Keeping Prospects Engaged over the Long Haul

According to Justcreative.com, Chilton Research shows that many consumers take quite a while to make a large purchase---as much as 60% take seven months or longer to punch that buy button. Staying ahead of the competition by engaging and keeping with your prospect is even more important. An innovative internet marketing plan can position your company to do just that.

• Start with a website that provides information on the product that the prospective customer can add to a wishlist, watch videos, find specs, and see all the great things your product can do. This provides something that can be shared with other decision makers in the family. At the same time, though, you need to link to something even more dynamic and that would be:
• Engaging and active social media that not only offers tips, samples, sales information, but legitimate praises from your Facebook fans. This is a sure way of keeping connected to your prospect. Since your potential customer has already identified a need for your product, at this point you're staying ahead of the competition with your online community. This is a great way to celebrate what your business does best and proves just how responsive and inclusive your business community is.
• Ask your potential customer for an email address and permission to sign up for your newsletter at the time of first contact. Fill the newsletter with reasons that the purchase shouldn't be put off. Share tips, personal stories, events, and links on your business---push information out to your customer and stay ahead. 

 With an online strategy connecting with a prospect over the long term yields the results. And the online strategy keeps that customer with your business community even after the sale is completed.        

Sales through Social Marketing

It is possible to garner sales and new customers through your Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages. But it requires diligence, patience, and dedication. Simply posting a page and a couple of posts and then recruiting your friends to like your page is not usually enough to garner what you need for sales.

A formula of a couple of posts per week; a mixture of information, freebies, and business news to keep things mixed up and constant monitoring is the recipe to create an environment that eventually has new customers and sales coming in.

Too much activity can be detrimental to your goals too---keep posts interesting and different and limited to 2-3 per week.While researching how small businesses use social media to generate activity I came across an antique store that had over 5400 page likes. This store, out in the middle of Indiana cornfields, about 100 miles from any good sized city, garnered my attention. The Facebook page posted in 2011 generates interest through posting events and new products on the page and makes the company larger than life.

The page was exciting enough to tempt me to travel the 200 miles round trip to find out just how the company matched up to the excitement generated by the Facebook page. And what I uncovered, was what I had suspected all along---with the right formula of social media marketing even a small business can look much larger than life on the Internet. I was actually a bit disappointed by the physical location and the business itself but the Facebook page did its job---it got a customer in to the business to have a look.              

Mix it up

Half hearted online content yields half hearted results. A great web site with great content is only one step in the process in today's world. A complete marketing plan could include:

• A blog with expert content, tips of your trade, and news of your business' sales and events. Be sure to link back to your own website when appropriate. This gives your web site some additional status in the search engines and provides another way potential customers to gain more information about your products and services. Be sure to link back to sites over the internet that provide additional information too---give credit where credit is due. Be careful not to copy content though or all your hard work may not be recognized by search engines looking for duplicate content.
• Social Media is an easy way to get your business up and running. But be careful. This requires a commitment or it will leave potential customers wondering if you are still in business. Plan on making a minimum of one post per week on a Facebook page which you can then transfer into a Tweet on Twitter. Less than that and you may as well not do social media. And the content has to be a mix of sales and business information, free tips and offers, and personal information making your business someplace that people want to spend time with. Give your customers what they want and they'll come back again and again, and pass you on to their friends too.          
•  Put it all together on your website with links that include all your social media and your blog. Automate all as much as possible and don't forget a regular newsletter too. 

Web marketing pays off with sales and customers but it takes time and commitment to build a web presence. Static web sites and social media pages can be a detriment, not an asset to your business. We can help your business get started with your marketing plan. Contact us today.

Facebook Beating up on Small Business

Most customers of small businesses with Facebook pages get increased satisfaction and participation in that small business. A sense of community is created as announcements are made, events created, solutions communicated, information exchanged. This is outside any marketing initiatives that the small business may create.

So it is inconceivable that Facebook doesn't understand that an entity that generates 50% of the GDP is a force to be courted not locked out.

