Understanding the impact of social media and social networks in today’s society is the first step in creating an effective marketing strategy for an organization. The video below is the latest in the most watch social media series in the world.
Social Media Revolution 3 is based on the #1 international best selling book, Socialnomics by Erik Qualman.The four-minute investment you will make in watching this video will shape your thinking and possibly change your mindset — critical as you develop an effective and efficient social media strategy.
Tired of the same ol’ promotions? Looking to make things more exciting for you and your customers? Interested in making people excited to come check out you and your business?
Your concerns have been heard and you have come to the right place. We have a great idea for you! Holiday promotions. While this may sound like something that happens seasonally, especially around winter holidays, it can actually take place daily. Every day of the year is filled with fun and unique holidays and interesting ways for you to bring in more customers while having fun.
September 1st offers a good example of a fun way to create a promotion. Emma M. Nutt Day honors Emma, the first female telephone operator. Celebrate her success by offering a special discount for customers who call in their order. And, if that doesn’t seem like the right fit for your company, try September 10. On Swap Ideas Day, get online and talk with your customers. Offer advice in return for some advice from them. Still not unique enough for you? September 30th, Chewing Gum Day, offers up a great photo contest. Have customers submit photos of them blowing bubbles with chewing gum. Give the biggest, best bubble a discount!
You can also create your own holiday to match the needs of your business. Celebrate it yearly, make it fun and get creative. Creating holidays to celebrate your business’s milestones and successes is another good way to draw attention to what you have accomplished.
Whatever unique holidays you find on the calendar, or whatever holidays you choose to create, make sure they are fun and exciting! They are a great marketing tactic to get customers to notice you and spread the word!
In addition to Labor Day, September is the month to celebrate:
National Courtesy Month
Fall Hat Month
ADHD Month
Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month
International People Skills Month
National Coupon Month
Celebrate these unique holidays with your customers:
1- Emma M. Nutt Day (first woman telephone operator)
Do your marketing messages lacking creativity and excitement?
Are you in search of a new way to pull in customers and offer promotions?
You’re in luck! We have a great idea for you! Holiday promotions. While this may sound like something that happens seasonally, around the winter holidays, it can actually take place daily. Every day of the year is filled with fun and unique holidays.
Take for example August 7, Professional Speakers’ Day. Take this as an opportunity to find local speakers and partner with them. Bad Poetry Day, on August 18, is a great time to offer a promotion to your customers. Run a poetry contest with the goal of having the worst poem submitted. Or take advantage of Banana Lover’s Day on August 27 and peel away from the competition with a discount or promotion for new or returning clients. (A search for “banana” on YouTube reveals some interesting idea starters.)
Here are some August holidays to inspire your marketing creativity:
August Month-Long Celebrations
Happiness Happens Month
National Inventor’s Month
What Will Be Your Legacy Month
August Holiday Weeks
1: National Fraud Awareness Week
2: Elvis Week
3: Weird Contest Week
August Daily Holidays
1: US Air Force Day (Last observed in 1949), Rounds
Resounding Day (Learn to sing a round)
2: National Night Out
3: National Watermelon Day
4: Coast Guard Day
5: First Income Tax (1861)
6: National Mustard Day
7: Professional Speakers’ Day
8: Sneak Some Zucchini On to Your Neighbor’s Porch Night
9: Smokey The Bear’s Birthday (1944)
10: S’mores Day
11: Presidential Joke Day
12: IBM Personal Computer birthday (1981)
13: National Garage Sale Day
14: National Creamsicle Day
15: National Relaxation Day
16: International Tell a Joke Day
17: National Thrift Shop Day
18: Bad Poetry Day
19: Hug Your Boss Day
Sesame Street’s Snuffleupagus’s Birthday
20: Sandcastle and Sculpture Day
21: Sit Back and Relax Day
22: National Be an Angel Day
23: Buttered Corn Day
24: Pluto Demoted Day
Strange Music Day
25: National Second-hand Wardrobe Day
26: National Dog Day
Toilet Paper Day (Invented in 580)
27: Banana Lover’s Day
28: Race Your Mouse Around The Icons Day
Crackers Over The Keyboard Day
29: More Herbs, Less Salt Day
30: National Toasted Marshmallow Day
31: Eat Outside Day
We’d love to hear how you’ve used these holidays to generate customer interest. We encourage you to share your ideas below.
