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Posts Tagged ‘marketing’
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
What’s the one problem that every small business owners faces when it come to social media marketing? Time. There are just not enough hours in the day to manage a business, often work in the business, manage traditional marketing problems, and then manage a wide range of social media interactions. Having a Facebook page is becoming a must and for many businesses, a Twitter account as well. Google’s +1 will become a go-to place and for professionals; a profile on LinkedIn is also a big help. What’s really required is a comprehensive way to bring all four of those social media sites together, and that’s where Nimble comes to your rescue.
We’re currently putting Nimble through its paces, however, first impressions are positive. Nimble will solve some of your social media time problems since you can bring in your contacts from those four sites and review all of your interactions with those contacts. Having it all on the one page can reduce the time spent on social media by at least 50%, if not more.
Nimble is possibly one of the easiest yet comprehensive online CRM programs available. They seem to have thought of everything, even email and calendars. Personal users get one free account that comes with all the basics. Businesses can opt to pay $15 month to have multiple users and access to advanced features. There is plenty of help available including videos, which make it a lot easier to visually gain an insight into all the features.
The last word should be left to Nimble – they describe themselves as the all-in-one place where you can :
Unify all your contacts, calendars, conversations from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google. Monitor the most popular social networks from one screen, engage prospects, and build deeper relationships.
If time is your problem when attempting social media marketing, give Nimble a try; you may just find that you have plenty of time left for the other important areas of your business.
Tags: marketing, Nimble, social media marketing
Posted in Social Media | 7 Comments »
Monday, January 16th, 2012
To be successful at anything, you need discipline. When it comes to the online world, discipline is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful. In its broadest terms, marketing is the single most important aspect of an online business. I say broadest since SEO, PPC and many other activities could come under the marketing umbrella. Why is discipline important?
Discipline affects your mindset. If you are sitting down to write PPC ads, then you need to have the discipline to follow your planned approach. A lack of discipline could see you easily swayed to change your mind – that’s never a good idea without research. The same can be said for a blog or a social media campaign. If you have planned your approach, then stick to that plan.
Humans are emotional creatures and we have a tendency to look at what others are doing and then trying to replicate their actions in our lives. For small businesses, that can have some limited success in the offline world, however, the online world can be very different. This is where discipline becomes an important attribute. Before trying to replicate what someone else is doing, you need to be able to examine and perhaps measure, or predict, how that action will affect your online business. We often see “fads” in the SEO and social media marketing world that work very well for one business but do absolutely nothing for another business. Sometimes they backfire and cause more damage than good.
Small business Internet marketing requires a well planned approach. Once you have that plan, you need to have the discipline to follow it through. That doesn’t mean your plan is stagnant – you still need to measure, review and make changes where necessary, however, that too is a disciplined approach that takes all the variables into account before making a move.
If you are disciplined in your approach, you are giving your business the best chance of success. Of course, discipline will do little if your marketing plans, products, or service are rubbish to begin with. If they too are spot on, then a disciplined approach should lead to high success rates – and that normally means more profit.
Tags: blog writing, marketing, PPC, SEO
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 4 Comments »
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
“Conversational marketing” is a term that has been around for about as long as the Internet. The concept goes back further, however. The idea is based on the concept that markets are conversations.
The “markets are conversations” concept was discussed in a book published in 1999, “The Cluetrain Manifesto.” According to its authors, markets have always been conversations, except for that period in the 20th century dominated by mass media. During that time, marketers would promote their products by “shouting” at consumers, who had no way to talk back to the peddlers. With the advent of the Internet, however, that changed.
Today, not only can consumers talk back, but they can walk away. There is always someone else in the conversation who can meet their need. And it isn’t all about price. It’s about the conversation.
Conversational marketing is all about using the tools at your disposal to engage with your audience and that requires being able to speak their language. I mean language in the vernacular sense, not in the cultural barrier sense.
When you talk about your company, your products, or your services with your prospective audience, are you respecting them? Are you shouting or listening? Conversations are a two-way street. If you don’t treat them as such, then you will lose in the age of conversational marketing.
