Why Should You Use YouTube?

Creating and sharing videos with your customers has never been easier than it is today.  You can easily film a video right from your smartphone and then with a few taps of your finger, you can share the video instantly with customers by using YouTube.  Here are three ways why you should use YouTube to help attract and engage customers.

1. Integration

Once you create a video on YouTube, you can share that video across several different platforms including Facebook, Twitter, a blog, and even an email campaign.  Videos give your customers a little variety when it comes to sharing content.  Another way you can use YouTube to help your email campaigns is to create a "Vlog" or a video blog, where you can talk about whatever interests you or you can talk about any updates about your business.

2. Videos Create an Extra Visual

YouTube provides you with an additional way to communicate with your customers and it can provide your customers with more information than a photo.  For example, if you are trying to sell a lawn mower, you can create a video of someone starting the lawn mower, and using the lawn mower so your customers can actually see the product being used.  You can use videos to give customers that 360 degree view of the product and to explain how the product works.  If you run an e-commerce site, consider adding videos to your product descriptions.

3. Growing Consumption

Today, consumers are watching videos online more than ever before. They are watching these videos on their smartphones, and on social media sites.  Videos give your customers something more that they can't get out of a regular Facebook post. If your video is interesting enough, your consumers will even share your video with their friends. This is an easy way to attract more business.




If you choose to use Youtube, remember that your videos don't have to look like high quality movies for them to be effective. You can create simple videos using a webcam or a smartphone and get the desired outcome and you don't have to spend any money.

How to Send E-Mails to Your Customers Without Being Annoying

Let's be honest, one of the main reasons our inboxes can get clogged is because of annoying emails from places we've maybe shopped once, "exclusive member" clubs that, in hindsight, we shouldn't have signed up for, and other companies that make us wonder how the heck they got our email address.  It doesn't matter if we gave these businesses our email address one time long ago, now we consider all these messages as SPAM!  

But just because some companies abuse our inboxes doesn't mean that email marketing is ineffective.  

Remember, there was a time when you wanted the coupon from that online store and you may have even used it!  Chances are, your customers would like to receive news and special offers from you too.  But, before you start sending emails, make sure you don't commit the same sins as those companies that have driven you to the point of unsubscribing.

Here are 5 things you should know about email marketing:

1.  Use an online email marketing platform

Ever wonder how companies create those colorful emails with graphics and buttons you can click?  They use email marketing platforms to make their emails stand out from normal email. Email marketing platforms let you manage your subscribers, create attractive email campaigns, and track data about how your subscribers interact with your email.

From my own experience, I recommend that you use either Constant Contact or MailChimp to send email.  Constant Contact, is easy to use and has tons of templates that you can customize and send out to your customers.  The only downside is that it costs money to use.  However, it is definitely worth it in the end. You can use Constant Contact to manage events as well.  MailChimp is fairly simple and gives you the tools you need to get the job done.  The best thing about MailChimp is that their "Entrepreneur" package is free and let's you send 12,000 emails to up to 2,000 subscribers.  MailChimp is perfect for people who are just getting started with their business.  From my experience sharing a MailChimp account with other people, it can sometimes be confusing to use.  But, in the end, it's effective and if you are using the free package, it's a steal.  

2. Link Your Campaign to Social Media

Once you've picked a platform, make sure that you include all of the links that your customers can engage with your company.  After a customer has read your awesome email, they might want to share it with their friends on Facebook, see pictures of your products on Pinterest, or read your blog.  Make sure that you make it easy for your customers to do this!  Both MailChimp and Constant Contact allows users to add logos for these social media sites into their email campaign.  Often times, your subscribers will share your email with other potential customers, and they do it without costing you a dime!

3. Grab their Attention!!

It's an Apple Fest at Brus...

Just Arrived, Fall Patago...

Jacob, See it Live: Ticket...

