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Posts tagged: Small Business Marketing

2012 Social Media Business How To

social media amex open forumLast November, I wrote about the AmEx Open Forum Shop Small campaign. As a small business owner, consultant and customer, I appreciate AmEx Open Forum’s ongoing commitment. That’s why I was so excited when Katie Morell contacted me about being quoted in the AmEx Open Forum 2012 Social Media Business feature.

Being quoted on AmEx Open Forum is one big 2012 goal I can cross off. Katie interviewed me for two articles.

Here’s a clip from Should You Hire a Social Media Consultant or Create an In-House Position?

“When you’re interviewing someone for this position, watch out for confusing messages, warns Barbara Rozgonyi, a social media expert and founder of CoryWest Media, a strategic marketing firm in Chicago. “That is a real red flag,” she says. “The consultant needs to explain things in your language and involve you in the process.”

And. here’s a quote from Social Media 101: A Guide to the Top 5 Social Media Tools for Business

“Don’t just write about your business, take a community approach and talk about what is going on in your industry and your community,” Rozgonyi says. “It needs to be a good mix.”

Finally, here’s the complete list of articles. You’ll find lots of good information here.

The Basics

Social Media 101: A Guide to the Top 5 Social Media Tools for Business
A Quick Guide to Tumblr for Business
How Pinterest Can Benefit Your Small Business
How to Maintain a Stellar Facebook Fan Page
How to Leverage Facebook’s Timeline Tool
6 Surefire Ways to Capture More ‘Likes’ on Facebook
How to Craft the Perfect Social Media Contest
5 Tips for Using LinkedIn’s Mobile Site
Should You Hire a Social Media Consultant or Create an In-House Position?
5 Common Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Getting Customers

Which Social Media Site Really Wins You Clients?
How to Build a Blog Following
9 Hot Facebook-Marketing Tips for Business
Love for Sale: Should You Buy Facebook Fans?
’90 Percent of My Business Comes From Social Media’

Dig Deeper

Google+ vs. Facebook: Which Is Best for Business?
How Small Business Beats Big Business at Social Media
Infographic: A History of the Business of Social Media

What interests you the most?

 

BtoB versus BtoC Social Media and Direct Marketing

Next up in my social media marketing video series is this one, about B2B versus B2C. Are they really that different? Maybe in terms of sales cycles and lifetime customer values. But, no matter whether your company is B2B, B2C or a mix of both, there’s one tactic that’s often overlooked.

With the rush into social, social, social, many companies are neglecting a century old standby: direct marketing. 

Going back to the days of when the mailbox was the only inbox, lessons about how to directly marketing to customers may be cast aside as outdated. 

Yet, the lessons and principles of direct marketing apply today and can be applied to technology – or letterhead! 

How Direct Marketing Connects Your Brand with Your Communities

Part 2 of 3 – 3 Simple Essentials You Absolutely Need To Know About 3D Marketing

Use these direct marketing principles to improve your lead generation:

  • Use a targeted list: Facebook ads make this easy
  • Personalize emails with name and special offers
  • Stay in touch with you customers – regularly
  • Include a call to action in every marketing promotion and news release

One of the most overlooked ways of contacting your prospects, journalists and the public is PR, or public relations. Check out this article about the PR PRIMER to get started. http://wiredprworks.com/2011/03/01/public-relations-campaigns/

For more information about 3D marketing, stay tuned.

Thanks so much to Gary Bohringer of Bohringer Creative for producing the series. Since its beginnings in 1993 Bohringer Creative has focused on personal service.

The Power of Mastery

Mastery-Marketing-Social-Media“Do what you do so well – and so uniquely – that people can’t resist telling others about you.”  Walt Disney

Using Walt Disney as an inspiration, master marketer Dan Kennedy shares his take on the power of mastery in this article, which was selected as the February article for GKIC [Glazer Kennedy Insiders Circle] members,

The Power of Mastery by Dan S. Kennedy

I am about to tell you how to add $25,000.00, $50,000.00, maybe $100,00.00 a year to your yearly income – without spending even a penny more on advertising or marketing.

One of my featured guest speakers at a past SuperConference was Michael Vance. Michael worked side-by-side with Walt Disney for a number of years.  As I was listening to Mike, I made a mental note to start talking about a Walt Disney quote about marketing that I used to use a lot.

