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Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
Humans in general are very visual. We would much prefer an image, or better yet, a series of moving images in the form of a video, to the written word. However, while videos are a great marketing tool, they can also become a business’s worst enemy. A video for the sake of a video is not a good idea. You need well planned videos that are there to serve a purpose, a purpose that visitors will appreciate.
So what makes a good video? Content is important, and for every niche, there will be a different type of content that is successful. Sometimes it’s humor, sometimes it’s instructional – most importantly, it’s entertaining. So where do most business owners go wrong when it comes to small business marketing videos?
- Time – no one wants to sit through twenty minutes of hype
- Presentation – give readers the option to view the video. Too many websites use autorun video software on their websites – don’t, there’s nothing more annoying than autostarting video and audio recordings on a webpage.
- Entertainment – how entertaining is your video? Show it to family and friends first. If they like it, then you may be in luck
- Force – don’t force a video down other people throats. Use social media to share the video, but don’t push it.
If they are the drawbacks, then the best way to get the most out of a video marketing campaign is by reducing them. Publish short entertaining videos that pass a real message on to your readers. Encourage them to do the sharing, it will reduce your workload and appear more natural to others. Videos do work – you just need the right formula.
Tags: Social Media, videos
Posted in Small Business Marketing Videos | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
There are several ways to measure a successful social media campaign. For some, it’s the number of followers they have and the interaction that occurs between themselves and followers. For others, the main focus is on having content shared as far and wide as possible. There are others who would claim that success can only be measured if both are achieved. Gaining followers is not that difficult, although the quality of follower may not be great. Having content shared is a lot harder and most website owners struggle to achieve more than a handful of shares.
One of the keys to having content shared is the knowledge of what others want to read, and what spurs them to sharing. There are some tactics that will see your content shared more often, although again, the quality of those shares may not be great. Images, particularly funny or silly images, always get passed around. The same can be said for videos; again, those that are funny will often see more shares than bland or dry videos.
As a business owner, care needs to be taken with this type of content. Sure, it will get shared a lot, but will it be associated with your business or brand? That is often the mistake that individuals make. A photo or image gets shared around a lot, but ask someone who shared it where the image came from and they probably won’t know. Concentrating on a lot of shared material is a mistake. What you need to work is on is material that will be shared while also spreading your message – in other words, content that is shared and easily connected to your business.
That’s all easier said than done. It is possible that there are a lot of brands that have achieved success, often by poking fun at their own brand. While doing so, they are promoting their brand. When looking to increase social media sharing of your content, make sure you are doing so for the right reasons. It is your brand or business that you are trying to promote – not the next door neighbor’s child or cat!
Tags: Social Media, social media sharing
Posted in Branding | 3 Comments »
Monday, February 6th, 2012
What sort of business owner are you – the complete extrovert? Do you have hundreds of people in your network with whom you only have a passing knowledge? There is nothing wrong with developing a broad network of contacts. However, it is often more beneficial to develop a sound relationship with a group of individuals.
Generally speaking, a network is a one way operation. You make contact with a wide range of individuals in the hope that one day they could be of help to you. A relationship is a two way operation. You’re there to help them when required, and they are there to help you when required. Networks are easy to develop. You can do a little research, discover all the movers and shakers who could be of use to you, and you add them to your list of contacts. You may even add them to your social media accounts.
Relationships require work. They don’t happen overnight. In many cases, relationships are one sided – you’re doing all the helping, promoting their cause, even through social media. Relationship builders are by no means selfless. In fact, the art of building relationships still revolves around promoting yourself and building your business. The difference between a relationship builder and a networker is longevity – relationship builders are looking at the long term benefit to their business.
In the long term, relationships will survive the ups and downs of the business world. People in a network will come and go whenever it suits them. They generally don’t stick by you during troubled times, or help repair your reputation when a dissatisfied worker or customer goes on a social media rant. Those you have built up a relationship will, and where possible, help you to negate the effects of that hit to your reputation. Why? Because they know you, and they care – as you would if the same happened to them.
There is room for both, and it’s certainly a good idea having a strong network of people who could be of use to you. While networking, consider taking the next step and developing a strong relationship with those who really matter – it may only be a handful, however, the benefits will far outweigh a hundred in a network.
Tags: relationships, Reputation Management, Social Media
Posted in Networking for Small Business | 6 Comments »
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
If you have been an active publisher on the Internet, then you will most likely have content in a wide range of websites. You have probably also put together profiles on a range of social media websites. Wouldn’t it be nice to have all of your content linked to your name and searchable? It’s almost impossible to connect everything online at present, however, there is a lot that you could be doing that will make either (or both) your name and your brand more searchable, especially in Google.
There is a guest post on Marketing Pilgrim by Ann Smarty that goes into some depth on this issue, and she has some good advice on what you should be doing, and how to do it. I won’t go into the hows; you can read her article for that. What is important is that, in most cases, her tips are once off actions, and they don’t take too long to accomplish. The end result could be far more exposure in the search results than you currently see. Ann suggests three must do actions:
- Verify the authorship of your articles
- Create a master feed of your contributions
- Claim your brand (or name) in the major social networks
You should already be working to claim your brand and your name in the major social networks. The more popular you become, the more likely it is that someone else will claim it to capitalize on your hard work. That can be a real danger to your long term reputation management, especially if they use their account (with your brand or name) for negative, illegal or brand damaging activities. It can be hard to prove that the account being used is not attached to your business.
It doesn’t take long to complete the three tasks that Ann has suggested. The end result is better brand and name protection whilst helping to boost your presence on the Internet.
