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DisQ
09-15-2013, 11:15 AM
Twitter, facebook, Google+ and all the others. They are supposed to be able to get you loads and loads of traffic.
To actually reach that I would have to post something interesting at least ones a week (ones a day is probably preferred).

What am I supposed to tell people?

Freelancier
09-15-2013, 12:22 PM
What do you mean "what am I supposed to tell people?" About what?

DisQ
09-15-2013, 12:36 PM
Precisely my problem. :)
It has to be interesting right? I have an online bussines in custom price comparisons.
I can tell people what it is, how it works and why it is handy. But that doesn't fill a facebook page and most certainly doesn't keep it interesting now does it?. :)

Paul
09-15-2013, 05:47 PM
Precisely my problem. :)
It has to be interesting right? I have an online bussines in custom price comparisons.
I can tell people what it is, how it works and why it is handy. But that doesn't fill a facebook page and most certainly doesn't keep it interesting now does it?. :)

Your particular service can be valuable for certain businesses. I don’t think you need to worry about making it “interesting”, it’s not a consumer product that you can entice a desire for.

A business either likes it or needs it or not. The “interesting” is exactly what your home page says.

“Compare all competitor prices with one click” can be pretty interesting to a business if it helps them.

It looks like a great service, I think you need to be more aggressive than just passive facebook and twitter marketing.

DisQ
09-16-2013, 02:12 AM
Now that, is good advice.
Thank you.

I now realize that it is precisely what I wanted to hear, lol.
I just want to tell people about my product and how it will help them. I want to work with my customers to improve it.
I do not want to drag myself to the internet every day to post something trivial in the hopes someone 'likes' me.

I think I got cought up in the hype of everyone telling everyone how great social media is.
I am back on the track I want to be now. :)

LGCG
09-16-2013, 03:00 PM
I do not want to drag myself to the internet every day to post something trivial in the hopes someone 'likes' me.


Have you thought about using a service like Hootsuite so that you can schedule content in advance? That way you can plan ahead and cultivate content once a week rather than having to spend a little bit of time each day.

DisQ
09-16-2013, 03:49 PM
The problem is that I don't have any content.
I will be using some linkedin and even twitter but I will be posting content on a regular basis.

Patrysha
09-16-2013, 09:57 PM
How about case studies? Showing instead of telling people what you do? Highlight current customers, describe your ideal customer...
Survey your customers
Share other people's information...become a curator of content relevant to the businesses of your target market
Talk to your potential customers...what are they talking about around the water cooler?

If you're passionate about your business and in tune with your customers content creates itself...well almost...

With my clients the ideal is to create a marketing calendar and build and schedule the content from that...and then add in off the cuff comments when the mood strikes.

DisQ
09-17-2013, 01:30 AM
I just started my website. I am still improving it. There are no customers at this time.
However, I do see your point and it might be something to do along the way but I doubt I will do it on something like Facebook because I will not be doing that on a regular basis.

patrickprecisione
09-17-2013, 10:44 AM
The problem is that I don't have any content.
I will be using some linkedin and even twitter but I will be posting content on a regular basis.

You can always make content. No industry is too boring. With a little creative thinking you can definitely come up with some interesting stuff. Just think about what would interest your audience and start blogging about it. Don't think about it like a sales pitch, think about what would genuinely interest them.

Harold Mansfield
09-17-2013, 08:46 PM
Twitter, facebook, Google+ and all the others. They are supposed to be able to get you loads and loads of traffic.



Actually, they aren't supposed to get you anything. Social Media is not automatic traffic. You have to develop a game plan on reaching your target market, and more times than not that will involve spending some money. It's a lot more than just making posts and hoping people see and share it. It's text book marketing 101 at it's core.

Sure, the fish are already in the barrel. That's the good thing. But they aren't going to bite just becuase you dropped a hook. Everyone is dropping a hook. You need to formulate the plan of how you expect to attract your target demographic, fine tune it, execute it and have the resources to be able to stay at it long enough to see if it yields any significant results.
Then fine tune it some more, rinse and repeat.

