Archives for February 2014
Marketing tactics that will increase your business
Is your marketing bringing you as many clicks, calls or customers as it should ? The big ad agencies follow five time-tested tactics to make their work more effective â now you can use them too. Iâll reveal one of these each of the next five weeks.
They are straightforward concepts, but thinking hard about them in relation to your own business and who you selling will pay off in a greater payoff for your marketing.
Get to know your prospects.
Think about:
- Who will be your best customers? (Who will value your product or service the most)
- What do they value?
- What are their problems?
- How are you going to help them?
- Why should they choose you?
This is a critical first step to putting together a marketing plan that is going build your business, so it pays to dig deep.
Also think about your unique selling points â the things that set you apart from the competition. Those have a lot to say about whom you should be marketing to.
Letâs say you run a plumbing service, and have dozens of testimonials from happy customers saying you get plumbers to the job on time, and get the job done quickly. You also have the largest warehouse of all your competitors, so most parts are ready with no delay. You offer fast service and reliability â but you cost more than competitors. What does this tell you about your customers?
Busy professionals, the self-employed or households where both spouses work may rather spend more to get things fixed as fast as possible by a firm that is known to be dependable. They canât afford to wait at home, losing income while away from work, waiting for a late plumber. Or one who may need to order parts and come again another day. On the other hand, retirees may need cost savings more than fast, reliable service so may not be a valuable target.
Once youâve identified target customers, and key benefits you can begin to craft highly effective marketing messages. This also points you to the best places to get your message out. Now youâve got the start on a marketing plan that will not only get your name out but make people pick up the phone and call.
Click the arrow……and I'll read this to you
by Christine Kelly – CEO & Queen Bee – Viral Solutions LLC
Prior to joining Viral Solutions, Christine held executive leadership roles at some of the largest small business consulting firms in the USA. Her experience includes leading direct reports of over 130 remote sales agents who generated $38mm in annual revenue. She obtained her Marketing degree from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Bring her C-Suite experience to your small business. Although our company is virtual, and we can work with you wherever you are located, she is located in Denver, Colorado and owns a second home in Vancouver, BC Canada.
Launching a New Product or Service on Social Media
So, youâre getting ready to launch a new product or service? Social media obviously comes to mind, especially if you already have a healthy following of customers and prospects. Use the tips below to plan a successful product launch on social media.
1. Identify the best channel mix for your launch. While the bulk of your launch may take place on Facebook or through your email list, you may want to include other channels such as your blog, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. These channels can work in conjunction with one another if you plan ahead.
2. Create a launch schedule. Think about your product launch as a blockbuster film. Movie studios start generating buzz long before movies hit the theaters. For example, youâll likely hear about the latest star to join the cast â and the movie hasnât even been shot yet. Youâll see previews for the movie a year before itâs ready. While your product launch may not take years to materialize, you can take a cue from Hollywood by generating anticipation. One way to do this is to start with the productâs launch date and work backwards. Create a schedule of social media activities leading up to the launch.
Activities to consider include the following:
- Teaser material â This could include blog posts, a YouTube video, an email marketing campaign, or tweets. The idea is to pique your audienceâs interest and let them know that something big is coming.
- Surveys â People love getting involved before the launch. For example, what if you were asked to screen a blockbuster movie months in advance? Wouldnât you love that? Wouldnât it be even better if you were asked to provide feedback so the producers could fine-tune the movie and make it even more spectacular based on your feedback? After giving the producers feedback, wouldnât you be excited to see the final product? Use surveys to get feedback from potential customers early in the process. This feedback can be extremely useful as you finalize your product. It can generate interest, excitement, and buzz; it can get people involved and plant the seeds for future sales.
- Include âcoming soonâ messages â You may already have your sales page written and ready to go, or a whole website for that matter. Before the final reveal, add âcoming soonâ messages to start drumming up interest.
- Create a âkeep me postedâ mailing list â Encourage people to sign up for your mailing list so that they can be notified of any news, special discounts, or events related to your product launch. Not only is this a great way to keep potential customers posted, youâll have a list of eager buyers to target once that launch date finally arrives.
