Some Final/Closing Thoughts: PLNs

Remember when, in my last post, I said my goodbyes? Wellll…just kidding! I’m such a jokester har har!

But seriously, I came out of semi-hiatus because I had a few closing notes/parting words that I wanted to share with y’all.

In growing your business via social media, there are a few things you can do for yourself to help you personally grow and direct your business in a direction that it wants to go. This is taking away growth tactics and audience engagement off the table…it’s just for you! What am I talking about?

a PLN. 

(Google Images)
(Google Images)

This stands for “Personal Learning Network.” Throughout this semester and the duration of this blog, I have had one myself. It consisted of people who were experts in the fields about the products and tools I talked with y’all about. A PLN can consist of many different things or people…it all depends on which ways you want to grow. For me, I followed individuals and companies on Twitter and social bookmarking sites that I felt would provide insight into the materials I wanted to talk with y’all about. I also had a secret “notice me” list on Twitter to get influential people to eventually follow me.

So for now, I am going to explain a little bit about the point of a PLN, using my personal experience as a reference point. For the sake of my Social Media & PR class, me and three other group members had to come up with a social media plan and tips for a client we were working with throughout the semester who did not know a lot about the different options available to him. To get ready for that presentation, we were required to set up a PLN. In all honesty, I definitely could have utilized my PLN a bit more, but I did broader searches outside the scope of my PLN to find information and influential people/articles/tips for all my posts. This is not because PLNs don’t work, it is just a matter of personal preference for me. I personally do not like to be connected to so many different outlets all the time, but if I were a business owner focused on expansion and optimizing customer-brand interaction, I understand the importance of and see the need for a PLN.

In saying that, I see the need for PLNs in different areas outside the parameters of my class. For example, Advertising is a very viable career goal that seems to be the direction I am heading down. For advertising, especially today, social media is becoming an ever present reality that needs to be faced. I think having a PLN notice me list and following execs and people who inspire me would be a good use of this type of network in future endeavors.

Finally, a PLN really did help for working with a client. Working with a client creating a social media plan was a lot of fun due to the real world experience/application of the theories. I feel as if it is the first step to preparing me for real life scenarios and actual working environments. The only thing I wish my group and I were able to do was actually implement this plan over the course of the semester and chart the progress from start to finish. It would have been exciting to see if we influenced any growth and whether or not our ideas, once put into practice, would have actually worked. However, I really really enjoyed the experience it gave me.

So signing off for real this time! I want to leave y’all with two infographs that help you visualize how and what PLNs work/are.

Goodbye, y’all!

(Google Images)
(Google Images)
(Google Images)
(Google Images)

 

Social Media & Personal PR: Youtube, Vine, & Snapchat

Aaaaaaaand…we’ve reached the final post of this series, and the final post on this blog! As this blog comes to an end, I hope I was able to pass along some of my knowledge to you, and that I helped you see the importance of social media for your small business, as well as tools that are available to you as a small business. My last posts dealt with Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. This final post is going to quickly go into the benefits of marketing your business through YouTube, Vine, and yes, even Snapchat.

YouTube

(Google Images)
(Google Images)

We all know the potential of viral videos. They can be shared/talked about a thousand times over, and passed on from person to person for months. We remember and enjoy viral videos. They become part of pop culture, they make their way into our vernacular, they even sometimes become verbs. HOWEVER (and this is a big however), DO NOT EXPECT TO MAKE A VIDEO AND HAVE IT GO VIRAL!

