By: Khila L. Khani, Esq.

At Khani & Auerbach, we are continuing to expand our minds with education and learning. This expansion is not just with the law, but in business, too! We are always pleased to share our knowledge with you, our friends, colleagues and clients. That being said, welcome to our first official LinkedIn publication.

As business owners, we are always seeking the most efficient way to market ourselves. These marketing techniques continue to change and rapidly evolve over time. The internet has greatly changed the landscape of marketing and at Khani & Auerbach, we are always ready to embrace these changes. Here are some predictions and explanations that may just blow your mind.

1. LinkedIn Will Continue to Be Important for Business-to-Business Networking and Growth.

Those of you who are seeing this on LinkedIn may notice that this platform is becoming increasingly important and for business. Some may continue to dismiss LinkedIn as viable form of marketing, but don’t be fooled! LinkedIn is still the leader of Business-to-Business marketing and out performs Facebook and Twitter. Bottom line: Keep investing your marketing dollars in LinkedIn.

2. Depending on Your Business, Image-Centric Networks Are Rapidly Becoming a Viable Form of Marketing

Some of you may ask, “What the heck is an ‘image-centric network'”? Image-Centric Networks are social network sites like Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest. Pinterest seems to find greater activity among women, but Instagram and Snapchat have no gender boundaries. These image-centric networks, while they do not outperform Facebook, are definitely proving to be strong competition for the world’s greatest social networking scheme.

3. Don’t Ignore Google+!

The vast majority of entrepreneurs and business owners that don’t embrace this platform will end up finding themselves at a loss. Right now, Google+ is just beginning to be a tool for every business owner. Everyone has become so used to Facebook and Twitter as a form of marketing that they may find embracing Google+ to be too complicated. If you don’t know how to use Google+, learn how and start incorporating it into your marketing plan, now. Google is the best way to establish search engine ranking and as always, content is king! I was recently invited to formulate my custom URL for my Google+ profile. Within moments of receiving the invitation, I created my custom URL on Google+. See: www.google.com/+KhilaKhani Be on the lookout for +KhaniandAuerbach in the coming days!

4. Invest Your Marketing Dollars in Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

If you are in a small business, appoint someone in your office to be in charge of social media campaigns. Even the shortest bit of information will continue to keep your business fresh in the minds of your followers and/or potential clients. Investments in social media is no longer a luxury that only the wealthy can afford, but that everyone needs to embrace. Businesses have chosen to put the marketing budget dollars into social media and away from traditional forms of marketing.

5. Micro-Videos and YouTube Are the Future

Vine, Instagram and YouTube continue to be an important marketing tool. Vine is more popular with the 12-25 age group, Instagram seems to stretch beyond the 25 and older group, but as everyone knows, YouTube has no age limits. If you don’t embrace the opportunities provided in these videos, you will miss the marketing boat.

In closing, the future of social media marketing is in your hands. If you continue to embrace the marketing tools of the past and fail to take advantage of these opportunities, you may find yourself in a business without business.