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EnhanceYour
MarketingEffortsWithSocialMedia
Thewayyoushoulduse
socialmediainyoursmallbusiness
JimmyEppersonClearPointsMessaging
ASocialMediaGuideforSmallBusinessesinDallas&Fort-Worth
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Hello.I’mJimmyEpperson,yourmessagingcoachandmarketingtrainer.Thisguide’spurposeistogiveyouenoughinformationaboutsocialmedia,soyoucanmakeeducateddecisionsforyourbusiness.
Thisguideisforsmallbusinessesofferingservices.Thismeansyoudoaphysicalormentalactiontofinishyourjob…opposedtosimplysellingaproductonlineorinyourstore.
Thisguidewillteachyouhowsocialmediacanenhanceyourbusiness.
Whatqualifiesmetotalktoyou?
I’vebeenincommunicationsforalmost15years.Istudiedjournalismincollege,workedfornewspapers,business-consultingfirmsandthendidcommunicationsforAT&T.
ButthethingthatreallyqualifiesmeisthatIresignedfromAT&T(ongreatterms).IcreatedanonlinebusinesscalledPointsonPaper,whichhelpsyoudevelopmessages.ThenIstartedmyownmarketingcompanycalled,ClearPointsMessaging.Ilearnedwhatsocialmediadoesforbusinessesfromtrialanderror.
HaveImademillionsuponmillionsofdollars?Ofcoursenot.
ButIdidgethundredsofpeopletosignuptoafreeserviceandbroughton25customers…justfrommysocialmediamarketingefforts.Thesecustomersareloyalandrespectmyexpertise.
Icanhearyousay,“25?That’sit?”
Ihearya.Iwishitwas2,225.Butlandingthesecustomerswithsocialmediatacticsonly…and
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startingmycompanywithoutreallyknowingwhattoexpect…It’squiteanaccomplishment.
ButIhadtoworkdamnhardforthose25customers.Veryhard.AndalotoftheworkIdidwastoodifficulttodeemitvaluableandnecessary.
Asagoodfriendnoted,Ishouldhavebeenoutonthestreetssellingandknockingondoors.He’sright.IfIreallywantedtomakesomemoneyIshouldhave.ButIwantedtoseehowmucheffortitrequiredtousesocialmediatogetactualcustomers.AndIknow…IshouldhaveknockedondoorswhileusingsocialmediatoenhancetherelationshipsIbeganmaking.
What’sthePointofthisGuide?
Therearealotofmisconceptionsoutthereaboutsocialmedia…andbecauseofthatwecanoftengetthewrongadviceforourbusiness.
Mostofusareafraidwewillbetakenadvantageofbygimmicks,fadsandconartistswhofancythemselvesassocialmediaandbusinessknow-it-alls.AtleastIwas.IhadthisfearbecauseIdidn’tknowenoughaboutsocialmedia.(AndIevenworkedonAT&T’ssocialmediateam!)
PlusIsawsomanyInternet“consultants”promisingtoincreasemysalesby120%,orimmediatelygivingmetheabilitytomakefivefigures.ThatisNOTwhatthisguidepromises.
Thisguideisnotagimmick.Thisguideissimplytohelpyoumakeaneducateddecision,anditwillhelpmenurturerelationshipswithexistingcustomersandfutureprospects.
Readthenextpagetounderstandwhatsocialmediais
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andwhysmallbusinesseswanttouseit…
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Marketing,Socialmedia101
Socialmediaisanarmofmarketing,justlikeadvertising,publicspeaking,publicrelations,andsnailmail.Socialmediaisapieceofyouroverallofflineandonlinemarketingcampaign.
Letmesaythisadifferentway.Socialmediaismarketing…butmarketingisNOTpurelysocialmedia.Marketingissomuchbigger,especiallyforsmallbusinessesofferingservicesinlocalmarkets.Socialmediaisjustapieceofyourmarketingefforts.
Sowhyissocialmediagood?
Companiesmarketonsocialmediabecauseit’samoreaffordablewaytogaintraffic,attentionandgetprospects’informationbygivingawayvaluablecontentlikehow-toguidesandpromotions.Everyonecanbenefitfromit…butit’snotalwaysgoingtobethemainchannelthatfindscustomersforasustainablebusinessofferingservices.Formanybusinesses,socialmediawillonlyenhancethemarketingeffortstheyarealreadydoing.
