8 Tips to Optimize Sales with Social Media, But Beware of a Red Flag

 

Updated Feb. 1, 2012

It’s time-consuming, but there is data to illustrate why social media should be part of your marketing and human-resources recruiting mix.

For example, social networking continued to increase in popularity with consumers in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project in 2011.

Pew reports 50 percent of all U.S. adults are social networking. So are 65 percent of adult Internet users – an increase of more than 100 percent since 2008. Daily, 43 percent of adults using the Internet are also on social networking sites.

Data from the month of May: Eighty-three percent of the 18-29 age-demographic are social networking. That compares to 70 percent for the 30-49 demo, and 51 percent among 50-64 year-old users. Thirty-three percent of seniors, 65+, are social networking.

The three salient social networks: Google+, Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn is, of course, favored by professionals. (The Biz Coach has the AddThis option for readers to share this and other columns — there are 330 social media options.)

Social Networking Red Flag

So, social media has value. However, look before you leap into a full-scale dependence on social network marketing. Social networking doesn’t necessarily lead to sales, according to another Pew study.

It shows three types of social media aficionados:

• Heavy users – 26 percent of time spent
• Medium users – 4.1 percent time spent
• Light users – .42 percent time spent

Surprisingly, heavy users don’t necessarily consume products. Statistically, Pew reports they’re not as likely to buy products and services on the Internet. Plus, they spend less when they do.

Average spending among the three categories:

• Heavy users – $126
• Medium users – $212
• Light users – $297

What you need to do is find the right use of social-mediums for your business, and start interacting.

Here are eight options to consider:

1. Manage your online image and reputation
2. Branding for repeat customers
3. Respond to customer complaints
4. Complement your press releases with blogs
5. Crisis management
6. Stage contests to attract Web traffic
7. Publish thought-leadership commentaries
8. Attract and recruit employees

Naturally, the latter – No.8, recruit employees – is especially viable on LinkedIn. Ask any headhunter who is concerned about competition from LinkedIn. Conversely, it’s a networking tool for jobhunters, too.

From the Coach’s Corner, before investing heavily in Facebook, you might want to consider this Biz Coach column: Is Facebook Approaching the End of Its Product Life Cycle? Ostensibly, Yes.

“Social networks aren’t about Web sites. They’re about experiences.”

– Mike DiLorenzo

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

The Key to Internet Dominance: Think Integration

 

July 18, 2011 – Updated 5:01 a.m.

Whether you’re a new or established business, it wasn’t that long ago that a strong Internet presence meant having a great Web site with a top ranking. Partially, that’s still true but the competitive marketplace continues to rapidly change daily, which means the No. 1 objective should be a vibrant, integrated presence. 

In other words, what matters most is your total Web image – your Web site is an important secondary consideration. 

Naturally, it’s important to develop online relationships with social media and other strong Web sites. They will enhance your Web image until it achieves a dominant position in your niche. So, an integrated approach works best. 

That means think big picture to achieve a proper balance. Facebook has, of course, become a player. But it’s important to note there are Winners and Losers in Facebook’s Invasion of Google’s Turf, including a threat of cannibalizing your Web site’s presence on the search engines.  Here’s a second analysis: Aside from Privacy, Security Issues — Facebook is a Threat 2 Ways. Harness the power of Facebook, but don’t let it make your Web site irrelevant. Use due diligence to capitalize on Facebook.  

Besides, there’s another ramification if you allow Facebook to cannibalize your Internet reputation. Why? Facebook appears to be Approaching the End of Its Product Life Cycle. Fixing the problems caused by a faltering Facebook would be costly in time and money. Building a successful Web site consumes a lot of resources. Don’t let Facebook exacerbate your situation. 

A Web site doesn’t have to be an expensive venture. With WordPress and other options, you can forget about HTML, which is challenging and time-consuming to learn. You can use a free WordPress template, www.blogger.comor buy a complex WordPress template and customize it. 

Another challenge: Cyber security. Be sure you take every security precaution. (This portal has more than a dozen columns quoting nationally respected security expert Stan Stahl.) 

If you’re a blogger, the possible downside for not using HTML is that it will be a challenge for you to convince Google that you’re a news site. Stature as a news site, of course, means more prominence. But you can still be successful without HTML – if you lay the right foundation for success. 

