How To: Connect Twitter to Facebook and LinkedIn

17May

Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

Social Media Marketing has become a must for almost every business. One of the most crucial factors of successful social media marketing is consistency, but consistency takes time. In this article, we’ll give you some tips on linking your Twitter account to your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts so that you can triple the exposure you get with a single post – thereby saving you a few precious minutes each day.

Remember, syncing your accounts means that everyone that follows you will get the same message. Although you may have different followers on each platform, you may have several crossovers – people that follow you on two or more accounts. With that said, be aware of this, and sync your posts accordingly. All three platforms are very different, so be sure that your message is applicable and appropriate for each audience.

Connecting Twitter with Facebook

Have your login information for both Twitter and Facebook in front of you.
Login to Facebook.com.
Type a search in the search bar at the top “Twitter Application”.
Click the yellow banner “Go to your Twitter Profile Settings to start”.
Click the blue banner at the bottom “Connect to Facebook”.
Then, allow and authorize access for Twitter and Facebook.
Enter your Twitter login information and select the option to update your Facebook status.
Choose your preferred settings and click “Allow.”

Connecting Twitter with LinkedIn

Have your login information for both Twitter and LinkedIn in front of you.
Login to LinkedIn.com.
Move your cursor over your name in the top right of your home page and then click Settings.
Click the Profile section.
Click the Manage your Twitter settings link.
Check the boxes next to the settings you want.
Click Save changes.

By connecting your accounts, you’ll be able to triple the exposure of each post, saving you time. But don’t just set it, and forget it – be sure to visit each account frequently to see what activity your posts have generated, and/or adjust your settings on each profile so that you get email notifications when people comment, retweet, direct message, like, or share your comments, and thank or respond to them!

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Social Media 101: 8 Steps to Social Media Marketing Success

By Dale Griffen

17May

Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

Social media has taken the world by storm over the last few years. It not only serves as a great form of public relations for any organization, but as a wonderful way to network, measure your efforts as a business, see what the competition, your peers, and industry leaders are doing. It is a tool to constantly find ways to improve the delivery of services and care you give your clients.

As someone who specializes in the online marketing arena, I meet and chat with people everyday who are interested in using social media to promote their business. But surprisingly many of these people have a major problem in that: they don’t know how to start!

So in this article I want to provide you with a fool- proof step-by-step 101 list to get your social media marketing campaign underway in no time flat!

Step 1: Write Down Your Objectives

The first thing you’ll want to do is identify what you are trying to achieve through using social media to market your company. Keep in mind that more leads or followers is not your only goal. The types of objectives you should be looking at include engaging your current customers/clients, offering better customer service, learning about new services and governmental issues, building brand recognition and getting more local exposure.

Step 2: Know Your Target Market

A social media marketing campaign that is laser focused has the ability to reap better results than a broad shoot campaign. Make a list of 5-10 target markets that you want to hit and keep it handy throughout your campaign. Having this list will help you keep your “eye on the prize”.

Step 3: Look at What Your Competition is Doing on Social Media

Many of us do a competitive analysis when we put together a traditional marketing plan….so be sure to do the same when developing a social media marketing strategy. Usually the easiest way to begin this exercise is to go to the competition’s website and follow their social media links. If you can’t find the links on their website, login to sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and search for their company name. Are they getting lots of comments? Do they use lots of graphics and design elements? Are they posting often? Taking a look at these items can give you good solid ideas of what you need to do.

Step 4: What Are You Going to Say?

This is one of the trickiest things to come by as many organizations don’t have a wealth of available info to share. Make sure you are able to come up with content that is timely, engaging, entertaining, thought provoking and educational. Think out of the box! If I was a healthcare organization, I would go to the website for the medical association that is within my niche and share some of their updates and tips, as they would be relevant and interesting to my audience. Sharing is caring….not stealing! But content is king. People write blogs and post information online so it can be shared!

Step 5: Choose Your Sites

Once Steps 1 through 5 are complete, it is time to choose the social media sites you want to start using in your marketing campaign. Every business is different and some will find success quicker on one site than another. There isn’t a hard/fast rule on this. All sites are evolving and making it easier for businesses to get involved. The playing field has changed greatly over the past years (and even months) and there is a spot for everyone on all social media sites. One thing we suggest that you do today, if you haven’t already, is log on to the ‘Big 3’ – Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (and while you’re at it create accounts with Google+, YouTube, and Pinterest – collectively the ‘Big 6’) and stake your username and piece of ‘online real estate’ before your competition does. (Note – this happens often!)

