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The Ten Commandments of Social Media Marketing

10 commandments of social media marketing written on stone tablet

Over the years I have wanted to encapsulate a few fundamental rules for any organization to fall back on when developing their social media strategy. Social media and business have had somewhat a love/hate relationship as many struggle while others see success. Similar to having a mission statement or defined company goals, your business social media strategy should rely on a few general pillars of success to establish a powerful plan. I know it’s a bit bold to declare these pointers to be the “ten commandments of social media marketing” but they have been quintessential to my success, so I can only hope that they will do the same for you. Scroll down to see the full article 1. Be Consistent In Your Social Media Strategy Rule number one of social media marketing is to be consistent with your practices. That means posting on a daily basis and being committed to engaging regularly in the social stratosphere. Here are some rough guidelines for posting frequency: At least one blog per week (two times is great but focus on quality vs quantity) Post one-two times per day on Facebook, same for Google+ (I personally limit to one) For Twitter, I generally [...]

Prioritizing The Right Social Networks For Your Business

social media

As we approach the halfway point of 2013, the question is no longer whether businesses should use social media…it’s how should they use social media for business. Some businesses claim social media is a godsend and have incredible success while others complain that it is a waste of time, money and resources. Both of them are right. I’ve said many times that I don’t believe that every business should be on every social network. In fact, I usually recommend that most businesses only focus on 2-3 sites so they can spend the necessary time to do them well. The trick is picking the right social networks to focus on. Where are your customers spending their time online? 27% of total US Internet time is spent on social networking sites alone (Source), so saying that your customers aren’t using social media is a tough argument to make. Understand Your Target Market The obvious task before prioritizing the right social networks is assessing where your customers are online. You should already know and understand your target market, otherwise you are not ready for this step yet and should be reading another article. A deadly mistake in any social media strategy is making [...]

Is Measuring The ROI of Social Media A Joke?

social media strategy

One of my favorite sales gurus, Jeffrey Gitomer, posted a blog the other day entitled, “Measuring The ROI of Social Media? There’s a Laugh, and a Joke,” and I wanted to address this topic since it is a hot debate with valid points on both sides. Every business that has attempted to create a social media strategy has likely wrestled with this very subject, so I will do my best to provide some insight.   The Argument Gitomer makes a great point when he says that social media is running wild with or without you. Your customers and prospective customers are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn so if you don’t get involved, you’ll be swimming in a sea of lost opportunity. The opposing argument to this philosophy includes points such as: If social media is so great, how come I can’t trace it back to specific sales? If there is a ‘lost opportunity’ I should be able to measure it How can I reasonably create a social media strategy without calculating ROI? Like I said, these are all valid points but they stem from a few inherent misunderstandings regarding social media. If you think everyone who sees your commercial or [...]

Meet The 7 Types of Social Media Users

social media strategy

Business owners and management teams tend to struggle over understanding audience behavior when refining their social media strategy. After all, it is a strange thing, isn’t it? They were interested enough to like your Facebook page and follow you on Twitter but they never show your posts any love. What gives? We sometimes forget we are dealing with real people online and fail to distinguish the different species that exist in the digital domain. It’s important to understand the simple difference between these two types of users when creating your social media strategy:                     1. Proactive Users                     2. Reactive Users Proactive users are the people that are actively posting updates, engaging with other users, utilizing most available features and basically make their presence known through a variety of activities. Reactive users are those people that rarely make posts and only interact with comments or posts that are directed at them specifically. They aren’t as likely to like every picture of your cat in their hilarious Halloween costume unless they helped pick it out!   The 7 Types of Social Media Users 1. The Listener. This person is an active social media user but prefers to fly under the radar. Even [...]

Top 25 Social Media Statistics [Fall 2012]

Cara Pring recently posted a blog with over 200 of the latest social media statistics for 2012 (as of September) and the results are mind blowing. After reviewing all the social media stats for 2012, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t reach a point of near-complete saturation and integration into modern society. Some might argue we are already there but that’s for another article! There are many great social media statistics but I brought it down to the top 20 that truly blew me away. Make sure you visit the original article from Cara Pring to see the full list as well as links to the sources. Without further adieu, here are the stats:   Top 15 Positive Social Media Statistics For 2012 91% of online adults use social media regularly 9/10 mobile searches lead to action (over half lead to purchase) There are more devices connected to the Internet than there are people on Earth 70% of adult social networkers shop online 54% of active social networkers follow a brand 61% of global internet users research products online 93% of US adult Internet users are on Facebook Watching video on computers has become as common as watching video [...]

