Social Media Trends for Small Businesses
In this video I interview Anita Campbell, founder of Small Business Trends and BizSugar, and author of Visual Marketing.
Anita shares how social media impacts small businesses. You’ll discover which small businesses are slow to adopt social media and where social media brings the best results.
Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.
Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:
- Find out what type of small businesses might not get much business from social media
- Tips for small businesses to use social media successfully
- Why you need to avoid sending the message “click my junk”
- Why you need to stick with social media to see impressive returns over time
- The common mistakes small businesses make
- What your online place of business says about your business
- The big trends for small businesses
- How small businesses are adopting mobile marketing
- How some small businesses excel at using social media
- How tablets have impacted mobile marketing
- What BizSugar is and how to get visibility for your business content
Connect with Anita on Twitter @smallbiztrends, check out Small Business Trends and learn more about Visual Marketing here.
Are you part of a small business? Do you use social media to market your business? What has been your experience with using social media? Please leave your comments below.
Read MoreWhat Are Mobile Marketing Opt-ins and Why Are They Important?
Are you considering mobile marketing? Wondering how mobile opt-ins differ from social opt-ins?
Keep reading to discover how mobile opt-in marketing is unique from social media marketing.
In a previous post discussing how to combine QR Codes with Facebook, I received a lot of questions about opt-ins. Given the importance consumers place on spam management across all media, and brands place on tracking digital marketing’s effectiveness, understanding social and mobile marketing opt-ins is imperative.
Opt-in Marketing Defined
Traditional opt-in marketing, often called “permission marketing,” requires marketers to get explicit permission from consumers before they can deliver marketing collateral to them. This approach contrasts with “interruption marketing” where consumers receive messaging from a brand without giving consent (which, when done badly, reminds us of a certain meat product).
Example email opt-in from the Social Media Examiner home page.
How Social Media Opt-ins Differ From Traditional Opt-ins
On social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, users give brands permission to submit communication to their digital identity by simply clicking a like, follow or plus button. You’ll never see a social media “double opt-in;” i.e., “Are you sure you want to like this page?”
After liking (opting into) a brand's page on Facebook, passive brand communication appears alongside friend communication.
McDonald's offers a free McChicken sandwich to entice opt-ins to a mobile campaign.
How Mobile Opt-ins Differ From Traditional Opt-ins
Mobile opt-ins operate more similarly to traditional channels like direct mail and email than social media opt-ins. Brands request a point of contact from consumers, which, if given, effectively grants the brand permission to message consumers directly. This point of contact for mobile is, of course, a mobile phone number, which brands can use to send voice, text (SMS) or other mobile messages.
For mobile marketing channels like mobile web and mobile apps, opt-ins possess both social and mobile elements. On the mobile web, brands can direct consumers to a mobile landing page with clickable links, radio buttons and/or write-in fields.
With mobile apps, brands interact with consumers when they download an application by requesting push notifications or location-based information. In addition, apps may use a sign-up process to enable direct communication.
Brands can request consumers enable push notifications after an app download.
Strategy Behind Opt-Ins
Opt-ins provide brands a huge benefit: privileged access to consumers.
With this access, brands can drive purchases and respond by drawing consumers with alternatives (“Try it our way!”), attacking (“Their way stinks!”) or compelling content (“Our way is better!”).
Incentives are how brands give back. Every opportunity to like, follow or sign up in exchange for discounts, points or rewards demonstrates a key emphasis for an opt-in strategy.
A mobile opt-in from the BravoTV.com homepage promises games, updates and more.
Once brands obtain consumers’ points of contact, they then have to provide relevant and interesting information to keep consumers engaged.
Enter the idea of database marketing, where brands target messaging to consumers according to certain characteristics (e.g., gender, age, purchasing history) in order to establish a more intimate brand-consumer connection.
Non-coincidentally, database marketing explains in large part the social and mobile explosion, as immense amounts of self-reported data are available to marketers using these channels.
Technology Behind Opt-ins and Compliance
Brands need technology to message consumers in order to sell more products. Consumers need technology that delivers communication only from those brands connected to them.
But the actual implementation of technology introduces a slippery slope of complexity. Consumers who don’t have sufficient technical acumen may struggle to opt in. Brands respond by automating the opt-in process after purchase. This causes consumers who strictly guard their privacy to complain, as they may not know that one purchase may constitute ongoing access to them.
So brands adjust and only message after two purchases. But then consumers miss out on a promotion after only purchasing once and demand more frequent updates… and so on.