Step 6: Find a Good Support Site

Search and find a site to help you manage your accounts. There are free sites out there such as HootSuite, TweetDeck, SocialOomph, IFTTT and others that allow you to track, search and even schedule profile updates on the fly. When you create your plan, these sites will make it easier for you to manage your overall campaign.

Step 7: Create a Daily Plan to Ensure Consistency

This strategy is key to a successful social media marketing campaign. Your daily plan should contain a combination of Steps 1-6 and have daily time constraints attached. Make sure you identify who will be the touchpoint for the communications you get as a result of the campaign. For example, if you have a marketing team of 5, decide beforehand who will be in charge of delegation and qualification of the leads, information requests, comments, etc. If you’re doing it alone – start with 20 minutes, using a site you’re comfortable with, say Facebook. When you’ve developed a comfort level on one site, gradually add another.
Step 7A – When you’re on social media sites – remember it’s called ‘social’ for a reason. Act the same way you would at a ‘real-time’ networking event or cocktail party. Show up with a goal of connecting with people who can help your business. Reach out and introduce yourself to people and companies that may be within that target audience. Remember there are wallflowers online too! Just as at a party – know that people like to hear about themselves before they hear about you, be sure to comment on their posts, articles, or blogs and make sure to thank them if they comment on yours! Your goal is to take the conversation offline (away from the party) where you can develop a closer and more synergistic relationship.

Step 8: Create a Form of Measurement

This is tricky, so I would suggest waiting until after your first month of social media marketing. At this point you will be able to see what sorts of results come in: website hits, likes, comments, messages, leads, etc. In social media, we like to look at the acronym R.O.I. as ‘Return Of Influence’ rather than ‘Return On Investment’ – as this IS P.R., just as a billboard, tradeshow, or TV commercial – all are difficult to equate the initial outlay to the number of new sales/clients, however with social media you have the results of your influence (likes, comments, shares, etc). Once you get a handle on this, you will begin to understand what generates the best results. Create a quick spreadsheet and track these measurements on a weekly basis. As all of the sites have wonderful archives, it makes it a cinch to go back through the week’s activity to find what you need. If you are going to use your website to track effectiveness, make sure you have an analytics program installed that can monitor where your traffic comes from. If you don’t, Google Analytics is a free and easy option to use (and the results are carefully tracked).

Now you are on your way! The best part about social media marketing is it is an organic process that can change from time to time. Don’t forget to audit your campaign monthly to see if any of your measures or activities need changing or updating. Staying consistent, organized and informed will help you not only launch effectively, but promote your company and business successfully.

“I don’t have time to do this!” you say. That’s where a social media marketing firm may be of assistance. Spending the time doing it yourself does take away from what you do best. Having an entry level person do it can be tricky, as it IS your reputation they’re handling. Dedicating a higher level person or marketing manager may take them away from other marketing and sales opportunities. Although social media works in conjunction with your operations and marketing team, having them do the day-to-day activities may be more costly than outsourcing.

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Your Social Media Prescription: The Cost of Social Media

By Dale Griffen

13May

Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

This has been republished courtesy of Doctor’s Life Magazine – take a look at the online version here.

Well, it’s free! Sort of. We all know the importance of social media, and to utilize it effectively, you’re going to have to spend either time, or money! It’s up to you as to which one you use! Currently ALL of these powerful social media sites are free to use. Sure, there are options that they utilize to try and get your money, from paying for (promoting) your posts, upgrading your account (you probably don’t need to do this) and with e-commerce options. But basically there’s no charge for using these platforms. But we all know the saying: “Time is money.” To optimize, populate (with a targeted audience), and fill your site (with content that moves your audience to action) takes some time, effort, and planning. Many businesses out there are seriously vamping their following, their sales, and reputation as thought leaders using social media—all the while using social media as a vehicle of P.R. and brand awareness—with speed racer proportions! Are you up to the challenge?

Social media platforms are a constantly changing and evolving medium. With that in mind, although we consider ourselves “specialists,” one can never be an “expert,” as all of us are constantly learning these changes, updates, tweaks, and new applications within the platforms. But the general principals with social media, as we mentioned above are:

Optimize your site. Make sure your images mirror your website so that your brand carries through. After all, this is a living, breathing, evolving version of your website. Make sure you fill it out completely—people expect it to look as professional, and it is a reflection of you and your business. Be sure that it has your location, contact info, hours and that all the links work. Also, be sure that you aren’t utilizing a personal page for your business.

Populate it with people that you feel might be interested (peers, current and potential clients and supporters, industry leaders, and more). Don’t be a wallflower here—reach out and follow/like/connect with at least 10 new businesses or people a day, and leave a comment on their site, letting them know you like something they have posted (if you do, remember – be genuine).

