LinkedIn Showcase Pages: A Major Change to Your LinkedIn Company Page

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14Apr

If you have been keeping up with the content I share here on our blog, as well as on my radio show “The Social Marketing Academy”, you will know that I am a huge proponent of the power of using LinkedIn to promote and brand your business online. The sheer number of possibilities available to your business on LinkedIn is seemingly endless.

Aside from your professional LinkedIn profile (which is where you go when you log into your LinkedIn account) you also have the opportunity of creating a LinkedIn Company Page. I’m sure that many of you reading this already have LinkedIn Company Pages and have packed them with the information your target market would find engaging.

But did you know that LinkedIn has recently made a major change to that Company Page?

If you are reading this now, your LinkedIn company page no longer has a “Products” or “Services” page – as well as a featured products and services splash page. This page appeared on the top tab next to your logo and when you clicked on it, you were able to see the list of products and services as well as an optional splash page to further engage your audience.

While this leaves a huge void in your Company Page – trust LinkedIn to already have the solution ready for you to use. In order to help companies focus more on sharing information regarding specific services that are offered by their companies, LinkedIn has created “Showcase Pages” which allow you to create a custom page for each individual product or service that your business offers.

These pages can be very useful in increasing visibility to key service/product offerings that you want to focus on, so let’s get you started in creating your first Showcase Page today!

Here is a quick step-by-step guide to getting your LinkedIn Showcase Page up and running in just a matter of minutes:

From all of your products/services, choose your most popular one to focus your first Showcase Page around.
Go to your LinkedIn Company Page and then click the “Edit” tab on the right-hand side. On the drop-down menu, choose “Create a Showcase Page”.
On the box that pops up, add your Showcase Page Name – which would be the name of the product or service that you have chose to feature. Then choose the page administrators (you will be shown as a default administrator) and click “Create Page”.
This will now take you to the main “Overview” section of your Showcase Page. This is where you have to get your branding right. It all starts off with your Full Width Image. This will be similar to your Facebook Cover Image and should be inline with the branding you use on your website or online point of sale. Make sure that this is 974 x 330 pixels or larger with a maximum file size of 2MB. It can be in PNG, JPEG or GIF formats. Click “Add Image” and then choose it from your files, upload and click “Save”.
Now you will see a gray box where there are 3 items you need to complete. First, choose the language you want to optimize your Showcase Page Name and Description for.
Next make sure that your Showcase Page Name is correct, and then move onto the Showcase Page Description section. Here you need to briefly describe your product or service and let your target audience know what to expect from this page. The catch? You only have 200 characters to do it with – so you have to get right to the point! Note: I think this is the most challenging step of creating the Showcase Page.
Designated Admins: here you can add or change the administrators that you chose when you first created the Showcase Page.
Logos. Now you have to choose your logos for the page (which is very similar to when you create your Company Page in the first place). If your product or service has its own unique logo, then add it here. If not, use your company logo in these spaces. Make sure that your standard logo is 100 x 60 pixels and your square logo is 50 x 50 pixels. These will be used in your Showcase Page’s network updates, so make sure it is on-point!
Featured Groups. Do you have a custom LinkedIn group directly associated with the topic of your Showcase Page? If so, add it to the Featured Groups section by typing in the name and choosing it from the list provided.
Next scroll up to the top, and on the right-hand column you will see a spot that asks you for your Showcase Page Website URL. Copy and paste in the URL from the page in your website that is directly associated with the product or service you are featuring on your Showcase Page.
Now choose your Main Showcase Page Industry from the drop down list.
If you want to associate your Showcase Page with your company, click “Enable”. If not, leave the box unchecked.
Click Publish!

Now you have created your first Showcase Page!

But what now?

Now you will be able to share updates to this Showcase Page that are SPECIFIC to the product or service. Say for example, that your company is an assisted living facility and you have created a Showcase Page around your “Memory Care” service. So, when you go to post updates to your page, these posts will be related to your memory care service, memory care topics and other related items that would interest those members of your target market who you want to engage with your page.

Essentially Showcase Pages are Company Pages on steroids as you can provide a full page of useful information related to a specific product or service. Make sure that you are able to post on a consistent basis and make sure that you promote them to your extended networks online and off.

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Own a Fitness-Related Business? Avoid These 6 Social Media Marketing Mistakes!

By Christopher Tompkins

19Mar

Social Media, Uncategorized

With all of the information out there about social media, it is tough to know what to pay attention to and what to take with a grain of salt. Yet even with all of this information, we all still make our fair share of mistakes when executing our social media marketing campaigns.

As the owner of an online marketing agency, everyday I speak with people who are trying to make the most out of their Facebook and LinkedIn profile, or making their “tweets” count on Twitter.

