Mar
2
HOW to do Social Media
Filed Under Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Website Marketing | Leave a Comment
This is the last part of a 4 part series on Social Media (links provided in case you have missed the first three): WHAT, WHY, PAYOFF.
We have talked about the fact that social media is conversation online. It is happening all over the internet and is discussions about content that is posted online or something that is happening offline as well. Content that is produced by businesses to engage conversation can take the form of video, audio, or written including inside blogs, forums, all types of social sites and membership sites.
We’ve also discussed why it’s important to be ‘in the conversation’. Businesses are increasing brand awareness, building significant followings, and producing more sales by integrating their company with social media marketing.
The ultimate goal of using social media for business is to get traffic to the website so that you can share more about your company’s product or service. There are many social media tools available to do this. The engagement you create with people in the social sites is what will help spread your message. When people you are connected to approve what you are saying, they will spread the word just like offline word-of -mouth advertising.
HOW do you join the conversation?
Social media facilitates the communication between people online. You will join the most popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and create a space there where you have the opportunity to build a large following. Posting valuable content in these spaces is what will attract others to you, in addition to brand awareness if you are an established business.
Posting content regularly is necessary because people are not going to come back to the same stale content on a page. Each time you post something, you will want to kick in your social media marketing plan for the content. The more you attract people to the content, the more targeted people you will build for ongoing communication opportunities.
Triggering conversation about your business is accomplished by searching for what is being said and responding to it. Answer questions, ask questions, give helpful information, provide valuable content. These are all ways to join the conversation.
What you want to target is an opportunity to provide a link back to your website each time you post something in a social site. That way, people can find out more about your business when they read something interesting that you wrote. This is another ongoing task: to search places online to engage with people and establish relationships.
People are always looking for new content, information about a product or service including features and reviews, help with something, answers to their questions, and discussion about experiences with products and services. They want direct access to the business, possibly even the CEO. The more you engage in the talk that is already happening online (about the market or industry itself and specific companies), the more you will integrate your business into social media and work toward conversion of engagement into sales.
When you give people the chance to associate themselves with you online, you are laying the groundwork for leveraging this communication for your benefit – at the same time, you are providing benefits to your following. Social Media is about sharing and relationship more than it is about selling. It is the model for the old saying that the more you give to others, the more that comes back to you.
The biggest takeaway today is threefold:
1) You must be active every day. Once you begin to participate in social media there will be conversation daily. You need to be responding to this communication and adding to it.
2) It is important to establish relationships, share valuable information, and not look for an immediate sale. People want to know that you care and are genuine about the business you represent.
3) Patience is required. Social media marketing is a process and most of the time it takes time and effort building a presence online before sales are realized.
To continue the conversation since the HOW is an ongoing adventure, we will be developing videos and written material for you to view and consider for your social media needs.
Come back often and discover new materials. Better yet, sign up for our RSS feed and you will be notified when we have something new for you.
Feb
24
WHY Social Media?
Filed Under Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing | 1 Comment
Yesterday we discussed ‘WHAT is Social Media’ (if you missed it, check out the post here) and scheduled the ‘WHY’ for today.
STRONG WHY:
Successful businesses who want to grow will keep up to date with marketing methods that will work for their industry. Social Media is the NEW way to advertise or market a business, and it will work with any market because so many people now have access to the internet. Let’s agree with the fact that, now, people go online to get information and to make buying decisions more than they go to the local newspaper or yellow page books. That’s a fact.
The other part of the story is that we are living in the age of information, where we are able to access more information than ever before, and connect with people at almost every level of a business than ever was possible in the past. People want to ask questions, have discussions, get feedback from trusted friends, and they are doing this on the internet. CEO’s of major companies are present in social channels online, and talking with customers, prospects, or whoever is asking them questions.
The next consideration is that even if you are not participating, your customers and prospects are. They’re already online, talking about the kinds of products or services that you represent, maybe they are talking about you, and probably they are talking about your competition. Chances are that your competition is there as well. And every day that you aren’t, you are losing potential business.
What are people doing online when they are researching products and services they are interested?
Watching video clips
Reading articles on blogs, websites, and news sites
Visiting business social pages
Viewing images
Listening to podcasts
Talking in forums
Being active in communities
Businesses in every market are using all of the above to connect with people, engage in conversation with them, attracting new and loyal customers from this transparent new way to market. On the internet, it is imperative to be genuine and reputable because if you are not, someone is going to tell the world about it.
When you start using Social Media for your business, the most important advice you can take is to CARE about your message and CARE about the people who will see and respond to it. That will lead to a very important WHY: you will build a group of customers who will not only be satisfied with the service or product you provide them, but will become ADVOCATES for you by spreading the word through this very viral community of the internet.
