Social Media Marketing

Intimidated by Social Media?

September 28, 2011 By Susan Young 1 Comment

Here’s How to Get Started

I’ve talked to so many small business owners who know that social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) is the latest trend they should be capitalizing on to help grow their business. But ask them how to go about initiating a social media campaign and they give me a blank stare. They just don’t know where to start, and it all seems so overwhelming. So if you’re among the confused, or you just don’t have the time but know you should be doing social media, here are some tips and thoughts to consider.

No Time for Social Media? Hire an Expert to Post for You.

No Time for Social Media? Hire an Expert to Set things Up, Train You, and even Post for You.

First: The Benefits of Social Media

To start, maybe some of you are wondering why they should care about social media. Isn’t it just for young folks? Well, the answer is: no. Many individuals from all generations are getting involved in social media, and many businesses are building a fan base and a following in social media too. (including some of your customers or favorite regional and national brands). I like to think of social media not as a replacement of traditional media, but an alternative method of building brand awareness and communicating with customers, prospects, fans, vendors, partners and the media. Social media is a great place to show your company or your brand’s personality, as well as to share news or information that is important to you, your business or your industry. It can be a great way to connect with reporters and media, as well as to follow what media are publishing. It’s a great way to get feedback from customers about a new product idea or to handle customer service issues. It can also be used as a tool to drive traffic to your blog or website, to position you as an expert, and many more benefits. One of the greatest benefits of social media is that it is a low-cost marketing method (but don’t forget to account for the value of your time).

Next: Start with Why Your Company Should Do Social Media:

I want to reiterate that social media marketing is not going to be the perfect fit for every business or industry. That’s why it’s important to first take the time to investigate whether or not this is the best channel for gaining awareness for your business, communicating with prospects and customers, and sharing your message. So think for a minute about your ideal customers. Do they spend time online? Do they read blogs, watch videos on YouTube, have a personal Facebook page? If so, then social media might be a good fit for your business. If your customers don’t have regular access to a computer or smartphone for visiting social media sites, than it might not be the most important marketing vehicle for your business. One way to discover this is to ask your customers if they use Twitter or Facebook regularly. In addition to determining which social media vehicles are right for you, think too about how you can incorporate existing marketing and advertising into your social media efforts. Could you drive people from a print ad to your Facebook fan page for a special offer? Also think about how you could drive people from your social media accounts to your storefront or website to complete a sale. When you integrate your social media with your overall marketing efforts, you’ll have a greater chance for success.

Next: Setup and Initial Social Media Training

If you do not already have a Facebook fan page, Twitter or LinkedIn account, now is the time to get started (we can assist with this if needed). For Facebook, you can go through the advertising link at the bottom of the page to create and manage your business Fan Page. On LinkedIn, you can create and manage your company profile and add employees and basic company information, as well as links to your website. On Twitter, you can create both a business and a personal account, depending on whom is going to be doing the tweeting. What I recommend is to spend some time looking at other company’s accounts to see what they are doing, and just using this time to “follow” or “like” other accounts. You can see some examples of good Facebook landing pages as well as what people are posting and the information they’re sharing on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Look for companies or individuals you already know and try to find them on social media. You’d be surprised at how many people are already using social media. AimFire Marketing can help with initial training on how to use your account, common features and tools, how to increase followers, etc.

Next: Content Strategy

What I see many people doing with social media is that they create their accounts on Twitter and Facebook and then let the accounts lie dormant, because they don’t have the staff or the time to spend posting. If you or your team don’t think you will be able to devote at least a few hours a week to social media, then it’s probably best to outsource it to an agency or consultant (like AimFire Marketing) who can handle this for you. We can work together with you to develop a content strategy and ideas for blog posts, as well as the kinds of topics that might interest your clients and followers. If you have a regular blog or e-newsletter that you send to customers, or case studies or press releases that you send out, this content can be easily re-purposed on social media sites. In addition, we can work with you to find content that others have written that we can share online too. The most important thing is to have some sort of content strategy going into social media marketing so that you’re not just haphazardly posting information without a goal in mind.