Sorry to yell, I just had to firmly get that point across. But making videos takes time, and time is money, so why make a video if it won’t reach anyone? Well, it will, it just won’t necessarily become viral. Also, yes making a video takes time, but it does not necessarily need to cost a lot. Use resources you have  readily available to you: your team, an iPhone or any smartphone with a camera, and the location of your business (if it’s a physical one). You don’t need a lot to make a video that you can easily share across your social media platforms and ask your audience to share with people who may not necessarily be tuned into your brand/business [quite yet]. Here are 6 more tips for using YouTube for marketing:

  • don’t expect to go viral
  • buy YouTube ad space that can be shown before videos
  • DIY Focus Groups:  let the comments and tools such as YouTube’s own Hot Spots be your stand-in for a traditional focus group
  • watch YouTube videos to learn new tricks, see what gains/captures attention, to get creative insights, etc.
  • track your ROI (if you’re spending money on YouTube ads)
  • find a niche to broadcast to your audience

Here are some articles for further reading on YouTube marketing:

  • http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/youtube-for-small-business/
  • http://mashable.com/2011/11/05/youtube-small-biz-tips/
  • http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/small-business-finances/youtube-marketing-tool-small-business/

Vine

(Google Images)
(Google Images)

“Vine is a mobile app owned by Twitter that enables its users to create and post short looping video clips. Video clips created with Vine have a maximum clip length of seven seconds and can be shared to Vine’ssocial network, or to other services such as Twitter and Facebook.” (definition from Wikipedia). People enjoy Vines because they are short and too the point, and given that it’s seven seconds long, people have found inventive ways to tell short visual stories within that allotted time. Here are tips on how a small business can use Vine to promote their small business:

  • put a face to the name – send your customers a message from you, the business owner, or from members of your team
  • Starring: your product! – come up with a creative way to show your product/its benefits in 7 seconds or less
  • give a tour of your office
  • announcements – have fun with announcing contests, sales, etc.
  • mark milestones
  • mini advertisements
  • mini how-to videos with your product

Further reading:

  • http://www.publiseek.com/publicity/10-ways-to-use-vine-for-small-business-creating-a-6-second-video-pitch-for-your-business/
  • http://www.outboundengine.com/blog/7-creative-ways-to-use-vine-for-small-business-marketing/
  • http://www.shopify.com/blog/8715649-7-creative-ways-businesses-are-using-vine-to-engage-customers (this article gives examples)

Snapchat

(Google Images)
(Google Images)

“Snapchat is a photo messaging app developed by Evan Spiegel and Robert Murphy, then Stanford University students. Using the application, users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients” (definition from Wikipedia). This venture is a fairly new one that not many businesses have taken part of yet. Because of this, you have a way of setting yourself apart from the crowd and having fun with this app. A lot of people use it, and this is a very direct interaction opportunity for you and your customers. There aren’t many tips/ideas on how to use Snapchat for marketing yet, but one frozen yogurt company in New York, 16 Handles, came up with a pretty cool idea on how to use it. They had users Snapchat the company a picture of the customer at one of shops tasting yogurt, 16 Handles would then send a coupon back as a reply, and the person couldn’t open the coupon until they were at the register, because it would delete itself 10 seconds later. The coupons were redeemable anywhere from 16% to 100% off your purchase. This is such a cute and fun way to interact with customers, and surely those customers had to tell their friends and family about their experience after that! So while new, Snapchat has so much potential and is a fun and exciting new way to consider when looking for new ways to market your business.

I hope all these posts have been informative, helpful, and have given you some ideas about how to optimize your customer-business interaction experience.

Signing off for the last time,

bye, y’all!

Social Media & Personal PR: Instagram

Hello, hello all! I’m still talking about personal PR for your brand through social media, and my last three posts dealt with Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Today’s post is going to talk about Instagram, which is still a relatively new social media platform that many businesses are still trying to figure out how to optimize for themselves and their customers.

(Google Image Search)
(Google Image Search)

Just like Twitter and somewhat like Pinterest, Instagram is a fun and easy way for people to interact with your business. It’s also an easy way to keep people interested in what’s going on with your business. Still fairly new, Instagram has 150+ million users with 55 + million pictures being uploaded per day (Constant Contact). That’s a lot of pictures and a lot of potential for someone to be seen. So, how can a small business use this for its advantage? Below I’ll provide a few tips and ideas to help a small business utilize Instagram for further awareness and interaction.

