Archive - Marketing RSS Feed

Searching – and Finding – Small Business Success

By on August 6, 2012 in Marketing, Mobile & Local, Social Media with 3 Comments

Recently, we were looking for a place to do some commercial-sized laundry, our own machines too small for the job. We started looking where most others do … on Google.

I queried Google for the term ‘Laundromat’ and also typed in my city to get the most local place. One of the results was this Google+ Local page for Wash World Coin Laundry. Success!

  • They have a Google Plus Page!  A definite “plus”
  • Store Hours were easy to find
  • Glowing reviews (to which I’ve added mine)
  • Photos show a comfortable, large facility
  • It’s in a shopping area I do my groceries and get my haircut. Convenient!

When we got there, the manager was heroically helpful (we don’t often do commercial-type laundry) and offered free Wi-Fi and free coffee while we waited. Great experience.

Moral of the Story: Every day I hear small business owners who’ve given up or sunk down. “We’re not big enough for Google” or “Our customers know we’re here” is often the crutch they lean on. An opposite and healthier stance is Wash World Coin Laundry. They have a clean and informative website, a findable presence on Google+ Local. And they service what they sell once you walk in the doors.

Wash Word Google+ Local Page

Enhanced by Zemanta

What is Your Social Media Page Saying about You?

By on July 18, 2012 in Blog Coach, Conversations, Marketing, Social Media with 4 Comments

A targeted social media strategy offers big opportunities for businesses of every size. Social media can be a channel for stronger customer relationships, brand awareness and promotions.

But social media can be a double-edged sword, creating both positive and negative images of your company with far-reaching effects. Here are some easy-to-deploy tips to create positive impacts, while avoiding negative effects on your company’s reputation and brand.

How to Make Your Social Media Page Say ‘We Get It’

You’re doing social media right if your page:

  • Creates conversations: Blatant promotional updates are boring. Social media is not about you; it’s about creating conversations and building relationships. Listen to your customers. Ask them questions and answer their queries promptly. Let your customers be your promotional team.
  • Shows appreciation: Every Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube follower is valuable. Those who comment on and share posts are potential gold, with the power to influence others. Offer them perks. Ask for their opinions. And don’t forget to say, “Thanks.”
  • Is a sounding board: Embrace comments and complaints. Fix the customer’s problem and you’ll create a fan out of him/her and everyone who sees (and shares) the conversation.
  • Engages daily: Social media gives businesses an easy way to stay in front of customers. Take full advantage of this powerful opportunity – post every day.

Does Your Social Media Page Say ‘We Don’t Get It’?

It’s easy to see who “gets” social media – and it’s pretty obvious when a company doesn’t. You could be guilty of social media that leaves a bad taste if your page says:

  • We’re robots: People want to connect with people, not corporations. When interacting on social media networks, be a person. Use “we” and “you” statements. Have a personality (keep it in line with the brand strategy).
  • We don’t care about you: Ignoring questions and complaints has a negative impact on customers and prospects. Whether or not they’ve had a similar experience with your company, they can still get the impression that you don’t care.
  • We’re inconsistent: Give customers what they’ve come to expect from your brand. If you’re a fun, casual company, be fun and casual. If you’re professional and buttoned up, don’t post photos of employees partying; take a more serious tone but do show your human side.
  • We don’t have time for this: Building a community around social media takes time and effort. Don’t make the mistake of bailing on posts or slacking on quality content. Stick with your strategy, engage regularly and your community will grow.

Social media is a powerful, must-do business strategy. Show that your company “gets it” and you’ll likely reap the benefits.

Jessica Edmondson contributes on social media training and Internet marketing training for University Alliance, a division of Bisk Education, Inc.

Enhanced by Zemanta

The World Wide Web Should Get Smaller (Local)

By on June 28, 2012 in Marketing, Mobile & Local with 3 Comments

English: The main business district in Chappel...

English: The main business district in Chappell, Nebraska (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The “world-wide” web might be a daunting term for some.

Maybe the WWW should get smaller. At least from a search perspective.