Click this photo to listen to Segment One of the show
During a recent appearance on The Peter McClellan Show, Reciprocate’s Karen Emanuelson discussed a number of thought-provoking questions including:
Entrepreneurs need social media. Or do they?
The answer may surprise you.
Before diving into a business Facebook page, Twitter account or even spending time building a LinkedIn profile, entrepreneurs need to evaluate their target markets and understand where their potential customers are. Are your customers online? How can you find out?
Will social media replace email?
Parents of high schoolers and preteens will tell you that their students don’t respond to email. Estimates are that by 2013, more than 50 percent of all Internet interactions will be conducted via mobile — tablets and cell phones — not PCs and laptops. How can you best prepare your business?
Why is your website so important?
Your website is the hub of your online reputation. Before you spend any time on social media sites or money on Search Engine Optimization, you need to ensure that your website is capable of projecting the best image of your company, products and services. Where can you turn for help with a website evaluation?
These are just some of the questions answered during the July 5, 2011 Peter McClellan Show on Business Radio AM1570 featuring Reciprocate LLC’s owner Karen Emanuelson. Click here to listen to Segment One of their discussion or click here to listen to the entire podcast. The Wall Street Radio Network features The Peter McClellan Show weekdays from 4-5 p.m.
Have you ever wondered if anyone is visiting your website? What if I told you there was a free way to find out not only if your website was being visited but what pages visitors were reading and how long they spent on your website? What if there was also a way to find out how they found your website i.e. did they click on a link or did they type words into a search engine? Wouldn’t you like to know what words they searched for to find your website? What if you could even tell how they navigated through your website? The answers to all these questions are available for free via Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is a web analytics solution — a free service provided by Google. By placing a few lines of hidden code into your website, you will have access to data that will provide insight into your website visitors. You can use this information to decide if your website is actually helping you market your company, products and services; which keywords you should be emphasizing in your social media and marketing efforts; and maybe if it’s time to invest in a new website.
How do you know if you have Google Analytics installed?
If you don’t know if you have Google Analytics installed on your website, ask your web developer. If it is not currently installed, most developers will add it to your site for a nominal fee. Reciprocate can help you find a web developer if you don’t have one.
The Google Analytics team recently sent out a newsletter with some interesting industry research that we’d like to share with you. Based on the “Site Metrics” chart below, it appears that , on average, visitors are spending almost 30 seconds less on each website than they were a year ago. What does this mean to you? You may need to re-think your website — possibly use fewer words and more photos to grab the attention of your visitors and to tell your story faster.
Even more telling is how visitors are finding websites in general. Take a look at the “Avg Time on Site” in chart 2.2 below. It would appear that visitors who arrive via organic search and paid advertising (CPC Search) are spending more time on websites, while visitors who are reaching websites either directly or via referral links are spending less time. Is this because visitors coming directly and from referrals already know about the company so they don’t need to spend as much time on the website or are they less interested in what they find? Something to think about when you look at your website’s Google Analytic statistics.
I hope this blog has inspired you to learn more about your website statistics. Google Analytics may be confusing to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Reciprocate would be happy to provide a free Google Analytics consultation. Simply send an email to us at info@ReciprocateLLC.com. We’ll help you decipher the traffic to your website and give you some ideas on how to use this information to increase your sales and positively grow your bottom line.
Looking for innovative marketing or advertising themes? Try holiday promotions. While this may sound like your typical holiday season advertising, it is a year round way to get your customers excited and coming back for more.
Take for example, July 6, Take Your Webmaster to Lunch Day. Even if taking your webmaster out for lunch isn’t an option, offering discounts to webmasters or restaurant gift certificates is a great way to attract a target audience.
Searching for a fun way to offer a contest? Take advantage of All American Pet Photo Day on July 11 by offering a gift card for the best photo submitted.
