Small Business Online Marketing: 4 Tips for Generating Leads Through LinkedIn

August 17, 2010 Filed under: Social Media Marketing — Tags: , —

Social media marketing with LinkedInLooking to generate sales leads?  LinkedIn could be a great resource, especially if you’re in a professional service business.  Here are some interesting statistics:

  • 65 million business professionals are connected on LinkedIn
  • LinkedIn claims to be the world’s largest audience of influential professionals
  • Average household income of LinkedIn members: $109,000
  • 45% are actual business decision makers

Lots of people have joined LinkedIn for business networking purposes and to get their resume online for public consumption.   Many LinkedIn users, after posting their profile and linking to some college classmates and former colleagues, will move on and rarely look back.  But there’s much more to LinkedIn than resume sharing and popularity contests.  Like other forms of Social Media marketing, if you approach LinkedIn with a deliberate set of business goals, you can make it deliver real bottom line results.  If you are looking for a job and using LinkedIn to spread your resume, you’ll market yourself with that goal in mind.  But if you are looking to build leads and establish relationships that could lead to sales, these tips are meant for you. (more…)

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Content Marketing – A 6-Step Approach

July 27, 2010 Filed under: Blogging,Content Marketing,Web Analytics — Tags: , —

Do you have a Content Marketing Strategy?  Maybe you should.  Content Marketing is a way to think about Social Media as a deliberate branding strategy for your business.   Think of it this way: Social Media provides a way for people to easily share information they care about.  Content Marketing is the mirror image  – a way to provide information that people will want to share.   Companies that practice Content Marketing can establish themselves as a trusted information source, and let that reputation spread through the natural process of people sharing and talking.  It’s a great way to approach Social Media involvement through the lens of business goals.

With the skyrocketing popularity of social media, consumers of all types are becoming more and more comfortable consuming and sharing information, opinions, and ideas openly across the Web.  It can be fun and engaging to jump right in – watch videos on YouTube, share pictures and stories on Facebook, voice your opinions on Twitter – and see what the commotion is all about.  There’s nothing wrong with diving in – in fact, it’ll give you a good feel for what people are saying about your business or industry, what topics are popular, what behavior is acceptable, and who are the opinion leaders in the social media realm. But after your initial immersion, you’ll likely soon be asking how you can gain business value from these new tools.  Try this 6-step approach. (more…)

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Social Media Marketing – The 5 Biggest Hurdles to Getting Started (and how to get over them)

July 7, 2010 Filed under: Social Media Marketing — Tags: —
Social media for all?

Image Courtesy: Flickr/Matt Hamm

If you’re still wondering whether and how you should join the Social Media scene, you might relate to some of these concerns and hesitations we’ve heard from small businesses — and how to get beyond them.

Isn’t social media just a fad that I can ignore? This is a comment we heard a lot as recently as 6 months ago, but don’t hear much anymore.  Social media has so taken the business & marketing community by storm that not many people still think they can ignore it.  And yet, many small business owners, busy with their own concerns and in some cases struggling to get through recessionary times, are still hoping the social media buzz will die down and eventually go away.  Not likely.  Social media has evolved into a preferred channel of social and business interaction and has levelled the playing field, giving small businesses the opportunity to compete directly for customers and mind share.  It’s a terrific way to gain insight into what your “community” — of customers/clients, partners, patients, or associates — is thinking.  And it’s an excellent way to listen, understand, respond to and engage with that community.

(more…)

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Social Media – Just a Fad?

June 14, 2010 Filed under: Social Media Marketing — Tags: —

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Check out this video, if you haven’t already. Then tell us if YOU think social media is just a fad?

Source: Based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman.