Tip 1: Add Your Personal Touch 

This is your chance to show off your personality and/or the personality of your business. Many people only interact with a business in a transaction sense: I need to purchase something from you, so you sell me that something. One aspect of small businesses that I think is really cool is the opportunity to know where exactly your products/services are coming from. What I mean is a lot of small business owners make it a point to be seen by their customers and to let them know that they appreciate said customers supporting their business. This is nice because usually small business owners put a lot of time and money into their business, and, of course, nothing can replace that basic need for human interaction. Instagram can help you take this a bit further. People are interested about the brands they interact with. They like to see daily happenings and the inner-workings of a company and its culture. Use Instagram to show your business’ culture off. Personal touches leave lasting impressions on people. So how can you do this? Anyway you can think of! Post a picture of you playing a prank on your team; post a picture of you and your team in a meeting discussing the future of your business; post a picture of a fun new way to interact with your products/services. Anything you can think of that accurately portrays your business culture and values will keep the attention of  your audience, and help them feel as if they know you on a more personal basis.

Tip 2: Network & Reach New Demographics 

Given the sheer number of people and pictures on Instagram, you’re bound to find some who have no idea about your business/brand. This is a good thing! You’ll be able to reach a whole new audience in addition to keeping your current one interested. Also, Instagram is still a social network that goes beyond pictures. Use it to its fullest extent. Don’t be afraid to comment on other people’s content, tagging followers, following new people so you’re on their radar, etc. The key word is NETWORK. So get to some networking and help Instagram work for you.

Tip 3: Use Hashtags 

People stumble upon other people’s accounts through the searching of hashtags. However, no one likes clutter? What am I referring to? If you have an Instagram, personal or otherwise, you’ve seen people who take a picture of somethings and use 20+ hashtags to describe it. Don’t. Be. This. Person. It’s annoying and honestly, it comes across as a bit unprofessional. People will pass you over, or not respect you because they’ll think you’re just hashtagging for more follows and likes. Let your pictures, content, and interactions speak for themselves. Uee a few hashtags (I personally think more than 5 is too much) that speak about the important parts of your picture/brand, and let people find you.

A Few More Tips:

  • make sure to link your Instagram to your personal website and on your other social media platforms
  • post pictures with a plan in mind – it’s ok to post the odd random photo, but mainly, let your photos serve your business and your interests; you don’t want them to be a visual reflection of incoherent/ADD tangents that have nothing to do with you promoting your image
  • in addition to hashtags, use mentions to gain attention; this is simply by tagging a follower or someone you want to follow you in a comment or photo
  • get people to interact with you! offer instagram-only contests

That’s all for now, everyone! Stay tuned for Youtube, Vine, and Snapchat as I close out this series. Here are a few articles if you’d like further reading:

  • http://blogs.constantcontact.com/fresh-insights/instagram-for-your-business-2/
  • http://www.webpronews.com/5-ways-to-make-your-small-business-shine-on-instagram-2014-01
  • http://www.nfib.com/article/how-3-small-businesses-use-instagram-for-marketing-60237/

Until then!

Social Media & Personal PR: Twitter

Hello again, friends! I’m continuing with my series about social media and doing personal PR for your business, and my first two posts talked about Facebook and Pinterest. Today, I’m going to talk to you about Twitter, perhaps one of the most utilized social media platforms by businesses and brands.

(Google Image Search)
(Google Image Search)

Many brands and businesses are on Twitter to promote their image, engage customers and interact with them, and perhaps to the delight of  many, to deal with customer service issues and complaints. Obviously the bigger brand names and companies have quite the Twitter following and presence, so you’re probably wondering how a small business can utilize Twitter in a similar manner. Glad you asked, glad I have an answer.