The other day, I was in a small town in Nebraska for business. I arrived early and did a search for a coffee shop. I found a great one because of their Facebook page. While it wasn’t a great page, it was more than the other three coffee shops in town had. Four coffee shops in town. Only one had a findable web presence. And it was a Facebook page (not their own site).

The enormity of the World Wide Web in its infancy opened us all up to global possibilities and flat worlds without borders. While those elements are still true and often great – there are two sectors who often fit into a much smaller, more local web: The Buyer and The Business. One of them knows it and wishes the other one did.

The Buyer: Whether at home or on their mobile device, people are using search engines and social networks to “find” and research before making a purchase. They want to know about the product or service, location and contact information, hours of operation, and whether they even want to do business with a certain business. The Buyer knows when they are looking for a smaller, local web.

The Business:  In (too) many cases, small businesses and rural businesses are either trying to compete on a global scale or have given up trying to compete in a “world-wide” web by doing close-to-nothing on the web. This doesn’t help themselves or their smaller, local buyer. The local business should keep the global market in mind, but cater to a local search. By focusing on local and mobile buyers, their search results would improve. Better for The Business. Better for The Buyer.

To find out more about how healthy your web presence is, request your complimentary Web Presence Audit today.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Your Prospect Has a Computer in Their Pocket

By on June 26, 2012 in Marketing, Mobile & Local with 2 Comments

mobile-searchOne of the mental hurdles most small business owners face is looking at their business from a customer perspective.

No matter how hard you try, your vision is skewed.  You’re too close to see with unfamiliar eyes.

What is your prospective customer looking for when they search Google?

If someone is looking for your product or service on their mobile device (and they don’t know about you) – what kind of input are they putting in their search?

And one of our favorite questions when doing a FICS audit is:

What are people saying about you?

When visiting small businesses about their web presence, the rebuttal for having no web page is “We don’t even have a computer here.”

Even though that may be so, your customers and prospects probably do have a computer – and these days, it might be in their pocket.

Are you findable?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Business Owners: 3 News Ways to Use Social Media for Marketing [Guest]

By on June 15, 2012 in Blog Coach, Marketing, Social Media with 3 Comments

Guest PostI’m on a road trip until the end of June. This post by Carol Wilson is part of a call for guest posts

We all know by now that, if you’re not using social media to market your business, you have somehow missed the boat. Most business owners have some sort of social media profile set up to represent their business online, or they are quickly learning to create the right social media presence for marketing purposes. But, because so many business owners are using social media as a marketing tool, it can be difficult to figure out how to make your products stand out. Here are a few things that social media newcomers may not think to try for business marketing, but that can garner great results every time:

1. Use Twitter Trends

Twitter is by far one of the fastest growing social media landscapes today. People use it for personal conversations as well as business promotion. If you have your own business, you will definitely want to get some Twitter accounts established to represent both you and your business. Once you have a Twitter profile set up for your business, one of the best ways to get attention and gain followers is to follow the trending topics on Twitter. When you’re on the Twitter homepage, you should see a list of topics on the left-hand side. These topics are the highest-occurring words or phrases being used on Twitter at that moment. When you click on them, you can immediately see who is commenting on these topics in real time. If you join the conversation every time a topic starts to trend, you have a higher chance of users noticing your tweets and checking out your profile.

2. Do a Facebook Contest

If you have a Facebook account established for your business, your main goal is to get as many Facebook friends as you can and then hope that they will take notice of your products or services and become loyal customers. However, it can be difficult to separate your business from the rest. One of the best ways to get more Facebook friends and then get those people to interact with your business is to do a Facebook contest. Many businesses will run promotions where, if a Facebook user “likes” the company or posts the company on their or someone else’s wall, then they will be entered to win a prize. Figure out what you can offer to potential customers as a giveaway that might get them excited, and offer that prize up for your own special contest.

3. Connect to Bloggers

Running a blog to represent your business is a great way to add a personal touch to your home web site and to get customers talking about your products and communicating with you and one another. But, while it’s great to have current customers following your blog, how do you reach out to consumers who have never heard of your business? One of the best ways to use your blog to connect to new users is to allow other bloggers to write guest posts, or to write  a guest author yourself on someone else’s blog. When you cross post the articles, both you and the guest blogger have the opportunity to benefit from higher visibility.