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Social Media Marketing Industry Report Released

April 22, 2010 Filed under: Social Media Marketing — Tags: —

The new Social Media Marketing Industry Report was released this week by Social Media Examiner and has 33 pages filled with detailed data and interesting graphs and statistics about the use of social media — both current and planned — by marketers.  The report is the 2nd annual edition published by Michael Stelzner and includes data from 1900 marketers.  Learn about what others are doing and what questions they are asking in the world of social media.  In this free report you’ll discover:  

  • The top 10 social media questions marketers want answered
  • How much time marketers invest with social media activities
  • The top benefits of social media and how time invested impacts results
  • The most used social media tools
  • Marketers future social media plans
  • And much more!

Whether you’re a new or experienced social media marketer, there’s lots to learn here!

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What If I Don’t Twitter?

March 8, 2010 Filed under: Social Media Marketing — Tags: , , —

My primary goal for this blog is to have it address the questions and concerns of our Sound Web Solutions clients.  So, I take most of the ideas for my blog posts from questions I’m asked by clients.   Let me share with you an interesting question – devil’s advocate approach – I heard from a client recently.   Aware, as most of us are today, that Twitter is the hot new thing, this client felt compelled to do something — but didn’t know what.  Should one person in the company become their “twitter expert”?   Should all employees be told to start tweeting?   Should we host a training session of some kind?   Then came the devil’s advocate — what if we don’t do it at all?   Is that really going to harm us as a company, brand us as a Luddite, leave us hopelessly behind our competition?

What I told this client and will say again is: there are no hard-and-fast rules here.  Twitter is simply yet another way to “get out there” in the Social Media realm – both to hear what others are saying and also to be heard.  I guess the downside of NOT doing it would just be the loss of an opportunity for participation.   Not a dire loss, and not necessarily something that’s going to hurt you.   I personally think the best way to get engaged in Social Media is to author a blog and to read, listen and participate on other people’s blogs in your industry.   Twitter is a way to  send your blog posts out more broadly, to pick up followers who may then become readers of your blog, and to be alerted to what others in your world are saying, writing, and thinking.   A decision to NOT participate in Twitter is a little like a decision not to attend a social gathering at a trade show (or not to attend a party in college) – you can still get the content from speakers at the show (or lectures from your classes), but you won’t be plugged in to the commentary & social chatter that goes on around them.  There’s certainly value in the chatter, and you gain perspectives and tips you wouldn’t get from the formal speeches. 

As is true for much of social media, it’s hard to know what you’re missing unless you try it.  There must be some reason why everyone’s doing it.  Rather than decide against it because you can’t commit to daily tweeting, designate someone to devote 30 minutes a day for 1 month (even 2 weeks) and then share their impressions about what they’ve learned.  That way you can at least develop a point of view on it.   The important thing is to try it before you write it off.

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YouTube Viral Marketing Tips

February 25, 2010 Filed under: Internet Marketing,Social Media Marketing — Tags: , , , —

I’ve been reading lots lately about how small businesses can best use YouTube in their online marketing efforts and I’d like to share some useful things I’ve learned.  First, statistics indicate that 4.3 billion videos are watched per month on YouTube.  That’s a viewership that many marketers find too enticing to ignore.   At the same time – and perhaps a major factor in YouTube’s growth – the cost and time required to produce a video is now well within reach of nearly every business. 

Does this mean everyone needs to run out and create a video to jump on the bandwagon?  Not necessarily.  Like all forms of social media, it’s best to stop and think about what value you have to offer before jumping in, as content that’s strictly self-promotional isn’t likely to get much viewership. 

So what do YouTube viewers like to watch?  Topics that work best on YouTube tend to fall into one (or more) of 3 categories:

(more…)

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Getting Started on Twitter

February 1, 2010 Filed under: Social Media Marketing — Tags: , —

twitter bird blue

I admit I’m still something of a newbie on Twitter, still finding my way on the question of how to use it most productively and usefully.  Since many of our clients are newbies also, I thought it might be helpful to share what I’ve learned so far.

