I missed an epic day of Powder skiing this morning, but it was well worth it.  I made an appearance as the “Local Marketing Answer Man” and offered a real life example of how to use offline media (Radio) to drive traffic oniline via text messages and Facebook. (minute 10).

listen in here

My head is swelling! My new book on Amazon Kindle  “Nathan Big’s Ultimate Online Marketing Guide” has 576 downloads (in first 3 weeks) and I will be interviewed on Park City’s KPCW radio monday. Don’t you love having a good week!?!   Gotta run,  I have an appointment get my big bald head waxed : )

Ignore it and you could be missing out on a whole segment of business from people that are social media addicts.  Once you know how to use social media you will realize it is just another method for keeping in touch with your customers and prospects.

Specifically, social media can help you stay in front of loyal customers. Also the social part of it allows them to easily refer you to all or their friends.

Social media profiles are taken into account by Google and Bing  in the Local Business Listings as well.  So even if you don’t have a huge fan base or are not super active on Facebook, it still will benefit you to set up a page.

Benefits Of Social Media

There are many benefits to social media.

• It’s free.
• It’s immediate.
• Easy to use.
• Easy for customers to share.
• Interactive, you build a relationship.
• Build a brand.

A regular user of Facebook will check their account multiple times a day.  Some people are on it all day.  It has become their preferred method of communication.  An active user doesn’t email their friends anymore, they Facebook them.  So reach out to these people in a way they prefer.  Heck, they may want to do business with you just because you are another Facebook user.

The Keys To Facebook

Use the following tips to build a presence, develop a following and bring in more business.

Set Up Your Profile

Set up a business profile, not a personal one.  Even if you have a personal one you need to get one for your business.  Do this for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Set up your profile using your top keywords.  Make sure your profile is 100% complete.

Get Liked

The whole point to being social is to have lots of people friend you, follow you and like you.  The more the better.  Popularity will lend a degree of credibility to your business.  It is a form of social proof.

The key is to offer people an incentive for taking action.  For example, you can reward them for “liking” you on Facebook with a free desert.  Don’t beg or plead, just make the offer for a limited period of time.  If they are interested they will do it.

Make it easy for them.  Add links on your blog, website, and mobile site.  This can tie in with all the other marketing you are doing.  Just add the social media to it as well.

Stay active and check your page every day.  If somebody takes the time to leave a comment then make sure you respond to it

Connect With Other Businesses

Find businesses on Facebook that are complimentary to yours.  In other word businesses that your customers might use as well.

For example an owner of a Yoga Studio may want to connect with local fan pages of a Day Spa, Massage Therapist and Health Food store.

Connect with these businesses on Facebook and offer value to that business.  Be a giver.  A comment you make on their status, done appropriately can be a subtle way to let people know you are there.

It might be good to have an offline conversation with these people to set up a reciprocal agreement with each other.

Don’t be too obvious by putting a promo there.  Just be natural and non-selling.  The customers will see your post and that will bring you to the front of their mind.

Bing has said they take note of who is following who as well, so this can help you rank higher on their Local Business Listings.

Post This!

But what do you post?

You want to be timely and relevant.  Meaning you want to bring up stuff that is on everybody’s mind already and put your twist on it.

If it’s Super Bowl week you can find some interesting news story about a player and make an amusing comment about it.  Also find stuff related to your industry and what your customers might find interesting.

Don’t post anything that is questionable or offensive.  When in doubt don’t post.  And don’t post if you have nothing to say.

Again use the 3 to 1 rule of content to offers.  3 non-promotional posts to every 1 promotional.  And you may even want to up that to 5 or 6 to one if you are a frequent poster.  No more than one offer a week.

Social media may come naturally to you if you are a regular on Facebook.  If you are not comfortable with it then you need to start using your personal profile everyday to get the hang of it. Then the transition will be easier.

If you can’t do it find somebody who can.  There are professionals that can manage this for you.  Make sure to do it. Don’t be left behind.

What makes Nathan different is that he is one of the rare internet marketing experts that knows what it’s like to run a “brick and mortar”  business.

Nathan owned a carpet cleaning and water restoration business in Seattle.  During that time he perfected a marketing system for getting  new customers and enhancing profits.

After selling that business, Nathan and his wife Angela moved to Park City Utah, a ski resort town in the Rocky Mountains, where they pursue their passion for skiing, biking and backpacking.

Nathan’s other passion is teaching online and offline marketing strategies so that other business owners can make more money and live the good life.

As founder of Summit Internet Marketing Systems he is on a mission to help small business owners get more customers, get more money from them and keep them coming back for more.

A highly sought after speaker, Nathan has shared his marketing secrets on stage and on the radio.

If you would like to learn more about Nathan and Summit Internet Marketing Systems, please visit SummitIM.com or call 877-220-8310.

In his book, readers will learn a tested and proven small business marketing plan.  A system that will allow small business owners to takeover their market, create an endless stream of customers and increase profits.

“Nathan Big is a local online marketing expert, but what makes him different is that he is one of the rare internet marketers that has actually run a real local business.  Nathan owned a carpet cleaning business, and that is where he perfected an online marketing system for getting new customers and enhancing profits.  Nathan uses his hands on experience to teach real world strategies that work.” Said Sam Harris, owner of Sammy’s Bistro in Park City UT

After selling his carpet cleaning business, Nathan has been on a mission to help other small business owners.  He founded Summit Internet Marketing Systems to demystify local business marketing and empower small business owners to get more customers, get more money from them and keep them coming back for more.

Get The Book:

Nathan Big’s Ultimate Online Marketing Guide is available on amazon.com in both paperback and for the Kindle.

A highly sought after speaker, Nathan has shared his marketing secrets on stage and on the radio. You can learn more at http://SummitInternetMarketingSystems.com

Smartphones allow users to interact online with the internet, Facebook and maps.  They can get “turn by turn” driving directions and even talk to a built in software assistant that talks back.

Worldwide there are 4 billion mobile phones in use and 1.08 billion are smartphones.  3.05 billion can send and receive text messages

By 2014 mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage.

This is a Biggie… 1 in 3 mobile searches is local and 95% of all smartphone users have looked up local information.  That means that almost all smartphone users use their phone to find local businesses.

Specifically, smartphones have become the ultimate shopping companion.  The numbers back it up.  Among smartphone uses:

79% have used a smartphone to help shopping

54% to find a retailer

49% to compare prices

48% to get promotions or coupons

44% to read reviews or get product info

And when they look up information they take action.  After looking up local information

60% call or visit a business

44% actually make a purchase.

3 Mobile Trends

Compare that to any other media out there today and you will quickly realize 3 things.

1. Mobile search is hot.

2. The mobile market is growing

3. Mobile marketing is the key to survival

All offline media is not completely dead. In fact direct mail is very effective today.  However offline media is now secondary to online marketing.  In fact offline can be used to drive people online.

According to Google, 74% of smartphone owners have used their mobile device to help with shopping specifically because they saw an offline ad, such as a newspaper or mailer.

So there is a huge opportunity for the local business owner to take advantage of this growing trend.  And by jumping on early you will be able to crush 90% of your competition just by being “mobile friendly”

Click here To find out more about mobile marketing