By now you know that all businesses (including yours!) must embrace a digital marketing strategy that extends beyond merely operating a Web site. But each digital marketing channel plays a different role as part of a broader overall strategy. Let's look at how these individual channels - all of which are integrated and available through our WebCenter solution - could be used specifically for a comprehensive digital marketing strategy!
Facebook:
Facebook is ideal for creating a community around a business or brand. Seek input from followers and friends, and let them carry relevant conversations, too!
Blogging:
Blogs allow you to establish yourself as an expert! For a business, this can mean weighing in on industry news or even discussing upcoming events within the company to demonstrate growth, credibility and expertise!
Twitter:
Sharing is the name of the game for Twitter! Send out links to articles, videos, images....anything! Twitter's other primary role is quick customer service - respond in an instant to valued patrons with questions or comments!
Email Newsletters:
An email newsletter is perfect for sending out a call to action! Businesses can tell their opt-in email recipients all about upcoming store events, exclusive discounts, new menu items, product recommendations...the opportunities are nearly endless!
(Pssst... insert links to your Twitter and Facebook accounts in your
e-newsletters for optimal results!)
Bear in mind, of course, that none of these channels have to be used solely for each purpose we listed here...this isn't an exact science, and there's bound to be some overlap! But as you move forward with social media, blogging and email, you'll establish more specific goals and a better strategy, if you decide at the outset which role each channel will play!
Now Experience It For Yourself!
Take a free, no-obligation "test-drive" with a 45 minute interactive walk-through of a WebCenter created specifically for your business.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
DID YOU KNOW...
This year marks a milestone for online advertising, according to eMarketer! That's because advertisers will spend more online than they spend on newspaper advertising! Online ad spending is expected to increase 13.9%, reaching $25.8 billion, versus a mere $22.78 billion on print newspaper ads! For print, that's a full 8.2% decrease over last year...and there's little doubt that amount will continue to fall!
eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey said this "tipping point" may have been inevitable, it's a major benchmark nonetheless, remarking that "Marketers are devoting bigger shares of their budgets to digital media as they see more customers shifting time toward the Web."
eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey said this "tipping point" may have been inevitable, it's a major benchmark nonetheless, remarking that "Marketers are devoting bigger shares of their budgets to digital media as they see more customers shifting time toward the Web."
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Case for Using Social Media
Consultant Greg Verdino says businesses can use social media to shift from targeting everyone to cultivating only customers they want.
Entrepreneurs have been aiming for a select group of customers for years. What's new here?
The playing field has flip-flopped. Social media and the Web gave small business owners ways to compete more effectively against big businesses. But a lot of companies are struggling with the shift to a universe where everyone can be a mini media mogul.
Isn't it hard to tell if social media campaigns are working?
I don't believe it's more difficult to measure the impact. Think of any form of traditional advertising; there is no reliable way to say exactly what you got in many cases. Some of the social-media campaigns may be less predictable and harder to wrap your head around, because they involve more than just creating one ad and running it anyplace that will take your money. But social media is no less measurable. Ford, for example, knows the 10 million-plus impressions it got from its social-media campaign for the Ford Fiesta launch was far greater than it would have seen in a traditional campaign. The company got nearly 100,000 people to say they wanted to test-drive the car. And it had 60 percent brand awareness for a vehicle that wasn't even on the market—roughly equivalent to the awareness of a car that's been on the market for two to three years. That's a very tangible outcome for a far lower cost.
How do you persuade time-strapped managers to use social media?
I would challenge small business owners to identify one thing that's not working in their marketing. If they're investing time and energy in sales activities that aren't resulting in an acceptable close rate, they should reinvest that time in new approaches. A little less cold calling and a little more sharing thought leadership on a blog might have more people picking up the phone. The old ways of marketing aren't working as well as they once did. That doesn't mean I'm advocating a full 180. The two can work in tandem. Over time, many of these new approaches can come to overtake the old ways and be more effective for less money—even if in the interim it costs you a little bit of time.
Is this just for companies that sell to consumers?
Oftentimes, business-to-business gets short shrift when it comes to social media. But the very notion of "micromarketing"—using these tools and tactics to appeal directly and deeply to the few right people—is at least as well suited to business-to-business marketers. Most of these companies are, by definition, micromarketers. They appeal to a tightly focused, highly targeted community rather than the masses.
