My thoughts center around measurement today.
I know we’ve all had a long, cold (and here in Connecticut) snowy winter. How much snow? By most people’s estimation – too much, but by skiers estimation not enough… At my house we’ve had about 95 inches of the white stuff. Which equal the following metrics. I measure it by paying for 8 driveway plows, but my daughter’s summer vacation is a little shorter this year. They added another week in June to make up the 5 snow days. My point? Everyone measures things differently despite the face we’re still measuring the same thing…results from snow.
When a prospective client contacts me the first order of business is knowing what results they want their marketing to accomplish. Visibility, sales, email sign ups, SEO, traffic, social dialog… the sky is the limit. As a former boss and mentor said – you can’t manage what you don’t measure. You need a goal to shoot for to create a good marketing campaign. What do you want to measure with your social marketing initiative?
The newest changes to FB fan page administration give us more robust marketing data. We can see when people are reading posts, or liking our FB page. (PS – that’s a hint – visit my facebook page and click the like button). When you need to get interaction – ask a question. How about posting some pictures or a video. Use your voice, and make a big noise on the web.
Still small business have a little (or big) of fear of the web. For example, a small business owner is already overwhelmed by the day-to-day operations. On social networks the discussion is more frequent, but less sales oriented. Adding a marketing tactic where they need to manage frequent interaction is not in the cards. Get in the social game, and start to share some knowledge.
Don’t shy away from using the tools. Hiring a social marketing consultant to manage some details may be warranted. Either way plan accordingly – you need to keep up your social discussion thread. Bottom line – Get a group of loyal followers who want what you offer – and talk to them often.
While I can’t promise specific results I’ve seen business owners double website/social traffic results in only 90 days from a robust social marketing program. Let’s chat if you’re interested in hearing about driving traffic to your small business by website, social or mobile marketing. Our services work for clients who want to dominate their local marketplace with underground business marketing.
Here’s to a successful week – market well!
Christine
According to a Huffington Post 70% of small business owners have a FB page – read the article.
