by Robert Burke
Erica Campbell used Twitter to find a vendor for her firm’s Web site.
One of Erica Campbell’s tasks as a marketing manager is keeping her company’s ForRent.com Web site looking fresh. So when she had to pick between a couple of software firms that made bookmark widgets for the Web, she put the question on Twitter. Campbell tapped out a quick message to her 350 or so followers asking, “Which widget works better?”
Comments started showing up in just a few minutes. But what caught her eye was a response from a manager with McLean-based Add This, one of the competing firms. “He said, ‘Can we chat? Feel free to e-mail me,’” recalls Campbell. They traded e-mails and then talked on the phone so he could answer questions and make a pitch for his product. “He stayed engaged with me all day,” says Campbell.
Not surprisingly, she picked the Add This widget for her Norfolk employer. For Rent Media Solutions, which is owned by Norfolk-based Landmark Media Enterprises LLC, is an online listing service for apartments and other rental properties. “Other people at Add This were twittering me, too. I just thought it was a great form of customer service.”
It’s a business truism that anywhere people gather is potentially a good place to look for customers and to keep the ones you have. So it’s no wonder social media sites — such as Facebook or Twitter — are wildly popular. Facebook, for example, has more than 200 million users worldwide, while Twitter has an estimated 5 million users. Both are growing fast, and there are dozens of other social media outlets.
Businesses need a presence there because those huge audiences can’t be ignored, says David Saunders, president and “chief idea officer” of Madison + Main, a Richmond advertising and new media firm.
In touch with consumers
But the approach is different than in traditional media. Print, radio and television ads let you tell the world how great you are. Social media, Saunders says, is more about just being in touch, instead of giving a hard sell. Plus, it lets people answer back. Some businesses are scared to give up control of their message. Why create a blog on your Web site, for example, and risk that somebody will say nasty things about your company? Businesses need to take the chance. “Whether you’re there or not, a conversation is taking place about you, about your products, about your service,” he says. “I’ll tell you what’s scary — the fact that they’re having a conversation, and you’re not part of it.”
That’s a nice pitch. And Saunders is finding a market in hosting “new media” seminars every few weeks, giving novice business types a primer on how to jump in. He chides businesses that launched a Web site 10 years ago when it was all the rage but haven’t updated it since then. Plus, he warns that social media is no place for weak products, because word gets around fast. “The mob will eat you alive,” he says.
Of course, before you can deal with the mob, you have to make sure it finds you. That means understanding how to please Google, the world’s most popular search engine. About two-thirds of the world’s Internet searches are done through Google, says Jason Moreau of NetSearch Direct, a Richmond-based search-engine marketing firm. When someone types in a phrase in Google’s simple search box, they get 10 results per page. Moreau says 90 percent of links that people click on are on that first page, and most of those are among the top three. “Your goal should be to get your business to page one, because that’s where people see it,” he says.
There are ways to optimize your Web site to make it more likely that Google and other search engines will find you and rank you higher such as choosing the right keywords or making sure that the links on your site work. Before business owners will hire firms to to that, though, they’ll want some proof that there’s a return on their investment. Micah Gaudio, president of the GO Agency ad firm, based near Roanoke, says almost anything can be measured on the Web. “Everything’s trackable now,” he says. “You can say, okay, I spent $100 on basically 100 clicks to get one sale. I can say that was worth or not worth it. On the other hand, you can get a lot of clicks without sales. It’s still the Wild West, you know.”
Tailoring ad options
Gaudio says that even though Google has a global reach, its advertising options can be tailored to fit even small businesses at a decent price. When someone searches for a kind of business, Google can tell by the IP address where that person is located and show them ads by local businesses. It’s called “geotargeting.” Gaudio says it’s “insanely the most beneficial thing to local businesses. Say you’re a cabinet maker — now you can compete with Lowe’s or Home Depot.”