-Nick Leiber, BusinessWeek Sept 2010
DID YOU KNOW... We are now helping our maWebCenters business owners utilize the power of social media that is included in our online business solution. Our technical support team works with business owners individually to help them create a successful online presence. Try a no-cost, no-obligation test-drive today!
Entrepreneurs have been aiming for a select group of customers for years. What's new here?
The playing field has flip-flopped. Social media and the Web gave small business owners ways to compete more effectively against big businesses. But a lot of companies are struggling with the shift to a universe where everyone can be a mini media mogul.
Isn't it hard to tell if social media campaigns are working?
I don't believe it's more difficult to measure the impact. Think of any form of traditional advertising; there is no reliable way to say exactly what you got in many cases. Some of the social-media campaigns may be less predictable and harder to wrap your head around, because they involve more than just creating one ad and running it anyplace that will take your money. But social media is no less measurable. Ford, for example, knows the 10 million-plus impressions it got from its social-media campaign for the Ford Fiesta launch was far greater than it would have seen in a traditional campaign. The company got nearly 100,000 people to say they wanted to test-drive the car. And it had 60 percent brand awareness for a vehicle that wasn't even on the market—roughly equivalent to the awareness of a car that's been on the market for two to three years. That's a very tangible outcome for a far lower cost.
How do you persuade time-strapped managers to use social media?
I would challenge small business owners to identify one thing that's not working in their marketing. If they're investing time and energy in sales activities that aren't resulting in an acceptable close rate, they should reinvest that time in new approaches. A little less cold calling and a little more sharing thought leadership on a blog might have more people picking up the phone. The old ways of marketing aren't working as well as they once did. That doesn't mean I'm advocating a full 180. The two can work in tandem. Over time, many of these new approaches can come to overtake the old ways and be more effective for less money—even if in the interim it costs you a little bit of time.
Is this just for companies that sell to consumers?
Oftentimes, business-to-business gets short shrift when it comes to social media. But the very notion of "micromarketing"—using these tools and tactics to appeal directly and deeply to the few right people—is at least as well suited to business-to-business marketers. Most of these companies are, by definition, micromarketers. They appeal to a tightly focused, highly targeted community rather than the masses.
-Nick Leiber, BusinessWeek Sept 2010
DID YOU KNOW... We are now helping our maWebCenters business owners utilize the power of social media that is included in our online business solution. Our technical support team works with business owners individually to help them create a successful online presence. Try a no-cost, no-obligation test-drive today!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Features vs Benefits
A friend that works at a car dealership was recently discussing a sales technique with me. "We're not allowed to let customers leave...until they take a test drive," she said. "If they take a test drive, the chances that they'll buy really improve."
What does this have to do with today's topic? The car dealership's policy clearly illustrates the difference between selling features and selling benefits.
So what's the difference?
Feature: The structure, physical description, or attributes of your product or service.
Benefit: The emotional reasons or connections your prospect makes with your product or service.
At a car dealership, putting the consumer in the driver's seat changes the way they view the vehicle. No longer are they looking at the "features" of the car, they are experiencing the benefits. (Hence the increase in sales.)
So what can you do to make sure your message is speaking to your prospect's heart and not their head? Ask yourself a series of questions:
How will their life be better, easier, or more fun with my product or service?
Why will they want to tell their friends about my company?
Without my product or service, what will the prospect be missing?
How will the prospect justify this purchase to themselves or their spouse?
By answering these questions, you will discover the benefits that will attract your prospects. No matter how tempted you may be to point out the incredible "features" of your product, sell with the prospect in mind.
When you constantly put the prospects emotions first, you will create marketing messages that drive sales like you've never seen before.
- Clate Mask
CEO, Infusionsoft
DID YOU KNOW... We have been offering a "test-drive" of maWebCenters Complete Turnkey Business Solution for quite some time, so that business owners "experience" the benefits that place us above the rest. You will find that there is no other company as dedicated, qualified and experienced as maWebCenters.
Experience the benefits for yourself today!
What does this have to do with today's topic? The car dealership's policy clearly illustrates the difference between selling features and selling benefits.
So what's the difference?
