Diy marketing how to promote your business through social media
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Diy marketing how to promote your business through social media
- 1. DIY Marketing How to Promote Your Business Through Social Media Ed Mayuga, AMM Communications
- 2. The Ground Rules This is an open forum, so please ask questions and discuss your experiences. Please use the Twitter hashtag if you have a web-enabled mobile device. We will use the hashtag #EBTU . Let me know what you want to get out of this class using this hashtag. My goal with this presentation is for you to walk away with 3 ideas to implement tomorrow!
- 3. The purpose of this course is to… To help build YOUR BRAND. PR Practitioners, like me, have assisted individuals and companies in the development and protection of corporate brands.
- 4. In 2007, Tom Peters wrote an article in Fast Company… You “The Brand Called You” “To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.”
- 5. Have you ever been curious… Why social media has “taken off” in the last few years? Because people and companies are harnessing the power to advance ideas and build their brands. PR practitioners have the opportunity to generate content to benefit their clients.
- 6. You can succeed with just a little time and effort…
- 7. First of all, what can you do with Social Media? Share your knowledge… Build expertise and gather testimonials… Make people remember you… And ultimately, increase…
- 8. Just how big is Social Media?
- 9. Anyone, from anywhere, can distribute content…
- 10. The main reason to engage in Social Media marketing is… To drive traffic to your website and build your brand!
- 11. Web pages have evolved to this..
- 12. Objection #1: My client base is not teens and young adults The “average” social network user was born when this album was released: 1973 = 37 years old
- 13. The average LinkedIn user graduated from high school the year this movie was popular 1966 = 44 years old
- 14. The average Twitter user graduated college the year his show premiered: 1993 = 39 years old
- 15. The average Facebook user turned 30 the year of these Olympics: Making them 38
- 16. First “Call to Action” Even if you don’t intend to use a social network, like Twitter, sign up anyway because it’s FREE and you can lock in your username. Also, you can start to passively start to build a following.
- 17. Objection #2: I don’t have time to manage my e-mails much less my Social Media profiles TwInbox
- 18. Second “Call to Action” TwInbox Sign up for a Hootsuite or TwInbox account.
- 19. Objection #3: I can’t track the ROI on my time spent on Social Media. Google Alerts
- 20. Google Analytics
- 21. Another way to track ROI…
- 22. What can do? bit.ly is a utility that allows users to shorten a long URL, share it, and then track the resulting usage. For example, you can turn this link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=New+York+Penn+Station&daddr=9th +Ave+%26+14th+St,+New+York,+NY&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&dirflg=r&da te=11%2F12%2F08&time=4:13pm&ttype=dep&noexp=0&noal=0&sort=&sll=4 0.746175,-73.998395&sspn=0.014468,0.036392&ie=UTF8&z=14 Into this link: http://bit.ly/CUjV This makes it easier to include the link in an email or Twitter post without it breaking or taking up too much space.
- 23. How do I see how many times a URL was clicked on? Every bit.ly link has an Info page that shows the number of clicks and other relevant data. For example, to get to the Info page for this bit.ly link: http://bit.ly/CUjV You’ve got several options: • Add a “+” sign to the end of the link — http://bit.ly/CUjV+ • Add “/info/” in the middle of the link — http://bit.ly/info/CUjV
- 24. Third “Call to Action” Sign up for… Google Alerts Google Analytics
- 25. Three Ways to Get Media Exposure Steve Harrison from Reporter Connection.
- 26. REMEMBER: Content is… King (or Queen) Ask yourself, “Why would anyone care to follow, or buy from me?
- 27. Strategy #1 -- Get publicity immediately by tying-in with breaking news stories. Do you have a product or service that can help job applicants land?
- 28. Strategy #2 -- Get publicity year-round by building friendships with journalists who write about your topic. Start reading industry-related periodicals and find out which reporter writes about your area.