One market in particular that I’ve found struggles to find social media success is that of the fitness industry. While some businesses are absolute super stars, there are many that are not measuring up. This is completely understandable when it comes to the many facets of not only running your fitness-based business, but also learning the online marketing ropes perhaps for the first time.

Now, this is not the end of the world and you can definitely turn things around. To get you started, I wanted to share some of the most common mistakes that I have seen fitness-based businesses make over the years on social media marketing sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. Here is the list with descriptions and tips on how to combat them in the future:

Mistake #1: Lack of Research

This is a very important one. With all of the hype around social media (and also due to the fact that creating accounts is free and easy), many of us are eager to just jump in head first. Keep in mind that social media is a branding and visibility platform and thus needs to carry the right messaging and voice. Before you go full speed ahead, first see what you are getting yourself into.

I suggest creating a sparse profile and taking the time to look through each site. Where is your target market? What is your competition doing right (which can really help you come up with a strategy)? What applications can be useful? How are people communicating? What tools to I have to communicate with my market? While Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can work to everyone’s advantage, if you only have time to manage one or two presences, it is best to be able to pinpoint the right ones and save yourself time and effort.

Top tip: a great way of seeing what sites suit your business is by asking your existing audience via polling.

Mistake #2: Lack of Focus

When you execute an advertising campaign, you know who you are targeting. When you do a public relations campaign, you know what market you are trying to reach out to. When you do an email marketing campaign….well, you get the point. Social media is no different.

Social media allows us to target with laser focus, you just need to identify who you are trying to reach. Once identified, the key is to connect with “meaningful people” not just random people to get “the numbers.” Come on, why connect with 10,000 people who don’t care about you? What good does that do? Find connect and engage with people that matter. Focus!

Top tip: Social media is another marketing channel, it is not the “be all and end all” of your entire marketing strategy!

Mistake #3: Lack of Consistency

If you are going to execute a social media campaign, make sure to do it on a consistent basis – not whenever you can grab a free second. By consistent I mean daily, weekly, bi-weekly…on some sort of schedule. Since you are growing your audience, you need to be in front of them gaining that visibility and credibility consistently.

Top tip: Create a schedule of when you will be executing social media and what messages you will be highlighting. It takes a few minutes, but can save hours of weekly work. No time to even make a plan? Outsource! It’s not a dirty word anymore.

Mistake #4: Using a 100% ‘Push’ Marketing Approach

Push marketing is used all of the time in traditional marketing. While it is a perfect fit in many instances, it is not the foundation of an engaging social media strategy. Push marketing literally “pushes” what you want directly into your audience, while “pull” marketing using social media is about starting a conversation, engaging, enchanting and much more. My suggestion is to use a 90% pull and a 10% push marketing equation. This is something that I have used and it works a treat. This way you can grow your audience and create value before offering up a special discount. If they believe you to be credible through your pull approach, when you incorporate the push elements you will have higher levels of success.

Top tip: To ensure you are not missing your ratios, write all of your social media updates at once. So if you are writing 10, make sure 2 are self promotional and the other 8 contain entertaining, engaging or educational content.

Mistake #5: Wrong Goals

Truly look at what you are trying to achieve, and “more sales” is not enough. Social media has many outcomes, so it is smart to have a broader scope. Think in terms of hits to your website, newsletter signups, ebook/book sales/downloads….this is the way to go!

Top tip: Social media ROI is based around the goals that you set out for your campaign. Make sure to write down your goals and measure them on a weekly and monthly basis!

Mistake #6: Lack of Planning

Again, I am going back to the importance of a plan: without a plan, you plan to fail. Although we know this cliche all too well, there is definitely truth to it. Why? Because a strategic plan saves you time and money – two things that we all can use, right?

Sit down and figure out your marketing strategy and then layer your social media strategy on-top. Social media can support and enhance everything you do, you just have to keep the two connected. Without the connection, you are wasting the power of cross marketing and branding. Flying blindly in a new marketing medium could not only be risky for your reputation, but also cause you more trouble than you can handle.

Top tip: Spend the time to write a plan and save your most valuable resources – time and money!

I hope that these mistakes are ones that you have not made and if you have, you will no longer make. It is important for us to all to take a close look at our plans and strategies in order to see how strong and effective they can be. Without strategy or planning, a social media marketing campaign takes a lot more time and a lot more effort to execute. In the ever competitive fitness industry, making sure that your brand is cohesive and your marketing is on-point is paramount to your success (online and off).

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Relationship Marketing: Is It Working For You?

By Dale Griffen

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14Mar

Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

(This article is featured in the latest issue of Doctor’s Life Magazine. They have kindly allowed us to reprint this with permission. To learn more about Doctor’s Life Magazine and read the rest of this month’s terrific issue – click HERE)

We’ve all heard sayings similar to: “people, not products, drive sales” or “people do business with people they like.” Customer service and good client relationships have always been important when it comes to acquiring and maintaining clients, but now more than ever it’s so important to cultivate and nurture these people and businesses by using relationship marketing. Why?