These are actual email subject lines from my inbox.  All three get cut off on my phone.  Don't forget to think "Mobile First" as most people are using mobile devices to read email, engage with social media, and communicate with each other today.  This is all that your customers can see in the subject line when you send them an email and they look at it in their inbox on a mobile phone.  None of these  subjects grab my attention so I didn't open any of these emails.  Maybe if they were able to catch my attention, I might have opened it.  When coming up with a subject line, remember this and try to come up with something that isn't too long that your subscribers can't see it and make sure it's something that will generate opens.

Use these tips to come up with good subject lines for your email:

1. Don't state your company name!  We can already see who the message is from in the "From:" line. There's no need to tell us your name twice.

2. Avoid useless words.  What's the point of your email in one word?  Maybe it's "Sale" or "New" or "Update".  Make sure that this word is visible in the subject line.

3. Use the subject line to state the biggest point of the email.  For example, if you do a monthly newsletter, consider making the lead story title the subject of your email.  This will do more to grab attention than "September Newsletter" will do.

4. Don't Send Too Many Emails!

This is self explanatory.  Nobody wants to get an email from you twice a day,  or even once a day!  Only send emails if you have something worthwhile to say and try not to send more than one every week or two.  Remember how you hate an inbox full of emails from companies,  your customers don't want to be spammed by you either.  Less is definitely more here.  If you send fewer emails and emails that only have important info, your customers might actually look out and anticipate your email.   

A great example of a company that does this is Cards Against Humanity.  I signed up for their newsletter and I have only received two emails from them this year.  Naturally when I saw the message in my inbox, I immediately clicked on it because I actually wanted to hear what they had to say.  Both emails were used as announcements for a new product that they had developed. 

5. Give 'Em What They Want

Your customers all signed up for your emails for a reason. Maybe it was special deals, maybe it was coupons, whatever it was, make sure you remember it when you create a new email.  If I signed up to receive special offers, I could care less if you have a new product that you are selling for $400.  You shouldn't be trying to shove your emails down your customer's throat.  If you give your customers what they want, chances are they aren't going to click the unsubscribe button the next time you send them an email.

Last tip:  This tip deserves to be law!  

NEVER force your customers to give you their email address at checkout!!!  Ever.  Whichever marketer thought that this was a good idea should be forced to receive spam for eternity.  Forcing your customers to give you their email address at gunpoint is an effective way to engage with them.  you are already getting their money, why do you have to take their inbox too?  I'll be honest, whenever some cashier or someone giving away free koozies at a booth asks for my email address, I just make up a random email address for someone named John Franklin.  I know that I'm not the only person to do this, so what's the use of collecting my email address when it's not accurate?

Don't Be Afraid of Twitter

http://cdn1.tnwcdn.com/files/2010/04/fail-whale-300x225.png

Last week I wrote about Facebook.  Most people are familiar with Facebook and already have a profile for themselves.  But when it comes to Twitter, there are still some people who seem to be scared of the social network or have written it off as not useful.

Now Twitter is 7 years old and you should definitely pay attention to it. According to Twitter's "About" page, the network has 271 million monthly active users and 78% of those users are on a mobile device. So Twitter is absolutely useable because it gives you the ability to reach your customers on their mobile device.  But just because it gives you this ability, doesn't mean that every business owner should be on Twitter.  If your target market probably isn't on Twitter, then you don't need to worry about using it.  For example, if you sell medical equipment to senior citizens, chances are Twitter isn't going to be very effective for you as it would be for an owner of a Top 40 or Country radio station.

So if you do decide to use Twitter here are a few things you need to know about the social network.

Accounts:  On Twitter, all accounts start with "@" or at.  If you want to tweet something to a friend, type "@" and then their account name.

Hashtags:  For some reason hashtags can confuse a lot of new Twitter users.  A hashtag or "#" can be added to different keywords in a tweet or to a general topic that the tweet is about so that people who search for that specific hashtag can read all of the tweets related to that topic.  So if I tweeted about the Georgia Bulldogs and I used the hashtag #CommitToTheG, users would be able to see my tweet when they searched for the hashtag #CommitToTheG.

