The midmarket business owner needs to spend advertising money wisely to make the maximum impact—that’s obvious. But what about Web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? How do you build an online community and keep it from falling into neglect? In an age where communication is everywhere, how do you best extract feedback from your clients? It’s a big, bad, branded world out there, but here are some tips that won’t break your budget and build a brand that puts you ahead of the pack.


1. It’s Not (All) About Money

Enterprise companies across the globe spend money on advertising at a rate that suggests saturation is the key to visibility. But is it? To those of us who can’t walk through Tokyo, London or New York without seeing Golden Arches and Nike Swooshes, the answer might seem "Well, duh." But for many, if not most, SMBs don’t have the advertising budgets to erect Blade Runner-scale neon billboards. The SMB owner must look to innovative marketing opportunities in order to build the brand without breaking the budget.

“I’m in the process of launching a new business of my own,” says BL Ochman, a Web and blog marketing and branding consultant who runs What's Next Blog. “It’s about creating a community and letting people know who you are and asking for input. That’s just not going to cost any money to do.

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