These are a few things that you should keep in mind as you launch into the world of social media marketing. Don’t be afraid to dip your toes in the water, even if you’re intimidated by the thought of social media. Once you get used to it, you may actually start enjoying it — and see the results of your efforts.

Filed Under: Facebook, Social Media Management, Social Media Marketing, Twitter

Creating the Perfect Marketing Strategy without Copying It

July 3, 2011 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Just as no snowflake is alike, your business marketing plan should be different too

Not all businesses are created equal, right?

So quit marketing and advertising your business like everyone else.

My point is simple: Find the right combination of advertising, marketing, PR and promotional activities that fit the unique offering, customer base and budget of your business, and you’ll find success.

Don’t just jump on the Twitter or Facebook marketing bandwagon because the company down the street has found success with it. Or, alternatively, spend thousands on one strategy while ignoring others that might prove effective.

Creating the perfect marketing strategy does involve some trial and error. Gently test the waters of any new marketing tactic and see what kind of results you get, before investing huge sums. However, with that said, you also need to give each marketing tactic enough time and impressions to see results, so don’t give up too early.

So how should you go about creating a marketing plan or strategy for your business?

Many business owners want to skip this step of creating a marketing plan. But it’s very important to the future success of the business. While I highly recommend a formal, written down and thought out marketing plan, if you don’t want to pay a professional like myself to develop one, you should at least sit down and analyze the basics of your business:

Define your product/service, niche, industry, competitors, unique selling proposition (USP), price point, and primary/secondary target audiences.
From there, investigate all possible advertising/marketing/PR/promotional options available, along with associated cost, audience reached, timing and other details. Include the cost of your time as well in these estimates.
Then make a recommendation of a combination of these tactics to try and put them in a marketing calendar for the upcoming quarter/year.
Evaluate the effectiveness of each tactic when determining whether to renew your investment in it.

A simple way to a marketing strategy that works for you. Just remember: All businesses are different, and thus the ways used to promote them should be unique as well.

Filed Under: Advertising, Budget Marketing, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Twitter, USP Tagged With: marketing planning, marketing plans, marketing strategy, social media marketing

Traditional Versus Online Advertising: What’s Your Share?

April 28, 2011 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Wanted to share with you an article I wrote this month, which was featured in an e-newsletter of a colleague of mine, Janet Falkenberg of ExecuStrive, an Indianapolis virtual assistant firm. Thanks, Janet, for letting me share this article with my Indianapolis business colleagues.

Do you consider yourself a “traditional marketer”? Are you spending a majority of your marketing and advertising budget on offline activities, such as yellow pages ads, print advertising, coupons and billboards, because “that’s what our company has always done”? Are you wondering whether these methods are still paying off, or whether you’re spending too much in these areas for the return on investment?

Billboard Advertising - Traditional Advertising

Are you more of a fan of traditional advertising or online advertising?

Many companies have not yet maximized the opportunities that exist to market their businesses online. Some of the options available include:

Websites
Search engine optimization
Email marketing
Blogs
Pay-per-click advertising (Google AdWords)
Social media marketing (YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook)

Finding More Clients Online

Don’t get me wrong: traditional advertising has its place, and for some businesses, it’s the best method of reaching the ideal client. However, more people are using the Internet to research businesses and make purchases online rather than searching in yellow pages or in their local newspaper. With online marketing, your business could increase its brand awareness and lead generation exponentially using some of these online marketing methods. So you are missing out on a potential audience if you don’t at least consider online marketing as part of your overall strategy.

But where should you start?

Outsourcing your Online Marketing Efforts

Many business owners don’t have the skills or technical knowledge to use online marketing, or are overwhelmed with the idea of incorporating online marketing tools. In this case, it’s best to ask a marketing professional for help. They can steer you toward the right online marketing tactics that best fit your budget, target audience and sales goals. A professional can also create a marketing calendar of activities, as well as help you set up your online marketing plan and implement your online marketing program too.