Gotothenextpagetolearnfivesocialmediafallacies.
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5SocialMediaFallacies1)WhateverIpostwillgetmybusinessattention
AdentistIknewhadlittletimetodevotetosocialmedia.ShehiredasmallmarketingcompanyandtheybeganpostingcontentonherbusinessFacebookpage.Shecomplainedthatthesocialmediastrategydidnotwork.UponaskingherwhatthestrategyoftheFacebookpostswere,shesaiditwastopushcontenttogetpeople’sattention.Thissimplydoesnotwork.Wemustcreateusefulcontentthatwillhelpthecustomerswehaveandprospectsdebatingapurchase.
2)IfIhaveaTwitterorFacebookaccountpeoplewillfollowme
Thisistheequivalenttobeingscheduledtospeakataconference.Butinsteadofspeakingyouarehappywithyournamebeingintheprogram.Youthinkthenamerecognitionintheprogramwillgainyoucustomers.Weknowthiswillnotwork.Instead…whatworksisgivinganamazingspeech,teachingyouraudienceandbeinguseful.Thesameistruewithsocialmedia.Youneedtoshowupandhelpothers.
3)IfIblogI'llgetmoreattention
Thereisathemeinsocialmedia…itisalmostaltruistic.Ifyourblogcontentdoesnothelppeople,isnotinterestinganddoesnotclearlypointtoyourvalueproposition,thenitprobablywon’twork.Justlikeintheexampleabove,youmustshowupandgiveyourcustomerbaseandothersvalue.
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4)Socialmediaisapowerfulenoughmarketingtoolthatitcanbemyonlychannelofcommunication
Ifyouoffersomethingyoucanonlypurchaseonline,thenyes,socialmediaisgoingtobecritical.Afriendofminestartedanonlinetraininguniversityfordevelopers,FreeCodeCamp.Hestrictlyusessocialmediatoattractnewstudents.Butseveralnewsoutletsandblogshavecoveredhisnewuniversity.Soevenhedoesnotstrictlyusesocialmediatogethismessageout.
5)IfIamonsocialmediaIwillimmediatelygetcustomers
Thebestinternetpersonalitieswilltellyouittakesaboutsixto18monthsforyoursocialmediapoststostartworking.WhenIstartedPointsonPaper,acompanydevotedsolelytocreatinggoodmessages,ittookaboutsixmonthsofcontinuousbloggingbeforeIlandedavaluablecustomer.Thereturnoninvestmentwasgreat,butwedon’talwayshavethatkindoftimeandrunway.
NowIknowwhatyou’rethinking:“Wow,JimmyEpp!Socialmediaisabsolutelypointlessformybusiness!”
Let’slookattheadvantagesofsocialmediarealquickbeforeyougiveuponmeentirely…
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5WaysSocialMediaCanHelpYourBusiness
1)Enhancesthemarketingyouarealreadydoing
Let’spretendthatyouareaseven-figurelandscapingbusinessinDallasandyou’renotusingsocialmedia.You’reprobablynotgoingtoneedsocialmediatofindcustomerssinceyouarealreadymakingsevenfigures.Yourwordofmouthandreferralsystemisextremelyeffective.Tosayotherwisewouldbepresumptuous.
However,thelandscapingbusinesscouldstillusesocialmediatoimprovetheirwordofmouthandreferralsystem.
Forexample,thecompanycouldofferahow-toguideonkeepingyouryardinperfectshapeallyearandpromoteitonsocialmedia."HeyevenifIcan'tgetyourbusiness...checkoutourguideonFacebook.Ittellsyouwhatyouneedtodoeachseasontokeepyouryard,bushes,treesandshrubsinshape.Wealsosendourfanstipsandremindersthroughouttheyear:whenit’stimetofertilizeinthewinter,weedpreventiontips,wateringtipsinadroughtandmore."
Prospectsandcustomerswouldbeinterestedinthis.Theymightevengivethecompanykeyinformationtoreceiveit...likeanemailaddress.Thenthebusinesscoulddoevenmoremarketingtogetthisprospect'sbusiness!
2)Helpsyoustayconnectedwithcustomersyoualreadyhave
Youhaveanadvantageoveronlinecompanies.Youarefacetofacewithyourcustomer.Imagineifyou
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couldsendtheminformationthatwillmakethemvalueyourrelationshipmore?Tokeepusingthelandscapingbusiness,youcouldsendtipsonwateringwhenit’shot.Youcouldsendfreezewarningsandtellyourcustomerswhenandhowtocoverbushesorshrubs.Wecansendthiskindofinformationtoouraudienceonsocialmediatoenhancetheirlives.
