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Social Media Marketing for the Bottom Line

Created on Thursday, 30 June 2011 21:17

43% of all U.S. companies are using social media to earn new customers. So what's the problem with the rest of us?

Most people know that setting up social media accounts are as easy as signing up for an email service. For all of us who are in business, we want to know how to use this new-found and very popular resource to increase the bottom line! At Design Toads, we specialize in SEO (search engine optimization) and On-Site Conversion. We also utilize social media in the growth of our own business. It is working for us.

The following information is intended as an introductory guide for Social Media Marketing techniques.

The first rule of social media is: Never sell anything on social media websites. While this sounds counter-intuitive for increasing the bottom line, the key is to not waste your efforts in this realm. There is a quickly attainable goal for companies using social media: Brand Awareness. Are you a small to medium size company? Does anyone, other than your customers, your friends, your family, and maybe some folks in your industry know who you are, or what you do? If the answer is no, then using sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are going to help obtain a more universal exposure if you use them correctly. Even if the answer is yes, marketing teams are acutely aware that continuing to stay in the public eye is the only way to grow and maintain a client base.

Of course the efforts we make online are to capture new customers, however this is not the primary purpose of the social media sites! So where do you make the conversion? It is important to start with a strong foundation – your website. Your website is the single most important tool that you can have on the web. Sounds intuitive, right? Let's review your site quickly then, to see if your foundation is firm.

Your Website as Your Platform for All Online Interaction

Does your website read like a brochure? Meaning, is all the interaction a one way street? A website is not a place to just "toot your own horn" about how great your company is. It's not a place to write all about you, show your photos and write about the projects you have handled. Granted, this is information that should be included, however, this reduces client interaction to a one way conversation. People surf the web very quickly and must be either

entertained
engaged or
educated

within the first several seconds on your website. This will buy you some time. Time for what? Time for the trade off. Since any interaction requires an exchange of some sort, whether it’s conversational or with more significant implications, a trade must happen between the two parties. If the exchange is of value to both sides, the result will be a continuation into the next stage of the conversation.

We suggest that your site offer three professional routes of exchange. The first and most important is the engagement. Do you have a well placed call to action on the homepage? If you are an art dealer and there is nowhere on the homepage that, in a big way, indicates Click here to "view the artwork," then your homepage is already failing you.

“Wait, wait, wait! I thought we were talking about Social Media here,” you say! We are. We will get into more details about this, but in the mean time, think about social media streams as tributaries to your lake, or ocean, (depending on the size of) your website. The SMS (social media sites), are going to feed your actual company's website.

Returning to the exchange
I give you a snippet of information that tells you two things.

you are in the right place
some informational factoid that makes you think.

You give me three more seconds.
I give you three options (examples)

read more
get started!
ask our team

Your choice. Either you stay and interact, or you “bounce”. So does your website offer an exchange in some way that allows you to make sales while you sleep? Or does the site just railroad your potential customers with information that they cannot digest because they just crawled across 30 other sites before they found yours. If your site does not intuitively lend its information to easy access, you will lose the potential client. I will list a few more items that will determine the success of your homepage, then we’ll move on.

a. Professional Logo? Not a $250 logo, is it? Potential clients may not be aware of the reason, however they don’t trust your logo. A logo that costs $250-$500 is most likely made from clip art, therefore it cannot be trademarked - hence NOT A LOGO.

b. Product, Project, Service, and Associate Photos need to be professionally taken. I am not a photographer. I do not want to sell you photos! I want you to sell you!

c. Don’t clutter the homepage! Hell, don’t clutter any page! This is your entrance exam with your potential client.
Returning to SM (social media). The next most important factor once your foundation is in place, is finding your Target Market. It’s time to go hunting! Most folks feel like they are going to have to spend hours a day on SMS just to make a connection or two. The truth is that you will only an hour or two a week. You know who your real target audience is, now spend a little time finding them digitally.
As you

make posts (establishing yourself as an expert)
ask questions (to get them curious)
display testimonials (to establish proof in the social realm)
use humor, and inspirational quotes

you will be reaching for responses from you target market. They will respond. And when they do, you must treat them as though they are a customer across the counter from you.