DisQ
09-17-2013, 10:00 PM
What does that mean in concrete terms Harold?

Harold Mansfield
09-18-2013, 12:31 PM
What does that mean in concrete terms Harold?

First you need to determine your goal. Is it just to build "likes" and follower numbers for traffic?
Is it to attract people who are only potentially interested in your product and create brand awareness?
Is it to lure people to your website? And is you website ready to convert?



You need to determine what type of information will most likely engage or entertain your target demographic.
Then you need to structure a plan of how you will create that content well, and frequently. Imagery is is very important.
Then you need to determine how you will get it in front of them..advertising, promoted posts, and like campaigns are the most common ways via Facebook. But they all have some form of advertising
And you need to be able to stay consistent and stay with it.
If you want to run contests or promotions, you need to develop them.


Companies that succeed with social media to grow brand awareness and potential customer base, don't haphazardly just post whatever. They have a plan. A program. Just like any other marketing that you do.

jamesray50
09-18-2013, 12:34 PM
I post my blog to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I also retweet articles related to my industry. I'm not sure I have received any new business this way, but I do get more Facebook likes, Twitter followers and requests to connect on LinkedIn when I do post something. It doesn't take but a minute to share something and keeps my name out there.

KristineS
09-18-2013, 12:36 PM
You also need to make sure you're talking to the right people. A lot of companies go wrong because they just follow and friend randomly and then wonder why their messages seem to be landing on deaf ears. In your case, based on the little I know about your product, I'd say you want to follow other business owners. Think about the people you follow as customers for your products and select based on that profile. Don't follow or friend randomly. That gets you nothing.

Also, keep in mind that you can sell on your profile, but don't just sell. You need to interact. Social media is about community. Make sure you like other pages and comments and comment on other people's feeds. Be a participant, not just someone standing around yelling about themselves all the time. People don't like to be sold, they like to work with people they know and trust. Social media allows you to cultivate those sorts of relationships.

patrickprecisione
09-19-2013, 02:49 PM
You also need to make sure you're talking to the right people. A lot of companies go wrong because they just follow and friend randomly and then wonder why their messages seem to be landing on deaf ears. In your case, based on the little I know about your product, I'd say you want to follow other business owners. Think about the people you follow as customers for your products and select based on that profile.

Yes exactly. And don't just go after people who you think will follow you back. Go after people who are in your desired audience.

quamz0
09-20-2013, 11:48 PM
Yes, social media will drive traffic. However from a sheerly SEO standpoint social media needs to be updated often, link back to the site, and get share/liked/etc. It should be part of any seo campaign.

soum500
09-22-2013, 05:36 AM
I use facebook to keep in touch with those who are my own and I also used to promoted in my battlements.
twitter is actually promoting my business.

Sjfine
10-23-2013, 04:50 PM
the real key is to get your target market to realize that doing business with anyone but you is a big mistake. Social media gurus tend to divert all businesses down that road of post often and add new content. But if your business has a niche market then your job is to identify that market, have a series of emails with good information that you send out over a period of time to each new prospect, giving value and making an offer within each email. I'm talking about a campaign that you repeat with each new prospect. I can tell you more off line - but check out the link at the bottom of this page - The Business of Sales | LivingReal (http://goo.gl/bPvxrj) - it will take you to a powerful site of lots of tested and proven marketing campaigns

Dana_White
11-12-2013, 04:35 PM
Write content with your audience in mind. What could you tell them that would be valuable not necessarily "entertaining." You want to find the people you're trying to market to and then keep your business on their mind.

LeadMaster
01-17-2014, 04:13 PM
We primarily use social media for SEO, sharing software updates and posting industry related articles. It's good to have social options available to those who wish to become more connected.

TMSFlorida
01-17-2014, 10:16 PM
The VERY Short version:
Set up a blog, with a lead capture form (you need to build a list and use an autoresponder)

Write Articles/blog posts about your industry, your company, yourself, etc... Daily-at least one piece of unique, self generated content.
Find an Article/post on either national media or industry website (authority site), copy to your blog page - include full credit to the author....Daily.

