It’s October and this is the time of year when ghosts will be hard at work scaring us. Smart companies, utilizing social media marketing strategies, are using ghosts to “scare” up more business. Well, we’re not really talking about the kind of ghosts that scream “boo.” We’re talking about ghostwriters. 

When using social media marketing, you need to be current and up to date on information you put on your blogs, websites or newsletters.  For small business owners, there is no time to sit in front of a computer writing new content or providing up-to-date data on your field and service. It’s impossible. 

One solution is to hire a professional writer to generate the content for you. Anonymous writers are called ghostwriters. Currently, there is a growing pool of ghostwriters both independent and through agencies to help save your digital marketing ambitions. After a few conversations with a ghostwriter or company you can determine the direction you want to go with the content of your articles. Many people come from diverse backgrounds, and you would be surprised to find out just what people specialize in. 

Besides being able to maintain a regular schedule for the output of information, there are other advantages of hiring a ghostwriter.

• Fresh information and content – Search engines love new information and content on your website or blog. Your search rankings will be given a boost with regular posts and updates.
  
• New Prospective – Having a fresh set of eyes looking at your business or field can be helpful. Often times a new set of eyes is all that it takes to spot an overlooked value in your offering. 
  
• Short and sweet -- Ghostwriters are not immersed in everyday life of your business and can avoid writing fluff. They write what people may want to read – since, in theory, they represent the public. 

So, maybe this is the month to invest in a ghostwriter to help your campaign. Boosting your ranking by adding regular, fresh content won’t scare away business, but may bring in more.

Contact Us Today, to learn more about ghostwriting, marketing, and blogging for small business, or visit our informational sister site at www.SimplySocialHub.com.

Your small business may be thinking about creating an email marketing campaign but just not 100 percent positive. Whether your business goal is promote a product or service, educate the public or clients or perhaps a combination of both, e-marketing can help you achieve all of these.

Here are just a few reasons how E-marketing can help your small business 

• Your customers can receive messages wherever they are . . .home, office or vacation.
  
• You can use E-newsletters to create a regular link between brand and customer.
  
• Many customers spend a majority of their time at a computer where the message is delivered.
  
• If you create an E-newsletter, it can supplement other marketing channels and add value to current campaigns.
  
• You can customize e-mail marketing. For instance, customized offers and messaging lets your prospects and customers feel special.
  
• Regular communications keeps your customers and prospects interested and loyal.
  
• E-newsletters enable your customers to get educational information – making your company a teacher and a valuable source or unsolicited information.
  

E-marketing is not going away. Small business can use this strategy, which is low-cost, to maximize their efforts to promote their business. 

You may have heard that if you promote other businesses on social media sites that it can boost your own business. For a newbie, it doesn’t make sense. Promoting others will be good for your own business?  It’s not a surprise for most small business owners just getting into social media marketing to feel stumped about what to share on social media.

Here’s what marketing gurus and experts are referring to when they stress about the importance of promoting others aside from promoting your own blog posts, content, promotions and company information. Remember, promoting others is all about attracting attention, becoming valuable to your followers and remaining consistent.

Here are some general ways promoting others will lead business back to you.

• Trusted sources will take notice that you are sharing their content. Like brick and mortar businesses, they will likely share your content with their followers. This will then increase your visibility and attract more attention to your company. 
  
• Becoming a resource for your followers is key in social media marketing. More people will buy something or take on a service if it is recommended by a friend or a second party. By building value with your clients through sharing quality information, even if it is from  another source, you will create a trusting relationship with the public.
  
• Once you are in the “game” of social media marketing, you need to be consistent. Things like updating your profiles on a regular basis can be a challenge if you are using only your own content. Sharing the content and resources of others gives you more to work with.
  

Sharing and promoting other businesses and industry is almost like a partnership. If they scratch your back, you can scratch theirs.  If you are not sure where to start, think about products or services that your business could partner up with. For example, a restaurant and a delivery service, or a makeup boutique and a clothing store. The key is to share content that is relevant to your followers that is not in direct competition with what you already do.

Social media marketing can be a win-win situation if you do it properly. Everyone wants traffic to their site. Everyone wants new and more business. Why not join forces with others to drive business for both businesses? Everyone wins in this game.

At one time, businesses used brochures as one of their main marketing techniques. When social networking and social media marketing came into the picture, printing brochures started to be considered an extra expense that just wasn’t necessary.  After all, there isn’t a printing expense when you market online? Right?  Small businesses continue to wonder if brochures are even worth printing anymore. Have we really become a paperless society?

Not completely. Small businesses usually have a small budget, and a fairly inexpensive way to market your business to new customers is by creating a brochure that can be strategically placed, handed out at conferences or at meetings.  Brochures provide valuable and quick information about your company, the product or service you provide and how to go about getting it. People sometimes forget to check online or can't remember the website. Brochures are kept in your pocket or wherever you placed it.

Small businesses can use brochures is so many ways. For instance, if you print out a brochure, a person may take it home or back to their business, and set it on their counter. Just like a billboard, the brochure immediately grabs the attention of anyone who can see it. Having something in print still conveys credibility and trust.

There are steps that you need to follow in creating a successful brochure. 

• Make it easy to read. Use bullet points, numbering, and short paragraphs rather than long paragraphs. While you want to get your message across, most people scan text, rather than actually read it. Get to the point about what your message is.
• The brochure should be attractive. Your brochure should be eye catching. Black and white is cheaper than color, but color is going to get you more attention. Unless you are severely under budget, go for the color.  
• Don’t forget the important information like phone, email and website. Tell them about your business but make sure they know who to contact and how do it. Brochures also are a great way to promote your website and your social media profiles on sites like Facebook.
  

People still like to hold paper in their hands that provide information. We are a technically-oriented society but still trust traditional ways of getting information.  Also, our population consists of older Americans who rely on print for information. Brochures can still attract new customers – old and young -- on a reasonable budget. Plus, you can always upload the brochure onto your website.

You may be a small business that has just ventured into the world of social media marketing. You also have a great product and service. Do you know that you can market your product via social media marketing -- by blogging? While traditional ways still work, blogging is cheap and easy to do.

Well all know about Google, and whatever is listed on top wins this contest for that day. What’s the big deal with Google? Well, it’s because being listed at the top is free. Listing at the tippy top of search engines also mean a higher profit margin for your product and better business for you.

Blogging and article writing is a cheap, cost effective way to put your product or service in front of customers. It takes nothing more than your time or the time of someone you may hire to help keep up with the content. The big advantage of blogging is that it’s “organic,” which simply means that your product marketing via the blog stays in the search engines. This gives you free traffic on a constant basis.

Getting to the top of Google is a feat that anyone can do whether they are the largest company in the world or a tiny home-based business. All it takes is consistency and of course some understanding of your product.  Blogging your product is a great alternative to traditional media, and if you get others to blog about your product, then you are really aiming for the top of the Google chart.