That Computer Guy

As any marketing strategy used by a small business must provide a decent return; social media with its low entry cost, has quickly become a must-have tool for marketing small businesses.

Of course, as with everything new and shiny, there is always a level of uncertainty, distrust and maybe even fear. Even though the entry cost is low to none, this uncertainty can cause the biggest barrier to its widespread use: that of putting a dollar figure on its returns. Indeed, to some it is akin to finding ‘The Holy Grail’.

Last week, my good friend Rick posted up an interview with Scott Williams, one of Australia’s top personal trainers. In it, Scott talks about how he used Facebook to generate a $40,000+ boost to his bottom line, costing him little more than an hour of his time. You can read the interview here, and once you’re done, please feel free to let me know if you still think Facebook is “just a waste of time”!

Quick update: I caught up with Rick for a chat about this and other things last night; he told me that in the 10 days since he launched his own Facebook Fan Page, the increase in his site traffic has exceeded all his expectations and he now believes it will be a cornerstone strategy in the growth of his business.

The picture? That’s my TV remote.

What’s that got to do with anything you say? See the worn away patch? That’s the mute button. And it’s telling you that traditional methods of marketing, such as TV ads, are failing.

When I Was A Lad…

Back in the old days (y’know, like the 80’s or something), with no mobile phones and only a handful of TV channels, the way to win the race of getting to the customer was to shout the loudest. Known as “interruption marketing”, TV was the champion.

These days of course, we are bombarded with information everywhere we care to look, wander or listen.

This also means there’s been a shift in who holds the power over what we choose to pay attention to. And guess what – it’s us that are holding the power (or the mute button!).

While there are certain outlets for which the interruption method still works (yes, I’m looking at you Harvey), falling revenues, tougher competition and shorter attention spans mean that they are not as effective as they once were. The good news is that its evolution leaves us with something called “permission marketing”.

Permission Marketing? Wassat?

Based on the idea of creating a relationship with those interested in your service, via ‘opting-in’ to information you produce; it’s a boon for small business owners as it turns the ‘one-to-many’ of interruption marketing on its head, giving us a much more budget friendly ‘many-to-one’ relationship instead.

Thankfully, building that relationship is not as hard, or better still, as expensive, as it may sound. For example, email-marketing is hands down the most cost effective form of permission marketing there is, and can be had for free. Yes, FREE.

Calling All Control Freaks!

Another reason to use permission marketing is control. With many methods of permission marketing being internet based, you have the ability to change something you don’t like at your very fingertips. Try doing that with the copy you supplied Yellow Pages three months ago that has the wrong phone number on it…

And building on this, is your ability to test and measure – vital to knowing if your marketing is working. Running an ad on Google AdWords and its not working as well as you’d hoped? Well then, start tweaking! You may see results in as little as 10 minutes.

The Wrap

Permission marketing comes in many flavours, and while I am (obviously) an advocate of its methods, unless you have the type of business that can support it I wouldn’t recommend sealing the coffin on your traditional advertising just yet. Instead, for now look upon it as a secondary channel of marketing; it won’t break the bank, but you will find it earns its keep a lot quicker than other methods.

If you have any comments or questions about this topic, feel free to let me know in the box below. Alternatively, send me an email via the contact form.

Image: Comedy Central

If you’re not aware of the joke around the image above, or the TV show it comes from, the character (known as Cartman), is attempting to have people respect him and his own imagined authority by abusing and screaming at them – reaching a crescendo of “You will respect my AUTHORITY!” Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t meet with much success.

The perception of authority

Unfortunately for you or I, the perception of authority is not something that can be controlled, for it is part of how others see you in your chosen field. There are things you can do however, that can influence a person’s mindset to see you as a trustworthy and authoritative figure.

Someone who has that authority with me is Brendon Sinclair of Tailored Web Services. I first met Brendon around 3 years ago, when I asked him to build the website for a new business venture I was starting up.

Impressing me with his humble nature (Ha!), the way he approached my needs, and his level of knowledge that enabled him to clearly explain the web design & marketing process, I have since happily referred a couple of people his way, safe in knowing they’d be looked after.

Why do you suppose this is?

In short, through those simple actions, he built with me that level of trust and authority that I was looking for, so much so that I still read his newsletters and blog posts today. Oh, and to say he wrote the book on running a web business isn’t untrue – he actually did.