- 29. Strategy #3 -- Get publicity easily by using proven headline formulas as "hooks." What’s in store for Mortgage Interest Rates? Here’s the latest…
- 30. A Five-Point Action Plan for DIY Social Media Marketing 1) Learn the basics - Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook updates are ideal for communications. 2) Set goals - Remember that SM is about fostering connections between people. Focus on individual and organizational needs first, technology second. 3) Get everyone on board - SM participation doesn't have to involve commenting on blogs or wikis, but simply reading them. 4) Stay tuned - Businesses blow it when they don't participate in the conversations about them in social media. 5) Monitor results - Are your SM efforts increasing the number of leads to prospective customers? From the IBD Article on Thursday, December 17, 2009 - "Harness Social Web Sites"
- 31. 1) Learn the basics – The Big Five
- 32. Facebook – King of the Internet =
- 33. Great for engaging people who like your brand want to share their opinions, and view the latest news and videos from your company. AMM Communications Fan Page
- 34. Heavily indexed by search engines, passing links and page ranks.
- 35. Establish yourself as an expert in your field by joining and commenting on groups. Complete your profile. Ask for recommendations! Look at Shared Connections. Use the Faceted Search Feature.
- 36. Adapted from Sean Nelson, the author of the Social Media Sonar blog Seven Top Mistakes #1 – Bad Profile Photo
- 37. #2 - Lack of Detailing Your Profile
- 38. #3 – Ignoring Applications 13 LinkedIn Applications
- 39. #4 – Not Securing Recommendations
- 40. #5 – Fail to Join Enough Relevant Groups LinkedIn Groups Directory
- 41. #6 – Overlooking Answers Public Relations and Communications Professionals
- 42. #7 – Selling Directly Call me now for this EXCLUSIVE offer! Sign up today for our webinar… Spaces are limited!!!!!
- 44. Twitter Search Operators New study by Rutgers University professors Mor Naaman and Jeffrey Boase: ◦ Dissected more than 3,000 tweets from more than 350 Twitter users ◦ Concluded that 80% of users are “meformers” meaning writing mostly “me now” updates covering everyday activities, social lives, feelings, thoughts and emotions, according to the researchers. ◦ So how do you write tweets that matter?
- 45. Follow the 70/20/10 Rule Educational consultant and Twitter Maven Angela Maiers (@angelamaiers) suggest that 70% of your tweets inform or share resources. Use the next 20% of your tweets to connect. Engage in conversations, reply to questions, introduce colleagues. She says that it’s OK if the last 10% is “chirp”, or chit-chat about yourself, your life and your thoughts. Your mother probably gave you the same advice: Instead of talking about yourself all the time, give others the chance. 70% 10% 20%
- 46. Customer Communication Brand Exposure Traffic to your site SEO
- 47. You want this… You want this…
- 49. So, now that I’ve shown you the Big 5… What else can you do to generate content for your web site?
- 50. Establish a clear social media policy: Six Key Elements (Sharlyn Lauby on Mashable.com): Leverage the positive. Show employees the benefit of engaging in social media. Who takes the lead? Focus on what the employees can do rather than what they can’t do. Be responsible. Exercise good judgment for what you write and clearly define the consequences of any unethical behavior. Be authentic. Always state who you are and who you represent. Bring value. Provide worthwhile information and relevant perspective. Respect copyrights and fair use. Give credit and seek permission where applicable.
- 51. Back to our Five-Point Action Plan for DIY Social Media Marketing… 1) Learn the basics - Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook updates are ideal for communications. 2) Set goals - Remember that SM is about fostering connections between people. Focus on individual and organizational needs first, technology second. 3) Get everyone on board - SM participation doesn't have to involve commenting on blogs or wikis, but simply reading them. 4) Stay tuned - Businesses blow it when they don't participate in the conversations about them in social media. 5) Monitor results - Are your SM efforts increasing the number of leads to prospective customers? From the IBD Article on Thursday, December 17, 2009 - "Harness Social Web Sites"
- 52. Final Thoughts on Social Media Be Consistent and Don’t Be Afraid to Follow Up. Find and Follow Industry Influencers Use Social Media for Giveaways and Promotions. Don’t Be Creepy. Pick one application at a time and master it!
- 53. Additional Local Resources: For Internet Content Marketing: www.russhenneberry.com New Media Strategies – Erin Eschen: http://erineschen.blogspot.com/ JavaSTL’s Shared Items – Brad Hogenmiller: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/brad hogen Spoke Marketing|Branding|Interactive: http://www.wearespoke.com/
- 54. Thank You! Now for more Q&A… Ed Mayuga Google Voice: (314) 485-9810 Fax: (314) 989-9851 ed@ammcommunications.com Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/elmayuga Facebook: www.facebook.com/elmayuga LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elmayuga Become a fan of AMM Communications on Facebook
Notas del editor
- Have you ever been curious as to why some companies seem to be all over the social media sphere, yet some others have not even updated their webpage in years? Why some companies succeed in the social media space but other’s don’t? I assume that you signed up for this class because you want to see how this emerging technology can help you market your business and ultimately increase profits.
