3 STRATEGIC SOCIAL MEDIA MOVES TO SUCCESSFULLY MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

Over the past several years, social media marketing has become not only more sophisticated in itself, but integral to the success of the more sophisticated business. More and more businesses are becoming familiar with and are better understanding social media.  They are learning how to best leverage online resources to create networks and recognize that interaction and engagement are key with respect to social media marketing.  But, in order to take it to the next steps, it’s crucial that you implement more advanced social media strategies for your business!

So, you’re already aware of how to create an online presence and you already have an online community in place.  Now what?  Here are a couple of progressive social media marketing strategies shared by technology strategist, Samir Balwani, that will be sure to further enhance your business’s bottom line:

1. Include plenty of Photos & Video in your Message – You’ve heard the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words”?  So true!  People are using the Internet prolifically to garner information on products and services, and that includes your customers and prospects.  They want to read all about what your business has to offer, but they also want to see photographs or videos depicting this information.  People are very visual creatures.  And, nothing completes your social networking profiles more than some visual aids.

2. Adjust Your Message to Fit the Platform – Within your social media campaign, you are no doubt making use of several of the different platforms at your disposal, namely: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Blogging.  It’s important, however, to ensure that, rather than deliver an identical message over the multiple platforms, you try to tailor your communication to each individual site.  Certain information and how it’s presented on your blog might be considered “spammy” on Facebook.  It’s crucial to customize each message to each site to ensure that your messages spread optimally.  And, customizing your messages on each site also saves your network of customers and potential customers from receiving the same communication over and over again.  You can effectively maximize your business’s potential by sending out messages customized to each social media platform.

3. Implement Strategic Sales Tactics – Strategic sales tactics can include offering discounts and conducting contests through your social media platforms.  You can effectively drive business by generating some excitement within your online community and discounts & contests are a great way to do this.  If you conduct a contest, for example, that requires those in your network to share virally with their networks (i.e. whoever garners the most comments or “likes”, etc., wins), your contest is sure to go viral and guess what that means for you and your brand!  And, don’t forget to give out exclusive discount coupons to your community.  In doing so, you’re literally rewarding existing and future customers, not to mention reiterating to them that you are a brand to engage with as well as a brand to buy from or do business with.

To learn more about strategic social media marketing, join one of our Social Media for Business workshops where we’ll teach you everything you need to know to enhance your social networking experience.  For a schedule of workshops in your area, please visit: http://www.escomputertraining.com/courses/details/industry/2/course/20 

See you there!

Fascinating Insights into Social Media

As a business professional, it’s imperative that you gain insight over your competitors with respect to trends and consumer habits & behavior.  If your target demographic is the over 30 set, you need to know where they can be found online.  If you want to reach over 50’s, it’s important that you find out if they’re mostly on Facebook or on Twitter.

A solid understanding of social networking and how it’s being used by consumers is powerful information to have in terms of increasing sales and improving consumer engagement.  As social media blogger, Jeff Bullas puts it:  “If social media was a horse race then you might as well put down the glasses as the race has been won. The dominance of Facebook is well known but it is the scale of its growth, market share and time it takes from its users is what is intriguing.”

A May 2011 study conducted by Neilson found several interesting facts – here a few of them –some you would expect and some that might surprise you:

1. Facebook dominates time spent online by a ratio of greater than three to one as compared with Yahoo (Facebook’s closest web brand competitor).

2. People spend a great majority of their time on social networks, including blogs – 22.5% of their time, in fact – twice as much time as they spend on online games (which came second) at 9.8%.

3. Females, ages 18 to 34, are the most frequent visitors to social networking sites, including blogs; however, males are also frequent users of the sites as well as all other age groups.

4. But, males tend to use LinkedIn more frequently than females and Internet users with post-graduate degrees are three times more likely to visit LinkedIn compared with the average user.