I see naked people

One of his recent emails included a roundup of methods he’s found effective (or not so) in marketing his own business; of all Brendon’s points, the one that stuck out the most for me was this one:

Attending networking events gives some value. Giving speeches and talks generates more business than you can poke a stick at.

Why does this approach work so well?

It all comes back to that level of trust and authority. If people perceive you to have authority over a subject they will come to you first. And standing in front of a room full of people that are listening to you, and you only – well, they’re going to think you must know what you’re talking about, right?

Fortunately for those of us that are scared witless by the idea of standing up in front of a roomful of people, today’s online world allows us many ways to convey our authority of a given subject, without having to imagine everyone in front of us is naked: blogs, videos, emails, and social media such as Facebook & Twitter can all help build your profile.

Why should you use these things?

Advertising is changing; the old methods are dying (which if those furniture and electronic superstore adverts are anything to go by, is a good thing), and if you can get a head start over your competitors by using them now, your name and authority will become synonymous with your industry; much like Brendon’s name is today.

And if your name keeps popping up when a client is looking for the service you provide – who do you think they are most likely to call?

Want to grow your client base? Grow your authority!

P.S. If you are interested in imagining naked people, looking up your local Toastmasters group or chapter of BNI are great places to start.

P.P.S. On second thoughts, please don’t imagine naked people if you go there, I don’t want to be held responsible.

Before I start, in case you’re just back from Siberia and have missed the whole ‘social media’ thing, check out my Facebook Page where I’ve already posted lots of “what is social media” type info. (And no, the irony of using social media to describe it isn’t lost on me either.)

OK, done that? Then let’s begin…

It seems everywhere you turn these days it’s Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linked In, YouTube, Digg, Delicious… the list is almost endless. And depending on who you’re listening to, they’re either the next big thing, or are a complete waste of time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the latter are unlikely to be active users of social media. Which is a shame – particularly if they are also a small business owner. Want to know why?

1. It’s cost effective.

It’s free. You can’t get much more cost effective than that.

2. It’s got reach.

Let’s take Facebook as an example. Chances are, if you’ve got kids, or know someone who does, there’s a Facebook account there somewhere, one of the 200 million currently registered (yes, 200 million). But the number of existing accounts pales when compared to the speed of their recent growth: towards the end of March this year, Facebook revealed that in the previous 60 days, the number of people over 35 using Facebook had DOUBLED.

(Hot Tip: If that’s your target demographic, you might want to start taking notes).

3. It gets results.

Social media works: In Kirra, at the southern end of Queensland’s Gold Coast, there’s an awesome wood fired pizza joint called ‘Bread n Butter’. Located in a row of restaurants and not far from an outlet of one of the multi-national pizza companies; the owners faced an uphill struggle to establish themselves not long before the financial crisis hit the region. Recently they’ve started using Facebook to promote the business, posting updates of booking availability, feature nights and special deals. I asked the boys if using Facebook had been successful for them. This was the response I got:

Not bad eh?

So let’s have a quick recap: Using social media, you can promote your business successfully to a lot of people for free. Sounds like a win to me. (Oh, and as an added bonus, you can also test & measure your advertising almost immediately. Try doing that with an expensive TV commercial!)

Still not convinced? OK, hit me up in the comments with your the industry your business is in, and I’ll see if I can come up with a way you can use social media to get your business out there.

(Update: The day after this was posted – Facebook announced they have passed 300 million subscribers. Wow.)

Main Image Credit: Socialize Icons by DryIcons

Photo: Stephen Cherrin / Getty Images / Time.com

I doubt if Richard Branson really needs an introduction anywhere in the western world these days, particularly if there’s reference to entrepreneurs or business leaders nearby.

Since reading his autobiography, Losing My Virginity, a few years ago (another of my recommended reads), he became one of those people I’d love to ask over for dinner – mainly in part due to his leftfield approach to the traditional ideas of small business.

Fortunately for those of us without his phone number, he recently recorded an interview for the American Express Open Forum series, giving his insights on many topics across the subject of small business, entrepreneurialism and the state of the economy.

The interview has been broken into some thirty odd 1 – 3 minute videos – perfect for your coffee break! Although some of the questions asked are obviously aimed at the US market, they are well worth a watch:

Inside The Entreprenurial Mind: Richard Branson

I particularly liked “Why Small Is Better Than Big” and “Marketing In Tough Times” – some great advice. Which ones were your favourites? Let me know in the comments…

(Update: 07/08/09. Removed links to those last two videos as it seems OpenForum has pulled them from their site. Ah well…)