- Create a viral promotion â Use Facebook or Twitter promotions to encourage your followers to help spread the word. For example, as the launch date gets closer, you could hold a photo or video contest where followers compete to win your product as the prize.
3. Create a work breakdown structure. Now that you have a schedule filled with launch activities, what needs to happen? Who needs to do it? And when? Work breakdown structures are commonly used by project managers to ensure that all project work gets done on time and within budget. When it comes to launching a product, you are a project manager whether you call yourself one or not. Work breakdown structures sound like a lot of work at first, but they really arenât. In fact, youâll likely find yourself working more productively once you have a work breakdown structure in place.
Essentially, you break down the work into its smallest components, making the work more manageable. Use your schedule and break each milestone down into its individual tasks. You can do this using software, an outline in Microsoft Word, or index cards. For each task, write down which milestone it is associated with, what needs to be done, by whom, and by what date.
Finally, start tackling each task. Before you know it, launch day will arrive! With a well-thought out plan properly executed, your launch should be met with excited buyers who have been waiting anxiously.
Iâll read this to youâŠjust click the arrow
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100âs of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.
Facebook Image Sizes for Your Business Page
Getting your image sizes right is an important part of looking professional on Facebook. These are the main photo placements you will work with as a small business, and the right image sizes for each.
Profile Image Size
Your profile image appears everywhere on Facebook: on your page, ads and posts, so use a crisp, square company logo.
Upload at least: 180 x 180 px Image Ratio: 1:1 Displays at: 160 x 160 px (Desktop)
Timeline Cover Photo Size
Despite being called a âcover photo,â you can use any image or design with this prime real estate. Facebook even allows you to add calls to action, so you can change your cover photo for specific holidays or promotions.
Upload at least: 851 x 315 px Image Ratio: 2.70:1 Displays at: 851 x 315 px (Desktop)
Tab Image (Tab Cover) Size
Tab covers link to Facebook tabs, which you can use for contests, giveaways and lead forms, so use eye-catching tab images to increase traffic to your promotions and forms.
Upload at least: 111 x 74 px Image Ratio: 1.50:1 Displays at: 111 x 74 px (Desktop)
Page Photo Post (and Ad) Size
Photo posts tend to see more engagement, and ads with a photo perform much better than text-only ads, so make sure you use high-quality images for both.
Upload at least: 618 px wide Image Ratio: Any Displays at: 400 x 400 px (Desktop, Old Facebook News Feed), 560 x 560 px wide (Desktop, New Facebook News Feed), 618 x 618 px (Mobile News Feed)
Link Preview Image Size
When you add a link to Facebook, or run a Facebook ad that directs to an outside URL, Facebook will bring in a link preview image.
Upload at least: 560 x 292 px Image Ratio: 1.92:1 Displays at: 400 x 209 px (Desktop News Feed), , 560 x 292 px (Mobile News Feed)
Right Bar Ad Image Size
Right bar ads only appear on Facebook for desktop, so they are not as popular as News Feed ads; however, if you do choose to use right bar ads, be sure to use the right image ratio to get as much real estate as possible.
Upload at least: 100 x 72 px Image Ratio: 1.39:1 Displays at: 100 x 72 px
Crisp, professional images are just one part of an effective social media strategy. In addition to your regular posts, you should host regular contests and promotions to grow your social media presence and get more likes and leads.
I'll read it to you….just click on the arrow
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100âs of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.
Growing the Right Facebook Audience
You have seen ads promising to deliver a certain number of new followers or âlikesâ to your Facebook pages, and you may have been tempted. After all, follower and like counts do serve as social proof that youâre likable, right? The problem with some of these offers is that those followers and likes may not be from the types of users you want to attract to your page. Some of them may even be fake. While a numbers boost may be intriguing, there are better ways to grow the right social media audience for your business pages.
I'll read this to you……just click the arrow.
Determine Who Your Audience Is
Even if your products and services appeal to a broad audience, you canât possibly create a meaningful connection with everyone at all times. Define your ideal customer and create a persona around it. Give your ideal customer a name, find an image that represents him or her, and start to think of this persona as a real individual. Depending on your business, you may have several types of customers you consider ideal. Go ahead and create a couple additional personas if necessary.
