He has a @toysoldiergames Twitter account that he’s working on using for other promotions and to educate his customer base. I think it will do super well.

This isn’t rocket surgery kids (as my Boston friends say). This is marketing. It’s deadly sniper-level good marketing, because Mick makes it about MY comics, and about Ray’s Warhammer 40K miniatures, and about other people’s specific stuff.

And Mick runs a small store with just a few employees. If he can find the time to sell this way, you have to really think about it.

Think he sells more than people who don’t do this? I’m guessing yes. You?

I write quite often from the perspective of larger company social media and business communications. That’s because most of my clients are large companies. However, these social tools allow a small business owner a lot in the way of advantages, and I want to put together a little map of steps I might take if I were running a small business and wanted more sales.

5 Things Small Business Owners Should Do Today Online

1. Start a blog – I can’t think of any simpler website technology to start and master, and there are cheap and free platforms readily available. Why a blog? Because they’re easy to create, because they’re easy to update, because they encourage repeat visits, and because you can use them in many flexible ways. Need a good website address (URL)? Pick a name out at Ajaxwhois.com, which lets you search many variations at the same time. Then, click through to buy the domain at GoDaddy.com, and then decide if you want to buy hosting there, or from another site. The company Bloghost.me, run by my friend Andy Quayle, offers $10/year hosting for WordPress blogs. I think that’s pretty reasonable. You?
2. Start listening – People are talking about you. Find out where they are and who they are. When you’re done with that, start finding new business opportunities. People tweeting or blogging about being in your neck of the woods? Reach out, if it makes sense. Free advice on how to grow bigger ears.
3. Try Twitter OR Facebook – Let’s not rush things. Facebook has many more users, but it’s a bit harder to find customers, prospects, partners and colleagues. Twitter is easier to use and faster to connect with people, but there are far fewer users on there today. I’ll let you choose. If you go with Facebook, make a personal account under your own name, and then start a fan page for your business.
4. Get the word out – If you’re going to spend time building these social sites, let’s presume that you want more people to contact you and interact with you through them. Print business cards with the company name, and/or the request for people to join your fan page or follow you on Twitter. Extra points if you give them a social-media-tool-only discount of some kind.
5. Try moving the needle – now lets really get crazy. See if you can fill the place up with social-media minded folks. Okay, this won’t work for every business, but don’t be too quick to count out the idea. Let’s try inviting them to a store-only special event, or let’s give them a discount code. You know, the stuff you already know how to do. Any difference in the results? See if you can do some kind of really special one-day-only push, and what that brings to you.

There’s obviously much more to it than just starting and doing, or is there? One way that small businesses get all confused and thrown for a loop is by feeling a strong sense of analysis paralysis, or that notion that they should be using all the tools right out of the gate.

The reason I started with a blog is that it will give instant search juice to the organization. It doesn’t mean your company will rise to the very top listing right away, and there’s so much more to it than that, but starting with any presence is better than having none.

The Most Important Part

A good 15,000 of you reading this already know the above. You get it. Here’s my request: pass this on to a small business owner you know. If you think it’s reasonable advice, pass it on to someone who hasn’t really started yet, and then offer to help them get it off the ground.

Sound fair? That’s why I wrote it. I’d love for your help.

Photo credit freeparking

John has a customer of the day post on his blog. See what he does? He brings the customers into the light. He makes the people in his space the star.

How simple. How perfect. I love the whole blog.

There are other small cafe blogs out there now, each with its own personality.

Are we seeing cafe-shaped businesses already? Learn from these people. Oh, and read Becky McCray. She lives and breathes this stuff where I dabble.

“Small is a weapon, not an excuse.”

I work for a reasonably small company. My president also helps fix paper jams. My CEO and I grab lunch at Subway often. It’s small. We work our faces off.

And yet, the very best parts of being there relate to us being small. We try new things. We respond rapidly. We write (and try to follow) processes that are streamlined and made to move us faster towards the next business step.

What are your thoughts? Are you at a small place or a big place? Where are the good and bad parts of that?

Social Media Starter Moves for Small Town Small Businesses

By Becky McCray

Small town businesses have some fundamental differences from our big city counterparts. But our relative isolation doesn’t mean we don’t have a use for social media tools. To the contrary, small town professionals have the most to gain from making new connections. Liz Strauss was kind enough to let me tell some of the reasons why over at Successful Blog. To follow up, here are some starter moves to help you get connected to the larger world.

Twitter to make connections

Yes, I know you’re heard that Twitter can be an enormous time sink. But only if you treat it that way. If you treat it as a way to meet people, to expand your horizons, to learn from others, and to feel connected, you can make it a useful tool for your business. I recommend you start by adding a handful of people, and let your network grow organically. Start with me; I’m @beckymccray, and I love to connect with other small town folks. Check Twitter Packs for more people in your industry or in your state. Share cool discoveries, information, and just connect on a human level. Twitter does not require (or deserve) constant attention. You can check in a few times a day, or monitor it more or less in the background while you work on something else. I’ve been known to let friends on Twitter keep me company while I’m doing my least-favorite bookkeeping chores. And yes, I’ve made and strengthened valuable business and personal connections at Twitter.

Blog to position yourself as an expert

Part of what makes a small town special is the sense of community, and that’s what blogging does at its best. Find the blogs already talking about your field, and start reading and commenting. Then start your own blog, telling stories. While your small town business may not pick up paying clients from your blogging, you will be learning new skills, improving your writing, and making connections with people interested in your field. Read the Starter Moves for Freelancers to learn more about making your blog business-like.

Facebook to reach the community

Even in my home town of 5000 people, there is a healthy group of Facebook users. I just got an invitation to join the community summer band, via Facebook. I’m also seeing small town people using Facebook as a tool to remain connected even as they spread out around the country. By staying active yourself, you can make and keep connections based on this natural geographic affinity. Another option are the local community websites. In your town, you might find people online at the local newspaper site, an independent community forum, or even on a local business’s website. The disadvantage? These are usually hotbeds of local politics. Use caution.

Experiment to learn

Use Flickr to connect with your local photo enthusiasts. Sign up with Utterz to give on-the-spot reports. (I would so love to see an ag commodity report on Utterz! “We’re live at the Woodward Stockyards…” ) Use Operator11, Ustream or Blog TV to share meetings, trainings, or build a networking group across distance. Your goal is not to be on every single network out there. Your goal is to try the tools that could work for your business, or even for your clients, and learn them. Drop the ones that don’t help you. And remember that it’s not all about getting business, it’s also about connection, learning and thinking.

Share your secrets

What tools are you finding the most useful for building connections? Share in the comments, and if you are from a small town, be sure to shout about it!

Tomorrow at Small Biz Survival, I’ll have four examples of people who live in small towns and use social media to build their connections.

Written by Becky McCray