Friday 30 March 2012

The Anatomy of a Fan

Capturing fans for a brands Facebook page is the “new” social media marketing equivalent of building an email database. There are many ways to engage with fans on a company Facebook page such as ”Likes”, Shares and “Apps”


How Facebook Generates Business for Companies that Use It
It is always good to know what the competition is doing and this survey reveals how companies are using Facebook to market their business.What is revealing about this survey is
  • Nearly 20% of companies had a Facebook page before they even had a website
  • 23% of Companies hold contests and giveaways on Facebook


Five Questions and Answers for Facebook Marketing
There are many questions that are raised during planning your Facebook marketing campaign including:
  • What is the best day to post an update on Facebook?
  • What time should you post?
  • What is the best type of content?

Twitter vs Facebook
The battle for the marketing dollar is dependent on many factors and this infographic looks at the factors that help drive those decisions such as.
  • Gender
  • Age distribution
  • Sharing power




The Power of Twitter

The Marketing Secret About Twitter That Most People Don’t Know
Twitter is maybe the most misunderstood and under estimated social media marketing tool in the social media top 5 including Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. Most people still think it is just about superficial conversations, insignificant daily events and news.

The reality is that it is a much sharper tool than Facebook in one very important area and that is creating a large database of followers (subscribers if you like) without having a large marketing budget.  On Facebook you have to drive people to your Facebook page to get them to “like” your page so that you can then provide updates that they will find interesting and engaging.

The Power of  Twitter
The power of Twitter is that you can “pull” people to follow you on Twitter by following them.
Why does this work? ..well there is a largely unknown secret Twitter rule or “etiquette” that most newbies don’t understand and that is when you follow someone that a certain percentage will follow you back. Now that percentage may be only 20%  or it may be 50% but once you have them following you on Twitter your updates will now appear in their Twitter “stream”.
If you follow 100 people then you will find next day or in few hours when you check your follower count that  you will have increased your followers by 20-30 people.

The Challenge
Now the challenge here is not just getting a large quantity of people to follow you whose interests are wide and diverse eg.. there is no reason people who are interested in “cars”  are going to want to read your updates on “wine” if you are a wine retailer or producer. You need to get followers who are interested in your topics and this is the “quality” targeted component of creating a following on Twitter.
So how can you as a businesses or personal brand attract followers that are interested  in your industry so that you can then amaze them with your unique and fascinating insights and news that is relevant to your industry and start engaging with them

The Twitter Tool To Gain Targeted Quality Followers
One Twitter tool that I have found useful is Twellow.com, a free tool which has 30.5 million  Twitter profiles in its database sorted into a vast range of categories.
Using Twellow you can
1. Search and then
2. Follow people

Twitter Tactic
This “following” tactic is based upon their interests in their Twitter profile. You can enter a key word such as “wine” and up will come companies and people with large Twitter followings that have indicated their interests when registering on Twitter in their Twitter profile, you can then follow them within the tool by clicking the blue “Follow” button.
This tactic will assist you in starting to build a targeted following on Twitter that is interested in your Tweets and content.
The thing to remember though is that once you have people following you that your tweeted “Headlines” and “links” to articles and YouTube videos needs to be interesting and topical to keep them clicking on those hyperlinks embedded in your Tweets. These links does not have to be only your own content but should also include other websites and links to content that add value and solves problems for your followers.
So start building a following that is interested in your topic of choice.

Top 10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Website


  1. Your Business is Open to the World 24/7, 365 Days a Year
Unlike your company's office that may be open from 8-5, Monday thru Friday, your company 's website is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are many different time zones that may affect your business, which is why being on the web makes it time convenient for everyone.
2. It's Your Online Brochure / Catalog That Can Be Changed at Anytime
A website is easier, cheaper and quicker to update than print material. Its' capacities are almost limitless which allow you to provide users with more comprehensive information. This will save you money on printing and distribution costs as well.
3. Reach New Markets with a Global Audience
On the Internet, you aren't that local little business anymore. You have the potential to be seen by millions across the globe. Did you ever think your company would have the possibility of doing business around the world? Well, now you can. Without a doubt, the Internet is the most cost effective way to trade nationally and internationally.


4. Improved Customer Service
By providing answers to questions on your website, sales and information requests can be processed automatically and immediately, whether someone is in the office or not. Online forms can be used to allow customers to request quotations or ask further information. Save costs by allowing users to download invoices, proposals and important documents.
5. Present a Professional Image
For a small business, a well-designed web site is a great way of instilling confidence and looking bigger than you actually are. In this day in age, customers assume that you already have a website. By now, your primary competitors probably already have a presence on the Internet. If they do, keep up with them and find ways to make yours better.
6. Sell Your Products
Why pay expensive rent, overhead, electric bills, and all the other costs that go along with owning a bricks-n-mortar business? Selling in cyberspace is much cheaper and a good way to supplement your offline business. Providing secure online ordering is very affordable for even the smallest businesses.
7. Promote Your Services
Lawyers, doctors, financial consultants, entertainers, realtors and all service oriented businesses should let customers know that they have a choice. Millions of users are referring to the web and are using company's websites to make major decisions when they need a specialized service.

8. Gather Information and Generate Valuable Leads
You can gather information about your customers and potential customers by using forms and surveys. Rather than going out and getting leads, let them come to you. This is a great tool for prospecting targeted customers looking to use your products and services.
9. Provides Instant Gratification
People are busy and don't like to wait for information. Give them what they want, when they want it. If your product is suitable, offer them free samples or trials to download. This includes pictures, brochures, software, videos, Power Point slides, music and more.
10. Great Recruiting Tool
Whether you are looking for talent or posting job opportunities with your company, your website is a great recruiting tool for building your business