If you’re a business owner and haven’t considered the idea of getting into social media marketing or social media optimization (SMO), think again.  Old school marketing models that are not watching and listening are falling behind and in some cases, internet social media can be killing your business.

Consider this.  The facebooks, myspaces, social bookmarking, forums, tweets, reviews, blogs and advisory sites are proliferating.  If you own a business, like it or not, people are talking about it.  The problem is that upset customers are more likely to make their voice heard.  Not to mention, the ease for even the novice internet user these days having the facilities to make that happen are here.  How many iphones and blackberries have you seen lately?  For example, if you own a Bed & Breakfast and do a significant amount of business, more than likely people are talking about you on sites like TripAdvisor, IgoUgo and TravelPost …and it may not be all good!

Rule 1.)  Start getting involved.  These types of sites do allow establishment owners to rebuttal.  Its always a good idea to be involved with sites that have the potential to effect your reputation.

Rule: 2.) Leverage monitoring tools to listen to what people are saying about you.  Google has a free one called “Google Alerts” in which you can monitor any keyword and receive alerts.  If you own Joe’s Popcorn Shop, have alerts sent to you for “Joes Popcorn”.

TOTUS offers Internet Reputation Management (IRM) services that guarantee results.  Are you having trouble posting a decent review about your property on sites like TripAdvisor, TravelPost or IgoUgo?  TOTUS has insiders on all major reviews websites that ready to be positive about your establishment.

If you don’t have the time and/or desire to get a leg up on social media feel free to consult with us.  We manage social media campaigns across mulitple platforms and devise thorough internet marketing social media strategies.