Fill your site several times a day with great content (comments, quotes, pictures/videos, questions, tips, news article links, announcements, new products/services, upcoming events/appearances, achievements, links to your blog/website).

Engage with your audience. If someone likes or comments on something you’ve posted be sure to thank them, and maybe even encourage them to sign up for your newsletter or blog “for more great tips like this.” But make it easy for them—include the link that will bring them there. Bit.ly is a great site for shortening and customizing a link. Check it out. (Tip: Always test a link before you send it – for example I recently wrote an article that was published in Doctor’s Life Magazine, and we posted it on our website. I created a short link, but every time I share it, I test it to make sure it’s still valid, or that I didn’t mistype it. Check it out: bit.ly/SocialMediaRx

With that in mind we recommend that everyone complete a simple marketing plan to ensure that you know what you have to do each day and get it done. Much like a diet, exercise plan, or even a road trip, having a pre-written plan or map in front of you makes you much more likely to stick to the proper route and reach your goal more efficiently and effectively.

What about the cost? Well, with the platforms being free of charge, what you have to think about in terms of cost is the time factor, and who you will have do all of the above actions. Here are your options:

1. Do it yourself

2. Office manager / marketing manager

3. Receptionist / entry level person

4. Outsourcing

Doing it yourself is a great option, as this is your reputation and business that you’ll be promoting. However, it does take you away from what you do best—running your practice.

Having an upper management person take over your social media is also a good idea, as they usually have a great understanding of your business, products and services, vision, and goals in mind, but it also takes them away from other duties, and if it’s your marketer, it takes them away from other sales duties, and face to face activities. Additionally, these people tend to be your higher paid employees and if they’re constantly being interrupted or aren’t proficient with social media – the added time equals more money out of your pocket.

An entry level person may seem to be a good alternative, they are more economical, sometimes are younger and more proficient on social media—but remember, this is your reputation we’re talking about. Will they deliver the business acumen, professionalism, and deep-digging, laser-focused campaign that you need? Will they be on top of the latest applications and logistics with these platforms that change daily?

Outsourcing to a company that specializes in social media may be your best bet! A common misconception is that hiring firms like ours to perform your social media marketing campaign is just too expensive. Having an in-house person do the work, or hiring someone may also include you having to pay for their benefits, taxes, insurance and when that person is out sick, someone else has to do the social media or it doesn’t get done.

Our services provide everything listed above so that you and your business can have 100 percent social media management, optimization, engagement, and monitoring taken care of—all for the cost of 4-10 venti coffees a day, depending on the services you choose!

Now, it’s obvious, no one drinks that many coffee’s a day, but it’s not out of the question for your sales/marketing rep to bring that many coffees and bagels to the offices that they call on. In fact, I utilize a caterer that specializes in pharmaceutical rep lunches. I asked them what the range and average is that pharma reps spend on lunches—I was surprised that the range was between $100-$500 per lunch, and the average is $150-175! Many times you have to feed the entire office in hopes of getting to the ONE decision maker that they need an audience with. With social media, you can get directly to that target or decision maker without all that hassle.

Think of that in terms of other more “traditional” means of advertising and P.R.—billboards, print and TV ads, trade shows—are all great ways of getting your name out there – however with social media, your message can change several times a day, is portable (it can be shared across the world with the push of a button), looking at peoples comments and the logistics – you are able to see what your following likes to hear about, and most importantly – you can connect with that laser focused target audience – people that WANT to be educated by, entertained by, and engage with YOU.

When outsourcing your social media, you may ask how we learn about you, your practice, your business, what sets you apart, what we can post, and to whom—this is where we excel. In the beginning, we have our clients complete a short questionnaire that gives us our parameters to start, and then we give you the option to pre-approve the posts that go out in your behalf. Our team of social media strategists meet regularly to discuss your campaign, how to improve, manage, and innovate your campaign. We also check in with you if anything comes up that is beyond our scope, is a referral, or can be put in your sales funnel for follow up by your sales and marketing team.

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5 Ways to Enhance Your LinkedIn Profile

By Christopher Tompkins

10May

LinkedIn, Social Media, Uncategorized

Depending on which way the wind blows, I’m always changing my mind as to what my favorite social media marketing vehicle is. Some days Facebook. Others Twitter. But if we take the good days with the bad, I am always a fan of LinkedIn.

Marketing and branding using LinkedIn is such a powerhouse for both B2B and B2C businesses. The powers at LinkedIn are not only constantly enhancing the platform, but the conversations and engagement amongst users seem to flow much more smoothly than anywhere else.

With that said, is your profile really saying what you want (and need) it to say?

