Ask yourself which is more powerful when you are deciding on a purchase: a referral from a friend or colleague; a printed advertisement; or a sales person.
Not to second guess you, but I bet overwhelmingly it is someone you have direct contact with, someone who has actually purchased the product or service, or has heard good things about it from a trusted friend. Recommendations are sales gold.
This senario falls into the realm of social media networking. It is powerful, it is convincing and it is proven. Companies have spend millions of dollars to promote their brand and to deliver the right message to consumers through traditional advertising. Now the statistics are in and they are moving more of their marketing dollars to the digital/social media arenas.
Here are a few social media facts and figures:
300,000+ businesses use Facebook
300 million people are active Facebook users
100 million viewers are on YouTube
14 million Twitter users
346 million people read blogs; 184 million bloggers
Your new and current business will depend more and more on social media marketing. That’s were the hearts and minds of your customers will be focused. They are relying more on input and personal experiences in decision making that having some Madison Avenue wag influence your decision where to spend your hard earned money.
The paradigm has shifted. Power to the people. As James Frley, CMO Ford stated, “You can’t just say it. You have to get the people to say it to each other.”
Here are just a few real life examples:
Naked Pizza set a one-day sales record using social media marketing. Using Twitter, they increased sales 67% of which 84% were new customers.
An organized tweet-up for Susan G. Komen for the Cure netted 11,000 visitors in 24 hours and countless donations.
Web host provider Moonfruit spent $15,000 on social media and increased their traffic by 300% — translation, a sales bump of 20%.
These stories are not uncommon. Creating and implementing an effective social media marketing plan is as essential to your business as your telephones. Implementing one is a must. There is no getting around that social media done correctly takes time and resources, but the return on investment is there for the taking.
The New Buying Reality
Buying habits have changed. Selling has to catch-up to this new reality. The better news is that it is affordable, considering its reach and appeal. You are building lasting relationships that will continue to pay dividends, or in business terms, profits. How’s that for a return on investment.
Get started today. The Web Success Team can tailor a social media marketing plan to fit your company and to promote your brand.
I recently came across an article in Advertising Age about re-branding Time Warner Cable.
In my very recent past Time Warner Cable was one of my accounts on the creative services side. Being tightly controlled by the large Madison Avenue Advertising Agency. Creativity was very limited.
In this day and age with all the social media avenues Time Warner Cable can find a viable avenue to re-brand the company and its services.
We are a client of Time Warner Cable and find that the company is “stuck” in the last century, as you can see by the comments on the Ad Age post.
They are competing with the Dish, Netflix and many other more “modern” avenues like watching TV online. Customers are their lifeblood and they need to do a better job taking care of them.
I would STRONGLY recommend that Time Warner get a Facebook page and a Twitter page and USE them for customer complaints and suggestions. That would be a start. Then follow what other strong customer oriented brands are doing. Starbucks, JetBlue and others are using Social Media to better communicate their services, offer discounts or specials, field and resolve complaints, and to gain valuable customer feedback. They gain loyalty and repeat business.
Here is one of many “Time Warner Sucks” pages that I found on Facebook. It has over 1,000 members.
A Lesson for Your Business
Throw a rock in a pond and watch it ripple. The bigger the stone, the bigger the consequences. But what does this mean for your business? Do not underestimate the value of social media. It is a unique way to reach out to current and new customers. Business is about building relationships and trust. Keeping open new and popular channels of communication will help grow your business online. And it is a good way to defuse negative press before it gains momentum.
What a success! The workshop hosted by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and VPE Public Relations was packed with eager non profits and companies wanting to learn more about social media marketing and how to implement it for their organizations. The Web Success Team was fully represented with Team colleague and featured speaker, Marci Rosenblum.
1. Knowledge Is Power:
Social Media is a driving force in this new age of media marketing. Some eye-popping statistics: 300 million active Facebook users; 14 million Twitter users; 100 million YouTube viewers per month; 346 million blog readers. And it’s growing exponentially.