Want to learn more about your customers? Celebrate Get to Know Your Customers Day on July 21 by sending out a customer survey. Let your customers know why you picked that day to send your survey. They’ll appreciate the gesture and you’ll gain an insight into your audience.
Want to get more creative? Celebrate Harry Potter’s Birthday on July 31st with shipping or service fees magically disappearing for the day.
You may even create your own holiday to match the needs of your business. Celebrate it yearly. Make it fun and get creative. Creating holidays to celebrate your business’s milestones and successes is another good way to draw attention to what you have accomplished.
Whatever unique holidays you find on the calendar, or whatever holidays you choose to create, make sure they are fun and exciting! They are a great marketing tactic to get customers to notice you and spread the word!
Here are some July holidays to inspire your marketing efforts:
Month-long celebrations
National Anti-Boredom Month
National Cell Phone Courtesy Month
Holiday weeks
1st week of July: Take Charge of Change Week
2nd week of July: Sports Cliché Week
3rd week of July: Promote Playful Professionalism Week
Daily holidays
1: Zip Code Day
1: Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day
2: Freedom from Fear of Public Speaking Day
3: Compliment Your Mirror Day
4: Independence Day
4: Sidewalk Egg Frying Day
5: Workaholics Day
6: Take Your Webmaster to Lunch Day
7: National Strawberry Sundae Day
8: Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Omelet Day
9: Intern Appreciation Day
10: Don’t Step on a Bee Day
11: All American Pet Photo Day
12: Bill Cosby’s Birthday (1937)
13: Embrace Your Geekiness Day
14: Tape Measure Day
15: Be a Dork Day
15: Cow Appreciation Day
16: Parking Meters Debuted (1935)
17: Yellow Pig Day
18: National Get out of The Doghouse Day
19: Stick Your Tongue out Day
20: Ugly Truck Day
21: Get to Know Your Customers Day
22: Hammock Day
23: National Hot Dog Day
24: Tell an old Joke Day
25: Candles on a Cake Day (First Birthday Cake 55 BC)
According to Google, 97% of consumers search for local businesses online. If you want your organization to be found during online searches, take advantage of the numerous free tools provided by Google. The first Google Tool in this blog series focuses on Google Places.
In our marketing consulting practice, after we first speak with a prospective client, the first action Reciprocate takes is to “Google” them. We suggest you Google yourself as well to see what others find when they are searching for you online. You should Google:
your personal name
in all forms, including legal and nicknames i.e. James, Jim, Jimmy; and with and without your middle name and initial
your industry
use words that customers and potential customers use to describe your company i.e. “lawn mower repair” and “fix my lawn mower” not “lawn and garden service company.” Local organziations should add city and state to subsequent searches.
your competition
learn which online directories and search terms the competition is found under and duplicate the ones that make sense
trade associations
look for membership lists and directory listings that should include your organization
Finally, search for your organization name
again, search for all forms, including “Inc.” or “LLC”
You might be surprised to see how many times your company is already included in auto-generated online directories such as Google Places. You’ll want to claim your organization’s Google Places listing and any other places online where your organization is listed.
To claim your Google Places listing, visit Google Places. You’ll need a Google Account, which is free to create. Every Google business listing also must have a mailing address. If you work from home or are a mobile business, you can hide your physical address and instead choose a “service area” for your listing.
Google Places is a great FREE online way to promote your organization, products and services using photos, vidoes, and product and services descriptions you provide.
If you think the only thing between your business and success is a lack of money for advertising and marketing, you should be exploring the many free ways to promote your organization online.
One online tool worth exploring is Thumbtack.com. Through the use of specific keywords in the Reciprocate LLC Thumbtack business listing and by completely filling out the business profile, Reciprocate was recently recognized as an Elite Internet Marketing Consultant in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Reciprocate is frequently listed in the top 5 Internet Marketing Consultants in the Twin Cities on Thumbtack.
Thumbtack also provides an easy, free, convenient way to list your company, products and services on Craigslist and sends reminder emails when the Craigslist posting has expired. Reciprocate has found several clients through the use of these Craigslist ads, which look very professional.