For instance, if you had a plumbing company, and your website that was optimized for search terms such as ‘Indianapolis plumbing’ or ‘Indiana plumbing company,’ you could be generating hundreds of leads for your business each day, just from web searches alone. Couple this with blogging, a YouTube channel showing plumbing tips, and a modest pay-per-click advertising campaign, and you’ve got more leads than you can handle – all at a lower cost than one month of your yellow pages ad. Do you see the potential?

Integrating Online and Offline Marketing

Many businesses find it best to integrate both online and offline marketing methods in order to achieve greater results at a lower cost. If you’ve always spent $1500/month on billboard advertising and $1000/month on yellow page advertising, for example, we can look at how you could reduce your spend in traditional media and move some of that budget to online media. In most cases, you can market your business online at a much lower cost than traditional advertising.

I hope you can see the value of incorporating Internet marketing into your current efforts. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results and — the return for the cost — that it can bring for your business.

Filed Under: Advertising, Blogging, Business, Indianapolis Marketing, Indianapolis advertisting, Marketing Strategy, Marketing-Mix, Outsourced Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Website Development Tagged With: advertising budget, billboard advertising, blogs, offline advertising, online advertising, online marketing, pay per click marketing, search engine optimization, social media, traditional advertising, traditional marketing

The Secret to Business Success

March 23, 2011 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

By Janet Falkenberg

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from my friend Janet Falkenberg of ExecuStrive, an Indianapolis virtual assistant business.

Let me share a secret with you that many successful entrepreneurs already know – you have to manage your business effectively to reach the levels of success you desire.

So, if you can answer YES to ANY of these questions then you know you are not effectively managing your business:

Feeling overwhelmed at the start of each day – you don’t know what to do first?
You’ve been busy all day but don’t feel like you’ve achieved anything?
Are projects/clients are falling through the cracks or you’re “forgetting” appointments?
These are only the symptoms of LACK of systems. You don’t have core systems in place and your business is running you when it should be you running your business!

Do you strategically look at why and how you are busy? Time is your most valuable asset and cannot be replaced. Engaging in activity that has little value will not produce the revenue you desire.

A virtual assistant is an expert who focuses on business processes and can provide entrepreneurs with advice and guidance on setting up business processes, analyzing workflows, streamlining and improving operations.

For a business to be successful, all the areas of the business need to work together. Creating systems will help you realize big results in increased efficiency, more profits, increased customer/client satisfaction and retention, just to name a few. Here are some core areas that would be helpful to have a system for:

Project Management
Current Client Care
Client Retention
Tracking Sales
Marketing and Advertising
Business Owner Time Management

There are five ways a virtual assistant can set up systems to manage your business so that you can effectively market and grow your business.

Set up systems for the core areas of your business. You can use the above list as a guide. Review the systems you have in place.
Systemize repetitive tasks. Are clients asking the same questions? Create auto responders or template email answers to these questions.
Create a calendar to handle your appointments, project deadlines, etc.
Create your core business systems. How do you handle new clients?
Create a long term plan. Use spreadsheets to schedule your annual marketing plan that shows month by month what programs to run. This will take all the guesswork out of running the business. You can easily see the available time slots for getting work done or scheduling appointments.

Working with a virtual assistant to develop these systems will increase your business, your income, and your productivity!

To your success!!

Janet Falkenberg
ExecuStrive
Details Get Done
317-440-0255

Filed Under: Indianapolis Marketing, Marketing, Marketing & Sales, Marketing Plans, Marketing Strategy, Outsourced Marketing, Social Media Management, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: creating a marketing system, marketing plan, marketing system, outsourced administrative assistant, outsourced marketing, virtual assistant

The Pros and Cons of Technology

December 3, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

In many ways, technology (and particularly computers and the Internet) has made our lives better. But with everything, there are pros and cons. So for fun, I thought I’d list some of my favorite pros and cons in my life as they relate to technology and marketing.