21 steps for integrated approach

Not to over-simplify, for an overall great Internet presence, here are the basics:

1. Research options for your ideal branding.
2. Decide on your slogan – three to five words that will pique the interest of your target audience.
3. Develop a logo that tells your story.
4. Create a favicon, which is a short description for “favorites icon.” A favicon is small, often 16×16 pixels, used as a logo for your Web site on the search engines. If it’s the same as your company’s logo, you’re really rocking. For example, just look at the URL in this search line on this Web page and you’ll see mine. Or look up any major company or site. All the big dogs – successful companies – have a favicon. It will help portray you as a unique firm.
5. Install a good site map for the convenience of search engines and SEO (search engine optimization).
6. Don’t under-estimate the power of the news media. Include a “Press Room” on your site for the convenience of journalists to read about your firm’s developments.
7. Know and implement the right key words for you. If you’re a small firm, include your name and a brief Web description that isn’t too long to be inserted on the search engines when they mention your site.
8. Develop your site – if possible, include a blog.
9. Consider inserting relevant videos — an increasing draw for traffic.
10. Register your site with the search engines.
11. Read the search engines’ Web developer tools. However, in the main, if you focus on quality and relevance you’ll do well on the search engines. Many people think you have to have use separate strategies for each search engine, but that’s not the case. Relevance and value are what matter most.
12. Immediately establish a Google profile, and create profiles on the four salient social networks: LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter and Facebook.
13. Miscellaneous tips – on LinkedIn join all relevant groups focusing on your target audience and your industry. Promote your work on the groups. For Facebook, decide if you want a personal or company fan presence. Grow your Twitter followers every week.
14. If possible, include StumbleUpon (see Using StumbleUpon To Drive Traffic to Your Website.) There are more than 340 social media sites from which to choose, but you’ll only have time to utilize a handful of them.
15. For your profile, make sure you use a good picture with strong resolution. Use the same picture in all your promotions. Consistency is a requirement to earn universal trust. Include all your profile basics.
16. Develop and implement an editorial schedule for your blogs. Life happens. Keep it flexible in case the schedule has to be temporarily altered.
17. For every salient event or blog, write an online press release and have it distributed on an authoritative press release service. Many will do it for free.
18. Post your blogs on your social media, especially your LinkedIn groups.
19. Install a sharing button, such as Add This, to every page. You can also insert separate buttons for your social media. Despite what the conventional wisdom indicates, you can also do the Facebook “like this routine,” but it isn’t crucial.
20. Check the Google page rank of all sites linking to you, and you’ll need a lot of them. Google assigns page ranks from one to 10. However, remember your new Web site will have a zero page-rank, and you don’t want other zero-ranked sites linking to you. That goes for your online press-release company. Shoot for links with a page rank of 6 or higher because if you do things right you’ll quickly earn a page rank of one or two. Allow for some wiggle room for your site’s future ranking. (Check sites here.)
21. Continue to innovate in all that you do.

The best way to innovate is to keep an open mind. The best way to keep an open mind to spot and capitalize on new opportunities is to practice the “Principle of Contrary Action.”

It’s a tip from a cherished mentor more than three decades ago. Keep track of everything you do and strive to do it differently each time. That includes taking different routes to work or even going to the grocery store. (It was a simple but effective strategy from Dr. Len Brode, who has had many accomplishments as a scientist and as a great human being. He also was a proponent of “how to keep your personal power,” long before I heard of Tony Robbins. He is married to Jade Brode, the author of Marry the Man of Your Dreams and No Is The Word.)

A Web site is important. But an integrated approach is the key to Internet dominance. Good luck in your venture.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are more research links:

Checklist to Build Your Brand on a Budget

Google Insights – 23 Key Questions about Your Web Site

Study Provides Vital Lessons for Web Sites Seeking Profits

Checklist: 19 Quick Marketing Tips for New Entrepreneurs

Marketing Checklist to Measure Your Brand’s Personality

“A strong foundation increases the value of everything you do.”

-Aaron Wall

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 Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

Marketing Strategies to Cut Through the Clutter

This includes word-of-mouth promotion and 10 strategies to boost your online presence.

Successful marketing is like air warfare. You have to control the skies with advertising and public relations to soften the target before the sales infantry goes into action.

There are many ways to accomplish successful marketing. But that means cutting through the clutter to overcome consumer overload, and that’s why marketing has become more difficult. Virtually all businesses have been searching for better ways to cut through the clutter of competition.

