For a small business just starting out, budget is a primary concern. A big expenditure in a business’ budget is marketing.  You have to get your name, face and brand out to the masses, and using traditional advertising methods like print, TV, radio, and even new media strategies can be expensive.

Have you considered social media? I know there are a lot of questions out there about social media, how it works and why it’s a good gateway to business marketing, so here are a few reasons why I think it can be a great place to start for a small business.

1. It’s Free: When your on a budget, nothing beats free. The majority of social media outlets are free to use. Though there may be a time commitment, there is a great deal of value in the fact that marketing can be allocated elsewhere while you grow your business.

2. It’s Easy: Most social networking sites walk you step-by-step through the setup process and many even let you know how complete your profile is and what you can do to make it a more complete profile. For Blogging, WordPress has its Famous 5 Minute Install that for beginners can take longer but still very reasonable and straight forward when following instructions.

3. Unlimited Exposure: With Social Media platforms like Facebook averaging 25-30M new followers per month, the possibilities of exposing new potential customers and clients via social media eclipses rival marketing methods in the short and long term. You can’t search a TV or Billboard audience for potential connections.

4. It Builds Lasting Relationships: The sole purpose of using social media is engaging and building relationships. People want to do business with people they have a relationship with. Using social media platforms is an excellent way to build relationships that foster respect with your target audience. Lasting personal relationships, lasting business relationships!

5. SEO Power: When it comes too online presence, SEO is king. Everyone wants the Google Juice that puts them at the top of the charts. Blogging the right way can play a significant role your business’ search engine presence.

So what are you waiting for? Give FREE social media a try today. You wont regret it tomorrow and neither will your business!

If you couldn’t tell, Social Media is hot right now! A lot of people are now connected to others via some social media outlet these days. Be it a Social Networking Profile like Twitter or Facebook, a Blog, or even a YouTube Video channel, people are loving this easy and effective way to communicate.

One of the things that makes social media so darned attractive is the fact that it’s usually completely free to use.   Anyone with a little time and patience can set up a Facebook page or a Twitter and immediately start engaging people and sharing info and as a result something amazing is happening: Accelerated evolution!

Free information is making it so easy for people to share ideas, learn, and grow, personally and professionally at such a high rate! Creativity and success are thriving in the social media realm and it can be directly linked to the ability to share information freely and easily!

Recently, Justin Williams and I did a presentation at one of the most well known Social Media Events in Real Estate REBar Camp.  Justin focused on the 80/20 rule of social media which says 80% of your updates should be personal, 20% should be business.  This rule also applies to free information. If your 20% business is filled with rich free information, you will reap the benefit of the 80% personal connection in business!   I can say from experience that the law of reciprocity is in full effect. The more you give away freely the more that will come back to you!   I cannot begin to count the referrals I have gotten from those eager to help me because I have freely shared information with them.  So with all that being said, don’t stop sharing what you know…. freely!