Where to Focus Your Business's Ad Dollars in the New Year

The Internet is settling in and getting all comfortable in its new role as the reliable, go-to source for people looking for news and information about local businesses, especially restaurants and bars. marketing on social media Newspapers -- in printed form on the doorstep or newsstand, or on newspaper websites -- also register as good sources for information about small businesses, as does word of mouth. These were the major findings contained within a 30-page report released this week by the folks at Pew Research Center called "Where People Get Information About Restaurants and Other Local Businesses." And if there were any doubts remaining about the impact of the Internet on businesses, this survey should quash them. More than half of the survey respondents report that they rely on online sources to obtain details about a restaurant or bar. That compares to the roughly one third of consumers who turn to the newspaper for such information. And another quarter of respondents said they listen to those around them to garner details about an eatery or a social club. Bringing up the rear is local television (either broadcasts or the station's website) at 8 percent.Pew's findings offer a wealth of information for entrepreneurs and small business owners, especially during the gift-buying season. Small business owners and merchants need to know where to advertise to generate more business, and this report points directly to the Internet, as well as newspapers and word-of-mouth.And looking ahead, business owners should be studying these figures to determine where their fiscal year 2012 advertising dollars are going to be spent.social media marketing campaign Aligning your marketing budget with an eye on where the consumer is turning for recommendations and information on products and services just makes sense.Of those who rely on the Internet for details on restaurants, bars and local businesses, 38 percent said they turn to search engines, with another 17 percent signing on to specialty websites, says the Pew survey. Perhaps most surprising finding is that only three percent turn to social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter.

Loyal customers are your best channel to new business

A lot of marketing energy is spent on branching out to find new customers. That's fantastic and necessary. What 2011 showed us, though, is that a loyal customer is still your best customer and ultimately your least expensive path to new customers. social media marketing degree Loyal customers are more likely to engage with you and your brand community -- and connect you to their networks on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social destinations.Your raving fans share your enthusiasm when they "like" your page, retweet your post or click the social share button on your e-newsletter. Happy customers make word-of-mouth referrals to their friends and networks and share kudos on review sites and in local online business directories. The social engagement of your happy customers is visible to their connections and to prospects visiting your social sites. Your best customers will help bring you more customers, so don’t forget to engage them as you seek new business via social media channels. Then, get involved in the conversation and politely ask customers to rate and share their opinions of your business.A CRM (customer relationship management) database is usually used to track people's purchasing behavior. But don't forget that your customers share other information about their lives that you can monitor on social media sites.Thanks largely to rapidly expanding mobile Internet access, more people will go online in 2012 than ever before. Language translation technology such as WordLens also is making it easier for people to read a website, email or advertisement in their own language.To make your online business more global, first see which countries you are already attracting visitors from and use them as a test audience. social media marketing los angeles Then, create some products or services that meet the needs of your international audience and use the test results to expand to other countries.Take time each week in 2012 to monitor customers and record any useful information in your database. For example, if you notice customers talking about summer vacation plans on Facebook, then it might be a great time to offer a promotion involving summer vacations.

Social participation fuels your marketing

It may sounds backwards, but smaller scale is actually a big advantage in the world of social media. Unlike big companies, small businesses can directly engage with each and every commenter on social media. social media marketing strategy template Use your small scale to your advantage.Participate in conversations with your customers. Start conversations on social destinations and jump in to fan the flames of the liveliest ones.Respond personally to customers' questions, comments, complaints and compliments. Keep people talking and give 'em something to talk about.Social isn't passive. Include a "social call to action" that inspires your followers to share your post or click through to your website or blog. Everything should end with a request for participation, whether it's asking visitors for a comment, photo or story, or inviting them to click to join the conversation elsewhere.Authenticity typically comes very naturally to small businesses, so use it to your advantage. While tools make it easy to update your social pages, don't automate too much. Customers can tell when a Twitter feed or Facebook page is on permanent autopilot. Engage your social media audience one on one. They want to know a real person is listening -- and responding.Services such as ShopKick and Foursquare let people opt in to receive promotions on their mobile phones from nearby vendors. Consumers can allow the use of location detection technology on their phones or check in to a physical location with their phones.Many people are still warming to the idea of enabling location detection on their phones. Still, testing proximity marketing in 2012 could help prepare you to reach tech-savvy shoppers in the years to come. social media marketing resume If you have enough customers to have a business, then some are probably reviewing and chatting about you online. To get a positive review or referral, you have to earn it. That's why it's known as "social earned media."Use a social-media monitoring tools such as Trackur or Google Alerts to find out what people are saying when they mention your company or products.