5. Facebook, according to Neilson this past May, was the top site visited by unique users at 140,336 million, with Blogger in second place at 50,055 million.  The rest of the list is as follows:

• Twitter (23.617 million)
• WordPress (22.417 million)
• MySpace (19.25 million)
• LinkedIn (17.786 million)
• Tumblr (11.87 million)
• Six Apart Typepad (8.578 million)
• Yahoo Pulse (8.397 million)
• Wikia (7.601 million)

6.  Social media is becoming more and more aggressively mobile.  With the advent of smartphones, social media use has become a most used mobile feature, second only to downloading & playing music.

7. With respect to smartphones, social networking apps, growing at 30%, ranked third in terms of most used, with Facebook ranking as the most popular app amongst all mobile operating systems.

8. The most aggressive growth of social media use on smartphones is the over 55’s with 109% growth.  The 35-54 age group growth rate holds at 68% year on year and 18-34 year olds are rising in numbers of visits to social media sites on their mobile devices by 61%.

9. Social media networks afford the influential a platform within which to relay their ideas and the influence of peers on these platforms can certainly propel increased sales.  Fifty-three percent of active social media users follow a brand.

10. Tumblr, a social networking site that incorporates elements of both blogging and Twitter, is now the eighth largest social network and tripled its audience in a 12 month period.

By studying trends in social media, you can become so much more in tune with the audience you want to target.  So, get on, get connected and start growing your business with social media.  We can show you how to make the most of your social networking experience through our full-day, hands-on workshop, Social Networking for Business.  For a schedule of workshops in your area, please visit:  http://www.escomputertraining.com/courses/details/industry/2/course/20

ANOTHER REASON YOU GOTTA’ LOVE FACEBOOK?

I think I can count on one hand the number of people I know who are not ‘on’ Facebook.  My kids love it and I can’t pull them off the computer.  All of my business associates and colleagues have accounts and, of course, Facebook business pages.  And, I, along with most people today, am aware of all of the advantages to Facebook, both personally and professionally.  But, what I didn’t know until just last week (courtesy of an article posted on thestar.com), is that the more Facebook friends you have, the more brain tissue you apparently have! 

A study conducted by British researchers with results published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, has found a correlation between the number of Facebook connections one has and the quantity of brain tissue (that’s responsible for processing signals) that one possesses!

There is clearly plenty of research taking place out there with respect to social networking and the human mind and it all sounds extremely fascinating.  Although Geraint Rees, a senior clinical research fellow at University College London (and the gentlemen who led this particular British study), maintains that they are not yet sure as to whether or not more brain tissue is necessarily a good thing – he does maintain that changes in grey matter is evident in many situations. 

Research along the same lines has been performed at Northeastern University in Boston and it was concluded there that there exists, with respect to adults, a correlation between the size of the amygdala (the portion of the brain that is pertinent to many of our emotions and the processing of these emotions, as well as our memory and motivations) and complexity of social networks.  Very interesting stuff!!!

While I would never be presumptuous enough to draw my own conclusions (especially since there obviously needs to be some more research conducted on this subject), I do wonder if it could be at all possible that there’s a link between our social networking habits and our brain power??  Does beg the question, doesn’t it?   The conclusion to the article cites that the necessity of further research is clear to fully comprehend the relationship between the number of social connections and the amount of grey matter one has.

Can’t wait to learn more – and I’ll be sure to post some follow up material as soon as I become informed!

Want to learn more about how Facebook can benefit your business?  Why not join one of our hands-on workshops and we’ll teach you all you need to know!  For a schedule of workshops in your area, please visit:  http://www.escomputertraining.com/courses/details/industry/2/course/20

GET NOTICED WITH A "LIKEABLE" FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGE!

The concept is very simple – if you want people to “like” your Facebook business page, it has to be likeable!  It isn’t just enough to set up your page and hope for people to notice it – it does take some time and an ongoing commitment to optimize the page and maintain its optimization.  The beauty of social media, and in particular, Facebook, is that it offers you an opportunity not only to get people interested in your products and services, but also to build consistent relationships with your network – the people who are interested enough to visit your page.

