Digital Marketing Consultant

Choose the Right Social Media Channel for Your Market

Darren Rowse, of Problogger fame, is currently promoting a free webinar with professional blogger Ana White.   White, who lives in a house that she hand-built with her husband in Alaska, makes a living publishing a blog about DIY and furniture making.

That is not entirely unusual.  According to Forbes there may be as many as 3.9 million “mommy bloggers” and some of them have been hugely successful.  What was interesting about Darren Rowse’s marketing blurb though was the nugget of information that White’s most important source of traffic is Pinterest.  With a readership of around three million unique visitors a month, that makes the image-based social media site a hugely valuable source of revenue.

For many, particularly male, social media sellers, that might sound a little strange.  That Pinterest has undergone massive growth recently is well-known.  That investing time and effort in the site can produce more rewards than time put into Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn should be an eye-opener.

So when should you step away from social media’s Big Three and focus on one of the smaller services?

Who Uses Pinterest?

Demographics will play the biggest part, of course.  Pinterest is as much as 87 percent female and its users come from high-earning households.  That makes the site a good match for a female blogger writing about home décor that costs a bit of money.  But it also makes it a good option for anyone selling to female buyers — provided that they have good images of their products (pictures to which they own the copyright) and are willing to put in the groundwork to ensure that their images are spread across the network.  That means commenting on and repinnning other people’s pins, the same kind of activity that always works on social media.

Demographics of a different kind can make looking abroad an option too.  While social media marketers in the US like to talk of Twitter and LinkedIn as the biggest and most important networks on the Web after Facebook, both those sites are smaller than QZone, a kind of Chinese MySpace.  Sina Weibo, China’s main microblogging service has more than 300 million users — and the attention of many Western brands including Ikea, Nike and Luis Vuitton.  VKontakte is a kind of Russian Facebook with more than 135 million users. 

If you are looking to market beyond the English-speaking world then you should be looking at activity on one of the social media sites whose native language is not English.  That might not be simple.  You might have to hire local freelancers to do the tweeting and the posting for you, and if you cannot read what they are writing, you might have to give them a lot of trust.  But when you are starting from nothing, at least the results in terms of traffic flows and sales will be fast and dramatic as you make inroads into that new market.

Social media is not just a method of making sales; in fact, I would say that social media is mostly just support for sales and to build trust.  But each social media platform is a channel to reach a particular market.  You should be certain that the channel you use reaches the market you want to pitch — even if that means turning away from one of the big sites.

The big advantage of social media as a marketing tool is that it is free. Whether you are building a Facebook timeline, a Twitter stream, or a LinkedIn account, you will not be asked for any cash. When it comes to buying leads ready to convert into customers, you cannot beat social media for value.

But you can beat it for time.

Social media success does not happen overnight. It takes time to identify the key influencers in your field, to build a community of followers and to be seen as an important agent in your industry. That happens gradually as your tweets are re-tweeted, your links are shared, and your posts receive comments. As that happens, your name spreads, more people follow you and your brand grows on social media sites.

That sort of growth, however, takes place over months and even years. It does not happen from one week to the next.

That is why social media companies are able to rely on advertising as their main revenue source. They can mine their data to shorten the time it takes to alert certain demographics to the presence of a brand. Facebook has ads that appear on the side of the page (and now next to images, too) that can be targeted as finely as marital status and interests, as well as geographic location.

Twitter has a smaller range of promoted tweets in search results and timelines, promoted trends and even promoted accounts that push messages from businesses into the view of potential customers. While they sound disruptive as an attempt by a business to intrude into a private conversation, the ads have been well received by users. No less than 14 percent of respondents in one survey said that they had re-tweeted a promoted tweet. (As the ads are paid for by actions that include clicks and re-tweeting, that is both a sign of their effectiveness and their cost.)

1. Rule to know: Social Media does not deliver sales; Social Media amplifies sales.
   

But while the ads on social media sites can be well targeted, their effectiveness is debatable. One survey of Facebook ads has suggested that they are more likely to be remembered than television ads; another survey, though, found that their click-through rates are significantly lower than those of other online ads. While Twitter’s promoted tweets have delivered high levels of engagement, they seem to boost brand awareness rather than increase sales immediately.

You Cannot Buy Trust on Social Media

Even if Facebook’s ads had high click-through rates, and even if promoted tweets did generate regular sales, the ads still would not be an effective substitute for slow natural growth on social media.

1. Rule to remember: Time buys trust
   

That is because success on social media is not about building up large numbers of followers, contacts, and fans. (We have begun to see the harassers, as I call them, who think that sending out a tweet an hour or a day has some sort of positive effect.) It happens when you build trust. The more you engage with your community, answer their questions, provide them with valuable information and bring them into your business, the more they will want to do business with you. That sort of relationship is built over time. It does not always generate immediate sales, but it does lead to the kind of long-term commitment that leads to firm brand loyalty. That is not something that ads can buy — but it is something that time buys on social media.

1. Rule to use: Begin with the social medium LinkedIn.  USE IT RIGHT!
   

Why is Social Media Marketing Important?