Most consumers want to talk about their experiences, but now their opinions aren’t just shared across the fence, they’re shared online—worldwide, instantly, and not just to their friends, but to anyone that wants to know more about you. Are you just letting it happen, are you getting involved, monitoring what’s being said about you, your company, products, and services and translating it into higher revenue? Relationship marketing is vital in making sure that the positives are emphasized, and any negatives are corrected. It’s all about ensuring customer satisfaction and retention.

Let’s take a step back and look at exactly what relationship marketing is. In a nutshell, it’s considered marketing that puts an emphasis on long-term customer relationships by utilizing forms of communication other than advertising and sales promotions, and thereby developing a far more satisfying overall purchasing experience for both the buyer and seller.

Relationships of any kind exist for what each person gets out of it. It doesn’t sound very romantic, but think about it, if your significant other didn’t give you the security, affection, love, trust, financial stability, or whatever else you personally need—that relationship wouldn’t work. The same holds true for business relationships, they too are based on the “what’s in it for me” mentality. Are you providing what your client needs? How do you know?

Besides person-to-person interactions or speaking over the phone, social media is an extremely effective tool in furthering the client-business relationship. Let’s take a look at how Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Yelp, FourSquare or any other platform can help you develop better relationships with your current and future clients, other professionals, and leaders in your industry.

As we mentioned, people share their experiences, opinions, and even suggestions—good or bad. Now, they’re doing it online, with 757 million daily active users on Facebook, 400 million daily Tweets, and over 259 million LinkedIn members, 45 million users on Foursquare, and 117 million monthly visits to Yelp. People are talking!

The benefit for you is that since these platforms are public, you have the ability to join in on the conversation. Better yet, if you are proactive, you can develop relationships with these people that are lasting and beneficial to your bottom line. Remember, when you’re in a relationship with someone, they are much more likely to be loyal to you and tell their friends about you. A loyal customer is your best sales person!

Logically, some of the keys to a good personal relationship are; taking an interest, listening, meeting basic needs, having positive interactions, and good problem solving skills. Are you doing this with your business relationships?

Let’s look at each of these in terms of social media. Are you posting on social media with the goal of helping people to solve problems rather than gain sales? A great quote is, “People don’t want quarter-inch drills—they want quarter-inch holes” by Ted Levitt. This means that people do not necessarily pay for a “product” or “service,” they pay for the solution to a problem. In fact, what we do in business is rent those products and services to our clients to get jobs done in their lives.

Have you developed good “listening skills” online? One of my favorite true stories involves a famous steak house. A man had a same-day round trip flight from New Jersey to Tampa for a business meeting. While waiting to take off in Tampa that evening, as a joke he tweeted: “Hey @Mortons – can you meet me at Newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours? K, thanks. :)” And guess what? They did. You may have heard of this very true story—it generated a lot of press, and a LOT of business for the steakhouse, not to mention some very loyal customers! (Read more here: bit.ly/MortonsCRM). What can you do to be sure you’re “listening?”

Obviously, part of listening includes handling in-person complaints, suggestions, and compliments. But as we mentioned, people may be more comfortable simply posting these things online. How can you catch them?

Here are a couple of ideas!

• Go to Google and search for, and set up, alerts. Enter all of the keywords and key phrases that describe you and your business, things like your name, company name, specialty, location, ZIP code, and even specific search queries that people may enter to find a business like yours. (You may even want to set up alerts for your competition to see what they’re up to!)
• To find conversations on Twitter that you might want to be involved with, go to twitter.com/search-advanced. Enter the criteria you are looking for, for example if you sold cars, you might search for the key phrase: “I need a new car” and your ZIP code. You’d be surprised at how many entries there are there. Responding to that tweet could have excellent results! Take a look, and see how you might modify it for your business! Another great tool is TweetDeck, a very inexpensive tool to help you manage your social media.
• On LinkedIn there are a plethora of groups that you can join that are dedicated to your specific niche. Find the groups that are right for you by typing in your keywords and start some discussions, or get involved with some current discussions! It will elevate your status as an expert in your field. It’s a great networking platform that can be dialed in to your target audience and location.
• Look in on Foursquare and Yelp to see that your information is there, and updated—then check in from time to time to see what people are saying.

Be active in posting on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, putting up information that is informational and helpful to the reader. Post tips and articles that are related to your area of practice, and pepper in promotional posts only now and then. You want to make sure you have an active social “voice,” but don’t forget the importance of social “listening.” Remember that social media is PR, not sales. Emphasis on the word “social.” When someone “likes,” shares, or comments on any of your posts on social media, be sure to respond to them. Just like in a real-life networking setting, if someone “liked” or commented on your tie or shoes and you didn’t respond, they would walk away. The same holds true on social media.

