digital marketing / social media tips for small business owners
DESCRIPTION
These are the slides we use for Digital Marketing / Social Media Seminars we provide small business owners to help them understand the options they have in getting their business productive online in their local marketsTRANSCRIPT
+Agenda• Goals
• What is Social Media/Digital Marketing?
• Social Media/Digital Marketing tools/options
• Marketing “Tools”
• Case Study
• Q&A / Wrap-Up
• Websites • Email Marketing
• Social Media Sites • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Review Sites • Advertising
• Loyalty / Referral Programs
+Goals
• Explain the different types of tools in the Digital Marketing • How they work• Why they are important
• Take the “mystery” out of Digital Marketing
• Give you a high level overview of the things you should know and think about• We can go deeper on any of these topics off-line
• Help you figure out how to make Digital Marketing as “easy” and as regular a part of your customer outreach/communication as your telephone.
+What is Social Media / Digital Marketing?
+What is Social Media / Digital Marketing?
• Marketing that makes use of electronic devices to engage with stakeholders.
• Stakeholders communicate via many different channels online (email, social media, review sites, blogs, etc!)
• Massive shift from the “offline” world to the “online” world
+How Marketing Has Changed
Old School Marketing New School Marketing
+Digital Marketing - Websites
New Customers
Existing Customers
+Digital Marketing - Websites
• Typically the first place a Small Business will stake their “presence” online
• Migration from “informational” sites to “interactive” sites• Ironically, cost to build is typically in line with how far up the interactive
curve you want to go• Also need to consider e-Commerce, Supply Chain, Customer Relationship
Mgmt (CRM) and other automation that can save time
• First step – list out what the goals are of your website – what do you want to be able to accomplish with customers/partners?
+Building a Website - Options
• DIY sites
• Vertical focused sites
• More sophisticated platforms
• Hosting providers
• Hire a company/person to build it for you
+Blogging
• Not the same as a website!
• Fresh, dynamic content on areas you are an expert in
• This takes time and effort – and you need to be consistent
• Can help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – we’ll get to this later
• Platforms like Disqus allow you to engage with your audience
+Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
New Customers
+Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• “Natural” search – what comes up organically (what the search engines think is the best answer to the question the user is posing)
• Google far and away the leader in this area. They change the rules ALL THE TIME to keep people from “gaming” the results
• What should you do about it (Hint: fresh, compelling and relevant content)
• Tip - https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
• Tools/sites to help with SEO:
+Email Marketing
Existing Customers
+Email Marketing
• Allows you to target your existing customers nicely via email
• Analytics to track opens / clicks / etc.
• Requires effort to curate your mailing list and create REGULAR content
• The “McDonalds” effect - You need to touch people regularly for outbound marketing to have a measurable effect
• A/B Testing allows you to “try out” content and measure/gauge results
+Social Networking Sites
New Customers
Existing Customers
+Social Networking Sites
• It’s not just Facebook!
• Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and others
• There are pros/cons of each platform
• Why are you using it? What do you want to get out of it?
• What a Facebook “Like” or a “re-tweet” is really worth
+Social Media – Areas to Consider
• These sites will start costing you $$$. The less people on a site, the easier it is to be heard for free. Once a site becomes popular, it gets noisy and the site can start charging more.
• Spend time on each site as a USER - who they are targeting, what it’s best used for, how they make $$$
• Keep up with changes - for example, the new Twitter profile
• Your best bet to help with SEO is Google+ (google.com/business)
+Online Review/Directory Sites
New Customers
Existing Customers
+Online Review/Directory Sites
• Yelp, YP.com, Angie’s List, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews
• These were built to serve the CONSUMER - not you
• You should respond to reviews
• Managing your NAP (Name/Address/Phone) contact details online (Yext, SinglePlatform, getListed, mozLocal)
• They can help with SEO, but with varied results that you do not control
+Advertising
New Customers
+Advertising
• “I know at least half of my advertising budget works; I just don’t know which half.” - Henry Ford
• A variety of options - coupon sites (Groupon, LivingSocial), Review sites (Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor), Online Advertising (Google AdWords, local advertising), Traditional advertising (Yellow pages, hyperlocal newspaper, coupon clipper/circular)
• You will pay a bunch and it will be challenging to manage/measure
• Targeted Ads can be more effective and maximize advertising spend
• You need a specific plan and consistency for this to work well. Every time you stop one thing and start another, it’s like starting over.
• This does not build community
+Loyalty / Referral Programs
Existing Customers
+Loyalty / Referral Programs
Existing Customers
An outstanding way to engage with your existing customers
Loyalty – typically points for frequent patronage
Referral – typically a bonus for referring friends and neighbors
Lots of online options – but understand the cost to manage/maintain
Managing and Measuring these are the biggest challenges. If you’re going to do it, make sure you have ways to measure the effectiveness
+Tools for the Small Business Owner
• “Rental” SEO shops - MainStreetHub, WhiteSpark, etc - you will pay a monthly fee (usually $200+) for them to manage this for you
• Vertical focused directories - will give you visibility, but no way to manage your current customers
• Larger software suites (e.g. DemandForce, ExactTarget)
• Online platforms specific to small businesses for building community and managing all the aspects of a Social Media / Digital Marketing program (e.g. Bizyhood)
Existing Customers
New Customers
+Bizyhood Plug!
New Customers
Existing Customers
+Bizyhood Plug!
• Personalized landing page • Events / Promotions • Loyalty / Referrals• Social Links• Online Feedback including
Responses (NO filtering)• Two-way communication with your
customers
• Semi-private network for a business and their customers
• Social Publishing
• Verified Feedback
• Send information to customers using whatever channel they prefer
• Community site(s) integration
• Local SEO – focused on gaining visibility in your local service area
The worlds first Community Network
+Case Study – Jay Garrett RE/MAX Realty
• Be subtle – Build a Brand!
• Websites – remax-nj.com, MyMonmouth. Little blogging focused on real estate today.
• Facebook – no blatant advertising, more subtle. Brand himself more so than his business.
• Twitter – mostly a listening tool (Twitterific).
• SEO – not as much as he should, mostly “long tail” keywords.
• Online Reviews – Not much. Not a fan of Yelp. Likes Bizyhood.
• Advertising – Zurple.com – focused solely on realtors. Some Facebook ads. Overall $400-600/mo.
+Q&A and Contact Info
Scott Barnett
@scottabarnett
@bizyhood
908-216-3026 (m)
Find this Presentation online! http://slidesha.re/1tU7eHD