Once it became official that Facebook was becoming a pure pay-to-play platform the landscape for small businesses changed. The current podcast episode will tell you what to do to still thrive.
While everyone was focused on Net Neutrality, It seems face book went ahead and said the words no small online marketer wants to hear “pay to play”. The focus has been on face book since their announcement that early in the new year marketers will have to pay for further reach and organic traffic, but the handwriting has been on the wall for awhile when Twitter and even kind Pinterest started using “promoted” ads/pins it was only a matter of time before this became a revenue model online.
So what does that mean if you are a small business owner with a limited budget trying to get yourself noticed? Quite simply “become creative”. You have to become more organized and analytical.
For some things Facebook is still a bargain
Facebook maintains so much information on it’s users it allows you to target the audience that wants to buy your product. True, it may cost you and require experimenting with which ads work best for what product. It is then up to you to convert those customers over to your own in house platform (think email marketing or newsletters).
Once Broaden your reach on other free platforms
Part of being creative means you will need to experiment with other free platforms like Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and even videos to get the word out. But, do yourself a favor and learn a little about each new platform. One size does not fit all.
Once Promote engagement that appeals to your target population.
The majority of online users are seeking some form of gratification. Monthly contests or offers is one of the best means of building in gratification and therefore engagement. Find out what draws them and then give it to them.
Once Good content, good content, good content.
Everyone says that because it’s true. If the majority of people online are looking for something, find out what it is and provide it. The answer is right there on your site if you review which posts generated the most users, retweets, favorites, or repins. Most platforms now provide some form of analytics to give this information so it is up to you to find a way to use it.
Once I hope I’ve given you some ideas or at the very least got you thinking about how you plan to execute your new marketing plans. Listen to the podcast for the full list, but the important word here is “execute”. By all means spend some time deciding how you plan to tackle the changed landscape but don’t get so involved with ideas you can’t decide what to “do”. Decide on a plan of action even if it is the wrong thing, you will quickly find out and be able to make course corrections to something that works a lot better.
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