Seeing is believing—Facebook Likes

What’s interesting about the bump in Facebook (by just a few people) can have some amazing results. In the three categories I found in Insights on my business Facebook page looked like this

Page likes 47 up 17% from last week.

Post Reach 13 down 13.3% from last week

Engagement 7 up 75% from last week

 The page likes are pretty straight forward (someone saw your page), but the post reach is how effective your page is. My low post reach had me concerned for a minute until I discovered exactly what it meant. On Facebook there is a system called EdgeRank. This algorithm sees the fan views and interaction of your page. So in plain terms, people liked me last week but bounced right off the page before any interaction could take place. So is that bad? Well, if those visitors came back and contributed next week the algorithm would improve (so don’t be a stranger). I also discovered that these numbers are typically very low no matter what you do.

Engagement is when there is a dialog between two people on Facebook such as comments, pictures etc. This is ideal from the algorithms perspective but not always practical a business owner.

Week 13 The Smart Mobile Move

There are many social media choices a small business can choose to build their brand, but probably the smartest mobile move is to build out your mobile website on the internet. Google Mobile Analytic s is an important app to track the traffic that lands on your page. So the big question is what does this data mean to me? The app has a variety of advanced traffic tools to analyze where the sources of internet traffic is coming from, but the 5 basic key points are as follows:

·         Organic (browser key words)

·         Email (Constant Contact)

·         Referral (links from blog sites)

·         CPC (paid advertising)

·         Direct (www. URL)

This data can be broken down into a chart to see just how effective your key words are in drawing relevant traffic to your web site. Think of it as the storyboard of your business (content) as seen through the rear view mirror of your marketing journey. The end goal provides statistical data and ideas for future campaigns and subtle key word improvements. But does it have to stop there? Absolutely not, in fact once you have gone live with your mobile friendly website you can take the key words that are searched and develop this content into a conversation:

·         Social media (amplifies reach, which signals search engines)

·         Content (searches & locates quality blog content)

·         Links (creditability from other professionals)

In the online article by Jason Demers, he talks about how powerful these bullet points are and in his opinion—absolutely necessary. A flow of quality content helps maintain relevance in the in the market place today. Relying on static SEO work alone is just not enough for search engines to rank you well, you need a strategy—you need to start thinking dynamically. It’s time to start building relationships.

Week 12 Sunday Post

Think about a coupon deal you could develop. What product or service do you think would be one that would increase traffic to your business?  

The Awesome 180 Switch

I would create B2B sales opportunities with new business contacts. I would think of those contacts as  mini partners not just recipients of coupons and discounts. These partnerships would generate additional cash flow by a paid referral system. For example, If a mini partner sees an opportunity to pitch our product/service to their client base and it works, we can share in the profits. Short of that is a lost opportunity. Now in theory it may sound great but in practical terms  could this actually work? The actual offer is an attractive percentage of your sales revenue that would be paid out to these partners to compensate them for their reputation time and their time.

The talking points are as follows:

·         … you’re a successful company, who does this work for you?

•     … you’re always busy right? Just refer us.

·         …we serve the same type of clients. When I get paid, you get paid--just set it up. How does that sound?

If you can talk to like people in your industry and you bring you’re social media “A game” to the table these B2B relationships will grow (especially after they check you out online and are blown away)! It’s just a matter of time before the same businesses that you’re paying (for their time) will eventually be paying yours!

See you at the top,

Eric 

Week 12 Online Marketing Tools In Use

What four additional online marketing tools do you believe could be important to the growth of your business?

I strongly recommend

·         Goggle Doc’s as a competitive Business tool which could organizes your content, projects, and images. It is simple, and accessible anywhere on the cloud. It’s very intuitive, smart and carries the bulk of Microsoft’s Office suite around for you (for free). Also, the biggest wow factor is that users can collaborative from anywhere in the world in real time—which is a big advantage over a Microsoft platform.

·         Second, build out your Google+ page. We've all been using Blogger or Word Press (which is great), but I would continue to post new content to the page on a weekly basis (if possible) and attract potential business.

·         Create a YouTube channel and upload anything business like content you have (at first). Don’t worry, my channel started out being the laughing stock of the community but now I’m getting (paying) jobs. So what changed? Hint—Take Neil Moura’s 101 Communication class, do exactly what he says, (his background is Broadcasting) and then go build your brand.

·         Pinterest is an interesting place for pictures but you can also create groups and exchange relevant ideas.

·         Instagram is another site (that Lukas in our 155 class suggested to me) and I think that it’s worth mentioning and forwarding to everyone else as a usable social media tool .

How could you integrate them into your current strategy?

I've already incorporated all of the above points into my marketing plan, but the key to effectively benefiting from it requires that you are consistently improving your profiles and providing new content for higher ranking.

Week 11 How to use marketing on Social Media (without spending money).

