The Starting Gate

Twitter and sales: How to cash in on your own Twitter platform

By Susan Linning

Yeah, we’re tweeting.  Day and night, night and day.  Great for marketing. Great for reaching out to current and potential customers/clients.  Great for brand building.  But can Twitter increase my sales?

You know that social media platforms (including Twitter) can be a valuable marketing tool and a wonderful outlet for connecting with current customers or potential business. The question becomes: How do I turn the Twitter conversation into a real one, complete with the potential for making a sale or closing a deal?

Facebook, as you’ve likely discovered, is not a “build it and they will come” platform.  Twitter, on the other hand, is extremely useful for seeking out a customer base, developing sales leads, finding vendors and suppliers, etc.  Scourge the Twitter platform for colleagues in your industry, those who
might be interested in your products or services and individuals or businesses that would be ideal clients/customers or service providers. Begin building your online community.  By “retweeting” others’ posts, you get noticed and you build a valuable source of content for your own followers.  It’s an ideal way to network and connect with others.  

The latest feature from Twitter is Twitter Ads, which were recently released to all United States users.  Now, you can advertise your business or promote specific tweets, much like you can do on Facebook.  Read more about this process here, and consider investing in Twitter ads as a part of your overall social media strategy.

There are a number of online, third party tools and sites that can help you easily manage your Twitter account, follow and unfollow other users, and build a relevant, meaningful following. One such tool is ManageFlitter, an online application that - with a few clicks of the mouse - helps users manage and navigate the Twitterverse.

The free version of ManageFlitter enables users to follow or unfollow up to 100 users a day (a helpful feature for users attempting to grow a fan base via the “follow/unfollow” method). However, the paid version of the site is well worth the investment. For as little as $12/month, users can sign up for ManageFlitter features such as “PowerPost,” which sends out scheduled tweets at the times they’re most likely to be seen by the most users possible. The paid version of ManageFlitter also includes basic analytical tools, which can be helpful when assessing the overall impact of your Twitter campaigns.

Remember that Twitter and the other social media platforms are all about the soft sell and taking your time to develop online relationships and trust.  Be patient and inform, educate and entertain people first, later you can sell them your newest concept, product line or event.  

This great article via Hubspot examines some top tips in finding sales leads and prospects on the popular social site. Some great advice! View the full article here and tweet on!

Susan Linning is president of ECHO SOCIAL MEDIA + MARKETING of Miami, which develops and executes social media and integrated marketing strategies, creating custom content and maintaining pages on social media platforms. ECHO also provides blogging and copy-writing services.

Read Susan Linning's recent guest post on blogging here, her post on Pinterest here, her post on her top 5 social media tips here and her post on the social media hustle here. 

 

7 ways Google Hangouts can connect you to your customers

By Tasha Cunningham

There is a social network out there that is quickly outpacing the growth of Twitter and if you don’t have a presence on it, you are missing out on potential customer engagement, revenue and exposure for your business. In existence for just two years, Google + is on track to surpass Twitter as the No. 2 most popular social network, behind Facebook according to GlobalWebIndex, a London-based internet analytics company. GlobalWebIndex reports that Google + has 359 million active users. That’s 33 percent more than the 269 million users the social network had at the end of June 2012.

As a small business owner, you probably haven’t had time to explore the ins and outs of this growing social network just yet. You might want to make time because there is a free feature of Google + that you have to try at least once. It’s called Google Hangouts. Hangouts are video chats that you can have with friends, relatives and colleagues over the Internet free. It’s akin to Skype in the way it functions.

If you’ve got Google +, you simply need to log in to your account and click “Start a Hangout”. From there, you get a series of prompts that take you through the steps you need to get schedule and start your Hangout. Be sure to check out Hangouts on Air, a feature that gives you the opportunity to broadcast your Hangout to others on your YouTube channel, on Google + or on your website.      

      And while it has got a lot of pros, Google + does have its cons. One of which, is that you’ve got to have a Google ID to use it. That also means that for people to join your Hangout, they’ve got to have one too. And the more apps you add to your Hangout, the slower your connection speed, resulting in lag time.

So how you use Google Hangouts to market your small business? Here are seven ways to help you get started.

•  Hold a product demonstration.

