When evaluating the marketing and PR outlook of the average business owner, it’s useful to break these folks into four groups:

1. People that want to increase visibility but don’t know how.

2. Those that try to increase exposure on their own (e.g., Start a Facebook account) but are either incapable or too overwhelmed to keep up with it.

3. Proactive people that follow the latest social media news and keep up active accounts and outreach.

4. People that don’t want to market themselves. Although these are rare, there are old-school word-of-mouth-only folks out there who make no effort to build a web presence.


For our purposes here, we’ll focus on types 1, 2 and 3. Even for the most non-web savvy business owner (type 1), there’s no reason that a qualified professional can’t quickly build their online presence to the same level as the most active type 3 self-manager.

Facebook can be intimidating. Even if a business owner (type 2) takes the time to design their perfect Timeline page, filling in all of their info and choosing attractive photographs and graphics, it won’t receive much traffic if they fail to regularly update it. Add to that the pressure to keep up a Twitter account, along with Google+, Pinterest, Foursquare and more, and it’s no wonder some business owners throw up their hands, stick with the Yellow Pages, and hope for the best.

Those of us more attuned to the latest marketing trends realize the foolhardiness in that approach. These days, a YouTube video can have far more impact than a New York Times story. Fortunately, new tools make it easier than ever to keep up a wide array of social media marketing outlets. With daily upkeep reduced to 15 minutes a day or less, there’s no excuse for any business not to maintain an active and broad spectrum of online outreach.

Aggregators Take Over

Although Facebook, Tumblr, Google+ and the gang will perpetually maneuver for market share, with start-ups joining the race all the time, the answer for business owners is to find an aggregator that allows them to monitor, control and maintain multiple accounts from a central location. This can be done via a number of still-developing services (we’ll name a few in a moment) or even via a series of bookmarks and central folder or file for content on a personal computer.

Aggregators on the consumer end have caught on over the last year, with Flipboard gaining the most traction. This innovative smartphone and tablet app allows users to compile news feeds, website favorites and social media accounts into a ‘magazine’ template, consolidating all of their daily web browsing into one digestible space.

That same principle works on the content distribution end, although a single ‘front runner’ has yet to emerge. Initially leading the pack were TweetDeck and Ping.fm. The former allowed users to send a post out to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google Buzz (pre Google+), LinkedIn and MySpace. After being purchased by Twitter, it now syncs only with Facebook and its parent company.

Likewise, Ping.fm has morphed into Seesmic, which allows users to post to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Tumblr from any computer or mobile device. The service also allows users to schedule their posts. Headed out to the hills to go hiking for the day? Just set up your account to continue updating throughout the day, and your followers will never know you weren’t in the office (but you will want to respond to comments once you’re back on the grid).

Facebook remains the king of social media, and they’ve managed to integrate themselves into several other products. It’s possible to send a Tumblr post straight to Twitter and Facebook, or a Tweet directly to a Facebook wall. For many business owners, these built-in tools are all they need to get started on a multi-platform outreach program.

 Make a point of jotting down possible status updates and posts as they come to you. A working document of potential posts will help fill the void when you’re taking time off or there’s simply nothing exciting to say (which happens with any business now and then).

Start-Ups Looking Ahead

Consolidation may define the future of social media, even as our detailed options as users grow. Another growing company, Postano, mirrors Flipboard’s magazine layout approach, but as a tool for businesses. In one place, a customer can view and share Tweets, Facebook status updates, or YouTube videos.

For business owners who never progressed past email, a new company called Social Sidekick may also have potential. By simply emailing a post to a designated address, the company’s plug-and-play automated system then posts that to the client’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+ accounts.


Keep it Simple, Keep it Fresh

One problem businesses can encounter is over-saturation of content. If you’re a shoe store promoting a week-long sale, daily posts to seven different social media outlets may be overkill, and could ultimately drive readers away.  A good policy is to send out one initial post to all outlets via an aggregator like Seesmic (five minutes) and then allot ten minutes later in the day to visit your page at each site and respond to questions and comments.

Remember these two rules to social media marketing and you’ll be well on your way:

1. Don’t push a sale. Engage. Social media is all about conversation. It’s not a magazine or TV ad.

2. Only post relevant content. If you have nothing exciting to say, don’t post anything at all. It’s important to keep up a reputation for worthwhile, interesting content.

With those ideas in mind, find a method of streamlining your posts each day that works for you and get started.

Author Bio: Christopher Wallace is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing, a leading provider of personalized pens and other promotional products such as imprinted apparel, mugs and customized calendars. He regularly contributes to Promo & Marketing Wall blog.