Here are a few tips that are sure to help your business’ page become more likeable:

1. Keep it Cohesive:  Try to keep your Facebook page as organized as possible.  You want it to look clean and be cohesive, so that people are not left wondering what it is you’re offering them.  If it’s disorganized, people will not “Like” it and will not be returning to check it out again.  Spend some time on it and optimize it to its full potential.

2. Keep it Engaging:  Part of keeping your page organized and cohesive, is keeping it up-to-date with fresh, quality content on a regular basis.  Ensure that your content is informative, enlightening and helpful, but also change it up a bit sometimes.  Each and every post does not have to be business related.  Remember, it’s called ‘social’ media for a reason – try to display your human, personable side as well and post some jokes, humorous anecdotes or inspirational quotes.  The idea is to engage your network – consistently engage and entertain – forget the hard sell – no one responds well to that.

3. Offer Deals & Incentives:  Why not offer incentives to your loyal supporters as well as to entice new traffic to your Facebook page.  You could offer special deals or rates to repeat viewers and those who are your constant supporters.  Reward ‘new’ people just for visiting your page and you’ll see how many of them will be clicking that “Like” button!  And, ten to one, they’ll want to share your Facebook page with their network of friends.  Everyone likes to get a great deal!

4. Leverage all of your Social Networking sites:  Make use of your other social networks as a means of promoting and enhancing your Facebook page.  Another wonderful thing about social media is that they are highly interactive.  If you have a Twitter account, for example (and you definitely should!!), use it to the max to promote your Facebook page.  Tweet about those special deals you’re offering and ensure that you include a link to your Facebook page.  If you have a blog (again, you definitely should!!), reiterate what you post on Facebook within your blog posts and vice versa – drive some serious attention to your blog by sharing engaging comments about your blog posts on Facebook.  And, don’t forget to include the links so it’s easy for people to find you!

5. Encourage “Fans” to “Like” & “Share”:  A gentle reminder to the “fans” in your network to click on the “Like” button (or to “share” your info with their friends) never hurts.  Go ahead and post reminders on your status updates – it’s so simple for people to do it and it’s amazing how far-reaching your message can become when your fans click that little “Share” button.  More sharing = more “Likes”!

A likeable Facebook business page that everyone is clamoring to visit is a rewarding accomplishment for you and your business.  It’s also a most attainable objective.  If you can spare minimal time each day or even every couple of days to maintain your page’s optimization, your Facebook page will be your business’ most valuable asset! 

Need help getting started?  Join one of our Social Networking for Business workshops and we’ll teach you all you need to know to create a likeable Facebook business page and get noticed!

For a schedule of workshops in your area, please visit:  http://www.escomputertraining.com/courses/details/industry/2/course/20

ARE THE DAYS OF THE BUSINESS CARD OVER?

Doomsday, it seems, is on its way for the business card.  It looks like the day will be arriving when the business card and the rolodex will become completely obsolete.  It’s already starting.  In our office, half of the 20 something’s surveyed do not know what a rolodex is! Will the next generation wonder what the heck those little rectangular pieces of cardboard actually are?

With the world becoming a much greener place and the advent of Smartphones and social networking, there really is no place on earth anymore for the once coveted and much-traded business card.  The more technically savvy of us are already making use of digital solutions, which are emerging more prolifically with each day that passes.

An example of this technology is Bump, the new app-du-jour and an amazing little feature that enables users to share contact information, files and even photos by simply ‘bumping’ their iPhones or Android phones together.

Another buzz-generating app is Hashable, a service that allows users to post, chart and share connections that they make with other people.  This service can furthermore be used to make introductions remotely and can update what is known as a ‘relationship book’ with every new person tagged.

These represent only a glimpse of the solutions currently being initiated – there are and will continue to be numerous others that will perhaps one day render the business card extinct.  And that, in turn, will leave the planet a much greener place!

Social networking is one very effective and easy method of contact management – no business cards required.  Why not join one of our Social Networking for Business workshops and we’ll show you how to efficiently manage your contacts and customers using a platform that is literally at your fingertips.  For a schedule of workshops in your area, please visit:

http://www.escomputertraining.com/courses/details/industry/2/course/20