Sazbean

Software Development Management

Main navigation

You are here: Home / Archives for internet marketing

internet marketing

/

11 Ways to use Social Media for your Business

socialseier

Now that you know a little more about what social media are, how do you use them for your business?

  1. Listen to what your customers are saying, not just about you, but what their concerns and problems are.
  2. Network with other companies and customers in your industry.  Get to know people.
  3. Connect with potential customers and partners.
  4. Share your expertise and information valuable to your niche.
  5. Answer questions and help others.
  6. Leads, for your company, but also for others in your network.
  7. Market subtly within your areas of expertise by being a part of the conversation.
  8. Reputation building, both for your company and for your personal brand.
  9. Content to add to your website, blog, resources, etc.
  10. Research what people think, what the next big thing will be, how to position yourself for the future.
  11. Traffic being directed to your blog and website.

How do you use social media for your business?  Please add to this list in the comments section.

(photo by seier+seier+seier @ Flickr CC)

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

/

Think Like a Publisher, Not a Marketer

You have to stop thinking like a marketer, an advertiser and a communicator and start thinking like a publisher. Create information your consumers want, and they will share it, this is the idea behind creating the World Wide Rave content. “On the web, you are what you publish.” – Online Marketing Blog – The New Rules of Marketing & PR

fallsmandj98

Sound familiar?  Customer-centric design is about creating a site that works for your readers/customers.  Content is one of the most important aspects of a successful online presence.  Branding is now influenced by everything that is said and done by your company online (and said about you).

There are many opportunities for good content online:

  • Information about your products and services
  • Customer service frequently asked questions
  • Discussion boards
  • A company blog for continued education of your customers
  • Interaction with your customers
  • Social media
  • Commenting on other blogs and websites
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Photos

Keep in mind that content online doesn’t always mean formally written articles for your website.  Content can be more informal with blogs and social media.  Content is also interaction with customers on social networks and discussion boards.

What content do you provide for your customers?

(photo by mandj98 @ Flickr CC)

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

/

Marketing hasn't always been social?

It took thousands of years before people who had no useful skills realized they could earn money by wearing nice clothes and designing deceptive brochures.
–The Joy of Work by Scott Adams

If the corporate world ran as Scott Adams described it to me (and I’m still convinced it does), the Marketing Department would have to be the most social group in every company.  A place where ‘people’ people engage in study groups discussing how their company’s products can make your life fulfilled.  This is where social got is legs, where the idea of a conversation with the customer was invented.  This is where the consumer is king and their voices are heard.  At least, that’s what the marketing textbooks say.

So why do I get the impression that few people, myself very much included, really understand what Social Media Marketing is all about?  Thankfully Ajit Jaokar has an article that has started me on the journey of understanding by framing some of the things I know I don’t understand.  I will admit, it took me a couple reads to absorb what Ajit is saying here, but it was worth the effort to get my head around it and to see things from his perspective.  Here are some of my takeaways

  • Social Media Marketing is not the same thing as Social Media Advertising.  The latter is placing ads for the social community while the former is starting a conversation with that community and seeing where it is going.  SMM can and will have a SMA element, but SMM is far more ambitious and advanced.
  • You can’t translate traditional ideas like CPM into Social Media Marketing, they just don’t apply.  You need to find new metrics to judge when you are succeeding and when you are missing your targets.
  • The idea that someone could sit on the sidelines and monitor all the little feeds of information in a social graph for a brand, even potentially alter the conversation’s direction, is wicked cool.  I wonder how close some of the huge brands like Coke or Nike or Apple are getting to doing just this kind of work.
  • A brand can serve the conversation by giving it focus.  Three ideas for this are listed as ‘Information’, ‘entertainment’, and ’cause’.  I’ve seen all three of these methods used in social advertising and never realized it at the time.
  • You could do some amazing things with the right data and a rapid response cycle.  Just imagining the short side potential of keeping advertising tied to Social Media’s latest feedback would be enormously effective.  Every ad would hit the right message, every campaign would be topical and fresh.  I’m sure there would be times when this would backfire, but the upside is enormous.