Use Google Hangouts to hold a demonstration of your product and how to best use it. Offer to hangout one-on-one with anyone who wants more information. You can invite up to nine people to hang out with you at once. Take your nine best customers and give them an exclusive look at your new product.

•  Use Google Capture.

Capture is a new app that allows you to take photographs of a Google Hangout in progress. It’s a great way to share moments with those who couldn’t be there to see it for themselves.

•  Provide customer support.

Use Google Hangouts to provide face-to-face customer service support. This gives your customers the opportunity to connect with you to discuss their problem from the comfort of their home or office.

•  Host an online launch party for a product.

When you launch a new product, use Google Hangouts to give people who can’t be there to host an online launch party. For customers who can’t attend or people who live in other countries, it’s a way to be a party of the action.

•  Create a sponsored Hangout.

While there are currently no ads on Google Hangouts, there are creative ways to make money hosting a one. In April, Glamour magazine recently launched a week-long series of Hangouts that incorporated chats with celebrities and readers alike. They strategically placed new products from major brands like L’Oreal and Pantene. Each brand sponsored the Hangout that their product was featured in. Think about teaming up with other companies to create a Hangout that can result in revenue for all involved.

•  Create a standing Hangout.

Let your customers know that every week at a certain time you’ll be hosting a hangout just to connect with your customers. You could tie into a weekly promotion. For example, you could give out a password or online coupon code during the Hangout and when customers use it, they receive their reward. Be sure to check out the website Google Plus Hangouts ( www.gphangouts.com) to see what other permanent hangouts are happening related to your industry.

•  Join other Hangouts to promote yours.

Spend time checking out other Hangouts and promote your own while you’re at it. Try to find Hangouts in your industry and be a vocal participate. At the end, when it’s time to sign off, take a second to plug your Hangout as well.

Want more information on Google Hangouts? Check out  http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts/

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/12/3394118/7-ways-google-hangouts-can-connect.html#storylink=cpy

5 social media predictions for 2013

The LAB Miami is flying in digital marketing expert Katya Constantine to lead a  workshop on customer acquisition and digital marketing that will address how to best use the channels to acquire and retain customers, how to optimize your costs and track and measure performance. More details on the workshop, taking place May 6, are here: http://labcustomeracquisition.eventbrite.com. Below is her guest post.

By Katya Constantine

2012 brought a lot of change when it comes to social media. We saw the rise of gamification. We saw more analytical tools being launched in the social media world.  We also saw brands trying to
figure it out:  What does social media mean to them?  Should they be on Facebook?  Twitter? Pinterest? Google+?  Given the rapid revenue growth and emergence of a number of new platforms, 2013 promises to be an even more exciting year in social media.

Over the last two years, I’ve had the opportunity to be at the forefront of social media trends, as I was responsible for strategy and development of social media for one of the largest consumer brands in the world — Amazon.com, specifically for the movies product line.

Based on that, and what I've been seeing happening in social media, here are my predictions for 2013:

1. The rising use of analytics:  Social media is no longer just a brand channel for businesses. It is a fully-fledged marketing channel, just like search and email.  In 2013, brands will start to assign (if they haven’t already) business goals to this new channel.  Thus, we will see a rise in analytics tools to help businesses measure ROI on their social media spend.  We’ll see some better standardization on metrics as well as the tools that allow businesses to succeed.

2. Increased presence of consumer brands across multiple social media sites: Most brands recognize that even if they are not at the front line of a social media, they need to have a presence. In 2012, new social media channels came in to the mix such as Google+ and Pinterest.  Especially in consumer brands, we will see an increase in brands having a presence across all major social media channels. Expect to see more promotions and messages coming in from your favorite brands across multiple sites.

3. The rise of social game-based promotions: It is very common to see sweepstakes as a pathway to grow your fan base.  Expect to see more social media promotions from brands - whether it’s credits, deals, or sweepstakes -  as brands try to grow their fan base as well as customer database.  This is a great way for consumers to learn and to share their favorite brands with their friends but also one of the key ways that a brand has to build its base.

4. The rise of targeted offers:  Brands are becoming savvy in terms of using social media data to target their messages based on demographics, location, your interests… And the leading social media platforms starting with Facebook and Twitter have recently rolled out targeting mechanisms that allow proper targeting at scale.  2013 will become a year of targeted offers being delivered via social media channels.