 Chameleon Tails From The Road

No one knows or understands your brand better than you do. No reasonable amount of money will ever change that. So where does it leave you?  In my opinion, you need to become literally social. Being nice and hanging out with friends doesn't cut it. You need to grab onto your worst possible PR nightmare and turn it around like a pro. Feeling a little sick? You should—because this is the truth and this is where it starts.

#1). A call to action is the ultimate destination, not the beginning of your journey to advertise on Facebook , Twitter,et al.

a.       The correct starting point  is “what is your people filter”? When thinking about this, consider eliminating the wrong clients. Who will you say NO to? For example, what type of personality gets to hear you say “thank you for your time but this doesn't really sound like a good fit”. Another way to remove the wrong client is to increase your rates.  Just smile, and watch the magic unfold—no one likes being dumped—listen for the words “wait” and recalculate your fee for service. I’ll babysit and play shrink for a price, never forget that!

b.      Once you know the type of client to avoid, who do you demographically serve? For example, my primary demographic is educated and computer literate people. I socially attract upper management, CEO’s or teachers--who have stable incomes, are research oriented, between 35-60 years old, and mostly women, who have made poor interior design choices in the past. Almost like clockwork, this is the model that works for me.

#2).In your ad you need to paint the dream. So what does it look like?

·         I arrive on time to your home, calm, organized and with a slight  tech savvy persona. I listen-listen-listen intently and contribute meaningful dialog when appropriate.

·         Then I move to discover your sense of humor and play with that—I will tease you and watch your response. How you respond is key (which can’t be stressed enough).  Normal clients can handle this—broken people cannot.

·         Now your job is to reevaluate the surroundings and set the new tone—I always set the tone. It starts with a genuine smile which is sometimes necessary to re-calibrate the mood in the room-- it’s called having fun right?

#3). Truth? If I don’t connect by now, we are typically done—there is no transaction.  Also, unless the project is totally worth it to me and it really makes sense to pursue the opportunity (and prove ourselves with unbelievable kindness and follow up) this is where we part ways and move on. Bottom line, if I’m doing my job correctly I’m choosing you, not the other way around.

#4). Calibrate your Chameleon. At first, be everything to everybody and then pull it back slowly to who you really are (because you’re worth it).  Frankly, there is no better way for you to effectively promote yourself online (budget or not). It’s actually better that you have no marketing budget to work with so by default your option is to be authentic and transparent. Oddly enough, this will actually engage real people to your real page/channel through the pull marketing model . Please remember that the magic doesn't start happening  until you know EXACTLY who you are and WHAT you want. Being yourself will always be the best communication style and applying commonsense typically keeps you from being what you’re not.

#5). Great, now you’re ready to communicate! Carefully craft  your  “A Call To Action” and launch it on all the platforms, profile pages and whomever will listen—go get ’em tiger and I’ll see you at the top!

Eric (earned income).

Eric on the keyboard

Facebook Ad comment links

http://jillchang47.blogspot.com/

http://amandapolkcsit.blogspot.com/

http://michellereneemusings.blogspot.com/

http://turmanblog.blogspot.com/

Week 11 Online Advertising

How can you design and implement ads for social media using the principals of good design?

The best way for me to use social media is through the pull model. A simple before and after image would probably the most effective way to promote my flooring service. In an add, I could ask in a question form “does this house look like yours?” Click here to see the transformation. That would resonate with many potential clients who are tired of looking at old floor coverings.

 Using Banner Ads

I think banner ads will bring in (expensive) short term income and generate little interest toward the brand, but in the long run if you don’t have content to show and subscribe to you might as well stand out on a street corner and hold a sign.

Twitter Advertising

Today I figured out that I could use Twitter to post small, very--very short term wood flooring quantities and colors online to my contractor friends that are really marked down below distributor cost.

What is my game plan?

My goal is to jump start my social media marketing plan by

·         calling between 250-300 businesses locally

·         following up with Constant Contact (emails)

·         provide social media tips, material blow outs, and our services to subscribers

·         drive local traffic to our website

·         serve clients

I’m not a big proponent of paid advertising, but like myself and many of my colleges we have become too dependent on third party review based companies for work.  For example, my friend Steve is 95% dependent on Angie’s List for his work today. In my opinion, that can be dangerous to a business if the relationship ever changed or a client’s bad review prevented him from serving good future clients.

Explain the different kinds of FaceBook advertising is available

App ad- It’s an ad for an application

Domain ad-This ad is typically placed on the right side of the page, and takes you out of FaceBook and onto another site like a blog.

Event ad- The is for events Facebook members can join and is located on the upper right hand side of the page.

Mobile app ad-This takes you to the Apple store or Google plus for news feeds.

Page like ad-This is so you can directly Like the ad.

Page post ads-This ad can be text, video or a still image. These ads can be liked, commented or shared.

Also, which ones you might try for your business Be sure to include your reasoning behind your choice, timing and budget you feel would have the most impact and generate the best results.