New Tools Make it Easier to Build a Facebook Fan Page

There's nothing tiny about the power of a short stack--or of the DIY Facebook page builder ShortStack. Both the pancake order and its namesake company deliver results that won't devour your budget. social media marketing firm The programmers behind ShortStack specialized in building Facebook apps before deciding to focus on a DIY service for business users. "We saw an opportunity for Joe from Joe's Pizza to use this thing and make himself his own Facebook page," says Jim Belosic, ShortStack's CEO and co-founder. "It's kind of like WordPress for Facebook. "Graphic designer John Kwon started using the tool when it was in its beta version last October. While he had little coding experience, within a month he was able to start developing Facebook pages for his clients--a service that's added 30 percent to the annual revenue of his Lomita, Calif.-based social media branding, design and marketing firm, Social Mediarts."It's even brought in clients who are social media marketers themselves," he says. "We do the design and hand it off to them to run with. This is something I never would have been able to offer."ShortStack users can develop an unlimited number of custom tabs with themed content and, with more than two dozen widgets on tap, add Flash content, Google Maps, polls and product suggestions. Businesses can also offer browsers extra incentive to "like" their page by serving up just-for-fans content once they click on through. Because the ShortStack team is completely focused on all things Facebook, they also keep up-to-date on the latest terms of service, making it easy to launch a contest or sweepstakes that won't get Facebook staffers' knickers in a twist. Contest information is not submitted to Facebook, social media marketing firms but to the sponsoring company via the form, and notifications must be made outside of Facebook's communication channels. ShortStack also allows users to program content to refresh pages regularly. While ShortStack counts major brands including Volvo and Samsung among its clients, the service's easy-to-use interface and low price were designed to attract smaller businesses, Belosic says.

Three-Screen Marketing

In 2012 and beyond, expect attention to your advertising to shift as people in front of televisions frequently -- and simultaneously -- reach for two additional screens: tablets and smartphones. social media marketing books Next year, advertise on television screens and invite viewers to pick up one of the other two screens to get involved in your promotion. Advertise on the portable tablet screen with emails, videos and social media. And advertise on the mobile phone screen using loyalty apps that track purchases or promotions that involve the phone at the physical point of sale.That community has grown with him from Loveline to The Man Show and Crank Yankers. When his syndicated daily radio show ended in 2009, he stumbled into the podcasting world and relaunched The Adam Carolla Show. Since then, his audience has only grown larger -- pushing his podcast to No. 1 in the world with more than 70 million downloads last year. His fans also helped him win 2011's Guinness World Record for Most Downloaded Podcast in the World.How does the on-air personality and entrepreneur keep people engaged and wanting more? Here's his advice: "Post content regularly.""I try and always do a podcast five times a week," Carolla told me. "I've never really broken this down before, but, in movies, you almost have no connection to fans. And if you do TV, you're kind of connected, but they know you as the TV name not your real name. If you do radio, there's more of a bond there. And then if you do a podcast it's like you're literally inside of your fans."If you can, within your company's policies and within reason, do what the customer says will make him or her happy, do it. social media in marketing We understand there will be instances when a customer request is either beyond your individual power to enact or is just unreasonable. But putting out the flames of a detractor's fire quickly and sufficiently is the best way to turn that detractor into a fan. Or at least someone who isn't flaming you anymore.

