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Inbound Marketing… Huh?

what-is-inbound-marketing

Inbound Marketing: Any marketing tactic that relies on earning people’s interest instead of buying it. Inbound marketing means creating and sharing content that is specifically designed to appeal to your qualified prospects. The content keeps these dream customers and businesses coming back for more until they are ready to make a purchase.

We’ve put together this list of what we consider to be Inbound Marketing. Which tactics do you use for your business and how have you seen them increase your website traffic?

 

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Creating a Social Media Strategy

Social media can seem very time consuming when you are getting started with it either for personal use or even more with business use. As a business owner it is so important that you have an online presence, it is your reputation these days. If someone is searching for you, and they can’t find you online, then you may be losing customers and business. If you are just getting started with social media you need to make sure you have a strategy behind what you are doing. Here are a few tips to help with your social media strategy:

# 1 – Know what your goals are going to be

When you are starting to market online with social media you need to spend some time figuring out what you want to put into social media and what you want to get out of social media. Really take time to write these things down. Be realistic, most people think since you have a Facebook page that your phone is going to start ringing off the hook that is not the case!  Sometimes your business and your personal life on social media can easily blend and distract you from your real goals, so it’s important to know where you are spending your time, and what tactics work to earn you more business. Figure out how much time you are willing to spend each day to put into social media, we usually recommend an hour a day. Use a time block that will work for you and your schedule. For example, if your goal is to use Facebook to drive more traffic and leads to your blog then make sure you are blogging frequently so people want to read your blog!

# 2 – Building an online Brand- Know your audience.

For some people and companies, it can take some time to really understand what your brad is. Having a clear picture on what your brand is and who the audience is, and then you can choose the right social media platforms, that you feel would be the best for your brand.  Remember, if you can’t be on a platform, and do it consistently well against your local competitors, figure out which ones you will choose to focus on.

 

# 3 – Measuring your success – ROI

When it comes to analyzing your return and success, this is one area that is peoples least favorite and most often overlooked. The ONLY way you will be able to see if social media and Internet marketing are working for you, is to be analyzing it! From Search Engine Optimization (SEO), blog traffic, referrals, mobile and social media, having a firm understanding of how and when you reach your audience is the best way to know what social media efforts are paying off. Which content is popular? What gets shared the most? Do you ask how the callers on the other end of the phone how they found you? (A lot of companies DO NOT ask where their customers are coming from. CRAZY!)

Here are some basic steps:

  • Set up Google Analytics on your blog. Take one to two hours familiarizing yourself with the various free tools, real-time traffic, social referrals, and mobile activity.
  • Do research on hot keywords for your business through Google Here is a great tool for Twitter on hashtags http://tagboard.com/
  • Use social media measuring tools like Hootsuite to help you understand who is retweeting you and following you.
  • Did traffic increase when you started doing more posts on LinkedIn? Did your use of Pinterest for 30 days increase views of your website? Get your coffee, a quiet morning once a week, and analyze. You’ll be doing more for your business than more than 80 percent of marketers on social media!

# 4 – When is it time to try something new?

The one thing you can always count on with social media is it is constantly changing, as are the consumers who interact with them. Be watchful of these trends, not the ones of those you compete with in the industry. It’s very common as an industry to follow our crowd of opinions and do something because someone said it was a groundbreaking new technology, or suddenly everyone started doing it, or a report came out saying all the popular people in the industry were doing it. These are NOT the metrics upon which to decide a social media or marketing strategy. 

Be cautious; be analytical; try new things; have fun; be yourself; build your brand voice; and measure your success!

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Ever had somebody asking you about your social media ROI?

This is a great article we found at  http://ezinearticles.com/?Improving-Social-Media-ROI-the-Easy-Way&id=7810932 As social media managers, one thing we get asked all the time is “How do you get a ROI with social media” here are a few great ways to monitor your ROI. One thing to remember is if you are spending time or money on managing social media, it is not a dollar to dollar return, you want to monitor your interaction, your likes, comments, new likes, followers, Re-Tweets etc. Please let us know if you have any questions with getting an ROI with social media, we would love to speak with you.

Chances are you are either one of the two kinds of people:

1. Somebody who definitely no idea what social media ROI is or

2. Somebody who knows it is but has trouble giving an exact number.

Fret not my friends. Around 1/4 of the marketers we have worldwide realize that finding their social media ROI is one of the biggest challenge they face as marketers.

To further help you, I will list down some techniques you can implement on your social media campaigns so you can easily reach your ROI.