Change is problematic for marketers, too. You have to be able to adjust to competition and dynamic changes in the marketplace by repositioning your company. You have to have a good sense of timing in knowing when to make changes and allow enough time to for the process to work. But you also need to connect to the past by maintaining your company’s legacy in your customers’ memory banks.

For years we’ve heard about various types of marketing research from segmentation to positioning. Our marketing vernacular has also included demand estimation, distribution channels, price elasticity, and tools for interactive technologies. Not to mention advertising and promotion.

Advertising reminds customers about the benefits of your products, enhances your image, and builds sales. Companies have been searching for something new because the old ways of advertising and promotion need to be complemented with new tools in generating new customers.

So what’s the newest trend in marketing? To complement your TV and Internet promotion, it’s going back to the basics – word-of-mouth marketing. That’s the umbrella term for an infinite number of techniques to make sales. Basically, you need to establish a dialogue. So listen to customers and give them their due consideration, respect and recognition.

With the ever-increasing consumer overload, there’s more fragmentation. Messages are seen and heard everywhere. Focused, key emotional verbiage, frequency and reach of messages are more important than ever for dominance.

Fewer people were going to the movies, but in this Great Recession attendance has picked up. Movie attendees are going to boost their spirits and have little discretionary income.  Otherwise, however, whether it’s a movie or a pizza, consumers are getting what they want, when they want, where they want, and how they want. And they tell their friends all about it.

Keller Fay Group, a word-of-mouth research and consulting firm, reported the average person will talk about products or famous personalities 56 times a week.

Most powerful tool

The most powerful tool is still face-to-face messages. So give your prospectives enough salient incentives to get face-to-face with them.

And give consumers reasons to talk about you in the lunch room. After all, they spend more time at work than surfing online. But the Internet is helping to get people to communicate, especially the elusive 18-to-34-year-olds.

Such Generation Y customers aren’t flush with cash but they’re being targeted by businesses to lay a foundation for short and long-term growth. They’re mobile and want fast, free services. They also heavily use the Internet.

So, blogging becomes important. But it’s more than just writing a blog or two.

To maximize your Internet potential, you need to recruit bloggers and centers of influence – people who can send business your way. So identify them and give such influential people special offers and super customer service. Encourage customers to tell their friends and family members and to blog online. Participate in the blogs and track results of the conversations.

Once you establish a conversation with customers you can co-create a buying decision with them. Along the way, your selling process will be made easier if you create a happy buying environment by encouraging customers to try-and-buy. But that’s not really a new concept. Why else do food companies give away products at Costco or why do car dealers love to give you a test drive.

Online tutorials also result in consumers buying products. That’s another marketing trend that illustrates consumers want to try out products and not be an object of a sales pitch.

Caution: Despite all the hype about the Internet and social networking, remember the news media is still considered to be the most authoritative. So use authoritative radio station or TV station programming as a tool to achieve dominance in marketing.

And stay current on your techniques. Read and study. Remember every so-called expert blogger speaks with finality as though they have the right information. But, often, that’s not the case. Be careful to whom you listen.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are 10 tips to boost online exposure:

1. Determine why your prospective customers should buy from you instead of your competitors. Make sure your page description for the search engines tells your story in 10 words or less.
2. Develop a branding slogan in three to five words that connects with the emotions of your prospects and the results they’re seeking in buying your products or services.
3. Send lots of news releases to the media, especially the operations with good Web sites. It helps if you tie your marketing to a worthy cause. And, radio stations are always looking to trade publicity for products in giveaways.
4. There are free search-engine press release firms if budget is a concern.
5. Study your competitors’ Web sites for hints of how to improve yours.
6. Although they’re not as important as in recent years, insert so-called Meta tags, which are encoded in your Web pages but are invisible to users. These are read by search engines and can help put your site toward the top of the search results.
7. Insert videos on your Web site.
8. Begin an online social marketing strategy with LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter and insert informative and/or enjoyable videos on YouTube.
9. Start a blog and make sure your site has Web site enhancement tools for blogging. That includes RSS feeds and social networking, such as Twitter or LinkedIn. You probably need expertise. 
10. Check to see if your Web site is easily accessible to cell phones and other mobile devices. Here’s a free site that will give you a quick analysis: http://ready.mobi/launch.jsp?locale=en_EN.