5. Increased integration between social media and other digital channels: Expect to see brands integrate social media into all of their digital channels, whether its website, email, or search.  Social media will have deep integration whether it's for personalization or for recommendations - as well the ability to close the feedback loop with other channels. There are some tools out there that are already doing it today.  This will be a standard for how brands engage and bring awareness to their products and services in 2013.

Well, here you go.  These are our top predictions for social media for 2013.  We are yet to see what the next social media channel is that is embraced by brands (mobile messaging, anyone?), but we definitely know that social media is here to stay as an online channel for both B2B and B2C brands.

Katya Constantine is a seasoned marketer with over 10 years of online marketing experience.  Most recently, she was at Expedia and Amazon, leading projects ranging from behavior-based programs to increasing customer acquisition and conversion with great success. Katya is the founder of DigiShopGirl Media and is an active blogger for TechCocktail. Follow Katya on Twitter: @digishopgirl

 

5 more free (& almost free) tools to build a strong mobile footprint for your small business

By Tasha Cunningham

There is a wealth of free, or almost free, tools online to help small business promote their products and services on mobile platforms. If you read my column in Business Monday today you’ve learned about five of them. Here are five more that you can try!

1. GOQR.me – Use this free tool to create custom QR codes that drive traffic to your mobile website.  Get GOQR here - http://goqr.me/
2. DudaMobile – Don’t have money to create your own mobile website? Let DudaMobile do it for you. This free tool allows you to create a mobile website by using your current URL and showing you how it looks in a mobile device like an iPhone. It also gives you the ability to edit your mobile site and customize the look. Get more information here – www.DudaMobile.com.
3. Conduit – This free tool allows you to build a mobile application for your small business in just minutes. If you anticipate a large number of users for your application, Conduit offers pricing plans that range from $39 to $99 a month, depending  on the number of users. Find out more here - http://mobile.conduit.com
4. MobileNation – If you are  looking for another option for building a free mobile application, check out MobileNation. Nearly 40,000 applications have been built using this  tool. Get it here - http://www.mobilenationhq.com/
5. FanMinder – This free tool lets you create and send mobile contests, discounts and offers to engage  your customers. The tool allows you to develop a contest or deal and use Facebook  to promote. Get more  information here - http://fanminder.com/ 

If you missed Tasha's column in Business Monday, you can read it here.

 

 If you missed Tasha;s column, read it here.

SFIMA offering peer-to-peer forum next week

The South Florida Interactive Marketing Association will open the microphone at its April 11 educational meeting, allowing digital marketers tom discuss the hot topics and prevailing business issues they face today. Last year, the potential impact of Pinterest and Google+ was on everyone's mind. Did these social media channels live up to the hype and promise? How have companies
fared with Facebook for Brands? If email didn't die, how has it changed? Now in its fifth year, the peer-to-peer forum provides attendees a platform to ask, answer, learn and engage with one another.

This year's forum will address mobile marketing and communications, online reputation management, user experience and customer journeys, web analytics and more. Any attendee may ask any question and have it answered by an expert in the room. All opinions, ideas and experiences that enhance learning and spark discussion are welcome. Last year, Carnival Cruise Lines, Citrix, Yelp.com, Office Depot and other companies were present. The forum takes place Thursday, April 11 at the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania Beach. Networking runs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15
p.m. The discussion happens from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event is free for SFIMA members. Non-members pay $39 in advance, $49 at the door. To register, visit http://bit.ly/WWRtgy.

 

News: MapYourStartup goes with the .co, announces U.S. expansion

Miami-based MapYourStartup.co announced on Wednesday its national expansion, which will allow any U.S. company to map businesses and events. MapYourStartup.co is dedicated to mapping the entrepreneurial ecosystem in an effort to unite entrepreneurs around their passion for all things startup, said CEO Norberto "Tito" Gil.

Utilities on the site include the ability to search for vital resources such as accelerators and co-working spaces, discover and research local investors  and learn about events in your own backyard, said Gil (pictured at right), who is partnering on the venture with Rokk3r Labs.  It’s all part of the mission to connect entrepreneurs to the resources they need to be successful, while showcasing vibrant startup activity across the U.S., he said. All of the information that’s been indexed on MapYourStartup.co has been self-registered by the startup community.

