2009 is flying by and I thought it would be a good time to regroup. I remember reading an article, Top Small Business Marketing Trends by Ivana Taylor which mentioned that social media went from being on the cutting edge, to approaching the mainstream. I would probably add that in my opinion, social media is mainstream. I even have a fan page for my business, Fun Car Tattoos, on Facebook! and I'm assuming that nearly everyone else does too!
When looking at the small business marketing trends that Ivana mentions in her article, it really is important to try and figure out how social medias can help you attract and keep your customers. I'm just listing the 10 small business marketing trends that Ivan talks about in her article. Please go to Ivana's original article for details on each of the 10 trends! Not only does she explain each of the trends, she has suggestions on how you can take advantage of each one.
1. AUTHENTICITY
2. DO IT YOURSELF MARKETING
3. TECH-DRIVEN WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING
4. ECO AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
5. BOOTSTRAPPING AND SIMPLICITY
6. MARKETING TO THE “BUY BUTTON”
7. PAID MEMBERSHIPS
8. MOBILITY
9. WISDOM OF CROWDS
10. PERSONAL BRANDING
Of the 10 trends, I am very itnerested in #4, ECO and Social Responsibility. As Ivana points out,
“Green” has gone mainstream. It’s not just a trendy thing to say anymore. Especially young customers want to know what difference your company is making in the world! One of the things that I'm wrestling with is packaging.
I've been selling my cute car magnets in plastic bags with "hang tags." While these still might be necessary for stores, I wonder if they are necessary when I'm selling them directly to an end user. I'm worried that the packaging won't be as attractive if I just wrap my products in tissue paper. Hmmm... this is probably where some clever marketing comes in! Let me think about it. Not only could I probably reduce my packaging costs, but I could eliminate a plastic bag every time I ship an order. Sounds like a win-win to me!
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About
the Author: Ivana Taylor is CEO of Third Force, a strategic firm that helps
small businesses get and keep their ideal customer. She’s the co-author
of the book “Excel for Marketing Managers” and proprietor of DIYMarketers, a subscription site for
in-house marketers. Her blog is Strategy
Stew.
Spot on... I think one idea that could be handy is online video. Sure, Facebook can help you keep in touch with your customer base, and that's really important, but you can also use video on YouTube, Veoh, and AdWido to see what kind of buzz you can generate and take a look at the response you get. People like to share videos these days.
Posted by: Matt | July 23, 2009 at 01:26 PM