#1 Promote offers using social networking sites – We all know and recognize the power of social media. It is a very important channel to promote anything one creates. It can be a white paper, a report, an eBook a simple article or even a webinar. Promoting your products or offer using social networking sites is not as tough as you think. Fun in fact!

 

  • Twitter

 

Twitter marketing is quite easy as you just need to put a link that includes your content/product/offer. Also, don’t forget to use #hashtags. Tweets with words that are hashed are more valuable that tweets that are not. Once you hashtag a word, it goes to the world of hashtags. Your tweets will become more visible to your followers. But there’s a rule. I recommend using only 2-3 hashed words per tweet. Using too much will make you look like spam.

 

  • Facebook and Google +

 

People are visual when it comes to Facebook and Google+. Take advantage of this behavior by using pictures on your post with your link. And like Twitter, these two social networking sites have adopted the #hashtag, so make sure take advantage of this new feature also for maximum visibility.

 

  • LinkedIn

 

Post on marketing groups that are discussing principles or ideas that are same as yours.

#2 Use tags on URLs to track traffic – To further understand social media ROI you have to know where people are coming from when they get to your site. If you are promoting your work on multiple platforms, you have to know what campaign works and what is failing. This will make future campaigns easier. In order to successfully track traffic, you have to put tags on URLs so you know if it comes from a specific platform. Remember that the whole idea behind this technique is finding campaigns that work and find out those that needs to be tweaked.

Surveys – You can also use a tried and tested method of knowing how your visitors get to your site is through the use of a simple survey. If you thought that surveys are a thing of the past then you are gravely mistaken.

#3 Take advantage of Google+ – I asked some friends the other day as to what they think the best social media platform for Google is and I got varied answers. I really can’t blame them because most of them had no idea what I was asking. As for internet marketers, Google+ is hands-down the best SEO partner you can have for your campaigns.

Other than Google+, make sure to make your presence felt using Google Places and Google Authorship. The overall idea of a social media campaign is for more traffic to your site so this means that a good presence on all Google platforms might just equate to more traffic for your site.

Bottom line, use the best social media practices to improve your ROI.

You may be into Twitter marketing or Pinterest or Facebook but you always have to remember that social media marketing is not a magic cure that will surely remedy your problems in no time at all.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7810932

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3 simple rules to follow with social media

In today’s marketing world, businesses of all types are realizing how important it is to have an online presence. The average age on Facebook is 25-55, so it really is reaching all types of demographics, one issue we see our clients run into, is how to start that online brand and online community. More and more businesses are noticing that this Internet Marketing is not just a bandwagon thing; it is here to stay and changing the way of how businesses market themselves. If your company has not yet dipped into the social media world here are 3 simple steps to follow:

 

1.  Pick the Right Social Media Platform

 

Just because “all” companies are on Facebook doesn’t mean that’s the right platform for your business.  Social media is not a cookie cutter program; it works differently for each company. If you are just getting started with social media, research the different platforms; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram. See which ones you like and feel comfortable managing, set aside an hour or so on your calendar to visit three social media sites to see what they offer before making a business page or profile.  Take a look at what your competitors are doing, especially those who have been successfully using social media. Then after about a week of research (if that long) choose 3 profiles to set up and start using, stick with it for at least 6 months

 

2.  Social Media Policy

 

Each and every business should have a social media policy in place that addresses two issues:  (1) employee usage of social media and (2) the company’s social media activities.  You can read more about what should go into a social media policy by revisiting this blog post titled “9 Tips for Drafting an Employee Social Media Policy.”

 

3.  Create a Social Media Strategy

 

Once you choose your 3 profiles or platforms to start posting to there are a few things you will need to start doing, putting out valuable content and growing your online community. Let’s say you start with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, on Facebook and LinkedIn you want to make sure you set up your business pages completely with links to your website and logos, also make sure those business pages are linked to your personal profiles, with Twitter you want to make sure you have all areas filled out and upload custom header. In each online platform be sure to insert keywords in the about sections. Social Media is a great tool to help with organic SEO. Once you have these platforms set up then you want to upload your contact list to your Facebook business page and your LinkedIn account, you will then start to grow your online community. It is important to bring your offline market online.

 

These were just a few steps to help you with the beginning stages of Social Media. If you need help customizing these platforms or managing them we can help! Please contact us today for a free 30 minute consultation Marketing@TheBIMSTeam.com

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Need Ideas On What To Tweet?

