Archive for August 29, 2011

29 Aug 2011
How to Grow Your Business • Internet Marketing • Marketing Perspectives

Listening to the Social Media Around You

Every marketing company worth their salt these days is touting the benefits of social media.  And we would be hard-pressed to find the owner of a company – large or small – that doesn’t recognize the benefits that social media offers.

But what we often find when we sit down to discuss social media with clients is that, while they understand they should be participating (and often already are in some form), they don’t have the slightest idea what to do once they join in the conversation.  They blog, they post, they update – but they rarely listen.

Listening in the social media-sphere can be difficult; even daunting.  But with a little practice and a lot of discipline, you’ll find that monitoring social media is absolutely crucial.  And well worth your time.

Here are 5 easy steps to your social media listening strategy:

  • Who is talking about you? And just as important – what are they saying when they talk about you?  How often do they talk about you?  A quick and simple Google search for your company, staff and products can offer a wealth of information.
  • What is going on with your competitors? You can easily learn what your competitors are up to through monitoring their social media efforts.  And a bonus: often you can build on their ideas (Be careful here – only use their ideas to spark ideas of your own.  You don’t want to be accused of copying what they do!)
  • What are your own people saying? In any company that has a staff of more than one person, it is vital that you stay on top of what is being said.  Again, caution is necessary as you don’t want to be controlling.  But remember, each time an employee speaks, they are speaking for your company.
  • What new products are available? By “listening” to social media often, you can get a firm grasp of new products, thoughts and ideas that would impact you.  Being an early adopter of new ideas and products in your market set you up as a thought-leader and expert.
  • What return can you get from your investment of time and energy? There are very few actions in your company that you perform on a regular basis without knowing the return you get on them.  Social media monitoring should be no different.  With some careful attention to detail, you should be able to see what benefit monitoring has on your business.

If you are participating in social media, but have no real answer to any of these questions, then you aren’t receiving the full benefits that social media has to offer.

In your excitement to dive into the waters of social media, don’t forget to constantly be evaluating, monitoring and listening for the benefits.  It will give you much-needed direction as you chart waters that may feel unknown to you.

Melanie Bowman | No comments
26 Aug 2011
Marketing Perspectives

PR & Inbound Marketing – A Perfect Fit

Yesterday I had a wonderful conversation with highly successful PR guru, Todd Brabender of “Spread the News PR, Inc.” (website). Todd is a master at taking interesting or unusual products, services and companies and generating wild media buzz. Todd himself has been featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal (article here).

Todd and I hit it off and I think we might be on to something here. Todd generates massive buzz – which translated is “interest” – in a company or what it offers. That buzz results in curiosity that leads to a Google search and/or a visit to the website.

It’s kind of like those giant spotlights that are blasted into the sky when a store has a grand opening. We’ve all seen those and wondered where they originated – and if we were missing out on something really good by not investigating. That’s what Todd does. He gets the wildest, brightest, coolest spotlight to shine in the sky for a business.

But what happens if you do make the drive and find the origination of the spotlight and there is nothing special going on – no reason to stop and get out? While the spotlight was wildly successful, much of the opportunity has been lost.

Most businesses with a spotlight will have a lot of activity at the point of origination: plenty of parking, balloons, coupons, live music, etc. It causes the curious driver-by to say, “Hmmm, let’s stop and see what else is going on!”

This is where our expertise comes in. If Todd specializes in putting the perfect spotlight into the air, we specialize in getting people to stop their cars and get out.

If you are looking at doing a PR campaign, be sure you don’t waste your opportunity! When “the buzz” starts to happen, be sure that you have everything in place to capture those qualified leads, and then nurture them into customers!

Preston Bowman | No comments
22 Aug 2011
How to Grow Your Business • Internet Marketing • Marketing Kansas City • Marketing Perspectives

Web 2.0 – The Heart of Inbound Marketing

Do you remember when the first internet sites hit the scene?  They were static, mostly text, and pretty much looked like an ugly brochure.

Then the graphic designers jumped on the bandwagon, and sites began to look better, use flash, and even music (remember the old “midi files” that used to blare from your speakers, with no hope of shutting it off?).  Still, though, websites were just a splashier version of the company brochure.  And while absolutely everyone needed a website, it really didn’t do much more than just sit out there and get a hit once in awhile.  We have even learned the science of driving traffic to our website – but once there, who knew if that ever resulted in actual sales?

Welcome to the age of Web 2.0 – the age when your website can do so much more for your company!  The entire reason for your website to exist has now changed to a finely-tuned marketing tool.  One where the focus has shifted from simply stating your marketing message, to information or offers that provide customer value.

By providing valuable content across the board, in blogs and social media sites, in advertising, and throughout your Web site, your online presence becomes an asset to your community of followers who become loyal to your brand and are far more likely to purchase your products and services.