Carol Wilson is a freelance insurance business writer who is in the midst of creating her very own business insurance guide for consumers. In the meantime, she likes to share her knowledge of business insurance and other business related topics such as marketing to small business owners, entrepreneurs, and other corporate moguls. She welcomes your comments at wilson.carol24@gmail.com.

Claim Your Facebook and Google+ Local Pages [Guest Post]

By on June 12, 2012 in Blog Coach, Marketing, Social Media with 2 Comments

written by Angela Sansone

Business cards. It’s a lost opportunity not to have one to hand out when people ask, “So what do you do?” or “How can I contact you?”

Few business owners are without a business card. As Mike and I work with small business owners to strengthen their web presence, I am amazed at how many haven’t claimed their on-line business cards … their Facebook or Google+ Pages.

Whether Facebook or Google is something you do, your online business card is out there sending consumers one of two messages:

“I’m a 21st century business who knows and cares about my online web presence.”

OR

“I’m a business still stuck in the ’90s and I don’t know or don’t care about my online web presence.”

Not claiming your Facebook or Google+ Local page is not an opportunity you want to pass up.

Unclaimed Facebook Business Page

Unclaimed Google+ Local Page

Nothing against Mom’s Cafe – we hear the food is great, but we see this so many times. Lots of likes, a few reviews, and an echo chamber from the owner. From restaurants to realtors, furniture stores to HVAC repairs, there are plentiful opportunities being ignored too often.

As BizReport writes:

Businesses that claim their Places Page are able to customize and manage business information such as address, contact information, hours of business, profile picture as well as maps and directions.

The page is already out there. Claim it and have an influence over how the page looks and reads – and get to know your customers and reviews. The fact is, the more activity you have on these pages – the higher your rankings in search. So encourage your customers to say something on these pages.

But first, claim your Facebook and Google+ Local pages.

Guest Author: Angela T. Sansone

Angela Sansone has worked in education and children’s ministries for 14 years. Also an author and speaker, you can connect with Angela on Twitter or on her site:  www.1019ministries.com.

She is the author of the newly released “Precious Stones of Intercession” (paperback | Kindle) and her prayer booklet, “His Comfort” (free e-book) has been given freely around the globe since 2001.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Knowing “Who” Gives You Focus

By on June 11, 2012 in Blog Coach, Marketing, Social Media with 1 Comment

Who is Your Audience

While exploring the “5 W’s” of social media for small business, we’ve looked at how Starting with “Why” gives you meaning and motivation and Deciding “Where” offers direction.

Next up: Knowing your “Who” gives you focus.

Your “intended audience” in social media, in most cases, should be your “core customer” in business. In most cases.

Your business will probably have multiple audiences:

  • Core Customers
  • Prospects
  • Fringe Businesses (companies who also “touch” your customer)
  • Shoppers who engage, but never transact (“attending audience“)
  • Peers (could be competitors or collaborators)
  • Neighboring Businesses
  • Vendors & Suppliers

There are probably more we could list, though the top two audiences are who I’d put my focus.  Write to them, for them, about them. Answer their questions. Solve their problems. Improve their lives.

Know your “Who”. Maintain Focus.

Enhanced by Zemanta

One Page is All it Takes (and Maybe All You Get)

By on June 9, 2012 in Blog Coach, Marketing, Mobile & Local, Social Media with 0 Comments

FiCS worksheetOne page.

Sometimes that’s all a visitor will see. One page.

Might be all it takes for them to decide whether to keep searching or know that your company is what they’re looking for. Just one page.

  • a page on your website
  • a post on your blog
  • a video you uploaded on YouTube
  • your Twitter stream
  • a Facebook tab
  • an image on Pinterest.
  • your LinkedIn profile

One page can be the tipping point. For or against.

A first time visitor finding your brand might also see your empty Google+ Local page or unclaimed Merchant Circle page. They may see someone else’s rant or rave about you on another site.

