Online Marketing for Local Business
Posts tagged social media marketing
Special Guest Post – Buy, Buy, Buy = Bye, Bye, Bye… Derek Weber
14 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
If you haven’t noticed, the way consumers make purchasing decisions has drastically changed over the last few years. With all of the information available with Google searches, ratings, reviews, and smart phones, the consumer is now extremely educated about nearly every major purchasing decision. I mean, you can literally download an app on your iPhone that will scan the bar code of an item in a store and give you consumer ratings and price comparisons of every store that carries that item within 50 miles of you…now that is a well-informed shopper. So, what does that mean for you?
It means you have to stop selling and start teaching, or as my good friend Scott Ginsberg would say, “Don’t sell, enable them to buy.” You might be able to get a one time purchase through the old manipulative marketing efforts or trying to compete on price and features alone, but as our society’s interaction with one another is being reduced by technology, consumers are looking for more than just a transaction, they are looking for a business relationship with a company they like, a company they trust…a company they can personally identify with.
I was having lunch a while back with Steve Hughes of Hit Your Stride fame, and he asked me my opinion on social media and if it could be effectively monetized. My response was that social media, as popular as it is right now, is not necessarily for everyone. Social media is best used for businesses and organizations that can truly develop a community around it’s brand and service. More importantly, I don’t think social media necessarily needs be used as a tool for direct monetization, it should instead be used as a forum for businesses to interact and educate their “fans” (or ‘likes’ now) about who they are, what they are doing, and most importantly why they do what they do. If you try pushing your product or service, screaming “Buy! Buy! Buy!” from every possible location, including social media, your prospects will emphatically respond with the “Bye, Bye, Bye”.
So, take the time to give some valuable information to your customers and prospects. Take the time to let them know who you are and what you are all about, get to know more about them, and stop having every message coming out of your organization only being about good-buys from you or you’ll end up getting a lot of good-byes from them.
Derek Weber derek@goBRANDgo.com www.goBRANDgo.com 314.754.8712
The Continued Value of Email
14 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
Social networks are no doubt the “sexy” topic of the day for most marketing and promotional people, or just citizens in general. The rush to social media marketing has left some to question the continued value of email communication. What is the current value of sending an email newsletter, for example?
A few facts to consider before declaring the end of email:
First, email is still ubiquitous; almost 100% of Internet users have an email address and check it with some regularity. As mentioned in previous blog posts, this may change at some point in the future, as younger folks switch to other methods of communication, but for the foreseeable future email remains king, especially with business users.
Second, not only is email here to stay, but it’s still the preferred way to distribute information. When sharing a link with a colleague, friend or family member, most people (78%) still report that email is the primary way they would do so.
Social networks are gaining in importance for sure, and may one day overtake email – just as email has largely replaced “snail mail”, or even phone conversations. (The pros and cons of these facts are certainly up for debate, however!)
And finally, email is cheap. Depending on the size of your list, distributing an e-newsletter can cost pennies per recipient. And you control the message and formatting of the communication 100%.
Why Companies Fail With Social Media
14 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
Social media marketing is difficult for most organizations, and it’s not all that hard to figure out why. They start strong, but after some time lose interest or get frustrated with their results. In general, they view social networking as an event – not a process.
The Super Bowl is an event. Setting up a trade show booth or attending a sales conference is an event, or having sales promotion. These have a distinct beginning and end.
On the other hand, dating is a process; losing weight is a process (if done correctly!); building a brand is definitely a process. And once success has been achieved, it must be maintained.
Events are a lot easier to manage, to budget and pay for, and get excited about. (Think of the excitement generated by the Super Bowl, for example) They can be placed on a calendar.
But this isn’t what creating an online community or following is all about. Often social media doesn’t have an immediate, or easily identified, ROI number that you can assign to it, as you can with most events.
A process builds results for the long haul. Go into your social marketing and communications with this in mind, and you are far more likely to be successful.