But locked out is what Facebook is essentially doing to small business that use their format to communicate with customers. In December Facebook started making changes to the timelines. Many users now have two types of news feeds---the regular News Feed that everyone is used to and a new feed called the Pages Feed.  Apparently the big money advertisers like Amazon and others get to remain on the regular News Feed. All others get moved to the Pages Feed that many users probably aren't even aware of since the only indication that the feed exists at all is a tiny orange flag in the left hand menu of their feed.

Back in December I contacted Facebook because I noticed some of my favorite local businesses had fallen off my feed. Facebook informed me that even though they have a customer service link it wasn't meant for mere mortals like me or the small businesses that may be on their system.

Eventually I found my Pages Feed and found most of my small local business friends returning to my regular News Feed anyway. But many local businesses have been frustrated by this Facebook faux pas.  And Facebook should know better. There is a trend to shop local in this country. Facebook is only a tool and when a tool becomes a half a bubble off people tend to go looking for other tools that are more reliable.

Many small business have opened up twitter accounts and asked their customers to follow them there. And there is always Pinterest---grabbing an ever greater share of the social media time and interest.

For me---I feel offended that I missed out on the bargain cupcakes at one of my favorite local small businesses....    

Dream Posts

Over the weekend I happened on one of the greatest uses of Pinterest for marketing. A simple brilliant picture of a Quisinart Mixer---glowing a wonderful Christmas red. Under the pin were the words "I've always dreamed of having one of these."

It was posted by a retailer with a link back to the sale priced product on the retailers own website. Imagine the pins this would produce and how convenient for a spouse to simply follow that pin back to the website to make the purchase of the dream gift.

That's power.  

Cheer Leading on Social Media

Social Media for business is all about creating your brand recognition and engaging your customers. So what are customers looking for?

• A social club---customers want to belong, be on a first name basis with your business, to be part of your inner circle
• Tips and/or give-aways---a 20% off coupon, a tip that allows customers to save money, or something totally free, delights and surprises and customers love it.  
• Exclusivity---customer's want to claim you and let others know that you belong to them.   
• Entertainment---a joke, a story---something that allows customers to identify and have a "me too" moment.
• Information on your business, your attitude towards customers, your products---be sure you have links back to your own website once you teased a contact's appetite for more information through social media.

Social Media, whether through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or others, is cheer leading for your business. It's a nice demonstration of just how dedicated you are to your customer base and allows your customers to join you in the cheer.   

Fifteen Minutes a Day to Social Marketing

So you think that you have no time to maintain a social media marketing policy.

Consider allotting 15 minutes a day to research and post to  Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest pages. Business Posts greater than 3-4 per week are intrusive and too much for most people. Quality not quantity rules on social media. With an initial goal of 2-3 posts per week you can keep quality in your posts, insuring that your audience is engaged and not ignoring what you've got to offer.

Perform your research for future posts on days when you're not posting. Open up a personal Pinterest page and post ideas to your personal page. This gives you a preview of how popular your posts may be once posted to your business pages.

Posts can pass on items of interest related to your business from around the web, events that your business is having, and news about your area. The ultimate goal of social media for business is  keeping the audience engaged, making your business an indispensable source of knowledge and information, keeping you in front of the competition.        

Tips and Tricks

Most people love feeling like insiders, part of an exclusive club that has exclusive privileges. Your customers will flock to be part of your exclusive club when you offer.

And in a combination of website, email, blogging, social marketing, and face to face events you can create and expand your brand's club and increase sales. And the best part is it costs very little to brand your business this way.

Create excitement for a new product with advance notice to your newsletter subscriber "club." After a couple of days you can announce it on your website, blog, and in social media. Invite participants to an in store event demonstrating the wonders of what your product can do for your customers and why they just can't live without it.

And your club members will be informed enough to tell their friends about your product and your business. And others will join your exclusive club. Everyone wants to belong.  

Creating Social Media Engagement--tell a story

There's much written about engaging customers on Facebook and other social media and every medium has its own quirks. Whether it's Facebook or Pinterest or another, one of the best posts tells a story and asks the customer to join in and contribute to the tale. One thing I've noticed is that customers who receive great service can't wait to tell about it.

