|
Hopefully some of the articles, comments and posts will generate that "SPARK" , which will spur you to take action.
|
Showing posts with label Emarketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emarketing. Show all posts
The October Spark Edition is out!
5 Gems on how to use Facebook for Business
Great article by Michael Ruiz
While many small businesses are entering into the fray, they are using it in a very ‘traditional’ or ‘push’ marketing way. They understand that Twitter has potential for them to connect with their customers, but they aren’t quite sure how to use it and how they can benefit from it. As a result, many fall off the map and end up wasting time and resources with little to no benefit. Rather than rushing into using Facebook without knowing exactly why, your business should consider a more strategic approach.
1. PRIORITISE YOUR BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
Every brand on Facebook is on Facebook for one reason – to (eventually) get more business.
Before you can get customers from Facebook, you need prioritised objectives and an engaged fan base that’s compelled to visit your website.
2. BUILD YOUR FACEBOOK AUDIENCE
To grow your Facebook fan base, you need to make your Page and your posts as discoverable as possible both online and off. No one can connect with you on Facebook if they don’t know you exist, so let’s talk about 5 ways to get noticed.
- Make sure your page is properly filled out with searchable information.
- Invite existing contacts to ‘like’ your page.
- Incorporate Facebook into your online and offline communication channels.
- Create value.
- Pay for new ‘likes’ (fans) using Facebook advertising.
3. DEVELOP & FOCUS ON YOUR OVERARCHING CONTENT & LEAD GEN’ STRATEGIES.
Focus first on your overall content and lead generation strategies. Then, repackage what you’ve already created for Facebook.
4. CHAMPION VALUE CREATION: WHAT CONTENT TO CREATE & SHARE ON FACEBOOK
To attract customers, you can’t just post sales-driven content.
INSTEAD, GENERATE LEADS IN TWO WAYS:
Directly. Generate leads by sharing content that links directly back to a landing page with a contact form on your website.
Share the landing page for a downloadable offer, such as:
- An e-book.
- A white-paper.
- A template.
- A checklist.
Indirectly. Generate leads eventually after sharing friendly, easy-to-consume content not housed behind a form.
Share:
- Photos
- Photo albums
- Blog posts
- YouTube videos
- Third-party content
- Event invites
Photos work wonders for your click-through rate and post engagement, so it’s worth spending the extra time sourcing or creating images for your posts.
Whether B2C or B2B, business is still P2P (people to people) - Post a variety of content types aimed at providing value – education, entertainment, etc.
5. MAXIMISE CUSTOMER ACQUISITION WITH ADVERTISING.
The people connected to your company on Facebook may not be your most qualified leads. The best way to reach them is with targeted ads.
Facebook has evolved to become more of a paid marketing platform than an organic one. A brand’s ability to reach their fan base organically has diminished as more brands and content compete to appear in users’ News Feeds.
If you’re trying to drive traffic, leads, and customers, you probably want to advertise posts that contain a link back to your website, but you can also create different types of ads depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.
There is no one size fits all formula for using Facebook for business. Start small, experiment, post regularly, and actively strive to engage with your customer.
References:
Understanding what’s possible remains the SMEs biggest challenge
Former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was a prominent figure on the world stage as we struggled to come to terms with the new, strange enemy that was terrorism.
And it was when answering a media question about Iraq’s so called weapons of mass destruction that he delivered his most famous response:
“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.”
Or as has become the common vernacular, ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’.
Knowing what you don’t know.
And it’s this statement that most accurately describes the condition of a large contingent of our smaller business operators when it comes to the digital or even the technology world.
Because despite the massive volume of free or at least affordable information available on most aspects of technology, the vast bulk of SMEs remain laggards when it comes to embracing and adopting new technology.
Front and centre of this dilemma is the continued poor adoption of that most basic of digital assets, the website.
Whilst websites are now regarded as the most effective marketing tool of all, Sensis reports that still only two thirds of business provide one. Not so long ago, that figure was as low as 40%.
On the one hand its good to see the majority of SMEs now have a website. On the other, what are the remaining third doing to not bother with what is now seen as the best marketing ally a small business can have?
Incorrect use of technology
But for every business that is using a website effectively, there are probably two who aren’t using it to its full potential.
And that is not due to that common reason, lack of budget. The real issue is simply that these business operators do not know any better.
Because many business operators simply aren’t aware that the way they go about their business could be not only streamlined, but fundamentally altered by today’s technology.
Its difficult to ask for an integrated website solution when you don’t know what integration really is. Or a CRM when your customer records are still kept in word documents and spreadsheets. Or a smartphone app when you still aren’t using the right fundamental business software in the first place.
Who can forget the case of the local meat merchant who still doesn’t even have a computer?
An overwhelming issue
This isn’t to disparage the smaller business operator. It’s merely a symptom of smaller businesses not having the time or resource to be fully across technology developments which might affect them.
Technology is such a massive and fast developing business discipline, even the most informed business operator had difficulty keeping up with the best way to underpin and enable their business from a technology perspective.
And just to add insult to injury, many smaller business operators fear being exposed by their lack of technology understanding and so simply avoid the issue altogether. Or often wait till it’s too late.
Getting to know technology
Of course smaller business aren’t alone here. The road to business ruin is littered with the corpses of plenty of large and well resourced businesses who have failed to recognise the significance of technology change on their businesses in time to save them.
Who can forget Kodak, Borders, Yellow Pages (technically still here) and Sony Walkman among others?
