There is still a big misconception that small businesses can’t use social media to leverage their brand online. We’ll often hear the excuse that participating in social media takes too much time. I’ll argue that both of these are false. A friend of ours is a local chiropractor in Fargo, ND and we’ll use him as an example of how a busy small business can leverage social media.
The thing to understand is that when using social networks, businesses can dip their toes in the water before jumping head long into the deep end. This is also what we recommend to our clients in order to help them stick with the plan of moving forward with social media. If you feel like you are overwhelmed by what you have to Tweet, Facebook update, video shoot and so on you won’t get any of them accomplished because it is too much work. Take one thing at a time until you are comfortable with it and then (and only then) layer on the next thing.
It is very important to know that social media is a process not a goal.
Facebook Page
At the end of March 2012 Facebook will be switching (or already has) pages to the Timeline just like people’s personal profile pages. This will have a few different effects on what businesses will be able to do with their pages. One of the biggest changes will be stripping away the ability for businesses to have “non-fans” land on a specific landing tab. This method of driving people to a landing tab is to entice those visitors to some kind of call to action like “liking” the page, downloading something or signing up to a newsletter. Now if a business wishes to drive people to those types of landing tabs they’ll have to do so through direct promotion or advertisement (much to the chagrin of everyone).
It is very important to have a completed profile page that people can follow/subscribe to see what is new and happening with your business. This is supposed to be an interactive playground and not just a billboard 2.0. Using Strive as our example you can see a page that receives frequent updates, has followers engaging, questions are being asked with answers given, there is a personality to the site and a very positive and informative tone. This is a process that takes a little bit of time to build into but pays dividends as relationships with customers grow.
Businesses often overlook filling out their profiles with all of the information that’s possible. Take a few minutes to make sure all of the addresses, links, phone numbers and times are correct. The last thing you want is the customer missing out with incorrect or incomplete information.
The total time invested on this page is probably less than 15 minutes a day.
Twitter allows businesses to update their background image to a custom image to display on their page. Just like the picture below, businesses can use this opportunity to post link addresses to their websites, social profiles or list other important information such as phone numbers and addresses. Businesses need to take the time to completely fill out their profile with as much information as they can.
Again, when using Twitter businesses should focus on interacting and engaging with their followers and not just blast them with updates about the business as if it is a one-way street of communication.
YouTube Channel
A lot of businesses have the ability to showcase their products and services by creating some simple videos. The second largest search engine in the world is www.youtube.com with billions of searches every day. We have talked about creating a cheap HD video setup in the past. For a couple hundred dollars a business can get up and running and distributing high quality videos.
Like Facebook and Twitter, YouTube’s channels can be highly customized with pictures, information and links. It is also very important to properly complete all the available information for each video, including:
- Create an inviting YouTube channel with proper (pictures and information)
- Use descriptive video titles
- Fill out all the video details
- Add links and full video descriptions
- Use videos to talk about your business practice or industry
For example:
Can The Chiropractor Help With Pain? – Strive Chiropractic Fargo
How can the chiropractor help your infant – Strive Chiropractic Fargo
The total time into creating these two videos and their YouTube Channel was roughly 3 hours. This is easily something that can be done once a month for any small business looking to spread their brand and gather more eyeballs from the Internet.
Google Places
If you are a business like our Chiropractor in Fargo it is important to either create or secure your Google Places page. By securing your page you’ll be able to update the information on that page including the descriptions, pictures, hours, contact information and links to your website/video/other. Just like our Chiropractor in Fargo creating a nice, clean and simple page that people can easily navigate will boost the amount of calls your business receives. By fully engaging on your Places page higher search rankings can be achieved as you move past your dormant competitors’ listings. Follow this link to learn how to secure your Places page.
Google+ Business Page
Very similar to the business page for Facebook the Google+ business page allows businesses to fill out their profile with pictures, videos, descriptions, hours and much more. The benefit to the Google+ page is knowing that a completely filled out page will have all of the elements that Google is looking for in terms of providing relevant searches on the results page. Although this feature is new to the space it should not be ignored. Some of the advantages to the Google+ page is having plenty of room to provide content to visitors which in turn boosts the likelihood that your profile will raise above the competition.
BlogWorld Expo 2011, LA
I’m headed to Los Angeles to take in the Blogworld & New Media Expo next week! This conference is going to be “off the hook” in grand style. I was invited to speak on a topic I have written about before on this blog…Shoestring Video and a topic I’ve presented at numerous other conferences. This event is coined as “The World’s Largest Social Media Event” and will feature 275+ Speakers and a tradeshow. I am so excited to be a part of the fun this year.
My session is called “You May Not Win an Oscar, But Your Videos Won’t Stink, Either” and I think that title pretty much sums it up for the most part. The session is really a “HOW-TO” and a “WHAT-DO-I-NEED” type of session. I’ll layout the basics and pass along some knowledge (from experience) that will enable you to take your online video up a few notches quickly.