PRO: We no longer have to go to the library or our volume of encyclopedias or dictionary to look up information. Everything is at a click of a mouse.
CON: We no longer go to the library. And we now have so much information at our fingertips that it sometimes becomes overwhelming.

PRO: Websites can make the little guy appear to be a big guy.
CON: You now have to have a website to compete with the big guys, and when you do, you’re expected to act like the big guys too.

PRO: Thanks to Facebook, we can communicate with old friends and catch up on their lives.
CON: We now know sometimes more than we really wanted to know about our old friends, and Facebook has replaced more personal communication with our friends.

PRO: With sites like WebMD, we can avoid going to the doctor and check our symptoms online.
CON: Due to symptom checker websites, we are now freaking out and think we just might have a deadly disease.

PRO: Twitter has decreased the time that it takes for news and important information to spread virally.
CON: Poor Bill Cosby has been rumored to be dead seven times thanks to rumors on Twitter!

PRO: With computers, we can save our work and erase errors with the delete and backspace buttons, making typing and editing documents much easier.
CON: With computers, we can type an entire paragraph (as I just did with this blog post) and it can get deleted on accident, never to be recovered.

PRO: Thanks to high-speed Internet, we can browse websites and read articles quickly and efficiently.
CON: Now, when our Internet connection is slow, we become more impatient than ever, wondering if that page will ever load!

PRO: We now have hundreds of viewing options available on our televisions for our entertainment.
CON: We now have hundreds of viewing options available on our televisions for our entertainment.

PRO: Email and texting have given us a way to communicate without having to pick up a telephone, write a letter or send a fax.
CON: People often expect instant response via email and text, and in many cases have given up having real conversations.

PRO: Constant innovation in technology has given us many tools for use in our business and personal lives.
CON: We’re now expected to have, upgrade or purchase the “latest and greatest thing” or get left behind.

Do you have any technology pros or cons to add? I welcome your feedback!

Filed Under: Business, Facebook, Technology, Twitter Tagged With: pros and cons of technology, technology and business

Are you Scaring Away the Media?

October 26, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Are you scaring reporters or producers with your PR practices?

Do your PR tactics send reporters running?

There are some good and bad ways to approach the media with your press release or story ideas. Are you breaking any of the media etiquette rules? If so, you may be scaring away the media (which will get your pitch deleted or ignored). Here are some ways you might be sabotaging your PR efforts:

Not using the 5 W’s (Who, What, Where, When, Why) is your press release: Following basic journalistic principles, include the most important information upfront, in your opening paragraph (typically the 5 W’s), so that the reporter/producer knows the overview of the story before getting into the details.
Including Too Much Information in your Release or Pitch: Reporters and producers don’t have time to read an entire history on your company or sort through pages of brochures. Stick to the main story/segment idea, try to keep the release to one page if possible, and the pitch to a paragraph or two. Use bullet points to summarize main concepts in your press release.
Including too much technical jargon: Try to use the simplest terms possible when describing your story idea or writing your release for distribution. The reporter/producer may not be familiar with all of the technical terms of your industry, so it’s best to speak in a more common language.
Sending your release or media via an email attachment: Sending attachments via email to reporters/producers is a sure-fire way for your email to get put in the spam folder. Always cut/paste your release or story idea text directly into your email. If you would like to include photos, videos or other media, mention that these are available and offer to send them if they are interested.
Sending out mass pitches: It’s okay to send the same pitch and press release to each media outlet. However, sending a generic email where you CC: or BCC: several reporters shows that you haven’t taken the time to personalize the pitch to that publication. Why not read a little bit about the reporter’s/producer’s beat and the stories he/she has covered in the past, and address them in a personal email, with a suggestion for how they might consider using the story. Your pitch is more likely to get considered this way.
Hounding the reporter with follow-ups: Although you do need to follow up with the reporter after sending your pitch, don’t call or leave multiple messages for the reporter or producer if you don’t hear from them. One follow-up phone call or email should suffice to ensure that they received the information, and if they are able, they will most likely get back to you with their interest.
Pitching via Social Media: Most editors, reporters and producers use social media as a way to communicate their stories and share information related to the subject matter they cover. It’s not the best way to pitch a story idea. So unless the reporter specifically requests you to tweet out a story idea, stick to email.
Pitching the Wrong Audience: This mistake relates to the mass pitching mistake listed in #5. Be sure to research your targeted publications or media outlets to ensure that they are a good fit for your story idea before pitching. If they haven’t covered stories like yours in the past, or if you don’t think their audience would be interested in your story, don’t pitch that media outlet.