Whether you are just starting out or a LinkedIn veteran, the list below contains 5 elements that will help you not only create/enhance your professional profile, but gain more visibility and credibility with your target audience.

1. Professional Photo. Make sure that the photograph that you are using as your profile picture reflects your professional acumen. My rule of thumb is to be dressed in your profile picture as a potential client would see you in person. Ensure the photo is up-to-date and is the correct representation of what you look like. Networking offline with someone who looks nothing like their online photographs can be tricky.

2. Create a Link List. Link lists are extremely useful. On a simple Word Doc, paste the links to your website(s), blog(s), social media profile(s) and anywhere else that you want to be found online. When you go through and edit your LinkedIn profile, there are numerous places where you can cut and paste this info. My top tip is to customize. Click “Edit Contact Info” and in the “websites” section add your own websites. Choose “Other” and you will be able to customize the link people see. So instead of just “Facebook” your audience can see “Like My Facebook Page”. Create a call to action. Also don’t forget to add your Twitter links!

3. Incorporate Your Resume/CV. I’m a huge proponent of making sure your LinkedIn profile is filled out completely. In order to do this, you must add your past professional experience. While it can be a bit of a task to complete, make sure to add all of your previous work experience with keyword loaded copy. Also, if the company has a page on LinkedIn, you will be able to choose it from a drop-down list enabling you to show their logo on your profile. This is a great credibility builder as well as a visibility builder. Don’t skimp on the details! A one sentence job summary is a thing of the past!

4. Dust Off Your Keyword List. Another slightly boring but very powerful tool, adding keywords to your profile can get overlooked. Get the list of keywords you are using to promote your business and go through your LinkedIn profile with a fine-toothed comb. Is there anywhere you can add some of these? A great section is your professional summary (generally found towards the top of your profile). Why keywords? Well….how are people going to find you on LinkedIn? Of course your name and company, but isn’t the whole purpose of marketing on LinkedIn to pop up in the searches of potential customers? Keywords enable you to do this.

5. Ad Files. There is a great feature which allows you to easily and quickly add files, photos, videos and more directly to your LinkedIn profile. You will see a box that plainly says “Add a Link” and “Upload a File”. Find files that you use to promote your business, videos your have done on YouTube, pdf giveaways and more. This is a great and easy way to enhance your profile while selling and building credibility. Want to add an even more impressive element? Send prospects the link to your LinkedIn Profile to get more information…just make sure to tell them where to find your downloads!

When it comes to LinkedIn this is just scratching the surface, but all of these elements will enable you to create a profile that is easier to find, impressive and credible. So get started and reap the benefits today!

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Ok, I Understand the Power of Content Marketing – But Now What?

By Christopher Tompkins

7May

Uncategorized

There is absolutely nothing worse than having all of the passion in the world for something, but not knowing how to take that first step.

In this case I’m talking about content marketing. Content marketing is a powerful aspect of your overall marketing strategy and something that will not only take your search engine optimization to the next level, but will also help you reap the benefits of your social media marketing strategy.

So you have a blog on your business website and are ready to get writing. You’ve knocked out 4 or 5 blogs and it was easy as pie.

But now you are getting a bit dry on ideas.

You are not alone.

When you have to consistently write about topics, after awhile you will begin to experience fatigue with the subject.

So how do I renew my vigor?

As I always say, it takes a village to raise a blog.

Here are some content generation ideas that you might want to try out:

*Google Alerts: by setting a Google Alert for your given topic (for example “running tips” if you were running a sports apparrel store), Google will trawl through all of the new results on a daily basis (or more/less frequently as you choose) and email you with the results. These are great ways to come up with topics that are not only topical, but also hot off the press

*Your Staff: one of the most underutilized and most powerful forces, are people within your organization. Let them know that you are always looking for new ideas for the company blog and would appreciate them forwarding on/telling you about anything they think would be a great addition. Note: this is not a one-time practice. You will have to continually remind them about this as their busy day to day life can push them away from being as vigilant as you would like them to be.

*Competitive Analysis: this one is simple. Look at what your competition is writing about and see how successful it is. I’m not suggesting copying or plagiarizing their content, but look to see what topics seem to be working for them. Then write some original blogs and articles with those topics in mind.

*Social Media: do a social media search for your topic and see what comes up. I suggest using Twitter and LinkedIn for this as they tend to give you the most relevant results. See what people are talking about, see what they are asking about. Find some hot topics and create a blog or two around them.

