Small Business Tip: Get off the Bandwagon
If you’re running a small business, it’s becoming more and more important to stay “ahead of the curve” rather than just being a player. It wouldn’t be a smart business move to open a small grocery store on the adjacent corner of Loblaws, Walmart Supercentre, Whole Foods, and Costco. Has no sense. It would quickly become part of the small business graveyard.
Your business needs to stand out from the crowd, and with the world growing every day, you’ll need to get creative!
Don’t jump into a car as you go, be a member of the construction crew building the car to get the most benefit as you speed up.
Easier said than done: A few thought that a microblogging platform that only allowed users to speak 140 characters at a time would become the social media behemoth that Twitter is today. Ashton Kutcher was a car builder and was the first to reach 1 million followers. How many followers does he have?
not to say that Twitter it’s dead or will die soon, but if you don’t have a lot of Twitter followers right now… maybe it’s time to look for a new way to build your reach and conversation online. A new idea is emerging every second of every day, do some research and become an early adopter.
Here are some clues to get you started:
group purchase – is about to get huge, and has been for a few years. Do some research and get involved with sites that offer daily deals; Actually, it could help promote your business/products. In the best case? The site becomes huge in its area/industry and sales skyrocket as a result.
QR codes– Smartphone barcodes starting to appear everywhere (heck, I even sit on one on the subway every morning). Given that 1 in 2 people will have a smartphone by Christmas (that’s right!), this could be the next massive trend in technology and advertising. “Social scanning” includes tools like Stickybits and SCVNGR that incorporate the new craze of ‘checking in’ to the location that could also be on the verge of social domination.
Question and answer platforms – Millions of people start asking questions on sites like Quora and Linked In. Pick a platform that speaks directly to your audience and start answering a few questions. Participate in conversations; build a reputation as an expert and you will start to stand out from the rest of the social networks.
Find an alternative to the ‘big ones’ – use Statenet instead of twitter, use Aardvark instead of Linked In Answers, use bright comet instead of Foursquare. He tries to succeed with an emerging trend instead of trying to shout above the noise of the crowd.
Be proactive and set yourself up for success!