- You have probably been invited to set up and connect with people on Facebook, LinkedIn, perhaps Twitter, and may have even set up your profiles, but are lost as to where to go from there. My goal here today to give you some tools and action plans to move forward and create connections while engaging in the online conversation. The people here at Enterprise Bank and Trust and I want you to be successful in growing your companies and your businesses.
- 1.) To share your knowledge – Give away 10 – 20% of your best ideas, products, stuff free-of-charge to your network, then charge for the rest. 2.) To build expertise – People buy things from people they think are “experts” on the subject. The goal is to show people that you know what you are talking about, so that they ultimately like and trust you. In addition, testimonials on your network are the best way to leverage your brand, your personal brand or your company’s. 3.) To make people remember you – What happens when you Google your company’s or your name? What will you find? When people look on search engines, they want to know about you. They want to see recommendations and testimonials about your brand. The end goal, then is to gain more customers which, in turn, will increase PROFITS!
- Suddenly the conversation is going on all around you. Your brand is being evangelized, dismissed, measured and documented in real time online. If you haven’t done so, then it’s time to join the conversation and show your company cares.
- So where are people most likely to go first when they are looking for information about you or your company? Your website. Your website will serve as the central hub for your social media marketing.
- A few observations: The average social network user is 37 years old. LinkedIn, with its business focus, has a predictably high average user age; 44. The average Twitter user is 39 years old. The average Facebook user is 38 years old. The average MySpace user is 31 years old. Bebo has by far the youngest users, as witnessed earlier, with an average age of 28.
- For Outlook users, TwInbox is an outstanding program, because it works within Outlook. Tweets can be grouped, tracked and archived just like e-mails. If your small business has a presence on Twitter, you'll want to look into two great and free tools for managing your account: CoTweet and HootSuite. You can think of them essentially as Customer Relationship Management tools for Twitter. Both services offer a similar core functionality, allowing you to manage multiple individual accounts, give multiple authors access to individual Twitter accounts, search for keywords and monitor saved searches over time, and get message notifications based on certain criteria. Beyond that, each service has its own custom features -- and which app is right for your business will depend on who in your organization needs to use it and what functions you need to access in your business. Your team can use to manage multiple accounts, group followers, and schedule tweets in advance. HootSuite
- Use Google Alerts - Google has a very helpful free 'alerts' service which can help you get more publicity. It's essentially an online clipping service which monitors both the web and Google News database, then sends you an email as soon as something you're interested in appears in their search results. For instance, let's say you're a big fan of actor Kiefer Sutherland. You can set up a Google Alert for his name. Then whenever Google finds him mentioned in a top news story or on the web, you'll get an email including the web site address so you can go see where and how Kiefer is mentioned. To set up your own Google Alerts for free, just go to http://www.google.com/alerts (see tips further down for using the service and its paid alternative). The exciting thing is you can use this service to grow your business in all sorts of ways. Some of the obvious ways to use it include setting up alerts to see what others are saying about you online, 'spy' on competitors, find out about new developmentsin your field of expertise and/or discover some other influentials with whom you might want to align yourself in some way. This service is also one of the best publicity tools ever created and it's FREE! Here are three ways to use Google Alerts to get media exposure:
- Use Google Alerts - Google has a very helpful free 'alerts' service which can help you get more publicity. It's essentially an online clipping service which monitors both the web and Google News database, then sends you an email as soon as something you're interested in appears in their search results. For instance, let's say you're a big fan of actor Kiefer Sutherland. You can set up a Google Alert for his name. Then whenever Google finds him mentioned in a top news story or on the web, you'll get an email including the web site address so you can go see where and how Kiefer is mentioned. To set up your own Google Alerts for free, just go to http://www.google.com/alerts (see tips further down for using the service and its paid alternative). The exciting thing is you can use this service to grow your business in all sorts of ways. Some of the obvious ways to use it include setting up alerts to see what others are saying about you online, 'spy' on competitors, find out about new developmentsin your field of expertise and/or discover some other influentials with whom you might want to align yourself in some way. This service is also one of the best publicity tools ever created and it's FREE! Here are three ways to use Google Alerts to get media exposure:
- As part of measurement, consider using URL shorteners, such as bit.ly. Not only do they make links more manageable (and limit the number of characters in a Tweet or Facebook message), they also can be a great way to track data as many URL shorteners provide valuable statistics about the performance of each individual shortened URL. Monitor this data throughout the process with your main website analytics package to see if your message attached to the shortened URL resulted in conversions. When looking at conversion trends or successful tools in building leads with social media, reviewing analytics data is crucial. It gives you insight into content that performs very well in the social space but also through other marketing techniques, such as search engine optimization. Use the data as an opportunity to improve your content or your social media/search marketing efforts.