If you have questions about how to optimize your business listing on Thumbtack or any other online directory, please contact Reciprocate. We would be glad to help you promote your small business or nonprofit organization.
Creative ways to gain the attention of your customers
Suffering from writers’ block? Stumped for what to post on Facebook, Twitter or your blog? Are you looking for a fun and unique way to gain more customers? Is your business in need of a new marketing tactic?
Well have we got a solution for you! Holiday promotions. While this may sound like your typical holiday season advertising, it is a year round way to get your customers excited and coming back for more.
Take for example, June 22, National Chocolate Éclair Day. Have a business in the food industry? Run a special offering free Chocolate Éclairs with each purchase. Own a retail business? Celebrate the Bar Code’s birthday (1974) on June 26th by offering a discount. Unsure of what type of holiday would fit your business? Get creative. Sunglasses Day, on June 27th, offers a great opportunity to hold a sun glasses photo contest, offering a discount or prize to the winner.
You may even create your own holiday to match the needs of your business. Celebrate it yearly, make it fun and get creative. Creating holidays to celebrate your business’s milestones and successes is another good way to draw attention to what you have accomplished.
Whatever unique holidays you find on the calendar, or whatever holidays you choose to create, make sure they are fun and exciting! They are a great marketing tactic to get customers to notice you and spread the word!
Relate these fun holidays to your organization and share them with your online community:
June 1: Heimlich maneuver Day
June 2: Leave the Office Early Day
June 3: Repeat Day
June 4: Shopping Cart Birthday (1937)
June 5: World Environment Day
June 6: National Yo-Yo Day
June 6: Drive-In Movie Theater Birthday
June 7: VCR Birthday
June 8: Vacuum Cleaner Birthday (1869)
June 9: Donald Duck Day (1934)
June 10: Ballpoint Pen Birthday
June 13: Sewing Machine Day
June 14: Sandpaper Invented Day (1834)
June 14: Flag Day
June 15: Ben Franklin’s Kite Experiment (1752)
June 16: No Orange Clothes Day (1784 Holland forbad the wearing orange clothes)
June 18: Casual Day (Friday before summer solstice)
The good news: social media is free!The bad news: “free” has a cost.
Although many of the social media networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube are free to use, anyone looking to use social media to effectively market their products, services, or organization needs to take a closer look at the cost of “free.”
True, you can set up profiles and use most social media networks without opening up your wallet. But, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations must not forget that time is money. Any time an entrepreneur spends on social media is time she is not spending doing something else to make the business profitable. And social media can take a lot of time.
Time to:
Determine best network
Determine keywords
Set up directory listings and profiles
Create ongoing creative, informational updates
Keep up to date with technology and network changes
So, what’s an entrepreneur to do? Evalute the options. Does it make financial sense to hire someone to manage your social media efforts for you?
Advantages of hiring a Social Media Manager
You don’t have to do it
If you’ve hired a competent manager, it will be done correctly
If you’ve hired a competent manager, it will engage your target market
If you’ve hired a competent manager, you will see ROI (a return on your investment)
Disadvantages of hiring a Social Media Manager
You may spend your time wondering if you hired a competent manager
You won’t be the one engaging with your target market
You may not see a ROI
You won’t have gained any knowledge on how to use social media to market your company
You will be continually dependent on hiring someone to manage your social media efforts
The cost
The Cost of Social Media Services
One study that summarizes the costs of hiring social media services is from my friend Mack Collier. Mack has generously granted me permission to share his social media cost blog. I regularly share it with Reciprocate and SCORE clients and presentation attendees. You might be in sticker shock when you see the dollar amounts mentioned in Mack’s study. Keep in mind that these reflect estimates from social media services furnished to companies of all sizes, including major corporations with marketing budgets that most entrepreneurs and nonprofits can’t even comprehend. You can check out Mack’s findings here: http://mackcollier.com/how-much-does-social-media-cost-in-2011/
Reciprocate is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and nonprofits find the most effective, efficient, practical, and economical way to market their organization, products or services — online and offline. If you are contemplating hiring someone to help you with your social media efforts, Reciprocate would be glad to assist you in the vetting process. We’re seen some not-so-ethical folks out there selling trumped up services. We can help you analyze the best place to spend your marketing time and dollars. Check out our reputation, then give us a call or send an email. We look forward to helping you succeed!
