St. Louis Missouri (MO) Small Business Social Media Marketing

Originally written by Michelle MacPhearson on her blog at: http://www.michellemacphearson.com/internet-marketing-and-social-media-2010-predictions/

As 2009 winds to a close, we look to 2010 with antici…….pation and enthusiasm. It’s a whole new year with a clean slate. And with the new year comes a reflection on where we’ve been and where we’re going. The web has changed drastically and that changes the way we, as internet marketers, do business.

2009 Predictions: 4 1/2 out of 5 Predictions

Before rolling into 2010 predictions, let’s establish a track record – how well did I do with my 2009 predictions? Let’s see!

1. 2009 Prediction: With the “down” economy, opportunities in “make money online” will be even bigger. TRUE! The business of teaching others how to do internet marketing has grown exponentially. Ed Dale saw the biggest number of 30 Day Challenge participants ever in August while my own Crowd Mountain launched and grew exponentially in February. Big product launches, once again, broke sales records. But even folks new to the game were able to break out and do big business. There’s still more room than ever in this market.
2. 2009 Prediction: Data portability becomes more a norm rather than an exception. TRUE! You’ll be hard pressed to find a new social service these days and not have it integrate with Facebook, Twitter, and/or Gmail to port your current contacts into your new profile.
3. 2009 Prediction: Using video as part of the sales process will become a necessity. TRUE! I’ve continued to run tests, and a salespage with video has outperformed a salespage without video every time. Simply put, if you’re not using video, you’re leaving money on the table.
4. 2009 Prediction: People will bring more focus to their social media marketing efforts. FALSE! I wish this were true, and I could probably call it true without any arguments from readers, but it’s just not. I still get messages nearly every day with people overwhelmed by the vast array of social media sites, and while I think many folks “get it” there are still many who don’t. So I’ll shout it from the rooftops one more time: Pick 2-3 social media sites that are active in your niche and focus on them rather than spreading yourself too thin across every available network!
5. 2009 Prediction: As a product owner or a niche leader you’ll be expected to be available, responding and engaging with your “tribe” more often than not. TRUE! People want to know you’re available to them more than ever, and those that are tend to rise to the top.

Drumroll please…. Here are my 2010 internet marketing and social media predictions:

Location, Location, Location

Many folks are claiming location based services, like BriteKite and FourSquare will be the breakout hits of 2010. I disagree. Location WILL become increasingly important in 2010, but for mass adoption, these services will have to be rolled into existing, already adopted platforms, like Facebook and Twitter.

My mom lives in Oakland and works in San Francisco (two areas where loacation based services have really great data from their users). Would she EVER use something like FourSquare? No. Would she use it if it was integrated into Facebook? You betcha.

I live in a little mountain town of 900 people. I can’t really even use these location based services – my town is literally not on the map! Would I be interested in my local Facebook friends (most of the locals I know are on Facebook exclusively) location info? Absolutely! Can I get it anywhere else? Nope.

The digerati and web wunderkinds aside, most folks don’t have the time and interest in creating and maintaining another social profile.

After recording this prediction on IMTW last night, rumors started flying that Google was in talks to buy Yelp, a local business reviews site. It’s speculated that Yelp data could be integrated with Google Maps.

And this is where I predict successful location based services will go in 2010: merged into already existing products that have been adopted by the masses.

The Death of Software Downloads

We’ve already seen it with services like Google Docs and Gmail – why keep files or email on our harddrives when we can keep them on the web and access them anywhere?

I made the switch in 2009 to storing as much of my data as possible online, so it doesn’t matter where I am or which computer I’m on, I have access to everything I need.

It makes sense from a user standpoint in terms of being able to work with the software wherever you are. But it also makes sense from a business standpoint:

• Updates are server-side and seamless for the user, no re-downloading a re-installing (which inevitably leads to customer support issues)
• Web based applications work on Mac or PC – you’re not leaving a giant segment of your market behind
• It’s easier to find web developers
• Less compatibility problems with different operating systems and conflicts with already installed programs which leads to less customer support issues
• Allows for a recurring access charge

We’ve seen some movement in this direction in the internet marketing space in 2009, and in 2010 web-based software (aka “cloud computing”) will become the norm.

Link Popularity Gets Social

While simply having links on social media properties was once enough to boost your search engine ranking, in 2010 the popularity of those links will become a bigger ranking factor.

Consider this scenario:

Two blog posts on the same topic. One is retweeted a gazillion times, is linked all over Facebook and has a ton of comments. One gets little traction in the social media space. Which one do you think *should* rank higher in the SERP’s? The one that people shared the most!