I think the main trick for businesses large and small is threefold:
First, to understand their core customer benefit instead of its present delivery mechanism (most famously described by marketing academic Theodore Levitt in his article ‘Marketing Myopia’ back in the 1960s). This approach will mean you are open minded about technology and not dwell on defending a dying delivery or production methodology.
Secondly, to ruthlessly keep abreast of developments that might in any way alter the way their customers perceive and purchase their product – no matter how remote it may seem from your business.
Thirdly, educate yourself as best you can about technology – not by doing a course in IT, but by accessing a range of ongoing information and education about how technology affects your particular industry.
And when you have a business to run – often on limited resources, that can be particularly challenging.
In addition to being a leading eBusiness educator to the smaller business sector, Craig Reardon is the founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which was established to address the special website and web marketing needs of SMEs in Melbourne and beyond. www.theeteam.com.au
Are you ready for Google's 'responsive' algorithm change April 21?
From April 21, Google will be altering the 'algorithm' they use to rank websites to favour those which are 'responsive' to mobiles and devices. For the unprepared, this could mean a significant drop in search engine prominence. Let Craig know if you need more info. craig@theeteam.com.au
6 bullet points to kick off your 2015 digital media strategy
WWWorkshop – January 15, 2015
Your bullet point 2015 digital media strategy
A digital checklist for the time poor business operator
Welcome to my first missive for 2015. I hope the break finds you refreshed and raring to grow your business – especially digitally.
We all know that a proper plan entails much thought and consideration and if you have the budget, clever consultants to help you plan your business path for the year.
Ideally our Business Plans would drill down into Marketing Plans and in turn Digital Marketing Tactics and Website Development Requirements.
But as much as we would all love to have beautifully written and presented whitepapers on such plans, the reality is that we are lucky to find time and resource to come up with a simple digital wishlist.
So this blog is an attempt to help the time poor business operator at least have a rough plan of attack for their digital requirements in 2015.
Digital Marketing Tactic #1: Your website
Who?: Every business
How much?: From $1000 plus monthly charges
Why?:
As much as websites seem oh so last millennium to the digerati, they are in fact more important than ever as the hub of your business’ digital world. Whatever you do in the online world, all roads lead back to your website as the place to inform, engage and ideally sell.
And customers now use websites as a measure of how professional your business really is. Lose them at the website and you lose the sale. It also should be ‘responsive’ to adapt to all kinds of devices.
Importantly, it should also be as ‘extensible’ of future-proof as possible to keep your future website improvement costs down. Many smaller business operators fall into the common trap of having a website created is such a way that future improvements might cost more than the original website!
Digital Marketing Tactic #2: Search Engine Optimisation
Who?: Every business
How much?: From $100 a year, depending on how competitive your line of business is
Why?:
Very few purchases are made these days without at least some interaction with a search engine to find out what to buy, how much to pay and where to buy it. And if your business isn’t prominent when these searches are carried out, you miss out on valuable, qualified and low cost leads.
Obviously your goals for optimisation will vary on your market and size, but at the very least you should aim to be coming up on the first page of Google et al search results for your line of business in your locality or coverage area. If it doesn’t, it’s a good idea to get some professional help as soon as you can or watch your competitors get the business instead.
Digital Marketing Tactic #3: Search Engine Advertising
Who?: Most businesses, particularly if ‘natural’ search results are competitive
How much?: From $100 per month
Why?:
One of the real benefits of search engine advertising is that it is performance based – you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. This means that you can run a search engine advertising campaign alongside your ‘natural’ search engine optimisation knowing that all clicks are clicks you wouldn’t have got otherwise. Clearly users wouldn’t click on your ad if your natural result caught their attention first.
The other benefit is that you have real control over your search engine presence. If you aren’t appearing prominently you can increase your bid or improve your ad or landing page to have immediate action – unlike SEO which can take weeks or months for a similar improvement.
Digital Marketing Tactic #4: Social Networking
Who?: Most businesses
How much?: From $0 but can be time consuming if DIY
Why?:
Social networking has so many different aspects to it, it’s difficult to cover all benefits in this ready reckoner. For example there is your business page and attracting Likes, there is Facebook advertising, LinkedIn networking and of course special interest Groups.
The results will differ for every business although it is pretty much a mainstay in entertainment and hospitality industries. But by now you should have thrown some budget or resource into trying this exciting and low cost medium.
Digital Marketing Tactic #5: Email Marketing
Who?: Retailers and high information businesses
How much?: Depends on in house resources, but from $0 upwards
Why?:
Whilst social networking attracts much of the hype these days, its one significant flaw is that your message can be missed by your target market. Email on the other hand, sits patiently in their Inboxes till they can either read or delete it. Even with the latter, your message and your name has got through to them.
In fact email marketing remains the most cost effective direct marketing tactic there is and so should be used hand in hand with social networking rather than as an alternative.
Digital Marketing Tactic #6: Blogging
Who?: Businesses with sufficient new content opportunities
How much?: Mainly time
Why?:
Blogging or article writing is a surefire means of raising your profile among your market for little more that the time spent writing your piece and of course growing your audience. But it rarely works in isolation.
Blogging works best when it is part of the website/email/social network content funnel that when distributed correctly can command audiences radio stations would be proud of. Even better when your Blog is featured by a prominent website or publication like the one you are reading.
There are of course a range of complementary digital marketing tactics like apps, banner advertising and so on. But the above selection will provider smaller businesses an excellent return on investment if planned and executed strategically and professionally.
Which tactics should you be implementing in 2015?
In addition to being a leading eBusiness educator to the smaller business sector, Craig Reardon is the founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which was established to address the special website and web marketing needs of SMEs in Melbourne and beyond. www.theeteam.com.au
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)