subject: Offline Businesses Can Benefit From Social Media Too! [print this page] Offline Businesses Can Benefit From Social Media Too!
Your brick and mortar business does just fine using traditional advertising, thank you.
Why go online? Shouldn't you stick with what you know? Nope.
Unless you want to be like Scrooge. Join the 21st century. You must get on board to be a player.
Starbucks is a great example of how an offline business leveraged itself to higher profitability through strategic use of social media.
With proper integration of Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, Foursquare, Google Places and other, similar venues, just say 'yes' to more traffic and more revenue.
Here's what you need to know to take the leap:
Quality counts. If you're going to 'play,' do so enthusiastically. Don't just throw together a Facebook or Google Places page and let it sit on the sidelines like a wallflower. You'll leave the dance totally disappointed. Engage your reader in conversation, post interesting content and pursue connections. Update your pages as a regular practice. Be utter fascinating, dahlink. Just like the coquette at the ball batting those eyelashes. Flirt.
Have fun. Create a game that drops interesting trivia about your business. Give people the thrill of the hunt to learn about you. If they are having fun while gaming, they won't click away. Give out samples and as prizes.
Ask your audience how you're doing. "How do you like me now?" Ask people to 'like' you on Facebook. Use the same query on receipts and invoices.
Check out your competition. It's a lot like being sure that no other girl is wearing the same dress to same event as you are. Horrors! Keep up with what's going on. Once you know what your competition is doing, you can do something a bit extra.
Don't get complacent. You can never rest on your laurels. Not in today's business world. Make sure you have an ear to the wall and know what your customers are saying about you. You can even ask them directly. Keep track of your results, analyze them and learn.
Build your community. Make your customers feel like a loved member of the family. Host offline events at your physical store by promoting the event online. Support a charity. Build your community by doing good. It also does your business well.
Don't try too hard. This is a marathon, not a sprint. You are in it for the long haul. As social media enters its teenage years from its bombastic infancy (happening now), overnight successes are going to be rarer. That doesn't matter. Your business was never intended to be an overnight success.
Ok, you found me out. The keys to using social media for an offline business sound a lot like dating advice. They are.
If you understand the rules of engagement, your beaus will find you irresistible. Why, Ashley Wilkes, how you do go on! If Scarlett could do it, you can too, only this time with integrity instead of coquettishness. Your offline business will reap the benefits.
Power up your offline, brick and mortar business online by learning the tools to make it happen. Click on the link, fill out the box and get immediate, free access to video trainings, especially #2 and #3, to learn the social media skills to optimize your business now.
Lauren Botney is an Online Mar
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