What you can't afford to ignore about social media

So your company is on social media.  You have signed up for a few sites, post sometimes and have no idea if it is working.  

A successful social media strategy is more then just being on a site and checking out your metrics weekly.  The word social implies building connections.  Think back to the basics of communication...you have a message to share.  But this message does not exist in a vacuum.  To successfully reach your intended audience you must chose the right channel, overcome noise in the environment that may block or distort your message and then, you must be receptive to feedback from the recipient.

This is social media.  Your message is your post or tweet, you must find a way to make it relevant to your audience and also interesting enough to break through the clutter of all the other posts and tweets.  Finally you must be prepared for the response.  This last piece, is where companies often fail at social media.  Make sure you make time each day to review any responses to your social media activity and respond.  Whether it is answering a question or just thanking someone for their feedback.  Interaction is the key element to maximizing your social media activity.

What Marketing in Small Businesses and Bike Lanes Have in Common

If you have spent time in a city recently you have no doubt noticed that bike lanes have become prevalent.  In Boston a few years ago they re-did many of the major roads downtown to create bike lanes.  There are many things about this that is wonderful.  The problem is that they have not widened the roads...they have simply made all of the other lanes, from parking to driving smaller.

This is not unlike what happens to small businesses when they need to incorporate marketing into their plans.  Just because your company needs more marketing does not mean you suddenly have more resources to pull from.  For many companies this means that trying to fit marketing activities into your already busy schedule, much like Boston has tried to fit bike lanes into their already crowded roads.

So what's a small business to do?

1. Prioritize.  Allow yourself time in the beginning of the process to learn about where customers go to find out about you and then use that information to make strategic decisions about where to invest your time.  
2. Ask for help.  Whether it is free marketing seminars that are run by local groups or engaging with a marketing consultant to get you started.  You may not have the resources you want, or need, but it will ensure that your trip down the bike lane will be a safer, and more productive one.
3. Know you're not alone.  This is a shared problem for small businesses and your customers are loyal to you because you do a good job at what you specialize in, not because you are an expert marketer.  Connect with other small businesses in your areas, you may be able to identify ways to partner on some marketing activities, lessening your burden and perhaps opening up a new group of customers for you to target.

5 Things Every Non-Profit Should Know About Google Grants

1.  What it is?  Google Ad Grants provides eligible non-profits with $10,000 per month in in-kind AdWords advertising.  You can spend up to $329/day advertising your company, events and cause on Google.

2.  Are you eligible? There are three requirements an organization must meet to be eligible for the program: hold a current and valid charity status, agree to the required certifications regarding nondiscrimination and donation receipt and use and have a current, functioning website.

The following types of organizations are not eligible: government entities, hospitals and medical groups, schools, childcare centers or academic institutions/universities.

3. Why should I apply?  Say it with me $10,000 in ad revenue a month to run ads on Google.  This is a huge opportunity to grow your donor base and get your message out.  While you are limited to mission based ads and keywords, if your goal is to raise money or drive awareness, your ads would be directed this way anyway.  In addition you can highly target your ads based on location and interest to increase the likelihood that they are seen by the right people.

4.  How do I apply?  Visit http://www.google.com/grants/ and click “join the program”.  You will be walked through the application, confirm your eligibility and then submit your application for review.

5. What do I do now?  It may take some time to receive your approval.  This is the time to make a plan.  You have decisions to make in two buckets if you will.  The first, what are you going to do with your new budget? And the second, what keywords will you use. For the first question, the following is a small list of ideas that you could focus on in your ads:

• Promote a specific upcoming event
• Promote the sale of items to raise money for your cause
• Promote volunteer opportunities
• Promote your organization overall
• Drive people to your website or Google+ page

The second point you need consider is keyword selection.  The best way to start is to go into Google and do some searches using keywords where you would like your website or even to show up.  Make a list of those words and then go into AdWords Keywords Planner Tool.  You can enter in those keywords and it will tell you how competitive they are and give you ideas for similar search terms people might be using.

Using Google Ads is not like the Easy Bake Over, you can’t set it and forget it.  You need to monitoring it, change things, update things and sometimes tear it all down and start again.  But with the support of Google (both their help desk and the in-kind ad dollars) this is worth the time for any non-profit.

Program details from http://www.google.com/grants/

4 Things You Need to Know About Your Competitors

Knowing your competition is a key element of knowing how to market and position your company. Before you begin your analysis you will need to create a competitor list of no more than 5 companies. To cull a large list consider geography, offerings and overlap in customer base.  Once you have your list, answer the following questions for each competitor.

1.  What is the companies positioning? 

You can learn about the companies positioning by looking at their website, reviewing social media, signing up for email updates or newsletters and if you are in a retail space by visiting the store front, looking at signage and seeing how employees interact with customers.  

Why is this important?  You need to identify where your positioning overlaps with theirs and identify gaps that you can exploit.