*FAQs: another missed opportunity for many organizations when it comes to their content strategy is the power of writing blogs and articles that address questions or objections that they get from potential consumers on a regular basis. For example, if you were a plastic surgeon who administers botox, perhaps a FAQ would be “If I use botox, will my face be frozen forever?” Then the surgeon could write an article about “Botox: What You Can Expect” or something along those lines. This will not only answer the question, but you can share this link in the future with any potential clients who may have the same question. And believe you me, this impresses them.

Use the above tools and methods for dragging yourself out of the creative doldrums. Remember, blogging can be a tough subject – but perseverance and thinking out of the box will keep you, and your blog, fresh.

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It Takes a Village to Raise a Blog

By Christopher Tompkins

6May

Social Media, Uncategorized

Like many businesses, you have been trying your hand at social media. You have been building your LIKES on Facebook, your connections on LinkedIn and your Followers on Pinterest and Twitter. You have been putting out updates on a regular basis: either quotes, statements, sharing pictures or video, or sharing articles that you think your audience would enjoy. Sounds like a great strategy, right?

But why aren’t more people coming to your website?

You have been doing everything right. You have been engaging, you have been getting liked, followed, commented and Retweeted.

But why aren’t more people coming to the site?

Because you are not directing them to your original content, written and posted by you, on your own website!

Social media marketing gives you the prime opportunity to not only brand yourself as an expert and generate more visibility for your brand in less time than many other marketing channels, but it also enables you to influence the buying decision of your consumers.

What your potential customers are looking for on social media are helpful hints that will help to enhance their professional and personal lives. Who knows how to do this better than you? Your business fits a need and your expert opinion will help satiate this in your potential and current customer base.

And this brings me to the power of blogs and why you need to have one.

Your blog will contain information pertinent to your business and address topics that are related and of interest to your target market. For example, if you are an assisted living facility, your blog could be focused around topics that would interest the person searching for a facility such as yours. You can obviously write about upcoming events and announcements, but go a bit further. Write about aging topics such as dementia and caregiving. Write about healthy food choices for seniors.

Are you a tax attorney? Write about new tax laws and how they affect your target client. Write about how a family of four can easily manage their monthly budget. Write about investment opportunities that people can explore.

I think you get my drift.

Now, write an update on social media and share the link to this article. And…don’t do it just once. Share the article every so often. Ask your connections to share the article.

Now you may say “OK, I’ve done one….but where’s the traffic?”

Unfortunately posting and sharing one blog is NOT a strategy. You have to regularly write, post and share these. If you are looking for a strong content marketing strategy, I suggest writing at least one blog a day or 4-5 per week.

Immediately I’m sure this turns off many businesses. But the plain fact is that there is enough content within your industry to generate meaningful posts on a regular basis. Also, imagine the SEO implications of having keyword packed content being added to your website almost daily. This is a HUGE powerhouse and a wonderful value of having regular blogs done.

The second turn off I’m sure is double barreled: “I don’t know where to start and am not that strong of a writer.”

With every problem there is a solution. If the water main broke in your building, would you fix it? If there were more sales orders coming in than you could handle, wouldn’t you hire support staff?

If the design of the blog and the writing are out of your wheel house, find someone to help you get the ball rolling. There are designers and copywriters out there that can get right down to the brass tax of your message and formulate blogs seemingly overnight.

Next objection: but no one knows my business like me.

True. But think about how many books out there, best-sellers, are nearly written 90%-100% without the “author” being involved. This is the skill of a solid copywriter with experience.

My point is that if you are trying to make the most out of your social media campaign, a blog is really the cornerstone of success. Beyond social, it is also a powerhouse when trying to enhance the SEO capabilities of your website.

If this is out of your area of expertise, talk with someone who has experience with blogging and writing. They will be able to point you in the right direction. The bottom line is that sometimes it takes a village to raise a blog.

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RT This: The Power of Getting ReTweeted on Twitter

By Christopher Tompkins

5May

Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

Twitter has continually been one of the most mysterious and misunderstood marketing channels for many businesses. The speed of the information, the suitable content to share, the millions of users, the terminology: what does it all mean?

Although with that said, I’ve seen many companies drastically change their opinion of Twitter in recent years. They have begun to understand that taking it for face-value can be unwise and can actually hurt the competitive nature of their business online.

A better approach to Twitter marketing is to look at the huge opportunities that Twitter holds. Not only are there millions of users, but the members of your target market (not to mention your competitors) are there interacting, discussing and setting appointments.

How do I know this? Managing and executing countless Twitter campaigns over the years, my clients were able to get more hits to their website, set media appointments, get full penetration during live events/exhibitions, set sales calls, qualify leads and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

To drive this point home, I want to talk about the wonderful RT.

I think one of the most interesting and misunderstood aspects of Twitter is the ReTweet (otherwise known and further referred to in this as RT). The power of this alone should make a Twitter naysayer listen a little closer.

