The Elusive Facebook Business Page
Look at Facebook business pages as easy to grasp as your teenager’s friends, as easy to handle as your kid’s sports schedule, or as easy to understand as a new language. Let’s face it, Facebook is elusive for a reason. They will never let anyone completely control the content, or learn their special mark-up language, it just doesn’t fit into their business model.
Personally I chuckle when a new version or announcement comes out. They hold the power. As a marketer that helps others to massage Facebook business pages I find it an inevitable annoyance. It takes a little research, testing and tweaking to get what you want, but don’t hold your breath, it will change in less than 6 months.
At the end of the day let Facebook developers do what they do… confuse us, frustrate us, and leave us scratching our heads. Our time and attention really should be spent on developing the content that feeds our Facebook page anyway. Facebook is not a soul marketing tool, it is ancillary.
Focus instead on developing a strategy for your website, or blog. Feed your email campaigns with your valuable content. Concentrate on the channels that you control, and can continue to control as others chase their tails trying to keep up with the most elusive developers our time has seen.
read moreApps for the Sake of an App
There is a lot of discussion recently regarding mobile applications. Many businesses are clamoring to develop apps whether they support their business goals or not. The thought of creating something that is useful and of value to their customers is thrown aside for having the bragging rights of creating a new app.
But what is the sense of going through the motions if you don’t keep your customers or prospects in mind? If you decide to develop a custom app it should be in line with your brand and a good fit for the people that will be using it.
Don’t let the pissing match between Apple and the Droid get in the way of good judgement.
read moreSocial Media Tools vs Strategy
Many people confuse the tools you are using for social media messaging as a strategy. Remember, that the effectiveness of social media isn’t the tools that you use, but how you use them to listen, answer questions and connect with your audience and followers.
Social media tools/channels are just opportunities to connect your brand with your customers, and connects them to tell others about you. Think about the use of each tool, their purpose and how you can use each to vary your message and content to optimize your reach.
Pick the Tools to Fit Your Goals. Think about the purpose and strategy of the following channels.
Tool
Monitoring Tool — Listening and measurement
Corporate Blog — Thought leadership, depth, engagement, linking & guest posts
Twitter — Headlines, engage, sales, solve service issues, competitor insight
Community — Customer driven, customer care, sourcing trends
Facebook — Social, friendly, recruiting, link to community and blog, video
LinkedIn — Engagement, networking, recruiting
YouTube — Amazing stories, brand awareness
SlideShare — Content sharing, thought leadership
Rank each of the channels by priority 1-5, 1 being the greatest. Keep your business and financial goals in mind. Concentrate on the 1′s and 2′s!
read moreMultiple Media Channel Approach Rules
The recent post on emarketer.com about not abandoning email marketing for social media got me thinking more about how I always approach marketing. Not any one tool can answer all of your business development challenges. You need to keep direct mail, networking, email, social media, mobile and online marketing always working in tandem to deliver your message.
Think about how you like to receive information. Some things I read in an email, some require logging on to an online forum, sometimes I read articles in print, or I may watch a webinar a few times a week. Flexibility, and multiple formats keep me up-to-date on the latest trends and research in marketing, making me a better resource to my clients.
Consistent content in multiple formats is the answer. Be creative, split up your content, tie into other channels, start conversations, and see what happens.
read moreAlpha Users of Mobile Marketing
If you are thinking about integrating mobile marketing into your business development strategy be sure to tailor your strategy to your specific audience . You may have several audiences within your customer base and you need to keep in mind the attributes of these key groups to plan a successful mobile marketing campaign. Most consumers are not opposed to mobile marketing, but the alpha users of mobile devices fall into 4 categories:
1) The Teen – If teens represent the future, why not communicate with them like they communicate with each other?
2) The Tech Savvy Man – the very definition of early adopters. They always want the latest and greatest — no matter what it is. Mobile coupons for free beer, discounts on a round of golf, fantasy sports, and opinion polls. You get the idea.
3) Millennials – The young adults of the world. They range between 18 and 35 years old. Stay connected through the use of wallpapers, ringtones, SMS, instant messages, and mobile websites.
4) The Digital Mom – Digital moms are time starved and endlessly seeking functionality. They require a High-level engagement while maintaining simplicity as they are seeking ways to add time and reduce stress in their lives. Build trust with this group by creating apps, websites, or updates that help them multi-task, manage time more effectively; or entertain and inform them with short, simple interactions.
This is not to say that your target audience needs to fall into these 4 categories, that are just the most primed and ready for your message.
read morePush vs Pull Marketing
Traditional push marketing, the practice of “pushing” your message/content toward an audience, has taken a sharp turn. Cold calls, print advertising, and sales flyers miss one very important key, timing. Calling when not expected, or dropping by with sales collateral can be seen as a nuisance especially to someone that doesn’t recognize your brand. On occasion your timing will be right or you may get lucky. Pull marketing is all about YOU.
Forget about YOU! The web, email marketing, mobile marketing and other pull marketing methods forget about YOU and focus on your audience. Pull marketing creates value and places your brand in a position of authority if done right. Pull marketing takes drive, creativity and time. It is no small task but once you have built trust it can be the greatest source of new business.
What valuable information are you willing to share?
read moreFrequent Posting Does Not Mean Quality Messaging
Social Media is still on the uprise and many business owners are not horribly comfortable with populating blogs, Facebook pages, etc, but for those that think they are, they may have another thing coming.
Just because you post frequently it does not necessarily mean that you are engaging your audience. Without linking to something more, you are not providing a call to action.
Depending on the tone of your message you may or may not get a reaction. Try varying your messaging to be entertaining, educational, and enlightening, and see what resonates with your audience. Sounds like a lot of work, but in reality it is the most pliable, on-the-fly, inexpensive marketing you can do.
Just remember the days when you ran ads haphazardly only to find you sent thousands down the toilet without a strategy or the ability to tweak as needed. Embrace it! Just like any other skill it will become easier over time.
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