- Strategy #1 -- Get publicity immediately by tying-in with breaking news stories. One of the easiest ways to get publicity is to be able to comment on what's already in the news. For instance, one of my Quantum Leap members, Harrison Forbes, is a dog training expert and author of DOG TALK. While helping him craft his publicity strategy, we advised him, 'Whenever a kid gets attacked by a dog somewhere in America, you need to contact newspapers and radio/TV shows in that city immediately and let them know you can comment on why it might have happened and how this attack could have been prevented. Harrison then asked, 'But how will I know when a dog attack story hits the news?' My answer: "Google Alerts." Within 90 days of beginning to use this strategy, Harrison told me he'd gotten publicity in over 40 different media outlets across the country using this method.
- Strategy #2 -- Get publicity year-round by building friendships with journalists who write about your topic. Another of my clients, Mark Amtower, also uses Google Alerts service in a very systematic way to get publicity. Here's what Mark does: First he set up alerts to track stories written on his area of expertise, which is how small businesses can sell more to the government. When he gets an alert email pointing him to a good story on that subject, he then sends the journalist who wrote the story a short email saying he enjoyed their article and offers a sincere compliment. His email stands out because journalists don't often hear from their readers and when they do it's usually to complain. Within his email Mark mentions his website GovernmentMarketingBestPractices.com to reinforce his credibility. If the journalist writes him back and thanks him for his comments, Mark then offers to send them a free copy of his book and mentions he's happy to be a resource for them on any future stories they might do on this or similar topics. This simple technique has helped Mark get a lot of publicity in his niche because he's systematically created relationships with many reporters who now look at him as a reliable source.
- Strategy #3 -- Get publicity easily by using proven headline formulas as "hooks." Authors who want more publicity often ask me what their 'hook' or angle should be when approaching the media. I'll immediately ask them, 'What hooks have others in your industry successfully used to get publicity?' Usually they don't know, but by using Google Alerts (or even just searching the Google News database at http://www.google.com/news) you can quickly find articles in which others with similar expertise are quoted. For example, let's say you've written a book about how to get the best mortgage. Suppose also that you're based in Phoenix. One day you discover a story in the Chicago Tribune about new loan programs making it easier for self-employed people to get a mortgage. Well, if it's newsworthy in Chicago, it's probably going to be considered newsworthy by the media in your city. So pitch your local media on doing the same story, only this time they'll be interviewing YOU as the expert.
- Facebook > Flickr > LinkedIn > Twitter > YouTube
- Facebook Is The King Of The Internet - by GREG BUSSMANN on MARCH 17, 2010 Last week, Facebook overtook Google as the most visited website in the United States, according to web metrics firm Experian Hitwise. All told, for the week ending March 13th, Facebook received 7% of all U.S. internet traffic and together with Google, accounted for nearly 15% of the total web traffic. Even more impressive, Facebook’s traffic was up 185% year over year for that week. Google, for the record, was up 9% year over year for the week.
