Mediaboss Marketing

Using email and social media marketing is a great way to reach existing and potential customers. Minal Patel, marketing manager at Constant Contact, shares advice on how you can get started.

Constant Contact is a supporter of our small business competition The Pitch 2014. Find out who won this year's contest and register your interest for 2015 here.

I feel like I missed the boat on social media and now its too late. If youre a small business owner thats saying or thinking that, you should know that youre not alone. Just because social media has been around for more than a decade now doesnt mean that its too late to get on board. And since 20-40% of many businesses annual sales happen between November and January, now is the ideal time to start or restart your social media efforts and integrate them with email marketing for maximum effectiveness.

Jumpstarting your social media marketing

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram are only a few of the bigger social networks where your customers are hanging out. Keeping up with all of the networks can be exhausting and besides, you already have a full-time job.

To determine where to focus your energy, work out which two social networks your current and ideal customers are most active. Before you dive in, spend time watching and learning how people and businesses interact on the network.

Next you need to make sure your online profile(s) are complete. You might think that should be easy enough. Yet youd be surprised how many small business owners miss out on sales opportunities because they didnt fill out important information on their business profile. Since search engines, including Facebooks Graph Search tool, pick up on the vital stats related to your business, make sure your profile is complete. This includes: your business address, phone number, business category, hours of operation, and company description.

Also, on your Facebook page dont forget to include information such as menus, a list of products and services, an events calendar, and other relevant facts that customers will find of interest.

Why you shouldnt sell on social media

Now youre ready to engage your audience by joining and initiating conversations, sharing relevant news, and responding to other peoples posts. While there arent any hard and fast rules per se, one recommendation is to never use social media as a vehicle for overtly marketing your business.

Read the original:
A quick start guide to social media & email marketing