Small Businesses - Big Marketing

Social Media - to Market or Not to Market?

Today, The New York Times published an article on the inefficiencies of marketing through Social Media. In a nutshell, the author stated social networking sites were high risk, low benefit and overall not a good investment for brands. A few excerpts from the piece:

Independent experts on Web advertising have been watching, however, and what they see is a myriad of difficulties in making brand advertising work on social networking sites. Members of social networks want to spend time with friends, not brands.

In his remarks to the club, Mr. McConnell said, “All brands want consumers to be their ‘friends.’ Oh, boy, do they!” But speaking for himself, he said he had reservations about the very premise. “I don’t want to be best friends with a brand,” he said. “It’s just stuff.”

Mr. Goldstein of SocialMedia Networks describes a self-perpetuating cycle in social networks: “Advertisers distract users; users ignore advertisers; advertisers distract better; users ignore better.”

Thank you, New York Times, for continuing to discourage large companies with even larger budgets to stay out of social networking sites. You'll help ensure my ROI, as well as the ROI for other small businesses nationwide, stays very healthy for years to come.

PS - If you're a small business owner interested in diving into social media marketing for the first time, look for a 'how to' post from me later this week. If you can't wait, check out this post outlining 300+ examples of Social Media Marketing.

Small Biz Marketing Link Round-up - 12/12/08

Fellow small biz owners - I know you're busy. Starting today, I will begin posting a round-up of 'must read' posts for your small business marketing efforts (hey - it gives my addiction to blogs & twitter a purpose!). Also, unlike many other round-ups on the web, my links will focus on helping small business owners understand all aspects of online marketing - not just SEO.

Note - not all posts (or sites/services) were just published this week, but they're definitely worthy of your attention. I'll shoot for an update of links every Friday, but it may be a bit inconsistent until January.

Must Read Links - Friday 12/12/08:

• Considering launching Facebook advertising for your small biz? Here's a great Facebook Ads 101 to get started

• Launching an SEO or pay-per-click campaign? Great Keyword Research Flow Chart by Aaron Wall

• Are you missing a great opportunity with SEO? Distilled provides tips on filtering your Google Analytics report to show traffic coming from page 2 in Google (clear indication that a little more SEO work will provide a big payoff!)

• Are you new to using Twitter? Find friends using the Twitter Search tool either geographically or by topic. Here is another Twitter Search Directory to try out too - Twellow
  (don't forget to add me! I'd love to follow you!! @jennydibble)

• Just launched, or planning to launch, a blog? Great tips on driving traffic to your blog

• Creating a new ad or landing page? Here are 58 Killer Offers to increase conversion

Is this helpful? Let me know if you enjoy this round-up of links and what you would like to see in the future!!

Update: These updates have been pulled to be part of the internal communication for Agency Owners!

Sometimes all you need...

...is a pumpkin spice latte and free wifi (thanks Tullys).

P.S. - Does Starbucks realize how many customers they lose by not having free wifi???

5 Step Guide to Launching a Small Business Blog

As a small business owner you hear the word “blog” frequently. Most likely you’ve been thinking about launching a blog for your own business but aren’t quite sure how to start. You’re not alone. Here is a no-fail 5-Step Guide to Launching a Small Business Blog:

(Note – If you’re not even sure what a blog IS, check out Wikipedia’s definition and see live examples in your niche by typing in "Keyword" blog - ex. "plumber blog" or "fitness blog")

1-    Decide what you will write about
The most important question should be answered first – what will you write about? Your blog should not solely function as a promotional platform for your company. Sterile press releases as blog posts will do more harm than good for your online brand. Here are some corporate blog topic tips (try saying that 3x fast!) from Marketing Pilgrim.

As a small business owner, obviously you are an expert at something. You know lots about something people are willing to pay for – how can you transform that information into a blog? Remember – a niche topic is much more valuable than a broad topic. Specialize, specialize, specialize!!!

2-    Research the niche
You do not want to be a “me too” blog.  What other blogs already exist in your space? What are they saying? Create a unique perspective on your topic of choice. Also, realize that if someone is reading your blog, they will also be reading other blogs in the niche.

Before any new client launches a blog, I always suggest they pick 10-20 blogs in their niche and simply read them for at least two weeks. Get a feel for the industry before you jump in head-first.

