Tonight, I'm the invited Twitter expert for E-Commerce Diva's private teleseminar entitled, “Powerful Twitter Strategies for Small Business Owners.” I am honored to present on this topic because social media is without question one of the most powerful tools small business owners have. But as good as social media is, it is not a panacea.
Social media will not swoop into your business and fix problems that are already there. For example, if you do not already have a blog, social media will be of little long-term use to you. If you do not have or do not want to have genuine relationships with other small business owners, again, social media will be no use to you. If your products stink, social media will ruin what little business you can hope to have. And if your website is a messy collection of blurry photos and spelling and grammatical errors, social media will not only be useless to you, but it could also actually hurt your business.
No social media tool owned by a third party should form the platform for your marketing outreach. The core of your marketing strategy should be supported by content that you own and control: your e-commerce site, business card, email newsletter, brochures, blog, podcasts, etc.
In other words, social media should supplement a machine that already works reasonably well on its own.
While social media is no substitute for an innovative, attention grabbing, system that markets a fabulous product, it does a heckuva job at supplementing a system that is already getting results. Twitter is like cake frosting. It's useless unless there's a cake to frost. But put it on top of a rich and scrumptious slice of cake and it's hmm hmm good for you and your customers.
Question: Are you perplexed by social media and how it can possibly work for your business? If so, check for holes in your existing marketing armor and plug them up. Chances are that, when you do, social media will take on a whole new meaning for your business. What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments, experiences and even questions on this topic in the comments section below.
Great post dM! Twitter’s been an invaluable marketing tool for me. However, it is only the icing and not the ‘be all end all’ for marketing tools. You’ve got to know how to work Twitter the right way to have success with it.
Great post dM! Twitter’s been an invaluable marketing tool for me. However, it is only the icing and not the ‘be all end all’ for marketing tools. You’ve got to know how to work Twitter the right way to have success with it.
@PRIIA: you are so right about knowing how to work Twitter! Just like anything else, it takes jumping in and being OK with trying new things and making mistakes as you go along. You are such a Twitter maven, I love how you are working it girl! Thanks for showing us how it’s done!
@PRIIA: you are so right about knowing how to work Twitter! Just like anything else, it takes jumping in and being OK with trying new things and making mistakes as you go along. You are such a Twitter maven, I love how you are working it girl! Thanks for showing us how it’s done!
I love utilizing Twitter to get to know my customers better and assuage my intense curiosity about how other businesses work. Following other CEO’s is super interesting.
I like to use Twitter to augment my blog and other social media things, like SoapQueen.TV and Facebook. But you’re right, it’s not the be all, end all and can’t be your entire marketing strategy.
I love utilizing Twitter to get to know my customers better and assuage my intense curiosity about how other businesses work. Following other CEO’s is super interesting.
I like to use Twitter to augment my blog and other social media things, like SoapQueen.TV and Facebook. But you’re right, it’s not the be all, end all and can’t be your entire marketing strategy.
I love using Twitter, too. But, I do agree that it’s just one of the types of “icing” we can use on our small business cake. 🙂 Thanks for reminding us that there is no substitute for having a solid base (be it a website and/or a brick and mortar store) to our business BEFORE we network in other venues!
I love using Twitter, too. But, I do agree that it’s just one of the types of “icing” we can use on our small business cake. 🙂 Thanks for reminding us that there is no substitute for having a solid base (be it a website and/or a brick and mortar store) to our business BEFORE we network in other venues!
I agree that Twitter is the icing on the cake. Unless you’re Chris Brogan or have all the time in the world, you’re not going to be able to Twitter as a heavy hitter. You have to have a marketing presence that’s already strong. At that point, Twitter is a great enhancement. Good points and good post.
The good news is that none of us has to Twitter like a heavy hitter. We only need to Twitter in ways that reaches the people that are important to us. Chris Brogan is a social media consultant. Since all businesses can benefit from social media, and Twitter is a social media tool, he has a big Twitter following. But you don't need numbers like that in order to Tweet effectively. While numbers are an indicator that people are paying attention to you, they are not an indicator of who is paying attention to you, and that's what's really important for your business. Tweeting in a way that reaches as many of your target customers and other stakeholders as possible is the key. Not numbers alone.
I agree that Twitter is the icing on the cake. Unless you’re Chris Brogan or have all the time in the world, you’re not going to be able to Twitter as a heavy hitter. You have to have a marketing presence that’s already strong. At that point, Twitter is a great enhancement. Good points and good post.
The good news is that none of us has to Twitter like a heavy hitter. We only need to Twitter in ways that reaches the people that are important to us. Chris Brogan is a social media consultant. Since all businesses can benefit from social media, and Twitter is a social media tool, he has a big Twitter following. But you don't need numbers like that in order to Tweet effectively. While numbers are an indicator that people are paying attention to you, they are not an indicator of who is paying attention to you, and that's what's really important for your business. Tweeting in a way that reaches as many of your target customers and other stakeholders as possible is the key. Not numbers alone.
Donna Maria, I had the pleasure to also be on your call with the Ecommerce Diva. I like what you say in your article about Twitter being a great third-party tool but that it should not take the place of your own marketing outreach efforts. Being new to Twitter, it’s easy to get swept away. You’ve helped me think about how to better incorparate Twitter into my current efforts rather than replace them. Thank you!
Donna Maria, I had the pleasure to also be on your call with the Ecommerce Diva. I like what you say in your article about Twitter being a great third-party tool but that it should not take the place of your own marketing outreach efforts. Being new to Twitter, it’s easy to get swept away. You’ve helped me think about how to better incorparate Twitter into my current efforts rather than replace them. Thank you!
Thanks for this post, since it brought me back to reality. I found myself on Twitter when I needed to finish my collateral, create my press room and listen to my CD’s from Jamila White (the Ecommerce Diva). I now tell myself that when my business chores are done for the day, I can then pop on to Facebook, Twitter and blogs. I look forward to completing my infrastructure, in order to then shift focus and create my own blog. Thanks again for making every post relevant and right on target for what we’re all doing. Lastly, much gratitude for being our industry’s Oracle!
Thanks for this post, since it brought me back to reality. I found myself on Twitter when I needed to finish my collateral, create my press room and listen to my CD’s from Jamila White (the Ecommerce Diva). I now tell myself that when my business chores are done for the day, I can then pop on to Facebook, Twitter and blogs. I look forward to completing my infrastructure, in order to then shift focus and create my own blog. Thanks again for making every post relevant and right on target for what we’re all doing. Lastly, much gratitude for being our industry’s Oracle!
I’m so glad so many of you enjoyed the reminder of the importance of having a solid business base of our own so that, even without Twitter, our businesses stand on their own. We don’t know what may happen to Twitter in the future, so we cannot afford to rely on it for things we should be doing ourselves. And Valerie, “Oracle” is a real complement. I am here to serve you.
I’m so glad so many of you enjoyed the reminder of the importance of having a solid business base of our own so that, even without Twitter, our businesses stand on their own. We don’t know what may happen to Twitter in the future, so we cannot afford to rely on it for things we should be doing ourselves. And Valerie, “Oracle” is a real complement. I am here to serve you.
I think the “icing on the cake” metaphor works really well in reference to twitter. It's not a panacea that will solve all your marketing problems. It may help expose your work, business, writing, etc to new people, but you have to back it up with something of value.
I think the “icing on the cake” metaphor works really well in reference to twitter. It's not a panacea that will solve all your marketing problems. It may help expose your work, business, writing, etc to new people, but you have to back it up with something of value.
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