Feature: The structure, physical description, or attributes of your product or service.
Benefit: The emotional reasons or connections your prospect makes with your product or service.
At a car dealership, putting the consumer in the driver's seat changes the way they view the vehicle. No longer are they looking at the "features" of the car, they are experiencing the benefits. (Hence the increase in sales.)
So what can you do to make sure your message is speaking to your prospect's heart and not their head? Ask yourself a series of questions:
How will their life be better, easier, or more fun with my product or service?
Why will they want to tell their friends about my company?
Without my product or service, what will the prospect be missing?
How will the prospect justify this purchase to themselves or their spouse?
By answering these questions, you will discover the benefits that will attract your prospects. No matter how tempted you may be to point out the incredible "features" of your product, sell with the prospect in mind.
When you constantly put the prospects emotions first, you will create marketing messages that drive sales like you've never seen before.
- Clate Mask
CEO, Infusionsoft
DID YOU KNOW... We have been offering a "test-drive" of maWebCenters Complete Turnkey Business Solution for quite some time, so that business owners "experience" the benefits that place us above the rest. You will find that there is no other company as dedicated, qualified and experienced as maWebCenters.
Experience the benefits for yourself today!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Business Blogging got you Stumped?
One of the most common concerns expressed by small business owners who are new to digital marketing is that they don't know what to write about in their blog entries. That means they're neglecting a valuable opportunity to market their business and communicate with their customers!
Tell your story. This is a great way for you to get your blog started. Who are you? Who's on your team? Why did you choose the industry you're in? When did you decide to become an entrepreneur? This topic can be separated into a series of entries, too!
Put the audience in your shoes. Tell readers what a day or a week in your business is like. Take us on a tour of your world!
Get out into your community. Being active in various community events (like local fundraisers) creates a win/win scenario for everybody involved - it's a way for businesses to promote themselves while contributing to a worthwhile cause! Use your blog to share that experience with readers. Take pictures; describe the event and tell readers what compelled you to become involved with that particular cause.
Compare your business to the big fish. Small and medium-sized companies everywhere almost certainly face larger national competitors. If you operate one of these smaller businesses, what gives you a competitive advantage over the corporate giants? Maybe it's your understanding of the local culture. Perhaps you partner with other local companies. Regardless of your industry, you can always make a solid case for your business against the others with just a little brainstorming!
Use your resources! Consult your Facebook and Twitter pages to find inspiration from your online community!
Ask the readers! Send questions or requests for content ideas via e-newsletter, Twitter feed, Facebook or with a simple post on your home page! Customers will love feeling included and will appreciate knowing that their online voice is heard!
Did You Know? MA WebCenters Web solution comes complete with Blogger integration tools, it's easy for businesses to maintain a blog as part of their digital presence. MA WebCenters provides seamless multi-channel integration! Business owners can check their site statistics section to see what their most popular products or pages are, and create a blog post from that information. This is just one of the many advantages available to you under one simple, easy to maintain platform.
Find out more at Simply WebCenters today!
Tell your story. This is a great way for you to get your blog started. Who are you? Who's on your team? Why did you choose the industry you're in? When did you decide to become an entrepreneur? This topic can be separated into a series of entries, too!
Put the audience in your shoes. Tell readers what a day or a week in your business is like. Take us on a tour of your world!
Get out into your community. Being active in various community events (like local fundraisers) creates a win/win scenario for everybody involved - it's a way for businesses to promote themselves while contributing to a worthwhile cause! Use your blog to share that experience with readers. Take pictures; describe the event and tell readers what compelled you to become involved with that particular cause.
Compare your business to the big fish. Small and medium-sized companies everywhere almost certainly face larger national competitors. If you operate one of these smaller businesses, what gives you a competitive advantage over the corporate giants? Maybe it's your understanding of the local culture. Perhaps you partner with other local companies. Regardless of your industry, you can always make a solid case for your business against the others with just a little brainstorming!
Use your resources! Consult your Facebook and Twitter pages to find inspiration from your online community!
Ask the readers! Send questions or requests for content ideas via e-newsletter, Twitter feed, Facebook or with a simple post on your home page! Customers will love feeling included and will appreciate knowing that their online voice is heard!
