MarketingMoment

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Fellow blogger Brad McCarty has a very interesting and useful post on social media, sparked by TWiT’s Leo Laporte anti-social media rant. It’s worth a read, especially if you are a fan of social media, as Brad defends its corner in a tight way.

But I think his last sentence is the key: “It’s your time, so spend it how you choose.”

Social media will work for the right people in the right circumstances, but there’s no denying that it can take time. Not just in terms of learning as much as possible about how to use each social media outlet, but also taking the time to ‘know’ your audience and give them what they want as well as work out how best to deliver it via social networking.

Moreover, I think it’s worth asking yourself what you want to get out of social media. Far too often, people jump on the bandwagon that’s carrying the latest craze without stopping to work out WHY they’re joining up in the first place.

So, if someone were to ask you what you want to get out of social media, would you know instantly?

Once you are clean on your objectives, then surely you are better placed to come up with a strategy for a better return on your investment … of time.

What do you think — is it time to re-think your own approach to social media?

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Do you struggle with your marketing? Or perhaps you need to increase the response of your advertising or your website?

Well, take a leaf from Socrates’ book (or clay tablet, as it was centuries ago)…

Socrates was perhaps the greatest master of persuasion. His tactic was to get people to agree with him, or concede their side of the argument, belief, or debate, by getting them to say “yes”. He would do this by asking questions that people would simply have to answer in the affirmative. And he’d do this over and over until they agreed with him!

How does this help you?

By getting your prospects to agree with your statements or questions, then each time they do they are one step closer to becoming a buyer.

Why not try this ‘Socrates Method’ in your advertising and marketing, and see what happens? Oh, and feel free to report any findings here.

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Despite the official end to the recession, the UK’s economy is still wavering and the immediate future looks anything BUT bright. So it’s little wonder if you’re feeling like most people in business; looking over your shoulder, wondering if you’re next in line to lose your job. If you own a business, then it’s likely you’re worried about the latest ’sales slump’. One thing is for sure; you can’t afford to be complacent right now. You absolutely MUST continue to market … perhaps more aggressively than ever before. (See my blog post, Business Survival Tools: Don’t Get Left Behind: http://TwitPWR.com/au6/)

The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, shows you how you can promote yourself in new, creative and low-cost (or F.R.E.E.) ways to bring customers through the door in ANY economy.

To read the full article and gain *hidden links* to recent CfS newsletter editions, you’ll have to become a subscriber. (That’s a good thing, by the way, or so CfS readers tell me!) As well as being FREE, you’ll receive a business-building report and audio CD that can dramatically improve sales simply for signing up and trying it out.

Subscribe here.

(You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

Recent CfS newsletter issues cover:

Subscribe here.

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If you read copy written by someone other than a copywriter, chances are it will scream Features! Features! Features! OK, features are a very good thing indeed and, yes, readers do need to know about them. But not all of them. And NOT right up front.

Instead, you need to do what every good copywriter 
MUST do in order to educate or make the sale: turn features into benefits, and put those benefits at the beginning of your copy.

These benefits must be tied into your readers’ desires, needs and wants. So, when you solve your readers’ problems, they’ll go looking for the features — meaning they WILL bother to read the rest of your marketing message.

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According to internet marketing master Marlon Sanders, the top six ways to drive traffic to your websites are:

1. Getting affiliates to promote your products to their lists.
2. Article marketing — see http://bit.ly/9eMN3j and http://bit.ly/9KpIfn for more information.
3. Buying ads in other people’s ezines.
4. Search engine optimisation (SEO) — to generate more organic traffic.
5. Google Ad Words — and other pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
6. Banner advertising — once dismissed, now making a comeback.

Here are a few others you might want to try: joint ventures (JVs) … co-registration … social media/networking … PR … postcard marketing … blogging.

Source: Bob Bly email, 1/7/09

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I received the following question recently, which sums up a lot of the queries I receive from both clients and prospects alike:

”I’m having trouble attracting people to my website, more specifically opt-in members for my list. Can you help?“

I’d like to share a recent post I wrote in response, but will add another tip in the wake of the social-media craze…

>>>

Answer: There are a myriad ways of achieving your goals. Here are a some to get you going:

1.  Make sure your website is targeted for your ideal customer, using language and ‘triggers’ that will appeal accordingly.
2. Optimise your web pages, especially your home page, using SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques to drive more search engines to your site, and help your visibility among the search results.
3. Start a blog, and link back to your website. Search engines love fresh content, and writing regular blog posts is an excellent way of keeping them happy.
4. Make sure your newsletter sign-up box appears not only on your web pages, but also your blog.
5. Make it worthwhile subscribing to your ezine –– just because it’s free is no longer a valid reason.
6. Write articles and submit them to online article directories. Make sure your ‘author bio’ or resource box features a live hyperlink to your newsletter, and offer a gift to subscribe.
7. Use Google Adwords to get qualified traffic. Make sure the landing page is suitably targeted.

Hopefully, this little lot should be enough to get you started and keep you busy for a while! Good luck, and let us know how you get on…

<<<

Another relatively quick and easy way to grow your database is to make full use of social media. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn seem to be the top three social networks. But if you don’t know where to start or are unsure whether social media is ‘right’ for your business, then you need to read one of the most popular feature articles ever seen in my newsletter, Communiqué for Success. You’ll need to sign up first. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

Subscribe here: http://twitpwr.com/44Q/

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What can make all the difference between so-so marketing and great publicity?

Good-old-fashioned customer testimonials.

