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Introduction

In part three of our series on social media for the small business and local marketer (run time 9:46) we conclude by discussing two more practical tools or applications of social media.

Hint: I will introduce you to online word-of-mouth marketing and next generation online public relations.

Show Links for Word of mouth Marketing

WOMMA.org – The Word-of-Mouth-Marketing Association.

Make sure to by read Learn WOM 101.

Next, check out the story about how nimble small businesses are especially well positioned to take advantage of word-of-mouth-marketing. Of course you already know this, you may just need to make the transition to using your existing WOM skills in a new online venue.

Show Links for next generation Public Relations (PR)

Fellow Internet OldTimer, plus Twitter Bud and Facebook Friend, the amazing adventurist PR God Peter Shankman.

Then there’s the magnificent, the magnanimous, the one, the only PR 2.0 Guru Brian Solis and yes, another Twitter Socialite like Peter and yours truly – Jinfinite8.

Enjoy and let me know what questions and comments you have – it would be downright social of you.

Julian Seery Gude
editor, Local Na8ion
Where you are is where it’s at

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If you are like most people you do not like hype and that may well have kept you from exploring social media as a tool to bring you new business. After all, the fervor and hype surrounding things like Blogs, Facebook, Second Life and the cool kid applications like Twitter are enough to make you puke.

Here’s the thing though – there are also really practical applications of social media that represent big opportunities for small businesses to market yourselves for free.

In the next two sessions I’ll try to dispel some of the hype about social media and show you three to four practical social media tools that almost any business or local marketer can use today to win new local customers. I hope you will give social media a try and come to realize what I have – that social media is beyond hype – it’s revolutionary.

In this episode (runtime 9:58) I’ll explore some pitfalls of social media and also outline a simple definition of social media. I’ll finish by discussing two great social media tools that you should focus on today. My next session will cap things off with my final two social media recommendations for businesses that want to attract new local customers from their town or city.

I mention during the podcast that I would link to a previous post on how small business people can quickly create blog content for use in their blog marketing campaigns. Here’s the post I wrote back in January called The best kept secret for quickly creating new content for your blog and web site.

Julian Seery Gude
editor Local Na8ion
Where you are is where it’s at

QuickTime, iPhone or iPod Download.

In this three two-part series I discuss using social media to connect with local customers (run time 8 minutes).

First up, I’ll relate a personal story about a great new site called Alltop.com, and how using social media got Local Nation listed on the small business section of Alltop.

In my follow-up vlog session I’ll give you three practical uses for social media that can help you build traffic for your site and win new business from your local marketplace.

Saving loads of money on marketing expense highlights a fundamental value of social media marketing – that is, you can connect with customers online without spending a dime. The visitors I’ve already received from Alltop would easily have cost me thousands of dollars to acquire if I were to have used traditional online media like banner ads or offline media like Yellow Pages or Newspapers. Do I have your attention yet? Great!

Yes, using social media in your marketing mix will save you tons of money, but that’s not the only reason you should consider it. There’s also a very good chance that social media will connect you with new customers who aren’t using traditional advertising to find local products and services. This number is already large and grows bigger each day. Sure, some of them are younger and you may or may not care about this market (yet) but I can assure you that some social media tools connect with every age, race and demographic group. In other words, there are social media tools that you can’t afford to ignore.

I’ll end with a BIG THANK YOU to Guy Kawasaki, Kathryn Henkens, and Will Mayall who run Nononina the company that produces both Alltop and other sites like Truemors.

And now for a story about Julian (that’s me) and a guy named Guy.

Julian Seery Gude, editor Local Na8ion – Where you are is where it’s at.

Watch part II in our series on social media for small business and local marketers.