The picture below shows pages 16-17 of Inc. Magazine’s May 2010 issue. Though it may be hard for you to see from this image, the top left article on page 17 is titled “A Cash Register That Tweets.” Beneath that headline is my quote about the application, which I originally posted to the magazine’s blog.

Max Chafkin’s article about getting customers on Facebook and Twitter was great ["Tell Your Friends About Us," March]. I’m really impressed with the point of sale connection that Tasti D-Lite created, which allows it to determine exactly how much ROI is coming from Twitter. I’ve never heard of another way of doing that so well. I could see this becoming the norm, because it is a constant struggle for businesses large and small to justify the time and expense of social media.

Kai Rostcheck, Founder, Free Marketing Made Easy

Am I telling you this just to pat myself on the back? Nope. In our Social Media Fast Start series I walk you through the process of posting on blogs, Facebook Pages and LinkedIn groups. Why? Because getting involved in relevant conversations with your target audience is a great way to build credibility and drive traffic to your site.

The Inc. Magazine example shows what can happen if you keep it up and get a little bit lucky. I was pretty sure that Inc. is read by a cross section of small business owners and entrepreneurs. My suspicion was confirmed when my friend Julia (owner of Chive Events) emailed me saying “hey, I just saw your quote in Inc…”.

This makes me relatively certain that I’ll end up picking up some additional traffic (leads) from people who read it and say to themselves “hmm…I wonder what Free Marketing Made Easy is all about?”

If that sounds like a technique that you might be able to use successfully, then go ahead and check out the series here. It normally requires registration (that’s why you don’t see it posted as a link in our menu navigation) but as our blog reader you can have it with no strings attached. Enjoy!