Is the message you’re delivering by your absence, “I Don’t Know (about it)” or “I Don’t Care”?

All it takes is One Page. And it could be anywhere – or maybe your business is nowhere to be found (or hard to find).

We work with small businesses, independent businesses, and rural businesses in building a web presence that is Findable, Connectable, and Shareable. By focusing on these three areas, we ensure that new customers find you, connect with you, and share their experience with their friends.

When we visit with small businesses, we offer a complimentary 8-point FiCS report.

Take advantage of this free offer and see if your company web presence is built for maximum impact. Call me (515.802.2273) or email me (mike@converstations.com) and we’ll look at your FiCS (no obligation).

Enhanced by Zemanta

Second Question: “How do you want it cooked?”

By on May 9, 2012 in Marketing, Social Media with 1 Comment

Eggs Before CookingThe server comes to our table and asks my breakfast companion what he would like.

“Two Eggs, please,” he said.

Guess the next question. If the question doesn’t get asked, what will the resulting breakfast be? Even though there’s over a dozen ways to cook eggs, we know what success will look like and taste like before we crack shells.

Shouldn’t it be similar with social media?

“I’ll have a Facebook with a side of Pinterest,” he thinks.

There’s probably over a dozen ways to use Facebook and Pinterest together. What will success look like?

—

If you’re still looking at the social media menu not quite knowing what success will look like for you, an in-depth discovery session with a follow-up reports may be just what you need. Find out more about our Craft-and-Follow strategy calls.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Stakeholder Matrix: The Best Way to Prevent a Social Media Crisis [Guest]

By on April 26, 2012 in Marketing, Social Media with 0 Comments

by Katleen Richardson

Frustration in CrisisReputation management is one of the trickiest aspects to spreading your message, especially in this age of social media where what you say is instantly broadcast to thousands (if not millions) of people.

We live in a world where news (or other gossip passing as news!) can spread within a blink of an eye – take the earthquake on the east coast last year. A tweet from DC reported the quake before it even reached NYC!

The challenge nowadays is to be proactive when making strategy decisions involving social media. This requires that companies and individuals practice due diligence when it comes to predicting how people will react to the things they say and do.  Too may people focus their reputation management on damage control when the damage has already happened.

We need to shift our focus to preventing damage, followed by remediation strategies in case it does happen. The best way to put a practice of prevention/remediation into place is with a stakeholder matrix.

Let’s take, for example, the launch of a new product within your company. There are many stakeholder groups that might have an opinion about this, including customers, the press, environmental protection groups, consumer safety groups, and, if applicable, your shareholders. What possible issues could any of these groups have with your product launch? Make a matrix where you map each stakeholder group against the possible risk factors. This can help you see more clearly what the potential ramifications of a decision are.

It’s important to remember that while social media is a powerful tool for marketing, people also use social media to express displeasure and to band together against things they disagree with. In the long run, it is much easier to prevent a crisis than to have to leap in with damage control measures after the fact, and sometimes damage control is a “too little, too late” situation.

That’s not to say, of course, that you should never take a risk of causing a stir. Obviously with any decision you make, there are likely to be at least some people who don’t like it. The point of the stakeholder matrix is not to eradicate conflict entirely – that would pretty much be impossible. The goal, rather, is to measure the potential benefits of a decision against the potential pitfalls, and make informed decisions based on a thorough analysis of possible outcomes.

In addition, you can use a stakeholder matrix to help you decide how you will deal with any social media issues that crop up. What if if you’ve decided to go forward with a decision that you know will make a particular group unhappy? You can be prepared ahead of time to remedy the situation, instead of being taken by surprise, and that puts you in the strongest possible position.

–

Katleen Richardson of Marketing AdvantEdge is an experienced leader who builds integrated strategies combining research, data analysis and creative thinking. She has delivered successful solutions for the publishing, financial and telecommunications industries, as well as for conference and training companies, and professional associations. Her approach is to design customer focused, cost-effective solutions based on cross functional collaboration and results-based metrics.

Photo on Flickr by zachklein

Enhanced by Zemanta
Page 2 of 24«12345»1020...Last »