In case you’re wondering… you’re not alone. I know you’re trying to figure out how to use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to grow your business. Or maybe you just want to understand what social media marketing is… and if it can help you generate leads and sales. Rest assured. Lots of other small business marketers are wondering too… just like you!

According to the “Third Annual FedEx Office Signs of the Times Small Business Survey” from FedEx Office and Ketchum, almost two in five small-business owners reported they would be growing their businesses with social media sites. That was up from less than one-quarter who planned to up their game with social in 2009 and made social media the only tactic to increase in importance since last year.

So where to start?

Here are a few blog posts on why marketers and business owners are buzzing about social media… and how to get started:

http://www.doshdosh.com/the-importance-of-social-media-marketing/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/getting-started/

http://www.inc.com/ss/get-started-social-media#0

Oh, and I almost forgot. If Twitter is on your mind (it should be) then read our recent post: Time to Get Started On Twitter.

Remember, you’re not alone… since we’re here to help too!

We’re all members of one of the many social networking sites, right? You know… like Facebook, MySpace, or Ning. How can we not be if we like to meet people, share music, or just pass the time commenting on videos, recipes, or interesting news.

As a matter of fact, some statistics suggest that 2 out of 3 people now use a social networking site! Just keep in mind, when advertising to these community sites… the old rules no longer apply.

Consider these 6 points before advertising on a social networking site:

1.     It’s about building relationships. It’s not about generating clicks… so be patient and don’t look for immediate results from your ad campaign since the most effective element of social networking is word of mouth.

2.    You won’t have a lot of brand control. The social networking site’s content is created by users and recommendations are made by users. This means you won’t be able to control what content or user your brand is associated with.

3.    Don’t expect much from display ads. Users are not real happy with all the ads bombarding their favorite social network sites and this means response rates will be well below the Internet’s average.

4.    Use interactive and highly relevant ads. Ads that have the most promise with this audience are highly interactive such as videos, and especially relevant such as dating or music. Just remember, this community is used to seeing things “play” before their eyes.

5.    Consider developing a Facebook page. And link that page from your website so your customers can become “fans”. This will create a great audience for you to update with company news and happenings… to keep them very engaged with your brand.

6.    Speak their “language”. No matter how you decide to advertise, make sure and use the language of the community in your ads. Speak their language and you’ll have a better chance of connecting and getting your message across.

Just remember… social networks are all about creating and nurturing relationships. So be patient and focus on the long-term goal of developing new and lasting customer relationships.

Now start socializing! = )

Your website is up and ready to go. Not to mention you’re chomping at the bit to make some serious money online. But don’t kid yourself. It’s going to take awhile to generate enough traffic to create a profitable business. And this assumes you have something unique to sell which will get prospects coming back… plus telling everyone they know about your website. How long will it take? Think twelve months at least… and most likely longer (sorry!).

But don’t worry. You just need to be patient and willing to work hard to spread the word about your fledgling website. Having some advertising budget helps too… like with any other business.  And since I’ll be the first to admit that the world of online advertising is confusing, complex, and cluttered… we’ve put together a roadmap to help you navigate:

• Search engine optimization. Make it easy as possible for your website to show up in the first page of Google search results. How to do that? Follow SEO best practices. Better yet, make them a way of life. Otherwise, your website becomes a tiny needle in a really big haystack… and prospects will never find you on their own. Not sure where to start? Check out the book: “The Truth About Search Engine Optimization” by Rebecca Lieb, on Amazon.com… and take the time to read it.

• Press releases. Get in the habit of doing press releases (at least one per month). In today’s web world, press releases can and should be an important part of your strategy to get the word out about your business… even if you’re a one person start-up working from your kitchen table. There are free and very affordable services ($25 per release) such as Free Press Release and 1888 PressRelease. So don’t hesitate to start making some news!

• Web Directories. Millions of people search web directories every day to find a business like yours. So definitely submit your website to online directories. Good ones include: Dmoz.org, Yahoo! Directory, Best of the Web, and JoeAnt. There are also web directories that specialize in blogs (e.g., BlogCatalog), local markets (e.g., Local.com), and industries (e.g., Business.com). Many are free but some do charge an annual fee (i.e., $20 to $300)… and you can also pay to advertise and get a more prominent listing.

• Internet Yellow Pages. Yes, it’s the online version of the tried and true yellow pages. Simple enough to understand right? For example, check out YellowPages.com, SuperPages, and Yellowbook. Each of these offers a free listing for your business and you can also pay for a more prominent listing… again, just like the regular yellow pages. A must for local online businesses!

• City Guides. These websites are more about “what’s great” and “what to do” in your local area, and user reviews and popularity are important factors in determining which businesses get the most attention. Citysearch and Yelp are good examples. And like the web directories and Internet yellow pages, you can get a business listing and pay to promote it in search results. Another must for local business owners.

• Paid Search. Of course, you can always pay Google, Yahoo!, and other search engines to show up in their search results as a “sponsored” listing. For example, if you’re a dentist located in Chicago, it may make sense to buy a paid search ad for the keywords “dentists, Chicago” to drive local prospects to your website. The good news is you only pay when someone clicks on your advertisement. But setting up, testing, and managing paid search programs can be very time consuming and complicated… so you may want to turn to firms like Yodle or ReachLocal to help out.

• Display Advertising. There are thousands of quality websites and blogs you can “display” your ads on. The key is to find sites that reach your target audience and make sense given your marketing budget. For example, try out Leadtail (our service) to find out where you should advertise online. Keep in mind that display advertising helps generate awareness for your business but not necessarily lots of visitors to your website. But awareness matters, since we tend to buy from companies we’re already familiar with. 

• Ad Networks. You’ll probably hear about ad networks (if you haven’t already). They make it easy to run your ad on thousands of websites and blogs… depending on the consumers you’re trying to reach. For those on an extra limited budget (aren’t we all?), take a look at BuySellAds.com, Performancing Ads, and BidVertiser where you only have to spend a couple hundred bucks a month to advertise your online business.

• Email List Rental. You can rent email lists and buy ad space in email newsletters that cater to your target audience. Just make sure the lists are “opt-in” as you definitely don’t want to “spam” anyone. And don’t forget to start building your own email list right away by offering your website visitors the opportunity to sign up to receive something from you (e.g., your email newsletter).

• Social Media Marketing. There sure is a lot of buzz about Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn… to name a few social media sites. And whether or not you understand what these sites are all about… your business needs to participate. It really does. So invest the time to learn how social media marketing can help get people talking (or tweeting!) about your website.

• Affiliate Marketing. Why not have other websites (i.e., affiliates) market your products for you? And when these affiliates send prospects to your site that purchase your products… you pay them a percentage of the proceeds (i.e., commissions). Makes sense right? There are lots of companies that’ll help you find the right affiliates for your business. Check out AffiliateTips.com to learn more. This is a must for online retailers!
  

• Article Marketing. Your prospects like to read articles related to your products, services, or industry. So go ahead and write lots of relevant articles and post them to article directory sites such as EzineArticles, ArticlesBase, GoArticles.com, and Buzzle.com. And with each article you submit, you get to add your bio and a link to your website. This means you’ll be establishing yourself as a thought leader with your prospects… while also increasing your site traffic!

This online advertising roadmap has plenty to get you started… so use it like a checklist. And when you’re ready to learn more, just do a Google search using the above bullet point titles as your search terms (e.g., “display advertising”). Of course, you still have to decide what makes the most sense given your particular business, target market, and budget.

Now take a deep breath… and get going in building your online business. You can do it!