If you are any sort of business owner the you are probably aware that not having a web presence can be a real drawback when it comes to the true earning potential of your business. This is especially true for local small business owners. You see, years ago small business owners didn’t have to have any sort of web presence to make money and compete with other businesses offering the same services. Those days are long gone. These days it is essential for your offline business to have some sort of internet presence to compete in today’s business world.
It most cases when you think of promoting your business online you think of having a website, correct? Many local business owners think this is the only way to accomplish this and many of them are turned off of the idea either because they do not know how to build a website or because they do not have the budget to hire someone to build one for them.
What if I told you that you do not necessarily need a website to have a strong online presence? Would that interest you? I am about to share with you 1 strategy that you can use to get your local business more exposure and ultimately more customers from the world wide web.
OK, one of the best ways to do this is by creating YouTube videos. This method if used correctly can dramatically increase the amount of exposure your business gets and can have your business well known in cyber space. Don’t worry, you do not have to be a rocket scientist to create your own YouTube videos. In fact it is very easy to do!
Here is all you need to do:
Step 1 – Find some easy to use video creation software. If you are using a PC you can use Windows Movie Maker which should already be on your computer. If it isn’t then you should be able to download it free somewhere.
Step 2 – Get some pictures related to your business together. These can be either pictures that you take or pictures that you grab from the internet. Put all of your images somewhere easy to find on your computer.
Step3 – Find some royalty free music to use. You can find this by doing a quick Google search.
Step 4 – Load your pictures in to your video creator software. Put them in the order you like.A�
Step 5 – Create a slide to place at the end of the video with all of your business details such as name, address, email and phone number.
Step 6 – Save the video on your desktop. Make sure it is saved in a format applicable for YouTube.
Step 7 – Create a YouTube account for your business.
Step 8 – Upload your video to the site. Make sure that you use a catchy title that has your business name in it and the area that you’re located if possible. …
Having A Tweet Tooth
Many people initially thought the world had gone bonkers when Twitter was introduced, with some folks clearly thinking that they would rather have their toenails pulled out, one by painful one, than to join in the ‘Me Me MEEE!’ behavior of Twitter.
Frankly, it is kind of true that Twitter is one of the most narcissistic tools in the world but here is the deal – it is also through Twitter that we find old friends and make new ones. It is through Twitter that businesses make conversations with their customers and it is also where they get connected to people who had problems with their services and products (and make good of the complaint).
Through Twitter, we know precisely where reporters and journalists are whenever they head out on dangerous missions in war-torn countries. It is also where we keep in touch with our favorite celebrities and find humor in the way they sometimes ‘Twight’ unashamedly online. We also used to Twitter to find survivors of natural disasters and connect friends and family members when they were in trouble.
All in all, there are pros and cons to using Twitter. Just in case you don’t know, you can go private with the Direct Message tool. You don’t REALLY have to tell the world EVERYTHING.
Despite all the initial chagrin shown by some less-than-ready-to-tweet people of yesterday, Presidents now Tweets, beat that. So, in short, I think it is about time people got on with is the new world that we are living in and instead of groaning about it, get in. Use the pros and try your best not to get swept up by the cons. Business executives (especially those in the branding, advertising, PR and marketing division of a company) should be thankful for Twitter, really.
More so if you are small company. The internet will only become bigger, not smaller and for small to medium-sized business to avoid being left out of the loop, you need to get into the habit of reaching out to your consumer and potential target market with Twitter. Twitter has become more than a girly-want to-be-famous kind of game.
With the Mention feature on Twitter, large companies and brand names know who, why and what their customers are saying. If the chance presents itself, staff can initiate an atonement exercise by placating and calming the frustrated customer down. If the big guys are doing it, it has got to mean something.
If these large brand names, public figures and celebrities are doing it, I am quite sure Twitter (regardless of whether it evolves or not, in the future) is here to stay.…