Email – What did we do before @ came along? I remember having my first email address back in the ‘90s but it took a couple of years before I knew enough other people who also had email to start using it to communicate. I also remember still buying lots of postage stamps and running to catch the last collection!
Email Newsletters – It took me until 2003 to have enough people to write to, and then another couple of years to find a reasonably priced email service provider and learn how to send out messages using the colourful HTML templates.
Websites – While my first (expensive) website proudly went live in 2001, my only contribution was to write the words (which now seem so corny & outdated). To make any changes incurred further costs and so I left well alone as far as possible. But by 2005 I was determined to have a site I could update, add to and change as often as the mood took me, so I invested in a templated system, and that served me very well for the next 3 years.
Blogs – I didn’t start blogging until 2007, using Blogger to experiment, then moving on to Typepad as I grew in confidence. Last year I combined blog and website and love that I can keep tweaking the appearance as my business continues to evolve.
Audio – This was a huge step for me. First I included a short introductory message on the website (it had to be short and it had to be one-take!). Now I happily edit out the ‘ums’ and ‘ers’ from recordings on my Digital Voice Recorder and even know how to burn the finished article onto a CD!
Social Networks – I didn’t get this for quite a while, although it hasn’t really been that long since Facebook and then Twitter appeared on the scene. Eventually I joined in and found it great fun – it took a while longer to work out how to use the social networks more effectively.
Smartphones – You’ll laugh when I tell you my first mobile phones were very basic pay-as-you-go – from ’97 right up until November 2008! Then in a quantum leap in technology I got a BlackBerry Storm and discovered the delights of accessing emails and internet browsing no matter where I was. I now have a Bold 9700 which I won’t be parted from.
Video – OK, so I’m still hesitating to put myself in front of a video camera. When I watch the ever growing number of ‘talking heads’ videos, I personally think they’re less interesting than screencasts or slideshows. And depending on the internet connection, they keep stopping & starting which is distracting. Maybe one day I’ll take the plunge .....
Webinars – Judging from the number of invitations in my inbox, webinars are the latest marketing big thing. Those I’ve attended have been of varied quality – both in terms of material delivered and the standard of delivery itself. While there’s a certain novelty value attached to being able to ‘raise your hand’ and take part – until the speed of internet connection becomes more stable I think I’ll give webinars a miss for now.
So what do you think is going to be the next big thing in marketing for small businesses? Perhaps it’s already here – do tell me what you think in the comments below. And if you enjoyed reading this post, please share it or retweet.
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