Various social and mobile technology solutions exist to address these issues. One example is the “like-gate” for a Facebook page, which requires that a consumer like a page before viewing its content. In addition, social media privacy policies inform consumers about what goes on behind the scenes after an opt-in.
1-800-Flowers.com has "like-gated" their Facebook page.
For mobile, carriers and the Mobile Marketing Association monitor and decide how technology should manage opt-ins. Texting a keyword to a short code (either manually or via QR code) and entering a phone number into a web form both qualify as legitimate opt-ins as long as consumers receive a compliant confirmation message in real time. Premium content (e.g., ringtones and services charged to a wireless bill) requires a double opt-in, where consumers have to reply again to the confirmation message.
After texting a keyword (DOLPHIN) to a short code (44144), mobile technology platforms have to deliver a compliant standard rate mobile opt-in.
Social vs. Mobile Opt-ins
Given this understanding of social and mobile opt-ins and their strategy and technology, which should marketers select? Let’s see if we can find the answer by comparing them.
With social media, consumers opt in by clicking a button online; brands communicate to consumers generally via status updates. Consumers benefit from one-click access to brands if they are signed in online, but miss out if not online or engaged via offline media like radio or signage. Brands benefit from social networking effects, but have to depend on a third party for their subscriber lists and data.
With mobile, consumers opt in by texting, scanning or submitting information to a mobile website or app; brands send direct communication to consumers via mobile messaging. Consumers benefit from immediate information, but may be hesitant to give out their mobile phone number. Brands benefit from a direct connection to consumers, but miss out on the immediate data social networking sites provide.
Hmm. I’d say inconclusive at best, as neither seems like a clear winner. But without selecting between social and mobile, how can you design an opt-in digital marketing strategy?
What It All Means
The answer is straightforward: with digital permission marketing, you can have your cake and eat it too. Just as consumers communicate with each other via social and mobile media, so should brands and consumers. Brands can integrate social and mobile, effectively reaping the benefits of both while sidestepping their drawbacks.
Consider a campaign with a QR code call to action offering a 25% off digital coupon code that sends a consumer to a like-gated Facebook page. Once liked, consumers have to enter their mobile phone number via a sign-up widget in order to receive the digital code. Marketers get both opt-ins and engagement across both channels and consumers spend less money. Now that’s powerful, cross-channel marketing.
Example mobile opt-in within the Facebook interface.
Going forward, brands can maintain relationships with consumers across both channels. General loyalty club announcements should be posted to social media networks (“All video games on sale!”), whereas specific updates (“We have the video game you want in stock”) should be delivered via mobile. Brands don’t have to worry about losing track of consumers, and consumers can choose how and what type of communication they want to receive. Everyone wins.
What do you think? Do you have some other ideas about how to create effective brand campaigns that expertly use social and mobile opt-ins? Please share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Read MoreThe Main Takeaways From The Conference Click Asia Summit 2011 – “ The Power Of Digital And Mobile Marketing In Asia”
The Main Takeaways From The Conference Click Asia Summit 2011 – “ The Power Of Digital And Mobile Marketing In Asia”
Click Asia Summit was recently conducted in Mumbai – India (from the 20th January 2011 to 23rd January 2011) focusing on digital and mobile marketing in Asia. Asia is undoubtedly a large market and a growing market with people who are fast adopting and adapting to the E-commerce, M-commerce and the social media worlds on [...] Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . The Main …
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Globally, Google Takes the “Top Smartphone OS” Position
Here in the U.S., the iPhone’s availability on only one carrier allowed Android to move into the number one position for smartphones — with figures expected to change once Verizon releases their version of the iPhone. However, there’s a massive market of non-U.S. mobile users, where RIM and Nokia have long been the leaders.
After [...] Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal …
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Google Latitude Joins the “Check-In” Race
Google Latitude was one of the first location-based services to launch, but rather than “leading the race” as Google so often does, the service simply fell into the heap of runners-up to the popular 4Square. While 4Square was released after Latitude, the service quickly gained more press and popularity due to their lineup of features. [...] Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal …
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Internet Ads Officially Surpass Newspaper Ads
Doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but it’s finally in writing that Internet advertising has beat out Newspaper advertising. In 2010, Internet ad spend reached about $ 26bn while Newspaper ads only hit $ 23bn.
This is both a result of the increase in internet usage (up 14%) as well as a decrease in newspaper readers (down 8%).
It’s important to note why this change is occurring…marketers are going where the people are.
As more newspaper readers migrate to the internet, the ads follow them. And why wouldn’t they when it’s a lot more effective to run and track ads online compared to newspapers.