Tags: content, Social Media
Posted in Reputation Management | 4 Comments »
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
There is one trend in society that smart marketers are starting to use to their advantage. That trend? The prominent use of cell phone cameras.
The camera in a cell phone today is far superior to some of the best digital cameras of five years ago. The use of these cameras is so dominant that, on most days, there’s a news story on one of the TV networks that includes a story with pictures provided by a local using their cell phone. In fact, you can often see video footage of an event that was taken via cell phone. So how are marketers using this to advantage?
High end fashion brand Marc Jacobs recently asked followers to share their favorite family moments by using pictures taken through a cell phone. They then featured those photos through a collage on their website for all to see. General Electric went a step further with a contest that involved photos uploaded to Instagram, then shared to Facebook for voting. That was a novel way to connect two social media platforms for marketing purposes.
Instagram has proven to be a popular photo sharing website, and the use of cell phones whereby users can take a snapshot then instantly upload that shot from their phone to Instagram is proving to be a hit. One popular coffee outlet regularly publishes photos of customers (with their permission of course) sitting down and enjoying a cup of their favourite brew.
Photos and the instant sharing of photos may well be one of the major activities by users over the next twelve months. Smart marketers may be able to take advantage of this increased activity by incorporating the photos taken by customers into their various online activities. People love to show off, so if you advertise a campaign that encourages those traits, you may be able to build and further develop your brand.
Tags: cell phones, Social Media
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 12 Comments »
Friday, December 23rd, 2011
With the economy and the job market in the shape that they’re in, more and more people are learning to start their own small work from home business. The work from home business has been growing by leaps and bounds. No longer is it just about selling candles or crafts online. Many top businesses are hiring people to telecommute and others are building a business based on their expertise.
Many companies are now hiring contractors to work from home. That includes secretarial positions, writing jobs and email support specialists. In addition, computer website design, management and troubleshooting positions are available.
Instead of worrying where your next job is, take the initiative and start building your small business on the Internet. Start a website to market your expertise and start looking at job boards for available positions that are needing just what you have to offer. It may be slow going at first but many people are now earning a decent income simply by trying something new and becoming a success at it.
As with any job, there are good ones and bad ones. But, there are truly legitimate positions to be found on the Internet. A good rule of thumb is that if a website expects you to pay something up front, then it’s probably not going to be financially successful for you.
Build your website and brand. Use the social media to get your message and availability out there. Also, check out sites such as Odesk.com, Indeed.com and many others. Many are free to sign up for and search for available positions. Once you build your brand and name recognition, the days of worrying about a “job” will become distant.
Keep in mind that the pay structure is a little bit different working on the Internet, but when you compare the money saved by not driving to a job, money for meals, fuel and upkeep on your vehicle, you will basically be making the same as a traditional job. Check out the Internet today and look for something that you are good at. It beats sitting around worrying. You will at least know you are trying.
Tags: Branding, small business, Social Media, telecommuting, website development, work from home
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 18 Comments »
Monday, December 19th, 2011
It’s in the shoppers’ hands this holiday season to help the economy. As the holidays fast approach so too does the end of the year. The Federal Reserve is stating that spending is on a slight rise because of the holiday season, which is good news, even if it is small.
Overall though, wages have fallen, therefore net worth is less as well. The big question is, what’s being spent on holiday gifts is affordable or are people just using their savings in order to even have a Christmas? Is this the lull before the storm?
No one seems to know for sure which way the economy will go for 2012. However, holiday sales have increased this holiday season over last year.
Small businesses should have a great ending to the year as far as sales go. This is just what they need as they move into the new year, increased sales. One thing is certain, times may be shaky at the moment, but consumers are determined to have an enjoyable holiday and are going all out in order to get it.
Now is a very important time to increase your exposure on the internet. Do a quick mass email about any last minute Christmas sales you have. Get those customers coming in the door. Additionally, use your social media like Facebook and Twitter to list any last minute “must haves”. Anything you can do to draw potential customers in the door will help you.
The holidays are not over yet. The end of the year is not here yet. Do what you can to boost those sales so your overall year will be much better than you thought.
Tags: advertising, internet marketing, SEO, small business, Social Media
Posted in Small Business Finance | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
There is a new contender on the block as far as Facebook is concerned. Google has just announced it’s newest product, Google + brand pages. Google+ brand pages look a lot like Facebook’s fan pages for businesses or brands. The platform is still in beta stage but is open to the public.
Since Google+ is still less than a year old, they don’t have the following yet that Facebook has but it’s only be a matter of time. Why, you ask? Simply because of the name, or brand, if you will. The Google name will go a very long way in bringing in numbers.
The new Google + has some of the same styling as Facebook as far as profile, pictures, friends and news pages. Friends are put in circles, such as friends, family, etc. There is also an option to choose the latest news headlines or people you find interesting and add them to your pages as well.
Additionally, Google already has a good grasp on search and other means of keeping track of what people are searching for online. Think about your ad placed on Google +. This alone could be a potentially big boost for your business. Google + is already ahead of the game in this area. More so than Facebook.
On Google + you can start a “hangout.” There is a webcam attached so all of your friends or business acquaintances can get together and visit or talk about business. It seems there will be a little bit of Skype, Facebook and YouTube all rolled into one platform. That will be much simpler than having to tab back and forth between them.
It’s going to be interesting how well Google + is received. For all intents and purposes, it looks like it’s going to be a huge success simply because of the name.
Tags: advertising, Branding, facebook, google, internet marketing, Social Media, social networking
Posted in Social Media | 2 Comments »
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