Did You Know? MA WebCenters Web solution comes complete with Blogger integration tools, it's easy for businesses to maintain a blog as part of their digital presence. MA WebCenters provides seamless multi-channel integration! Business owners can check their site statistics section to see what their most popular products or pages are, and create a blog post from that information. This is just one of the many advantages available to you under one simple, easy to maintain platform.
Find out more at Simply WebCenters today!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Importance of Personalization
Personalization is very important to the success of your online business.
Even though there is widespread recognition of the power of personalization for online shopping, few companies pursue to do it effectively. To be able to master personalization, you first need to master where your customers are going on your site. Where they are coming from. What they are buying, what they are most interested in.
Collecting this information is one of the biggest obstacles for businesses to successfully personalize the experience for their customers.The ways and means of providing personalization has come a long ways with the advances in technology.
Today, personalization means delivering product recommendations, offers, and content based on what you know about a given customer. Offering up-sells and cross-sells based on personalization can significantly improve your bottom line.
Would you like to be able to have all this information at your disposal in an easy to comprehend format? Gather information you can use to personalize your customer's online experience? Would you like to be able to accomplish these tasks in an easy, simple manner, so you can run your website at the speed of your business?
Simply WebCenters brings the power of personalization to small-to-medium size business owners via MA WebCenters' Complete Online Business Solution Package. All the necessary tools are integrated into our comprehensive e-commerce system. Take the time to test-drive a WebCenter designed specifically for your business today and experience the difference.
It's MORE than just a website.
Even though there is widespread recognition of the power of personalization for online shopping, few companies pursue to do it effectively. To be able to master personalization, you first need to master where your customers are going on your site. Where they are coming from. What they are buying, what they are most interested in.
Collecting this information is one of the biggest obstacles for businesses to successfully personalize the experience for their customers.The ways and means of providing personalization has come a long ways with the advances in technology.
Today, personalization means delivering product recommendations, offers, and content based on what you know about a given customer. Offering up-sells and cross-sells based on personalization can significantly improve your bottom line.
Would you like to be able to have all this information at your disposal in an easy to comprehend format? Gather information you can use to personalize your customer's online experience? Would you like to be able to accomplish these tasks in an easy, simple manner, so you can run your website at the speed of your business?
Simply WebCenters brings the power of personalization to small-to-medium size business owners via MA WebCenters' Complete Online Business Solution Package. All the necessary tools are integrated into our comprehensive e-commerce system. Take the time to test-drive a WebCenter designed specifically for your business today and experience the difference.
It's MORE than just a website.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Building Your Brand
"You've got to be bold, you've got to be provocative, and you've got to be daring" says Mary van de Weil, CEO of Zing Your Brand. According to her, your business has just moments to succinctly communicate your purpose and value to consumers before they click away from you.
"Branding is what sets you apart - it's a natural magnet. If people come to your site, they need to say, 'Yes, this is who can answer my problem.' If you make a bad impression in the first five seconds, you're toast."
The most essential component of successful online branding is the human element, she says. "People are craving a story. They want to know something about who they're buying from, and they feel like they need to like and trust you," she explains. You've got to shout what it is that makes you special and makes you different. Our personalities are what drive our brands. Look at Richard Branson - his personality is embedded in all the Virgin Brands. You need to put a face on your business."
"Not enough companies take advantage of the opportunity to tell a story that's bigger than the company itself. There's always a story you can tell. Maybe your merchandise is made from local products or from sustainable materials. You've got to find that unique angle."
- Entrepreneur Magazine, May 2010
"Branding is what sets you apart - it's a natural magnet. If people come to your site, they need to say, 'Yes, this is who can answer my problem.' If you make a bad impression in the first five seconds, you're toast."
The most essential component of successful online branding is the human element, she says. "People are craving a story. They want to know something about who they're buying from, and they feel like they need to like and trust you," she explains. You've got to shout what it is that makes you special and makes you different. Our personalities are what drive our brands. Look at Richard Branson - his personality is embedded in all the Virgin Brands. You need to put a face on your business."
"Not enough companies take advantage of the opportunity to tell a story that's bigger than the company itself. There's always a story you can tell. Maybe your merchandise is made from local products or from sustainable materials. You've got to find that unique angle."
- Entrepreneur Magazine, May 2010
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