Following are some guidelines to help you format a new strategy to fully harness the power of the web in your business:

1. Learn the needs of your customers.  Then fill those needs. By finding out what people are talking about, and thus, what their needs are, you set yourself in a prime position to be the one that meets those needs.  “Listen” regularly to blogs, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  You’ll be amazed at what you learn.  Once you enter the discussion, you build relationships.  Once relationships are established,  they often lead to trust.  Trust often leads to sales.

2.  Don’t “toot your own horn” too loudly. People have gotten smarter over the years and they really don’t like to be blatantly sold to.  By helpfully participating in conversation, you are setting yourself up as the expert.  People learn quickly to trust what you have to say because it is helpful, and not because you are selling them the solution.  That comes later as they seek you!

3.  Check, re-check, and then check again. As you participate in more and more conversations by offering helpful thoughts, make sure that what you offer is factual, and can be backed up by other sources.  It is easy to get into a conversation and make statements that turn out to be less than factual (it can happen to even the most well-intentioned person).  If you can, link your sources to back up your claims.  This has an additional benefit – those quality links will work wonders for your SEO.

The real power of Inbound Marketing lies in the power of the referral. If you become a trusted resource, providing valuable, timely, accurate information, your reputation will spread and your business will grow.

 

Melanie Bowman | No comments
10 Aug 2011
Marketing Perspectives

London Riots and the Use of Social Media

We have been watching the news coming out of London these past few days with heavy hearts. Many people have been affected in such a dramatic way by the riots, looting and all-out rampage that has been taking place.

And while I am certainly no expert on the causes and triggers of these riots, it does appear that they are simply violence for the sake of violence.

However, I have noticed something incredibly interesting about these riots – something that has caused them to be vastly different from anything London has ever experienced before (although it is not stranger to rioting). 

Social Media has played a tremendous part in the success of the rioters.  Steve Kavanaugh, the deptuy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said that “inflammatory” and “inaccurate” messages on various social media platforms have helped fuel the riots.  But on the positive side, these same platforms have been a huge help in coordinating help and clean-up.

Let’s take a look at how some of the major social media players have had such a huge impact this week:

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Twitter:

Twitter set itself up during the recent Egyptian uprising as the “medium of revolution.”  According to the BBC, a “number of politicians, media commentators and members of the police force have suggested that Twitter …. had a role to play (in the riots).”  Would-be rioters have spent the past several nights following in real-time tweets the exact whereabouts of the police, as well as other rioters.  It has enabled them to stay ahead of the police – and to meet in places where the police were absent.

But in start contrast, Twitter has now been extremely useful in aiding victims of the riots.  Such hashtags as #LondonRiots and #riotcleanup have allowed people to easily be involved in the clean-up and restoration efforts now underway.

Facebook

There are currently two primary Facebook pages out there that have been created in support of Metropolitan police.  Supporting the Met Police against the London rioters currently has over 932,000 likes (and that number is rising by the minute).  According to the information page, it is “For those that support the Met police against these petty thieves and vandals costing us tax payers even more with their mindless vandalism and theft.”

Post Riot Cleanup: Let’s help London currently has over 19,000 likes and is primarily used for possible clean-up meet-ups.

Flickr and Google Groups

London rioters might want to beware – these sites have been set up as a sort of “modern policing”.  The Metropolitan police have set up a Flickr account with the aim of investigating the riots through identifying and naming suspects.

And a Google group called London Riots Facial Recognition was created with the aim of using facial recognition technologies to identify the looters who appear in online photos.

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All-in-all, I believe that we have seen a vast shift in the way our world reacts to events such as riots.  Add to these tools the almost real-time constant reporting of riots, and our world is certainly a small, highly-informed planet.

Melanie Bowman | No comments
05 Aug 2011
Just Interesting

Addicted to the Internet

Today, I’ll digress a little from the topics we usually cover to simply ask you: Are you addicted to the Internet?

Be careful how quickly you answer – and maybe consider the 30 day challenge to refrain from any Internet access after 8:00 pm.  That means no smartphones or iPads either!

Preston Bowman | No comments
04 Aug 2011
How to Grow Your Business • Marketing Perspectives

Why Blog? – Part 4 The Careful Creation of Content Marketing

Today I am wrapping up this 4-part series on the importance of blogging. We have successfully walked through the SEO Benefits of Blogging (Part 1), the Ability to Connect with Buyer Personas (Part 2), and the Increased Sales that Blogging can Provide (Part 3).  But I needed that final idea to share that shows the overall benefits blogging can provide.

As I was mulling over how to pull my final thoughts together on the importance of blogging, I ran across this video by Seth Godin and Tom Peters.  What better way for me to conclude than with the words of some of the most innovative thought-leaders in the industry!  I may not be great – but I can certainly stand on the shoulders of those who are great!

Be sure and catch what Tom Peters says at the 1:04 mark – it is astounding.

“No single thing in the last 15 years, professionally, has been more important to my life than blogging.”   – Tom Peters

Happy Blogging!

Melanie Bowman
Stone Creek Consulting

Melanie Bowman | No comments