The advertising I do with Facebook is to notify my followers that I've upload blog content and should follow the link back to me. I’m just not interested in allocating any revenue towards an ad at this time.

Make screen shots of your ads and include them into your blog post. 

Before                                                               After

A simple way to illustrate exactly what we do is for potential clients to imagine a dated 1990's kitchen: Tile counter tops, natural oak cabinets (oak wood flooring), white appliances and flat white walls. Now dream with me and picture a modern kitchen with solid granite counter tops, med brown stained cabinets (stained oak wood flooring) and stainless steel appliances and relaxing mint chocolate walls.

Explain why you think they would be effective.
From a marketing perspective, our goal (for this project) was to provide the seller with a justifiable asking price on a budget of 25K. The property was shown once on a weekend to a caravan of Realtors and the property closed 40 days later to a couple who bid above asking. So yes, I believe in theory that this ad can help sum up the potential of what we have to offer.

Create several sample ads following the specific requirements of FaceBook, Twitter or other social media platform you want to utilize

Ad Name
Audience	Your audience includes people: Location - Living In: - United States Age: - 18 - 65+ Placements: - on News Feed on desktop computers and mobile devices
Campaign	Common Sense Flooring, Inc. - Post Engagement
Ad Set	US - 18+ (New Ad Set)
Daily Budget	$5.00 per day
Duration	This ad campaign will run indefinitely

Edit Order

By clicking "Place Order", you agree to the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities including your obligation to comply with the Facebook Advertising Guidelines. We do not use sensitive personal data for ad targeting. Topics you choose for targeting your ad don't reflect the personal beliefs, characteristics or values of users. Failure to comply with the Terms and Conditions and the Advertising Guidelines may result in a variety of consequences, including the cancellation of ads you have placed and the termination of your account. Understand that if you are a resident of or have your principal place of business in the US or Canada, you are contracting solely with Facebook, Inc. Otherwise, you are contracting solely with Facebook Ireland, Ltd. However, if you are a resident of or have your principal place of business in Brazil, then you continue to have this contractual relationship with Facebook Ireland Limited but your payment may be taken directly by Facebook Servicos Online Do Brasil Ltda in accordance with the Payments Termspromulgated by Facebook Servicos Online Do Brasil Ltda.

Week 10 Blog Post Comment Links

http://socalcomputerpro.blogspot.com/

http://turmanblog.blogspot.com/

http://jillchang47.blogspot.com/

http://socialmedia858.blogspot.com/

Week 10 Keeping up with Constant Contact

What information could your business use for a newsletter, and how often would you send one?

A monthly newsletter (with incentives) could greatly improve our business to business (B2B) relationships by incorporating Constant Contact. Essentially, this could boost revenue by reaching out to other business owners that might need our specialty services in the future. The monthly message would  gently remind subscribers that we are available in a pinch if you need us.

The closer I looked at the MCC marketing Lecture standards, the more I realized that I have an expensive marketing system for meeting and serving our new clients. The concept behind the Constant Contact email system (once established)  practically drives itself which is entirely the point. In an effort to capitalize on this platform and become more productive our

·         first step would be to market directly to industry related business who normally wouldn't benefit from a non-monetized referral.

·         The next step would be to focus on relationship that tend to work best within our specific target market.  This style of business goes beyond just dollars and cents but relies on like business objectives and a sense of humor.

As for the actual content in the message I think customers and contractors alike should see my Concrete Surface Preparation business as a problem/solution scenario. For example, if your concrete looks like this (image) or like that (image), then what you need is a compliant resolution (image) completed in typically a day. Our mission statement would be “We respect your schedule, that’s why we made the investment (suggesting equipment expenditures) to serve you, better—the first time.”

Write a list of content ideas you think your customers would enjoy seeing and why.

Most general contractors/owner builders who need our concrete surface preparation services don’t always know where to turn (for a professional) or let alone compile comparative pricing for the work. In most cases these job site problems come as an unexpected surprise and can disrupt a project managers normally tight schedule to a grinding halt. In order to serve these “emergency” type situations we need to promote ourselves by letting other building professionals know who we are, and what we do, and how fast we can respond in a pinch! 

9 1/2 Weeks Assignment

For my business, I have chosen several categories for my Blog post. They are Home, About , Surface Preparation, Floorcovering, Working with contractors and a soon to be added Real-estate section.

Most of our services are geared toward the residential home improvement market. We are asked by homeowners and real-estate brokers alike to consult on improving the value and appearance of a property prior to listing. In some cases, our input aids in whether an agent potentially gets a listing for a property or based upon the extent of their team. That is why I will be adding a new “Real-Estate” segment to my Blog in order to answer some of the more basic questions home owners may have when it comes to décor and general improvement  costs.

For the week 9 assignment I Commented on:

beckyplazacsit155.blogspot.com

turmanblog.blogspot.com

sdownssm.blogspot.com