business advertising with a home based business

Why would my home based business be more effective than these other advertising companies in my area? Well first we need to understand how important advertising for small businesses is. Think about how programmed we are by the major businesses. I think groceries I think walmart, I think tires I think sears, I think a burger I think mcdonalds. So if these small businesses are not using effective advertising then they are not reaching they're potential. So let me ask you how does walmart advertise? Sales ads for the older demographic's, television for the tv watchers, and of you remember black friday......INTERNET! So they have gotten all bases covered. Small business advertising in my area uses the radio, and ads in the paper. Now I want to get one thing straight, I think those are great ways to advertise but who only want a piece of the pie when they could have the whole thing.
This is what im after in small business advertising. Giving the small businesses a bigger piece of pie. There are some businesses using internet marketing but I still believe that's ineffective. Think about your junk mail, there is a cry good chance that it is a product you use and love but when you get advertising e-mails all the time you do the glance-select-delete. That's not a very effective form of small business advertising. I love my cell phone and I work with a small business Verizon premium retailer for all my needs. But I don't buy a cell phone or cell phone accessories every week so I ignore they're e-mails. In my opinion the #1 rule of advertising is that your market shouldn't know they're being advertised to. Im not shoving these ads down they're throat im gently placing them in they're hands. Peoplelike this because it makes them feel warm and fuzzy.
The content of the website and newsletter are going to be the key to tie home based business. I want to provide businesses a chance to talk about they're industry and what's current via video to the customers. So different industries will be able to be specific on why the consumer should be shopping there. I also plan to do some things that will be intresting to people and not focused on advertising. I want to plan out some trips forpeople to give them an idea of things to do locally. These trips will have tips, travel times, and 3 teirs of fuel usage stats. Highlighting local charitable events is another thing that's important to me so of course ill be doing free advertising for those events. I want to have a section that's contains information about your pets. I want a section about fitness. I want lots of good news that is all created locally.

Self-employment & Working at home

So you want to start a business in your home office? Great! That's the first step to owning a small business. Working from home usually means less start up costs and more time with your family. But it can also mean big time success for a small business.
Most small home businesses are typically Internet based whether it be E-commerce drop shipping or running your very own websites and advertising on them. If your running an Internet based business its safe to say your pretty tech savvy and you probably are having great success with Internet marketing.
But most non Internet based small local business establishments are not utilizing these tools and they are going to experience a major loss in prospects for they're products. So why not take these non Internet based companies and take the idea and success of the Internet home businesses and let them unite? Imagine a small home based Internet business that used its power of the Internet and its ability to target specific demographics to assist the non Internet based local guys and help them connect to they're future consumers?
I know I'm kind of repeating my self on this one but I just want to we're some ideas in here for the purpose of recording and sharing them in a bit more detail.
Okay so the base is a home office based business that plans to use forms of advertising such as video sponsers, flash animation and logo placement ads, anchor words can be purchased, the idea of possibly applications for iPhone and android devices, web forum advertising on a forum I plan to launch for locals and local business owners, and lastly the ability to buy the largest form of ads that will place a select few on major things such as a company car, t-shirts, sweat shirts,.caps, stickers etc..... of course all of this is completley useless if I can't get people interested in my idea. So the forms ill be using are similar to the ways I plan to advertise for the businesses bit it will take a bit more marketing finesse to get people interested in something they have never heard. So somethings I plan to do are mostly involved with getting involved with the community with some charities (which I plan to do on a regular basis ) and going out to local events and getting the word out to people the good old fashioned way. I love internet marketing but to much gives a a robotic feel so a little quality face time puts some teddy bear back on the mix.....plus I like people and I like to chat.
So once again the focus of this business is to help locals connect with local small businesses using the most current forms of advertising. All advertising will be done inderectly which means I wont be cramming emails and ads down your throat. I will have QUALITY content that WILL be interesting to the audience that happens to have advertisements for people to view.

Interesting information on startup costs and failure rates through the world.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/biz/2011/01/the-cost-of-starting-a-small-b.php#dsq-form-area

See the potential we have in america for small businesses? We need to utilize it and seize the moment while we have the opportunity. Look at the failure rates! That means those businesses that have been around since you were a kid are doing something right. That's why you should be shopping there.