As part of this national expansion, the MYS team rebranded to a .CO, joining the ranks of local organizations like SuperConf and HackDay Foundation and viral upstarts such as Vine.  “.CO has created and globalized a true “startup club” of sorts, the be-all association of entrepreneurial ventures. It is only natural that we would want to be a part of that,” Gil said. The team had previously announced a partnership with the University of Florida, as well as Florida International University, and an expansion in Gainesville.  

 What’s ahead? “In the coming weeks, we’ll be finalizing our API and Map Embeddability feature. Local communities will be able to utilize these tools to showcase their local activity in their own unique way. The first example of this will be our very own, as we aim to complete MadeInMiami.co,” Gil said.

MapYourStartup.co is looking for what it calls market champions, or local entrepreneurs to champion the utility in their local community by creating an atmosphere of collaboration and collectivity. To get involved, contact champions@mapyourstartup.com. For more information:  www.MapYourStartup.co

 

Share your startup news with me at ndahlberg@miamiherald.com and follow me on Twitter @ndahlberg

For social media campaigns that "pop," learn from pop culture

By Susan Linning

We’re going to let you in on a little secret about social media marketing: Facebook fans and Twitter followers are spoiled! They want information that is interesting and relevant to them. In other words: Boring, repetitive posts from businesses engaging in shameless self-promotion just aren’t going to cut it.

In a world and society that revolves largely around reality TV shows, celebrity antics and YouTube sensations, it’s important to keep up with the latest trends when constructing a social media marketing strategy.  Whether you love it or hate it, pop culture is here to stay – and it’s a lot more likely that your fans, followers and target audience will perk up and pay attention if you’re tuned in.

Did you know that the 2013 Oscars generated a whopping 8.9 million tweets and 66.5 million Facebook interactions? Did your company/brand take advantage of the opportunity to align itself with something that happened on Oscar night?  If not, you missed out on a terrific way to reel in fans and followers and to engage a community of people that was already high on Oscar craziness.     

Like most aspects of Internet marketing, there’s a right way to do it… and a very wrong way. Don’t
become one of these marketing laughingstocks. Be tasteful, witty, and relevant with your updates and campaigns! In other words, don’t pull a Seth MacFarlane (yes, there were plenty who enjoyed him, but he definitely caught some heat!).

Tying in pop culture and current events with your social media efforts requires a degree of finesse. Try to find connections between your brand, product or services and the latest, greatest trending topics; but be aware when you’re stretching for relevance. Get creative with your efforts, and don’t be afraid to use humor.

Missed out on the Oscars, the Super Bowl and the State of the Union address? Some upcoming events and opportunities to keep in mind: St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness, Usher and Shakira debut as judges on The Voice, YouTube phenomena and Internet memes (what’s a “meme,” you ask? Learn more here).

See examples of how some wildly successful brands have used pop culture in their online marketing efforts via SocialMediaToday.com.

Susan Linning is president of ECHO SOCIAL MEDIA + MARKETING of Miami, which develops and executes social media and integrated marketing strategies, creating custom content and maintaining pages on social media platforms. ECHO also provides blogging and copy-writing services.

Read Susan Linning's recent guest post on blogging here, her post on Pinterest here, her post on her top 5 social media tips here and her post on the social media hustle here. 

 (Photo of Seth MacFarlane is by Getty Images.)

3 social media blunders to avoid

By Tasha Cunningham

In today’s BizBytes column in the Miami Herald (If you missed it, read it below), you learned about several South Florida small businesses that were doing social media the right way and setting themselves apart from the pack. Now let’s take a look at five common blunders that small businesses make with their social media strategy so you avoid doing the same thing yourself.