Take the opportunity to solicit positive feedback without asking for it. Tell a story.

Integration of Social Media and Website

Search engines continually evolve and it is never so apparent when you search for something online and then receive a blanket of ads for something you were trying to get rid of; not something you were interested in purchasing.

For example, I recently was investigating the worth of a cash drawer that a customer wanted to unload. Several week later I still receive ads for websites that sell cash drawers. They follow me from search engines, to game sites, to Facebook.

Then there are the times when the ads are truly helpful---searching for a hard to find item and you are suddenly helped by one of those Facebook side items---directed to a website that has exactly what you are looking for at a great price.

And this is an example of why you should make sure that your Facebook page, Twitter, Pin It, and any other social media leads your customer to your website. If I find you on Facebook and your website is lost in your timeline, I leave without paying you a visit. The best use of Facebook has the company website right there at the top.  And be sure to make it easy for people to share what you offer online and pass the word on about just how great you are.

Promotion on Pinterest

I've just joined Pinterest---hard to believe but I'm currently exploring this product for the first time.

I buy products that I need from one of my web customers and recently pinned a product I loved as a reference on my personal Pinterest page. The product pinned was one that I wanted to save as an idea for a future product.

I was surprised at the impact this pin made. It was re-pinned almost immediately by others and the pin included the original link back to my customer's page in an easy unintrusive way. It will be interesting to discover if this type of action results in sales or inquiry activity. It certainly has increased interest in the product.

Pininterest Anyone?

According to a poll done by Botticca.com people on Pininterest buy more and spend more (double) when they buy than the folks on Facebook.

83% of U.S. users of Pininterest are females and the average age is 35-44; a demographic not to be overlooked.

And the site could be addicting. And it has potential to give small business an edge. Let's look at a couple of examples.

• Florist, nurseries, farmstands---posting fresh additions to stock as it comes in. Do you have a specialty item I'm looking for? I'll get on my laptop or phone and pull up all those delectable pictures.   
• Selling something visual---jewelry, purses, crafts? Pin it and sell it.
• Is your business a restaurant, bakery, or yummy shop? Wet some appetites with some Pininterest.
• Does your business create art or help someone to create art? Pin all those wonderful creations to your board---letting everyone share that they were made with your tools.

Double the Facebook sales...that's something to consider.      

The Way Your Customers are using Social Media

Meeting at a store, making dinner plans, shooting a photo of a great buy or meal, or drink; all ways that Facebook and other social media can be used for your business by your customers.

This weekend my small group of friends made me thirst for a drink, after posting a photo of a Bloody Mary during a brunch, introduced me to a new restaurant, and notified me of a special offer and event that a store, that I barely knew about, was having.

When the new restaurant was suggested I promptly pulled up a mouth watering menu on the restaurant's website and weekly specials posted on the Facebook page.

I can testify that the two restaurants will receive real sales over the next week. I'm still considering the offer and special event from the store. But I'm still thinking about it.

Thus is the power of just a bit of Social Media.    

Expectations---Your Plan

Nurturing customer relationships in the hope of creating or attracting new customers is a great social media marketing goal.

Let's say you have a product that has hit saturation point in your current local market. You have current customers who are using your product but the product has a lifespan of 5 plus years. And while your current customer base will provide incidental sales of services and accessory purchases, there won't be any more big ticket items for at least another 5 years. You need more customers and you can get the word out with social media and interaction with your current customers.

Social Media is about nurturing your current relationships, interaction with your customers, demonstrating customer service, and demonstrating just how wonderful your business is.

Your website then moves on to being the authority regarding your business. Customer leads who find you through social media proceed to your website to learn more about your services and products. They find your store policies, detailed location and event information, and hopefully, just how much of an expert you are in the area your business is located. The more detailed the information is, the more likely the lead generated will take action and a sale will be made.

Social media becomes a fine complement to your website generating new curiosity and excitement, complements and customer interaction and new paths to customers who are already thinking about your products and services.

We've Added New Services

If you haven't visited our website at blueheronmoonwebco.com point your browser and head right over, we've added some new services.

