Facebook Releases a Guide to Marketing on Facebook.

acebook has published their “Best Practice Guide: Marketing on Facebook.” This guide gives ideas on how to foster product development and innovation, generate awareness, increase traffic and sales, build loyalty and deepen relationships, gain insights, as well as meet several other objectives. While this guide is specific to Facebook, many of the helpful hints they list can be used anywhere in social media. If you’ve read my blog before, portions of it will be familiar, as the advice they layout covers some of the topics I have tacked before (i.e. engaging your clients, interacting with them, building relationships).

If you are new to Facebook, new to business or are interested in kicking up your Facebook page a notch with Facebook advertising, plug-in’s, etc., then this guide will be very helpful to you and I would recommend checking it out.

If you would like to read the Guide (it's not too long, only 14 pages), click here:

As always, if you need help with creating your Facebook business page or any other social media projects, contact us. It would be our pleasure to help!

Five Great Reasons to Use Online Videos

1. It helps your Google rankings. Did you know that Google owns YouTube?

2. It helps build your brand. If you read my blog, have been to any of my classes, or simply have NOT been living under a rock the past several years, you know how important it is to build your brand!

3. It’s an opportunity to present yourself to potential clients in a way that words just can’t. It helps people to connect with you.

4. It allows you to offer a more effective presentation of your product (i.e. in real estate, a video tour of a home can have much more pizzazz than simple pictures. Not to mention, gives the potential buyer a better feel for the home).

5. To get started is easy. You can start with a simple power point presentation and convert it to a video. If you are camera shy, your video doesn’t have to include you. In addition to the benefits stated above, simply having video helps keep people on your page longer and enables you to tell a story in a more visual way.

If you need help with online video creation, if you already have a video and simply need it edited or if you need a Power Point presentation converted to video, contact us. We’d be happy to help!

Community Involvement....a Blog for Thought

CWI Marketing routinely presents at workshops in our community. What does your business do to help your community?

Community involvement is an important part of any business. Not only is giving back simply the right thing to do, it also builds trust and respect in your community and who doesn't want their business to be trusted and well respected?

There are many ways your business can volunteer to help in your community:

Are you a real estate agent or a mortgage broker? Why not sponsor a first time home buyer's course for the members of your community? Now really is the best time to buy, but it can also be scary and confusing for first timers. Give them someone to turn to.

Own a local sports equipment store? Sponsor a little league team.

Allow your employees to donate some of their time to local charities during the work week.

Are you a florist? Offer a class on how to make centerpieces, corsages or other floral arrangements at the local senior center.

There are literally hundreds of ways you can donate your services. Take the time to help out in your community. Giving back is not only good for you, it's good for your business!

As always, CWI Marketing is here for you, please feel free to contact us for help with any of your marketing needs or ideas on how to help in your community.

Marketing Trends 2011 - What's In and What's Out

WHAT'S IN:

Mobile/text marketing.

Did you know that mobile phones outnumber computers 4 to 1? Just about everyone has a mobile phone in their pocket, purse or somewhere close by. The use of apps, mobile coupons, etc. is a great way to quickly and easily reach out to clients and motivate them.

Personal Relationships.

The social media explosion has created more consumers wanting further personal communication. Consumers want to know that they are important individuals, not just some group of clients you are trying to sell to.

Interaction.

Get feedback from your clients. People love to tell you what they think, so give them the means to do that.

Coupons.

Yes, coupons. There is even a show on TV all about people who save hundreds of dollars every time they shop just by using coupons. With the advent of mobile coupons for smart phones, iPads, E-readers, etc., coupons aren’t just for clipping anymore.

Outsourcing.

When it comes to marketing, there is so much to do and keep abreast of. From technology, to analytics, to strategy, to marketing plans and ad campaigns, to graphic design and print materials. Most companies have an in-house marketing manager, but are finding that it’s more successful to outsource particular portions of their marketing effort. It can also be more cost effective.

WHAT'S OUT:

Postcard marketing.

In most cases, it just doesn’t work in today’s world. A majority of people simply throw them out. There are still a few markets where postcard marketing can work, but a lot of the time, the return on investment isn’t worth it.

Target Markets.

While it is important to know who your target market is, it’s more important to treat customers as individuals and not focus so much on putting them in any one particular group.

Dictation.

Don’t just tell your clients what they want or what they need. Ask them.

Rebates.

People still love a rebate, especially in these economic times. However, the ease of simply using a coupon at the time of purchase attracts more customers than offering a rebate.