Tags: conversational marketing, marketing, online marketing
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 3 Comments »
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
If you want to reach the younger generation, called Millennials, which is made up of young people between the ages of 18 and 29, then the best way to build loyalty for your brand is to give them a reward. So says a new survey.
I find two things really interesting about this survey, both pointed out by Marketing Pilgrim.
First, in all but one survey category, there’s not a big gap between Millennials and non-Millennials. On questions pertaining to doing business with a brand after being added to a loyalty program, the two groups compare on key questions like this:
- Question: Do business with a brand after receiving a reward?
Millennials: 78% likely; Non-Millennials: 72%
- Question: Tell friends about positive reward experiences?
Millennials: 78% likely; Non-Millennials: 75%
- Question: Be or feel more loyal toward a brand after a reward?
Millennials: 75% likely; Non-Millennials: 71%
All of this can be summed up with one statement: Do something for me and I’ll do something for you. While everyone seems to have that attitude toward brands, Millennials have it more than everyone else. But when it comes to the question, “Would you promote products or brands through social media in exchange for rewards?” there is a much bigger gap between Millennials and non-Millennials.
Millennials are 44% likely and non-Millennials are 29% likely to use social media to promote brands in exchange for rewards.
It’s interesting also to note that Millennials outpace non-Millennials in reasons to join a rewards program in all reasons except two: Rewards are relevant to their lives and they are connected to a social cause. In those two categories, Non-Millennials are more likely to join your rewards program.
Lesson to learn: When promoting to Millennials, it’s got to be all about them.
Tags: brand loyalty, marketing, Millennials, rewards programs
Posted in Social Media | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Online marketing is getting more and more complicated every day. You have more channels for marketing your message, products, and services than you’ve ever had in your life, but which ones are the most important?
When it comes to marketing online, here are a few of the channels you have at your disposal right now, today.
- YouTube
- Twitter
- Facebook
- LinkedIn
- Google+ (still in beta, by invitation only)
- Your blog
- The search engines – Bing and Google organic listings
- Pay per click ads
- Article directories (yes, they still work)
- Squidoo
- Knol pages
- HubPages
- Tumblr
- Guest blogging
- Etsy, if you are a crafter
- Niche directories
- Groupon
- Foursquare
- Gowalla
- YellowPages.com, Yelp, and other online city directories
- Google Places and Bing Maps
- Forums
- iPhone apps
- Mobile websites
This is just the tip of the iceberg, and as the World Wide Web grows bigger, there will be more channels popping up all the time. But which ones are important?
The really important online marketing channels are the ones that provide you with the best opportunities to reach your target market. That’s why it is infinitely more important to know your customer than to know the Web. If you know your customer, you’ll know where she hangs out. That’s your most important marketing channel – even if it’s the local bar and grill.
Tags: marketing, online marketing
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 2 Comments »
Monday, August 15th, 2011
Every piece of effective marketing content ever written has one thing in common. It doesn’t matter if it was writing on a cave wall or a web page with two sentences. There is one piece of every effective marketing content that is absolutely essential. Without it, your marketing content has no chance.
That one piece of essential marketing is called a call to action. Its purpose is to spur your reader to a desired action.
It could be that you want your website visitor to give you his or her e-mail address so you can send them endless e-mails hawking your digital products. Or you might want your website visitor to click the “Buy Now” button. Maybe you just want them to download your free e-book or stand on their head and sing the National Anthem. Whatever it is, you need a call to action.
The call to action must be bold. It’s got to stand out as a bold statement or request. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
It needs to be short and to the point. A good call to action doesn’t need a set up. You sell the benefits, then ask for the order.
No marketing content – online or offline – can survive without a call to action. Remember, if you don’t ask your reader to take the action you want them to take, then they won’t do it. Spur them to action.
Tags: call to action, content, marketing
Posted in Business Writing | 3 Comments »
Monday, August 8th, 2011
As marketers, we like to talk about how you can brand yourself wherever you go. You can brand yourself on Google and Bing. You can brand yourself on billboards. You can brand yourself at the local Chamber of Commerce. You can brand yourself on Twitter. You can brand yourself with articles and through your blog. But can you brand yourself through Facebook?
Can you brand your company through Facebook?