Remember, just like any relationship, there’s work involved. The social media channels are free to use, but as we’ve said before, “time is money.” It’s crucial to develop a marketing plan for your social media activities and stick to it.

One last quote from Zig Ziglar: “Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, and no trust.” When you develop a good relationship with someone and earn their trust, you can show them much easier that they do need, can afford, and want what you’re offering!

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New Year, New You…New Marketing Strategy? Setting Business Up for Success in 2014

By Dale Griffen

3Jan

Marketing, Uncategorized

This article has been reprinted with permission from Doctor’s Life Magazine. To learn more about Doctor’s Life Magazine, please click here.

A link to this entire issue can be found here.

Before you know it the holiday season will be behind us. We will have enjoyed time with friends and family, decorated and undecorated for the season, and eaten to capacity. What’s next? New Year’s resolutions, battling for a free treadmill at the gym, trying crash diets, quitting smoking…and then, before you know it, life goes back to normal. Those resolutions and goals are all but forgotten for most of us. In fact, according to a study by the University of Scranton: Journal of Clinical Psychology, only about 8% of Americans that set New Year’s Resolutions are successful in achieving them.

Now let’s slant this towards something near and dear to you: your business. New Year’s resolutions are generally geared towards personal goals, but you are not the only one who can benefit from change, your business can as well. What steps can you list RIGHT NOW that you are going to make in 2014 to ensure that you’re among that successful 8% of Americans?

If you want to invigorate your business, the best place to start is your marketing strategy. A marketing strategy is a written formula for how you will achieve success. As you know, with any plan, those that actually have a ‘written plan’ find greater success.

I started out my career as an R.N., and learned the nursing process – which consists of Assess, Diagnose, Plan, Implement, and Evaluate (ADPIE). This formula works for a lot of different things – and I want to show you how it relates to several portions of your marketing strategy too!

To ensure that 2014 is a fruitful one for your business, take a look at the following ideas and see if you can add them to your existing marketing strategy or if they can help you lay the groundwork for a brand new marketing strategy!

Your Website
First of all, take a look at your website. Assess what it looks like and it’s functionality. Remember many times this is the first impression people get of you when searching online. Diagnose what it’s problems are. Does it reflect the professionalism and quality service you provide? Are the graphics clean, clear, and fresh? Is it a website that you personally would want to explore? Does it give clear and direct information, methods of contact, and is it easy to navigate? Is the design responsive (works on web, tablets and phones)? Remember one of the largest growing search tools are smartphones! Is it friendly and interactive? Do you have one of the most overlooked portions of a website – a robust blog? Next Plan what you’re going to do. Make a list of the issues you’ve discovered above and decide what you’re going to do to fix them. Is it something you can do on your own? Or should you find a company to help you with it? Once you’ve made that decision – put it into action, Implement it! If you’re doing it yourself, set a time frame to have it completed in. If you’re outsourcing make sure the company you are outsourcing to gives you a concrete plan and work together with them to get it done. Once your website is complete, Evaluate before signing off on the project. Does is meet all the Assessments and Diagnoses from above?

Social Media
Now let’s take a look at your social media marketing. Whether you’re proficient at navigating the online marketing waters at this time or not – have you logged on to each site, especially the big six – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and Pinterest and claimed your business name? This is important, as businesses are quickly jumping on the social media bandwagon and the name you want may be already taken. Note: Some unscrupulous businesses are even claiming their competition’s name!

Generally the most successful healthcare related campaigns focus on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Assess the status of each of the platforms you engage with. Again, as with your website, people may come in contact with your online profile before event meeting you. Will they be impressed? Are you getting lots of traffic to your website, phone, and office from your social media campaign? If not – Diagnose the problem. Is your number of followers low? Are they engaging and commenting, sharing, ‘liking’ what you post? If not, Plan how to manage the problem and Implement it. Attend a seminar on how to improve your social media overall. Hire a consultant to work with you directly. Or outsource your social media campaign to a company that can populate your sites, engage with them using topics and questions that will entice them, not only to engage, but to keep them coming back to your site – sharing, commenting, and ‘liking’ what you write, catapulting you as an expert in your field. Then sit back and Evaluate the number of added clients, invitations to events, speaking engagements, and collaborations that you receive!

Email Marketing
Another thing to Assess in your marketing strategy is your Email marketing campaign. What’s the status of your database? Does your newsletter carry your business branding through so that clients recognize your content? Is your campaign consistent, scheduled, and do you monitor the results? Is it tied in with your social media marketing? Once you assess and diagnose the status of this portion of your marketing strategy, you’ll be able to plan and implement your plan of action and then evaluate the results!

Of course these items are just the tip of the iceberg, but consider them in addition to using ADPIE to create an extremely effective marketing strategy for 2014! Remember – it is never too late to make positive marketing changes in your business.