Imagine if you had a market on Twitter of 50 followers (which are similar to LIKES on Facebook, but MUCH more powerful). You wrote an update sharing your latest blog. Someone searching Twitter for information about the topic of your blog comes across your “Tweet”. They like the content and decide to share it with their audience and RT it.

They have 100,000 followers.

You just got the potential number of eyes that would see your Tweet from 50 to 100,000. Also, the person who RTs it was an opinion leader in your field or maybe even a prominent media outlet. Imagine the credibility this will give your Tweet.

I’ll stop there. If Twitter is a marketing channel that you have been avoiding, just think about the power of this ONE aspect of the whole experience. This alone could help you reach more people than a typical print advertisement or television advertisement. Not to mention the endorsement that you would receive from a trusted source.

My advice? If you are not using Twitter, it may be time to reconsider.

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Your Social Media Real Estate: And Why Your Competition Wants It

By Christopher Tompkins

3May

Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

Over the years, we have had many potential clients come to us in a flurry of panic over what was being said about them and/or their company online. People were bashing their service, putting down their products, plagiarizing their content and even discrediting their CEO.

All of these clients were anxious for a quick fix to a situation that had spun way out of their control. In PR this is what they would call “Damage Control”, but in the social media marketing world this is what I would call “Reactive Marketing”.

But how can a brand make sure that they are not being bad-mouthed online?

If you are not even Googling your company name or your CEO every so often – we really need to talk. Every time you do something, offline or online, there is a reaction from your audience. It can be positive, negative or indifferent. But whatever that reaction is, you need to make sure that you can find as much out about it as possible – not only to protect yourself from bad word, but to also analyze the effectiveness of your marketing strategy and messaging.

First off, if you are not on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter yet – you really need to get on the bus folks. People are already having conversations every day about you, your brand, your competitors, or related subjects. Why wouldn’t you want to see this? Wouldn’t it make you more effective if you knew exactly what your target market was thinking?

Also, if you have not claimed a Facebook Page, Twitter Account or LinkedIn Company Page for your business, you are leaving yourself open to a world of woe. For example, we had someone come to us who had a horrible situation on Facebook. They had not created a Facebook page, but a group of disgruntled ex-employees had on their behalf. They were touting it as the “official” page, but were posting only horrible, terrible, frankly shocking content about the establishment. Working directly with Facebook (which are not the quickest movers on urgent topics like this) it took us nearly two months to get the situation sorted out.

That is two months worth of reactive marketing on Facebook in order to get this silenced.

We’ve had businesses come to us saying that someone has already claimed their Twitter account name. “Who would want to use my brand name in their Twitter account”? The answer – your competition. And guess what. When they took that name, you can’t have it, effectively losing your brand name on Twitter.

The point here is that if you are not monitoring yourself online and on social media sites, you are opening yourself up for a world of hurt. I’m not saying if you are not jumping into social media marketing head-first you are going the way of the dinosaur. Social media marketing is a wonderful growing asset to any marketing department, but you need to be fully informed before jumping in. I’m saying that you need to get in there and secure the real estate before your competition does.

While it only takes a few minutes to create an account on Facebook, it can take 2 months or longer to try to reclaim your business’s identity when it is stolen. Something to think about.

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Social Media for Nonprofits: Raising Awareness vs Raising Money?

By Christopher Tompkins

raised-hands_volunteer_031612_blog-crop-800x335

9Jan

Social Media, Uncategorized

A topic that I am very passionate about is the idea of giving back. Whether it be by service, money or time – I believe that there is a lot of value in helping others.

As helping nonprofits is a passion, one question that I have been asked is how do nonprofits truly harness the power of social media to get results. This is a huge question but one that deserves my attention.

So in today’s newsletter I would like to address the top 10 ways that nonprofits can use social media to get results!

1. Get Strategic!

I am always banging on about the importance of a strategy, but let’s face it: with low budgets and, in many cases, volunteers doing a bulk of the work – a strategy helps create consistency, save time and maximize production. First, you already need to have a marketing plan in place. If you don’t….write one! Marketing plans can be irritating to write, but will save you time and money! I promise! Once you have your plan together, add a Facebook Page, LinkedIn Profile and Twitter account to your list. These are the main and most highly populated channels for you to do your outreach with. Study each of them to make sure that you are using them in the most effective way….don’t just dive in!

2. Messaging!

When you are doing outflow, updates, messages, comments and the rest on social sites, you really need to have a solid idea of what your brand message is. Make sure that your posts SOUND like the brand, and not like a toddler who just arrived at the party. You want to build credibility and visibility….so don’t use posts like this (which I have changed slightly to not shame the original poster): “great daiy 2day. Lots of qualetty donatuns REceive”. The best part – it was a huge national charity! Come on, would you give $100 of your hard earned cash to THAT?

