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Entries Tagged as 'Social Media'

The smaller you are, the better Facebook is

by Drew McLellan

September 26th, 2011 · Social Media, Strategy

 

Screen shot 2011 09 24 at 9 30 03 PM
Facebook lets you actually talk to people!

A comment made on my blog post about Facebook’s dominance which basically said… “Facebook is only for people who care about social media and media types” had me shaking my head.

He’s not alone in his opinion. Check out this recent study that looked at why many small firms don’t utilize it.

I am not suggesting that every single business on the planet needs to have a presence on Facebook, but especially for many small businesses — it can be a game changer.  In fact, I think it’s much more potent for the little guys than it can be for the Cokes, Mini Coopers and Disneys of the world.

Why?

The human element.  If I tweet Disney or post something on Coke‘s wall — I may or may not get a response but it’s certainly not going to be a very personal one.  But if I write something on the Des Moines Playhouse’s page…a real person is going to give me a real response.  And we might even get into a conversation. (see the screen capture to the right)

Isn’t that what we’re all hungry for — more conversations with customers or potential customers?

Here are some of the perks of Facebook for small businesses:

  • Built for local and hyper local.  It allows you to spend your time talking to people who can actually become customers or already are your customers.
  • Supports and encourages word of mouth with the share and like buttons.  Odds are most of your page’s fans have a high percentage of friends who are also local.
  • It’s a great way to gather testimonials, get customer feedback/input and answer customer questions.
  • With their hyper targeted ads, you can very cost effectively deliver your message to exactly and only the people who might care.
  • Your audience shows up every day.  Facebook is part of their social experience.  What better place to connect with them?
  • You can use Facebook’s different message vehicles — your business page, ads, events, groups etc. to share different types of news, events, tips etc.
  • You can share your work in other media (TV spots, radio commercials, blog posts, enewsletters) to bring in your multimedia campaign elements.

Again…not going to say it’s for everyone.  But I am hardpressed to think of a small business that wouldn’t benefit from a well strategied Facebook presence.

I’m curious — what small/local businesses do you think use Facebook well?  I’d love to find some examples.

 

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Why Facebook matters to every business

by Drew McLellan

September 21st, 2011 · Media, Social Media, Strategy

 

Screen shot 2011 09 21 at 8 11 37 AM
Why Facebook matters to every business

 

I’ve heard all the reasons, especially from B2B companies…but the “our customers aren’t on Facebook” excuse is just that, an excuse.

We buy radio stations and send direct mail hoping to hit some of our target audience.  Why do we look at Facebook so differently?

With statistics (thanks to HubSpot for sharing this slide) like these… every business owner and marketing director should be figuring out how to leverage the Facebook crowd.

I’m not saying you need a fan page.  Or have to do a contest or create a game.  I’m saying you’d better understand what happens there.  You’d better be monitoring what is being said about your company there.

You need to decide HOW to be there.  But you can’t ignore it simply because you have a preconceived idea of who hangs out there.

Odds are… it’s your customers.  And they hang out there a lot.

 

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Is social media right for your business?

September 10th, 2011 · Business owner/leader stuff, Social Media, Strategy · 21 Comments

…is social media right for your business? There are a lot of social media “experts” out there who will tell you that every single organization on the globe should be participating in social media.  They will point to the cool Facebook fan pages they’ve made or the funny videos their clients have on YouTube and [Read more...]

What should you buy from a social media savvy agency?

August 5th, 2011 · Business owner/leader stuff, Social Media · 6 Comments

…buy the right help from the right agency Okay…the other day I blew a fuse about social media consultants selling smoke screens and mirrors.  (read my rant here) Which of course begs the question — what SHOULD you buy from someone who actually has an expertise in melding social media into the rest of your [Read more...]

You can’t sleep through your own social media efforts

August 3rd, 2011 · Business owner/leader stuff, Social Media · 30 Comments

  …no effort, no real gain I will admit right off the bat, this is a bit of a rant, which you know I don’t do very often. I was on the phone with a prospect (an organization who is just contemplating how/if they should begin to participate in social media) and I was talking [Read more...]

Radio show on book crowdsourcing

July 5th, 2011 · Books, Social Media, Strategy · 6 Comments

  …media coverage for Age #1 One of the best benefits of being a part of the Age of Conversation series is that I’ve met a lot of really smart, generous people who do good work and celebrate others’ good work. That’s how I had the good fortune of being a guest on the US [Read more...]

Promote your community via crowdsourcing

July 3rd, 2011 · Books, Social Media · 1 Comment

As many of you know, Gavin Heaton and I co-edited the Age of Conversation series of books — each one crowdsourced with help from marketing and social media practitioners from all over the globe.  Each book is as unique as the contributors but they all three had some things in common: The authors formed a [Read more...]

Essential Twitter Tools

June 10th, 2011 · Mobile, Social Media, Strategy · 33 Comments

Twitter is an important part of my daily communications and community.  I use it to: Share great resources Chat with friends and peers Share my own writing/posts Access resources, articles, and keep current Test ideas, vent, laugh and connect Give myself a mental floss — you never know what you’ll see, read or jump into [Read more...]

5 ways to build a sticky Facebook fan page

April 22nd, 2011 · Customers/Clients, Social Media · 17 Comments

  … The McLellan Marketing Group’s page With well over 600 million people on Facebook, it’s no wonder that businesses are flocking there to create a fan page for their organization. But what should that page contain?  How should you use it to connect with your customers? Here are 5 tips for creating a Facebook [Read more...]

Build your digital footprint in a hub and spoke model

April 18th, 2011 · Social Media, Strategy, Web/Tech · 2 Comments

The hub/spoke model. Click on it to enlarge. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company, a small retail shop or an individual consultant trying to be found — everyone is concerned with being findable on the web today. And with good reason.  It’s the 21st century — so when we want to find anything or anyone, [Read more...]