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Incorporating HIPAA into Your Practice’s Social Media Marketing

By Dale Griffen

23Sep

Healthcare Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

This article has been reprinted with permission from Doctor’s Life Magazine. To learn more about Doctor’s Life Magazine, please click here.

It’s clear that social media is here to stay and that ALL businesses, including healthcare organizations, are currently using and will continue to increase their use of social media to connect with their targeted audience—patients, peers, influencers—all with the goal of creating a wonderful community where you impart your knowledge, support your peers, and increase your status within that community as an expert—thereby driving business to your door. However, the issue of patient privacy, HIPAA, and offering advice is still of concern. Many have said; “My business did fine before social media…I don’t need it!” However, our client base and the Baby Boomers (incidentally the fastest growing segment of social media users) are turning to the web and social media to get answers, research providers, and give their opinions. Their fingers are still “doing the walking,” but on their keyboards instead of in a phonebook.

Physicians are being asked to deal with more and more lately. With the increase in the cost of doing business, insurance, managed care, reimbursement issues, litigation, the advent and transition to EMR’s, HIPAA concerns, and now social media integration, it’s understandable that physicians are slower to adopt this means of communication. However, physicians are such a wealth of information, those that do get involved in social media and blogging reap huge benefits and quickly develop a reputation as an expert in their field, often leading to an increase in new patients, requests to speak at events, invitations to write for industry journals, and more!

Often, clients expect that if you are on the cutting edge of your medical specialty, that the other aspects of your practice—your office, your staff, advertising pieces, personal appearance, and even your business cards, website, and social media presence—should reflect that level of professionalism and technological savvy. How can you be a part of this 24/7 online networking event while keeping current and ahead of the curve with the ever powerful and beneficial results of a successful social media campaign?

In a previous Doctor’s Life Magazine column (bit.ly/SocialMediaRx) I discussed how social media is an extension of your practice specialty, personality, current marketing plan, office atmosphere, and website – all rolled into one.

Here are 10 suggestions on ways to have a successful social media campaign, and continue to communicate online with patients (current and future) and market your services, while adhering to HIPAA guidelines. Note that these tips can apply to texting, emailing, voicemails, and other forms of communication as well!

1. How you act on social media is transparent, and you should act no differently online than you do in person, or how your sales and marketing staff would at a networking event, or how any of us would in an elevator. SO as social media is truly a “conversation,” just like face-to-face interactions, you need to maintain your own personality and tone, you also need to refrain from posting anything that might identify a patient, even if you don’t mention their name. You wouldn’t want to post any combination of things such as locations, times or events that may allow someone to draw a conclusion or disclose personal information. Although a picture is worth a thousand words, be sure to get authorization before posting pictures of employees, vendors, or patients.

2. Maintain professional boundaries and don’t combine your personal and professional online accounts. Have a separate account for your friends and family and a business page for your practice. Refrain from “friending” your patients on your personal account. Occasionally a patient may find your personal account and send you a friend request. If that happens, be sure to private message them to let them know that your practice’s social media policy prohibits you from connecting with them on your personal page, but offer the links so they can follow your business page.

3. Social media is a transparent platform for sharing information, not hiding it. With that in mind, be sure that whatever you post, whether it’s an original post or one that you share, re-tweet, or mention is one that you’d be proud of, and wouldn’t mind if it were printed in a newspaper. Many times, once things are out there in cyberspace, they’re out there, which brings us to our next tip…

4. Before you push send, count to three and ask yourself if the post is true, helpful, respectful, does it apply to a mixed audience, and could it be misconstrued as offensive by anyone. Remember, once you push send it becomes immediate, and although you can sometimes delete a post, people can print it or save it before you do. This applies to responses to comments, especially when you might not agree. Again, be sure to act the same way you would in person.

5. Review your privacy settings at least monthly, as they can change. Be sure that you have control over the comments posted and that you can approve or deny what you want. Don’t be afraid to block anyone that posts anything that is inappropriate.

6. Google yourself frequently. Or better yet, set up Google Alerts, (google.com/alerts) so that you will get an email whenever a search term (your name, the name of your practice, or any subject you want an alert on) comes up in Google. Another great idea is to have a separate gmail.com account for your social media accounts only. You can set your contact emails to your business account, but all of your notifications should be sent to this private Gmail account, so that you will see EVERYTHING that’s going on on your social media channels. This email address would be different from your contact email, and is kept private on the sites, just be sure to adjust your notification settings in each channel appropriately.

7. Know the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and its amendments, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH ACT), along with state laws, all of which provide privacy and security protections of personal healthcare information (PHI), along with the repercussions if the law is violated. Be sure to take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect your patients privacy. The Mayo Clinic has a wonderful 12-word social media policy: “Don’t Lie, Don’t Pry, Don’t Cheat, Can’t Delete, Don’t Steal, Don’t Reveal.” Obviously, each of these rules can be expanded upon. Read more at bit.ly/SMMPolicy.