Retweet: A retweet is similar to sharing someone else's Facebook post.  You can use the retweet function to share someone else's tweet that you like or you can ask your followers to retweet one of your posts.  When a user retweets someone else's tweet, that tweet is then shared with all of that user's followers.

Direct Messages:  A direct message or "DM" is a way for you to send a private message to a follower. Direct messages cannot be seen by anyone other than you and the other party.  Typically, users do not use the direct message feature on Twitter.  However, if you run a special contest with your Twitter account, you can use the DM feature to privately give the contest winner the details about how to claim their prize.






In my last post I wrote about how it was important to engage with your Facebook fans, the same is true for your Twitter followers. You can do this by asking them to use special hashtags that you create.  For example, Coca-Cola ran the #ShareACoke campaign this past summer and asked its followers to tweet pictures using that hashtag.






Now at many events, coordinators ask participants to tweet using a special hashtag about the event.  This is most effective if the event lasts a while or has national attention. For example, if you get on twitter during the next movie or music awards like the Grammys or Oscars, you will see users using specific hashtags to talk about those events.


This is just the basics about Twitter, but it is enough for you to go ahead and get started on using the network.  I will write more about more ways on how to use Twitter later on.

-JS

5 Tips For Your Company's Facebook Page

Facebook is one of the easiest and most effective digital platforms that you can use to help grow your small business.  If you decide to create a Facebook page for your small business, it's important to make sure that you are using it effectively.  Here are 5 quick tips to help you create a valuable Facebook page for your company.

1. Listen

http://www.greaterloveministries.org/tag/listen/

Most people think that in order to have a successful Facebook page, they need to post a lot of   status updates.  This is actually very ineffective.  When managing your company's Facebook page, it is important to use the page as if it was an actual Facebook friend rather than a bullhorn yelling at people to get them to buy a sandwich from you.  You should use your page to listen to what your customers are saying.  Customers may post good and bad comments on the page, make sure you let them know that you hear them and that you appreciate their good comments and that you have fixed their problems if they post a bad comment.  (Sometimes people will post negative things on your page that are untrue or are things that have nothing to do with a customer's experience. It is perfectly fine to delete these comments.)  If you see that a lot of people are talking about a specific topic (such as a sporting event or news story), consider posting about the topic yourself.

2. Engage

http://aoiferigney.ie/5-simple-tips-to-increase-engagement-on-your-facebook-page/

When you make a post, it is important to always ask yourself "Do my customers really want to see this?"  If the answer is no, delete.  Your company's Facebook page isn't for the company's enjoyment, it's for the customer to interact with.  When creating content, try to create posts that the average customer will want to like, share, and comment on.  Getting your customers to engage with you on Facebook is valuable because it keeps your business fresh on their mind.  Some companies understand the value of engagement on Facebook, but they go about it the wrong way.  For example, a post such as "Like this photo if you think dogs are cute" might engage some of your customers, but they aren't thinking about your company, they are thinking about a cute dog.  A good post that encourages engagement might be "Our restaurant is thankful for all of the soldiers fighting for our country overseas.  What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?"  or a post that announces a new product.  The goal is to present yourself as one of your customers' friends rather than a business.

3. Grab Attention

In order to get your customers to engage with your posts, you need to grab their attention.  To understand this, go to your personal Facebook profile and look at your news feed.  What catches your attention?  Most of the time users notice bright photos and videos.  What do you skip over?  Most of the time the user skips over long paragraphs and posts that are too wordy.  This is another reason why you should always ask yourself whether or not your customers want to really see your post.  Most people don't want to read an essay about your new product or about what your Monday was like.  Try to keep the post to two short sentences and try to post bright pictures and graphics.  a good example of a post that grabs the user's attention is this post from Coca-Cola.

4. Offer Value

It is important to give your customers a reason to like you on Facebook.  We'd all like to believe that our customers love us so much that they are more than eager to like our page.  In reality, most people will only like your page if it will benefit them.  This doesn't always mean that you have to offer coupons and discounts, you can also provide your customers a benefit by sharing tips for relative problems, ideas, and links to other content that is relevant to your industry.  For example, if you are a garden shop, consider posting gardening tips every week. This will give your customers a reason to go and like your company's page and it will help you get them to engage with your posts and attract more customers.

