Guest Post: Be a Small Business Brand Champion- Think Big!

Unless otherwise noted, UPrinting™ does not endorse any company or product that may be linked to or appear in this article.

Nowadays, with internet at the fingertips of every small business, there is no reason to avoid running with the big dogs. Social networking presents minimal to zero marketing costs, and a global audience. Infinite online resources give you everything you’ll need to learn how to use it. Still, in 2012, you have to be a brand champion to get noticed in an overpopulated sea that is the online world.

Customer Engagement

2012 is the year of the customer. You are at their mercy. With the single click of a button, any person could send your brand into a downward spiral. One bad review could catch fire and run rampant across the social media landscape. McDonalds, for example, just experienced this with their #McDStories on Twitter. You have to be willing to talk to and work with your fans and customers to create loyalty and a sense of community around your brand name. There are different ways you should consider doing this.

• Posing questions on Facebook garners more attention than any other status. According to Freelanceswitch.com, “Content that encourages discussion will be one of the best possible additions to your Facebook Page.”

• Responding to re-tweets, blog comments or Facebook posts

• Hosting contests on your various networks

• Using customer suggestions to modify products or services, and then thanking them

Making Email Standout

With the growth of smart phones over the last decade, it has become more common for people to check their email while on the go, than sitting at a computer. Because of this, emails are scanned and deleted quickly. With high levels of spam getting through to everyone’s inbox, you don’t want to get your company newsletter to get confused with garbage.

• Make your brand recognizable from the address

• Use numbers in the heading and subject line; people respond to numbers because they subconsciously think it pertains to a deal or saving money

• Create a signature using your brand logo/image, and include links to your various social accounts and website

Social Media Unity

Using social media has become a valuable tool for small businesses. Never before has there been an outlet for a minimally budgeted business to reach the audiences their larger counterparts can. With the introduction of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging, your small business has the same audience of 800 million Facebook users as the competition. Getting your brand recognized, however, is the trick.

• If you are involved in more than one social media outlet, be consistent with color scheme, comments, etc

• Make your brand image the most important aspect of every platform, allowing customers to move back and forth between them without friction

• Allow your brand reputation to do the talking, rather than over promoting yourself

• Create brand loyalty programs

Being a small business puts you at less of a disadvantage than has often been the case. The internet is able to provide you with invaluable tools to run in the same ranks as large corporations. Being the brand champion is about using what has been given to you to become recognized as a positive brand on a level your customers can relate to.