2.    How does the company promote themselves?
What channels does the company uses to promote themselves, their products and services.  Are they on social media?  Do they have a website?  Do they run radio or TV ads? Do they post flyers or use other forms of advertising?

Why is this important? You need to identify how the company is promoting themselves to identify gaps in your competitor’s promotional strategies.

3.    How does the competitor’s size compare to yours?
If you are a coffee shop, one of your main competitors may be Starbucks.  It is important to evaluate them, but also to recognize their size in comparison to yours.  Is your competitor the same size as you?  Bigger? Smaller?  You probably already have a sense of this, but additional ways to evaluate this is number of employees, number of locations and if public, company revenues.

Why is this important? Having this information can help you to determine the budget you will need and also your promotion strategy.

4.    Are their customers loyal?
This is going to vary dramatically depending on the type of industry you are in.  However customer loyalty, like everything, falls on a scale.  You have customers who are exclusively loyal and will not change no matter what.  You have customers who are somewhat loyal but open to change and customers who are not loyal at all.  Based on your knowledge of your industry and the company you will need to deduce what percentage of their customers fall into each category.

Why is this important?  You will be targeting customers who are somewhat loyal or not at all loyal, while also seeking to hold onto those customers who are exclusively loyal to you.

3 Things Pump Up the Volume Can Teach Us About Content Marketing

Image from IMDb

You didn’t have to come of age in the late 80’s to remember the 1990 hit Pump Up the Volume.  Starring Christian Slaughter as a rouge disc jockey who thinks he is talking to himself and ends up changing the tone and conversation of an entire town.  With catch phrases like “Talk Hard” and “So Be It”, “Harry” is able to reach an entire generation screaming to be heard.  So beside some great music and sage advice like “eat you cereal with a fork and do your homework in the dark” there is a message here that marketers can learn from.

1. Messaging must be compelling.  What does that mean?  It means that our words and our topics must reach our readers and listeners in a way that is not superficial.  Creating content that is interesting enough to “Pin” is not enough anymore.  We must create messaging that compels our readers to take action.  Whether it is to rebel against a corrupt school administration or to buy our products or services.
2. We have to know our target audience.  “Harry” doesn't know who is audience is when he gets started…he doesn’t even know he has an audience.  But once the letters start coming in, it becomes clear that he has a very specific group of teenagers who are listening and internalizing what he is saying.  As marketers we use lots of tools to tell us who are target market is.  We analyze geographic profiles, demographic information and psychographic details of our prospects and customers lives.  But do we know them?  Do we stop to think about what keeps them up at night?  What drives their behavior?  We are in an era that demands highly customized marketing and if we can get into the very hearts (not just the minds) of our market we have a better chance of doing this.
3. Ability to capitalize on a moment.  As marketers it is our job to understand not just the challenges of our customers but the larger challenges that they are facing.  Challenges driven by the economy, the legal system, family budgets, childcare issues, divorce…understanding the lager moment we are in can help marketers to craft messaging and chose channels that can help to drive sales.

The next time you are channel surfing or digging through that box of VHS tapes you keep in the garage next to the baby cloths the kids grew out of years ago, consider taking an hour and half.  Revisit Harry and remind yourself of the massive impact we can have as marketers…no matter our message.  

Facebook Page Engagement: 3 steps to take in the face of the new page rules

The new changes that went into effect for Facebook Pages in January impacts most small businesses and non-profits.  These organizations have previously relied on messages and promotions that they post reaching those individuals who have liked and engaged with their pages.  Reach is now in the singular percentages for posts.  With Facebook pushing promoted posts and ads instead to build reach.

So here's the question: what does this mean for me?

The short answer is it means if you want to reach potential customers and donors on Facebook you will need to participate in paid advertisements and promotions.  Of course like so many answers, this one raises more questions.  Here are three things to keep in mind as you consider your next steps:

1. Promoting a post will increase the likelihood that it is seen - if you have something very important or time sensitive this could be a good (and low cost) option

2. When you run ads, consider sending them to an outside page - either your website or a newsletter sign-up page rather then an ad to have them like your page

3. Even if you are not going to pay to promote posts or run ads, don't neglect your page.  Some of your posts will still get through and people will still seek you out on Facebook

Building Your Online Brand

As the options for being online increase it is more important then ever to focus your activities.  Forget for a moment the sites you are already on and take a step backwards...what do you want to accomplish with your online presence?  How can you best translate your brand positioning onto social media?

As you enter or grow your online brand consider these two questions.  And then consider the objectives of the social media sites you are considering.  LinkedIn is a place where people may look for you if you are hiring and provides a networking opportunity for current and former employees.  Facebook provides you the opportunity to reach people who choose to engage with your brand.  Instagram and Pinterest are driven by Images, Twitter by short statements, YouTube by videos.  How you want to tell your story should help to determine which of the sites you join and how you use them.