Are you a small business owner wondering how to reach new customers when traditional advertising is too expensive or no longer works? Do you have brand recognition or just starting out?

There are a lot of reasons why you started your own business or partnered with another person. If you are like most entrepreneurs, you probably started your own business to have control of your life and earn a profit. You have emotional and intimate knowledge of your products and/or services and want to share with your customers or clients. That’s the easy part.

Like the farmer’s field, you prepared your home office, office, shop or retail store for planting. You plant your seeds for greatness. And then comes the drought, grasshoppers, and hail. When it rains it pours and you can’t get into your field to weed and fertilize or harvest what little crop is left. You take off your ball cap, wipe the sweat from your brow, and wonder if there’s a better way.

You remember your TV weatherman said to go to theirTVstation.com and sign up for breaking weather news and learn more about the upcoming el`nino weather patterns in their blog. You set down in the living room after dinner and pick up your Farmer’s Almanac…..[that bound paper thing called a book]. You recall reading to log on to farmersalmanac.com and sign up for FREE daily updates. Best of all, you could choose email or an RSS feed. You take off your ball cap again, scratch your head, and try to remember if your feed and seed dealer ever told you about a new feed called RSS. Was it for my cows or chickens?

You’ve heard your kids talk about MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. They show you a funny microblog signed by someone nicknamed LOL. A friend asks if you were Linked in and had I Stumbled Upon or could I Digg something called Delicious. He asked if I knew a little fella named Tiny URL and if I stored my fractured Flickers’ on the web [I think he was referring to my old Super 8 mm family videos]. An associate calls and says there’s a group of people getting together to learn about social media marketing and I could sign up at Meetup. Meetup, Signup, Linkedin, Twitter, Blogs, and my Face on a book!

WOW! I don’t have enough time for my business and now I have to learn about Wordpress, Tags, Tweeple, and mashed potatoes or was that Mashable. The New Media? Whatever happened to the good ole` World Wide Web? Better put on my boots, jump in the ‘pick-um up truck’ and drive down to the library and look this stuff up in the Dewey Decimal card index file. Or better yet…..I’ll let my ‘fingers do the walkin’ and get out the Yellow Pages. “What! The yellow pages are in the outhouse?”

If you are 3 to 30 years old, you already know about the new world of Social Networking. If you are 30 plus or 63 and learning about Medicare like me, the new world of eBranding and Social Media Marketing are exciting and confusing. It all begs the question, “where do I start?”

If you still think prospective new customers are looking for you in the Yellow Pages or newspaper, you need to wake up. If you are sending out direct mail or spending money on a cable TV ad, stop the madness. The New Media environment of Social Media Marketing is how and where you can easily develop your brand, retain customer loyalty, and grow your bottom line.

I will not take credit for the world of Social Media; however, I will connect you to the People and Tweeple who make this space so exciting. Mentorship is a 2-way street for young and old. There are no rules. Have an open mind and watch your business or profession grow organically through people you may never meet.

Social Networking and Social Media Marketing are 'Participating and Contact’ sports. This is where opportunity and preparedness come together. All participants benefit. I invite you to read and learn, or register here to ask questions and share your ideas about business development. Share links and videos from the worldwide knowledge base of ‘How To’ market your business incorporating the New Media.

“Where do I start?” Start here. "Help me help you."

Mike Macey

Helping transform the landscape of Social Media Marketing