1. Posting too little, too late. One of the great things about  social media is how instant it is. Posting on Twitter or Facebook  literally takes just a few seconds. But many small business owners fall into the trap of posting too little, too late. For example, if you know that today is President’s Day, which it is, you should have already started posting your sales and promotions to your fans and followers at least a week in advance to have an impact. Waiting until the day of is  going to diminish your sales potential as your customers are already know where they’ll be spending their money today and it’s most likely with your competitor. To avoid this, plan ahead and figure out well in advance how you’re going to promote your sales and discounts on social media.
2. Not responding to a negative post in time. This is one of the  most common blunders small businesses make. If you see a negative post  about your product or service on social media, don’t wait to respond. If you can respond within an hour of the post, you’re showing the customer how much you care and letting your fans and followings see how willing you are to correct the problem.  
3. Not knowing the ins and outs of how to communicate on social media. There’s a right way and a wrong way to post on social media and  if you haven’t learned it by now, it’s time to get started. You need to  understand what a hashtag is and when to use it versus a direct message  (DM) on Twitter. On Facebook, you need to understand how the Timeline feature works and how to promote your posts if you want to. Check out a  book called Social Media for Business:  The Small Business Guide to Online Marketing by Martin Brossman to get you started.

Here is Tasha's Business Monday column:

5 case studies on small businesses doing social media right

By Tasha Cunningham, tasha@bizbytes101.com

Small business owners often find it difficult to carve out the time to maintain their social media feeds, much less keep up with the latest trends, tools and rules to get the most bang for their online marketing buck. Last month, a survey of 835 small businesses, conducted by the Wall Street Journal, found that a whopping 33 percent spend no time on social media marketing, while 48 percent of those surveyed said they spend one to five hours per week on it. Like most small businesses, 60 percent revealed they did not have a specific employee dedicated to maintaining social media platforms for their companies.

But in South Florida, there are small business social media success stories all around us. From cupcake shops to furniture stores and hair salons for kids, companies are using a do-it-yourself approach to social media to engage customers and drive sales. Let’s take a look at five them to see what they’re doing right and what you can learn from them to make your social media marketing efforts a success.

Modern Home 2 Go

      What it is doing right: This company, with two locations in Fort Lauderdale and Miami’s Design District, sells modern contemporary furniture. It uses its Facebook page to cleverly collect customer data and build an e-mail list. By creating a custom “Join My List” tab on the page, they’ve created an easy, non-intrusive way for current and potential customers to stay in touch. When you click on the tab, you don’t get the standard contact form asking you to fill out everything from your name to mobile number, there is only one simple box where you enter your e-mail address.

What you can learn from Modern Home 2 Go: Collecting customer data doesn’t have to be hard or intrusive. You can use social media to collect information from e-mail addresses to mobile numbers, but you can do it in a way that won’t turn consumers off to your product or service. Check out Modern Home 2 Go here: www.facebook.com/modernhome2go.

Buttercream Cupcakes

What it is doing right: Since 2009, owner Jose Cuellar and his wife Kristine Graulich have maintained their Facebook page themselves. “We do it this way because of the responsiveness factor,” said Cuellar. “By keeping it in house we’re able to respond to posts quickly”

At Buttercream Cupcakes in South Miami, Cuellar and his wife respond to most Facebook posts within minutes. “If we had hired a firm to do it for us, I’d have to call them, wait for the response and it would take much longer,” said Cuellar. “Instead, we’re able to post something new and interesting more frequently.”

What you can learn from Buttercream Cupcakes: Consumers love responsiveness and it’s an essential part of keeping customers engaged in social media. Don’t let posts sit for more than 24 hours without a response. If you can, try to get back to those who post on your page within the same day. Check out Buttercream Cupcakes here: www.facebook.com/buttercreamcupcakes. Mention that you read about them in The Miami Herald and get a free cappuccino today.

More tips and resources for social commerce

By Tasha Cunningham, tasha@bizbytes101.com

If you read my column in this week’s Business Monday section or here, you now understand the enormous potential of social commerce. While social commerce may be a new marketing frontier for small business owners, the good news is there resources out there that can help you navigate the ins and outs of it. Here are five of them you can start exploring right now!

