Five Strategies for Your Use of Facebook

View Comments

Posted on 12th July 2010 by Todd in Facebook

, , , ,

Driving to my church homegroup last night, I saw a business sign which read, “Follow us on Facebook.”  The first question that came to my mind was, “Why?”

“Why should I follow you on Facebook?”

Facebook

Scott Beale / Laughing Squid http://laughingsquid.com/

I am a little bit of a sucker for following Facebook fan pages, probably because I have set up a few and know how hard it can be to get fans.  I do try to be a little discerning, but the fan page is for a friend, etc., I usually follow.  However, many people are harder to convince.  People’s time is a commodity we should never take for granted, even on Facebook.

Therefore, what kind of strategy do you have in place for your Facebook fan page? Is your goal to get a certain amount of followers?  Once you get your followers, then what will you do?

Many companies set up the Facebook account without any idea what they will use it for.  After all, there are over 400 million people on Facebook.

1.  Give something away

If you sell products, you might have a contest for fans to win something.  You got great products, right?  Everyone who “likes” your page can be entered in to a drawing for a free “fill in the blank.”  It worked well for a client of mine who increased her fans to well over 800 fans just by giving something away.

2.  Post links to your blog posts

You do blog don’t you?  Post the links to each individual blog post to your Facebook fan page.  A blog that offers advice or gives an “insider’s” view to your business has great value for customers.  Make sure your fans know about your blog!

3.  Post links to your website

This is self explanatory.  If your website is built around a blog, then #2 should work just fine.  Offer some kind of special at your website and promote it on your Facebook page.  The goal is, after all, to get people to your website to buy your product or become a member of your community.

4.  Post contact info

Do not neglect this!  Post a way for folks to contact you.  It is a customer service issue.  It can be sending them to your contact page at your website or posting an email address or phone number.  This is especially true if you do not have a website.  People need to know hours and other info too.

5.  Interact

When someone posts on your wall, respond!  This is the unique strategy of social media, interaction with fans/customers.  You can offer fans a chance to win something by posting on the wall, etc., but whatever you do, get your fans to interact.  And, then, join the discussion!  Facebook is a communication medium, and communication is a two-way street!

I hope this helps those of you trying to establish a Facebook page.  Having a Facebook fan page is an active process.  I hope you’re ready!

Three Indispensable Goals for your Website

View Comments

Posted on 7th July 2010 by Todd in websites

, , ,

Website design and having a website has come a long way from the early years about 15 years ago.  Back then, there weren’t as many people with websites as there is today.  There are an estimated 206 Million websites according to the Web Server Survey by Netcraft.

World Wide Web

by bull3t from Flickr

In the light of the number of websites that are online today, simply having a website presence is not nearly enough.

So, what should a person or a business do about the mass of websites.  Many owners have seen little or no benefit from having a website, and it’s no wonder with over 206 Million websites for consumers to choose from.  This leaves us to reason that a business who decides to have a website needs to have some sort of strategy.

A strategy, or a plan, is of the utmost importance when deciding to set up shop online.  Besides, you are going to pay somebody good money to design and set it up for you.  You have to make sure you get the most “bang for your buck.”  That, in business terms, is called Return on Investment (ROI).

A website strategy has to be comprehensive, and there are, I think, three indispensable goals for your website strategy.

1.  Quality Design

There is a whole school of thought on web standards.  Learn more here and here.  Standards keep your designer at the forefront of quality design.  It is best if they have adopted an active approach to using, or at least learning, web standards.  If a designer is trying to design with tables are something from the 1990′s, run and run fast the other way!  Standards also help ensure that your designer will design you a website that will be “search engine friendly.”

Field of Dreams

talkephotography from Flickr

2.  Traffic

In the movie, Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s character was told, “If you build it, they will come.”  While that philosophy was inspirational in the movie, it doesn’t work in the world of websites.  With over 206 Million websites on the web (see above), visitors have more options than they can possible choose.  Skilled webmasters and designers have to work on the website in an ongoing attempt to bring traffic to their website through the use of skills such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  SEO is only part of the solution.  Many website owners are turning to social media to help draw visitors to their sites.  Further, good old fashion marketing has its place as well.

3.  Conversion

Once you have visitors coming to your website, then what?  Conversion is the art of converting visitors in to consumers.  Every business has to do this.  When I worked in a book store, we recommended books and other items to the customer in which we thought would be of interest to them.  Without sales, businesses go away, and conversion is the process of “closing the sale.”  Much of the conversion process is accomplished different ways, but copy writing is very important.  Coppyblogger is one of the best blogs that helps writers with their conversion skills.

In the backdrop of these three goals is communication.  Communication is at the heart of a website, and communication is the basis for building a community–a community which can become customers.

In today’s online world, running a website is a full time job, although most small to medium size companies can’t or don’t hire someone to manage and run their website.  However, given the right person, the benefits can more than pay for the position.  If you are a small business owner and you have a website, you can and should learn what you can to make your website successful.

What will you do to improve your website?  Do you have a plan or a strategy?