Local Online Marketing

If you want to reach prospective customers in Denver, for example, would you consider advertising in the Los Angeles Times? You would if you realize that the publisher can display your local advertising to Denver small business social media marketing residents who find the article in an Internet search.So try some locally-targeted ads in national publications in 2012 and make sure they contain locally-relevant messages.But another set of figures is probably of more interest to entrepreneurs and small business owners who don't run restaurants or social establishments. These are survey results that exclude dining venues and taverns. Of the two thirds of adults who say they seek news and information about local stores, shops and services, nearly half of them say they rely on the Internet. Within that group, 36 percent rely on search engines, 16 percent turn to specialty websites and 1 percent say they find businesses on social-media sites. Another 22 percent rely on recommendations from friends and family, and another 8 percent turn on local television broadcasts or look up websites of local stations.If you've exhausted all reasonable means of addressing the customer's issue and he or she still insists on unreasonable responses or refuses to quiet his or her claims, it's OK to step away. By politely offering the solution again and informing the customer that this is truly all you can do and you are happy to do so, but you have to move on to other customer issues.The great news is that if you and your team decide you've been fair, honest, and reasonable with the customer, social media marketing plan sample but he or she is being unreasonable, the rest of the audience watching the conversation will think that person is being unreasonable, too.The social networking community is a fragile, collaborative ecosystem. Make the commitment. People will follow a trail of dependable, exciting, instructive news. But once the trail goes cold, they’re gone and likely never to return.

Trends for Online Marketers in Social Media

Because I'm on a lot of airplanes, I've noticed that marketing trends are a lot like air travel. Some trends are ready for takeoff while others need time for more passengers to get on board. social media marketing consultant This list features my top 10 marketing trends, with advice to help you determine if the trend is "ready for takeoff" and worthy of your time and money now, or "still boarding" and better for you to just test out.This will be a year of bargain hunting because the economy is still recovering and consumers have more price-checking tools at their fingertips.So use your marketing to attract shoppers with unbeatable deals. Then seek profits by generating repeat sales and referrals from your new customers. Also, be ready to respond with instant price reductions or other incentives when shoppers use mobile devices to compare retailers' prices.I like to call 2011 "The Year of Social Media." Small businesses, franchises, nonprofits and entrepreneurs all got into the social-media game -- throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what stuck. To many, it probably seemed a chaotic mess of apps and gadgets flooding the market. Businesses had a lot of options to try to connect with customers, and some clear lessons emerged from the chaos.A recent Nielsen report suggests that word-of-mouth endorsement is critical: 78 percent of consumers said they trust recommendations from other consumers, while only 14 percent trust advertising. We trust consumer review even if we don’t know the reviewer. That review or recommendation gets even more weight when it comes from our colleagues, social media marketing ideas friends or family.Social media have given consumers a platform and unprecedented market clout. Just look at the big businesses that did 180-degree turnarounds in 2011, when customers took to social media to complain about changes. Bank of America and Netflix are dramatic examples. One voice starts a ripple, which can swell into a social-media tidal wave.

Mobile Pull Marketing

Mobile pull marketing means giving consumers ways to interact with your advertising over mobile devices, and pulling them closer to a purchase decision.To use mobile pull marketing, social media marketing packages combine a call-to-action with traditional advertising. For example, ask customers to retrieve a coupon by texting a keyword to a short code or by taking a picture of the coupon in a print publication.Indianapolis-based branding and design firm Brainstorm suggests that you might consider tastefully embedding a logo or other watermark in the corner of your photos and encourage other content creators to use them in their own digital work. Reviews, opinions and recommendations -- good and bad -- matter. Mobile apps have enabled consumers to check out a restaurant or retail store before buying and post reviews on the fly. Be sure you know what customers are saying about you online and correct any problems before a dissatisfied grumble erupts into a frustrated scream.On the flip side, your loyal customers are your best brand evangelists. Thank them for any positive comments they make about your business on social media. Invite customers to share positive feelings about your products or services. At the end of the day, your customer experience is the anchor of your social experience.There's a lot of trial and error in social media. Sometimes the social content we think will generate the most response gets none; other things we post spark unexpected discussions. To be more successful, businesses should measure their results and build on what works. In addition to analyzing your email marketing data and surveying your customers, social media marketing proposal keep track of the number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers, campaigns that generate the most buzz, and the content that inspires social sharing, comments and retweets.Hopefully, you tried new a few new things in 2011 and gained some insights from your experiences. Next year, successful marketers will integrate their social, local, mobile and promotional campaigns. Look for more on how to do that here.