3-    Pick a blogging platform
Now that you have a topic selected, what blogging platform/vendor will you use? As a small business owner, you are most likely bootstrapping. But do NOT, I repeat do NOT use a blogging service that isn’t hosted on your own domain (blogger, livejournal, etc).  You may be working from your spare bedroom, but your online image shouldn’t show it.

If your website domain is http://www.domainhere.com, your blog should either be http://blog.domainhere.com or http://www.domainhere.com/blog

There are two main vendors I suggest to all business owners – Typepad or Wordpress:

Typepad has a nominal yearly fee but is more user-friendly to non-techie business owners. If you go this route, the “Plus” package is necessary to take advantage of the domain mapping option (http://blog.yourdomainhere.com versus http://yourblogname.typepad.com). This will be very important when you begin marketing your blog.

Wordpress is free, but you need some technical knowledge (or access to someone techie) to set it up.

*bonus tip* - While setting up the blogging platform, make sure posts will be published using the post title, not the posting date. This will be super important once you begin marketing your blog.

4-    Design your blog
Your blog design will become a big aspect of your online brand. Springing for a great designer to create a slick interface is a must. Also keep in mind that your business website should be similar to your blog design. They don’t have to be twins, but at least should be recognizable as cousins.

5-    Write 20 queue posts
Now you’re ready to rock & roll, right? Not quite. The final step before launching your small business blog is to write 20 posts BEFORE you post. Seem like overkill? It’s important for two reasons. First, you need to find your “voice”. It’s better to experiment with different writing styles when Word is your only audience and you have the ability to revise pre-posting.

Second – you’re a small business owner. You get busy. By writing 20 blog posts in advance you will have a queue to pull from when there just isn’t enough time in the day to post. Trust me- you’ll thank me later. 

Once your 20 posts are complete, start posting. Stop thinking about it and start doing it already!!!

Now that you're blogging, how do you get visitors to your blog? Stay tuned - next I will discuss how to market your small business blog.

Building Credibility on a Small Business Website

Is your site giving off “warm fuzzies” or scaring people away?

The internet is a scary place. Your website doesn’t have to be. It doesn’t matter if your business is one week or five years old, there are strategies you can use to give your company credibility and increase the number of leads/purchases you receive. Remember, the goal is to let your visitor know you are a company they can trust (aka submit information/credit card to online).

Third-Part Verifiers
Spend the cash/time to join the following groups and add their logo to your site (if they have a member directory be sure your website URL is included in your profile for a little SEO boost!) :

• Better Business Bureau
• Industry organizations & associations
• Local trade groups
• Local chamber of commerce

Do you accept credit cards through your site? Make sure our visitors know your site is safe. The following vendors are great options to join. Simply place the logo by your payment form (most SSL vendors offer a seal specific to their product as well - these work just as well):

• Verisign
• McAfee Hacker Safe

Customer Testimonials
Obviously, another great tactic is to use customer testimonials. Note testimonials have the most impact when you use the customer's full name. A photo is even better. Strategically place testimonials on every page you sell a product/service and throughout the shopping cart process (to reinforce the good decision the customer is making!)

Easy to Access Contact Information
Finally, visitors to your site should be able to access your phone number and address (not a PO Box) from every single page on your site. I like to put them in the footer of a site, but also include them on the About/Contact Us pages and any shopping cart pages.

It's easy to understand why this is important - it shows customers you are in the USA (immediate trust builder) and they can reach you if they have any problems with their purchase.

The points above aren't rocket science, but as a small business owner it's easy (common) to overlook them when you're building a new site. Take a moment and verify you have all of the above points covered on your site. You never know what sales you're missing if you don't!

P.S. Did you know you can receive my blog posts via email? Simply enter your email address in the Email Subscription box in the left column and you will automatically receive each new blog post in your inbox.

When they say place 2 inches apart...they mean it.

I'm a huge fan of Christmas cookies.

It's my Grandma's fault, really. Every year she starts baking at Thanksgiving and doesn't quit until Christmas Eve. It's been like this as long as I can remember and it's a huge part of my personal definition of the Christmas season. She's famous for baking my hometown and everyone (including her mailman) waits for their plate of goodies.

Now that I've grown up and moved far enough away that I can't enjoy her baking, I decided it's time I carry on the tradition. (I promise there is an internet marketing lesson in this post - keep reading!)

On my first attempt this weekend I was very ambitious. My plan included: Raspberry Pinwheels, Pecan Snowballs, Lemon Whipersnaps (w/icing), and chocolate pretzel/peanut candies. Yum, right?