Sometimes statistics and numbers tell a story better than words and provide a quick way to understand our world. The State of Social Media in 2011 is one of those situations. Reciprocate is pleased to share this presentation by Hubspot which captures the current state of inbound marketing using telling statistics and quotes.
The below presentation sums up the State of Social Media in 2011 in 64 thought-provoking slides. Spend a few minutes flipping through the presentation for a glimpse into how others are using social media. Then use this insight as you market your company online. Enjoy!
Thanks to Hubspot for this great collection of social media stats. Reciprocate is not affiliated with Hubspot; we’re just fans of their ability to compile data and their willingness to share their knowledge with the rest of us!
Small businesses and non-profit organizations alike can benefit from visiting these three “must share” websites:
KnowEm allows businesses to check for the use of their brand, product, personal name or username instantly on more than 400 popular and emerging social media websites. Reciprocate encourages clients and potential clients to claim their name and secure their brand before someone else does.
GetListed.org The mission statement of GetListed.org is to help small businesses claim and enhance their listings at major search engines. Business owners type in their business name and zip code to get a completion score, then follow direct links to update their business directory listings at Google, Yelp, Bing, Yahoo, Best of the Web and HotFrog.
Reciprocate | Social Media Marketing for Small Business Blog: Here entrepreneurs learn to translate traditional marketing skills into social media marketing strategies. This blog combines social media marketing basics with the latest updates and changes to provide a comprehensive guide for small business owners.
The websites above are all free and provide tools to enhance an organization’s presence on the internet. They provide opportunities to reserve an organization’s name on numerous social media networks, provide valuable links to the organization’s website that will help them be found during online searches, and stay current with the latest social media marketing trends and strategies. Combined, these three set small businesses and non-profits on the path to success.
Learning to turn traditional marketing ideas into social media marketing strategies is an art that consulting companies like Reciprocate share with clients. Let us know if you need helpcompleting your company profiles on GetListed.org, claiming your name on KnowEm, or planning your social media marketing strategy. We’d love to help!
Domino’s delivered 400 million pizzas last year. Monster Energy is the Number 1 energy drink by volume in the U.S. What can a small business owner learn from these mammoth companies? Plenty, including how to use photos to promote your business. Regardless of the size of your staff or the industry you are in, you can take advantage of photos and photo opportunities to market your company online.
6 creative marketing ideas using photos
Here are 6 creative ways to use photos to promote your products or services online:
Run a contest. Ask customers to submit photos featuring your products or services. Offer a prize or discount for entries. Domino’s Pizza created a special URL to promote their recent photo contest ShowUsYour Pizza.com.
Create an account on Flickr for your business. Upload photos that build anticipation for an upcoming event or new product line. I use my Flickr account to showcase community and nature photos I have taken as editor of the North Oaks News as well as to promote my company.
Feature one photo on each page of your website to add visual interest. While too many photos can be distracting, one large image can have a lasting impact on visitors. Additional photos may be placed in a less dominate location lower on the page. Photo gallery pages are an obvious exception to the one-photo rule.
Send photos via Twitter. Using TwitPic, you can share photos from your PC or camera phone via Twitter in real time. TwitPic also provides stats on how many people have viewed your photo, and you can add the TwitPic widget (above right) to your website for additional exposure for your photos.
Upload photos to Facebook. Create albums based on themes. The Monster Energy Facebook page has more than 70 company-created albums and encourages customers to post their own photos. The result? More than 5,000 photos uploaded by Monster Energy customers. Examples Facebook albums small businesses could create include:
Holiday Gift ideas
Why customers love us
How we make (product)
Before and After
On the road
A quick, fun way to promote your small business or organization using photos is Smilebox. This website offers a free (or relatively inexpensive if you choose to upgrade) way to create a short video display of 8-15 photos. Below is the Smilebox I created in just a few minutes using a free account to promote Reciprocate LLC.
