Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Growing Your Business with Social Media


Social Media . . .
  • Lets you build hundreds of thousands of online relationships.  One-on-one conversations via social nedia channels allow for extremely personalized service unmatched by other marketing channels.
  • Helps you reach the end-user of your product or service.
    • B2B organizations can acquire customers via Social Media.  65% have acquired a client through Linked In; 40% through Twitter; 43% through Facebook.
    • Conversely, Facebook drives the most customer conversions for B2C organizations.  77% of B2C companies have caquired a customers through Facebook, and 51% have acquired a customer through Linked In. 
    • More than 80% of Gen Y, the largest consumer group in history, is influenced by user-generated content when considering a purchase.  51% of them rated it more important than the opinions of their friends and family.
  • Improves your website's search engine optimization (SEO) by increasing your organic search presence.  Google's algorithm has swayed more and more toward rewarding websites that create stellar content for readers, not search engines.
  • Blogging and creating other content containing keywords mportant to your business will better optimize your website.
  • Repurposing content across several networks allows you to grow a following across multiple channels.

Social Media Management Program
Ideal Lifestyle Concierge will manage your social media strategy:
  • Account setup and maintenance
  • Creation of content
  • Data entry and database maintenance
There is a setup fee to get started, followed by an ongoing maintenance fee based on your specific needs.  We are a one stop shop; allowing you to define your level of involvement in the process.


A Social Media Primer
Social media is about interacting with and sharing information with others online.  Social media allows users to become part of a virtual community.  Today's most influential media are outlined below:
Facebook

A company Facebook page allows informal communication with Facebook "fans". It also allows "fans" to communicate with you and share their experiences (good and bad). Companies can share photos, videos, and links. They are also able to invite "fans" to special events.

Google+
Google+ is similar to Facebook. However, is also linked to Google recommendations. Google recently began ranking companies much like Zagats ranks restaurants. The rankings are highly searchable. The majority of users use Google to search the web.

Twitter
Twitter enables users to send and read short (140 characters) posts known as "tweets". It allows more informal communication with "followers" than Facebook and Google+. Twitter is the one of the top 10 most visited websites on the Internet.

Blogger & WordPress
Blogger & WordPress are tools to compose and post longer communications such as blogs, articles, newsletters, podcasts, and press releases.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact allows users to create and send newsletters, surveys, events, coupons, offers, etc. to your database of clients and prospects. The service provides information on how many users are actually opening emails and what they are specifically clicking on (links). The information helps users to customize communication strategies. Constant Contact also provides a tool to create a weekly digest of social media posts. This digest can be e-mailed to a contact database, encouraging additional interaction across multiple channels.

Pinterest
Pinterest is a social network that allows users to visually share, curate, and discover new interests by pinning new images or videos to their own or others' pinboards. Members are encouraged to interact with the content by reposting it, sharing others' pins on Facebook and Twitter or via e-mail, and even embedding individual pins on their website or blog.
Linked In
LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network with over 175 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals. LinkedIn profiles rise to the top of search results, letting you control the first impression people get when searching for you online.

Need to Know More?  Check out this episode of Chick Talk where I discuss social media management.  The discussion starts at about 16:00 minutes.