Emagine Web Marketing

Getting Started with Social Media…

home title Posted by Michelle Harrington on Feb 22nd, 2009 | 1 comment home title

You’re probably wondering what all the buzz is about over “social media”. Here’s a great short video (3 1/2 minutes) that will help you to understand what social media is and how it can benefit your small business or organization.

A simple story that illustrates the forces shaping social media.

There’s a ton of social media sites and more popping up on a daily basis where visitors can leave their comments and feedback about your products/services.

For instance, has your business been Yelped?  Yelp.com is just one of many social media sites that provide a place for people to share their experiences and reviews of businesses and restaurants within an online community.  Another great place for reviews on travel destinations is TripAdvisor.com – you can just search on “Kauai”  in TripAdvisor.com and you’ll find all kinds of businesses/accommodations that have been reviewed and commented on by travelers.

It’s important as a small business owner to visit these sites on a regular basis to 1) Make sure that your business location is listed correctly and upload a photo or two and 2) Watch for feedback from your patrons- like the video points out, this is a great opportunity to get candid feedback about your product/service and make positive changes to stay competitive in the marketplace.

Another way to see comments and reviews about your business is to do a Google search for your business name – typically the reviews will be featured in the search engine results.

Here’s a few social media sites you can start with….

Yelp.com

Insider Pages

Super Pages

City Search

Even if you don’t have a website, you can still promote your business by asking your fans and happy patrons to write reviews about you online. You’d be amazed at how many people are writing about their experiences now in blogs and on social media sites – especially when they are on vacation!  If you do have a website, make sure to provide your patrons with your website address so they can include a link to your site as well.


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Author | Michelle Harrington of Emagine Web Marketing
Michelle is a web development and internet marketing professional dedicated to helping small businesses in Hawaii achieve success online. Michelle provides free advice, tips and how to's on the Small Business Internet Marketing Blog.


home title One Response home title
  1. Marketing Ideas for Tough Times | Internet Marketing Blog says:
    April 12, 2009 at 8:19 pm

    [...] If you can provide an ebook or whitepaper download that is relevant to these challenging times that also relates to your business/product/service, you are providing one more reason for a buyer to choose you over the competition.  If you own a vacation rental – you could put together a document highlighting all of the free and/or relatively low cost things to do in your area for travelers on a tight budget.  This document could be offered as a free download from your website and shared on any number of social media websites. [...]

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