I started my engagement with Twitter by following some colleagues and a few industry gurus who I thought would have valuable things to say.  I was skeptical, I admit, and expected to see lots of “I’m going to the store” sorts of tweets that would be a waste of my time.  There were some of those, to be sure, and a fair amount of grandstanding and chest beating by various tweeters.  The first thing to get right, I quickly discovered, was finding the right people to follow.twitter screen shot

Finding who to follow was a process of trial and error, and continues to be a dynamic process.  I’m constantly evaluating whom I want to follow, deleting those who tweet only drivel, or those who tweet so much that they crowd everyone else out; and adding people who seem interesting, who have insightful things to share, and who are followed by others whom I respect.   Yes, it’s time-consuming, but I figure that the 30 minutes I spend per day twiddling with my twitter account is sort of like the time I spend filtering through the contents of my fridge – I clear out what’s moldy or stale and make room for the stuff that will feed and nurture my body, or in Twitter’s case, that will feed and nurture my mind, my work, my life.

(more…)

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Learning to Blog in 5 Easy Steps

January 21, 2010 Filed under: Blogging,Content Marketing — Tags: , , —

There are an estimated total of well over 100 million blogs on the Web and roughly 20,000 blogs are started every day.   How can there be that many people with worthy information to add to our collective knowledge?  And with that many people already contributing, you may ask yourself how you could possibly add any more value by starting yet another blog.  And how on earth, you might ask, can you come up with new content (and spare time to write the content) on a regular basis to keep your blog fresh and interesting?

Those are good questions – and, frankly, the most common questions people ask when they think about starting their own blog.  We work mostly with small-to-midsize business owners, and many of our clients are on the fence about whether they can create a blog following and whether creating a blog is really worth their time.

To blog or not to blog

(more…)

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Facebook For Business: Learn From the Pioneers

November 30, 2009 Filed under: Social Media Marketing — Tags: , , , —

Doesn’t it seem to you like Social Media Marketing – especially Facebook — has just exploded on the business scene recently? It sure does to me.  A dizzying number of “free Webinars” are suddenly available offering tips and tricks.  Numerous requests arrive in email asking me to “Fan” new pages.  And clients and business associates are buzzing with excitement and curiosity about how to get involved.

My excitement for Facebook is around its role as community-builder. Every organization has a community of some kind – customers, partners, members, donors — and here’s a tool ideally suited to staying in regular touch with them in a non-intrusive, natural way. The big question you may be asking yourself is “how can I make it work for my business?”  One answer is to learn from some of the early pioneers and try some of the approaches that have worked for them.

Here are some Facebook pages  that have impressed me with their innovative and engaging efforts to serve their community and build a loyal following. This is not an exhaustive list of all they do on Facebook, but gives a sampling of creative ideas.

Akron-Canton Airport, a small regional airport. What they’re doing on Facebook:
  • Share information on sales & discounts from participating airlines
  • Run contests periodically – and use their Facebook page for contest submissions
  • Integrate with other marketing tactics. They post their contest drawing on YouTube, with a link back to Facebook, then invite Facebook fans to view it.

BlackHillsBlack Hills and South Dakota, tourism sites.  What they’re doing on Facebook:

  • Communicate activities, events, conventions in the area – for both residents and visitors
  • Encourage discussions so like-minded groups can connect.  They host discussions on hiking, fly-fishing, mountain biking, favorite tourist destinations, etc.
  • Share photos and videos, so fans can view tourist highlights and share their favorite pictures

Pandora, Internet radio. What they’re doing on Facebook:

  • Invite questions and problems, turning their Discussion page into a technical support forum and Q&A resource

Volkswagon, car manufacturer. What they’re doing on Facebook:

  • Invite fan interaction and story-telling about favorite Volkwagon models. Reinforces great brand loyalty.

Step2Step2,  Children’s large toys.  What they’re doing on Facebook:

  • Test out new product ideas and invite early feedback and suggestions from fans
  • Informal surveys and market research

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