- Fan pages are great for brand exposure, jump-start your brand exposure through the ad platform. Starting a group or a fan page on social networks like Facebook or LinkedIn is a wonderful way to get your customers to interact with each other about your brand and the ways in which your brand plays out in their lives. Johnson and Johnson’s McNeil Pediatrics sponsors a group on Facebook called ADHD Moms. They provide a space for moms to share info and links to information for moms to share and reference. You might think that creating a group on a third party site would dilute your brand, but that’s not true. Creating groups and communities outside your web space actually grows your brand’s fan base. There's no "one size fits all" solution to leveraging Facebook for your small business, but a good rule of thumb is to start small and keep an eye on what's working. Your Facebook Page is a great way to interact directly with your customers and potential customers in a way that's engaging and personal. Keep your customers up to date on what's going on with your company, interesting developments they might want to know about, special offers and sales, and perhaps showcase a bit of your company's personality and values.
- You need to sign up for a Yahoo e-mail account in order to use this service Post pictures of company events and short videos. From an SEO standpoint, this site is heavily indexed in search engines, passing links and page ranks. Also helps images rank higher in Google Images and in building inbound links.
- Customer Communication - Establish yourself as an expert in your field by joining and commenting on groups. Brand Exposure - Effective for personal branding and demonstrating your organization’s professional prowess. Traffic to Your Site - Encouraging employees to maintain complete profiles to strengthen your team’s reputation is advisable. SEO - Very high page rank – almost guaranteed on first page of search results.
- One of the first things most people do when they visit a profile is look at the photo. Its natural to want to see the person behind the profile. People connect to people and a photo helps improve your visitors perception. One of the worst mistakes is to not include a photo. What does it say about you as a business professional if you don’t understand the importance of the profile photo? Another mistake I see is that someone decides to include the family in their photo. That’s fine on Facebook but on a professionally based network it misses the point. Add to this photos with effects or simply unclear. If someone can’t see your face or recognize you there is a problem. Finally avoid including a logo or product shot. The same advice goes for cartoon photos. Its a professional site. You’re a professional. Your photo should support your brand The Fix Spend $25 $75 to $200 with a local photographer and get a professional quality headshot. If you choose to take your own photo make sure you have proper lighting. (note: Teryl Jackson a friend, connection and photographer in Atlanta would like to clarify that a good headshot will run from $75 to $200 and is well worth it.)
- Your profile isn’t meant to replace your resume but it should tell your visitors who you are. There are some key areas that not only allow you to tell your story but provide an opportunity to add keywords naturally into your profile. The first opportunity is your summary. I like to start my profile off with my elevator speech. This short sentence has been refined to capture attention when presented in face to face networking. There’s no reason it shouldn’t work the same on your profile. The rest of your summary should answer the questions of “Who you are”, “How you help people”, and “How they can help you”. One area of missed opportunity is failing to add in your previous employment. First people want to know the path you travelled from college to your current position. Not including this introduces questions into your profile visitors perception. There’s also the lost opportunity to include keywords into your job descriptions. There are also some other areas to add information to such as specialties (great place for keywords), Interests, Awards, and don’t forget to include your phone number and your personal contact information (phone number and address if relevant). You never know how someone will find you The Fix Include as many previous employers that are relevant to your development as a business professional. It’s OK to skip that college job delivering Pizzas. Also be sure that when you write the job descriptions to write them from the perspective of how that job contributed to making you better at what you do today.
- When you look at the number of applications on Facebook (1,000’s) verses the number on LinkedIn (13) you might think that applications just aren’t that important. That would be a bad analysis. While few in number, the applications available are a key to sharing what it is that you do with your fellow LinkedIn members. They provide the opportunity to take your profile from two dimensional to three dimensional. The basic LinkedIn profile is simply a lot of text. Sure you can tell people all of the relevant information about yourself, but I always recall my freshman English teacher imploring me to “Show, don’t tell”. Applications give you the opportunity to show what it is that you do. Applications give you the ability to post a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation (Slideshare or Google Presentations), add a video (Slideshare or Google Presentations), feed in your blog (WordPress and BlogLink), add PDF files or Word documents (Boxnet), announce and RSVP Events, conduct Polls, share the books you’re reading (Amazon), and the just released Twitter application. Just about any way you want to communicate a message or information on LinkedIn is available. Your profile visitors can engage with your profile in print, video, even audio (add your podcast to a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. The Fix Start going through your resources to see what information will help you show others what it is that you do and how you can help them. If you don’t have a blog WordPress makes it simple to create one. It’s simple to create a presentation to share, just be sure to make it interesting by including more than just bullet points. Load up those brochures, white papers, and one-pagers. Finally, add a video to your profile. If you don’t have the tools to record yourself in a professional manner (think lighting and sound), go to http://www.jingproject.comand download this free software. It will allow you to record a 5 minute screen capture as a video. The hardest part is figuring out what to record.