What Walt Disney said about Marketing is:

“Do what you do so well – and so uniquely – that people can’t resist telling others about you.”

In every field, there are “masters”.

People just so darned good at what they do that people are compelled to tell others about them.

Mike Vance is that kind of speaker, and there are darned few in that category.

Actors like Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro.

The salesman I used to buy my cars from, Bill Glazner, at Sanderson Ford in Phoenix – he puts every other car guy I’ve ever seen to shame.  There are a couple chiropractors I know who put on such a great “report of findings” (their equivalent of the Printing Audit) that they enjoy 100% conversions and can easily sell large dollar “pre-pays.”

There’s a shoe-shine guy at the Atlanta Airport who still rubs wax in by hand, snaps the towel with authority, slaps the leather, makes the brush sing.  And this is important: these people are “master performers.”  They are not just masters at whatever technical thing they do, they are masters at presentation.

So, here’s a very simple, very practical question:  after customer buys from you for the first time, do they – without any prodding from you – rush to the phone, call an associate, and tell them about the amazing buying experience they just had?  Are the first words out of their mouth to the next person they see about you?

If it is, here’s the economic impact:  your need to invest money in acquiring new customers will diminish over time as your business converts to being 100% referral driven.  This means you can take all the money you now spend on advertising, direct mail, telemarketing, etc. and put it into your pocket instead.  This means you will have more people calling and waiting in line for you than you have time, because each client will multiply.

“Mastery” can quite easily be worth an extra $50,000.00 to $200,000.00 or even more to you each year you remain in this business.  (Bank it all at even modest interest and in just five years you can retire a cash millionaire.)

To get that good, you must dedicate yourself to doing so:  I’ve always been impressed with the late Yul Brenner, who performed the “King and I” a record number of times on Broadway – and still rehearsed his lines, gestures and facial expressions everyday, before every performance, right up until his last one.  How many times have you written out your own, complete sales script word for word?  Recorded it and listened to it on tape?  Role-played it with family or mastermind group members?  Practiced in front of a mirror?  Ever?  This month?

Get this:  I can predict your future bank balances if I know what you read, what you listen to, what educational functions you attend, who you hang out with and what you work on (practice) regularly.  Oh, and years ago, Joe Karbo wrote this wonderful ad headline:  are you too busy making a living to make a fortune? Are you?

Discover how you can sneak into the closed door meeting and eavesdrop on the free-wheeling, no holds barred discussions of arguably the most elite and extraordinary group of marketing and moneymaking “masters” ever assembled in one place, at one time.

DAN S. KENNEDY is a serial, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; highly paid and sought after marketing and business strategist; advisor to countless first-generation, from-scratch multi-millionaire and 7-figure income entrepreneurs and professionals; and, in his personal practice, one of the very highest paid direct-response copywriters in America. As a speaker, he has delivered over 2,000 compensated presentations, appearing repeatedly on programs with the likes of Donald Trump, Gene Simmons (KISS), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and many other celebrity-entrepreneurs, for former U.S. Presidents and other world leaders, and other leading business speakers like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins, often addressing audiences of 1,000 to 10,000 and up.  His popular books have been favorably recognized by Forbes, Business Week, Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine. His NO B.S. MARKETING LETTER, one of the business newsletters published for Members of Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle, is the largest paid subscription newsletter in its genre in the world. Click here to claim Dan Kennedy’s most incredible free gift offer.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that commissions are paid when sales are made. I only recommend products and services I believe in and use personally. I joined GKIC in July, met Bill Glazer in September and am delighted to discover so many other successful people credit Bill and Dan Kennedy as key contributors to their success.

Take it from here . . . how do you stay focused on your goals? 

B2B Social Media Marketing Methods and Obstacles

In 2011, BtoB  surveyed more than 550 executives for Emerging Trends in B-to-B Social Media Marketing: Insights From the Field.  Three charts about methods and obstacles are yours for the viewing. If you want more information, you can purchase the complete report.