2. Your Competition:
Whether you are a non-profit, solopreneur, or small, medium, or large business, your competitors and customers are using social media. You can’t afford not to jump on board, but being a passive player doesn’t cut it. You must be active, aggressive and committed. The good news is that it’s not too late to “catch-up,” grab the opportunity and profit.
3. Benefits of Social Media:
Let’s be candid. You want the opportunity to grow your business. Social Media will help you achieve web success by connecting with people in target market, building relationships, advertising your brand, promoting your products and services, and going viral. You will increase your reach and turn contacts into “friends” and have them evangelize your brand.
4. Time, Management and ROI:
Perception — “We don’t have the resources to actively manage our social media profiles;” “It takes too much time to do social media.” “Where do we begin and how long does it take to see results.” “What is the Return on Investment.”
Reality — There is no instant gratification or magic bullet with social media. The best and most productive way to short cut time management and get results is to hire an authority on social media and have them develop a strategy to be implemented and to train your employees how to effectively manage and promote your brand online through social media marketing.
5. Get Social – A Turnkey Solution:
The Web Success Team can tailor a social media strategy for your business, implement it and train your employees how to effectively manage your social media campaigns. You will save time, money and valuable resources while maximizing your online effectiveness. Contact the Team today for a social media marketing consultation. The time is now to “Get Social!”
Join the Web Success Team for a FREE social media workshop hosted by the L.A. Chamber of Commerce. The workshop is called Latinos and Social Media Strategies for Nonprofits and is on Wednesday, December 16th from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m at Bank of America Room A, B & C on 350 S. Bixel St., Los Angeles 90017. The sponsor is the California Wellness Foundation. The workshop is promoted by VPE, a Hispanic Public Relations firm, whose social media practice area, commUNITY®, is geared to bringing online opportunities to Latinos.
During this one-day workshop, you will learn how to utilize the latest web technology for your organization’s advantage. Presenters will share outreach strategies and how to manage an online presence for your organization in support of your mission. You will get key insights and recommendations to harness the power of new media to maximize your dollars.
Marci Rosenblum – Featured Speaker
Throughout the day there will be guest speakers on a variety of social media topics. Kicking off the morning is Marci Rosenblum, co-founder of the Web Success Team, who will be talking about “Effective Branding in a Social Media World.” Marci will discuss the pros for carrying your brand forward in social networks; and the benefits that it creates for spreading your message to the right demographics.
Other topics include successful social media campaigns. You will learn from nonprofit organizations using social media. This session will focus on successful strategies and challenges in launching social media campaigns including online fundraising, community organizing and civic engagement. The afternoon session will delve into developing social media strategies. You will learn what steps to take before launching a social media effort and strategies to use to engage with your online community.
Take-Aways…
There will be a host of tips, techniques and strategies you will gleam from this one-day workshop. The focus may be on non-profits, but anyone can benefit from the content presented by these social media marketing experts. Some of the workshop take-aways include:
Learning about the most useful web tools for nonprofits.
Discovering the latest trends on how to use Social Media to communicate with constituents.
Conversing with experts on how to develop strategies and manage online presence.
Discussing with organizations that have successfully used social media for promotion, advocacy and fund raising.
Sign-up and join the team for this FREE.
For more information and a schedule of workshop activities and speakers, go to the link: Latinos and Social Media Strategies for Nonprofits. Join the Web Success Team for a day of learning and networking.
TeamWork Builds Web Success
The Web Success Team specializes in building and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online tools and proven techniques to promote your products and services. And we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site through the expanding social media and online marketing strategies.
For more tips, tools and articles of interest, become a fan of the WebSuccessTeam Facebook Page and learn more about online marketing, SEO and social media.
Contact the Team today for a complimentary consultation to your web success!
Cyber Monday is a term coined by retailers to capitalize on the shopping season and traditionally know as the strongest day for online retail sales and web success. Point of fact, it is also generating more sales than in store purchases, making it bigger than Black Friday.
Cyber Monday is the traditional “kick-off” to the online shopping season. This year sales could exceed $900 million, making this the biggest day for online retailers according to the Dow Jones and Com Score. Sales rose 14% this year over last year’s haul and bought 30% more items per order as well.