Key Points
1. Shoestring video equipment “shopping list” and what to look for
2. Planning your shots, when to shoot and simple lighting techniques
3. Time-saving video production techniques
My session is a part of a larger Tourism Track at BlogWorld and I honored to be among some of the coolest cats in the industry. If you’re in the area be sure to stop by. If you’re gonna be there let me know what you’d like to hear about! I am tweaking my presentation every single day! For instance, today I just picked up a new GoPro Hero HD2 camera and am already finding new uses for it in my shoestring equipment arsenal. We’ll talk about it all during the session!
If you can’t make it be sure to follow the #BWELA on Twitter!
There’s nothing more frustrating than starting something and not seeing growth. The problem isn’t Facebook, it that most of the time we focus too much on ourselves and not enough on the greater community at large. Being a successful social marketer for your business requires you to be an engaged social marketer within the greater community.
We have all seen those pitchy Facebook pages, or streams of non-stop blatant and nauseating advertising messages disguised as “genuine” conversation. These types of posts often receive little or no response. Consumers these days are increasingly savvy. They know B.S. when they see it. Maybe your pages are not growing because you are guilty of not being “genuine” enough? To be genuine, you simply have to stop being a robot. Online it’s all about interaction
So how can you ramp up the interaction rate of your business Facebook page to foster growth? Here are a few tips:
Don’t forget to “like” other pages as your page and customize your “Featured Likes” under your “Edit Page” options. We all have partners and stakeholders so be sure to put them front and center. You’re allowed five featured likes. Use at least three of them for your most important partners and leave a couple open to randomly rotate among your entire “likes” list.
Share! Don’t be a selfish self-promoter! Share content from others too. The share button is a powerful tool in building relationships and providing topical content to your followers.
Keep an eye on your newsfeed even when you’re signed in as a page! If you find something interesting “share” it. Chances are others will find it interesting too and the original author will think you are cool beans.
LIKE! Like and comment on the content of others. Spread some love! It puts your name in front of more people and it tells people that you are listening. What comes around goes around. Show a little love, get a little love.
Comment on and “like” the post comments that people contribute to your page. Again, it shows that you are listening and appreciate the attention that your fans are giving you. If a comment requires a response…respond. It is kind of like rewarding good behavior. It makes people feel good and encourages future interaction.
You see, by dedicating a little more time to engagement you’re tapping into a huge pool of people who will start doing some of the marketing for you. It’s not just “playing” around on Facebook. It’s marketing. Simply put, social media is word-of-mouth advertising.
Recently, the Fargo-Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau (FM CVB) marked the 15th anniversary of the release of the film ‘FARGO” by creating a full-scale replica of the infamous wood chipper and brought the actual movie prop to the community for “The Wood Chipper in Fargo” exhibit. To promote the exhibit, we created a presence online with a Facebook page [hyperlink:http://www.facebook.com/FargoMoorhead#!/thewoodchipper]. In just a few months, the Facebook page has grown to more than 7,000 fans, and is growing at approximately 1,000 new fans a month. We’ve also seen a true “real world” impact. Walk in visitors to the F-M Visitor Center are up more than 30 percent in the months following the installation of the exhibit and launch of our social media efforts. The “Wood Chipper Community” is extremely engaged and responsive too. But, let me assure you it didn’t happen all by itself. It took dedication to our fans and continued efforts of outreach and interaction to foster this healthy and vibrant online community.
You can do the same for your business. All you have to do is get involved in the conversation, reward your audience for their participation and spread the love.
I think both new and old forms of coupons and saving will be more successful in the coming years, but is one more practical than the other?
There has been a lot of talk lately about coupons and couponing (is that a made up word?). Having worked with the Pitch Anything McGraw Hill book, I have learned there are dozens of books about to be released on the subject of coupons and savings. No joke. Clipping coupons is about to become the norm for a large group of people. Except few people actually clip coupons anymore with the Internet around.
So all this raises the question, should a company provide an ongoing assortment of coupon codes or blow their whole load in a one day sale like Groupon?
I have to admit there is something addictive and sexy about a Groupon in a way that reminds be of woot.com. But Groupon has its limits such as location and the number of discounts it provides on a given day. In the booming metropolis of Fargo we don’t get Groupon deals, so the next closest Groupon list I could find to subscribe to was Minneapolis a few hundred miles away. I do admit I look at the deals but have never committed mostly due to not eating Chinese frequently in a city 3oo miles away, oh well.
Lately, I have heard that Groupon’s sales team suggests businesses being listed on their site up their prices considerably before posting the deal so they are not really out any money in the promotion. Now after reading that article and seeing the Groupon deals float through my inbox, I began to think that in fact the prices are inflated and most of the deals I would never need. I want camping gear, not cakes!
This makes me think that Groupon is fun and cheeky but not really for me as I have yet to use them once, although the skydiving deal looked enticing.
Now this leads to normal coupon sites and the ability to either copy and paste a code or print it out to redeem. I myself use these kinds of codes frequently. How else can you bear buying another domain through Godaddy’s check out cart if you don’t it get for 50% off?! I still see a need for coupon sites and coupon codes, but can a company innovate and change the way we shop?
