Are you possibly thinking about putting your small business on twitter? Do you know the benefits of this social media site? Did you know it can be extremely beneficial for your company? By being an active tweeter, you can reach a much larger audience, and generate many more leads for your company.     Twitter has significantly evolved since 2007. It once was used mainly as a site with small communication. People soon realized it can be a marketers dream! Here are nine basic steps on how to use twitter to maximize your marketing within a business!

1. Use twitter to stand out
2. Keep your followers interested
3. Stick with it
4. Provide a balance of work and fun
5. Keep your mobile users in mind
6. Listen to your customers
7. Promote hard to find products
8. Connect with people who need what you have to offer
9. Use twitter for lead generation

If you are looking for even more tips on how to promote your products or services, please see the video below! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=araqT_oZl-g

Small businesses can stand out significantly with a Facebook fan page. If you're looking for some creative Facebook fan pages, click here. More than 1,800 requests came in and these represent over 500 small businesses. Please see this link for examples of the 2012 Social Media Examiner winners http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/top-10-small-business-facebook-pages-2012-winners/.

David Packard once said, "Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department." This comment shows how crucial marketing is to a company. There have been many epic screw ups all over the world and here are the top 5 companies that continue to come out with insanely bad marketing tactics.

• Motorola Droid Razr Maxx- that doesn't roll off the tongue too well does it. How it anyone supposed to remember all that?
• Quiznos- Besides being sued by thousands of franchisees, they had a disgusting marketing creature called a sponge-monkey. Probably not the smartest creature to feature while dealing with food. 
• Sony's Synergy Campaign- I don't understand why you can't watch a Sony streamed movie on a non-Sony television. I'm pretty sure there is no synergy between the consumer electronics businesses and movie.
• Sprint's Unlimited Data Plan- CEO Dan Hesse was losing subscribers rapidly due to the awful service. Well that and $3 billion dollars. However, Sprint now offers "unlimited data service" which took an estimated $4,000 to film each commercial.
• Research in Motion- The CEO finally took the hint and changed the name to Panasonic. I wouldn't buy their products when they are promoting the fact they have to do more research. 

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media itself is a catch-all term for sites that may provide radically different social actions. For instance, Twitter is a social site designed to let people share short messages or “updates” with others. Facebook, is a full-blown social networking site that allows for sharing updates, photos, joining events and a variety of other activities.

How Are Search and Social Media Marketing Related?

Social media usually discovers the new content like current events and  "discovery" is a search activity. Many people search social media to find social media content. Fair enough, correct? Social connections may also impact the relevancy of some search results.

Social Media Websites

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Google+
• YouTube
• Flickr
• Tumblr