These are just a few mistakes I’ve seen that scare away the media. Reporters, editors, producers or PR practitioners: What others would you add?

Filed Under: Pitching the Media, Public Relations, Public Relations Ideas, Social Media Marketing, Twitter Tagged With: Indianapolis PR, pitching the media, PR mistakes, press release distribution

Social Media Marketing: Facebook Fan Page Promotion Tips

October 11, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Many businesses have created Facebook Fan Pages, and perhaps you are one of them. But has your marketing team been having trouble coming up with ideas for content? Here are some suggestions for beefing up your Facebook Fan page in order to increase the number of fans, repeat visitors, interaction and lead generation:

Coupons: Many companies have started offering coupons or discounts via their Facebook fan pages. National brands have been doing this for some time. I will often “Like” certain brand’s Facebook pages in order to print coupons for free samples, foods that I would like to try, or discounts on products that I already buy. The viral marketing effect of this can be exponential. For example, my favorite breakfast food is my ZonePerfect chocolate almond raisin bar, and on their Facebook page recently, you could request a free sample of their newest flavor, Cookie Doughlicious. Nabisco Cookies’ Facebook page also offered a deal where you could print a coupon for free cookies when you purchased cookies and milk. But you don’t have to have a national brand to offer coupons or discounts. The Indianapolis Zoo recently
Indianapolis Zoo's Facebook Fan page

offered a discount admission through its fan page, which actually got me to take my kids to the zoo last month, since I hadn’t done so all summer (beware of the added $6 parking fee Simply paste a graphic or link to a file with your coupon so fans can print and redeem your coupon. Make sure to include a code so that you can track responses. And also make sure that you don’t lose your shirt on coupons or samples, and are able to keep up with the demand that the new business might bring.
Make Important Announcements: Pampers used their Facebook page to announce their new line of designer diapers by Cynthia Rowley. This also allowed them to gain feedback via comments regarding the acceptance of the new line. Your company announcement could be as simple as welcoming a new member to your team, highlighting a recent client win, or promoting your company’s involvement in a local charitable event.
Survey your Customers: Want to know what’s on the mind of your customers, partners or prospects? Create a poll in Facebook and find out! The poll could be a simple one about which flavor of your product they like best, which topics keep your customers up at night, or what they think of a given subject. As long as your survey ties back into your business somehow, you have unlimited options. You can also simply ask a question of your fans to solicit feedback on any topic of concern.
Event Promotion: Companies can announce special events or workshops they are hosting through their Facebook fan pages, and encourage attendance. My sister’s employer, Supranet, a Madison, Wisconsin Internet Service Provider, hosts monthly high-tech happy hours, along with customer appreciation nights, and promotes the events through their Facebook Fan page. They even post pictures of the event to drive traffic back to their fan page following the event. Facebook shouldn’t necessarily be your main source of event promotion, but it can definitely be one good avenue for event promotion.
Photos of Customers Using Your Product / Brand: Supranet also does this with their “Supranet Sightings” – where they encourage people to wear their Supranet T-shirts and post a photo on Facebook, where it may appear on their fan page. This encourages both employees, partners and customers to keep your brand visible, and puts a little fun into the mix too. Both Huggies and Pampers do this by allowing their customers to post photos of their babies wearing their products. Restaurants could have customers post pictures of their dishes, or eating at their restaurant, or posing with their mascot. Domino’s Pizza has done this with its “ShowUsUrPizza” tab, and offers customers $500 if a winning photo is displayed on their fan page. Domino’s promotion also has a goal of educating its customers on its promise not to artificially manipulate the pizzas shown in their advertisements (just “honest to goodness pizzas”). How about showing before and after photos of clients (example: local hair salon or car repair shop)? How can your customers showcase your brand or product/service in use on your Facebook fan page?
Articles or Blog Posts: Facebook is also a good way to promote recent blog posts, as the goal is to share relevant content with your fan base. You can share articles you or your team have written, or link to other reputable articles which might be of interest to your fans. I do this a lot on my AimFire Marketing Facebook Fan Page, which, by the way, you should become a fan of if you haven’t already!
Fan page for 12Stars Media - an Indianapolis media production company