For instance, if the site Harry and David produced a Harry and David coupon code (which they do, non affiliate) can they change the way people shop? The reason people love Groupons is due to the fact that it’s like the lottery and every morning the new, next, better deal will be waiting in their inboxes. This forms a community and a group of people talking about the next latest greatest thing.
But for an average online retailer not on the Groupon hit list, is there a way to catch the same zeal?
The first thing a company would have to do is get people talking about your product preferably on your terms (ie. social media, blogs, Facebook and Twitter). Then they would have to segment their followers into groups that like the same thing such as: organic lawn care vs dog tricks. There is no law that says one user can’t be in two different groups, by the way 
With this segmenting and creating specials or deals, businesses and coupon sites could offer me more of the coupons and discounts I want. You know how Amazon starts blasting you with emails when you check out a product like a Netbook? They are trying to get me to purchase a netbook through them after looking up some info about netbooks. Except the only problem is, I was only showing a friend the different netbooks and I have no intention of buying one myself. So now I am being spammed for being a good friend.
What if, when you bought something you not only wanted but often buy such as Coke from the grocery store, your favorite coupon site automatically sent you monthly coupons for your next shopping trip or notified you of a killer 2-4-1 case sale going to take place next week? Now that is something I would want.
I don’t want to think as a shopper/consumer, I just want to know of the best deals for frequently purchased items and have them automatically sent to me. The first site/company/app to nail this will have a walk off homer in my book.
What are your thoughts? Do you use coupons? What is your favorite coupon site? Does Groupon really suck?
*img source: http://www.momsneedtoknow.com/printable-coupons-2/
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How to Create Share Worthy Content and Viral Campaigns for Social Media
This is a guest post written by Patrick Meninga of Make Money With No Work.
Does your social media strategy consist of integrating Facebook “like” buttons on your website?
Most people will hesitantly agree that this is pretty much the case, so let’s dig deeper for a moment.
Promoting your business should always include some form of content planning.
The goal is to publish content on your website that invites your site visitors to share it with others and help spread your message in a viral fashion.
Social media sharing is one of the end results, but we can shape this process by focusing on our content creation process.
If you want people to share your message, then build better stuff to begin with! Let’s look at a few different ways that we can do that.
Use existing data to point you in the right direction
Your website should already have some clues as to what type of content is a winner for your audience. Look in your Analytics package and sort to see your top content by pageviews or visits.
You might ask yourself a few questions about the top 20 articles, such as:
When you are planning out future content, consider what your audience has responded to in the past, and use that as a guide to create more “winners.”
Promote, test, measure, repeat
Creating share-worthy content should become an iterative process for you.
This means that you are going to consciously create new content with the goal of surpassing the performance of older content. What you choose to measure is up to you based on the goals of your promotional strategy, so you may be judging your content based on the number of reader comments, number of Facebook likes, or whatever the case may be.
But each new piece of content should seek to set a new record when measured against your older content. If it fails to do so, then you have learned something, and you can then try something else.
If it succeeds, then you are onto something, and you should run with your idea and see if you can create more “winners.”
The web makes it very easy to test and measure success in this manner, so take advantage of the lessons you are learning when your audience responds (or does not respond) to your new content.
This testing process is important because eventually you can use this information to create custom content that you know will do well with your audience. You can then be more confident that any dollars spent promoting such content will be well spent, and your whole marketing strategy will become much more effective. You will create less content in the future that fails to engage your audience.
Crafting share-worthy content for your website
So how do you get started creating share-worthy content?
Start with your users, your audience. What is their most burning desire? What do they most want in the world, based on the fact that they are visiting your website?
Start with that hypothetical “burning desire” in the mind of your audience, and then work backward.
Special attention should be given to the headline of your content, as that is where much of the “share-ability” comes from.
One strategy is to start with your headline, make a huge promise to your audience, and then write an amazing article that actually delivers on that promise.
For example, your headlines might be things such as:
“How to Double Your Social Media Engagement in 30 Days or Less”
“Use this Simple Social Media Trick to Double Your Website Traffic Overnight”
“How to Write Articles that Sell Themselves and Spread Like a Virus”
“10 Steps to Building a Social Media Following that Has a Positive Impact on Your Business”
Using the iterative testing process, you might brainstorm several dozen of these headlines, then get together with your team and pick out the top five.
Then, carefully write and polish an article for each headline, making sure to test the response that you get from your audience.
I recommend that you focus on delivering real value to your audience with such articles rather than aiming for hype or sensationalism. That way, your articles will stand the test of time and continue to deliver real value and engage your audience for longer periods of time.
Successful social media starts with conscious content planning
There are thousands of cheap tricks and gimmicks when it comes to social media promotion, but a strong campaign starts with careful planning.
Start with your audience in mind and create genuinely valuable content that makes a big promise using a catchy headline.
Over-deliver with your article and then carefully measure the results of your content based on the metrics that are most important to you.
Keep brainstorming new content ideas and headlines, then test new content you create against your existing data.
Constantly refine your content offering based on the response and engagement. Continue to test and to measure new content until you have reached your social media goals.