Mobile Push Marketing

Mobile push marketing means sending promotional messages through texts and voice calls.It's still relatively expensive for small businesses to become bulk senders of texts and voice calls. social media marketing for dummies Instead, invest in your email list. Emails are much less expensive than texts and can contain unlimited content.For example, I like the way Dr. David Reath, a Knoxville, Tenn., plastic surgeon, created an e-book called A Girlfriend's Guide to Breast Augmentation. It's helpful and (for the right person) informative, whether you intend to visit Dr. Reath or not. He offers it as a free download from his site and encourages readers to pass it around to friends--even the title encourages that. On his blog, he writes, "Whether you end up choosing Dr. David Reath in Knoxville, another board-certified plastic surgeon or decide a breast augmentation isn't for you, we think the pages in this guide will be super helpful."When you upload any video, audio or photograph to the web, be sure your settings allow the sharing of that content. Licensing from Creative Commons allows you to clearly set the terms for what others can and cannot do with your content, in addition to sharing it. (For instance, will you allow others to use your material for corporate brochures, with attribution?)He knows what he stands for and goes for it. What every brand or entrepreneur alike can learn from Carolla is the ability to find that authentic voice and embrace it. Don't second guess who you are and why you're doing what you're doing. Your community will find you and you will find your community. For years, people would ask Dr. Drew and me: What's the key to what you guys do? What's the hook? Why is this format so successful? social media marketing definition I'd go you're looking at them. You get rid of us then you just have two people answering questions," says Carolla. "The thing about a good podcast is you have to have a good host. If you don't have a compelling host then you have nothing." The same is true for entrepreneurs. You are as important -- if not more so -- than your company's products or services.

How to Increase Social Sharing to Generate More Leads

Why do you e-mail articles to friends? Or "like" a link on Facebook? Or retweet a post on Twitter?Content that triggers an emotional response is more likely to be shared, according to a recent social media marketing training University of Pennsylvania study of the most e-mailed New York Times articles. What's more, "surprising" stories (like one about free-range chickens hanging out on the streets of New York) were also more likely to be passed along.But the most-shared articles are those that go beyond surprise to actual awe--or what the researchers defined as an "emotion of self-transcendence, a feeling of admiration and elevation in the face of something greater than self." In other words, people share the stuff that ignites a little spark in them.So what does that mean for you and your business? Why should you care about a kindergarten concept like sharing?Because a clear way to generate and nurture leads is to create content: a blog and maybe an e-book and a Twitter stream and so on. But it's pointless (and lonely!) to write a blog that gets no visitors and zero comments and, consequently, affords no traction for your lead-gen efforts.Websites that facilitate sharing generate seven times more mentions online than those that don't (see below). So how do you grease the sharing skids? How do you get folks to share your stuff online? Here are some ideas.Websites that display Twitter sharing buttons are linked to on Twitter nearly seven times more often than sites that do not display tweet buttons. Among the 10,000 largest websites, those that feature Twitter share buttons are, on average, mentioned in 27 tweets that contain a link back to the site, whereas those not featuring tweet buttons are mentioned, on average, social media marketing classes in only four tweets that contain a link back to the site.Create at least some winged content that can soar across the social web. Create things people want to share and that they'll find useful, helpful or just plain fun: branded e-books, white papers, audio or video downloads, infographics, PowerPoint slide decks, research charts, tools or photos.

Ask yourself: "Would I share this?"

It seems like a simple measure, doesn't it? To judge anything you produce--even a Facebook wall post or a simple tweet--on the criterion of whether you yourself would like, share or retweet it to your own network. social media marketing news And if you were to share it--would your network in turn share it? Because, ultimately, your goal is to reach not just your network--but your network's network.As my friend Scott Stratton says, people don't spread meh. In other words, people don't spread mediocrity. People spread great stuff. People spread stuff that inspires them to care. If you sell something that's not inherently interesting--like routers or lawn rakes--you might feel at a disadvantage here. But you shouldn't. See the next bullet point.Despite what you might have been taught in finishing school, having an opinion and expressing it in no uncertain terms is what will inspire others at an emotional level. So take a stand about something; become a linchpin for discussion around the topic.Part of the reason people share content is that it offers validation to those who share it: In another study the Times conducted with Latitude Research on the psychology of sharing, researchers found that 68 percent of respondents who share do so to give others a better sense of who the sharer is and what she or he cares about. Let your readers know where you are coming from, or how you feel about a topic. In other words, give them something to react to.How does someone who sells rakes do that? Well, maybe you have a point of view around the green aspect of lawn care--subtly underscoring the old-school, social media marketing network humble lawn rake as an alternative to those stinky, noisy leaf blowers. The bottom line is that even if you sell something that doesn't inspire emotion, you can nonetheless connect it to something meaningful in people's lives, and so foster a perspective or an attitude.Create things they'll want to pass around or embed on their own blogs or sites.