Online shopping is a juggernaut that is here to stay. Be it convenience, time and cost savings, shoppers are rabid for deals. Couple this with the fact that Monday is a workday, imagine the lost productivity as shoppers take advantage of the Internet bargains.
Social Media Fuels Cyber Monday Sales
Retailers are capitalizing on this consumer onslaught by leveraging social media to drive sales, using their Facebook Fan pages and their Twitter accounts to offer huge discounts. Here are some Facebook page examples: Cyber Monday offering holiday deals for more than 700 merchants with “Deals of the Week” and “Deals of the Hour;” JC Pennyoffering huge discounts for Cyber Monday; and Wal-Mart with savings from their website on electronics, toys and groceries.
According to the Wichita Business Journal: “Electronics retailers will be the big winners during this holiday season with: Amazon had the most visits on Friday, up 28 percent from last year. Wal-Mart, Target, Apple and Best Buy, all of which have multiple stores in Wichita, were among the most popular sites. Apple’s traffic was up 39 percent from last year, the biggest year-over-year gain among most-visited sites.”
And since online holiday shopping is just kicking off expect more of the same great deals as we progress to Christmas, and the after Christmas sales to build even more momentum.
Capitalize on the Power of Social Media Marketing
If you still are underestimating the power of Social Media, think again and use all the tools that the web has to offer you to build your business online. The Web Success Team can you promote your business through the Power of Social Media Marketing. Contact us today and we’ll show you how to build an effective network to sell your products and services.
TeamWork Builds Web Success
The Web Success Team specializes in building and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online tools and proven techniques to promote your products and services. And we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site through the expanding social media and online marketing strategies.
For more tips, tools and articles of interest, become a fan of the WebSuccessTeam Facebook Page and learn more about online marketing, SEO and social media.
Contact the Team today for a complimentary consultation to your web success!
Thanksgiving dates back to 1621, when both the Mayflower Pilgrims and the American Wampanoag Indians shared 3 days of celebration for conquering their harsh environment and feasting with new friends in a new world. Today, Thanksgiving is a time where people come from near and far to reconnect, rejuvenate, reflect and rejoice. Thanksgiving is one of the few times of the year that can be classified as a social holiday. People actually have a reason to get back in sync with someone they’ve lost touch with or possibly repair old ties that have previously been severed.
Like Thanksgiving, social media gives people the tools to reconnect and stay in touch. Instead of a wooden table decorated with lavish decorations and dishes, people gather around electronic devices adorned with various forms of networking sites and portals that enable people to get plugged in and unite. Thanksgiving and social media networking draw similar parallels, bringing people together for practical purposes, whether it be eating or solidifying business deals, cooking meals or cooking up interesting tweets and Facebook chats.
Just as Indians and Pilgrims from distant lands came together on common ground to harvest their bounty, people from various parts of the globe join forces in a “cyberspace” field to prosper for business and networking purposes.
Thanksgiving is also a time for welcoming friends and neighbors into your home to get better acquainted and make existing bonds stronger. Similarly, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter were all designed for people to welcome others to their homepages and websites and get reconnected.
Proclaimed a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving has morphed into an international event celebrated by Americans and their friends across the globe. In contrast, social media was founded by a few daring entrepreneurs and has exploded into virtually millions of household and businesses throughout the world wide web, granting a ton of web success.
Thanksgiving only comes around once a year, but by incorporating online marketing into your everyday life, you can have a reason to celebrate daily. You certainly have a reason to give thanks because social media is known for giving back. It can help businesses reach more customers, boost their sales and give them an edge on the competition. Social media can sit at the proverbial head of the table, and allow consumers to feast on success and profits (instead of turkey and yams).
Both Thanksgiving and social media gives us a reason to celebrate and bring us closer together. But unlike our historic ancestors, we hope our brave new social world will lead to better and more understanding between people of all ethnicities and cultures. Happy Thanksgiving.
Cyber Monday is a term coined by retailers to capitalize on the shopping season and traditionally know as the strongest day for online retail sales and web success. Point of fact, it is also generating more sales than in store purchases, making it bigger than Black Friday.
