innovation in marketing

Traditional marketing is outbound marketing. Meaning that in one way or another, you are going out into the world through advertising and trying to capture revenue. This is hard, and if done incorrectly can be very expensive. But there is another form of marketing that few companies take advantage of. It's called Inbound Marketing.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Imagine if you could get to know your customers like you get to know your friends. You don't meet on sales call. You meet with a no-pressure conversation. Before they are even your customers they begin to know how you think. They start looking at you as a resource. They start sharing your thoughts with others. Soon they are not only customers but also fans and promoters. That's how inbound marketing works.

Starting a small business comes with a lot of expenses. We all know we need to budget for advertising but sometimes the money just isn't there. If this sounds like you, check out our list of Ten Ways to Advertise for FREE*!

Newspaper Press Release. Many newspapers will include an announcement of new or changing businesses. Call the newsroom and ask what the proceedure is. You will likely have to fill out a standard form.

Here in Roseburg we have a man who makes his living yelling at cars and pointing at people. He dances and spins a sign and yells WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I have to admit, I love it. I always honk. If my kids are in the car they scream for the "funny man."

From an advertising perspective, I can see the draw. This guy will definitely get more attention than a billboard. You are more likely to see him than you are to hear a radio commercial.

Recently I had a new stereo installed in my car. The motor in my radio antenna is broken and I thought I would look into getting that fixed too. The stereo guy replied, "Why bother? You have a smart phone. Just download the Pandora app and play it through your bluetooth." I took his advice and I have never been more pleased with what plays through my stereo. No longer do I have to sift through stations just to finally settle for something I don't hate.

Social media is a great tool for businesses to use to interact with their customers. But sometimes the steps between people "liking" your page and actually showing up to buy your products and services can be a hard to navigate.

That's where Foursquare comes in. Foursquare is a social media app for your smart phone that is designed to get people to "check in" to places they are visiting and comment to their friends about their experience. Friends compete for points, badges and mayorships.

Everyone is talking about Pinterest. By everyone I mean women aged 18-44 who have kids. But hey, that's a great demographic to target. These are the people who make BUYING decisions! So how do you use Pinterest for your business?

Set up a Pinterest account. Find the stuff you sell online. Pin that stuff. Pin other stuff that goes along with your company culture. Have fun. That's it. Really! 80% of pins are repins so ask your fans to follow you. They will repin your stuff.

Social Media has become a powerful tool that businesses can use to build a following for their products and services. Unfortunately though, most businesses use this tool more like a hobby. It's important to have a strategy, but no strategy works without "likes". A good way to gain "likes" to your page is to run a facebook ad campaign.

How do you do that?

Open your business facebook page (not your personal profile).

Every business is trying to promote innovation but sometimes you find that not everyone within a company is playing for the same team. Most companies are divided up into departments. Each department has goals within their department. At the end of the day all these goals should gel together to make revenue. Each part should cooperate as a unified body. All too often you find that some departments would like to work independently and often times against the overall goal of making money.

Whether you've started a multilevel coorporation or a from-home side business, there are some things you'll need right away to start promoting your business and get some cash flowing. Here's a quick checklist.

Website. Believe it or not this isn't the most important thing but most of your clients/consumers expect you to have one. Facebook Business Fan Page. This is not a personal profile but a page set up for your business. Branded for your business. People "like" your page.

You've heard a thousand times before that "word of mouth" advertising is the best you can get. To a certain extent that is true. Your customers love you and they tell their friends. But really, how many friends are they telling? One or two. Maybe, if you are lucky, they will say something nice on Facebook or post a nice review on Yelp. Too bad you couldn't get them to tell every one of your potential customers. Oh wait, YOU CAN!

Here's how . . .

Find your fans.