- When I visit at a profile one of the first things I look for is recommendations. There’s no reason why anyone shouldn’t be able to build up to 10 recommendations if they’re good at what they do. The reason most people fail to get any recommendations is that they sit back and wait for someone to take the initiative. You have to remember that only 24% of the people on LinkedIn are regular users (spend at least 5 hours a week interacting), so the majority of your connections are still trying to figure it out. These irregular users probably haven’t thought about recommending someone else because they’re still trying to understand LinkedIn. The Fix Get proactive about generating recommendations. Whenever I start working with a new prospect one of the first things that I do is connect to them. Then once I’ve finished serving them, or moved to a point where I’m delivering results, I send them a recommendation request. I keep the request simple and reference the work I did for them and then state “I’m using LinkedIn to build my online brand. If you feel the work that I did on your behalf exceeded your expectations I would appreciate your taking a moment to write a brief recommendation”. There are some people that feel that you should not do this, but based on the response, and the recommendations, I’ve received from clients I don’t see a downside to sending the request. I prefer client recommendations but if your position doesn’t involve clients then you’ll have to impress your fellow coworkers and business colleagues.
- There was a time on LinkedIn when you could belong to as many groups as you would like. These days there is a imposed limit of 50 groups, yet many people have not yet joined any groups. Failing to do so severely limits your LinkedIn reach. Currently I have 4,500 direct connections on LinkedIn so at any moment I could reach 4,500 people. In the 50 groups that I belong to there are over 1.3 million people. These are people that I can communicate directly to or through using discussion posts and news articles. Groups are also a great place to engage in conversations and cultivate new relationships. The key is to find as many groups as possible that are relevant to your business. The Fix Go to the groups directory and search for relevant groups. These might be groups that are alumni, industry, location, networking, topical, etc. Be sure to think about the groups your prospects would belong to and join these. Then you simply need to start engaging fellow group members through discussions and news articles.
- One of the keys in social media/networking is to seek out opportunities to share or provide value to others. LinkedIn Answers is the perfect vehicle to do so. Each day thousands of new questions are asked by fellow members looking for help. You simply need to find the questions that surround your industry or specialty and share your knowledge. There are several benefits to answering questions. First you’re building good will with the person who asked the question and potentially everyone else that reads your answer. Second you have the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise. Your answers are also Linked to your profile which is then viewable by profile visitors. Let’s say you’re a health insurance broker that only sells in Georgia but you answer a question from someone in Louisiana. The person that asked the question will never be your client but at least you were able to help someone (Good Karma). But since your answer is Linked to your profile, anyone in your local area can see your answer and it can impact their perception of you. The Fix Go to LinkedIn Answers and search for questions related to what you do for a living. Then start answering questions. Be sure to include a link back to your site or blog in your answer. I find that when I answer a question traffic to my blog increases. Most categories also have a RSS feed. You can set up a RSS reader that will display the latest questions asked in the category. Using the Google RSS reader I simply check for new questions every morning and answer away. Just be sure to provide quality answers. Everything you do or say on LinkedIn either adds to or subtracts from your brand.
- I’m sure that on LinkedIn someone is having success posting direct sales messages or sending messages to their connections. That being said you are more likely to do harm to your brand over time. People are not looking to be sold to directly on LinkedIn. That doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities to sell using LinkedIn, its just that you’ll find more success communicating your messages indirectly. The one exception is with the status. It will be interesting to see if this changes with the new Twitter integration. The Fix Take advantage of the opportunities to communicate your message indirectly. One simple way to do this is to change your title to a tagline. My title might be “Blogger” but “Helping folks use LinkedIn more effectively with tips and strategies at the Social Media Sonar blog”. The title tells people what I am, the tag line tells them how I can help them. Plus that tag line is visible in a mini profile when I answer questions, post discussions, or add news articles. Starting conversation using the discussion boards is a great way to interact with fellow group members. Adding news articles allows you to share value through the content. Over time people will get to know you. If they like your content they’ll begin to like you…and check out your profile. Share value consistently over time and people will begin to develop trust. We discussed Answers above and its another communication opportunity. These are only some of the options available to communicate indirectly. you can also use your applications including polls and events.