3. Stop It Already With the Pushiness!

One thing that social sites enable us to do is to engage with our audiences. Time and time again I have said that everything you do in social media, no matter in what capacity, should bring value to your network. You want to engage, entertain and educate. This means not asking for money in every single post. Mix it up. Share some news articles that support your position that your cause is important, ask questions that are relevant, give thanks to your large supporters (and small). You can always work in a donations request, but if you keep being so pushy….you will push people right out of your network.

4. Video and Pictures? Really?

Yes, really. As a nonprofit you know about the power of a press opportunity and how public relations can greatly benefit the profile of your organization and in turn your bottom line. Now listen up: every nonprofit should have at least ONE person who is in charge of shooting video and taking pictures at any opportunity. When you share things like this in your social profiles, it not only illustrates the good that you do and your credibility as an organization, but it also helps donors to see what their hard earned dollars are going towards. And I have seen nonprofits miss this opportunity again and again. If something interesting is happening…don’t leave the camera and video camera at home. Plus….you don’t need to be shooting like a professional. Make the picture clear and the video solid and you are in good shape.

5. YouTube Ahoy!

Going on from point 4, video is another component that can truly shake up your online marketing presence. If you didn’t know already, YouTube is the SECOND largest search engine after Google. Yes…really. Setting up a channel is easy, its getting the content that can be tough. That’s why you should always have your camera on you to shoot something interesting. You can even do video blogs, or vlogs, where you can share your weekly, or even daily, news with your target market.

6. Where’s Your Link?

Something that nearly everyone misses, nonprofit or not, is promoting their social hubs outside of the given medium. Meaning, are you only promoting your Facebook Page on Facebook? What about the 10,000 people that are in your email database? Have you invited them? Is it in your email signature? Is there a link or “badge” on your website? Do you tell people about it? Is it on your business cards or brochures? You catch my drift. There is a whole world that wants to connect with you….they just might be elsewhere.

7. Stop Thinking “Build it They Will Come”

Unless you are an absolutely MEGA charity with loads of national and international recognition, you will not explode on social media over night. You have to roll up your sleeves and do outreach. I’ve spoken at many nonprofit marketing conferences and one question I get over and over is “Why isn’t my (insert site here) working?” The reason it isn’t working is that, on a regular basis, you are not supplying good quality content, you are not reaching out to other pages/charities/individuals, you are not sharing pictures/videos, your logo is pixellated….etc. Social marketing takes consistent and daily interaction, not a “look-in” every once in a blue moon.

8. Get Measuring!

Another popular question is “How do I measure the success of my campaign?” The answer once again is, sadly, roll up your sleeves and get to work. There is not one true blue measuring tool, you have to use various ones to track success. On Facebook, they provide “Insights” which you can find on your nonprofit’s Facebook home page. These are similar to Google Analytics and can be learned quickly. For Twitter there is Twitter Grader and Klout that can help you manage your growth and response rates. LinkedIn can be tricky, but when you view your profile it gives you a lot of useful information for tracking. There are also programs like HootSuite (which I love) that will create reports for you across social platforms. They may have a price tag, but time is money….and measurement can be tough!

9. Quantity Does Not Equal Quality

In the wonderful world of social media, there are lots of “gurus” who say that you need hundreds of thousands of connections to succeed in social media. What they are omitting is the fact that quality connections are more valuable. For example, if your nonprofit dealt with the homeless in Salt Lake City, Utah and you had 100,000 Twitter Followers who were based outside the USA….you missed your target a bit. Also, tools such as ManageFlitter will help you see how active your network actually is. Sometimes you may be very surprised! Quality people who are interested in your message are the only way social success can be reached.

10. You Are Playing a Long Game.

The last thing that I like to point out is that social marketing is about relationship building, not direct response advertising. What I mean by that is, unless you are a highly visible nonprofit, you won’t find instant “returns” on your campaign. You need to start new relationships and build them, which takes months of consistent effort. Remember – social media is an integral part of your marketing plan….it is not your ENTIRE marketing plan. While it is effective at branding, visibility, customer service and credibility, it works best alongside a thriving marketing plan. My advice: look at it as another marketing channel, not the golden egg of free marketing. While membership is free, your time and effort are not. It is a definite investment.

To round out this topic, I want to stress to all of you out there that nonprofit social marketing is extremely important, just don’t be misled into thinking that it is the only marketing that you have to do. Events, email blasts, exhibitions, speeches, advertising, public relations, etc are all still relevant and do work. Integrate a social element to your marketing strategy and don’t expect an immediate windfall. Stay consistent and realistic and before you know it, the benefits will begin to roll in!