The easiest way to achieve this is…. producing great content that people will want to share. You can also encourage people to share your content by using the tips in The Three Pillars of Social Media Marketing.

Social Media Marketing Matures

In 2010 social media marketing will mature in a variety of ways.

Firstly, we’ll move away from conversations about why one should be using social media in your marketing towards *how* to use social media in your marketing. It will be assumed that a social media presence is necessary, and we’ll see more instruction on exactly what to do.

We’ll also see more focus in how businesses use social media. Rather than using SM “because it’s the thing to do” we will more strategic at moving folks from social media into our sales funnels. Social media marketing will be less about “joining the conversation” and more about specifically growing your business (the “conversation” is still important, but our joining of it will be more purposeful).

Finally, our collective psyche’s will move away from a “bigger is better” mentality. Rather than valuing social media by the number of followers or fans, we’ll look more at those followers’ and fans’ engagement. 100,00 YouTube views or Twitter fans does not sell products if those folks are not engaged.

Wordpress As a True CMS

We love Wordpress, and it’ll just get bigger and better in 2010. With products like Affiliate Theme and Squeeze theme, and more flexibility with offerings like the Thesis Theme (used on this blog), Wordpress is moving more towards a true CMS that can be used for anything, without custom coding.

Building a membership site or a review/rating site or even a salespage exclusively with Wordpress has picked up steam in 2009 and will be even simpler in 2010 as developers create more plugins and themes to do so.

Products in this space will grow and our adoption of them will follow.

Additional 2010 Predictions

As is our tradition, Lynn Terry, Paul Colligan, Ed Dale and I recorded our 2010 predictions show last night for Internet Marketing This Week (that podcast will be out shortly). Watch the @IMTW Twitter feed or subscribe on iTunes to listen.

http://www.michellemacphearson.com/internet-marketing-and-social-media-2010-predictions/

As a quickly emerging company with lots of wonderful clients and an ever growing staff, not to mention three 2 year olds and a recently brutal travel schedule, I have been reminded about the importance of excellent customer service.

• Although we will not always agree with every customer, we can do better.

• We have come to learn very quickly who our ideal client really is, and we will make sure we use a “suitability” factor moving forward.

So with that in mind we have implemented some new customer service options that make everyone’s life easier and allow us to respond faster.

1. We now use a system called Schedulicity which allows our prospects and customers to schedule an appointment at their convenience. Here’s the link: http://www.schedulicity.com/MakeReservation.aspx?business=LEPXC

2. Welcome Matt, Jill and Katie to the team. They, along with Kathy, Dawn, and Bill have been doing a great job!

Welcome to our new customer service- which will be always in state of achievement and improvement. You can’t please all of the people all of the time but we are giving our best shot!!!

Here’s a related article:

by Alex Hawkinson

I have posted a fair amount recently about the increasing importance of delivering great customer service – http://bit.ly/nf0or. I was reminded of this again when I came across a reference to what has become known as the “United Breaks Guitars” phenomenon. United repeatedly refused to listen and take corrective action after damaging the guitars of Dave Carroll. He eventually wrote a song in response (see video below), and the rest is history with 6 Million views and untold damage to United.

In a world where consumer and peer reviews are available via social media, positive customer experiences become amplified and produce word-of-mouth referrals. On the flip side, negative customer experiences become amplified as well and can be kryptonite to even great companies. Compare and think about the impact of the two videos below.

Customer Service is the New Marketing

It’s not rocket science. Listen to your customers. Try to deliver value to them and give them the tools to share their positive experiences. When they have negative experiences, be the first to hear them, take responsibility, and “make it right”. You’ll be surprised at how many of them you can convert into advocates.

There are no excuses. There are great tools available that cost almost nothing and enable you to be found, listen, and engage your customers in minutes a day.

So step up and give the gift of superb customer service this holiday season. Your customers and your bottom-line will thank you for it!

Links:

• Customer Service is the New Marketing
• Dave Carroll – United Breaks Guitars

Videos:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VXPqX7Z45Y

Tags:

• online engagement
• Customer Service
• social media

Link to original post

I love sharing other posts from some of the most brilliant minds in social media marketing. Samir Balwani is one of those people!
Enjoy this great article, the original can be found at: http://mashable.com/2009/09/30/small-business-strategies/

5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

September 30th, 2009 | by Samir Balwani

Samir Balwani is an emerging technology strategist at Morpheus Media, a firm specializing in Social Marketing, SEM, and SEO. You can follow him on Twitter @leftthebox and get his newsletter.

Social media marketing and the businesses that utilize it have become more sophisticated. More small businesses are beginning to understand how to best leverage online tools to build a community and recognize that engagement and interaction are the foundations of social marketing, but most don’t know what’s next.

