Facebook Marketing: 5 Surefire Ways to Give Your Page Clear Visibility

Facebook has gone from a small, Internet-based college directory to an International business platform.  Facebook is a network that gives you the insight into your target community, more so than any other social media site on the web. That being said, what good are all of these features if your businesses page is going unnoticed?

As your social media expert, and friend, I am here to unwrap your lonely Facebook page and give you the necessary tools and advice to frame your market and form a solid community around your business.

Here is the top 5 Surefire ways to get your page out there and get your business on the Facebook radar:

• Utilize Facebook Apps. One of the best “perks” to having a Facebook page, over a Facebook group, is the availability of all the applications you can use to better your page’s visibility and community. The “Business” section of the applications page has some great tools to add to your page. For Contractors, I highly recommend the “testimonials” application and for small businesses, I recommend using “Static FBML” to create a landing page, or other customizable tabs, for potential fans to go to.

• Advertise. Whether you put a button on your blog/website or run a paid advertisement for your page on Facebook, make sure you are making your presence known. I put a link to both of our Facebook pages in my email signature, and I also advertise it in the blogs and forums I frequently participate in.  Remember: every little bit helps, so don’t hesitate to try something and see if it works.

• Post, Share and Comment. Don’t abandon your page! Being an admin on a Facebook page is like taking care of a newborn baby, it needs love and frequent attention in order to grow. Post article links, pictures, information, etc. about 3 times a day.  If someone posts a comment, you should be very proud of yourself, but don’t stop there. Keep the person engaged by responding in a timely manner to let them know that you are listening.

• Use Other Facebook Pages to Network. Many of our fans, and leads to our website, have come from postings in other Facebook pages. Do a search and find some popular, frequented pages and start hanging out there.  Introduce yourself and mention the name of your business and many people will check your page out. The more you frequent these groups, the more relationships and credibility you will build, and thus, more fans you will produce.

• If your friends really love you, they will become fans. Facebook is the mecca of viral marketing for your business. Every time you join, post, or reference a page, all of your friends see it on their “Live Feed.” Ask your friends to become fans of your page. It is ok if they are not involved in the same industries and niches you are. In fact, this allows your page to reach people that you might have never found on your own. So ask your friends to give you a hand…you can buy them a drink at happy hour to thank them.

I have found that Facebook is a tough place to get noticed (probably because of the millions of people surfing the site), but if you have patience and a strategy, you will be seeing serious traffic and increased conversion rates within 6 months.

So go out there and make Facebook your marketing platform, but before you do that…how about you become a fan of two more pages? We promise to return the favor!

Become a fan of GenNext Media and Surefire Social Marketing on Facebook!

Social Media Is Only Part Of The Story

Let’s not get confused about what the new marketing ecosystem is all about. Social media is a big part of the story but not the only part. If fact, I fear a huge backlash coming from overuse and over simplification of this “new marketing normal” that some are defining as just social media.

What really is happening on the web is an atomization process. We call it the “distributed web”. Social media plays a big role in that but so does the hundreds of niche ad networks, article directories, web 2.0 sites and communities, video portals…you get the point.

If your business marketing strategy is just focused on social media you will be missing a large part of the opporutnity for your business. Moreover, you marketing plan will be so much more powerful if it is put together in a cohesive strategy.

Don’t settle! Tell the company trying to sell you the Facebook Page for $300 no! That’s not the way you are going to succeed in this new marketing world. It’s not easy, but take the time to learn what is happening and build a comprehensive marketing plan for your company to dominate your market using all the tools that make sense for your objectives.

What to do next?

Start with researching your market. Find out where your target customers are going and hanging out. How and where is your competition meeting them in the distributed web? Don’t skip this step! You will need to prioritize where you focus because the opportunities are limitless. Once you have focus, you can develop a winning strategy and plan.

Check out our business marketing research book Digital Forensics. The cool thing about this new digital age is your customers and competitors leave a digital footprint that you can reverse engineer to better understand your market. We will show you how…and it’s FREE!

How To Win In Business Marketing- In The New Normal

Business it tough these days.

New technologies, social media apps, web 2.0 sites…all combine to making it even harder to effectively market your products and services. We talk a lot about this new technology and how to make it work for your advantage.  This is a time of disruption where winners and losers will emerge in this “new normal” of marketing. But…

Truth be told, I get many executives and entrepreneurs that tell me that this new marketing and social media stuff is too hard. They try blogging or publishing articles or participating in forums but don’t seem to get traction.  We find that you need two things to be successful in this new marketing environment:

1. You need to approach marketing planning (in this new normal) strategically, incorporating all the new tools you have to work with.  I often work with companies that have been flailing from one social media tactic to the other based on the latest fad or email course they received.  This is not a strategy.  Develop a system that is based on accountable objectives and incorporate it into your business work flow.
2. Be determined to be consistent and persistent.  What makes this tough with social media marketing is you can’t just develop a print or TV campaign, build a media plan and then just run it.  You need to be involved and nurture your relationships. The cost of implementing these programs are very small but you need to experiment and “dial in” what your target audience in interested in and provide support and information through your expertise.  Hey, imagine that, you actually need to get close to your customers!

The rewards for those business that take advantage of the new marketing opportunities and persistently and consistently pursue them are huge. But it takes a different level of commitment, professionalism and persistence that we are used to.  Seth Godin calls it “the dip”, but if you are the business in your niche that breaks through, congratulations!  It’s called market domination!