Positive feedback from your customers or clients are one of the strongest, most compelling forms of credibility any business can use. And on top of that, they are brilliant at substantiating any claims made about your products or services, thereby lessening doubt, cynicism or even premature ‘buyer’s remorse’.

Strange then that most business-owners don’t seem to make much use of testimonials. Some don’t bother to use them at all! If they do, they depend on average testimonials, unaware of the fact that if they put in a little bit of effort to get riveting, convincing testimonials, then more sales and profits are a likely result.

To read more on testimonials, including how to get great ones, point your mouse to:

• http://marketingmoment.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/let-your-clients-sell-you

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One of the most common complaints I hear from solopreneurs (self-employed professionals) is that they don’t have time to market their business, to which I relpy, “Then you need to make time!”

Of course, the easiest and most obvious solution would be to hire outside help. A marketing professional can help you on an ad-hoc or a permanent basis, and so ease the pressure of ‘finding’ time to carry out this important business function.

However, when budgets don’t allow for outsourcing, then your  primary concern should ALWAYS be to make sure you never stop marketing . . .  whether you’re a service provider with too much work, or a retailer experiencing a boom in orders.

It doesn’t matter how good (or bad) business is, you absolutely MUST make time to promote and market your products and services.

The worst position to be in is when you don’t have any clients, or projects or sales because you didn’t make time for marketing or, worse, didn’t think marketing was necessary. It IS. And no one is too busy to not market.

Look, regardless of where we are in our lives or business, we always make time to schedule doctor appointments and the like. Perhaps you have a system on your computer that helps you keep track of these and other details. All I’m saying is that in order to run a successful business you need to add marketing activities.

Don’t know where to start?

Start right now – TODAY!

Block out a few hours, minutes even (at least 20, though) in your daily schedule to complete one or more marketing tasks. And while you’re at it, why not put together a marketing plan – a mini one will do? Come spring time, you’ll be far ahead of where you thought you’d be.<

Remember, success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. A daily marketing system is your roadmap to success. So make time for it!

***Need to be accountable to someone, or need help with your marketing goals? My mentoring programme can help you start off – and keep – on the right track.

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There you are sitting at your desk sneaking in a quick game of WordTwist on FaceBook / cleaning your keyboard for the 15th time today / reading blogs, Tweets, websites, anything but tend to the actual task in hand. You know you SHOULD be writing content for your first email newsletter. But somehow you just can’t get motivated. That blank screen beckons. Another game? Help!

Don’t panic!

There are a number of ways – ranging from the ridiculously easy and quick solutions, to the more involved.

One of the first options is to start with what you have to hand.

Have you kept any interesting emails – either from customers, quizzes, quotes, competitions or even junk mail? How about questions from clients, prospects, colleagues, friends, etc?

Think about what came through the door today – is there anything you can share with your readers? What about industry news, statistics or trends? Perhaps you have new products or services to offer. You can write about those. How about a ‘subscriber only’ special? An interview with your marketing director or an industry leader?

All these nuggets – and more like them – will form great fodder for your newsletter. They could take the form of articles, news, events, competitions, ads, interviews, tips, and so on. I’ve written pieces on how social media impacts on business, the secret to turning a postage stamp into a stampede of customers, the significance of proofreading a business document, how to write good headlines and so on.

Excerpt from ’Newsletters that Build Customer Relations AND Fill Your Inbox with Orders‘ – my step-by-step  MasterClass home-study system shows you just how easy-peasy it can be to create or polish a so-so newsletter that reflects your business in the best light. Chock-full with useful tools and specific examples on how to set-up, write and send out your business-building newsletter, it really does remove the pain from newsletter publishing. Get the full scoop here.  

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[Brighton, UK, 3 June 2010] ––– MediaMinister.co.uk today launched a new service aimed at small business-owners, business executives, entrepreneurs and independent service professionals who recognise the commercial traction of social media but have neither the time, skills nor inclination to exploit it for themselves.

“Social-media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can really put a business in the spotlight … WHEN leveraged properly,” says Tracey Dooley, owner of the boutique-style communications site MediaMinister.co.uk. “The problem for most business owners and solopreneurs is having the time or the know-how to make it work for them. That is where I come in.

“My ‘ready-made’ social-media marketing packages take the hassle and mystery out of social media and can put a business or brand firmly on the online map.”

Essentially, Tracey becomes your virtual marketing director and ghost-writer in one, learning everything she can about you or your company and, as your ‘brand ambassador’, spending her time on social networks on your behalf. It’s about helping people improve their online business visibility or simply get more out of it…

“Social media can enhance a company’s image and create favourable relationships with its target market and potential joint-venture partners. My goal is to help people create a social-media presence that is painless, engaging and defines their position within their field. Once I’m briefed, clients can simply relax and trust me to do a professional job on their behalf.”

For more information or to buy a social-media marketing package, visit:
http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/socialmedia.htm

About MediaMinister
MediaMinister specialises in providing copywriting, editorial, marketing and creative-management services to clients worldwide. Services include: writing (journalism, creative and business), marketing, editing, proofreading and consulting. For more information or to set up a free communications evaluation, visit: www.mediaminister.co.uk

About Tracey Dooley
Tracey, a Brighton & Hove-based copywriter, marketing strategist, and editorial and creative consultant, has more than 15 years’ experience providing communications and public relations counsel to local and worldwide clients. She also helps entrepreneurs, authors, publishers and FTSE 100/250 companies boost response rates and attract new customers.

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