In my opinion, if nothing else (there should be something else, though), businesses should use Twitter as their social media platform. the number one reason should be enough to hook a business owner: it’s FREE (that’s always a magic word). It’s also an easy way to reach your customers, engage them, and get your business name out there through word of mouth (or Favorites and Retweets, since we’re talking about Twitter). An article on Register.com gives 5 tips on how small businesses can use Twitter for growth. It points out how Dell made an additional $7 billion in sales just through customer interaction on Twitter, and how Best Buy’s Twelpforce has helped over 20,000 people with customer service issues on Twitter. If that doesn’t convince you, it offers a list of 137 reasons why you should be on Twitter. Since that is a lot, I’m just going to summarize it’s 5 tips for you:

  1. Make a complete profile – include your brand’s logo, any pertinent information, and a way to contact you, as well as a link to your main website.
  2. Watch/listen & learn – instead of posting a lot of content up front, follow people in your field/industry who have a lot of followers. Pay attention to how they interact with customers and vice versa, and the type of content that is Tweeted out or shared. Once you realize, use similar tactics to reach your audience.
  3. Care & share – retweet, favorite, and comment on interesting posts from people you follow or from people who follow you; search your company name and look for people who have tweeted problems about it, and help them solve it. Show them you’re a brand that hears them and wants to give them content back in return for them engaging you.
  4. Grab attention – whether this be through contests, through interaction, through Twitter-only offers, etc., just make sure you get and keep the attention of your audience
  5. Promote yourself – paste your handle wherever else you can…on your storefront, on your business website, on your Facebook page, etc. Just make sure it is seen and that people have the opportunity to visit your Twitter profile.

Well, that’s all I have for you today! Here are some more articles if you’d like to do further reading:

  • http://mashable.com/2012/06/23/twitter-tips-small-business/
  • https://business.twitter.com/twitter-smaller-businesses
  • https://business.twitter.com/smallbiz
  • https://business.twitter.com/success-stories/company-size/smaller-biz

Look out for my next posts, coming soon!

 

Social Media & Personal PR: Pinterest

Hello, again. In case you missed out, I’m starting a new series which you can find the first post of here. This is the second post in my series “Social Media & Personal PR”, which is looking at a handful of the most popular social media platforms and how small businesses can utilize them to get word of their brand out and interact with their customers and potential leads. Today’s post is going to focus on one of my personal favorites:

(Google Image Search)
(Google Image Search)

For the people who are not familiar with Pinterest, or have heard about it, but not really sure what it means, Pinterest is “a visual discovery tool that people use to collect ideas for their different projects and interests. People create and share collections (called “boards”) of visual bookmarks (called “Pins”) that they use to do things like plan trips and projects, organize events or save articles and recipes” (definition from Wikipedia). One of the really cool things about Pinterest, besides the amazing amount of good and quality content shared between its users, is the potential for getting noticed. Me, Morgan, someone who is not famous and doesn’t have a significant internet presence, has 618 people who follow all my boards and I follow 177 people myself. I also have people who follow individual boards of mine that don’t necessarily follow everything I pin. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but only about 10%-15% of my followers are people that know me. This means that the potential for getting people’s attention to the point where they choose to follow and repin your content is high. I don’t pin things as much as I used to, but when I did, there was a time when I was getting a handful of new followers every few days.

I say all that just to show you that Pinterest is such a viable and easy option to getting your brand/business’ name out there an interact with people. Now, before you write Pinterest off as being about wedding, baking, and clothes, here are some tips on how to curb your Pinterest activity for your business:

  1. Think Outside the Box When Creating Boards – any old company can post articles or pictures about its products, but come on, that’s way too easy and frankly, a bit boring/overdone. Take for example a French company named Carte Noire that makes instant coffee. While they don’t actually have a Pinterest page that I am aware of, there content is all over Pinterest. They have a host of beautifully shot videos showing how to make different gourmet desserts that pair well with their instant coffee (look them up on YouTube). If they were to have a Pinterest page, one of their boards could be called “Dessert & Espresso” as opposed to having a board with pictures of their instant coffee.
  2. Hold contests – this one is easy. Who doesn’t like a bit of healthy and fun competition?
  3. Add a “Pin It” button to your website 
  4. Bundle your social media & cross-promote across all of them
  5. offer coupons on pinterest/pinterest-only deals
  6. Actually Pin Content Regularly!

So hopefully that provides some insight into the fun and interactive world of Pinterest. Here are some articles in case you’d like to do any further reading:

That’s all for now, y’all! My upcoming posts will also talk about Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, and Vine.

