Tag: marketing

Need Some Marketing Oomph?

Is your Facebook Page’s reach dwindling? Are your website visits at a standstill?  Trying to come up with the next big marketing push but don’t know what to do?

Many marketing gurus look at analytics and algorithms to see what works on a never-ending basis.  And there are some obvious current trends.
Where content marketing is King, live video is Master-of-the-Universe!
And the  ‘Oomph-iest’ live video tool available is free and easy to use!

Facebook Live  
You’ve probably tried it a couple times and thought “I hate myself on camera” or “What should I say?”.
The idea with Facebook Live is to give your followers information which is interesting & relevant, timely and grabs their attention.
Are you attending an industry-related gathering?  Broadcast a few minutes from Facebook Live.  Is there an expert guest visiting your business?  Broadcast it!

Also, script your ‘Live’ feed in advance so you know what to say.  A Facebook Live feed without direction tends to get few viewers, however, if you are introducing a new product or highlighting another product or service, describe in detail all along the Live feed what is happening.  Silence will not keep followers watching.

Another key is to stay ‘Live’ more than a minute or two (our normal Facebook video cut-off point) in order for Facebook to notify your followers.  Once they see you are live, the hope is that they interact with your broadcast.  After the Live portion is over, the Facebook followers who missed it may view it as a newsfeed post.  We’ve heard by using Facebook Live consistently, your reach organically tends to get more attention.  Try it at different times of the day and various days of the week to see what works best!

By using Facebook Live, your small business marketing may just jump to the next level!

Cheryl Friedenberg, Marketing Consultant, High Key Impact LLC
www.highkeyimpact.com, cheryl@highkeyimpact.com

Crazy, Hectic and No Time for Marketing!

Small business owners know how overwhelming their operations can be.

Perhaps the sales funnel is dry and administrative needs are taking over your  day-to-day functions.  Or clients are in need of a lot of TLC lately and your marketing gets pushed to the wayside.  Is it that your accountant is awaiting your P&L’s to get taxes together?

My advice:  Don’t let your marketing blitz fall apart!

Here are 5 EASY ways to fill your sales funnel this month:

–Send a Quick Email to your clients asking for referrals, testimonials and online reviews.

–Hop Onto LinkedIn and Connect to more friends and professionals as well as local business groups.  Post about what you do for a living every so often to remind others what your business is all about.  Approximately, 10% of your posts may be ‘sales’ related….the remainder should be industry focused.

–Knock on a Few Doors at a local corporate park and hand out fliers (menus, product brochures or your business card).  Follow up with a friendly phone call  and potentially offer a freebie if there is any interest.  If one administrator in the building is a fan of your product or service, the word-of-mouth referrals may start funneling in.

–Call 5-10 Existing Clients with whom you are most comfortable speaking with and ask for referrals. What can you offer them in return?  (It doesn’t necessarily need to be a financial reward..perhaps just a referral for their needs.)

–Keep Up With Your Social Media Accounts with simple posts.  You can post a ‘Quote of the Day’, a ‘Slideshow’ of recent photos or all about an Employee of the month.  Don’t stop the posts to maintain your social media momentum!

For more quick-hit marketing ideas, contact Cheryl Friedenberg at cheryl@highkeyimpact.com, www.highkeyimpact.com

7 Small Budget Marketing Secrets To Share

Whether you are a start-up, well-established or a business vying to get two steps ahead, there are many organic options available when it comes to getting your name in front of potential customers, some lesser know than others.

Having worked with various industries in B2B or B2C, I have found clever, cost-effective strategies to market your business through social media.

