by James Moore
Although it is most often associated with the Boy Scouts, their famous motto of ‘Be Prepared’, needs to be used by on and all in most every industry – especially when it comes to the digital world – this new year.
As everyone knows, 2013 went out and 2014 came in with a bang. And the most talk coming from manufacturers, designers and 
creators have come in the form of mobile marketing, and how this will soon be mainstream, knocking Facebook into second best status.
But small businesses need to know that mobile is necessary for their profits to rise. They need to be prepared for the fact that their websites have to be updated for the realm of mobile use that the ‘people’ seem to have chosen as their favorite way to do business, speak, text, search, review, and find that location or service they need at a moment’s notice.
Now, to be able to update your website in order to focus on the mobile world, the small business needs to have the social media/PR team on their side who can optimize their website fast.
An entirely new design must be crated in order for people to be able to interact with the small business via their mobile devices. The ‘responsive design’ that social media teams are talking about is the huge next step for everyone to take no matter what the size of their company may be.
Now, mobile isn’t new and many large organizations and companies have already made their marketing, advertising and social media envelop this aspect of consumer purchase. But now the small business needs to take that step forward as well, if they are to see their ROI rise and their brand become a staple of their specific industry.
Everything from mobile apps to SMS and something as small as email service must be updated so that your customers will be able to view everything from their cell phone. If this step isn’t made, 2014 will be a very unprofitable year leading to a 2015 where the doors are closed.
In addition, with 2014 comes the idea that you must unlearn almost everything you’ve learned regarding social media. What that means is that the familiars – Facebook, Twitter, etc. – must not be the only sites that you are looking at to increase business and build a customer list. Niche sites, which Pinterest proved almost overnight, are out there and they are receiving some serious heavy traffic from the consumer. In other words, don’t put your money or focus all in one place. It is no longer just a ‘Facebook’ plan of action that will build you brand.
Never forget this year that bloggers have also taken over. Again, niche sites have grown. The groups on Goodreads, alone, are so varied and visited by so many, that more and more books are being sold and being talked about on Goodreads than ever before. So many, in fact, that Amazon books turned its own ‘large corporate’ eye on a niche in the publishing industry that grew to epic proportions.
The friend of a friend, the blogger, the chatter, the small radio programs, all of these avenues are not only building traffic but they are creating buzz about the newest and best things in any industry. And when it comes to the friendly blogger with so many followers, it may be hard to understand, but they have become the ‘go-to gangs’ that people are choosing to keep up with the latest news, gossip, and data across the board.
And not exactly a ‘small’ name by any means, but Google+ is going to have a make it 2014. You are talking about a social network that sees an increase in its number of users almost every day like clockwork. Consumers are moving toward Google+ like a pack of hungry wolves to a limping deer – and that’s not an overstatement.
It is because of these reasons and a whole lot more, that small businesses need to have one thing in their coffers in 2014 – the social media/PR team.
To Learn more about Social Media and Content Marketing, Contact BeFirst Media Group.
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