Click on the play button above to view the Reciprocate LLC Smilebox creation.
5 small business ”photo op” ideas
Opportunities for using photos to promote a small business abound. Keep a camera or camera phone handy as you go about your day. Make a conscious effort to take 5 photos each day for one week. By the end of the week, you’ll have created a photo gallery to choose from and you will have also created a mindset to look for and create photo opportunities.
Here are some possible photo opportunities to get you started:
Products or services
Company-sponsored events
Employee meetings, client successes, awards, and celebrations – especially if you can feature your product, service, or company logo somewhere in the photo
Company representatives and/or your product at trade shows, speaking engagements, and events. Stage photos in front of banners and signs which promote the event or in front of recognizable location signs.
Before and after photos — this can translate into almost any industry but works especially well for organizers, home improvement companies, and decorators. Think outside the box. Even accountants can show a “before” photo of a mountainous pile of receipts and an “after” photo of a clean desk, featuring their company logo displayed on the monitor along with a happy customer.
Use your imagination. Get creative! Unless you are in the professional photography industry, don’t worry so much about getting the perfect shot with perfect lighting. Some applications (like TwitPic) atually lend themselves to impromptu camera phone images. Have fun but do keep your company image and marketing goals in mind. I encourage you to share links to your favorite use of company photos in the comments section below.
Creating a custom email signature block with a direct hyperlink to your website promotes your business and website every time you send or reply to an email. A custom signature is automatically added at the bottom of every email message you send.
Outlook Signature Block
Follow the simple steps below to create a personal signature block that invites readers to visit your website with every email you send:
Open Microsoft Outlook
Select “Tools” then “Options”
Click on the “Mail Format” tab
Click on “Signatures”
Select “New” and choose a name for your new signature block – your company name would be a good option
Enter your name, title, company logo, company tag line, and contact information in the box. Select fonts and format the text as you desire. Limit yourself to a basic font family and two to three colors. Insert your company logo by clicking on the “Picture” icon
To add a direct link to your company website, click on your logo, then on the “Insert Hyperlink” icon and type your company website in the “Address” field.
Under “E-mail account,” select the email address you use for company correspondence
Under “New messages,” select the Signature you just created.
Click “Save”
Return to Step #5 above to create an additional signature if you would like a different signature for replies, choosing “Replies/forwards” instead of “New messages”
Example Signature Block:
This example includes several font styles, a company logo, and a hyperlink to the company website. The name font is Lucida Handwriting 11 point bold, italic in dark blue. Phone numbers are Lucida Sans 11 point bold, in black. The company tag line is Lucida Bright, 10 point bold, italic in maroon. “Click the logo” is Lucida Sans 11 point in black.
Most email packages offer a similar method to allow you to create an email signature block. To create a signature block in Yahoo! Mail, click on “Options” on the far right side of the mail screen then “More Options” then “Signature.” For Gmail, click “Settings” at the top of any Gmail page.
Have fun and try different options. Change your signature block to reflect the season, insert a timely tip, or to encourage recipients to attend a seminar or other event you are sponsoring. The key is to keep it short and visually attractive. Too many lines of text, too many colors, and too much clutter at the end of an email will just be ignored.
I found a really cool application this afternoon. It’s a free online movie maker. In less than an hour, I created the first ever Reciprocate movie. Check it out below:
XtraNormal.com allows you to select from a number of backgrounds, characters, and voices. You can also choose background music, sounds, camera angles and facial expressions for your characters.
This would be great for individuals and families to send personalized movie greetings. Small businesses and non-profit organizations can get the word out about their companies using this very quick, low-cost approach.
The Reciprocate movie was very fun and easy to make. Just make sure you create an account on XtraNormal.com first or all your work might be lost. Please share this blog posting with others.
UPDATE August 2010: XtraNormal now charges for some of the movie characters and backgrounds. You can still create a free movie, but your choices will be more limited.
As promised, I’ll cover YouTube in a future blog posting. Until then, continue to share what you know.