Catch ya soon!

Social Media & Personal PR: Facebook

Hello again, friends! Last post, I finished up my series on different tools small businesses should consider using to reach new clients and different ideas for optimizing customer-brand interaction experience. Now, I am starting a shorter series on the specific social media that people interact with the most, and how brands/small businesses can go about conducting their own PR online through the various media. To start off, trusty old Facebook!

(Google Image Search)
(Google Image Search)

Facebook took the world by storm when access was granted to those beyond the undergraduate realm. With 900 million active users per month, Facebook certainly is a force to be reckoned with (TheGlobeandTheMail.com). So why should your business have Facebook page? Well if the potential for the sheer numbers of people that can interact with your brand isn’t enough to convince you, then hopefully the rest of my discussion will.

Here are some statistics that Facebook’s own research produced:

  • 1.19 billion users globally
  • 4.5 billion daily generated likes
  • 728 million people log in daily
  • 4.75 billion pieces of content shared daily
  • 16 million local business pages created as of May 2013 (this is a 100% increase from June 2012)

I feel these statistics accurately show that at the very least, every small business should have a presence on Facebook. Now, it’s no lie that it is hard for brands to engage customers through Facebook. Most brands, even big ones, achieve about a 1% interaction rate between the brand and the customers it attracts on Facebook (Econsultancy.com). While this may dishearten you, consider this: these are still results! Results = exposure which in turn = awareness. The interaction, however little, also legitimizes your brand/business’ social media presence. This allows for people who casually check out your page to visit your website or even your other social media platforms you may have linked to your page (which you should have linked to your page, rather). Consider this 1% interaction rate as a starting point on which you can build upon. If you choose to focus your social media ventures on Facebook, then there are ways to increase the chances that you get more of an interaction from your followers.

Some tips to increase interaction with your brand/business:

  • profile picture should be a recognizable picture of your brand logo
  • have a direct link for your website
  • include contact information
  • invite your friends to like your page
  • CONTENT IS KING! – as I’ve mentioned before, post often, post what is relevant, and make sure your content is smart and good so it gets/keeps people’s interest and adds to the likelihood that your content is shared and passed around
  • post at the right times (e.g. if something happening in culture currently relates to your business)
  • know who you’re posting for
  • advertise your Facebook page in your store, on your business website, in your Tweets, and across whatever other social media sites you use
  • engage your followers – through content, through promotions, by commenting back, etc.
  • go to friends of your followers
  • consider using Facebook ads

Through these tips, you’ll increase the chances of promoting your brand and increasing engagement with your brand. Don’t shy away from Facebook just because the ROI seems low. Simply consider using it along side one or a few other social media platforms (e.g. Twitter, Pinterest, Vine, etc.).

Ok, that’s all I have for today! Look out for my next blog post about Pinterest, easily one of my favorite social networking sites.

Until next time, y’all!

 

 

 

 

A list of articles I used for this post that you can read into further:

  • https://econsultancy.com/blog/63912-how-small-businesses-can-make-the-most-of-facebook#i.kqjas8hlcfro11
  • http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/marketing-sales/2013/11/14/6-steps-to-promoting-your-small-business-on-facebook/
  • http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-marketing-for-small-business/

 

Mobile Apps – why it’s worth it/available options

Hello friends! Today is the last and final post in my series dealing with specific tools for small businesses to use in relation to social media. After this, I will have a few blog posts about specific social media and how they can be optimized for the business, the customer, and their interactions. For now, let’s wrap up this series! WARNING: this is a long post because it covers a lot, but it’s all very interesting, I promise (at least, I think it is, but then again, I may be biased)!

Cells. Mobiles. Phones. Touchscreen. iPhone. Smartphone.

 (Image Credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(Image Credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Whatever you refer to your baby as, chances are that you most likely have one that you carry around with you everywhere and conduct much of your day-to-day activities on. According to a recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, 61% of Americans own a smartphone, with 91% of the adult population in America owning at least a regular cell phone. When a similar study was conducted in 2011, it found that only 35% of Americans used smartphones (ABC News).