Up until now we’ve heard that content is king. This is even more important as one can now place your content on many social media sites as well.

Content Marketing now moves to video, slideshows, blogs and networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. So many more places for people to find your company and brand.

But with the popularity of Social media networking sites, like forums, Facebook and LinkedIn, we find out that not only is content king, but “conversation is king”. People like to ask others for recommendations and experiences with products and services. What people say about your product, service or company can mean all the difference to closing a lead or losing the business.

Generating Leads Online

Lead generation for most businesses is possible on the Internet. You will be surprised what good relevant content can do for website visibility and lead generation. You will be seen as a resource website and this builds credibility which in turn creates confidence for the visitor to engage with your company.

The Solution

The solution is to think creatively about the types of content you should upload to your website. One of the best ways to come up with content ideas is to do some research and identify other keywords that would help you with writing relevant content.

This is where Search Engine Optimization comes into its own.  It is used to increase your website’s search engine rankings so users can find your products or services easily.

With the addition of Social Media Optimization you can dramatically increase the number of search engine rankings you list in, which in turn will drive more targeted traffic to your website.

LinkedIn has gained recognition as the business social network across the globe since its launch in 2003.  But for many it remains a job seeking site only.

Successfully building Internet Marketing depends largely upon your connections and contacts.  Wouldn’t you want to consider the value LinkedIn has in building and expanding your connectivity.
It should be noted that Fortune 500 companies are all found on LinkedIn.  The opportunity exists for LinkedIn to become a showplace for your Corporate products and services.  

Here are some ways to get the full benefit from the use of LinkedIn for your business.  Improve your chance of success by implementing these methods.

1. Your LinkedIn profile should serve as a destination for your business.   Keeping your LinkedIn profile up-to-date is required to assure your expertise is fairly presented. 
2. Develop your network to connect your contacts with your updates by way of blogs, feeds, and polls.  You will reap the rewards of additional contact opportunities for your products and services as a result.
3. Connect with others by use of LinkedIn Groups.  These LinkedIn Groups allow connections with those that have similar needs and interests.   LinkedIn provides a platform to spotlight your creativity.  This provides a path to become recognized as the expert in specific area.  
4. LinkedIn offers a lot of research possibilities that should be utilized to gain the full benefits that are offered.   Available search tools can provide an array of useful data.
5. Building a testimonial page can open new opportunities as a result of search results.  This works as a word-of-mouth recommendation in the LinkedIn Communities which can be very powerful and effective.

If you are not currently LinkedIn, you should make it one of your networking opportunities for your business success.  Your target market is on LinkedIn.  Are you there in full power?  Expand your business horizon today; let us show you how.

Social Media Use

People are changing the way they shop for products and services. They go to the Internet to find and gather information so that they can make an informed decision. It is much easier to get the information that you need by searching on Google than to look up a phone number in the Yellow Pages and then call. We just don’t want to be sold to.

Besides searching on Google, people are also looking for information on a number of social media sites such as:

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Blogs
• Twitter
• Stumbleupon and other bookmarking sites

These social media sites enable us to get the “word of mouth” recommendations and advice that we all seek when considering making a purchase of a product or service.

Generation Y

Many of us in the “Baby Boomer” community think that social media is a trend for the younger generations “X” and “Y” as they are the most active in this medium.

The Generation “Y” population is over 70 million in America and by 2010 they will outnumber Baby Boomers. They will become our future leaders and the majority of them have been raised with technology and belong to one or more social networks.

Companies must start incorporating social media strategies into their marketing initiatives to engage with the Generation Y’s now to avoid being left behind in targeting this growing segment.

If you have not already, you should check out our free Wisdom Book.

In today’s busy society people do not have the time for traditional shopping in a brick and mortar store.   Many people find it much easier to shop from the comfort of their home in front of the computer screen.  This makes Internet and Digital Marketing an effective approach for your business.  

Internet marketing has to start with SEO (search engine optimization) since it is the search engines that will be used by prospective clients to find specific information.  The backbone of SEO is keywords and keywords are also the backbone of internet searches.   The higher your site ranks on these search engines, the more visible your site will become to those searching for the information or products that your site offers.

You can offer Newsletters to your visitors.  This is an excellent way to build your own list of potential customers often referred to as leads.

Pay-per-Click (ppc) ads has the potential to improve your online exposure. Distribution of these ads is made to various websites or blogs making the links to your website available to a much bigger list of potential customers.  PPC can be effective on LinkedIn.

Email Marketing is a type of direct mail marketing online.  This allows for highly customized marketing which can lead the recipient to action.  It is considered THE most effective marketing tool on the Internet.

Another strategy is Link Exchange with other quality websites.   Identify other websites similar to your site with quality content and high ranking.  Send the webmaster of the site a request for link exchange.  You will request will probably be accepted if your site is of high quality also.

Get involved with social network sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook as these are the sites your target market is using to stay connected.  This allows you to keep your website in front of your target market as much as possible.

If all of this sounds like too much work, ease your Digital Marketing pain by thumbing through our wisdom book.

