you already do it

Using social media is simple. It's inexpensive. It's something that, as a small business owner, you already do every day.

It's also something that the big companies are only just beginning to figure out, giving you an advantage.

Simply put, using social media is creating one-to-many conversations with customers and potential customers - and their friends - online.

With time those conversations grow into relationships, which grow into business advantages such as a greater awareness of your company, new customer referrals, and repeat sales to existing customers.

It's exciting because, lacking huge advertising budgets, that's the way small businesses have always had to work. On reputation, word of mouth, referral, and reviews.

Only now, social media enables you to have those conversations not only with just those customers who come into your shop, showroom, garage or factory, but with interested people - and their friends - from the other side of town. From the other side of the state. From across the country and even around the world.

So you get this incredible reach for literally a fraction of the cost of any other broadcast media. In fact, with a little guidance, most companies can even DIY their own social media.

After twelve years experience creating interactive marketing for clients such as P&G, General Mills, and the State of Michigan, my goal for simple is simple: Show small businesses what social media is, how it can help your business, why you already know how to do it, and most importantly, why it is not just for the big guys.

Look for tomorrow's post: the simple social media intro