INITIATION
In this phase we are “getting to know you”. There are many core items we need to get going such as company name, contact info, target market, etc. From all of your initial information we will develop keywords, descriptions, research your competitors and cultivate the content for the following phases. This phase requires the most client interaction either in a face to face meeting or phone conference.
PHASE 1 – Setup (1 time set up fee)
In the setup phase we will be establishing many social media accounts for you, and preparing your website for optimal placement and high traffic. In most cases it is highly recommended to assume hosting control as well for best results. The setup phase includes: (these are not in any order of importance)
SEO (main site)
- embed keywords
- alter description
- create items where necessary (Heading tags, meta tags, links page, site map, etc.)
- promote link popularity
- remove any detrimental coding
Search Engine Submittal
Viral Video Marketing
- YouTube
- Tubemogul
- etc.
Social Networking
- Myspace
- Flickr
- etc.
Blog Maintenance
Email campaign
Focused Market Sites
- Home/about page – links page – contact page – site map page
- SEO/Submittal
- Email capture
- NOTE: this isn’t for EVERY client.. but clients that are having issues grabbing a specific part of their own established target market
Relevant Directory Listings
PHASE 2 – Relationship Building
- develop a direct line of communication to target audience based on searchable profiles, interests, and demographics.
With traditional marketing (TV spots, Magazine Ads, Radio) you can spend tens of thousands of dollars in production and assuming you hit the mark on a commercial piece, you then have to pay additional for air time, and any other media placement which can be limited to local, regional, national, and get very expensive fast. At that point with each type of traditional media mentioned, your end potential customer might catch the commercial out of the corner of their eye between their favorite TV show, or be talking when the radio is on, or simply flipping through a magazine double speed. All tens of thousands have missed the mark at that point. In Social Media Marketing, we developed a direct line of contact to your potential customers based on profiles, interests, and demographics. The difference is, when a person is sitting at a computer with one hand on the mouse and one on the keyboard, they are never looking around the room at the many distractions. You get their undivided attention.
PHASE 3 – Maintenance (monthly recurring fee)
- Bi-weekly to weekly Blog Updates
- Monthly SEO updates
- Monthly SE Submittals
- Daily Relationship Building
- Quarterly Statistic Reporting
Every avenue of Social Media Marketing is measurable. Embedded code will register in your main sites Web Statistics application allowing direct feedback of where the traffic is arriving from. WIth regular statistic analysis, we can dynamically alter the marketing approach for the best results. For example, if most traffic is arriving as a result of blogging efforts, then we will direct more attention to the blogging efforts. .. if most traffic comes from a Facebook type community, then more attention is directed there, and so on.
Common Questions:
- Why do I need Social Marketing?
The internet is the first medium to ever compete with television and finally surpass television in the amount of time people dedicate to. The difference is people can take an active role and interact with what they WANT to see and not only what is being delivered on schedule. Your message now has the ability to spread at an exponential rate by the internets “word of mouth” from your customers directly to your next potential customers.
- Why should I pay you to do this? Can’t I do this myself?
Absolutely. However, you could also learn how to program websites, master graphic design, write engaging web copy, and much more, but is that what you signed up for in starting your business? I recommend to all of my clients that they do what they do best, and that is to run your business not work for your business. Your success has been in creating business relationships and closing deals and landing the next big job. Let us do what we do best. For example, I could take the time to mow my own lawn and save $35 each week! .. but that would involve the startup cost of buying a mower, a shed to keep it in, and not to mention the maintenance and gas to run it. Then there’s the two hours it would take out of my schedule each week to dedicate to my new job of cutting the grass… OR, I could pay my lawn guy $35 and earn five times that much in the time it takes him to mow my lawn.
- Then why choose YOU over anyone I could hire to do this service for my company?
In Social Marketing you are best served having seasoned professionals representing your company and product. When instant messaging on a cell phone, you can easily tell who is new and who is seasoned by the speed at which they respond, and the language they use. For example a seasoned “IMer” abbreviates entire words into one letter, entire sentences into one word, and so on. The same is true in every circle or every online social community. You can easily pick out who knows the language and who doesn’t belong. Sticking out like a bad sore thumb could risk losing your opportunity of getting your message across, and worst case having a negative response instead.
- What is “Web 2.0″?
Web 2.0 is a plethora of new Internet tools and technologies created around the idea that the people who consume media, access the Internet, and use the web shouldn’t just passively absorb what’s available; rather, they should be active contributors, helping customize media and technology for their own purposes, as well as those of their communities.
But Web 2.0 isn’t just the latest set of toys for geeks, it’s the beginning of a new era in technology — one that promises to help businesses operate more efficiently, generate more funding, and affect more lives. These new tools include, but are by no means limited to, blogs, social networking, RSS, social media applications, and wikis.
Some of the characteristics/benefits of Web 2.0 is publishing and disseminating information; networking and community building; collaborating with others; sharing stories, product information and services; driving the conversation in terms of what people are saying about your company.
- Does My Company Need a Web 2.0 Strategy?
- Does your company have a website? Do customers/employees/suppliers visit your website?
- Does your company engage in any kind of (small or big) market research?
- Does your company interact with customers regularly? (Once a day, week, month on phone, email, chat?)
- Does your company have employee that are widely dispersed? (i.e. you have multiple branches across the country coordinating with each other?)
If your answer to any of the above questions is YES then your company needs a Web 2.0 strategy in place!
Here is what a Web 2.0 strategy means and what it can do for your company…
Web 2.0 is all about individuals creating conversations using Web-based platforms that connect them through enhanced interaction, collective content creation and shared expertise. Hence whether it’s a corporate blog or a online employee network/community/wiki or an online community of your customers it all falls under Web 2.0.
Internationally the Web 2.0 techniques that businesses are experimenting with are RSS feeds, podcasts, wikis, blogs and social networks as these Web 2.0 tools can be extremely powerful in engaging your customers/partners/ suppliers/employees. Individually, they also provide utility that can help grow the connection you’re making with your customers.
One does this by evaluating the needs, wants, demographic and other details of one’s customers and also what brings them to use your products or brands. Once the common aspect among them is figured out (the common aspect could be either linked or independent to your product) you can start building your customers into a community which does the following..
- Free feedback both negative and positive i.e. Market Research
- Engages in future ideation for your products i.e. Product development
- Recommends you to other new customers i.e. Word of mouth marketing
- Free content for you around your brand i.e. Brand communication
- Gives you information on competition i.e. Competitor Analysis
The same method could be applied to both employees and other partners and the value derived through Web 2.0 collaboration would bring great business benefits.
For those companies in the Internet business it’s even more imperative to look at a Web 2.0 strategy because your mode of business itself is through the online medium thereby making your users much more receptive to online platforms and their use. Hence online businesses can derive a higher adoption rate to their Web 2.0 initiatives and can see them bringing value instantly.