Send the first couple sentences of YOUR post to your list...with a link back to the post on your blog.
Do the same on your FB fanpage, twitter, and any other social media you are a member of.
Post 2-3 News/funny/interesting articles, videos, or pictures on your blog and then from their onto FB each day, throughout the day...
it helps break up the bla bla bla bla of your content. Always post it to your blog and THEN post it on social media...you want eyes on your blog site
Subscribe to FB Groups in your market and connect with people in those groups.

wash, rinse, repeat.

There is MUCH more to it, but following that simple 30 min per day routine will help get you more traffic, leads, and sales.


Hope it helps,

JasonG

Damon the Marketer
01-18-2014, 12:07 AM
The above poster has a pretty decent plan.

Here's what I do:

1. Announce a webinar on social media.
2. Wait for 10 registrations.
3. Record the webinar.
4. Send recording to mailing list.
5. Turn webinar recording into white paper.
6. Post on social media.
7. Turn webinar into blog post.
8. Post on social media.
9. Turn webinar into infographic.
10. Post on social media.
11. Repeat step 1.

Make sure you have an opt-in all over your website so that you can build a mailing list.

If you have any questions, contact me or see my website (in signature).

MichaelWallaroo
01-18-2014, 11:50 PM
Have you ever thought about outsourcing your social media management? It can be very cost effective, ESPECIALLY if your social media management company creates awesome content and outreach programs to reach relevant customers.

That's exactly what my company does and does really well. I agree, though... you have to know what to share and what to post in order to convey your business. It can be tricky, but good content that applies to your target audience is vital to establishing a brand/business in todays market. If you don't have "likes", "followers", and "tweets" you're missing a huge market.

To answer the thread question "What do you do on social media" (for businesses): you market, find, and grow a potential customer base from which to convert into paying customers! That's how I found HeadBlade for all my head shaving needs - Facebook!

-michael

Freelancier
01-19-2014, 06:59 AM
t can be very cost effective, ESPECIALLY if your social media management company creates awesome content

That's a huge IF. Many communications companies are hard-wired to make pedantic content. Knowing the difference is often impossible until you are 3-6 months into a campaign. It's not like every post from a company goes viral. That's catching lightning in a bottle. (anyone think "gangnam style" was planned??) So expecting any social media management company to do that is going to get you disappointed.

tallen
01-19-2014, 07:23 AM
One big problem with outsourcing social media marketing: for very small businesses with lots of customer interaction and/or that are strongly location-based, for example in the hospitality sector, their social media presence really has to reflect their personality and the personality of their location. A social media management company "from away" just can't do this very effectively.

Thompson92
05-23-2014, 05:28 AM
I think you would be surprised at how effective a social media management company can be at understanding a company's brand, vision and personality - this is something that you should never underestimate, especially if your a small business struggling to know what to do with with social media. Having said that, there are so many things a company can do itself; think carefully about which platforms are appropriate for your business - what works for some may not work for others. Also, when posting on social media it's easy to get carried away - only post/retweet/like items you think are of a high quality and therefore relevant to your audience. There's nothing worse then your news feed being clogged up with spammy and irrelevant posts; before you know it, they've hit the unsubscribe button!

bjay99
05-23-2014, 09:27 AM
First you need to determine your goal. Is it just to build "likes" and follower numbers for traffic?
Is it to attract people who are only potentially interested in your product and create brand awareness?
Is it to lure people to your website? And is you website ready to convert?



You need to determine what type of information will most likely engage or entertain your target demographic.
Then you need to structure a plan of how you will create that content well, and frequently. Imagery is is very important.
Then you need to determine how you will get it in front of them..advertising, promoted posts, and like campaigns are the most common ways via Facebook. But they all have some form of advertising
And you need to be able to stay consistent and stay with it.
If you want to run contests or promotions, you need to develop them.


Companies that succeed with social media to grow brand awareness and potential customer base, don't haphazardly just post whatever. They have a plan. A program. Just like any other marketing that you do.