Make sharing as effortless as possible

It seems like a no-brainer to add social sharing icons for the top social media--Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and maybe Google+--to any content you publish online. marketing through social media (And by "social sharing icons" I mean those big icons you see around the web that count the number of Facebook or Twitter shares in real time and act as a sharing mechanism, so that sharing content becomes as easy as clicking.)But if it's so stupid-easy, why don't most sites do it? Only half of the largest 10,000 websites (or 53.6 percent) have at least one social link or plug-in installed, according to a recent study by SEO firm BrightEdge Technologies.Facebook and Twitter dominate the social real estate on the homepages of top sites: 50.3 percent of the largest 10,000 sites on the web display Facebook links or plug-ins, up from 49.5 percent one month earlier, while 42.5 percent include Twitter links, up from 42.4 percent.Pasting those buttons prominently onto your online content encourages sharing by making it easy, and it adds an element of social proof--validation--to whatever it is you're producing (Sixty-seven people shared this? It must be good!). You can use a catchall service like AddThis and ShareThis or blog plug-ins like Sociable to offer readers a kitchen sink of options, which is a tidy way to handle sharing. And, as new social networks emerge, the service will add those new platforms to the mix, so you won't have to.That said, I'm a proponent of offering only the buttons readers will actually use to share your content, especially since the visual call to action of individual buttons is usually more compelling--and less confusing. (Sharing services of the most popula social networks, social media marketing certification like Twitter and Facebook, will have buttons and code that you can grab and install on your own blog or site.)By the way, don't forget to embed sharing options on everything you produce--not just your blog. I'm talking about stand-alone content like e-books and white papers, as well as landing pages, graphics or infographics, customer success stories or case studies and more.

Tips for Using LinkedIn's New 'Endorsements'

In case you missed it, LinkedIn has a new feature called "Endorsements." It allows users to endorse skills or expertise of any members in their network including skills they haven't listed. social media marketing b2b This allows potential networking partners to quickly identify your strengths.So, how should you take advantage of this new feature? Before you send a mass email asking your entire network for endorsements, remember that networking first and foremost is about connecting people with value. Whether it's through your expertise, or someone's skill, your goal should always be to bring value to your network.It's no longer enough to just drive traffic to your website, you need to engage your web visitors and create an online journey that leads them quickly to the content they're searching for.LinkedIn understands the need to engage their members so they recently released an updated version of LinkedIn. The new site is dramatically different than the original version with a clean, easy-to-navigate interface. The new LinkedIn website focuses on engaging LinkedIn members which will keep them on the site longer and entice them to return more frequently.The second phase of the LinkedIn makeover is a redesigned version of Company Pages. This new version of Company Pages is a continuation of the site-wide redesign of LinkedIn simplifying LinkedIn's pillar products and creating streamlined experiences across all devices. The new Company Pages are designed to encourage interaction and engagement with the LinkedIn members.The new Company Pages have a sleek design and cleaner navigation based on feedback from LinkedIn members. social media marketing for small business You now have to ability to extend your brand by adding your corporate logo and a custom header at the top of your Company Page. The custom header is 646 x 220-pixels giving you plenty of room to promote your company. The new Company Pages also have a more prominent Follow button making it easier to grow your LinkedIn community.

