As a small-business owner, there are a thousand things to do at once. Social media often gets put on the back burner. But it shouldn’t. Maintaining your social media presence will help ensure that people remember your name and come to your business.

Since 2006 inbound marketing has become more effective than outbound marketing. Inbound marketing focuses on using quality content to pull customers in, versus the outbound marketing method of buying email lists, buying ads, and praying for leads to come in. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Leverage Online Profiles

People often think that having a website is good enough to keep their customers informed. Wrong! Your presence needs to go beyond your website. Leverage your social media accounts to link back to your website. This will drive a larger audience to your website and potentially increase the audience you reach.

Make sure the “About” section on your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Tell peopl who you are, what you do and why someone should use your company. This is also known as an “elevator pitch.” If your business allows it, add some personality into it.

Blogging

It is time consuming but there is value in great content. Blogging establishes you as an expert in your field as well as increase your SEO keywords.

What exactly should you blog about? Think about what your clients are asking and looking for. Build your content based off that and present yourself as an expert.

Social Media

We are in the Social Media Age and whether you like it or not, it is a MUST! What your business is and what you offer will determine if you should use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Foursquare and/or LinkedIn. Each platform is different and has special value. But be warned, be incredibly careful about what you post because a single tweet or post can ruin your whole business. It has happened before.

Talk About Your Success

Don’t worry about coming off as bragging. You earned your success and you have the right to tell people, and you should! It’s important to make it known what work is yours. Publishing a running record of your work is a great way to demonstrate your value. Don’t forget to share all your content via Twitter, Facebook, blog and, if possible, LinkedIn.

Publish Reviews From Clients

People are more likely to believe what your clients are saying about you rather than what you’re saying about yourself. Showing testimonials is a great way to build credibility. If people are talking about you, others are going to want to see it.

There are a number of ways to get comments. Ask your current clients to publish comments about you via LinkedIn, Facebook and your website. Retweet flattering tweets too. There’s nothing like giving your potential clients the confidence that they’re working with someone who has delivered great experiences to other people.

Inbound marketing strategies target customers who are actually interested in your subject matter versus talking to people who are trying to get away from you (outbound marketing). So go out there, become social, and be an expert in your field.

Via:
http://www.hubspot.com/inbound-marketing
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235049
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4416/Inbound-Marketing-the-Next-Phase-of-Marketing-on-the-Web.aspx