Here is a real example. I had been posting for some time with, mostly, educational posts about web design and Internet marketing and the occasional question loosely related to my field of expertise. One afternoon, a Facebook friend messaged me on instant chat about his website loading slowly. He asked what the problem was. I really did not intend on selling him anything at all. I typed back “it could be a few things, and would take a little time to determine the problem.” After a little back and forth, this FB chat turned into a phone call, which led to my company working on his site, then becoming his webmaster. This relationship has grown and may turn into another project in the near future. I had been casting lines, but never selling services on SMS. He thought I might be able to help. I established quickly that I could. I treated the situation as though we were talking face to face. He is now a loyal client. While writing this article, I just had a phone call. While writing this article. It was a recommendation from this client.

I will admit though, that, he was already in my network. You also want to win over clients from outside you current circles. That is the beauty of these online communities. LinkedIn for example, shows how every connection you make, is connected to everyone else. If the theory of six degrees is true, then you should be able to connect to anyone with a little time and effort - even Kevin Bacon.

Beyond socially swimming your way up this digital network stream, you can also charter a boat straight to finding your TA (target audience). You will use the advanced search features which are available on all the major social networking sites, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Let’s start with the most effective SMS, Linked In

connect to the “connectors” on linked in, the “movers & shakers”
use the advanced search to find users associated with your industry keywords
write recommendations and request recommendations (starting with friends and family)

Go ahead and create your Facebook company profile page.

Do it now. You will need 25 fans before you can get a good URL. Having this can make the difference in being found. For instance, mine is “http://www.facebook.com/designtoads,” when it was “facebook.com/some_random-stringnumbers&symbols” before. Not helpful to being found I assure you. Once your company page is established and you have fans, only they will be seeing what you post. People who want to hear from you are receiving your posts at this point.

Have an interactive website with prominent calls to action (3 tops)
Never give a sales pitch on a SMS
Use spell check
Discover your TA on the 3 major SMS’s using advanced search options
Entertain
Educate
and Engage people
Continue being interactive

As for Twitter...

The best thing I can say for Twitter, is that I don’t go on very often. Yeah, I said it. I have my Linked In and Facebook settings adjusted to re-post information on Twitter. Honestly, for Twitter, and the rest of all SMS’s the most important factor is to have “Policy & Procedures” written out so that you don’t get burned. Curious? Google; “Domino's Pizza Social Media Fail”.

Above all else, Be Consistent with Your Posts So, you want more than just one client from your efforts with Social Media? The next tip is going to help with this. Once you have your interactive website in place, and you have sought out your target audience, you will need to post consistently. Some resources indicate you need to be posting 3-5 times daily. Other resources indicate that 8pm is the most effective time to post on FB right now. This will change. Google it for current trends. I know that 3-5 times daily sounds a bit much. I am shooting for one, around 6pm every day right now. I tested the 8pm and found that 6pm works just as well for me right now.

Now you wonder what to post. Well, here is an example; “I just got back from yet another social media seminar, but this one was actually good. Follow the link...to see my notes from the event”. So I’m establishing two things here, a personal connection, as well making a professional statement. Let’s break it down.

a. “I just got back from yet another social media seminar,” This established my impatience with some of the more generic and less-thank informative seminars I have been to. Albeit a character flaw I exposed here, it’s personal. This is how people connect.

b. “but this one was actually good. Follow the link...to see my notes from the event”. This statement provides information that I have an educational link for you to follow. This helps me to establish my knowledge and leadership in the Internet marketing world. To reiterate, it is important to connect both personally and professionally. Most offices I visit offer me something to drink when I am there on business. “Would you like a cup of coffee, or a water?” Do you think they have enough money that they just want to give it all away in drinks at the front desk? No, they are establishing a human connection, so they can then talk business with you. After I sit with drink in hand for a few moments, someone shows me back to an office. It might not be humorous or educational, but it does engage me in some way. There is always an exchange when people meet. Either online or in person.

Let’s review what we’ve been discussing:

Have an interactive website with prominent calls to action (3 tops)
Never give a sales pitch on a SMS
Use spell check
Discover your TA on the 3 major SMS’s using advanced search options
Entertain
Educate
and Engage people
Continue being interactive

One last thing, join conversations daily. Just relax and remain interactive. Otherwise, you may as well just buy T.V. ads and other passive media for your marketing campaigns.

For more from total optimization and design service tips, visit other sections of our blog.
copyright 2011 DesignToads, LLC

Social Media Marketing

Created on Wednesday, 15 June 2011 15:51

Social Media and Online Marketing (Crash Course)

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Social Media Marketing for the Bottom Line

Social Media Marketing