Here’s Why Twitter Is Still An Incredible Marketing Tool

Twitter marketing has been in the shadows since Pinterest and Facebook began to steal the spotlight this year in 2012. Although Facebook has been the leader for a while, they received a lot of additional media attention due to the whole IPO fiasco. Many business owners and professionals still don’t get why Twitter could possibly be significant to their business. I can’t blame them since I felt the same way at one point. What could possibly be significant in 140 characters?   Twitter Marketing Secret Weapon: Advanced Search Your greatest Twitter marketing tool for discovering conversations surrounding your brand, industry or company is arguably Twitter’s Advanced Search. Why? Let me give you an example. If you’re a restaurant, you can search for anyone tweeting the word “hungry” in your local area and it will provide you with instant results, in chronological order starting from the most recent tweets. This is a HUGE opportunity. If you’re a restaurant, these people ARE your customers, so reaching out to them at this moment in time could be a critical turning point for your business. Offer them a special discount code that they can use that day to come in for a meal at [...]

7 Reasons Why Sales Pros Should Use LinkedIn For Lead Generation

Mastering LinkedIn training for sales professionals can be difficult (yet highly effective) simply because this particular social media site works quite differently than others. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn is specifically geared toward business decision makers and other professionals who want to leverage the connections they make with others to improve their own businesses and gather more leads. Have you spent time on LinkedIn trying to understand the system and how it can work to attract more leads? Have you felt like throwing your hands up in despair as you tried to learn the ins and outs of using LinkedIn effectively to find new prospects? This article will give you seven specific tips related to using LinkedIn for lead generation in a way that works for your business without adding more unnecessary frustration to the mix. Related: 18 Steps To A Masterful LinkedIn Profile (That Attracts Your Clients   LinkedIn Training For Sales: Why You Need It In Your Toolbox 1. Easier To Find Key Decision Makers. Using advanced search functions with the click of a button you can find and create a long list of ideal prospects to connect with. Whether through a direct connection, introduction or group, you will have [...]

Blogging The Smart Way: An Interview With Jeff Bullas

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Jeff Bullas, a Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer and author of Blogging The Smart Way: A Complete Guide To Creating & Marketing A Killer Blog With Social Media, to discuss the state of social media marketing and the techniques that are helping businesses turn a profit in 2012 and beyond. Jeff Bullas is a consultant, coach, mentor, and speaker that works with companies and executives to optimize their online presence through branding with digital marketing and social media. His extremely popular blog at www.jeffbullas.com has over 250,000 regular readers and is ranked #46 in the AdAge Power 150, a ranking of the Internet’s best marketing blogs. Like many, Jeff believes content is the core of social media marketing and it’s obvious by the articles he puts out on a regular basis. For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you will notice me sharing Jeff’s articles consistently due to the high volume of quality content he puts out. The struggle for most business owners trying to get into social media is understanding what is important, what’s a waste of time and how much time and effort needs to be [...]

3 Critical Online Marketing Strategies For Professionals

The days of people looking for your business in the local phone book are almost over. Today everyone is turning to online searches when looking for a product or service they are in need of. There is no doubt in my mind when people ask me what are the top three most critical online marketing strategies for professionals. Professionals need tools that will have them quickly and easily showing up in online search results while also positioning them an industry leader and experts. In a world where decisions are made in a few clicks, you need online marketing strategies that will have you being found and, in my opinion, these three are your best bet for your time and resources. Three Critical Online Marketing Strategies For Professionals 1.    LinkedIn Recent stats show LinkedIn is 4 times better for B2B lead generation than Facebook and Twitter but that’s not what I love most about it. When your profile is properly optimized to get you found, prospects can literally come directly to you with little work on your part. You must ensure your LinkedIn profile is well optimized for the search results to make sure you are found.  Once this is done [...]

Top 5 Social Media Mistakes You Need To Avoid

Everyone learns these new tools for communication at their own pace. Heck, it took me years to finally start text messaging. Aside from the occasional autocorrect slipup, mistakes through text messaging aren’t too detrimental but some social media mistakes can be deadly to your reputation and/or sales depending on the severity. There’s a saying we have in social media…what happens in Vegas, stays on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube! What I mean is, nobody forgets on the web and that can be a painful or blissful realization depending on how you play your cards online. Before one of your valuable customers holds a silent (or not so silent) grudge against you, make sure you aren’t making one of these 5 social media mistakes! Related: Why Tomorrow Is Too Late When It Comes To Social Media Training 1. Not Responding To Customer Tweets/Messages. Make sure you are regularly checking to see if you have messages from customers or prospects on your social media pages. People get pretty upset when they’re ignored, especially by companies that they give money to. Why can’t they just call or email you ask? This is 2012, that’s why. Things have changed ‘round here, partner! 2. Too Much [...]