Endorse others first and endorse fairly

Begin by endorsing your network first, before asking for endorsements from others. social media marketing job description By doing this, you'll equip others to see where their strengths lie. But this also means you have to be brutally honest.Don't just click on all the skills someone has listed. Really think about it and only highlight those areas of expertise you'd be willing to put your reputation on the line for. As a bonus, the people you endorse will be notified about your actions though LinkedIn, which means they may return the favor.The Updates section of the new Company Pages is longer, allowing visitors to your page to learn more about your company without having to scroll to the bottom and click on the See All Activity link. In the past, Updates were limited to just a few of the most recent posts and it was difficult for visitors to view older updates. The new design is also more engaging making it easier for visitors to Comment on posts. In the past, you had to click on the Comment link which opened a new comment window. Now the comment window is prominently displayed under each news item.One of the biggest changes in the Company Page redesign is moving the Products and Services tab from the navigation bar to the right sidebar. This change lets you prominently feature products and services above-the-fold on the home page instead of being hidden on an internal page. This change will give your products and services significantly more exposure to your LinkedIn community and encourage more interaction with your brand.We will continue to see additional updates to LinkedIn.com that make the site more engaging and interactive as they gather feedback from members. LinkedIn is growing rapidly and attracting your target audience. It's important for you to update your Company Page frequently to grow your LinkedIn Community and build a long-term relationship with your current customers. marketing and social media Greek yogurt producer Chobani has achieved an active cult following for its active cultures. The New Berlin, N.Y.-based company--which is approaching $1 billion in annual revenue after only seven years in business--has tapped into a highly effective marketing and social media strategy that has catapulted it to the top of its industry.

Keep it easy for your inner circle.

Everyone has a professional inner circle of about 10 to 20 people we can call at any time to ask for a small favor or advice. These are the people we should be approaching first, social media marketing salarybut it should be personal and easy.Send your inner circle a personal e-mail, or give them a call and ask if they've heard about the new endorsements feature on LinkedIn. Then let them know that you've already endorsed them (step No. 1) and you'd appreciate it if they could pick one or two skills of yours to endorse. Not everything -- just one or two. That's how you can keep it personal and easy.Chobani was started by Hamdi Ulukaya, who bemoaned a lack of what he considered high-quality yogurt in America when he emigrated from Turkey. The company claims its product--now sold in the U.S., Canada and Australia--accounts for 54 percent of the Greek yogurt segment. Additionally, it has earned the top spot for brand engagement among yogurt companies, according to market research firm SymphonyIRI Group, and boasts nearly 600,000 Facebook fans. (By comparison, food giants Nestlé and Green Giant have 570,000 and 400,000, respectively.) "We have built our brand around being transparent and very connected to the marketplace," says Nicki Briggs, who manages Chobani’s social media strategy.Chobani’s success can be attributed to both its creative handling of social media and its major efforts for brand exposure in the real world. Online, a team of five monitors digital communications and social media, making a point of responding to every consumer inquiry. "It’s about delivering the best experience possible every time," Briggs says. "We want to be warm and quirky, engaging and inviting.The company’s website posts scores of recipes and photos, social media marketing statistics spotlights devotees with its "featured blogger" series and lets customers share ideas via Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.Interestingly, the company’s analytics software has found that postings not directly related to Chobani result in the highest engagement levels.

Tips for Using Pinterest to Market Your Startup

Just because you ditched email for Facebook long ago or you were one of the first tweeters around doesn't mean you're not perplexed by Pinterest. top social media marketing companies You know what it is a social network that acts as an online bulletin board for your favorite images and maybe you already use it personally. But are you using it properly to promote your startup, that is?Using Pinterest as a marketing tool for businesses that sell products and services is a great way to boost traffic to a website and, more importantly, convert that traffic to sales. Despite that potential business bonanza, the various ways of using Pinterest for business aren't all effective to the same degree.Google Local helps you find "recommended places" such as restaurants and hotels near your geographic location. It provides Zagat scores and summaries plus the recommendations of people you know on Google+ and "top reviewers."This is the front door to playing games on Google+. You have control over when you see games, how you play them, and with whom you share your experiences.This enables you to add navigation buttons such as Pages, which provides links to the pages that you have created or have access to. There are more ways Google+ helps you find people to circle. You can search for people at any time by using the Google+ search area. When you find a person, Google+ also displays more people who might interest you.Hangouts is a killer feature of Google+ that enables you to have a video chat session with up to nine other people. Think of it as Skype on steroids.This kind of approach demonstrates you've taken the time to consider them specifically.It nearly goes without saying that you're doing this on no budget and on your own. To maximize your time spent on social media, you must first decide what your goals are.social media marketing training Otherwise, you'll be setting yourself up to really be wasting your time. The next step is to create a game plan, using your marketing calendar as a guide. Stick to it. It will help keep you organized, keep you from frittering away minutes that can add up to hours and help keep your content fresh on a regular basis.