5. Advertise

http://www.lindsayburoker.com/advertising-ebooks-2/does-advertising-work-for-authors/

If you want to have a more effective Facebook page, it is important for you to advertise on Facebook.  If you made a post today and you aren't advertising with Facebook, only about 4% of your will likely see what you've posted.  You get what you pay for with Facebook.  If you don't advertise, you aren't going to reach many people and Facebook isn't going to help your business grow very much.  If you advertise with Facebook, you are able to target specific routs of people and you increase your likeliness of having a successful Facebook page.  When you advertise on Facebook, you can spend a specific amount of money (whatever your budget allows) and you can target your specific target market.  For example, if I am the owner of a local kayaking outfitter, I can create a Facebook ad campaign that targets people within a 30 mile radius of my store who like kayaking and the outdoors. This can help you save money because you are only paying for advertising to people who are most likely to buy your products.  When advertising it is also more effective to create "sponsored posts" rather than ads on the sidebar as users tend to focus on the news feed rather than the sidebar.

By following these 5 simple tips, you will have a much more effective Facebook page and a better digital presence.

-JS

Why Should I use Social Media for my Small Business?

Five years ago, having an online presence for your small business might have just been an optional way to attract consumers.  Now, in 2014 it is almost mandatory that you have some way of reaching customers on the internet or else you face the risk of losing potential consumers.

In marketing, we use a 5 step process to describe how consumers make purchase decisions.  This process is illustrated below.

The way that consumers navigate through this process today is much different than the way they navigated it twenty years ago.  In 1994, (20 years ago) consumers might recognize a need for your product or service through a commercial on TV or by word of mouth from a friend.  The consumer would then ask friends about the product, go to your store to find out more about your product/service, or they might call other businesses and ask about the product/service.  When evaluating alternatives, the consumer could really only base their decision about what their friends had said about the product, what they learned during their information search, or in some cases what they read in magazines or newspapers. If the consumer ultimately decided to make their purchase from your business, they would have to pay you in person or with a mailed check and after they made the purchase, they would tell their friends about their purchase.

Now in 2014, consumers still use the same 5 step process, but now they have access to an infinite amount of information to use when making a purchase decision.  Today, consumers might recognize a need online from an ad or from something their friend shared on social media.  The consumer can conduct their entire information search online without even getting up from the couch by reading product reviews from total strangers, chatting with friends online, and reading product descriptions online.  They can evaluate alternatives based off of online ratings from past customers. They can choose to purchase the product/service from you or they can can complete the transaction online with a credit card or a Paypal account, and once the purchase is done, they can post about the experience online for other potential consumers to see.

Online reviews for a Callaway Driver

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Callaway-RAZR-Graphite-9-5-Trinity/dp/B009TLZJ48/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=callaway+driver#cm_cr_dpwidget

The power has definitely shifted to the consumer. Search the internet for your small business.  What pops up first?  Is it something that you want people to see? Does your business even show up in the results?  

You are not the first person to search for your business online.  Even if you don't have a social media profile or a website, chances are you already have an online presence.  Your customers may have already talked about you and told their friends about their experience with your business.  

Creating an online presence for your small business can help you manage what potential customers see about you when they search for your business online.  It can help you interact with consumers online and maybe give them that extra push they need to purchase from you. But most importantly, it will let you see what people are saying about your business.

Before you start creating a profile on all of the social media platforms, it is important to have a strategy.  You have to decide what goals you want to accomplish before jumping in to social media.  For example, if you are the owner of a local septic tank company, you probably shouldn't create an Instagram account because most people don't want to look at pictures of septic tanks.  Instead, you could manage a website or a profile on another platform where consumers are searching for your service.  

The important thing to remember is that there is more to social media than creating a Facebook page. This blog will discuss various social media strategies and provide you with the tools you need to employ the best way to manage your online presence.

-JS