8. Set up a social media policy within your office and provide education on it as well as regular HIPAA education and how social media is included in this. Review it frequently with those that have access to and/or manage your social media channels, and update it as rules and regulations change. Some guidelines you might want to consider including in your social media policy should touch on; respect of time and property, use of confidential and PHI information, respectful communications, right to monitor, and enforcement measures, and that each employee utilizing your social media is responsible for knowing, understanding, and upholding HIPAA regulations, as well as your social media policy. Remember even if you don’t have social media channels for your practice, your employees most likely have personal accounts. Be sure that they understand the implications of revealing PHI on those accounts.

9. What if a patient comments on your social media channel, if their name shows up, is the physician breaching patient privacy and opening themselves up for trouble? The answer is: Probably not. However, you should take any precautions you can such as, setting up a disclaimer on your ‘about page’ stating that opinions and views are your own, and reminding them that by commenting on your site, they are revealing their identity. However, since they are doing it by their own volition, it would be no different from them having a conversation with someone in your waiting room. However, with monitoring you can stay on top of the conversation.

10. “What if I get on social media, and someone complains or says something negative?” We hear this one quite a bit, and the truth is; if you didn’t have your own outlet for them to write these things, they would simply do it on their own channels. Having your own social media presence allows you to monitor what’s going on, react to comments and ideas, and if and when something negative does come your way, don’t immediately delete it—show the rest of your followers that you are truly concerned and document an apology, correction, or whatever it takes to recognize that client’s issue, and your willingness to make it right. Bear in mind, use caution in what you say, perhaps requesting the client call you directly. Oftentimes, it’s the fact that you respond, and the speed of doing so that shows you are a cut above!

In conclusion, there is no doubt that social media is here to stay. The benefits of this online version of communication far outweigh the potential risks, with just a few common sense tips. Remember too, when outsourcing your social media to a online marketing firm such as The Go! Agency, they are bound by the same rules and regulations as you are. Be sure to ask them very pointed questions about how they will maintain your patient’s privacy, and ensure that your social media campaign is one that truly creates a wonderful community for your practice, educates your current and future clients, and pushes you to the top as an expert in your field!

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15 Tips to Bring Your Facebook Page to Life: Part 3

By Christopher Tompkins

9Sep

Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

So far we have covered 10 ways of enhancing your Facebook Page marketing by enchanting, engaging, educating and entertaining your audience. Now we are going to round off this topic with the final 5 ways to make your Facebook Page work!

11. Where Is Your Target Market?

On Facebook, many of your target consumers have their own pages. So it is a good idea for you to “Like” their page. This brings you onto their radar, but also them into yours (see #12). Search keywords in the Facebook search bar and then filter the results by Pages. Take a look and “Like” suitable candidates. This helps you branch out, grow your base and hit new markets.

12. Don’t Forget Your Newsfeed!

What I mean by this is, when you are logged in as your Facebook Page, click on the Facebook logo at the top left side of the page. This page shows you all of the pages that you have “Liked” (from #11). This looks very similar to your Personal Newsfeed on Facebook and works the same way. Scroll through the postings and see what posts you want to “Like”, comment or share with your own page. Don’t just scroll and click “Like” – browse and make decisions that are on brand and message. Remember, it’s going to be associated with your brand….not your personal account!

13. Trade and Cross Promote.

If you have good relationships with certain organizations or business partners, approach them with an exchange: you will send an update about their page and create a post, and they will do the same thing. This is classic self promotion and works extremely well on enhancing your Facebook Page.

14. Are You Ignoring Your Insights?

Facebook Insights can be accessed from your Home page and are similar in a way to Google Analytics. This is a great way to continually check your progress and make sure that what you are doing is creating success rather than hurting you. It takes time to learn the ins and outs, but is worth the time.

15. Ask Questions!

When you are marketing throughout Facebook, make sure to be inquisitive! Ask questions in your status updates, on other company pages or even start a poll. This is a great way to engage with your audience. This is also a great way of getting some feedback. Think of it as Facebook’s answer to the survey. The best question I have ever seen? What sort of posts would you like to see more of/less of? These types of inquiries will help you actually find out from your own network what’s working and what’s tanking.

Well…there you have it! I truly hope that these 15 tips will help you reorganize your Facebook Page marketing strategy and enhance not only your numbers, but also the level of engagement of your target consumer.

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15 Tips to Bring Your Facebook Page to Life: Part 2

By Christopher Tompkins

6Sep

Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

We have already gone through the first 5 ways of bringing your Facebook Page back to life, and now we are going to jump right into the next 5 things that you can change to make your page more engaging, more interesting and convert your “Likes” to “supporters”.