Small business & Corporate......a delicate balance

Many things in todays day and age ride a fine line of good or bad. Many people like to say that there isn't a gray area but I dont agree. Think about life and death, both are needed to keep the world balanced. Night and day, to much or to.little of either would completely change the way we live our lives. Rain and sunshine, we need both in order to keep our crops healthy and provide the world with foods. Analogy and getting to the point..........okay I can stop with re analogies now! But you get the point, balance is a necessity.
Where has the balance between small and corporate businesses gone and what will happen if it isn't restored? If your reading this you know that todays technology compared to about 15 years ago is almost unbelievable. On the past 15 years people have completley changed they're lifestyle because of the internet. Life is fast and instantaneous now days and me and you don't have time for....well, finding stuff. Everyting we care about comes to us. 15 years ago you would probaly ring your freinds land line phone WHEN he got home from work and ask him if he was going to make the football game Monday night, and how was work, and if he got to work safely after that snow storm, and.......and.......and.......!!!! We had a lot to talk about and we had to wait! So if you thought of calling him at 10:00 a.m and he was already at work but didn't get off until 5 plus 15 minutes to drive home....well you get it. The point is that gratification was put on hold because we didn't have technology that allowed us to comunicate multiple ways at any point in time. Let's take that example and apply it to current times. Every single one of those questions above would have instantly sent us into a quest to find the answer. You would have texted him and if he didn't get back to you within about 2 minutes you would pull up your facebook app and send him a message and check to see who has accepted your invite to the monday football night. We need that instant satisfaction! Well what does that have to do with small businesses? Everything! Small businesses still rely on forms of advertising that is obsolete to my generation. Newspapers and local radio stations are great ways to advertise if people are reading or listening to them. But ill tell you right now that I have not read or bought a newspaper or even seen anyone I know with a newspaper in a very very very long time. I have internet and satellite radio to listen to commercial free unless im listening to my Mp3 player on my phone which happens to be my source of news, internet, socializing, and finding products. So if the demographic that these businesses is advertising to is getting older and getting smaller every minute while the corporations are advertising to a growing demographic you have........Yes! An off set in balance. So what.....how does this matter? Well to be honest I can't tell you exactley what will happen but judging by my observation of nearly everything on existence of , balance is essential. And what has happen already is that small businesses can't provide competitive pricing for consumers or competitive wages for employees. And as small businesses are dropping off everyday while CEO's are cruising around in yachts the balance is headed full speed towards a point of no return.
Now before you go out and quit your corporate job and burn down the food franchise down the road understand that im seeking a balance. That means that corporations are not bad but rather good.....to good. Some people want a 9-5 corporate job with great pay and no appreciation but some people like me want to work hard for a business just to hear your boss say "good job". They do provide local jobs and they do provide convenient ways to get the products you love. America needs corporations but small businesses are American. This is America and whether you love , hate or don't care about America the truth is that we all need more people to shop at local stores to keep money in the community and out of the pockets of the guys up top. The only way to do this is to buy local!

Introduction to a small local business blog

My name is Dick and I have an intense passion to support local businesses and help local consumers connect with them businesses. I know that big businesses are important for the economy but so are the small guys. The problem is that the balance has been off set and needs to be restored. My generation is obsessed with the internet and everything that it involves. I am guilty of being addicted to the surfing the web but I also understand and often obsess over the support of local businesses.
Why do I think we should shop local? Because about 30% more of your money returns to the local economy when you do compared to big corporate chains. Because you get the personalized service that we all deserve to experience. Because small businesses offer diversity and options to the consumer. Because small businesses add fuel to the fire of the flame inside of us we call relationships. The analogy I always use the describe small vs large businesses go's like this........shopping at a small business is like going to a bank teller to get your money and you both strike up conversation but the large businesses are more like going to an a.t.m that doesn't talk, shorts your cash, and never gives you a receipt when you ask for it because it has no feelings. Imagine how frustrating it would be if there was a robot in charge of helping you find a book at the library but it was misunderstanding what you wanted.
My idea is to help small local businesses connect with local consumers.via fresh internet marketing. I want to creat a news subscription that will be sent out in email form weekly. This news.paper of the sort with provide the little guys to have a little bigger peice of the pie. The ads would be pictures, directory style links, video interviews, and anchor words. I thank anyone who reads this very much..