- (From Mashable Blog Posts) This may seem like a no-brainer, but plenty of businesses and even B2B marketers aren’t on Twitter. Get an account on Twitter and start engaging. While having profiles on other social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn can be equally important, Twitter remains one of the best ways to find and engage with others.How do you do that? Start by searching for phrases relevant to your business and by monitoring those searches regularly. Look at what people are saying and join in the conversation. If people aren’t necessarily looking for your business offerings right away, start joining other conversations of interest. The more you build bridges, the more likely you are to be noticed. Second, use hashtags.
- Customer communication - Use keyword search monitoring through a program such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or Seesmic to track what people are saying about you and your competitors. (Show them how to use Twitter search functions) Brand exposure – offers unique opportunities for Web site integration and to engage with customers in a viral way, helping your company stand out from the masses. New study by Rutgers University professors Mor Naaman and Jeffrey Boase: Dissected more than 3,000 tweets from more than 350 Twitter users and concluded that 80% of users are “meformers” meaning writing mostly “me now” updates covering everyday activities, social lives, feelings, thoughts and emotions, according to the researchers. How do you write tweets that matter? “I don’t have time not to tweet” because the people I follow on Twitter serve as sort of a virtual research team. They scour the web, finding new studies, resources and insights so that I don’t have to. “Informers” are the 20% of Twitter users who tweet information, such as links to articles and blog postings. Informers have nearly three times as many followers (an average of 112) than meformers (with an average of 43), according to the study. Educational consultant and Twitter Maven Angela Maiers (@angelamaiers) suggest that 70% of your tweets inform or share resources. She says that it’s OK if the last 10% is “chirp”, or chit-chat about yourself, your life and your thoughts.
- Customer communication – whether you seek to entertain, inform, or both, video is a powerful channel for quickly engaging your customers, responding to complaints, and demonstrating your social media savvy. Brand exposure – one of the most powerful branding tools on the Web when you build your channel, promote via high traffic sites, and brand your videos. Traffic to your site – Traffic goes to the videos. If the goal to get traffic back to your site, then add a hyperlink in the video description, but don’t expect traffic to correlate closely with video views. SEO – Very good for building links back to your site because videos rank high. Also a tried-and-true way for your brand to gain exposure. Online Videos (You Tube): If you want to get your brand extra visibility in Google, then put up a video. If your brand has “before and after” demonstration value, then you can’t afford NOT to use YouTube or post videos on your site. You can’t mention using videos online without mentioning BlendTec’s Will it Blend Videos. These videos are so popular and so viral because they do a fantastic job of BOTH being fun AND demonstrating the strength and features of the actual product. Other ways to use video are to actually teach your customers how to use your product or service EXAMPLE: I would also like to incorporate this video from Southwest Airlines about a"Rapping Flight Attendant".
- (From Mashable) Start a Blog Social media provides the opportunity for companies to promote themselves but also to welcome commentary from a community of peers. By starting a blog, you give your readers an opportunity to see you with your social voice outside the typical corporate website’s newsroom. Blogs become platforms where you can announce new product releases, share personal company stories, answer any specific questions from your customers, and empower customers to achieve success with your products and service offerings. Blogging can also establish business professionals as thought leaders in their field, thereby aiding with client acquisition. Blogs can build up qualified prospects through search engine rankings too. Be sure to update your blog regularly with valuable content and follow up with the comments written on each individual post. If you are already using Twitter, then you are microblogging Microblogging (Twitter): Now that Oprah has a Twitter account, we can be sure that Twitter has truly arrived as a “brand enhancement tool.” Today’s consumers want a relationship with their brands. They want to know that there are real people behind the products and services that they buy. Best Buy’s Chief Marketing Officer, Barry Judge has his own blog and Twitters as “@BestBuyCMO” just looking at his Twitter stream makes me feel a little closer to the Best Buy brand. Blogging: Blogging isn’t just for individuals. It’s a wonderful way to personalize and humanize a brand that’s being perceived as too big or too corporate. The Wal-Mart brand has really taken a beating in that area over the years. So when I ran into their blog a couple of years ago, I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was to read and how truly informative the articles were. As it turns out, the writers are all real-life buyers and their writing and bios show a real enthusiasm for their topic. I actually left a comment with a question about a toy and almost fell off my chair when I got an e-mail from the writer with a direct link to where I could get this hard-to-find-toy! Content that you generate on a blog that is housed on your site will drive inbound links for SEO purposes.