It may seem overwhelming until we get to the HOW do you actually ‘do’ Social Media. That’s coming in a future post (or available by clicking on the WWW (world wide web) picture on the top right of this page) – for now it is important that you understand the WHAT, WHY, and PAYOFF associated with social media marketing.
Tomorrow’s discussion: PAYOFF, or ROI, with Social Media.
Feb
7
What is Social Media and Social Media Marketing?
Filed Under Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing | 2 Comments
The more you dig into the Social Media world, the more answers you may get in terms of definition of the term. Collectively, they still add up to the same thing. Social media is conversation that takes place online.
The internet is where people now go to get information on products, services, businesses, locations, directions, etc. The internet is also where people are talking to each other about all of these things.
Social media is the communication between both individuals and groups – in all kinds of ways – all over the world wide web. The social sites that we use to engage in conversations are our marketing tools. Tools will come and go, but this advertising and marketing method is here to stay. Remember that the internet is still very young, and every day new people are getting access.
Social media is an opportunity for people to talk directly with major brands in a way that was never available before. And small businesses can use social media exactly the way much larger businesses are doing – right now there is nothing to hold any business back from participating.
The cost of social media is measured more in terms of time than it is in dollars. In order to effectively join this new way to market a business, and have success with it, there has to be a consistent and sincere effort to engage on the popular social networking sites as well as industry specific locations.
Advertising and marketing is no longer about pushing out a message, in the form of an advertisement, to a general crowd or even a targeted market. People do not want to be ’sold to’ anymore. Prospective buyers want information, referrals, testimonies, and conversation about a brand, service, or products.
Social media is about attracting a crowd, pulling them in to your message, by engaging them in conversation, posting valuable (helpful) content online, entertaining, educating, enlightening their market.
And it’s not only enough to provide this great content. The other part of Social Media is the marketing of the message: Social Media Marketing. Helping the content to be seen to an even wider audience is achieved by consistent efforts to market the messages in strategic (non-selling) ways.
Promoting your business online using online social channels can include answering questions, listening to concerns, establishing relationships, asking for feedback, and building brand awareness. The most effective way to utilize social media marketing is to constantly be in touch with the conversation that is already happening about your brand, and responding to it in a sincere way.
There are multiple returns for social media marketing efforts. In addition to achieving a wider reach for your content that results in more visits to your website, there are search engine optimization benefits. Social media sites are now receiving top search engine listings so that even more people find your business when going to Google and other search engines to find your product or service.
So there is a plan for Social Media and there is a plan for Social Media Marketing. Both plans should be worked on a daily basis. There are optimal ways to do each, and we plan to cover that here on this blog.
Takeaway: Social Media is sharing information online. A business can participate by posting content in all kinds of creative ways to engage new people to the product or service that is represented – not to sell, but to use the social space on the internet to facilitate communication that will lead to sales.
Tomorrow’s topic is WHY Social Media.
Dec
15
Blogging and Social Media Essential for Local Business Websites
Filed Under Website Marketing | 3 Comments
Blogging and Social Media have come a long way.
Blogs evolved from the concept of an online journal. When first conceived, they were used mainly by people to keep personal notes, post pictures and ideas. Blogs were seen as something housewives and artists used to create online presence. This is no longer the case. Now, almost every business, either online of offline, needs a blog.
Social Media was much the same way. Viewed at first as a tool for students to connect, Facebok is now successfully used for online business marketing. Other social media sites are catching up fast. Sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and flickr are becoming business essentials.
So what can a blog and social media do for your local business website?
People like to feel they know the people they are doing business with. They like to feel they can trust the business. They like to know the business is community oriented and involved. For a traditional business this concept is sometimes hard to convey. A blog on a business website, and integrating social media, can inform customers of current news or offers, educate, and entertain visitors.
Community events, charities and even small events hosted by the business such as celebrations, birthday parties, and classes, can be advertised. Pictures can be posted, including those of customers enjoying the events. If the business participates at a community event, such as a cleanup for example, post the event with pictures. Blogs and social media are a way for your customer to get to know the business and what you do in the community.
Blogs will bring traffic to your website. While your business may be a traditional local business without online sales, it is still important to bring traffic to your site because your customers are online even if they aren’t buying a product or service from you online. Traffic means people who are interested in stopping by the physical store are stopping by your website to see what you are all about. Blogs that are updated frequently will help improve search engine ranking and will increase your traffic and potential client base.
Blogs and social media give you a real time connection to your customers, more so than your website does. They should be kept current, updated on a frequent basis. A customer can go to your blog or Facebook page and see what is going on now. Where your website may be static and offer great information, the blog and social media is where they get current communication from your business.