  1. Influencer Marketing
    Simply put, Influencer marketing is a way to have others discuss or mention your brand or products. Influencers are well-respected by their audience and give educated recommendations throughout their networks.  For the small budget business owner, this means finding 5-10 customers/individuals willing to talk about your brand, in an effective and positive way, through their social media networks.
    The power of Influencer Marketing is exponential. One share of your information leads to more visibility and exposure. Imagine where 5-10 shares would bring you?
  1. Guest Blogging
    It is a 2-way street for the benefits of guest blogging.
    First, you could be the guest blogger on another website and talk about your industry from an entirely unique perspective. The benefit to the blog host is providing original and creative content to a blog needing a lift. Your business is being an effective marketer by finding bloggers who share your business core values. And you are spreading the word about you and your business.  Second, by bringing in a guest blogger to your website’s blog, you are also creating original and shareable content for your audience while giving another business owner a space for publicizing their brand.
    Reach out to websites where your business models are complimentary towards one another. For example, a real estate agent may connect with a mortgage company. Or a senior caregiving agency may connect with an independent living facility. The options are endless.
  1. Facebook Audience Optimization
    Recently introduced through Facebook pages, posts are now being optimized for audiences. For instance, if you are sending out a post only applicable to a particular age group, your post can be segmented directly towards that population. Facebook Audience Optimization “Lets you assign interest-based tags to identify people who are most likely to engage with your posts. Also lets you restrict the visibility of your posts based on audience location, language, age or gender.” via Facebook Settings.  In my personal experience, Facebook Audience Optimization limited a test post too narrowly so that less users viewed it. The reach was also minimal. However, marketers are gung-ho on this new feature so it’s worth a try for your business.
    For detailed instructions if you would like to try Facebook Audience Optimization, go to this Tutorial @jacobkcurtis
  2. Facebook Shares
    Recently I have noticed, though the Facebook pages I manage, a very simple approach to an exponential post reach. All you need are FB shares.
    Ask your Business page visitors or personal Facebook friends to share your posts. If each sharer’s 500+ friends see your post, the impact is substantially better than a paid ad!
  1. LinkedIn Groups
    The way I look at LinkedIn is that it is an online business networking event. You connect with others, share your business contact information and make a brief introduction. If a connection eventually needs your service or product, you’ll want them to remember YOU and not the competition.
    There’s a defined system to stand out in the LinkedIn world. By joining LinkedIn groups associated with your industry, becoming engaged within group discussions and eventually posting your own blog content onto the group page, you bring your LinkedIn profile to a preferred and remembered level. Heck, you could eventually gain Influencer status too!
  1. Growth Hacking
    Growth hacking is a marketing technique developed by technology startups which use creativity, analytical thinking, and social metrics to sell products and gain exposure. (ref. Wikipedia)
    It is viewed as a process of finding unconventional ways or experiments to gain a viral following, users and customers.
    Growth hacking can be accomplished on a small business level with some hand-holding from marketers as they would want to use analytics or measurable data to see if an experiment takes hold.  Read this blog for more insight into the Growth hacking world.
  2. LinkedIn Pulse
    LinkedIn gives the user the ability to publish an update or a post. These posts are connected to an internal blog resource visible to all of your LinkedIn connections, called PULSE.  Pulse is another avenue to send your message, reaching a wider audience than your blog or social media accounts. It allows you to tag potential audiences to gain reach and viewership and it shows metrics for views and likes.
    Use this article for a How-To-Guide for posting on Pulse.

To stay up-to-date on the latest tips and trends within the business marketing world, read more of my blog.
By Cheryl Friedenberg, President, High Key Impact LLC, Marketing Consulting
cheryl@highkeyimpact.com

www.highkeyimpact.com

 

Beginning-of-Month Social Media Checklist

 

With the start of each month, your small business marketing plans should gear up with a plan of attack, with a goal of getting noticed and in front of your customers-to-be.
The following to-do’s tackle a checklist every business owner should be managing:

Newsletter

If you send a weekly or monthly newsletter, organize your content now for the following cycle so you don’t get stuck with content or writer’s block. Your newsletter could include topics such as what’s trending on social media in your industry, where you’ve gone out in the field (presentations, business card exchanges, conferences), personal stories related to your industry or testimonials, expert advice, etc. Don’t forget visuals –high quality photos which keep your newsletter interesting and help illustrate the associated text. And keep the newsletter clean, with minimal copy, short and sweet. It should be 90% educational and 10% promotional (about your business).

Blog

The best advice I have about blogging is to write blogs when a topic comes to mind. I have an eternal Word document just for blogs. When a blog idea is in my head, I’ll type in the idea and a couple of key points, and then revisit it to fill in the blanks when I have the time. The more blog ideas you have written down, the less cumbersome blogging becomes. Whatever you do, keep your blog updated at least 2x/month with current posts. When a potential customer visits your site in February and sees a blog from Thanksgiving, what does that say about your business? Are you going to deliver your services on time and pay attention to detail? Think about the message you send to customers with your online social media all of the time!

Analytics

Take a look at your Google Analytics, Twitter analytics and other social media insights and numbers. For example, if your Facebook page has 1500 people reached this month, shoot for 1750 next month. Or are you going to focus on increasing followers and likes this month? Is this the month to increase your newsletter subscribers? The analytics goals you set will dictate many of your posts in the month ahead. Check your numbers frequently and always look for growth trends. If you notice a downward plunge which cannot be justified (i.e. a holiday break or down time in your industry), pay attention and rectify the situation with some though provoking posts.

Posts

If business is weighing you down with a checklist of its own, then spend only an hour or two at the beginning of the month scheduling your posts. I don’t recommend scheduling them past the next two weeks as you want content to stay current. Otherwise, check google alerts for industry-related content and trends to post on-the-fly.
For example, several of my real estate clients need content.   I signed them up for Google Alerts within their field. “Residential Real Estate in Southeastern PA” or “Home Décor Trends” are different ways to get articles sent to their inboxes. These are perfect for Real Estate Agents to share on social media posts!

As your small business grows and you continue to spread the word both digitally and face-to-face , keeping up with your marketing activities are the key to making a high key impact and bringing in new clients!
Cheryl Friedenberg

President, High Key Impact LLC
www.highkeyimpact.com

Feel free to email us at cheryl@highkeyimpact.com with your questions or insights!