1. Telemarketing / cold calling,
2. Print advertising
   1. Magazines.
   2. Newspapers.
   3. Catalogs.
   4. Direct Mail.
3. TV advertising.
4. Radio advertising
5. Outdoor advertising.
   1. Billboards.
   2. Sky-writing.
   3. Buildings.

You could label all of the above as “Push Marketing” or “Interruption Marketing.”

David Ogilvy, of Ogilvy & Mather fame, built his business up to to be acquired for $864 million by helping the likes of American Express and Schweppes sell hundreds of millions of dollars of products to consumers from 1948 onward.

He was big into branding and big into big brands.

But Ogilvy didn’t have to fight DVR’s and Caller ID and Satellite radio and RSS feeds and Cable TV with 400 channels.

Today’s consumers have iPods and MP3′s and turn off the radio. They read an average of 6 blogs a day instead of magazines and newspapers. They are turning to “recommendation marketing” instead of “interruption marketing.”

Social Media is leveling the playing field for the small, nimble, creative startup that is in tune with the needs and demands of the marketplace.

When implemented properly, Social Media can empower “the little guy” to compete with “the big guys” and actually beat them at their own game if they can carve out their niche and stake their claim as the provider of choice for the discretionary buyer.

Social Media 101:

Create Profiles on as many Social Media Sites as possible but start with:

1. Facebook – and put up a lot of pictures.
2. LinkedIn – for business networking.
3. Twitter – technically a micro-blog but it can tie in to both to keep them updated regularly (and Google and Bing are now indexing Facebook and Twitter so get on there now!)

Facebook:
Create a Fan Page vs. a Group for your business. Go here to get started: Create New Facebook Page.

LinkedIn:
Create a personal account and then a company page. You can build your personal account here, LinkedIn Profile, and follow the instructions.

To create a company page on LinkedIn make sure you have your personal account created and then verified before you click on this link: LinkedIn Company Setup.

Twitter:
Create a simple account and follow everyone they recommend in the setup to “seed” your account. (I’ll explain later.) Here’s the link: Twitter Setup.

Next
You have two ears and one mouth so start with listening and observing and asking questions. Measure the pulse of your your target audience. Only then should you wade out into the water with your opinion and advice and thoughts.

“How so?” you ask? For example:

Facebook:
Write Notes. Ask questions via the “What’s on your mind?” section and/or use the “Discussions” section for deeper interactions. You can Attach Notes, Links, Events and even Photos and Video to valuable resources. Use your Facebook Fan Page like an open forum / chat room for your marketplace.

Twitter:
Twitter is the best resource to help you practice consolidating your message to its essence. Remember, the purpose of headline is to have your prospect read the first sentence. With Twitter, the purpose of the headline is to click on your link. You have 140 characters to capture their attention, including the link. So get to the point. Include verbs. You can elaborate and pontificate at your site/blog. Google likes seeing inbound links to your site and as you increase traffic to your site/blog you increase the chances you have to make a sale. All are desirable and good.

LinkedIn:
LinkedIn has a cool platform called “Answers.” Here you can ask and answer questions with members of your target audience and because LinkedIn is a “business” social media site it offers a powerful opportunity to connect with business professionals in your region and niche.

As an added bonus, the more you participate you can achieve a type of “expert” status when your answers are rated as “best” in your category, which is indicated with green stars next to your name/answer.

Finally, you can link your blog to your Company Page, which further enhances your expert status and helps you stay in front of a wider audience with no additional work. And that’s a good thing.

Wrap Up:

Social media marketing mastery takes effort, planning and consistency. It’s not a silver bullet but a big ol’ gun that, when aimed truly and loaded properly, can help you land as much business as you desire. If you need help with it or if you’d like to outsource the setup and maintenance of your Social Media Marketing across nearly 200 platforms take a gander at my “Social Media Done For You” offering.

If you’d like to get in touch with me you can connect with me on Facebook at my Fan Page or send me a connection request on LinkedIn (I’m an Open Networker) or just pick up and the phone and call me. I don’t bite. 714.369.8004.

To jump start your social media marketing success here are a few affordable resources to consider:

1. Twitter Traffic Tornado. A 7 day, 13 video, self-paced, guided training course that will turn you into a Twitter master. Just $27.
2. Managed Twitter Service. Get 1,000 Twitter followers a month, guaranteed, for just $47/mo. No contracts.
3. Magic Squeeze Pages. The purpose of social media marketing is to attract readers to your website where you build your list! You build your list with good looking, enticing squeeze pages. Until you master this you are simply shouting with the crowd and will have nothing to show for your effort.
4. For a complete listing and description of the sales, marketing and website services I offer please download my free 12-page PDF here.