This is great tips Harold.
The key I guess is to know your audience/customer.

bigcat1967
06-09-2014, 06:21 PM
You can always make content. No industry is too boring. With a little creative thinking you can definitely come up with some interesting stuff. Just think about what would interest your audience and start blogging about it. Don't think about it like a sales pitch, think about what would genuinely interest them.


Totally agree. You have to make the content very interesting. It used to be that we wrote for SEs, but it's way better to write for your visitors. Make them want to come back and read more.

appointmentCare
06-22-2014, 12:49 PM
Create compelling and useful content for facebook - for example for a spa-owner, I would post pictures of the day spa treatment, keep online fans aware of promotions/discounts, provide links to articles about my spa/salon practice-related topics, etc on facebook. Sharing such content with your fans can go a long way to increase traffic and grow your business. This is not a magic pill which will start bringing growth from day one, but when done religiously over a period of time, you will see definite value coming out such exercises. If you can provide more details on your business, I could advise you on the kind of content you can put. Also you can use facebook to run contests, etc and I have found that to be a great way to get inbound customers.

appointmentCare
06-30-2014, 12:57 AM
"Social Media is a great tool that Small Businesses could leverage to connect with their customers and beat competition.

Here are some tips for creating unfair advantage over your competition on social media on a shoestring budget.

1. Listen

Understanding the pulse of your customers is central to engaging customers effectively on social media. Understanding the customer includes understanding what they like in your offering, what they do, their tastes, what they think of your competition, how they use your services, brickbats and bouquets, etc. You have to start by tuning in to your customer’s voices and listening to the conversations around your services, your competition, etc. The more you listen, the more you learn.

2. Crowdsource Content

For a small business owner, creating engaging content around his/her product, services, value to customers every day may be challenging. This requires a lot of dedicated time and effort, not to mention creativity as well. A way to make this work easier is by focussing on ways to crowdsource content from your customers for your social media posts. Examples of such include - asking customers to post selfies, running a contest where customers can participate and the content generated could be used, posting testimonials written by customers, promoting relevant news and tips around your services, etc.

3. Channels and Platforms

To figure out the relevant channels and platforms, start with spending time to find out more about your target audience. What kind of social media content do they prefer and respond to, what are their likes and dislikes, etc. This will help you select the right platforms and channels to market your product. For example, if you are using facebook, you may want to create simple contests like creating one liners and offering discounts for the best one liners to engage your customers.


4. Adapt and Amplify

Creating compelling and useful content, designed to provide value to your target audience can go a long way to increase traffic and grow your business. But while you create content, keep adapting to new situations and events around your services. For example, adapt your blog articles to create nuggets of information which can become individual posts in your facebook plan. You can then use various social media outreach strategies to amplify them to your target audience

5. Analyze and iterate

Getting your social media marketing strategy right involves a lot of learning, adaptation, evolution and iterations. For every kind of post and promotional strategy, keep analyzing its outreach strategy for desired effectiveness, reach and impact. Based on your analysis, you may need to change either the type of posts, or promotion strategy or outreach methods or continue to do what you were doing .

You dont need to hire any agency or consultants to market your business on social media channels. All you need is to spend some quality time to plan and execute the strategies outlined to create your social media presence for your small business on a shoestring budget to your target audience."

moneyguy
06-30-2014, 04:59 PM
waste time..lol :p

briancarter
07-12-2014, 07:22 PM
The fundamental problem with content marketing and social posting is that we can't create enough content ourselves, even when we do know what to create.

A lot of companies have moved toward curation (posting stuff other people created that has proven to get likes, shares, etc)

You can easily post 9 things by other people for every 1 that you create.

look into whitepapers, ebooks and video marketing- in each of those areas, you can learn what you might "tell people"

for curation, check out buffer, klout, swayy and nuzzle

IT_Engineer
08-17-2014, 08:54 AM
All depends on what your product is. Me and my business partners just started our IT Engineering and Managed services company a few months ago. We recently launched our Facebook and Twitter accounts. To keep content flowing, we post a weekly fact about Cloud services and things well-known CEO's have said in regards to Managed/Hosted IT services being good for your business. There is always something about your industry that is interesting. Look for trends and post blurbs each week about how your company is meeting those trends.