A new client I’ve recently acquired is a self-proclaimed ‘old-fashioned’ marketer. His small business promotes itself via print ads, he never really did much email marketing and the idea of a Facebook page is foreign.  This has become a tremendous challenge for me as a social media marketer and I’m embracing this by taking slow simple steps, knowing his business is on-board with the plan.

Here is my timeline for easing his business into social media marketing:

1. (Month 1)
   Create and establish a Facebook page.  
   The best way for a non-Facebook user to gain a following on Facebook (besides suggesting the page to his email address book) is to Boost his page for likes.  Additionally, I know he doesn’t mind giving out handouts at his point of sale  retail location, so I will create a flyer with his Facebook page URL and reasons why customers should like the business page.
   In order to get a sense of what types of posts work best on the Facebook page, I’ll test various offers, product information and industry-related news article posts.
2. (Month 2)
   Work on the website’s SEO.
   Several suppliers to this business operate their own websites with the opportunity to link back to my client’s website.  By digging deeper into the suppliers’ websites, I will confirm his website is linked on their ‘find a location’ pages.   Check Google, Bing and other search engines to optimize each of their free search tools for businesses.
   Build an email list.
   This client used an email marketing tool very sparingly over the past couple of years and ceased to continue utilizing it.  My goal is to convince the business owner that with the right email message, he will generate more awareness of his business and bring in more clientele to shop.
   Boost a popular Facebook post.
   Facebook page insights are helpful to see which posts are reaching the most users.  By boosting this post, the business will reach a wider and targeted audience for more exposure.
3. (Month 3)
   Begin an email marketing campaign sparingly.
   By using analytics and proving the emails are converting customers, we can catapult into a full-scale email schedule with content including staff profiles, promotions, testimonials and product information.
4. (Month 4)
   Continue to show results.
   Insights, Analytics and in-store statistics are the best tools for showing a retail business owner how social media marketing is growing his sales numbers.
   Introduce the concept of Blogging, Video Live-streaming and an additional Social Media Platform.
   Choose one of the above with the client’s input and test it out.By taking small, incremental baby steps with this particular client (or any others with the same hesitations), a marketing consultant can showcase their business into a modern, cool, hip and trendy place to buy their products!