Social Media Levels The Playing Field For Small Business

It used to be, and not that long ago, that to be successful in a home based business you got the word out by making a list, calling your list, getting rejected by most of those people on your list, and then once you’d burned through that list, the next step would be buying leads that more times than not would cost much and produce little. Today there’s a much better way.

Now with Web 2.0 where people all over the world can interact with each other in the blink of an eye, and the social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, even the beginning home business owner can create the same amount of exposure for their business as the big guys.

There are so many different ways to promote your business online and the really cool thing is that you can choose the methods that you like the best. Let’s talk about just a few of them.

Social Networking Sites– Unless someone has just flown in from a remote deserted island, nearly everyone has heard of sites like Facebook and MySpace. They aren’t just for teenagers sharing music anymore. The big thing to remember though is that there is an etiquette when talking to folks on these social sites.

Imagine being at a huge party, are you going to go up to everyone you meet for the first time and say “Hi, my name is Al. I represent the most awesome, super-duper advanced mega product and you just have to buy it.  As a matter of fact, it’s so good that if you don’t buy it, your life will go down the toilet.”

Obviously I’m exagerating, but I’ve been on Facebook and MySpace for nearly a year and let me tell ya, those people are out there. Don’t be one of them. I had one guy make a comment on my Facebook status (status is kind of an update on what you’re doing at the moment like, Beth is… getting ready to make another blog post) because I’d mentioned I was needing some coffee and he was pitching me on his no caffeine energy drink.  Not exactly a great first impression, besides, I love my caffeine.

Websites and blogs– It used to be that to put a website online, you had to be a techy in the computer department. Thank heaven that’s not the case anymore. Now it’s possible to build an entire online business presence without knowing any computer mumbo-jumbo geeky stuff. This blog is a great example of how easy it is to reach people online. You can literally be reaching new customers and business builders within minutes.

Online Advertising– I know what you’re thinking. Advertising, lots of money, no budget, can’t do it. Yes, you can. Did you know you can advertise for free on websites like Traffic Swarm (a traffic exchange site), CraigsList, Walmart (yes, Walmart) and many others? There are also low budget places like ezines (electronic magazines), paid website ads and when you’ve gotten a little experience, pay-per-click ads on Google and MSN. (I’ll be doing training on that in the near future)

Bottom line is, you can do it. The very cool thing is that marketing online virtually eliminates rejection because you’re talking to the people who want to talk to you, and who want what you have to offer.

What a great way to build your business. How do you use social media in your business? Do you use social media in your marketing? Please leave a comment and let me know what’s working for you 🙂