I expect to see an more intense increase in advertising competition which is why it will be particularly important to go after more organic modes of internet advertising like social media, Google local, seo, and mobile marketing (where the competition is lighter due to it’s freshness).
Takeaway: Look out for yet another increase in ads competition in 2011, and position yourself to have a well diversified strategy online that doesn’t wholly rely on ads. I don’t think we even know what ad overload is yet 
Comments?
Read MoreHow Mobile Devices Threaten Un-Mobilized Businesses
This Wall Street Journal Article really says a lot about the power/danger of mobile devices in the purchasing environment. It shows how many customers turn to their mobile phone before making a purchasing decision (making sure there isn’t a better deal out there).
Though the example is directed at retail stores, this just displays one of the many ways that mobile phones can threaten businesses.
Here’s how I look at it…
The mobile device empowers the buyer. Why?
Well, the buyer has the power to make more informed decisions about a purchase, not to mention the empowerment to buy something regardless of where they are or aren’t.
I won’t bother talking about the disadvantages of not having one, because pretty much everyone has one these days.
By the end of 2011, 1 in 2 Americans will have a smartphone, while pretty much all of them have some sort of mobile device.
The mobile device either empowers or ravages a business. Why? …
A business with a mobile marketing plan is empowered! It stands ready for mobile users, giving them the option to buy their products from a mobile phone and to explore all the information they need to know about their offerings.
A business that ignores mobile marketing… “c’est la vie”! When a customer is on the run, when a customer is comparing, when you’ve got a better price offer… What are you doing to capture those potential sales, and to save the ones someone else is taking from you?
Conlusion: Harness or be harnessed (comment below)
Learn More:
Want to harness the power of mobile marketing for your business? Then CLICK HERE!
Read MoreFree Advertising On Cover of Inc. Magazine
Have you seen the latest issue of Inc.
If not, check out the yellow box in the top-right corner. The good folks over at Inc. are telling entrepreneurs and local business owners all over the world that they need to start paying attention to Mobile/Local Marketing.
In other words, if you’re a Local Mobile Marketing Manager, Inc. is essentially advertising for you…on their cover…FOR FREE!
Inc. also spends time talking about the huge opportunity for free local advertising through Google places (another skill covered in our Mobile Local Fusion training).
If you have a small business and you want to be one of the first to capitalize on the Mobile/Local trend, OR if you’re a local marketer and you want to add Mobile Marketing to your arsenal…you need to check out MobileLocalFusion:
http://www.mobilelocalfusion.com
Read MoreMobile/Local Marketing Interview: Part 3 of 3
Ok, here’s the final part of the Interview I did with the mobile/local marketing guru, Laura Betterly.
[If you missed part 1, go HERE. If you missed part 2, go HERE]
In this last portion, Laura gives the ‘low down’ on text messaging for mobile marketing. Again, the stuff she talks about is flat-out genius!
My guess is that if you’ve listened to all 3 parts of this interview, you’re itching to get your local and mobile marketing in action.
Leave a comment below and tell me if you’re already implementing this. If not, leave a comment and promise that you will!
Mobile/Local Marketing Interview: Part 1 of 3
Ryan Deiss just got off of an interview with Laura Betterly
(local/mobile marketing guru) where she ‘schooled’ me on
all things regarding Mobile and Local Marketing.
Let me just say that she is scary smart and she talks about some ground breaking stuff here.
I’ll stop here and let the interview speak for itself….This part
is about ‘Tracking Phone Numbers’,
which is really powerful stuff BTW!
Had you guys heard of this yet? Pretty cool right? Comment Below!
p.s. This is just part one of the interview,
so I’ll do my best to get the other
2 parts up this weekend!
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Mobile/Local Marketing Interview: Part 2 of 3
Here’s part 2 of the interview with Laura Betterly that I promised you that talks about Mobile and Local Marketing. [If you missed part 1 go HERE first.]
In this segment Laura shows us how to make sure that your businesses are showing up on PAGE 1 locally. This is invaluable for anyone who’s doing business locally.
i.e. If you have a local business, LISTEN TO THIS!
If I were you, I’d go implement this right now
Do you see how much this could boost your local business? Comment Below!
Read MoreApple, Android Up, BlackBerry Down in Wattpad e-book Stats
Smartphones remain the most popular device to read e-books in the US, driven largely by iPhones, iPads and iPod touch and Android handsets. The use of Apple and Android devices to read e-books has grown by 25 per cent over the last quarter, while BlackBerry devices have experienced a 9 per cent drop in usage.
Excerpt from: Apple, Android Up, BlackBerry Down in Wattpad e-book Stats
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