Customize your chosen strategy

From these options, the “mavens” tend to receive the most clicks and re-pins and the best overall results, social media marketing classes while the showcasers received the fewest, according to a June study conducted by Pinsights, a Pinterest analytics provider.Does this mean that showcasers should start using the other people's images? Not necessarily. But it does show that instead of showing your company name and its wares, you might try to pin more than just your offerings alone.That's what big-brand mavens like Kate Spade do, according to Pinsights. On average, they pin over 50 images to two dozen different categories a week. Out of all of these pins, only 30 percent of the images belong to the brand.Monitor all interactions resolved and unresolved, and review how they played out. Did your team do everything it could to help that customer and win them over as a fan? You can use Events to plan and invite people to your parties, meetings, and Google+ hangouts. You create an invite, choose a theme picture, set a day and time, and invite people and circles of people.This takes you to photo collections, including those you and your friends have posted as well as photos you've been tagged in.You create circles in order to organize and filter who you interact with. You circle people unilaterally, without their permission, although they are notified that you circled them.Many brands who have been successful in Pinterest have also decided to integrate Twitter into their social profiles. When they pin something to Pinterest, they can send out a Tweet at the same time, therefore making the most of their time and maximizing their exposure.The last thing you want to do is send an e-mail blast to everyone on your list. A mass email asking for a favor is likely to feel like spam and be ignored.If you're going to send an e-mail to multiple recipients, social media marketing news try segmenting your network into different lists according to how you met them or what industry they're in. You can then write a personal e-mail to a specific group, telling them that their in your (fill in the blank) group of people and feel they best understand your expertise in (fill in the blank) and would appreciate an endorsement if they feel you deserve it.

Pin all-around likeable images

Because it's image-based, Pinterest has different rules of marketing than other social networks, which is why the maven strategy works best. Users think of re-pinning as identifying themselves with that photo, video, image, or infographic. social media marketing network It's not the same as re-tweeting through Twitter or liking something on Facebook. Consumers are more careful with being identified with images that are not what they believe in.This means that any company that wants a presence on Pinterest must use graphics that their customers can relate to. It's not about getting the products out there; it's about pinning something for others to identify with. If that can be achieved then more clicks and re-pins will follow.You can reply to a customer tweet from the main account, alerting him or her that you're aware of the issue and that the @Username will be contacting them (i.e @AcmeCustomerService). Your customer service account should follow that user, engage with him or her and sort out the issue.When you want to see what you've posted, click on this button. It will show you all your posts, and it's a good way to manually check for new comments on your posts. This will take you to a page that explains Google+ features as well as the posts that have the most comments and shares.It's often wise to direct message the user after you've made it clear in public that you're there to help -- both for the privacy of the customer and to avoid cluttering the timeline.It's best to get back to a comment or complaint within five minutes, when possible. The faster, the better.You also can enter keywords that describe your interests and passions, and Google+ will display relevant people, posts, people, and pages. When you find people who share your sensibilities, circle them so you may continue to read their posts. Then read the comments on their posts, which can also help you find people to circle.Identify the two or so social media sites that your customers use, and focus your efforts only on those. marketing through social mediaFigure out the kinds of posts that give you the most bang for the effort, and make the most of them.You mentioned HootSuite as a social-media management tool. This can help you schedule posts ahead of time and streamline your efforts. Others include TweetDeck and SproutSocial. You can also use the Facebook's own scheduling tool.