- Be Consistent and Don’t Be Afraid to Follow Up While you don’t want to be creepy (see below), it’s important to not let potential opportunities slip by when using social media. If you’ve answered someone’s question on LinkedIn or on Twitter, don’t be afraid to reach back out to that person to ask if they have any follow-up questions or if you can send them more information. There’s an abundance of opportunity to strengthen a business relationship but it starts by initiating and then making sure that your business is fresh in your prospects’ minds. Staying engaged and staying communicative is really important. Social media is not about setting it and forgetting it. It’s about being social, so don’t be afraid to reach out and check back in with potential leads you meet using social media. Similarly, don’t be afraid to direct message your followers on Twitter when an opportunity presents itself. They followed you because they want to hear from you. Use that opportunity to your advantage but don’t overdo it. Auto-DMs are a no-no. If you’re going to blog, don’t leave that blog stagnant. Provide valuable content on a regular basis. Give employees of your company an opportunity to help build your brand. You can get a lot of great blog content by involving many company employees in the process. Similarly, get many employees of your company to utilize the social networks and to be continually responsive to customer inquiries. Remember, the more visible you are on the social networks, the more likely you are to be remembered when another business actually needs to utilize your services. Find and Follow Industry Influencers B2B social media marketing is often about connecting with the right people and about building relationships. Social media makes both of these actions simple and painless. Being aware of who the influencers in your industry are and then following them, whether it’s on Twitter, Facebook or their own blogs, is the first step to building a connection with those influencers. With a genuine relationship, these influencers may be able to help you make your mark in the social media marketplace. This is especially true of influencers who may already have your target audience at their disposal. This doesn’t mean you need to retweet every tweet or share every blog post on Facebook, but it does mean that you should be aware of who the movers and shakers are. By following them and then reaching out when appropriate or just to get to know them further, you have a much better shot at getting some attention. Even if you’re not necessarily connecting to influencers, social media affords the opportunity to connect with other people in your industry and your customers. Use the various social media platforms as an opportunity to connect with these industry colleagues and peers and build upon each other. Consider celebrating your colleagues’ or customers’ success. Make it known that you’re here to help them — not just yourself. Repeat this process with anyone of interest and you’re bound to attract eyeballs. Use Social Media for Giveaways and Promotions Sometimes, the hardest part of social media is sticking out from the sea of other users. Giveaways and promotions are a great way to help differentiate yourself and your business. Using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, you can target your desired customer base and then let them know (if appropriate) about different promotions or giveaways related to your product. If you offer a service, consider giving a free year to a loyal customer. If you manufacture products, give some away. Offer a coupon on your company’s Facebook Page and pair it with a lead-generation form for future contact. Let people know on Twitter about specials or contests that are going on and follow-up with those that show an interest. Perhaps you can have a retweet contest where you can monitor responses or host some trivia on your Facebook Page. You can also open an online survey to get feedback about your offerings and reward participants. The possibilities are endless. Creativity in this capacity breeds success. Companies like Wildfire make it really easy to build these sorts of promotions directly inside your own social media channels. Don’t Be Creepy If you use social media like a keyword searching robot, you are going to come across as creepy and turn off potential clients. Don’t be creepy. Use best judgment and common sense when approaching people using social networks. If you wouldn’t want to be approached the way you are approaching another user, don’t use that approach. It’s as simple as that.Social media etiquette isn’t much different than real life relationships, so what won’t work in “real life” probably won’t work online. Respecting boundaries doesn’t mean you can’t still answer questions, engage and follow-up with potential leads, it just means that if it’s clear that the other party isn’t interested, or more importantly, if the context of their communication really doesn’t involve or seek out input from your company, don’t do it. Context is really important in social media and it is something that is very, very easy to overlook. While we think that using keywords and Google Alerts are good methods for keeping atop of your field, that doesn’t mean you can automate your responses or just go into autopilot based on those alerts. Series supported by MarketingProfs B2B Forum