All of a Twitter over social media

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Does social media represent a genuine opportunity for small businesses — or are we in danger of falling victim to yet more hype?

Wayne Smallman, FSB member, founder of web design and development consultancy Octane Interactive and author of The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media, says:

Be careful about being too candid, entering into heated and bad-tempered debates and arguments, or making disparaging, negative and very public comments about clients, as well as other people. Unless you’re absolutely certain of the people in your social network, apply the ‘mother rule’ – would my mother be offended if she read this?

Customer interaction from social media ‘requires SPICE’

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Marketers who are new to using social media for customer interaction have been given the abbreviation SPICE to help them maximize their use of the medium. In a Fresh Business Thinking article, Wayne Smallman created the abbreviation, which he said stands for Support, Publicize, Integrate, Control and Enhance.

Social media websites and networks can be used to support and publicize a company, while firms should also take care to integrate social media within marketing, Mr Smallman explained.

Ford Test Drive Social Media, Avoid Head-on Legal Crash

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Ford Test Drive Social Media, Avoid Head-on Legal Crash In an attempt to avert a “potential PR nightmare” Ford Motor Company read the social media signs and avoided a head-on legal crash, where their reputation would have felt the full force of the collision.

Sure, it’s a given Ford would have won the legal battle, had things gone that way. But in winning the battle, Ford would have risked losing the social media war. And on the web, the survivability of a brand is all to do with winning the hearts and the minds of the very people you’re appealing to.

Beginners guide to social marketing

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The number one benefit of social media marketing is the lower cost of entry, when compared to more traditional marketing techniques. Essentially, you are building on the back of your own network of contacts and clients, using that social network to further your campaign.

The tools most associated with social media (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc) are, for the most part, free. However, social media marketing is still marketing. You will still need the more traditional spread of tools to measure and analyze your activities.

So just what is Social Media and can it benefit my business?

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The web presents opportunities and challenges in equal measure for businesses of all shapes & sizes. Figuring out the opportunities from the challenges can be an expensive learning process. Because we’re business people, just like you, we know where you’re coming from — and we can help your business get to where you need it to be.

Maybe you’re still unsure about what Social Media and Social Networking entails, or whether it’s appropriate to your business and its needs.

The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media

So you’re new to social media, right? That’s where my ebook, The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media can help, in addition to the social media services provided by Octane, a business with years of web design, development and consultation experience, which celebrates its 9th birthday on the 14th of June.

Social Media services include:

  • Building a presence for your business via the Social Web
  • Helping the search engines find your website or blog
  • Design, develop and install corporate blogs
  • Help you build your business brand and manage your brand and reputation via the Social Web
  • Web design & development, including fully managed email and hosting

Our core social media service offering

Before we undertake any project, we like to do our homework. We won’t say “Yes!” to anything until we’re absolutely sure we can help you. If we do say “Yes!”, then we may well:

  • build a precise, realistic plan of action — including a strategic brief and estimates of both time and cost, with deliverable, measurable goals;
  • work with your marketing teams and their strategies — integrating with another activities, such as any print-based campaigns;
  • identify your business niche — we will scour the web to find the best venues to promote your products / services;
  • provide an excellent web design service — melding your new ‘blog with your existing corporate identity, ensuring a totally seamless design;

The benefits of using Octane for your social media needs

Here’s 3 reasons your business should use Octane — you have access to:

  • a powerful network of influential and knowledgeable professionals from around the world, ready & able to help promote your content;
  • a results-driven, measurable internet marketing plan, geared towards your businesses specific needs;
  • a web design & development agency and internet consultancy that’s been building world-class websites and web applications since 1999.

Interested? Then why not contact us right away to arrange your free consultation…