Keep in mind that you and your company – even if it is a sole proprietorship – are two different things. Your company might have a page, but does it have a profile on Facebook? You certainly have a profile, but do you need a page?
These are questions you’ll have to ask yourself when attempting to use Facebook for branding. But let’s talk first about your wall. Let’s say you have a profile, but your business does not. Should you post repeated status updates about your business on your wall?
I wouldn’t encourage that. What I would encourage you to do is to use Facebook as a lifestream. Don’t tell everything about yourself. It isn’t therapy. But do let your fans and friends know who you are. Post about your hobbies and interests, news stories you read, talk about your children and grandchildren, and, yes, talk about your business.
Your business is a part of you. It’s not all of you. It’s only a part of who you are. Facebook is a place where you can be who you are. By branding yourself completely as an individual, you can gain some business from the tool. Use Facebook as a tool, not weapon.
Tags: Branding, facebook, marketing
Posted in Social Media | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
If you look at the top 20 keywords that Google makes money on with its AdWords service, you’ll find that 4 out of the top 5 are all about money. Here are the top 5 keywords on which Google is earning its gold:
- Insurance
- Loans
- Mortgage
- Attorney
- Credit
Education, technology, and computers also have multiple places within the top 20. I can understand technology and computers, but education? I think education is in the top 20 right now because the economy is down, and when the economy takes a hit people typically go back to school for updating their skills and training for new professions. That’s why you’ll see education and training in Google’s top 20 income earners.
Money. Like sex, it sells. And that’s why I think it’s Google’s top earning keyword category. When money talks, people Google.
So what can you learn about this for your online marketing knowledge? Not that you should target those keywords in some way to attract new eyeballs to your content. Rather, understand the human motivation behind these keyword placements. Insurance companies are willing to pay top dollar for ad placements because they realize that they have a product that most people deem a necessity. Life and medical insurance sell, and everyone needs them.
With mortgage and loan salvation being a hot topic right now for a lot of people, it’s easy to see why these are hot keywords at the moment.
If you understand the motivation behind what makes something popular, then you can duplicate it for your own marketing plan. Maybe not perfectly. Some things just don’t translate well. For instance, how do you turn a necessity for insurance products into a marketing plan for shaving cream?
Nevertheless, understanding what motivates consumers, buyers, and advertisers will help you create better marketing collateral for your business – online and off line.
Tags: advertising, google, human behavior, marketing, online marketing, traditional marketing
Posted in Traditional Marketing for Small Business | 5 Comments »
Saturday, July 9th, 2011
If you’ve ever wanted to start your own holiday, Chick-Fil-A can teach you how. The fast food restaurant inspired hundreds of thousands of people to dress up like a cow and get a free chicken sandwich. That’s pretty impressive.
When it comes to marketing – traditional or internet – it’s OK to get wacky.
Wacky sells. It inspires. It builds buzz, and that’s what you want in your marketing plan.
Starting your own brand holiday is a great way to build buzz for your product or service. Hallmark has created several holidays just so they can sell more greeting cards. So what kind of holiday could you create to sell more of your product? And how can you tie that in to your local area or get your customers to get involved? Giving away free or discounted products is one way, but it’s not the only way.
Here are some holiday ideas for different types of small businesses:
- Save A Sheep Day – Sell clothing? Have your customers show up at your store for a party wearing only polyester, or any clothing not made of cotton, and let them shop for free or at a discount.
- Landfill Appreciation Day – For grocery stores, have your customers show up with their own non-plastic shopping bags. You know those little jobbers they’ve started selling now made of cloth material that you can use over and over again? Customers who show up without one can get one for free.
- Nutjob Sunday – If you own an automotive shop and you are normally closed on Sundays, open the doors one Sunday for a couple of hours and offer free tune ups or tire rotations during that time.
- Midnight Pillow Talk – For local linen stores, have a midnight sale on Saturday night. Give away free pillows with purchases of $50 or more.
I hope you see the vast potential in this type of marketing. With the right approach, you can probably get some free media exposure. All you have to do is think a little creatively. Create your own holiday. It’s an awesome marketing technique.
Tags: holidays, marketing
Posted in Traditional Marketing for Small Business | 6 Comments »
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