Trying to do it all yourself.

Some businesses try to save time and money by doing it all themselves. What they are finding is that instead of getting everything done effectively, they are only getting some things, halfway completed. This is a recipe for disaster.

Of course, this is just a sample of some of the new trends in marketing for 2011. If you would like to know more about what is on the horizon and make sure your company is ahead of the curve, please feel free to contact us.

Say WHAT? Social Media Misconceptions

I was recently told that 20% of small business owners don’t believe their clients use social media and 27% weren’t sure about it.

Say WHAT?

62% of the adult U.S. population is on Facebook alone. That’s 139 million potential clients. What about Twitter? There are currently 105 million users on Twitter. If you are not using the internet or social media, you are missing a major opportunity to market yourself and bring in new clients. And, don’t get me started on the potential to reach a global market! There are currently more than 1.5 BILLION people connected through the internet worldwide. Think BIG! Don’t limit yourself to your surrounding area.

I have also heard people say, “But my clients are older and they don’t use the internet.” Wrong. In one year alone, internet users age 50+ went up from 22% to 42%. Oh, and guess how many 70-75 year olds are online? 45%!

A majority of people go online and do research prior to purchasing anything. ANYTHING, not just online purchases. From a house to a pair of shoes, people go online prior to walking out the door. Make sure you have an internet presence. It is no longer enough just to have a web site. Using social media is key to building a successful business.

As always, CWI Marketing is here to help. If you would like help with your social media, please feel free to contact us.

Postcards/Mailers and Email Marketing Tips

Direct mail advertising as well as email marketing via email newsletters and/or email blasts works to build customer loyalty. It’s an easy and effective way to stay in contact with your customers and tell them they are important. Research shows that 68% of customers that don’t return to a company say that the company never contacted them, was indifferent, or had a poor attitude. Here are some things to remember:

1. Think Fast! Remember, when doing a mailer, you have 6 seconds to get someone to open the piece. Once opened you have 11 seconds to get them to read it.

2. Ditch the Sales Pitch. Don't try to close sales directly from your postcard or email. You don't have enough space to provide all the information most prospects need to make a buying decision. Instead, use this opportunity to generate sales inquiries.

3. Motivate. Begin by briefly stating the major benefit(s) you offer. Then use the remainder of your postcard/mailer to motivate readers to get more information from a source where you can close sales, such as at your web site or from a phone number they can call.

4. Get Right to the Point. Postcards are delivered "ready to read". Take advantage of this. Get right to the point to capture the reader's attention immediately. This makes it difficult for prospects to avoid reading your postcard - especially if your entire message is brief and easy to read.

5. Watch Your Timing. Send your postcards, mailers and emails so they arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday. The volume of mail delivered in the US on those days is usually the lightest and your postcards won't have to compete with a lot of other mail delivered at the same time. Try to avoid having your postcards delivered on Monday. It's usually the biggest mail delivery day of the week and a very busy day for most people. The same goes for email marketing, avoid Monday and Friday. Most people have a very full inbox on Monday making it easier for your email to get lost in a sea of other emails. By Friday, most people are just trying to hurry and finish up before the weekend, making it less likely that your email will actually be read.

A final note, make sure your employees understand and reflect your message and brand and are familiar with your direct mail and email marketing campaigns.

As always, we are here to help with any of your marketing campaigns. Contact us for help with your email or direct mail marketing projects!

Why Hire a Marketing Company?

Marketing is an indispensable part of any business. Marketing makes your product or service recognizable, it increases awareness about what makes your company unique and helps potential clients to feel as if they know you. If people don’t know who you are or what you do, they aren’t going to buy from you. They also need to feel that they trust you. A marketing company can help convey this.

Creating an effective marketing campaign takes time, experience and creativity. Creating an effective logo, stationary package, advertisement, etc. requires the same. It may seem that trying to do your own marketing in house saves you money, but does it really? Say you spend 5 or 6 hours creating a marketing piece. Is that piece really as effective as it could be? If it isn’t, not only have you lost the time you spent, but also any costs incurred with printing, mailing, ad fees, etc. In a nutshell, you’ve lost money. Would that time have been better spent meeting clients and closing sales? Yes. If you hire a marketing company, you can have them handle your marketing needs while you handle your business. Hiring the right marketing company can help make your business successful by saving you time, stress and money.

For more information, or answers to any of your marketing questions, contact Donna at CWI Marketing & Printing.