6. Tune Out the Chatter

One the toughest parts of Facebook marketing is that there is so much material out there touting “the best” ways of promoting your Facebook Page. But these mountains of “quick fixes” are not what makes you a success. I’m writing this to show you how to integrate and strategize rather than logging in and snapping your fingers. A successful Facebook strategy is not born from tactics, it is born from a solid strategy that is incorporated into the overall marketing activity of your company.

7. Take Advantage of Applications

On Facebook, every Page comes preloaded with some applications such as pictures, discussions, events, etc. But there are many more that are at your disposal, that are free of charge and allow you to engage with your audience in a new way. You know what your clients like or will be interested in, so go and find applications that they will enjoy using. This will really bring your page to life!

8. Don’t Forget to Send Updates!

By having a Facebook Page you have the ability of reaching your audience with information at any point in the way of a “Status Update”. So you want to send out a minimum of 1 of these per day in order to keep in front of your audience. Don’t have time? You can even schedule your posts in advance as well as promote them through advertising.

9. Custom Facebook Images

I’m sure you have been visiting Facebook Pages that have slick graphics, opt-in boxes, video and more. These are custom designed and can really make a splash. It is handy to have a graphic designer on-hand to help you deliver the goods, but with a general knowledge of a graphics program such as InDesign or Adobe you can create gorgeous custom headers, logos and tab images for your page. Push the boat out and even create custom images for your status updates!

10. Talk Talk Talk, But No Listen

This is one of the biggest pitfalls. You post and people comment or like. Someone comes onto your page and posts to your wall. What do you do? If you said nothing, then you are missing the trick. Two way communication is something from the gods when you are doing Facebook Page marketing, so make sure you write back to everyone who has posted, commented or liked. Answer their questions, thank them for their comments. You want the conversation to continue, not end before it started. And while you’re at it, why don’t you go to other pages and comment, like and share?

And that’s your second batch! Up next, the final 5!

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15 Tips to Bring Your Facebook Page to Life: Part 1

By Christopher Tompkins

5Sep

Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

When we ask our audience at both The Go! Agency and The Social Marketing Academy (our daily radio show), the overriding theme tends to be that many of you have created a social media profile/page/group….and nothing is happening. One of the largest sites that respondents focused on was Facebook, and in particular the Facebook Page for your company.

This issue is one that many of us are faced with. We log-in to Facebook, knock out a quick page and start placing updates or, more worryingly, sync it to Twitter and let the Twitter feed populate the page.

Here, I want to present a few things that you should do – focusing more on a strategy than a whole list of tactics that are supposed to be instant winners. Without a successful base strategy, all the tactics in the world can’t help.

So, here we go:

1. Look at Your Facebook Page as a Marketing Channel

While this may seem a bit obvious, many businesses don’t think this way. The thought of Facebook for marketing is a relatively new concept in the world of marketing when you compare it to advertising, public relations and even email blasts. So incorporate it into your brand marketing. When you roll out your marketing plan and decide where your promotional hubs are – make sure your Facebook Page is in that list. Just think, when you made your last major announcement, or spoke at a conference, or held a charity event…did you post any of the coverage on your Facebook Page? This is the sort of opportunity that many of us miss and can promote engagement with your target audience.

2. There is a Second Promotional Life Outside of Facebook.com

You don’t just market your Facebook page to the active community who are on Facebook, you need to promote it offsite as well. Facebook “Likes” can be a bit tough to come by, but imagine if your ‘face to face’ clients knew about your page? Have you ever mentioned to these clients that you had a Page on Facebook? This can be a huge missed opportunity. How visible is your Facebook Page in your marketing materials: business cards, website, email signature, commercials, brochures, print ads, direct mail…I can go on. Successful Facebook Pages are not built 100% on Facebook.

3. Have You Asked Your Supporters for a Like?

Every business already has a built-in fan base: your supporters, your clients, your friends, your family, your employees and their network…well you get the idea. The number one reason many of us don’t ask is that we don’t think we should “sell” to our friends and clients. That’s a big misconception – you won’t be selling to them all the time, which brings us to…

4. What is Your Message Strategy?

Why do people continue to interact with your Facebook Page? Well, you need to enchant them to get them to stay. I always tell my clients that in order to get traction on their Facebook Page they need to make sure their message strategy will educate, entertain and/or engage their Facebook Fans. You need to think about what you post. If you are a recruitment firm, don’t just post your latest positions – post articles about how to master the job interview. If you are a nonprofit, don’t just ask for donations – post or write articles educating your audience about your cause overall. If you are a social media guy (ahem) don’t just talk about your services – share useful content.