Have you run out of ideas for what to tweet for your small business?  Here are 5 ideas for things to tweet about on a regular basis:

  1. If there is any positive news about your business or even your industry – share it! That is absolutely something to tweet about. A good mention about your industry reflects well on you, and if it is about your company in particular that is even better.
  2. Tweet tips!  For example, you could start hash – tagging #TuesdayTweetTips in which every Tuesday you would share a helpful hint that goes along with your product or service. If you own a brewery, tweet tips on which beers compliment which burgers.
  3. Post questions that clearly urge people to respond. This way you can interact with the tweets that are responses to your questions. Once you have created some dialogue, you can post a tweet with a link to your company blog that holds the correct answers.
  4. Tweet a secret word or code that is only available to your Twitter followers.  When customers use the secret code, they receive a discount.
  5. Share things that are behind the scenes of your business. Tweet photos that provide access to things your customers can’t get or see in other ways.  That will build incentive for fans to follow you on Twitter.

As you know, a tweet can be a powerful tool for boosting your  online following – you just have to make sure you are using it right!

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Starting Your Own LinkedIn Group

First things first: as a small business owner, you should be active on LinkedIn. If you are not – create an account right now!  Yes, right now.

The beauty of LinkedIn is that it is full of resources. You can join groups that are full of professionals in your industry. Then you can use these groups to get product or service feedback, network, and even connect with future business partners or employees. In addition to creating a personal LinkedIn account, you should also establish a company page on LinkedIn for your business.

If you are considering starting a group on LinkedIn, here are some tips that will help you take full advantage of all of LinkedIn’s opportunities as a group leader.

If you choose to begin your own LinkedIn group, you have the option of creating a closed or open group. An open group allows any member to contribute and is visible to the public. A closed group is private and requires a user to be accepted to the group before contributing. When making your choice, consider that an open group will clearly grow faster, but it is also likely the group could be prone to spam.   Alternatively, a closed group will grow more gradually. Yet, the members will be much more targeted. Consider how you want your group to be seen and used when making this decision.

Remember that you started this group, so you must be a part of it. Be active and let your presence be known to your members  – it will help you network rapidly.

As the leader of the group, remember that you can make rules – this is a power that should be taken seriously. If there is an unruly member of the group, you can remove them. On the flip side, if there is a member that is a great contributor to your group, be sure to acknowledge them!

One huge advantage to creating a group is that you can send weekly announcements out to your members! This is an opportunity for you to contact your members directly. Just be careful to fill those messages with useful information – you want to ensure that your followers actually engage with the message (not just overlook it as spam).

LinkedIn is becoming a giant resource in marketing and business development. Use it correctly to see what it can do for you.

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Social Media, Not Just Another Platform

The beauty of social media is that it is not just another advertising platform.  Social media does not have to be limited, and this is something to take advantage of. Abandon your campaign-focused mindset and adopt a strategic one. Your mindset should treat social media as an opportunity to connect, engage with, and learn form your consumers in an uninhibited space. Social media is generally not limited by budget – this is huge. This means that your advertising activity is not restricted to a few campaigns per year. Companies tend to conduct two to three campaigns on social media per year. It is important to place equal focus on your social media activity the rest of the time, your strategy.

Responding to your audience will better your  social media strategy. Social media allows you to talk directly to your customers, capitalize on that. This is invaluable feedback that you cannot get as easily or as quickly with other advertising platforms. Get to know your customers by using social media as a resource. You have easy access to what pages they are “Liking” on Facebook and who they are following on Twitter. Use this information to find out what matters to your customers. By gathering this insight, you can more effectively engage. Once you have this insight and customer data, use social media to drive action for your business. Develop your online presence by improving your strategy. Keep it relevant to your company, and engage with your audience.

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What Is Social Media About?

Social media is generally not limited by budget – this is huge. The beauty of social media is that it is not just another advertising platform. This means that your advertising activity is not restricted to a few campaigns per year. Companies tend to conduct two to three campaigns on social media per year. It is important to place equal focus on your social media activity the rest of the time. Social media does not have to be limited, and this is something to take advantage of. Abandon your campaign-focused mindset and adopt a strategic one. Your mindset should treat social media as an opportunity to connect, engage with, and learn form your consumers in an uninhibited space.