1. The Inside Social Commerce Blog - Damon Brown, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Facebook Marketing writes a blog about social commerce with great tips and advice for business owners. Check it out here - http://www.insidesocialcommerce.net/

2.       Social Commerce Today – Stay in the know about the latest trends in social commerce by subscribing to this daily e-newsletter. Check it out here – www.socialcommercetoday.com
 
3.       The Social Commerce Handbook – This book, written by Paul Marsden, who also writes the Social Commerce Today e-newsletter, is an insightful resource guide that will teach you how to monetize your social media efforts.  Get it here - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15854804-the-social-commerce-handbook
 
4.       TechCrunch Social – This blog, brought to you by the folks at TechCrunch, is a must-read for social commerce newcomers. Subscribe to their RSS feed here - http://techcrunch.com/rssfeeds/
 
5.       The Brand Builder Blog – This blog features timely articles about building your brand online including ideas on how to increase your return on investment using social media. Check it out here - http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/
 

 

3 strategies to help your business with social commerce

By Tasha Cunningham, tasha@bizbytes101.com

In 2010, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that if he had to guess, social commerce will be the next to blow up. And quite literally, in just over two years, it has. Simply put, social commerce is an offshoot of e-commerce, except that it’s driven by social media and other online tools.

Social commerce involves using social media, product reviews and social influencers to showcase your products and services in ways that will entice consumers to buy. And let’s face it, in today’s ever-changing digital world, consumers are increasingly choosing to spend their hard-earned money online. So much so that according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, retailers racked up an astounding $57 billion in online sales in the third quarter of 2012. The predictions for social commerce are also astonishing with Booz & Company, a global strategy firm, predicting it will generate over $30 billion in revenue by 2015. While this is great news for small business owners looking to attract the avid online shopper, finding effective ways to do it is often difficult.

According to a recent survey conducted by AWeber, a Pennsylvania-based e-mail marketing firm, nearly 25% of the small businesses reported spending four or more hours each week on e-mail marketing. More than 27% reported spending four or more hours marketing on Facebook alone. For those small businesses that use their company website as a marketing tool, nearly 34% said they spend four or more hours every week working on their website. For small businesses that reported maintaining a blog, nearly 30% of small business owners said they spend four or more hours a week doing it.

And who exactly is spending this precious time? 88% of the small businesses survey reported that it’s the owner or CEO that handles the marketing function within the company. After all, the average small business owner wears several hats, not just that of the CEO.  Small business owners also function as bookkeepers, marketing directors and social media strategists. With all that work to do, there is often little time left to devote to the important business on engaging the online consumer.

To help you get started, BizBytes has prepared a list of strategies you can use today. With a mix of easy-to-use apps and tips on how to showcase your products online, these strategies can help you save time and money in your quest for social commerce success.

1. THE APPS HAVE IT. Social commerce applications such as Chirpify are making it even easier for consumers to purchase products and services on social networks like Twitter, for example. Chirpify works by turning your tweets into transactions. This enables consumers and businesses to buy products that interest, sell the things they create and even donate to their favorite causes on Twitter. For small business owners, the Chirpify process is easy. First, log on to www.chirpify.com and create an account. Next, create and tweet your offer with an engaging product image. Shoppers on Twitter who are interesting in buying your product simply reply to your tweet with the word 'buy.' Finally, once the customer is registered with Chirpify, their transaction is automatically processed and the order is fulfilled. Customers can connect a payment source such as their PayPal account or credit card to Chirpify so that the money to pay for their transaction is automatically deducted when they shop. There are also applications like Chirpify that also work for Facebook. Check out 8^th Bridge Graphite here – www.8thbridge.com
2. CURATE A COLLECTION. To make your products visually appealing, curate a collection of your best merchandise and display it on your company website, Facebook, Twitter and other social
   networks. Use engaging images that will catch a consumer’s eye. Create a prominent place on your homepage to promote the collection. Take it a step further by getting one of your most loyal customers to do the curating for you.
   
3. TURN YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE INTO A STOREFRONT. Wouldn’t you love to be able to turn your Facebook page into a storefront for your products and services? Sound impossible? It’s not as hard as you think with apps like Storefront Social that basically do it all for you. While Storefront Social isn’t free, it is cost-effective and pricing is based on the number of products in your storefront. For example, 15 products will run you about $5 a month, while showcasing 1,000 products or more will cost roughly $30 a month. Check out Storefront Social here - http://storefrontsocial.com/. You can also explore apps like ShopTab – www.shoptab.com to compare features and prices.

See more tips for social commerce here.