Tips for Using Social Media as a Customer Service Tool

In today's mobile first, social media obsessed world, many people would rather text or email someone than call them. Most people also prefer to get their news and other information online. social media marketing certification The same goes for customer service -- especially over social media.It started off as people going online to vent frustrations about bad service, canceled flights or products that they weren't happy with. But some savvy brands have realized that good can come from interacting with people who post complaints online. Every negative comment or customer service issue posted online is an amazing opportunity to wow people, provide incredible customer service and win new customers.Using social media as a customer service tool, and turning dissenters into advocates in a public way, can be fast, easy and accountable. As a consumer, you get heard by everyone and receive rapid service. As a brand, you can prove you care, go the extra mile and that you are listening. Before long, managing customer service over social media is going to become the standard expectation.Having defined the goals, how are you going to achieve them? What specifically do you want to do? An action plan must have specific concrete steps that need to be taken. For social media, that would be actions like setting up accounts, developing graphics for the different pages, defining what kinds of updates should be done, on which platform, and others. How many tweets are required? How many are too many? Do you post the same thing exactly on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn? What kind of content gets liked or retweeted? What's supposed to happen?Since Google can divert the river and owns the playing field, you may find it hard to avoid Google+. Sign up for a Google account that enables you to use all the Google products. Keep your name simple, social media marketing consultant which will make it easier for people to remember you and find your Google+ post.The next step is to find people to "circle." When you've circled approximately 50 people, Google+ gets really interesting. This process will only take a few minutes but will yield many hours of enlightenment, engagement, and enjoyment.

Let the customer know who they are engaging with

Humanize the experience by letting the customer know he or she is speaking with a real person. social media marketing ideas For example, "We are very sorry to hear about your experience. We will do whatever we can to help you. -- Scott L." Customers usually appreciate knowing they're dealing with a person who has a name, rather than a mystery person who's sending automated messages.Committees, groups, and meetings don't actually do anything for a real business. It takes people. So an action plan includes very clearly defined tasks and responsibilities. Who does what? Make that explicit. Beware of the dangers of having multiple people involved in a solution, without any one person committed to doing something. Develop commitment, not just involvement. Compare the role of the pig to the role of the chicken in the classic bacon-and-egg breakfast: The chicken is involved, the pig is committed.The social-media action plan should define who's doing what. Is it one person on Twitter and another on Facebook? Is one gathering and curating content and another watching complaints? Who does the messaging? Who develops blog posts? Spell it out.Google+ provides multiple options to get started. First, you can click on "Find people" to search for people you already know. Don't be disappointed if all your BFFs (best friends for life) aren't already on Google+; this is a chance to make new BFFs.Second, you can click on categories of people, such as "Entertainment" or "Fun & Interesting." Google compiled a list of "Picks" based on the fame and level of activity of the people. You can add these entire preselected circles or individual people.This will show if the person is active on Google+. social media marketing packages There's no sense following someone who isn't active because the purpose of circling a person is to generate interaction.People who share posts that generate more than 10 shares and more than 10 comments tend to be interesting.An easy way to check out a person is to use Chrome, Google's browser, and install a Chrome browser extension called "CircleCount."

Reply in a friendly and helpful manner

Let the customer know you are concerned and will do everything you can to help them. social media marketing proposal This is an opportunity to not only help someone but to win additional customers.And remember, never be aggressive, dismissive or mean. And don't try to hide or manipulate the issue. Social media is a public forum so everything you post can be seen by anyone.As the plan gets going, and business gets going, how will you know if your plan is even working? How will you judge performance? How will you compare your plan to your actual results in order to review and revise your plan?All of that takes establishing the measurement -- the numbers -- as you develop your plan. Don't worry about guessing the future correctly, because nobody does. Just make the assumptions logical and the guesses numerical, so you can test them when you're underway, and revise them as results come. Standard numbers for measuring social media could be traffic generated, tweets, updates, likes, retweets, increase in sales, orders for special deals, or even the interesting social-media measurements like Klout or peer index that combine numbers into theoretical measurement of influence or impact.The lack of a profile photo indicates that the person is clueless, a newbie, or a spammer. When there is a photo, you can infer a lot about the person. Lots of followers doesn't necessarily mean the person is worth circling, but it's a pretty good data point. There's usually a bad reason someone only has a handful of followers. Then, when you mouse-over a person's name, you'll see the follower history and the average number of shares and comments.Now that you've circled a few people, social media marketing for dummies it's time to explore how to navigate Google+. The nine buttons in the vertical navigation ribbon on the left side of the page are the primary ways to navigate Google+ itself. On Google+, home is where the "stream" is. This button displays your "stream" of what the people you follow have posted. Think of Home as your "news feed."