For smaller businesses though, there’s the issue of time. “Who has time to tweet and then write their blog and then go on Facebook?” asks Gaudio. There are software tools that will link the content you update so it’s available on all three platforms, he says. “But people need to schedule their day because you can get lost in it. You’ve got to be quick and responsive, but you’ve got to control your time.”
If you’ve got the time, though, there are lots of ways to keep people interested. This spring Campbell’s firm, for example, hosted a “ready2move?” video contest on its Web site. It brought in more than 120 entries, and people were invited to vote for which one should win the $10,000 first prize.
Campbell says it’s not hard to come up with simple ways to keep customers engaged. She cites a Virginia Beach bistro called Croc’s, which has a Twitter following and sends out quick notes on upcoming events or menu highlights.
Campbell says she used Twitter and Facebook before joining For Rent Media Solutions and had to convince her new bosses that it was a good business tool. “This will help our business,” she says. “Consumers are going online. We have to be where they are.”
| Increasing use of social media
» 73% of active online users have read a blog. » 45% have started their own blog. » 39% have subscribed to an RSS feed. » 57% have joined a social network. » 55% have uploaded photos. » 83% have watched video clips. » 57% of Internet users are members of a social network. » 93% of people using social media believe a company should have a presence in social media. » 85% believe a company should go further than just having a presence and should also interact with its consumers via social media. Sources: For Rent Media Solutions, Universal McCann, Cone Business |
Are you a business just getting started on social media and on-line networking?
Get started today by joining linkedin.com. It’s free.
: After completing your profile (Many new users make the mistake of not completing their profile first. Once you are online, you are showing everything), start by inviting individuals to connect to you: Where to start? If you are just starting to get your feet wet, I can make a few recommendations for you on linkedin.com
1. Start off with your colleagues. It shows you are current with new marketing trends. Be sure you have completed your profile first and ask a friend to “preview” it first so you don’t have your typos showing. You may want to consider if check the button open to “career opportunities”.
2. Join a few groups: I always recommend joining your college alumni associations and look for trade associations where you have existing memberships.
3. Check out your competition on linkedin.com. See how their profile looks and see which groups they are participating in? Do they have a blog attached? Have they acknowledged as an expert in the “answer” category.
It may take a few hours of time to get started, but you’ll find it both professional and personally rewarding renewing old acquaintances and making new one.
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PS: Don’t forget to join this group on Linkedin: Central Virginia Business and Networking. We’re a variety of individuals including business owners, job seekers, not-for-profit organizations and more
Beth Avery Fine of Central Virginai
Jul. 1, 2009 at 02:00 PM
I agree with the great benefits of using social media for business. There are a wide range of opportunities in this field and almost any business can find a use for some of these tools.
It is important to consider emerging media as a whole and not just social media to ensure that you are spending your time on things that will help your business today and also prepare it for where the internet is headed in the future. This will help any business maximize their time and return on investment.
--Kendall Morris of Richmond, Va
Jul. 1, 2009 at 08:12 PM
Social media is rapidly turning into the marketplace of the future. You can exchange ideas, invitations, you can share opinions, reviews, and what’s most important for business - you can get very precisely targeted customers starting from your personal contacts.
--PEO of Chicago, IL
Dec. 9, 2009 at 06:09 AM
Indeed, social media is a very good way of promoting one’s site. Most people that run a blog also use their Facebook page, for example, to promote their latest articles. This way, interested people can keep track of what’s new.
--web hosting
Feb. 16, 2010 at 08:34 AM
Considering the high number of people joining social media networks every year, internet marketing has become one of the most reliable ways to promote your business. It would be a shame not to take advance of it and make your products known, there are thousands of people out there, surfing the net, who might actually want them.
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allan
Jun. 21, 2010 at 09:06 AM
Hi,
Social networking sites allow different individuals to communicate with each other and share information.The social network is filled with individuals and links that connects them together.Those that have used social marketing has proven to improve their business
performance online.
square peg web
Jul. 27, 2010 at 02:42 AM
I am one of those taking advantage of the benefits of social media to my business and I must say that I am fully satisfied so far.
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Sep. 26, 2010 at 09:44 AM