So, Small Business Owner, what does this mean for you? Well isn’t it obvious?

 

Ok, if it’s not obvious, I’m here to tell you…Apps are where it’s at!

image credit: Google Images
image credit: Google Images

Think about it. Given that more than half of Americans own smartphones, you’re most likely a member of that percentage. Think about all you do on your phone: you schedule things, take calls, perhaps even have tools to conduct business…and how is all this possible? Through apps! See where I’m going with this? No? Ok. I’ll break it down further.

What I’m trying to stress to you: your small business NEEDS a mobile app!

Ok, perhaps need is too strong, but given this growth in smartphone users, with the numbers likely to continue to grow, there’s the potential to reach more than half the population of this country with one simple thing: an app.  Great, now you’re beginning to see!

Yes, developing mobile apps is quite costly. However, research shows that 50% of all web searches occur on a mobile device (TechRepublic.com). Here are a few of the benefits of having a mobile app for your small business/brand:

  • target local customers – according to research, customers on the go are more likely to engage with local brands through their phones/the use of apps
  • provide customers with special offers – this helps you reach leads and offer them incentives to interact with/become a user of your product(s)
  • offer better customer support – mobile apps are one way you can deliver support efficiently and swiftly; also, you can communicate with your customers through the app
  • collect customer feedback and behavior data – on a basic level, apps already help identify customer trends…how your customers interact with your product, their purchasing trends, their likes/dislikes, etc.; on a more advanced level, apps can even help you create a pretty solid customer profile because you can find their location, job, age, gender, spending limits, and so much more
  • apps can be used as promotional tools
  • ROI is raised
  • far reach potential
  • makes your brand/business mobile friendly

With all these benefits, I’m sure mobile apps now speak for themselves. So, now you’re wondering how you can do this, and how to develop an app on the cheap. Well, never fear, I have that information, too!

Mashable.com has an article listing 6 tools you can use to develop apps cheaply. I’ll summarize it below.

  1. PhoneGap – allows developers to create apps using HTML5 & CSS3, which are the standard coding languages that work across many platforms, including mobile devices. Price: free while you’re developing/in the beta phase; support beginning at ~$250/year
  2. Branded Business Apps – created mostly for service industry use (i.e. churches, hotels, restaurants, etc.), it is limited to a basic 40 features; however, many businesses have found those features perfectly meet their needs; this company has a 5-step development process so the app can be launched on iPhone/iPad & Android systems within 48 hours of development. Price: ~$400 to get started and a $39+ management fee paid on a monthly basis
  3. EachScape – unique because of its avoidance of the basic templates of a lot of cheaply designed apps, EachScape offers the developer the chance to drag and drop the block components it wants in an app, then integrates the content, customizes it, then generates a few options for potential apps the business could choose to use. Price: $2,500+/month
  4. Canvas – focuses primarily on data collection for small businesses; the apps record customer data and allow the businesses to access this date from the Canvas cloud. Price: $0.50/app use, $20 for unlimited use/month, $210 for unlimited use/year
  5. CloudSpokes – this is a unique approach to app developing that I am not entirely familiar with, nor do I completely understand it. From what I gather, it’s more of a game/competition for freelance developers to make apps based on basic information given by the business, then they vote on which app created is the one they want to use. Price: set by you, the client
  6. Red Foundry – this company allows developers full control over the quality and cost of the app platform; focuses mainly on design and user experience being optimized to its fullest extent. Price: it’s up to you! However, the company’s VP of Business Development warns that cheap apps usually suck…so keep that in mind when considering using this service.

 

So you survived this post and this series! Congratulations! I hope you learned some new ideas and about new and different services that can help you build up your customer base and expand your business/brand through the use of social media.

Bye y’all!

Inbound Marketing – what options are available (pt. 2)?

