Motivated To Learn

Small businesses are really starting to jump on the social media bandwagon. They are finally realizing how beneficial marketing this way can be. I just listened to a case study from a company called Naked Pizza that reported $200,000 in extra business as a result of using Twitter. People learn to know, like, and trust you. The result is word of mouth advertising that does more to promote your business than all of the paid advertising that you could do.

I took my granddaughter for a walk today and stopped in at a local children’s consignment store. The owner has a website and I was curious as to how she promotes herself online. I found out that the store has a Facebook Fan page. Recently, the store had a special sale which was advertised in a number of places, including Facebook. The result was an extremely successful day. Each of the customers were asked how they found out about the sale. The answer – the Facebook Fan page. If you’re still wondering whether social marketing is effective, talk to business owners that have taken the plunge and see how enthusiastic they are about the results.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Twitter, business promotion

I’ve been reading a number of reports on the results of social media. According to one of them, as many as 80% of consumers use social media for recommendations before purchasing a product. I know for myself how valuable I find Twitter. Just yesterday, I was having trouble installing a new software application I’d downloaded. One comment on Twitter and the company responded within five minutes asking what the problem was. Try getting that level of service from email or phone calls.

I’m in the process of starting a Facebook Fan Page, so I can’t say a lot about that just yet. My current Facebook account is a personal one and I like to keep it for family and friends. Lisa and Diane, the creators of the Mefest Women’s Show in Waterloo, rely on a Facebook group to keep in touch with their hundreds of followers.They can’t say enough about the benefits.

A case study was done on a restaurant in the states that asked their customers to become fans on their restaurant Facebook Fan page. The results: the Facebook users visited more often, told their friends, and spent more when they came to dine.  The Facebook users were a small percentage of the total customers though, so the study was inconclusive. Still, it shows that these channels shouldn’t be ignored. Isn’t it time you added social media to your marketing campaign?

Technorati Tags: social media, Twitter, Facebook

I’m in Atlanta this weekend attending an Internet marketing event called Niche Affiliate Marketing Systems or NAMS.  Since social marketing is so popular these days, it’s been the topic of a number of the presentations.

One speaker talked about how he used to spend thousands of dollars on pay per click Google marketing for his websites. Now he uses Twitter, which is free, and has every bit as much success getting traffic to his sites. Not only traffic, but targeted, paying customers.

If you’d like to hear more about how social media can promote your business, they are offering a recording of a live panel that answered a number of marketing questions earlier today. Not only do they mention Twitter, but using Facebook and Youtube as well. If you’ve always wondered whether social marketing is something your business should be doing, check what these experts had to say by clicking here.

Technorati Tags: social marketing, twitter, facebook, youtube

While Twitter is my favourite social marketing tool, it works even better when coupled with Facebook. Not the personal Facebook site that you may share with your family and close friends. For your business, it’s best to create a Facebook Fan page that isn’t linked to any private Facebook account.

To accomplish that, go to the Facebook main page and at the bottom “Create a Page”.  Your Fan Page title should contain the keywords that potential customers are looking for when they search for your product or service. By using some of the additional Facebook apps, you can supply contact information, articles you’ve written, and a questions and answers page. Include an opt-in form to add people to a mailing list in return for some  valuable free information on your topic .

Once you’ve set up the Fan Page, it can be linked to your Twitter account. That way, you build a following on both social sites with minimal work on your part. Facebook and Twitter, along with your photo and links back to your website, provide a way for people to Know, Like, and Trust you – all crucial factors before a potential client spends their hard earned money.

Technorati Tags: Facebook Fan pages, social marketing, Twitter

I’m often asked “what is the point of Twitter? Why would it be useful for my business?”

My answer: I love Twitter! Yes, it can be a time waster, as can email or any part of the Internet. I try to limit myself to 2 or 3 times a day, no more than five minutes at a time. I like to check in to Twitter both morning and evening, because some of my Twitter friends are in other time zones.

My routine generally consists of scanning tweets (twitter comments) and reading any of interest. If I find an interesting comment that others might like to read, I click a button to retweet it and share. If I can add a helpful response to a comment, I do so.

Any tweets that mention me, or are addressed to me – publicly or privately, show up in separate folders so can be easily checked and answered if needed.

As people follow me, I look at a number of things before deciding to follow them back. Those include: a profile photo so I know who I’m interacting with, a general location, some background information that shows they share some of my interests, tweets written in English, without profanity, and not just sales pitches. These are my criteria, yours can be whatever you decide.

Twitter is fantastic for customer support. I purchased some software and had trouble using it. A support ticket to the company wasn’t answered as quickly as I needed, but I knew their spokesperson used Twitter. One tweet to them about the problem and within a half hour I was a super satisfied customer.

I use Twitter to arrange meetings with people as well. I could send mutiple emails and wait for each response, but since Twitter requires short messages, I can simply say “Such and Such Cafe on Main Street at 1 pm. tomorrow. Who can come?” In no time, I have my answers and everything has been arranged.

Often, I’ll see tweets asking for product or service recommendations, mentioning a job opening or educational opportunity. Contests are announced, movie and book reviews are discussed, people are genuine.

Know, Like, and Trust – these are the qualities people look for when dealing with others. And Twitter allows that interaction to become a reality, no matter where you live.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to join the many businesses that have found Twitter to be one of the best ways to interact with their customers and keep a pulse on their target market. If you’d like to follow me, I can be found at twitter.com/torontocarol. I look forward to getting to know you online.

Technorati Tags: using Twitter for business, Twitter use, customer service with Twitter