Why businesses don’t value their websites

View Comments

Posted on 13th May 2010 by Todd in Uncategorized |websites

, ,

quarter

How much do you value your website?

Yesterday, I saw the company truck of a business that I know has a website. While looking at the truck, complete with all logos, etc., I noticed it did not have its website URL listed.  I was flabbergasted.  I asked myself, “Why don’t they have their website listed on their truck?”  Then, my next thought was, “I guess they don’t really value their website.”  Which makes me wonder why they went to the trouble of building a website to begin with if they are not going to promote the site.

In this day and age, we are lead to believe, a website is indispensable, and I believe it is.  However, if we don’t value the website, we might as well not have one at all.  There are three ways (at least) that businesses don’t value their website.

First, a business does not value its website if they do not promote the site. Not putting your URL on your business card/company vehicle/stationary, etc.?  Then, you really don’t value your website.  You are not putting the website to good use if that is the case, and what other tool of business would we invest money (you did invest money didn’t you?) in and not use as it was meant to be used?

Second, a business does not value its website if it does not utilize it to generate leads or customers. Would you invest money in retail space and not bring customers in to buy your product?  That is what you are doing with a website if you do not learn how to bring in traffic and convert them to customers or, at the least, a good lead.

Businesses put up websites because “everybody is on the internet.”  However, when we let the website become stagnant, then we have wasted the money that we invested in to begin with.  This brings me to a third way that businesses fail to value their website.

Businesses fail to value their website by having it built for free or cheaply. If you don’t believe it is worth investing in the website up front to get it designed well, then, then you do not value your website.

Businesses often wonder why their website becomes useless, but they fail to value it enough to invest properly in it’s use.  That leads to little to no results.  If you don’t invest up front, then what incentive to do you have to promote the website or use it well.

People who are good at this cost money.  However, the rewards are many.  Have you wondered what it would be like to be on the top of the first page in your major key words?   How about what would it be like getting quality leads from your website without sending a salesperson?

Solutions

First, you need to invest up front in a good website.  Find a good website designer who has done good work, and get over the sticker shock because he or she is worth the money.  If you don’t know anyone, contact me and I will help you find someone.  Having this done right up front can save you a lot of time.

Second, you need to either learn or pay someone to optimize your website for maximum performance.  This involves skills such as search engine optimization (SEO) and copywriting.  The copywriting can be tricky, but you need to find somebody who knows how to do it for the internet.  A good place to start is with Copyblogger.  They have a lot of articles to help you learn on your own.

Third, you should consider a social media marketing campaign.  This involves setting up social media profiles for the purpose of marketing your business.  You need to know that you cannot market the same way you do in traditional channels.  In the realm of social media, people mostly listen to those they trust.  A good to place to start is with Shama Kabani’s new book The Zen of Social Media Marketing which I have reviewed here.

If you need help in mapping out your new website strategy, don’t hesitate to contact me.  The fuel that runs the engine of these three solutions is having a strategy.

Photo Credit:  Dude With Camera on Flickr

All the best,

Todd

Do you have a strategy for your social media marketing?

View Comments

Posted on 24th March 2010 by Todd in Social Media

, , , , ,

I see it all the time.  A company decides to create a facebook page or twitter account because that is what they heard they need to do.  They keep up with trends, they hear the buzz, and, after all, social media tools such as twitter and facebook are free, so why not?  They set up the facebook fan page or twitter account but no one comes and joins them.  When you look at their profile, they haven’t posted in months!  “Chalk it up to another fad,” they might say.  Of course, it didn’t cost anything to try social media.

Social Media Bandwagon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/

Why do companies have little success using social media?  It is because they do not have a strategy.  Did you realize that social media marketing requires a strategy?  Maybe you just thought that all a business needed  to do was just set up shop and watch it take off.  It doesn’t “just happen,” and chances are, you may need to invest a little in a strategy.

How does one invest in a strategy for social media marketing?  Well, you find people who do it for a living to consult you and help you devise a strategy and implement your plan.  Where do you look for that person?  For one, start on the internet.  That is where they are!  Go to Google and type in your town and “social media marketing.”  It should bring up a list of people who can help companies devise a plan.

What kind of things do social media marketing experts do to help give you a strategy?  They will help you identify a purpose and a goal for your social media strategy.  They will help you set up your profiles or optimize what you already have set up.  They put in place metrics to track progress, and they will help you find followers.  A social media marketing expert will also help you see the “big picture.”  He or she may think that you need a blog.

It costs money for this kind of help.  The more success a person has had, the more their rates.  I have heard all kinds of fees.  I am willing to bet that the ones that charge the most are worth every penny!  Ask yourself, “Is it worth it to have more customers and being well thought of in the world of social media?”  Think about a tweeter who has several thousand followers talking about a great experience they had at your place of business.

The truth of the matter is if you intend to put together a social media marketing campaign, you have to have time or money, and in most cases, both.  The rewards can be unbelievable.  You will also need someone to run the campaign and keep up with your social media profiles.  If that means you have to hire someone to do it, then hire someone.

If you are in Central Arkansas, and you are looking for someone to help you set up a social media campaign or run your social media accounts, I am available.