Online marketing and advertising has changed drastically over the last several years. Now, it’s easier and cheaper for small businesses to get in the game and compete with big business. We want to help you get in the game.
On their own, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media integration offer small business marketers attractive opportunities for reaching new customers.
Many small businesses are scrambling over social media, trying to figure out how to boost sales and keep the customers they have. SEO combined with social media integration is an online marketing tactic that’s become an established part of the online marketing mix.
Too many choices in advertising, marketing, social media, online promotions, offline promotions? You may be experiencing decision overload and/or analysis paralysis.
Here are a few tips that might help:
- decide which choices matter most and focus your energy there
- be proactive and not reactive in making your choices
- make your choices, don’t let your choices make you
- take accountability for your choices
- build trustworthy relationships with people who can help you make choices in areas you are weak
- be honest about your choices, you’ll sleep better at night
McDonald’s or Macaroni Grill? Sonic or Chili’s? Kohl’s or Wal-Mart? Macy’s or K-Mart?
Decisions we make every day are determined by our influences… peer pressure; advertising; needs; wants, image; etc. But, somehow we manage to figure out where to eat and where to shop. And if it doesn’t fit we take it back.
Social media: Who should I hire? Should I do it myself? What tools and platforms should I use? How much should I spend? In the words of one of my favorite brands: Just Do It
Don’t just “try” social media, though. Be determined that it will work for your brand… just find the right fit.
If the social media package you try on first doesn’t fit, take it back and find another.
Most people don’t get married after the first date. It takes time to build a trustworthy relationship.
Traditional marketing and advertising still works. However, companies who are aware they need to strengthen their brands through social media relationships with consumers are more likely to prosper no matter what we hear on the news about the economy.
So, exactly what is social media? If you don’t know what social media is, consider this your first date.
Facebook is the current network of choice for most people with over 250 million active users. Facebook has tools in place that lets you hone in on target demographics of the people you want to reach. Get involved by setting up a personal page then a page or group for your company. Do you have a Facebook page?
Twitter is good for is keeping people informed and establishing fun and interesting relationships between current or potential clients and your brand by creating links to your website or other social media sites. Don’t plug your products and services with every tweet. Keep it fun and informative. Are you tweeting yet?
Marketing has traditionally focused on the Four Ps – Pricing, Product, Promotion, and Place.
But in today’s demanding environment, marketers need to be focused on an additional set of letters – three Os and an I: Online, Offline, Outbound, and Inbound.
These letters represent new channels for marketing and new challenges for coordination, management, and measurement.
If you’re not online and generating inbound traffic, you might find your business offline and outbound for failure.
Are you ready for the three Os and the I? Ready or not, they’re here.
If you are finally ready to get serious about social media, here are four key steps to help you develop an effective strategy:
Step 1: Assess your findability. Where do your customers go online when they’re looking for your product category? Go there and see if you can find you.
Step 2: Establish credibility. It is of the utmost importance to establish trust and credibility in social media. If you talk about how your company or brand is the best, you’ll fail at both. Just like a real conversation, you should provide value and expertise, be transparent and identify yourself as a representative of the brand. Your goal should be to participate in the conversation and provide a credible viewpoint.
Step 3: Enhance reality. This is your opportunity to be an expert where you are an expert… not in a boastful way… in a knowledgeable way that can truly help others. Being an expert, without coming across as an expert, will go a long way to enhancing the reality of your brand image in social media.
Step 4: Measure Impeccability. Monitor your online reputation. Gauge your online reputation by utilizing website analytics tools to measure visitors’ time on your site, bounce rate and referring traffic data. Be sure to establish a baseline at the beginning of each social media campaign so you can accurately measure results.
_______________________________________
There’s a lot more to social media than merely creating a Facebook page. Social media offers tremendous opportunity. So, are you dating social media or are you ready to get married? Those who get serious with social media will derive serious value from it. It’s that simple.
Brand relationships are hard work… especially in this competitive economy.
That means you can’t just let your brand sit around on the couch all day eating snacks and watching movies.
Shape up! Get up on that metaphorical treadmill and keep your brand in shape by keeping up with the latest marketing trends and embracing the new wave of social media. It’s time to embrace ideas that will keep your brand near and dear to the hearts and minds of your prospects.
Please… if you don’t get help with your brand at YourAdTeam, get help somewhere.
So, have you heard of Google Buzz? Some say that it has “completely changed the game (of social media) as a tool and as an industry”.
On Tuesday, February 9th, Google launched Buzz for Gmail – a service for sharing thoughts, multimedia, and your social media feeds with your friends utilizing Gmail as the conduit. The result: over 160,000 Google Buzz posts and comments per hour.
Among some of the most common reasons why people cite using Google Buzz are that it’s easy to use, accessible, convenient, has a closer social circle, moves in real-time, engaging…
On the flip side, there have also been some concerns about privacy issues associated with this new social media tool. Since it’s linked directly into Gmail, people can potentially figure out your email address. (Note, however, that Google is responding with lightning speed, and many predict that users will soon forget about the initial privacy concerns and that Google Buzz will continue to grow exponentially.)
It will be interesting to see how this growth changes social media as we know it. In particular, stay tuned to see just how the social media kingpins, Facebook and Twitter, will be affected by this changing landscape.
Too many people, when asked for their opinion, dissemble. Instead of giving an opinion, they push back.
You’re an expert. If nothing else, you’re an expert on life, on your opinion, on being a consumer. When I ask you for your opinion I’m not asking you for the right answer. I’m asking you for your opinion.
Teach your children to be curious. Â Inspire those who work for you to improve work processes and job flow. Â After all, curiosity begats creativity and innovation.
Be transparent.
Admit there are different ways to solve the same problem.
Be real.
Remind them there is never a substitute for a spirit of excellence.
Be curious.
Teach your children to be curious. Â Inspire those who work for you to improve work processes and job flow. Â After all, curiosity begats creativity and innovation.
Be transparent.
Admit there are different ways to solve the same problem.
Be real.
Remind them there is never a substitute for a spirit of excellence.
