Category Archives: Education

What Does Stand Up Paddling Have to Do With Social Media Marketing?

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A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to Hawaii with family. While there, I got a lesson in stand up paddling, or what the locals call SUP.

The basics of stand up paddling aren’t hard. You kneel on the surfboard until you have your balance and then you plant your feet on the board and stand up.

Of course, you may feel a little wobbly as the water roils beneath you but if you’re in a pretty flat stretch of water you have a good shot at staying upright –for a few minutes at least.

Are You Letting “Irrational” Fears Keep You From Getting Started?

It wasn’t until I passed the pier that I panicked. I was suddenly overcome by an irrational fear that I was in really deep water. Irrational because I know how to swim, paddleboards float and I was close to shore. Yet, I was terrified. And then, when the teeniest wave came and the surfboard changed its balance, I fell off.

Imagine my surprise when I hit ground right away.

We were a couple hundred yards off shore but the water wasn’t even up to my waist. Of course, I didn’t know that when I let myself fall off the board and I braced myself for a deep submersion.

I hit the ground and my chest wasn’t even submerged though I was sitting on the ground. Ouch!

It’s Kind of Like Social Media

Some small business owners build social networking up into this big scary monster that’s going to lay them exposed and embarrassed like Tiger Woods circa 2010 but the reality is very different.

That is, if you have a plan in place and know what your goals are. If you don’t, take a step back and reconsider for a moment. What do you want your Facebook page to accomplish for your business?

Do you want it to bring in 10% new leads? Do you want to use it to connect with your prospects and engage them with useful and relevant information?

Do you want to build loyalty with coupons and special deals? What are your goals and how will you accomplish them?

Other Considerations

How much time do you have to devote to your social media marketing and who will maintain it? If you’d rather walk on hot coals than use social media to connect and engage with your prospects then maybe you should either choose not to do it or find someone to do it for you.

You’ll not only need to clearly outline your goals, but you’ll also need to create a plan for how to achieve them. What sort of content will your audience find useful? How will you build your audience?

Many of my clients find they need a hand getting started.

A few hours with a social media guide can set you on the right course so you don’t fall off in shallow water but rather keep paddling off into the sunset.

Facebook Marketing – How You Can Get an Avalanche Of Customers

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Some industry experts believe that Facebook marketing is going to be as big as Google marketing. If you haven’t looked into Facebook or any of the other social media marketing sites, you could be missing out.

It seems like every type of business is getting on-board with Facebook marketing. If your business is still sitting on the sidelines, it’s time to jump in and play. But before you get started, now is the perfect time to take a look at all the ins and outs of social media marketing.

Will Facebook Marketing Work for Your Business?

Everyone has read the articles, glossed over the tutorials and even watched a few of the how-to video guides on using Facebook marketing, but is there any proof that it will actually increase and improve your business?

Take Your Marketing to the Next Level with Facebook

InsideFacebook.com states the following fact about Facebook:

  • There are over 500 million active members currently using Facebook. Putting it into perspective, if Facebook were a country, it would have the 4th largest population on the planet.
  • Facebook has been translated into over 100 languages, penetrating nearly one third of the entire population.
  • Facebook’s most recent quarterly growth rates has shown that active user numbers have increased by over 25% in 47 countries.
  • Over 85% of American women have a social network profile, with 95% of them on Facebook.
  • More than half of everyone who shops online has a Facebook profile.

While these numbers are huge you still have to ask yourself whether Facebook marketing can work for your business. The answer is simple: it depends on you and what you do with it.

Unlocking the Potential of Facebook Marketing

Even if you just consider the power that comes with the sheer volume of 500 million users, by bringing your business idea or niche marketing project to Facebook, you will have a huge opportunity to be seen by more users than ever before. You can attract new users to become “friends”, and turn those Facebook friends into promoters, supporters and eventually clients just by implementing a well-planned strategy. Here are some examples:

  • An online publication called “Social Media Examiner” was launched in November 2009 by Michael Stelzner. He decided to not launch his publication using any of the traditional marketing methods. Stelzner instead launched his publication only using social marketing networks and Facebook marketing and achieved a number one rating on Technorati for business blogs. By the end of the first quarter, there were nearly 100,000 subscribers at the Examiner. Sound too good to be true? Yet Stelzner experienced a marked increase in sales and overall business.
  • Target is another example of moving away from sales flyers and traditional business promotions by launching a Party Planning Page. As a direct result of their marketing efforts, Target saw a 6% increase in sales. In fact, Target’s Facebook Fan Page attracted 20% more direct hits by Facebook fans to their store. Additionally, those Facebook fans were found to have spent 33% more than other types of customers.
  • Morton’s Steakhouse ran a Valentine’s Day photo promotion on Facebook in 2009. As a result, sales and overall business experienced a large difference.

If You Work It, Facebook Works

Facebook marketing received rave reviews from analyst Kevin Ertell at ForeSee Results who stated that, “Facebook by far is the best place online to reach customers,” and he went on to tell business owners, “Get a Facebook page and you will start making money.”

So the question at the end of the day is, does Facebook marketing really work? And the answer, which is the same for many other business-related questions is, if you work it it will work.