Franklin Publicity Blog

As the global economy continues to struggle, social media marketing is strategically imperative for giving small businesses new and exciting opportunities to expand in new directions. The need for trust, value and brand transparency are more important today than ever. Right now, many businesses are experimenting with a variety of online, localized and mobile marketing initiatives. If you're not leveraging marketing trends and opportunities, remember, your competitors are, and you don’t want to be the last one in line! Here are some timely tips to help you.

1) Building a reliable brand. The idea that you need tens of thousands of Twitter followers, blog subscribers, LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends to build your business via social media is dead. Quality connections with those who are loyal to the business and the brand are far more helpful to spread your message than large groups of connections who disappear after the first interaction.

2) Excelling in one area rather than being all things to all people. Instead of trying to be all things for all people, small businesses need to focus on their unique niches and position themselves as the definitive source for information, products and services related to the specific places in the markets in which they operate.

3) Creating quality on-line content as a viable marketing tool. Social media marketing and content marketing go hand-in-hand, and businesses need to create useful content that adds value to the online presence. The Web is a cluttered place. Amazing content is essential to break through the noise.

4) Moving more marketing dollars to social media. Statistics show that large and small companies are shifting budget dollars to social media and away from print and radio advertising. Recent statistics suggest that seven out of ten consumers go online to find products and services. To reach them and stay competitive, small businesses need to have a dynamic presence on the social Web.

5) Pursuing mobile marketing. There is absolutely no doubt that mobile marketing is taking off! While still in its infancy, it is the marketing imperative of the future. With mobile advertising, branded mobile marketing apps, and .mobi websites, consumers will expect businesses to have a bigger mobile presence.

6) Localized marketing is a top priority. Local discount websites like Groupon and local review sites like Yelp make it easy for consumers to find deals and reviews about businesses in their neighborhoods and beyond. Creating targeted, local marketing campaigns using these popular tools is now the norm.

7) Cross promoting for a bigger presence. Offline, online and mobile marketing programs create an opportunity to lead consumers from one message to another by integrating those strategies. You can drive a significantly higher return on investment by cross-promoting online destinations, discounts, contests and events.

8) Co-marketing to boost returns and lower marketing costs. The economy is still struggling, which means small businesses can benefit from economies of scale by partnering with complementary businesses to develop co-marketing programs. Promotional partnerships not only lead to reduced costs but also can lead to increased exposure to new audiences.

 
Franklin Publicity has partnered with proven experts in the social media and mobile marketing fields and, with a strategically designed PR program, can help boost your business in 2013. If you want to find out how you can use these tools to help grow your business to new heights, please call us at 248/399-1101 or send queries to franklin@franklinpublicity.com.