First up - the Pecan Snowballs. The recipe itself wasn't very difficult, or so I thought. Here was the final result:

Remember, they were supposed to be Pecan Snowballs, not a Pecan Plate. When they say place 2 inches apart when baking, they mean it! Plus, there is a huge difference between granulated and confectioners sugar. You can NOT substitute one for the other!!!

Next up was the Lemon Whipersnaps. I followed directions perfectly and they turned out awesome:

The lesson? When you are trying something new, stick to the 'tried & true' first. Don't try to take shortcuts. Don't try to outsmart your mentor or teacher. Learn the basics, perfect them, and then take it to the next level and kick ass. Martha Stewart watch out!

Are you Ecommerce or Lead Generation?

What sort of website do you have? It's not as simple as product versus service.

Before you initiate any online marketing activities, it's important to understand the type of website you are running. It won't matter much on the front-end process, but once the visitor actually gets to your website, how you treat them will depend on your site's goal.

Ecommerce-
An ecommerce website sells products or services and receives payment for those products online - at the point of sale. Your favorite retailer’s website (the Gap, for example) is a ecommerce site. A company selling an ebook (like SEOBook's awesome guide to SEO) is too. You pick out what you want, view your items in an online shopping cart, and check-out by providing your credit card information.

Lead Generation-
A lead generation site, on the other hand, simply collects the visitor’s contact information for a sale at a later date. They may be selling a product (very expensive corporate software, for example) or a service (financial services). Either way, a sale online is not feasible for one reason or another so instead the purpose of the site is to locate potential customers, collect their contact information, & continue the dialogue offline (or online later).

My firm specializes in working with lead generation clients, though we have done a handful of ecommerce sites. With a lead generation site, it's important to understand the concept of relationship marketing. The customer obviously isn't going to buy immediately, so it's important to maximize the options online marketing provides to get them closer.

It's like dating - you're not ready to marry someone on the first date. But after 40 dates? You might be considering the possibility. Same concept applies to lead generation websites. The first time the visitor comes to your website it's equivalent to a blind date. What can you do to make them more comfortable with you and your product/service? Look for a blog post outlining the tactics I use soon.

note- I've used lots of Gap examples recently....obviously I'm a fan. Hello Gap - are you listening? :)

Cyber Monday - How to Lose Customers.

I'm a huge fan of Cyber Monday - mostly as a consumer. Luckily, the majority of my clients are service based and our "big time" of the year falls in September and January. I truly get to enjoy Cyber Monday, unlike most internet marketers.

(Note- In case you've been living under a rock, Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving. It's coined Cyber Monday because it is the busiest online shopping day of the year, mostly because of promotions most retailers run such as free shipping and big discounts. Read more about the creation of Cyber Monday here.)

It came as no surprise, then that this morning I woke up to an inbox full of more than 20 different one-day offers. Though I'm not one of those crazies that will sit outside of a store at 3AM for 20% off, I LOVE a good deal when it comes to online shopping.

I have quite a few parties coming up so I need some cute outfits. I see an email from Banana Republic:

40% + an extra 10% off!!! Great offer, right? Right!

Click on the email to start shopping and....WHAT????

Banana Republic tells me, "We are updating our site to bring you a better shopping experience." This note even goes so far to say it is "scheduled" maintenance. What a slap in the face!

Maybe GAP will have better luck? Their offer isn't quite as good, but if their site works they'll get my business!

 

I could use some new sweaters, after all....

WHAT? All I want is a frigging outfit with free shipping!!!!! Yeah, Banana Republic & Gap are owned by the same parent company but they can't have the same bozo running both sites, can they? Obviously they can.

OK, I'm getting desperate to spend some money online. Forget the new outfit - anything will do. Maybe West Elm?

Their offer isn't so great (only free shipping) but let's see if their website actually works....

Wow! Their website not only functions, but it took me to the check-out page for the item they have featured in their email. Brilliant!!!!

Yes, it's hard to gauge how much traffic your website will get on the busiest day of the year, but whoever is running their websites needs to be fired.

The number one way to lose customers during a busy online shopping day is to not have a functioning website. Good job, Banana and Gap, good job.

(note - I think I vaguely remember this happening to these two sites last year on Cyber Monday too, but can't find any reference to it online. If you find something ping me!)