 

Social media allows you to talk directly to them, capitalize on that. To better your social strategy, respond to your audience. . This is invaluable feedback that you cannot get as easily or as quickly with other advertising platforms. Get to know your customers by using social media as a resource. You have easy access to what pages they are “Liking” on Facebook and who they are following on Twitter. Use this information to find out what matters to your customers. By gathering this insight, you can more effectively engage. Once you have this insight and customer data, use social media to drive action for your business. Keep in mind that being personal and active on social media can go along way. Your online presence can do wonders for your company if you are sure to use it the right way.

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Using Social Media Marketing For Small Businesses

You need to get to know your audience and find out what these people do on social networks. Developing a campaign adapted to your audience is the only way to get results. Start by finding out which sites are popular among your customers: most people use Facebook or Twitter but there are a lot of other sites designed for specific niches or age groups, including Reddit, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, and many others. If you sell products to customers from all over the world, you should also join foreign social networks too. You also need to find out what kind of content your audience is interested in: pay attention to how popular your different updates are to get an idea of what your audience is interested in and which format is the most appreciated.

Your social media marketing campaign needs to be connected to your other marketing ventures. Add links to your social networking profiles to your main site or blog and to the signature of your emails. Place social media buttons on your articles so that readers can easily share your content and give people a reason to connect with you on these sites. You could for instance share coupon codes or organize contests on social website. If you use mobile marketing, the two campaigns should be closely connected since a lot of people use their phones to access social networks.

Update your networks every day. Your goal is to get the attention of your subscribers in spite of the other updates their friends and other professionals are sharing. This means you need to create updates that stand out: do not hesitate to share pictures of your products or to put together a video since these elements will be more noticeable. If you want to share a link to an article or write a short paragraph, introduce your update with a catchy phrase that will encourage people to keep reading.

Encourage people to interact with you on social websites. You could for instance list social networks as a way of contacting you with questions, comments or complaints. Share updates that will make people want to react: ask questions, create polls or ask your customers to share their own content with you for a chance to win a prize. When interacting with customers on social networks, always remain professional and friendly. Take the time to answer to everyone and be as helpful as possible. Remember that your goal is not to make friends but to advertise your products or services.

Launching a social media marketing campaign is a lot of work but your efforts will be rewarded. You should read more about social networks and do some research about latest trends so you can try new sites and techniques before your competitors do.  Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7273816

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Tips For Successful Social Media Marketing

 

 

 

 

Businesses everywhere are finding new opportunities to engage with consumers through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest. It’s known that Twitter gets about 460,000 users to sign up per day, and Facebook is expected to reach 1 billion users by August, so it’s easy for businesses to realize that each and every one of these users have the potential to be a customer.

But social media marketing is more than just making an account and adding friends and followers. It is critical to have a well-established strategy and to do your research so you can develop the best social media plan for your company.

Follow these tips before you hit the social media highway.

1. Have A Plan

Too often Facebook becomes littered with inactive company pages. These pages are the result of marketers making a company page without a goal in mind.

It’s important to understand your objectives. State what it is you want to accomplish. This might be to create brand awareness, to provide a platform for consumers to give input and ask questions, or to build customer loyalty with promotions and specials.

Also, you’ll want to make a plan for measuring your ROI. It’s very helpful to be able to tell if your efforts are paying off. If your efforts aren’t getting results, then you can have a plan set to help you modify your marketing tactics.

It’s also wise to know you’re target audience. Define the demographics of who would be most interested in your products and services so you can send your brand message to those specific people.

Finally, make sure you have the time necessary to run your social media marketing plan. If you can’t make the time needed for your social media marketing, your attempts will not get very far. Consider hiring someone to help you so you can have the time to make a successful social media marketing campaign.

2. Keep It Simple

After you’ve got a basic plan set up, don’t go overboard and try to join every social network site out there. That will only end up fragmenting your efforts. What you should do is focus on creating one or two accounts on social media sites and grow your audience there.

3. Don’t Spam

With social media, it can be tempting to start promoting your products and services like crazy, but advertising should not be the main focus of social media marketing. Facebook users don’t go on the site to just look for something to purchase, so make sure you’re engaging with followers and fans on a level beyond advertising and promoting.

4. Communicate

Silence is not golden in the social media world. Communication is a must for any business, especially social media marketing. If you are not able to maintain ongoing communication with your customers, you will lose the value of having a social media presence. So be “social” and make contacts and boost your reputation.

5. Build Your Fan Base

It’s easy to gain customers by building your fan base. If you communicate well through your social media sites, your fan base will grow, and the potential for more customers will grow as well. Be sure to post interesting and unique information often, and follow people who are relevant to your brand, and they might just follow you back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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