Over the past couple of years with the struggles of the economy, Social Media has done very well and has actually been increasing during this time.  More business owners have turned to blogging and social networking during this time.

Hard-sales-approach marketing does not work as well as attraction marketing on the internet.  The goal of internet or digital marketing is to get your potential customers to visit you at your site rather than your going to them. 

The social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter have changed how business is done.  These applications allow you to build relationships with your potential customers.

You will build relationships as you provide solutions to your customers' needs.   Don’t be afraid to give away some valuable information.   This will help to build your reputation.   This is referred to as "paying it forward."   The last thing you want your reader to feel is that it is all about you. 

You will want to paint a clear picture for your business about how others will benefit from your products or services.   When you make the center of attraction about others, you will discover success.

Social Media has weathered some storms regarding security, but it is still one of the best opportunities around to build reliability, goodwill, and ultimately a successful internet marketing business.  Make a difference in your digital marketing by engaging in various social media platforms.

Woo your target market...don't try to Wow them.

Internet marketing requires grooming your business website for effective attraction marketing.

Grooming your website is all about making your website appealing to your target market, and to the matchmakers.  Attraction marketing does not focus on sales tactics.  When a young man meets the girl of his dreams, he doesn’t usually pop the big question, "Will you marry me?"   He will take her on dates, buy her gifts, take her out to dinner...all a part of making himself attractive to her.  This is best known as courtship.  Attraction marketing is business courtship.  

Attraction marketing starts with listening to your target market and finding out what its problems are and then providing solutions to its problems.  It is about finding out what prospects like, what they need, and then supplying it to them.   Exceptional listening skills are needed when it comes to attraction marketing. 

Some tips to groom your website for attraction marketing includes:

•    Make sure the links on your site work.  Broken links are like broken promises.

•    Make sure your links guide your visitors to where you intend them to be.  Links on your website that misdirect your visitors from what they were expecting to find is the best way to turn off your visitor and loose them forever.   Take the time to check all your links to make sure you are not misdirecting your visitors.
•    Start blogging.  Blogging is an excellent way to get feedback from your target market.  You can then use the information gained in developing a marketing plan with the power of attraction.
•    Use the tools your target market uses, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter.  Using the social media sites that your target market is using gives you the opportunity to meet them on their ground and then you can lead them to your website.  This is attraction marketing in action.
•    Start using articles to provide information to your target market.  The use of articles has the power to establish yourself as the expert for your target market.  As you build your expert reputation, your target market will began to have confidence and trust in you and your business.

Attraction marketing has the potential to build long term relationships with your target market.  As an added benefit you will also receive improved ranking on the search engines.  Google and Yahoo are attracted to sites with relevant information which flows in a natural manner.  They are your matchmakers.

See our wisdom book on How to Succeed in Business Dating.

A tool from LinkedIn, People Search, makes the value of appropriate keywords on your profile even more important. LinkedIn members can utilize the search box to gain quick access to the people they are looking for.

The search can be by company, name, school, title and many other attributes. As an example if you are divorce lawyer in Chicago, Illinois a member of LinkedIn using the people search tool to locate a divorce lawyer in Chicago will probably find your profile. This is true only if you have done the right things and have a professional online profile.

Don’t worry if you haven’t done this yet, it is not too late! Get started today and build your profile. People search is a powerful tool for your own searching needs. You can search for people without having a lot of information. By searching on specific keywords you will be able to obtain a reasonably comprehensive listing.

You can also locate your connections by entering the name and generating a list of suggestions.

Have experience with People Search on LinkedIn? Share your thoughts and reviews on this blog.

LinkedIn is a all around professional social networking site with a business orientation.   This is not a site for aimless wanderers of the cyberspace world.  This awesome business tool gets results starting with you.

Your professional profile online is the first step of a rewarding, successful, long term presence on LinkedIn.  It is time to put that stale resume away and start fresh with an attention getter resume marketing yourself to the highest level possible….you will be a winner.

Snapshot

The Snapshot is your profile summary. This is your presentation of yourself and, as such, is the most valuable component of your LinkedIn Profile.  

Business associates, employers, customers, financers, and even job applicants’ first impression of your Snapshot will determine if they contact you to become a connection in your LinkedIn network.  Your Snapshot must be maintained on a regular basis and up-to-date.

Get the Keywords Right

Optimization isn’t just about a landing page, a website, or an article.   Your profile on LinkedIn can receive the benefits optimization with keywords that are relevant and will put yourself ahead of the competition.  Utilization of  keywords that are narrow rather than broad can help customers locate your LinkedIn profile.  

A good example would be, if you are a doctor specializing in cardiology, generic terms including doctor and physician may not be very helpful.  But including cardiology and heart doctor will help potential patients locate you through your LinkedIn profile without difficulty.  

Include a location

Healthcare business is frequently searched by a localized search, so it is important to include locations in your profile. 

You will want to link your profile page to your business website.

If you would like me to help you with doing it correctly, read about it here: http://www.squidoo.com/Website_Audit

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