Videos or Advertisements: Online videos are a great way to interact with your fan base. My friends over at 12StarsMedia post a lot of videos for clients as well as for their own promotional efforts (plus, I suspect they have a ton of fun producing them). Your video doesn’t have to be a boring, company overview. You can interview or highlight customers at an event, survey random people on the street about a topic relevant to your industry, or feature a new product or service and show us how it works. 12 Stars does a good job with the Indy Children’s Museum and their Weekly WOW videos. They promote their YouTube feed through their fan page.
Talk about what’s new or relevant: Simply using your Facebook fan page as a conversation starter is a great way to make your fan page more interactive. Simply ask customers what they’re eating for lunch, what their favorite thing is about the Fall season, or some other relevant topic. If it’s something in the news recently, or on people’s minds, they will look to share the information. Just start the conversation and keep it rolling.

I hope I’ve given you some new ways to look at your Facebook fan page. Now you can be on your way to creating more relevant and compelling content for your fans and increasing your fan following. Let me know in the comments below if you have other ideas or examples of good Fan pages.

Filed Under: Advertising, Event Planning, Facebook, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: Facebook, Facebook fan page, Facebook fan page promotion, social media indianapolis, social media marketing

Top 5 Recession Marketing Tips

June 19, 2009 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Ways to Promote your Business Inexpensively During these Tough Times

So you have no dough to advertise? Have no fear. There are some things you could (and should) still be doing to market yourself until things look up:

1. Social Media Marketing: Join Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube or others and start getting involved in conversations and/or following others. It’s fun and they don’t cost a thing to join — only your time and a computer (which you already have if you are reading this).

2. Public Relations: A very cost-effective way to get your name out there and appear bigger than you are, and drive traffic to your online or physical store. Reporters, editors and producers are always looking for story ideas. Just email them an idea. Here’s one of my proudest and most recent success stories: Wow Clothing Club – Concept: Think Netflix for designer girls’ clothing. After a little pitching to reporters, I was able to secure a Sunday Chicago Tribune article, which was syndicated and appeared in newspapers across the country. This was then followed by a feature on Fox TV’s The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet, both of which resulted in hundreds of unique visitors to the website. Finally, believe it or not, ABC News did an entire segment and a dozen or so evening newscasts ran it with their own intro, resulting in even more exposure. All from an idea, a pitch and a press release to a captive audience. You can do it too!

3. Search Engine Optimization: If you have a website but you’re experiencing a lull in traffic, now is the time to look at your site structure and content and make the necessary changes to get your rankings up there. Just a few tactics can make a big difference in your rankings. How much are you spending on paid search advertising and not converting the traffic to customers? SEO can leave a lasting result on your efforts and you don’t have to pay per click.

4. Email Marketing: Using a cool service like Constant Contact, you can market to your current list of prospects for as low as $15/month. You don’t need to have a design degree either. They have great templates you can customize with your color scheme and logo. And write your content yourself — the best emails have a more casual tone anyway.

5. The Telephone: Yes, in this digital age, the old fashioned telephone (or mobile phone) is still an effective marketing tool. In fact, with more people reaching out online, maybe picking up the phone to reconnect with prospects or clients to see how they’re doing might lead to something…

Which one of these five tips will you use this week?

Filed Under: Advertising, Budget Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing

Susan Young – AimFire Marketing

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