Four years ago, in a BusinessWeek article for May 2, 2005, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931001_mz001.htm, it states there are 9 million blogs with 40,000 new blogs each day. These numbers have grown significantly since then.
More and more businesses are reaching their customers through their blogs. Facebook, a social website that loves pictures, has more than 120 million users log on every day. Twitter, the micro blog that likes video links, is fast approaching with over 3 million “tweets” being sent a day. Can your local business really afford to miss using these valuable tools?
Nov
20
You can’t turn on the television or the radio without hearing the words, “check out our website at www.xyz.com”. From the big boys to the infomercials we hear the call to check them out on the web. Websites and blogs are a form of business anyone can have. It doesn’t matter if you do business online or not, you should still establish a web presence. Here are 7 reasons for doing just that.
#7 – You stand a better chance to increase your client base. More people are using the internet to shop and find information than ever before. Having a website and a blog will help people find you and your services.
#6 – Your website is as important as your business card and should be on your business card. More than likely people are going to forget where they put your business card. They will forget what your phone number was. If they have your web address and it is one which is memorable they will remember it. Better yet they will bookmark it. It is also easier for them to refer you by your website.
#5 – Your website puts you in touch with your customers. You can let them know of activities, classes, sales and many other happenings through your website or blog. It’s a great way to stay in touch and generate interest in your business.
#4 –Cheap advertisements are easy when you have a website. Advertising can be expensive in a traditional manner. When you have a website you can place an advertisement for a lot less. Running a banner ad or blurb on some other site is also more cost efficient.
#3 – Your website enables your customers to get to know you. People do business with people they trust. Through your business site they will get to know you and trust you. The more information you place on your website, the more they get to know you and believe you are the expert in the area. This will increase your business.
#2 – Websites will make your business more flexible. You can’t change your storefront at a moment’s notice, but you can make changes to your website quickly. If you need to get information out to your customer in a rush there is nothing like a website, a blog or a mailing list to help you accomplish this.
#1 – Your business can stay open 24/7 on its virtual real estate. Most businesses have working hours. In the past customers had to wait to have their questions answered. With your business website they can browse and get questions answered at any time of the day or night.
These are only seven reasons your business should be online. Today, it is beneficial for a business to have a website, a blog, and key information in the form of articles, videos, or other mediums. The trend is towards all businesses having a website. The next steps are to get traffic to the website, establish its reputation, and get search engine rankings. The combination is what will grow your business and produce sales for you online.
Nov
4
Most businesses have online websites. If they don’t, they will in the future. What is a disappointment to many business owners is the fact that it may not be as easy as putting a website up and have customers flock to it. There are many things that have to be done to make a website work for your business.
Website optimization, mailing list, blogs, SEO, social media and auto responders are a few of the tasks need to be learned when placing a business website online. There is no doubt once these tasks are handled you will be reaching your customers and hopefully many new customers. These tasks will help you increase your customer base.
It is estimated 80% of customers now look online before they make a purchase. They are looking for something beyond the yellow pages. They are looking for information about your business. With the age of the World Wide Web, customer’s choices have opened up. Making business competitive in this global market is the goal of many small businesses.
To make your business website a success you have to rank in the search engines. This can take effort and time. It is not usually something which is done over night, but there are the exceptions to this. What it does take is a website which is information rich and optimized for search engines. This is referred to as SEO. In the easiest terms it is making your website search engine friendly. SEO can use keywords and URLs designed to place your business site in the search engines. It includes research into what your customers and potential clients enter into search engines. Once you have a handle on what your customers are searching for, you can optimize your business website for just those keywords and phrases.
Social Media is one of the hottest and latest trends in business marketing. Starbucks has a Facebook page. They are making offers through their Facebook for free Starbuck’s Ice Cream. Think of how many customers they are pulling in with that advertisement ploy on social media. You can use the same advertising on your social media. Social media includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many more are available. Originally just for students and for chatting, social media is a tool savvy business owners do not want to ignore.
You can reach more customers through your online ventures. Whether you want to keep your business local or take it global, the World Wide Web will be key. There is a lot to learn about successfully placing your business in a prominent place on the internet. The time and effort it takes to find what your customers and target market are looking for should not be underestimated because it can be the difference between success and failure in online marketing.
As a successful business owner you have learned outsourcing is sometimes the answer to this question. A Local Business Marketing Partner is someone who can help you with just these tasks. A Local Business Marketing Partner can help you reach more customers. They help you manage your website, social media, internet marketing efforts and help you target your market. They are the experts in this field and will help you take your business to the level of internet success you want it to be.
Market with Social Media
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