Marketing Promotions with Social Media: 5 Steps to making your promotion a social success

Good news: The herd of global Internet users is up to 1.5 billion. Bad news: If you don’t market to them in a way that seems slimy, they’ll stampede to get away from you. Read on to find out how to win their trust and loyalty.

With a reported 1.5 billion online users it is clear that the Internet is the place to be for business owners. More specifically, social media has emerged as the place where businesses are experiencing unprecedented connections with and responses from customers who want to be able to know and trust a company before handing over their hard-earned money.

To keep up with competition, it’s essential to tap into social media with your Online Marketing and Advertising promotions, but it must be done in a way that is appealing to customers, so you don’t come off has just another slimy salesperson.

Below are 5 steps to making your promotion a social success:

1. Ensure you know your niche and customers by conducting research. You want to make sure you are putting your time and energy into the right audience. Being able to identify your ideal customers and know where they frequent online helps you to get started on the right foot with your promotions. It is not going to be helpful to your business or your reputation to hit the wrong target market with your message. Instead, take the time to answer these questions: What customer problem am I solving? Who are my customers? Where do my customers look for information online? Listen to what your customers are saying and gain insights for keywords and phrases you can use to position your brand. By paying attention to customer discussions around the social web, you can also get excellent ideas for new products you can offer.
2. Build your credibility before attempting to sell. If you are excited about your product, you probably want to go to every social networking site available to spread the word, but it is almost guaranteed you will turn-off more customers than you will attract with this marketing method. You build your credibility by joining social sites and becoming a valued community member. This doesn’t take as long as you may think. By taking the time to answer some questions thoughtfully or start some meaningful discussions, you can quickly earn the respect of others on the site. Then, you will able to subtly recommend your products or services and sneak in a link!
3. Reveal your true self. Because the Internet has become such a social world, it makes sense that now is the time to let people in on your story. Let your personality shine through as you connect with others on various social media sites. In addition, you want to continue this theme with your business website and marketing communications. People want to purchase products and services from real people they can trust. So go ahead and get personal, sharing a little bit of your heart and soul. A passion for your business and what you do can be a major selling point.
4. Gear all of your marketing promotions toward the customer’s “what’s in it for me” mentality. A very common mistake business owners make is to spend all of their marketing efforts spreading the word about how awesome they are and how amazing their business is. Big mistake! People don’t want to know about YOU; they want to know what’s in it for them. How are you going to solve their problems? How are you going to meet their needs?
5. Keep it professional. While you definitely want to be a real person with whom customers can connect, it is important to maintain professionalism at all times. So, in other words, keep it clean, polite, and honest, and you can go a long way. You will also want to make sure your website is in great shape, so when the customers start coming (and they will because you have been working the social media!), they will find your site easily accessible and containing the information they are seeking.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to http://www.gennextmedia.com today.

Marketing Communications: Changes in technology, customer behavior and the economy will create winners and losers

Online marketing has been called a paradigm shift for business. Whether you’re an early adopter, or being dragged kicking and screaming, winning online depends on understanding what’s happening NOW.

It is no secret that the Internet and related new technology has changed the face of marketing communications. Much like the inception of radio and television affected business communications years ago, the Internet is turning marketing methods of the past on their heads and recreating the environmental landscape of buying and selling. History has shown there will be winners and losers in the midst of these changes, but you can stay on top by making sure your Online Marketing and Advertising efforts are current and applicable to today’s customer.

What is happening NOW in marketing communications?

Search engine optimization, video, social media, audio and RSS are just a few of the terms that are becoming an integral part of relevant marketing strategies. A shift in customer thinking and behavior has required business owners to leave behind old advertising methods and learn how to use these aforementioned tools to reach customers.

While ten years ago a banner ad may have pulled in the customers, today many customers will immediately view the ad skeptically. Replacing traditional advertising are customer recommendations and word-of-mouth through blogs, message boards and other forums.

In a way, this takes some of the financial pressure off of your shoulders, which is a relief in today’s fragile economic times. You don’t have to have deep pockets or break your revised budgets to purchase the big ads and flashy marketing in order to compete. Instead, you must know your niche well enough to provide the quality information customers are seeking. You also must learn where your customers are hanging out online, so you can join in their communities and discussions. We are transitioning to a new profession that takes dedication, insight, authenticity and smarts to succeed.

How can you become a marketing communications winner?

No business owner or brand manager wants to lose out on customers just because the world of advertising and marketing is changing. Good news–you don’t have to! In fact, you can thrive and see your business go to new levels if you implement an effective strategy that works in today’s market.

Below are three simple tips to help you find your way to success:

• Research in order to know your niche, your customers, your competitors and your keywords. Your research goal is to become an expert on not only your business niche but also your customers. You want to know who they are, where they go online and what words they plug into the search engines. Free search engines and keyword tools (such as the Google Keyword Tool) make this step simple.
• Get comfortable with the idea of using social media. If you want to connect with customers, you are going to have to tap into social media. By participating in blogs, networking sites and other online communities, you can work with your prospective customers on their level. These relationships can turn into dollar signs.
• Offer something of value to potential customers. Once you have made a connection with people online, you want to make sure you keep them engaged by offering them quality information and solutions to their problems. Doing this helps you to build rapport and trust as well as keep you in the fore-front of their minds when they are ready to buy.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to http://www.gennextmedia.com today.