small business social media 101
Post on 19-Oct-2014
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Digital Space ConsultingCreate. Connect. Engage.
Small Business – Social Media 101Creating Your Digital
Footprint…
Agenda
• A little background
• What’s this social media thing and why should I care – I’m not 22
• What tools, platforms, and services should I care about
• What is my short and long term strategy
• How do I create the “social media me” and build my brand authority
• What are the five things I can do today to impact my digital footprint, engage with my customers, and manage my time
Who We Are / What We Do
• Integrated marketing firm with over 10 years of direct advertising agency experience (CPG, Travel, Automotive, Finance)
• Extensive expertise in core marketing – including:– Local search marketing – Mobile marketing– Text services– Pay Per Click (Google AdWords) – Search Engine Optimization– Social Media Marketing and Management– Email Marketing– Insights and Web Analytics (Google Analytics) – Marketing Strategy – Brand Positioning– Targeting/Segmentation
The New Reality….
I was suppose to write something witty here…
But the reality is thisYour company, product, service, brand, reputation, etc. is now a search result
The customer is in
CONTROL…..Seriously
Small Business + Social Media Adoption
Technology adoption rates for SMB’s in the U.S. have doubled in the past year from 12% to 24%
Over 20% of small business owners are integrating social media into their business processes — Facebook and Linkedin
Primarily engagement platform Company pages (75%) Status updates on Facebook/LinkedIn (69%)
Small business owners now believe social media can help them on the lead generation front
What is Social Networking
• Any website or web service that utilizes a ‘social’ philosophy; including blogs, social networks, social news, etc.
• Sharing sites/communities• Review sites• Popularity sites• Promo sites• Micro-blogging sites• Blogs• Forums
The Big 5 of Social Media
But This Stuff Matters As Well – A Lot
• Local search optimization• Keyword strategies• On-page/Off-page SEO • Content creation • Engaging in the conversation• Convert traffic into leads • E-mail marketing • Mobile accessibility
What To Do
How To Do It
What To Measure
Dominate Local Search
Why you should care • 70% of HH use the internet when searching for local products/services • 54% of search users have substituted Internet/search for the phone book• Over 40% of all mobile searches have a local intent • 26% of local businesses are currently investing in SEM• Less than 7% of U.S. businesses have claimed their Google Places listing
How to optimize • Claim listings across Google Places, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local • Make sure your listing is 100% - Photos/videos• Include product or service keywords in your listing description• Encourage your clients to write reviews – Bad review are ok (LBLRobot.com)• Make sure you are listed in your local phone book• Add a local number to all directories – consistent formatting: 555.555.1212• Get listed in the other top local directories (UBL.org) • Submit your information to Localeze.com and InfoUSA.com www.getlisted.org – see how your business is listed on Google, Yahoo, and other top local search engines
Optimize Your Web Site (SEO)
Pros• Great long-term ROI• High ceiling and volume• More exposure, branding, awareness
Cons• Lots of work (design/development)• Takes a while (6-8 months ~ initial feedback)
Resources• SEOBook.com• SEOMoz.com• Google AdWords
• Firefox search status• Websitegrader.com• Google Insights
URL Factors• Search
Engine Friendly URLs
• Site Structure
• Domain Life Span
On-Page Factors• Content
Relevance • Meta Tags• Keyword
Density
Off-Page Factors• Inbound
links• Online
Press Releases
• Blogs, RSS, Feeds, & More
Anatomy Of A Webpage - MetaData
Drive Traffic - Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Pros• Quick setup• Highly measurable / quantifiable• Less development resources
Cons • More expensive• Lower ceiling and volume
potential• May be subject to “Ad Blindness”
Insights• Fastest way to get leads• Prime real estate on search engine
results pages• Measurable ROI• Brand Awareness
Make a Home – Claim Your Social Space – Start Engaging
Offer help and answer questions Share useful content such as articles, etc. that
your target market would value Become a student of each platform Add your existing friends and contacts to start Join groups
Get Social
Website Customer Communication
Brand Exposure Website Traffic SEO
Use keyword search monitoring to track what people are saying about your industry/competitor
Unique opportunity for company to engage with customer in a viral way
Potential can be large, but promotion is an art form
Value to your site’s SEO limited, but tweets will rank high in search results
Great for engaging people who like your company / want to share their opinions
Facebook brand pages are great for brand exposure; jump start your brand exposure through ad platform
Traffic is decent and on the rise thanks to share button, and counters – don’t expect massive numbers of visitors to go to your site
Little to no value, aside from blogs picking up and featuring your posted links
Not the primary focus, but customer engage-ment opportunities are possible by answering questions
Effective for branding and demonstrating your organizations prowess – create authority
Unlikely to drive any significant traffic to your site
High page rank- especially for your company name. That is about it.
Powerful channel for quickly engaging your customers
One of the most powerful branding tools on the web today
Traffic goes to video, if the goal is to get traffic back to your website – add a link in description
Very good for building links back to your site because video’s rank high
Build Your Brand
Social Media Architecture Ines Hegedus-Garcia: Miamism.com Blogger (Realtor)
Start Writing – Drive Google
• Demonstrate expertise and commitment to your industry, profession, and community
• Develop your personal voice• Searchable forever within Google• Multiple touch points: RSS, email, on your website• Content is king!!!!
• Top places to contribute • LinkedIn Questions & Answers• LinkedIn Groups• Yahoo Answers• Comment on blogs:
• Directories: alltop.com, Technoarti.com• Facebook postings
Post Video
• Video is the easiest way to convey authenticity• People will complete a video before they will read a
blog, or eNewsletter• Create a profile on YouTube• FlipVideo revolutionized ease of uploading to YouTube
Update Your Status Regularly – One Word: HootSuite
• Update your status with unique ways that will induce interaction• Promote your blog, let folks know you started a new job or traveling – ask
questions• Try to do something every day so your name shows in your targets home page
Two Last Things + My Warning
Social Media Must Be A Part of Your Marketing Strategy
• Gain visibility • Unlimited access to professionals , organizations,
prospects, and customers in your target market
• Provide transparency• Being open and honest allows you to connect with
others on common ground
• Helps you “give to get”• Ask for help only after offering help to others the
majority of time
• Allow “nobodies” to become somebodies• Create and cultivate your personal brand
My Warning
• It’s your brand - Own it• Once you engage – you have to stay engaged• Build community and fans will expect you to be
available• Expect raving fans who will want to get involved• You don’t have to do everything – do something• Perfection is the enemy of good
My Resources
Professional Content/Design• oDesk.com• eLance.com• 99designs.com
Google Tools• Google Reader• Google AdWords• Google Analytics • Google Insights• Google Trends
Business Cards• Vistaprint.com• Moocards.com
Local Search Optimization• Google Places• UBL.org• LBLRobot.com
Blogging• Posterous.com• Wordpress.org
Email Services• MailChimp.com• ConstantContact.com
Twitter Tools• Search.Twitter.com• Twellow.com
Search Engine Optimization• SEOBook.com• SEOMoz.com• Websitegrader.com
Who I Read • Chris Brogan• Rand Fishkin • Jason Falls• Aaron Strout• Brian Clark • Brian Solis
Top Resources• Socialmediaexplorer.com• Mashable.com• Copyblogger.com• Hubspot.com• Hootsuite.com
Questions – Let’s Connect
Digitalspaceconsulting.com
Twitter.com/eDigitalSpace
214.263.8522
Slideshare.net/jloomstein
James Loomstein, MBA
Digital Space Consulting@eDigitalSpace
Thank You