Hello, everyone! As promised, here is a continuation to my last post, which can be read here. Before looking at the product options, let’s review. The main functions/themes of inbound marketing are:

  • content creation – content is king! make sure you create content that is good/relevant & create it often
  • lifecycle marketing – target people based on where they are with interacting with your brand (e.g. new customers should be handled differently than leads, than returning customers, than customers who promote your brand, etc.)
  • personalization – people will connect with your company/brand more effectively if they feel it can do something for them and if you care for them; tailor messages to specific customers to leave impressions on them
  • multi-channel communication – see where most of your customers/potential customers interact most with your brand online and meet them there; with that said, don’t conduct all your promoting on one platform…find different modes/channels of communication to maximize the opportunity to reach more people
  • integration – let your publishing and analytics tools work for you by giving you information about all your channels so you can focus on proper content creation

Ok, great! Let’s get to it with those last three options!

Eloqua 

This company focuses mostly on marketing automation, which basically “refers to software platforms and technologies designed for marketing departments and organizations to more effectively market on multiple channels online (such as email, social media, websites, etc.) and automate repetitive tasks” (Google). Eloqua promises to simplify automation for its clients, and even offers a free .pdf booklet that you can download to understand the process better.

Pardot

Pardot truly is the definition of integrated marketing. You can choose to use one, a few, or all of their services (e.g. email marketing help, social marketing, etc.). Specializing in business-to-business (B2B) marketing, Pardot focuses on how to get you a return on your investment (ROI). It offers you a demo version of its product(s) and like Eloqua, has its own free downloadable book that helps you understand its services and the ideas behind integrated marketing a little bit more. Also, I would like to personally add that its website is user friendly and the layout/design is nice and clean. 

So there you have it! From this post and the last one, you have a list of a few options of what’s available to you and your company. As always, I am not endorsing one or the other, nor am I being paid to mention these services/companies. I hope this is able to help some of you and the future of your brand!

Cheers!

 

 

Inbound Marketing – what options are available?

Hello, hello! In keeping with the theme of my series, here is part five of the social media tools for small businesses conversation! You can read part four in the series Here, which introduces and breaks down the concept of inbound marketing/why it’s such an important option that businesses should consider as they try to grow their customer base and interaction online.

To sum up what I wrote about in my last post, inbound marketing involves turning leads into customers into brand/business promoters by producing quality content that addresses the needs of/engages a company’s various audiences. To review, the major themes or goals of inbound marketing are:

  • content creation
  • lifecycle marketing
  • personalization
  • multi-channel communication
  • and integration.

So this is all fine and dandy, but where does a small business start if they decide inbound marketing is the way to go? It takes a lot of time, money, and creativity to come up with a solid content marketing plan, and to maintain it and to attain ROI (i.e. return on investment). However, software exists that does all this for a small business. This software automates creation of content, it finds potential leads, it handles distribution, and measures ROI. There are various options for software out there, and today I am going to highlight five that help with ROI. Please note, as always, I am not paid to endorse any of these options, and I personally have not used them myself.

Hubspot 

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Positioning itself as the go-to solution for small to medium-sized businesses, Hubspot has made a name for itself as one of the top software/service options for inbound marketing. Specializing in helping business owners who are not very tech savvy, Hubspot allows business owners to blog, find leads, manage social media, and do analytics all from one interface. It also offers SEO (search engine optimization) features and tips (learn more about SEO here and here), training for its resources, certifications, and even conferences. With a starting cost of $300/month, it is one of the cheapest options for small businesses and those looking to start out. It even offers a free trial period to see if you want to stick with the company.

Marketo

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Marketo to is an inbound marketing service that works a little differently just because it mainly focuses on business-to-business (B2B) marketing. This service helps a business focus in on the sale cycle of the customer, focusing on helping to create content that can be shared across many platforms to get the attention of new leads. The software Marketo offers helps companies create profiles of customers that hones in on a customer’s behavioral paths, and are shown content based on that profile. In addition to these features, Marketo is especially known for its ROI reporting tools.  However, Marketo is not very user-friendly to the technologically challenged out there, and its starting price is a lot higher than Hupspot’s, starting at $750/month upwards to $25,000/month. However, this software appears to work best if you already have an idea of which direction you’re headed with your company’s marketing, and what sorts of audiences you’re trying to attract.