5. Pictures and Video – Where Are They?

One of the biggest problems with Facebook Pages is that sometimes there isn’t a lot of variety with the postings. Mix it up by using pictures and video. See an interesting video on YouTube? Copy the link and share it on your page. See an interesting infographic that your target market would enjoy and benefit from? Post it! Of course pictures of your events, meetings, conferences and the like are wonderful – if you can’t create it yourself, support someone else and share. It is “social” media anyways, isn’t it?

And there are many more to come! Make sure to check out Parts 2 and 3 to see the rest of 10 tips on bringing your Facebook Page to life!

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Summer’s Over – Is Your Holiday Marketing Plan Underway Yet?

By Christopher Tompkins

4Sep

Marketing, Uncategorized

Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. New Year. Valentine’s Day. Easter.

What do all of these holidays have in common? They are wonderful marketing opportunities for your business.

While some of you may already be sighing, thinking that “aren’t these commercialized enough?” My answer: absolutely! But that is not what my sentiment is here. This is not about commercialization or fooling consumers into purchasing products or services that they don’t need or want. What this is about is aligning your marketing message and position to align with the needs and emotions of the season.

I know it sounds a bit airy-fairy, but if you tying your message into a particular holiday season you may see yourself grab the attention of a consumer who may have otherwise passed you by.

So look at your marketing materials and plan, then see what holidays are happening around the same time. For example in the USA, Thanksgiving is universally known as a time of giving. Perhaps in your email blasts you can send out 10 tips to giving back during this holiday season. Or in your print advertisement you can give an exclusive discount to those who order before a certain date, then give a certain amount to a related charity.

Also, offering discounts and specials around the December holidays will really grab the attention of your marketplace. While this is not an extremely shocking thought…do you know that many small business owners overlook this? Offer solutions and helpful tips to making it through the holidays – you will be surprised at the response!

This is also where you should be pulling out your marketing list. I’ve written about this before, but just as a reminder a marketing list is a simple list of all of your marketing activities that you take part in. So for example, this would be a strong marketing list:

Email Marketing/Blasts
Google Adwords
Coupons/Discounts – Flyers
Social Media Campaign
Billboards
Print Advertising
Press Releases
Media: Television, Radio, Print
Events/Exhibitions

If you look at the activities that you have coming up on your marketing list, see how you could come up with a short-run campaign to capture more interest while using the holiday angle. At the end of the day, it is good to tap into the emotions of your audience during each holiday season. By offering them solutions to their problems, you will not only grab their attention – but you might just grab their loyalty as well.

While this may seem like a fairly elementary article, I really wanted to share it with you to drive home the effectiveness of this marketing strategy. Hope it makes you think twice when doing outreach to your target audience! And get started today! The months leading up to the December holidays go exceedingly fast – so you need to start your planning and budgeting yesterday.

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How to Brand Yourself On Social Media Networks Without Spamming

By Christopher Tompkins

29Aug

Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

Since the day they cut the ribbon on the worldwide web, there have been people working hard on ways to spam you. Spam is marketing gone wrong and spammers are the much-hated scourge of the Internet – and the social media realm is no exception. Most users try hard to evade these spammy interactions. When marketing your business, you want to avoid being viewed as a member of this pesky crowd.

But how do you avoid that pitfall and still use social networking as a tool to market your business?

Two words: Be Genuine.

Social networking is all about making connections and building relationships. As any top salesman worth his salt will tell you, “You’re not selling a product, you’re selling yourself.” Social media platforms are all about authenticity. Branding couldn’t be easier for those willing to open themselves up and truly connect with their potential clients.

Be Real – Connect with people by sharing who you are, your thoughts, feelings and ideas. Don’t project a false “image”—sooner or later, you’ll be found out.

Have Conversations – Participate in and create discussions that are stimulating and informative. Spreading ideas and providing respectful and thought provoking debate can get you noticed.

Build Relationships – The most loyal of customers are people who know and trust you.

Don’t Pitch – No one likes a salesman, so save the pitches for the car lot. Trust that you have the “right stuff” (a unique service, product or perspective) that will draw those who need that “stuff” to you.

Listen & Be Helpful – If you are listening to what people have to say about their likes, dislikes, needs and desires, you will know better how to serve them. You might also know how to help them solve a problem. When you give, you get in return.

Provide Value – Whenever you do post something, make sure it’s something of value. Whether it’s a witty status update that brings a smile and leaves them with a little piece of your personality or a quick blurb and link to a relevant article, make sure you’re not only making contact but sharing something valuable. Can it brighten their day, teach them something, get them in on an incredible deal? Then it has value. People prefer value over bottom barrel prices.

No Expectations – Don’t have expectations for how and when people should respond to what you give, building any relationship takes time. They may not need you today but they might tomorrow. The person they trust the most, who is freshest in their mind, gets the business or referral.

Spamming is very recognizable. That’s why email servers have created a file and filters to catch it. You don’t want to end up in the SPAM file. Provide value, practice authenticity, care about people, and you should do just fine.

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