Methods Used for B2B Social Media Marketing

When asked “Which of the following social media methods does your company currently use for your B2B marketing (i.e. not personal use)? (Check all that apply).“, LinkedIn and Facebook almost tied for first place with twitter coming in third. Less than half the businesses use YouTube or blogging as a marketing method. How do you think Google+ will affect these results?

b-to-b-social-media-methods

 

 

 

The One Most Important Method of B2B Social Media Marketing

The next chart shows the answers to this question: “Which of the following social media platforms is the ONE most important method that you use for B2B marketing?” LinkedIn leads again with Facebook and blogging coming in close together at second and third place.

B2B-most-important-method-social-media-marketing

Obstacles to Social Media Marketing

The third set of statistics reveals obstacles to social media marketing and answers the question, “What are the top three major obstacles to adopting social media marketing in your company? (Check as many as three).”

If you’re a social media consultant or company advocate, it’s good to know about these objections. How do you overcome them?

70% Lack of resources

57% Poorly defined success metrics and key performance indicators

44% Lack of knowledge about social media

22% Management resistance

17% Confidentiality

15% Legal and regulatory issues

8% Company policies prohibit social media

It would be interesting to compare these findings with other studies or even the results from this report in the prior year. It’s clear that that B2B companies need more social media education as well as a better grip on how to define success metrics and key performance indicators. One way to do this is to work with a social media marketing consultant to align your social media marketing with your business marketing goals. Another important overlay is purpose. Do you think the answers might vary based on marketing, business development, and branding?

InfusionCon 2012 Top 10 Reasons to Attend

InfusionCon-2012-Infusionsoft-Bloggers-In-MotionJust thinking about being in Arizona in April at this time of year gets this Chicagoan excited about going to InfusionCon 2012.

Location is only one reason InfusionCon will be a top-notch small business marketing conference. Last year I attended Infusionsoft’s Customer Tour in Chicago and got a preview of how well the company delivers its programs and training.

Check out my top 10 reasons to attend InfusionCon 2012 –  and wish me luck. This post is my entry in the Bloggers in Motion contest. Two winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip, including air travel and hotel. If you’d like to enter, you can, too. But hurry, the contest closes tonight.

Top 10 Reasons to Attend InfusionCon 2012

1. Iconic Location

As a former Oak Park resident and a Frank Lloyd Wright fan, I’d love to stay at the “Jewel of the Desert” and take photos of a few of these Phoenix, Arizona attractions.

2. Comprehensive Agenda

“Marketing in Motion” is the theme of this three-day power-packed small business marketing conference.

3. 30+ Compelling Speakers

Gary Vaynerchuk, Pam Slim, and other thought leaders will be there to motivate us to take action.

4. Infusionsoft Updates

After watching the winter release webinar, I’m excited about about learning more about Infusionsoft’s social media integration tools. Need ideas NOW? Check out Infusionsoft’s business growth resources.

5. Networking Connections

Being surrounded by successful business owners is always uplifting. Sharing a common connection makes interactions more meaningful. Here’s what my mastermind peer, Linda Allen of Just a Minute LLC, says about Infusionsoft, “We have an amazing automated lead-nurturing campaign in place and it’s helping us build better relationships with our customers. Before Infusionsoft, it was random one-off emails or phone calls. My favorite feature is the automated payment processing. We’ve boosted our subscription renewals tremendously from 40% to 80%.”

6. Ultimate Marketing Ideas

When I read the 2011 Ultimate Marketer Contest entries, I found inspiring and encouraging success stories that read like a “how to be profitable” manual. What could be better? Listening to the marketers live.

7. Content Rich

My clients, blog readers and social media followers look to me to share content that will help them develop business opportunities. This is a new conference for me, and will be for most of them. I love leading the way, and introducing my people to new people.

8. Value and More Value

Through February 1, InfusionCon registration is $225. And, get this – registration includes admission into all general and breakout sessions, access to the Ask The Expert room and an invitation to the Opening Night Party. Breakfast, lunch and break refreshments are also included for each day.

9. Right Size

At around 1,000 attendees, the conference will feel very manageable and just right.

10. Company Culture

Infusionsoft is known for its caring culture. I have a feeling InfusionCon isn’t really a software conference, it’s a community gathering.

Thanks to Infusionsoft for sponsoring this contest and bringing bloggers on board!

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