Post Content that Appeals to Your Ideal Customers
If your ideal customer is Mary the Stay at Home Mom but your content is written toward Bob the Business Executive, Maryâs not going to be interested in what you have to say. Tailor your content toward Maryâs interests, problems, wants, and needs and you will be more likely to connect with her.
Run a Tightly Targeted Facebook Ad Campaign Designed to Get More Followers
Since you now know who you want to target and have content on your site that appeals to him or her, itâs time to start getting more followers that match your specific criteria. Facebook ads are one of the fastest ways to get started. Creating a Facebook ad is easy and surprisingly affordable. The best part is that you can specify the type of people you want to target so that your advertising dollars are spent only on the people most likely to like your page. If you want to target men, why waste money showing your ads to women? Whatâs neat about the targeting options available from Facebook is that you can specify all kinds of criteria including specific interests or another pageâs audience.
Run a Facebook Promotion or Contest
Promotions are a bit trickier, unless you use a tool specifically designed to make social promotions easy. However, theyâre a great way to generate engagement and awareness as well as increase your Facebook audience. Promotions tend to be highly shareable, so your ideal customers will be likely to help spread the word to their friends with similar interests.
Building the right audience on Facebook may be a little more difficult than buying followers and likes by the bundle, but itâs worth doing. By defining who you want to reach and then appealing to that audience, you will eventually build a fan base that can support your business.
I'll read this to you……just click the arrow.
by Thomas von Ahn – Chief Elephant Slayer – Viral Solutions LLC
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100âs of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.
Why Your Small Business Needs a Social Media Strategy
Social media traffic is pointless unless your website is built for success.
Once thought as fun fad, social media has established itself as a pillar of business marketing. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a number of other influential platforms continue to grow, and businesses are learning to funnel these social media interactions into sales. EMarketer.com recently declared 2014 as the year of social acceptance, noting that nine in ten marketers will use social media marketing this year. Each businessâs social media strategy has its own focus, but most businesses use social media for any (or all) of three purposes: driving web traffic, engaging in customer service, and raising brand awareness.
Want me to read this to you…..just click the arrow.
Website Traffic
Businesses looking for sales usually try to direct their social media followers toward their websites. Link to your website with some restraint and youâll avoid a reputation as a self-promoting money-grabber. Facebook and Pinterest are the two dominant platforms for referral traffic. A recent Shareaholic report revealed that Facebook referred more than 15 percent of all web traffic in December 2013. Photo-sharing platform Pinterest referred nearly 5 percent of all traffic, as much as Twitter, Reddit, YouTube and LinkedIn combined, according to TheNextWeb.com. Followers arenât going to flock to your website without some sort of incentive. Exclusive discounts and promotional offers draw readers to you website, where your chance to close a sale grows exponentially. Your success on Pinterest depends largely on the masses. If lots of people pin your products, youâll get more traffic. To boost your shareability, focus on photo quality. Well lit, high-resolution pictures will catch the attention of most users. Social media traffic is pointless unless your website is built for success. Visitors should be able to navigate, interact and make purchases without a hitch. If your existing traffic doesnât usually convert into sales, the problem isnât your marketing tactics, itâs your website.
Customer Service
Social media provides an unprecedented platform for businesses to interact with consumers on a personal level. Open communication goes both ways, however, and consumers arenât shy about voicing negative opinions. The rise in social media complaints has spawned âsocial care,â a social media-based customer service. When customers post on brandsâ Facebook or Twitter pages, businesses can respond to resolve the issue. Not only do they have a better chance to retain that customer, but the interaction is also visible to both networksâ connections. Billing service Chargify uses Twitter to respond to customer issues. This commitment to social care promotes customer loyalty and a reputation of excellence.
Brand Awareness
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of a strong social media presenceâbrand awarenessâgrows with each tweet, post and share. Traditionally, businesses spend a significant slice of their budgets on advertising to spread awareness. Social media is a natural pathway to prominence. Produce great content and youâll spread across networks like a virus. As you build you brand, remember that social media was founded upon natural conversations. Followers wonât tolerate incessant badgering. Entrepreneur.com suggests an 80-20 rule: spend at least 80 percent of your time on non-self-promotional content and no more than 20 percent of your time pumping yourself up.