Social Media Won’t Fix Your Broken Business

Guest post by: Jessica Swanson
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Social media marketing. Just seeing the phrase elicits a wide range of emotional responses from today's small business owner.

Probably the most common emotion is that social media marketing will SAVE your small business. You've heard time and time again that Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn can bring you loads of hot, new prospects ready to whip out their credit cards and do business with you.

Well, as they always say, "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is."

Here's the problem.

Whenever there's a new fad, technology or marketing tool, small business owners jump on the bandwagon hoping that this will finally be the answer to all their problems. This will be the marketing solution that they have been endlessly searching for. Not only that, it will cost less and bring in more sales. Hallelujah!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but social media won't fix a broken business model. Social media is a tool that only works in combination with a strong business philosophy, foundation and plan of action.

The truth is that you need to have a solid small business foundation before your social media marketing will be effective. You need to have a unique selling proposition, landing page, free offer, sticky website and a blog. That's when Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn will work for you.

You can't expect Twitter alone to be the magic bullet for your business. You can't expect Facebook alone to be your savior. And, you probably guessed it, but LinkedIn, in and of itself, isn't going to be your knight in shining armor.

Now, here's the thing. I am the very first person to shout from the rooftops that social media is an awesome small business tool. I bring in dozens of leads every single day just from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn alone.

But, you need to understand that there is never ONE marketing tool that will save your business. It's the effective combination of a solid marketing foundation, tools and consistency that will grow your small business.

If you don't have a solid business foundation, social media cannot help your business. In fact, it may even hurt your business. Social media can't fix a broken small business and it's certainly not a Band-Aid.

Social media is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. And, if used in conjunction with a strong business philosophy, foundation and plan of action, that's when its power will be unleashed.

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10 Steps to Creating Emails That Get Results - By Jessica Swanson

About the Author: Jessica Swanson

RSS for Jessica's articles - Visit Jessica's website

Jessica Swanson, Founder and President of Shoestring Marketing, has helped thousands of entrepreneurs implement low-cost, high-impact marketing campaigns.

Known for her energy, passion and “get-it-done” attitude, Jessica takes complicated marketing concepts, turns them upside-down, and makes them incredibly simple and outrageously straightforward.
To download your FREE Shoestring Marketing Kit, visit: ShoestringMarketingKit.com
Click here to visit Jessica's website.

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