Well, because it is late and this post is about to run very long, I’m going to stop here. I will post a part 2 to this post later, which will include two more services/software options that stood out in my searches.

Until then, arrivederci y’all!

 

 

Inbound Marketing – why it’s worth it

Hey guys! Here is part four in the series of posts I’m publishing dealing with the different options I discussed about social media in relation to small businesses. So in case you missed my first few posts, you can find them here, here, and here. Each week, I will release a more comprehensive discussion, followed by a review of different services the following week.

This week, I am discussing inbound marketing and what benefits small businesses can receive from this form of social media. Firstly, to answer a few questions I am sure you’re wondering right now: 1.) what is inbound marketing, and 2.) how is it social media? Well, I certainly am glad you asked because I want to answer that for you!

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing – Inbound Marketing Defined 

As people began charting the new frontier of the internet, when  Web 2.0 standards were being defined (and still are, today), businesses grew their customer base through outbound marketing. This old form of marketing meant relying on a wish and a prayer – businesses would purchase ad space in search engines and would purchase email lists, and hope for leads for their business. However, this is becoming an outdated way to build your clientele. So, what now? In walks Inbound Marketing. Fresh, shiny, and new, inbound marketing is becoming the up-to-date and current way to increase your brand’s awareness and to rake in new customers. How do businesses do this? By creating quality content online that reflects their brand and their brand’s desires. This seems one-sided, but if done properly, the idea is that customers will eventually take over and market the brand/business for you through online word of mouth. To better explain, here is a visual representation of what inbound marketing looks like/ways to go about doing this, as well as a link to the page I am referencing to better explain the concept.

infographic breaking down the inbound marketing concept
infographic breaking down the inbound marketing concept

As this graph shows, there are four steps to inbound marketing:

  • Attract the customers through different social media platforms
  • Convert them from impassive visitors to leads
  • Close the deal by turning them from leads into customers
  • and finally, delight, which basically is various ways of turning your customers into business promoters by keeping up good online content, and by offering them perks every once and a while.

One major theme to take away from inbound marketing:

ContentIsKing

Content is EVERYTHING. Without good content, you won’t be able to keep the customers you do have engaged, you will potentially be missing out of new customers out there, and actually bad or no content could hurt your business through bad word of mouth or even by never being able to raise brand awareness by getting your brand out there and putting your business on people’s maps.

How is Inbound Marketing Considered Social Media? 

Glad you asked again, I was just about to answer that. It is considered social media because of the various platforms that are available for use (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, email, etc.), and the importance of interacting with them through these media. I mentioned that the importance of content is a major theme that goes with inbound marketing. Well, there are others, as well, and I’ll break them down for you below (note: these are in a nonconsecutive order, one is not more important than that others).

  1. Content Creation This ties into the concept of content is king. It’s not just about creating content, it’s also about the type content that you’re creating. Your content needs to be targeted to your specific audience(s), and it needs to address the basic answers and needs of the customer(s)/audience(s). Also, the content needs to be shared both far and wide.
  2. Lifecycle Marketing This is just the simple realization that there are various levels of interaction with your brand, and their needs to be content based on these levels because each level will have different needs and questions that should be addressed (this simply means that marketing for potential/new customers should not look the same as marketing towards long-standing customers, brand promoters, etc.).
  3. Personalization As a business begins to learn its leads and customers and their behaviors, it can begin to tailor its messages/content in a bit more of a personal way.
  4. Multi-channel This is important what I’m about to say, so come in closer and listen well…DO NOT stick to one channel/medium if you’re hoping to grow your customer base. Inbound marketing is used so that businesses and people can find each other on the channel that they want to interact with you! This is important so you don’t feel limited to one medium outlet.
  5. Integration Use whatever publishing and analytics tools you wish to help you focus on producing the right content on the right channel at the right time.

I hope this gave you a better understanding of inbound marketing and its importance. Sometime this week, I will publish a post continuing this discussion of inbound marketing and how to optimize this tool to reach out to potential clients.

Until then, cheers y’all!