Bill Rice Internet Marketing > branding

Getting Started With Social Media

June 12, 2009 By

Social networking has evolved to the point where it’s not just for friends and non commercial uses any more. Now, businesses are finding that it is the perfect solution for online marketing and although many are abusing its potential, there is still plenty of room to take advantage of all that this medium has to offer.

Social Media Setup

If you are not familiar with online social media, it is a good idea to take a week to familiarize yourself with the different sites. Each one serves a specific purpose. For example, Digg.com is used to help promote useful or interesting pages, while Facebook is more for traditional networking. Twitter is a new service that allows you to collect followers and communicate with them in 140 character posts.

Even though these services are typically used for personal reasons, with the right marketing touch, they can be modified to suit marketing needs. The key to making social networking work for your company is how you approach it, and how you carry out your marketing plan.

Building a Plan

As with any form of networking, finesse is necessary. Online users of social media are incredibly savvy and they don’t appreciate blatant advertising. In order to be successful with social networking, you need to develop a plan, keeping this in mind.

For example, if you plan to use Twitter, it is best to keep blatant marketing posts to a minimum, and intersperse them with useful posts that provide your followers with useful information. In a nutshell, that is the absolute key to making any form of social media work for your company.

Useful Information = Devoted Followers = New Clients

Branding Made Easy

Social networking has made branding incredibly easy and incredibly perilous. With one wrong post, you can tank your company’s image and it can be very difficult to rise again. Although even today’s largest companies are using Twitter and Facebook, they still keep this in mind. The founder of Zappos, one of the world’s most successful shoe stores, uses Twitter daily, and there is much that can be learned from his approach.

Branding your company through sites like Facebook or Twitter can be accomplished in the way you interact with your followers, and the value that you provide them in exchange for following you. If you give them information that they can use, and you maintain a aura of professionalism, you will see results.

Making Your Network a Success

The best way to see how beneficial social media can be is to get out there and give it a try. Observe what other people are doing and find the approach that will work for your company. Take the time to develop relationships with your followers and you’ll be building a foundation for permanent growth for your company.

Although there are a few downsides to this form of marketing, by far it is the most cost effective means that small businesses can use to get their message across, build their brands, and increase their sales.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: branding, facebook, online marketing, Social Media, social networking, twitter

Finding Customers With Twitter

June 3, 2009 By

When Twitter first debuted, many thought it was an inane way for people to keep in touch with one another, but it quickly evolved into a powerful marketing and brand management tool. While there are still plenty of inane updates going on, this service cannot be overlooked by any company that is looking to make a name for themselves and market their products or services effectively.

Sales prospecting in social media is a minefield, but with careful precision and taking the time to learn the ropes in advance, you can make it work for you. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of Twitter.

Start Slowly and Remember Your Brand

First, it can be a bit tempting to tweet your every single movement when you first set up your account. The novelty of the service can be engaging but this is an area you want to avoid. On the other hand, you don’t want to start off with a hard sell either. Here’s the key to Twitter success that will work for just about any product or service.

Follow the 2/3 rule. For every marketing tweet you make, you should make two non-selling tweets. They don’t have to be about what you had for lunch, but they can be about related news for your company, interaction with your followers and generally just professional.

Remember that your brand will be affected by how you tweet, and it only takes one wrong tweet to turn the twitter-verse against you. Case in point would be the Cisco new hire who managed to become reviled in a matter of a few seconds. Always maintain a professional reserve and remember that you are under scrutiny, even if you don’t realize it yet.

Sales Prospecting the Easy Way

Now that you have your etiquette down, how do you get the followers you’ll need to make this service work for you? You will need to make your Twitter address available on your page, and very visible, but this generally is not enough. You will need to get out there and actually follow people if you want them to follow you.

Start by targeting similar businesses who are already successfully using the service. Follow the people who are following them and you have a built in targeted audience. Don’t overdo it, but try to follow a few hundred people each week. This will help you successfully start sales prospecting without being overly obvious about it.

This is one of the easiest ways of targeting customers that will be interested in what you have to offer. Each week, you may need to cull those who aren’t following you yet, so that you have a good balance of followers versus the people you are actively following.

Social networking can be incredibly effective, but never let the relaxed atmosphere lure you into making the mistakes outlined above. By keeping on track and tweeting the right way, you’ll be well on your way to successfully promoting your business, the easy way.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Add new tag, branding, Social Media, social networking, Social Selling, twitter

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