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Social Media 101: Where Do I Start?

By Christopher Tompkins

9Jan

Social Media, Uncategorized

As someone who specializes in the online marketing arena, I meet and chat with people everyday who are interested in using social media to market their business. Not a big surprise right? But what you might be surprised to learn, is many of these medium-to-large firms have a major problem: they don’t know how to start.

While social media marketing advice can be found on every corner of the internet, most of it doesn’t address this problem or offer ways to enhance or “reinvigorate” an existing campaign.

So in this article I want to push aside the “Go Get ‘Em Tiger”s and technical mumbo jumbo and provide you with a fool proof step-by-step 101 list to get your social media marketing campaign underway in no time flat!

Let’s dive right in:

Step 1: Write Down Your Objectives

The first thing you’ll want to do is really identify what you are trying to achieve through using social media to market your company. Keep in mind that more leads is not your only goal. Think about possible objectives such as; engaging your current customers/clients, offering better customer service, building brand recognition, getting more local exposure….these are the types of objectives that you should be looking at.

Step 2: Know Who Your Target Market Is

A social media marketing campaign that is laser focused has the ability to reap better results than a broad shoot campaign. You don’t want to waste time here wading through unqualified leads….you want the real deal. Make a list of 5-10 target markets that you want to hit and keep it handy throughout your campaign. Having this list will help you keep your “eye on the prize”.

Step 3: Look at What Your Competition is Doing on Social Media

Many of us do a competitive analysis when we put together our marketing plan….so why don’t we do one when we are developing our social media marketing strategy? Usually the easiest way to begin this exercise is to go to their website and follow their social media links from there. If you can’t find the links there, login to sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and search for their company name. When you find them, see what they are doing and if it is successful. Are they getting lots of comments? Do they use lots of graphics and design elements? Are they posting often? Taking a look at these items can even give you good solid ideas of what you need to do…and what you don’t need to.

Step 4: What Are You Going to Say?

This is one of the trickiest things to come by as many organizations don’t have a wealth of available info to share. If your company does – the battle is nearly over! If not, it has just begun. Make sure that you are able to come up with content that is timely, engaging, entertaining, thought provoking and educational…or one of those 5. Also, think out of the box! If I was a healthcare organization, I would go to the website for the medical association that is within my niche and share some of their updates and tips, as they would be relevant and interesting to my audience. Sharing is caring….not stealing! But content is king folks.

Step 5: Choose Your Sites

Once Steps 1 thru 5 are complete, it is time to choose the social media sites you want to start using in your marketing campaign. Every business is different and some will find success quicker on one site than the next. There isn’t a hard/fast rule on this (while many say there is). All of the sites are constantly evolving and making it easier for businesses to get involved everyday. The playing field has changed greatly over the past years (and even months!) and there is a spot for everyone on all of the social media sites out there.

Step 6: Find a Good Support Site

Search and find a site to help you manage your accounts. There are free sites out there such as HootSuite, TweetDeck, SocialOomph and others that allow you to track, search and even schedule profile updates on the fly. When you create your plan, these sites will make it a little easier for you to manage your overall campaign.

Step 7: Create a Daily Plan to Ensure Consistency

Plans save time and money and ensure consistency, which is key in a successful social media marketing campaign. Your daily plan should contain a combination of Steps 1-6 and have daily time constraints attached. Also make sure that you identify who will be the touchpoint for the communications that you get as a result of the campaign. For example if you have a marketing team of 5, decide beforehand who will be in charge of delegation and qualification of the leads, information requests, comments, etc.

Step 8: Create a Form of Measurement

This is tricky, so I would suggest waiting until after your first month of social media marketing. At this point you will be able to see what sorts of results come in: website hits, likes, comments, messages, leads, etc. Once you get a handle on this, you will begin to understand what gives you the best results. Create a quick spreadsheet and track these measures on a weekly basis. As all of the sites have wonderful archives, it makes it a cinch to go back through the week’s activity to find what you need. If you are going to use your website to track effectiveness, make sure that you have an analytics program installed that can monitor where your traffic comes from. If you don’t, Google Analytics is a free and easy option to use (and the results are tracked wonderfully).

And you are on your way! The best part about social media marketing is that it is an organic process that can change from time to time. Don’t forget to audit your campaign monthly to see if any of your measures or activities need changing or updating. Staying consistent, organized and informed will help you not only launch effectively, but promote your brand successfully.

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Tag : social media

Need Online Marketing Help?

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