The Art of Social Marketing: Is It Right For Your Business?
The Art of Social Marketing: Is It Right For Your Business?
Would it be beneficial to grow your local business with social networking and web 2.0?
Here are a few factors to consider before diving in:
1. Is your target audience searching for your solution online?
2. Does your niche market provide a solution that a social networker could recommend?
3. Do you already collaborate or in-person network with other business owners that utilize social networking?
4. Do you know that your website will convert a prospect to client if you drive traffic to it?
I know what you might be thinking ... I don't know what to do. I don't know where to start.
Here’s a step-by-step starter guide for creating an online, social network for your business.
Where to start:
1. Start with Facebook – Facebook offers a simple, step-by-step way to create a profile. So, go ahead create a profile and ask all your in-person friends to join you.
2. Share information – Information makes social networking beneficial for those in your network. Share pictures, audio, video and even articles with those contacts. This offers two benefits:
a) As you do this other contacts will find you or you can search for contacts by observing what others are sharing with your network.
b) People will become interested in you and what you do. This is drive traffic to your profile and oftentimes your website.
3. Explore other social networking options – Depending on what media you are using to promote your company various social media might make sense for your business. For example if you want to create videos, you would choose youTube to post profile and then share on Facebook. On the other hand if you promote via articles you probably want to consider a strategy that includes a blog and a Facebook blog. That’s right – post your articles on your blog, Facebook blog and as many other article distribution sites.
4. Don’t forget to link – Linking back from your social media sites, articles and blog to your
website will help create traffic, which is ultimately the goal.
5. Create more traffic – Once you have these social media strategies under your belt there are many, many ways to drive more traffic to your website and sell products and services. Let’s take Twitter as an example. Twitter offers a way to share upcoming products, services, news and insights with colleagues – like mini announcements. By using this social media tool in this way, we gain exposure by keeping contacts in our network informed, keep ourselves on the forefront of their minds and build our credibility.
Online social networking and marketing is an easy and simple way to come along side your current in-person networking. By acting as a resource, keeping people informed of your business activities and making your business accessible in various platforms, you increase your visibility online, driving traffic to your website and eventually converting that exposure in to tangible sales and profits.
The Art of Social Marketing Is It Right For Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit Jen Blackert's Website.
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When the economy takes a downturn, small business owners look to in-person networking to keep cash flow moving in their business. What most business owners don't realize is there may be a simpler way.
Would it be beneficial to grow your local business with social networking and web 2.0?
Here are a few factors to consider before diving in:
1. Is your target audience searching for your solution online?
2. Does your niche market provide a solution that a social networker could recommend?
3. Do you already collaborate or in-person network with other business owners that utilize social networking?
4. Do you know that your website will convert a prospect to client if you drive traffic to it?
I know what you might be thinking ... I don't know what to do. I don't know where to start.
Here’s a step-by-step starter guide for creating an online, social network for your business.
Where to start:
1. Start with Facebook – Facebook offers a simple, step-by-step way to create a profile. So, go ahead create a profile and ask all your in-person friends to join you.
2. Share information – Information makes social networking beneficial for those in your network. Share pictures, audio, video and even articles with those contacts. This offers two benefits:
a) As you do this other contacts will find you or you can search for contacts by observing what others are sharing with your network.
b) People will become interested in you and what you do. This is drive traffic to your profile and oftentimes your website.
3. Explore other social networking options – Depending on what media you are using to promote your company various social media might make sense for your business. For example if you want to create videos, you would choose youTube to post profile and then share on Facebook. On the other hand if you promote via articles you probably want to consider a strategy that includes a blog and a Facebook blog. That’s right – post your articles on your blog, Facebook blog and as many other article distribution sites.
4. Don’t forget to link – Linking back from your social media sites, articles and blog to your
website will help create traffic, which is ultimately the goal.
5. Create more traffic – Once you have these social media strategies under your belt there are many, many ways to drive more traffic to your website and sell products and services. Let’s take Twitter as an example. Twitter offers a way to share upcoming products, services, news and insights with colleagues – like mini announcements. By using this social media tool in this way, we gain exposure by keeping contacts in our network informed, keep ourselves on the forefront of their minds and build our credibility.
Online social networking and marketing is an easy and simple way to come along side your current in-person networking. By acting as a resource, keeping people informed of your business activities and making your business accessible in various platforms, you increase your visibility online, driving traffic to your website and eventually converting that exposure in to tangible sales and profits.
The Art of Social Marketing Is It Right For Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit Jen Blackert's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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