Google Business Center Listings
October 1, 2009
With all the buzz about social media marketing most business owners are missing one easy tool that can gain them more exposure online. The missing piece in their online marketing strategy is Google Local Business Listings. This is a free service that Google offers to help businesses get listed in their local trade area. This service is part of Google Maps and allows a business profile as part of the Maps application. These listings may then be shown at the top of the search engine results for a given search phrase.
 The listings shown beside the map in this search result are the local business listing results that are returned by Google. All the search engines have a similar application but Google is by far the most used search engine. The picture is small and impossible to read in this graphic but if you do a search in Google for almost any keyword, you will see similar results returned.
Google Local business listings have been around for 3+years and yet fewer business owners know about getting a local listing than know about Twitter. This isn't glamorous or sexy but it's a pretty good starting place for online marketing efforts and getting your business seen in local results.
Learn more about Google Local Business Listings on our website.
Leveraging Social Media
October 14, 2009
Learning how to Tweet and putting up a Facebook page won't help extend brand awareness or sales without a strategy in place that uses the social media platforms to build a "funnel" that drives traffic.
 A picture is worth a thousand words and the graphic may help clarify my explanation. An effective social media campaign leverages all marketing activities to gain the most exposure.
Although the graphic doesn't show arrows pointing between each platform, that's part of a leverage strategy. Twitter should reference YouTube. Posts made to Twitter should be included in Facebook and vice versus. Blogs should be added to the wall of the website and referenced in Twitter. If a special event or sale is announced on Twitter, it would be good to send an email and use a Follow me on Twitter link. The website should reference the Twitter accounts and the latest Tweets should also appear on the website. There are applications out there that automate much of this process. Not all applications are created equal and it might be best to consult with a social media expert to determine the most reliable applications for automation.
I'm not perfect and to be honest, I don't always stay on top of each of the activities and post as frequently as I should but I do post on a regular basis and automate and leverage all my posts to various locations to leverage what I am able to do.
Before you begin your foray into the wild world of social media, I'd advise spending a little money to have a social media consultant help you develop a strategy that will maximise your efforts.
Email is a Social Media Tool Too
October 15, 2009
Email can be one of the most annoying and irritating business activites imaginable but at the end of the day I don't know how I could live without it. In addition to staying up with friends and clients, I subscribe to several services that provide valuable information about my industry as well as competitor activity. I truly don't have time to surf the Internet looking for information. Having it delivered to me in an email from a service or individual that I trust is a huge time saver for me.
I do follow specific people on Twitter and read blogs but it's sometimes difficult to find the time to discover new services or opportunities to promote my business. That's where email is valuable. I hate spam more than anyone ( I get enough of it to be an expert on the subject) but the benefit of receiving information from trusted sources through email is still a valuable service.
Most of us don't think of email as a social media platform and yet I believe, if used correctly, it's one of the most reliable social promotion tools available. Most of us don't check our Twitter or Facebook accounts as often as we check our email. Building a relationship with prospects via email takes some skill and isn't for everyone but if you're willing to put in the time and effort, the sales payoff can be huge.
|
Subscribe