3)Helpscustomerswithpurchasingdecision
Ifyoudoyoursocialmedia,websiteandmessagingright,allofitshouldpointtothesameconsistentmessage.Andwhencustomersgotoanyoftheseplaces…itshouldgivethemreassurancethatyouareanexpert,thatyoucanhelpthemandthattheywillhaveagoodexperience.
4&5)Youcanspecificallytargetcustomersusingsocialmedia…andit’sinexpensive.
Socialmediauses(4)inexpensiveadsandyoucan(5)specificallytargetthepeopleyouwant.Thisishelpfulifyouaretryingtobuildbrandawarenessaboutyourcompany.
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TheConnectionEconomyTherealmarketingguruofourtime—SethGodin—saidweareintheconnectioneconomy.It’seasierthanevertoconnectwithothers.Andwhatwe’realllookingforismeaningfulconnection…aplacetobelong.
Ibelievewithsomuchdigitalcommunication,we’regoingtobegintakingstepsbackwards.We’regoingtolongforconnection,andthecompanythatcanprovidethisclosenessthemostisgoingtowinmorecustomers.Face-to-facemeetingswillbecomeevenmorecriticaltodobusiness,butsocialmediawillbecomeevenmorecriticaltoenable,facilitateandnurturetheserelationships.
Thiscommunicationneedstobeauthenticandneedstobewiththemotiveofreallywantingtohelpourcustomers.
Prospectsandcustomersaresmartthesedays.Theyknowwhenwearejusttryingtoimpresssomeonewithartificialspeechorwriting.
Sotobetrulyauthentic,youneedtobehonest.Original.True.Authenticcommunicationdoesnottrytodupesomeoneintobelievingsomething,anditdoesnotbringoutacaneandponyshowtodazzleandamaze.
Ifwetakethisapproachwithsocialmedia,itwillbeachannelworthinvestingintoenhanceourmarketingcampaign.
Wesimplycannotshowapresenceandexpecttogetresults.Wemustparticipateifwewanttofullytakeadvantageofthischannel.
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TheNeedforClarityThroughoutYourMarketing
Togetaconnection…weneedtomakesureourmessageslineupeverywherewecommunicate….Orwewillconfuseourcustomers.
ThisisaproblemIsee.Themessagethatpullsacustomerintoasaleisnotuniformlydistributedthroughoutyourbrand’scommunication.Inotherwords,whenyoutalktoaprospectabouttheserviceyouprovide,itisnotthesamemessagetheygetwhentheysearchforyouonlineandseeyourFacebookoryourwebsite.
Thissendsdifferentmessagestoourcustomers,anditcanconfusethemandgivethemdoubtsabouttheirpurchasingdecision.
Herearesomequestionstoaskyourselftodetermineifyouhaveauniformmessage:
• What’sthemessagethatmakescustomerswanttobuy?
• IfIlookatmybrandonlinedoesitrepresentthesamemessage?
• IsallofthestuffIpostonsocialmediapointingtothisoverarchingmessagingIamtryingtogetacrosstomyaudience?
• Doesmywebsite,FacebookorLinkedInrepresentwhatIthinkmycustomerswant?
Ifyouanswerednotomorethanoneofthese,itmightbetimetorethinkyourmessagingandmarketingstrategy.
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AbouttheAuthor
I’mJimmyEppersonandIliveandworkinDallas,Texas.IworkedasanewsreporterandincorporateAmericabeforebecomingafulltimeindependentmarketingtrainerandmessagingcoachforlocalbusinesses.
Mygoalistoarmyouwiththeknowledgeyouneedtomakethebestpossibledecisionsforyourbusiness.Ibelieveyouareinamuchbetterpositiontoletsocialmediaenhancethemarketingyouarealreadydoing.Yougettointeractwithyoucustomerfacetoface.
Socialmediaisnotcomplicated.Buttheproblemisthereissomuchinformationoutthere…weusuallyendupconfusedormisinformed.
Ifyouhavequestionsaboutmarketingorcommunications,[email protected].
Ifyouknowabusinessownerorsomeonewhocouldusethisguide,Ihopeyouwillshareitwiththem.
Mybest,
JimmyEpp