Many times when I'm out canvassing the area for new business I see business owners being pulled in all different directions. The market place is changing. How customers find you is changing. If you are a small business relying on the hard copy yellow pages you are missing out on business opportunities---and that's alright if you are happy with the amount of business you currently have and you're confident that you can hang on to your current customers.

But more than likely you are looking for ways to weather these tough economic times and looking for ways to economically compete.

When I need a service or product, I look on the internet. I couldn't tell you where my most recent copy of the phone book is---I probably don't have it any longer. It is much simpler and less time consuming to hit the search button and find the information I need. Most websites give more info on what services a local business offers, I get to learn a little more about just who I might be doing business with and a bit of the history behind that person.

Being on top of the search engines is important but even more important is that connection you have with your customers and having your own customers letting others know how great you are and why they chose you over your competition.

So we've added Social Media Management and Newsletter/Email Campaigns to our mix of offerings. For a small amount each day we will help you drum up interest and connect with your customers in ways to get you in front of potential customers. We'll help you with those newsletter designs and campaigns and subscription management.

So, if you and your staff just don't have the time to engage your customers online, and uncover all those potential customers, we're here to help.          

Nudging that Word of Mouth

Do you find yourself going online to check out reviews on products you're thinking about purchasing? Increasingly word of mouth advertising is nudging customers to buy one product over another---choose one business over another. And you can use this word of mouth to promote your business forward as the premier place to do business through social media and your own website.

Planning to buy a car this year? The first place you'll probably check is the online reviews. You might even visit a Facebook page or two, visit a couple of dealer websites to uncover service and product lines available---research customer comments posted.

Increasingly word of mouth advertising and social media is making deals for you and all you need to do is nudge it along by facilitating the discussion between your business and those happy customers that have connections to those potential new customers who you need to bring into the conversation to move your business forward.      

Social Media

There's been a lot of talk in the media about Facebook' going public. And a recent report indicates that there are some people who stay away from Facebook for various reasons.

And even though Facebook may not be the media of choice for some folks---some of those same people that choose not to use Facebook use other social media like Twitter, which could be viewed as less invasive to personal lives and somewhat safer to use.

Twitter is actually a really great way for customers to share information that you post to the internet either on your Facebook page, blog, or website. Let's say that you have 100 widgets you obtained at a bargain price that you can sell at a win-win deal to your customers; post the bargain to your website, tweet it, customers receive the tweet, re-tweet to their friends, and soon all 100 widgets are sold---creating customers, relationships, and a name for your business.

And, fortunately, there is a way to connect your Facebook page to your Twitter account; making it easy and simply efficient to post once to your Facebook page which will automatically create a Tweet. A Simple and easy way to keep on top of your social media.      

Social Media

It's exciting to help a business grow via social media. I'm currently assisting a local business with over 30 years of experience grow via social networking. I love hearing that customers are enjoying the emails full of tips, deals, and information.

When coupons posted on the blog or website are brought in, or a sale is made because the product was posted on the web and when the traffic into the physical location is increased----in this economy---it is a great thing.

Providing value through the blog, Facebook, Twitter; solving customer's problems when the customer had no idea a solution existed--enhancing the customer experience, making life easier, and, yes, generating additional sales; it's great.    

Social Media for Your Business

Did you know you can join Facebook and Twitter pages? When you allow your Facebook page to talk to your Twitter page you can catch customers in both areas at the same time, making it easier and more efficient to connect to your customers.

Try adding a helpful tip to your Facebook page, allowing it to automatically update to Twitter, and your business blog's widget. All in one post! Don't miss an opportunity to connect and stay close to your customer.

Social Media

I attended a webinar the other day on the importance in today's economy of social media. The presentation was made by Lon Safko, who has written a book on social media. Lon had some good insights and meaningful tips on using social media.

One of the points Lon made was that your business brand and reputation travels with the speed of light. Your customers are talking about you and helping (or hurting) your brand over an assortment of social mediums. Social mediums can help you keep the eye on your competition and strategic partners too.

And to use social networking to its full potential you need a strategy and goals. Convert your online activities to actual customers and sales. To learn more of Lon's tips visit his website.