What follows are five advanced strategies for small businesses that may already have small online communities and understand how to create an online presence, but don’t know what to do next.

What Is An Advanced Strategy?

The definition of an advanced social strategy is a technique that goes beyond the normal social media presence. It introduces or reinforces a marketing message while pushing a user to another profile or business site. Before moving forward with an advanced strategy, it’s important that your business understands social marketing, has experience engaging consumers, and that you possess a basic understanding of online marketing.

Strategy 1: Multimedia Usage

The term “A picture is worth a thousand words” has never been truer. Consumers are now using the web to look for product pictures and videos; they want more information and want to see what they’re considering buying. The good news is that it’s easy for a company to create and publish videos and pictures.

In addition to taking photos of products, you can also take pictures at office events as a way to highlight company culture. This not only helps convince others to work with you or to buy from you (consumers see that you are down to earth and one of them, instead of a stuffy company), it also helps your HR department recruit new employees. Who doesn’t want to work for a company that celebrates birthdays and has a good time?

Videos are useful for explaining complex how-tos or concepts. Showing step by step directions can have a greater impact than even the most well written article. Businesses don’t have to invest huge sums of money to create good videos, either. I highly recommend the relatively cheap Flip camcorder, which takes great videos and is easy for even a non-technical marketer to use.

Multimedia can break down the faceless business-to-consumer sales flow and make your company appear friendlier. Use videos and images to show that your business is fun, you care about your employees, and most importantly, that you care about your customers.

Example: WorldMusicSupply.com

WorldMusicSupply.com, an online retailer of musical instruments and accessories, has used YouTube (YouTube) to build a strong online community. Their channel has built over 7,000 subscribers and has over 260,000 views.

Strategy 2: Integrate Offline and Online Advertising

Many small businesses do some sort of offline advertising, whether it be radio, print, or cable. Social marketing allows a business to extend their offline sales pitch.

Including your Facebook Page or blog URL in offline ads act as social proof, inviting potential consumers to see your community and increase trust in your business. Not only can integrating online and offline advertising help the conversion process, but it can also help build your community. Introducing potential consumers to your social profiles means they may join your community now and buy later.

Strategy 3: Message Adaptation

As businesses start to become more sophisticated with social media they are starting to leverage more online platforms. However, most deliver the same message over multiple platforms instead of tailoring communications for each individual site.

Social platforms each have an ecosystem of their own. What might be acceptable on Tumblr (Tumblr) might be considered spam on Facebook (Facebook). A specific style of writing might spread on Twitter (Twitter) but fail on FriendFeed (FriendFeed). Understanding that each site is different and then customizing your message ensures they do well on each respective site.

Not only does customizing messages across sites help the message spread but it keeps users from receiving multiple identical communications. Be sure to maximize your potential by sending a user that follows the business on Twitter and Facebook two different messages, instead of the same thing.

Strategy 4: Local Social Networks, Beyond Yelp

For a small business, local search can be a big win. Being visible to consumers looking for a business in their area is extremely important. Make sure your site is included in local business directories in order to help ensure that consumers find you when they need you. Sometimes finding that many sites can be difficult, however.

First, make sure you check your competitors. Where are they listed? Check their inbound links to check for business directories you can add yourself to. Also, make sure your business has been added to Google Maps (Google Maps), using the Local Business Center.

Take the time to include all the information you can and update any old news. For many consumers, this will be their first interaction with the business.

Example: Bella Napoli in New York

Bella Napoli is a small pizzeria in New York that has done a great job of making sure they appear in as many local searches as possible.

Strategy 5: Contests and Discounts

Building a community is only the first part of social marketing. Using that community to drive sales, propagate marketing, or crowdsource operations is the true power of social media. One way to excite the community is to collectively do something to create a contest or offer an exclusive discount (i.e., the contest can create competition between users). Not only does a contest build buzz organically but if contestants need to, for example, publish an article that gets the most comments in order to win, the contest itself becomes viral.

A good social media contest should include some sort of sharing or virality as a requirement for winning.

Discounts are also a great way to connect with your community. By giving exclusive coupons to your social community, you’re rewarding and reminding them that you are not only a brand to engage with, but also to buy from.

Example: NetFirms.com

NetFirms.com decided to make it easier to register a domain by allowing people to do it via Twitter. Those who participated or spread the word by tweeting, were also entered into a prize drawing.

Conclusion

Creating a basic social media presence is easy enough, getting your community to actually do something is more difficult. Taking advantage of these strategies can help you build your community, make your marketing more effective, and incentivize buying.

Social Media Marketing – St. Louis Small Business Owners View This Great Video!