More 2012 Business Predictions

It’s certainly that time of year. The time where we finalize our budgets and plans for the year to come. It’s also the time I like to make business and marketing predictions. Objective guesses about the future help guide the rest of my business plan.

Overall predictions suggest a slow growth in the United States. Some sources say, two percent, but each local market and each industry will differ. I was just reading in Bloomberg Businessweek, for example, about the growth expected in infant and toddler products. Because January 23 marks the start of the year of the dragon in China and with changes to ease the one child rule, a baby boom is expected. The best way to respond to fluctuations in the market is to predict them and respond before they take place.

For 2012, your small business will want to stay flexible. With the Euro crisis and global economic uncertainty, business owners are creating flexible long- and short-term goals and visiting them often. Business owners do well to view marketing as an investment in their company. Now is the time to position yourself so you’re ready for increased demand.

Multichannel marketing will allow business owners to analyze the complexities of customer behavior. I’m a firm believer in highly targeted, tailored marketing campaigns that reach the right audience at the right time.

When it comes to your business’s social media presence, I’m still expecting businesses to demand a measurement of their return on investment. I understand the challenge this continues to pose, but I expect to see more tools that allow customer relationship management and by now you should be well on your way to crafting the right messages and delivering them at the right time.

Social media is continuing to change how market research is conducted. Products will continue to refine themselves and markets will splinter into further niche groups. With online polls, such as you’ll find on Facebook, it is easier than ever to find out just what your customers need.

Lower cost online ads are appealing. Because the innovative ads can reach very specific audiences in both search and social media, I see an increase of online ads and internet marketing and a continued decrease in small businesses seeking traditional print and broadcast advertising.

If you haven’t caught on to the mobileshopping trend, don’t wait any longer. Retailers need to be optimizing their websites for mobile phones.

What do you expect to see in 2012? Please leave your comments below.

Social Media Marketing Checklist

Who

The first consideration is the human one. Who will make the social media team? Consider your executive sponsor and who is already active in social media. Not everyone will be an asset to reach your objective. How will social media marketing best be carried out?

Listen

What is the brand perception? How do consumers refer to the brand, products, and services? What topics are of interest to your target market? What questions are being asked by prospective customers? You should be listening to your competition as well. Look for similarities and opportunities.

Have a policy to handle customer service issues, sales opportunities, and other important conversations that happen online. Messages need to be taken to the appropriate person/department in a timely manner.

Your Audience

Identify who your listeners are. Look for preferences in engagement and what information they need. What channels or medias are they spending the most time in? Who are the most influential of your fans?

Goals

Track your level of engagement, frequency of updates, and watch the dashboard. Goals should always include developing relationships, learning from customers, and gathering contact information. Set goals for likes, mentions, tweets, fans, friends, followers, etc. Watch for trends and revisit goals regularly. Place this metric next to the frequency and type of communication. You should be able to tell if videos are most popular or if your customers like helpful tips.

Plan

Your Social Media Marketing plan should be a subset of your marketing plan. SMM needs to be documented. What content will be shared and how? Will you lead conversations or react to them? Define the brand’s online persona. Set goals based on potential for prospecting conversations. It is also wise to set social media guidelines for employees.

For help in defining your social media marketing plan, call me today. 715-584-6773

How to Integrate Social Media for Business, Part II

Of course, you’ve read last week’s blog. You’ve followed the tips to observe, have an objective, join conversations, watch your analytics, and are now building relationships (or at least know how to). Part two takes things a little further. Remember that community is an investment in the cultivation of affinity, interaction, advocacy, and loyalty. You need to do more than create a social profile.


Reach Out

There are ideal social media participants who are key influencers. Proactively reaching out to engage potential ambassadors will go a long way in building a rich and rewarding network, full of valuable information and quality connections. Remember that the average person can have thousands of loyal followers.

Adaptation

Social media should be used to listen, respond, and adapt to ensure a company’s place in the market. Social media introduces new roles, necessitating organizational transformation to support social media objectives. Effective engagement, production, and brand/product evolution requires human resources. Improving products and services in response to community feedback requires internal collaboration.

Organizational transformations may include the support of Social Customer Relationship Management programs or sCRM. A company will realize that all departments can be impacted by social media. A network of internal brand ambassadors must work together. The company may work from top down, starting with social media policy and education; then empowering its employees. The organization will recognize that relationships with all people, not just customers, are equal.

Metrics

If you’ve been following this blog you’ve seen my 2010 internet marketing predictions. And if you get my newsletter you've read my 2011 internet marketing predictions (email "subscribe" to terra(at)fletcherfreelance(dot)com or sign up from the blog). Over the course of time between these two, my opinion on social media metrics changed. While I initially expected executives to be expecting measures of the true return on investment of social media dollars spent, I later recanted.

Most companies now recognize that this is just what needs to be done. However, if you are reporting to superiors not interested transparency or authenticity, you’ll need to further measure your efforts. The goal of such “higher-ups” is to steer the company toward greater profits. And I did previously mention that any social media strategy needs to include a clear goal and objective.

In order to measure the positive effect of social media, you need numbers. While you may not be able to measure explicit ROI (of course, companies with Super Bowl ads, don’t either), there are plenty of numbers to track. It is essential to measure data that correlates with activity. Track the number of fans, follower, and likes. Calculate the percent of engagement (2% feedback is good). Watch how many followers are active. Identify your biggest influencers. Strive to understand the volume, locations, and nature of online interaction. As you get more involved, the important metrics will become more clear.

For help with your social media strategy call Terra today at (715) 584-6773.

Internet Marketing for the Writer

The last “Internet Marketing” class I taught was so successful that the Shawano Area Writers asked me to do it again. Take advantage of this FREE seminar at the Shawano City-County Library Thursday, March 18. Join me from 10-11am in the Engel room. I’ll touch on blogging, websites, and article marketing. I’ll also discuss how your website can be found on the internet, tips to improve your site, and even how you can find more time to write.

Internet Marketing 101 - Part II

Website Tips

1. Submit your website to Google Webmaster tools to get analytics on your site.

     a. What isn’t measured doesn’t improve.

2. Add more content to your homepage.

     a. Homepages rank highest in search engine results. It is crucial that keyword phrases (what people will use to search for you) are included on your homepage.

     b. Learn SEO (search engine optimization) or get someone to help you that has experience.

Two Keys to Being Found on the Internet

1. Solid content

2. Link building

     a. Comment on other sites/blogs and your name links to your site. Likely the site owner checks you out, too. NOTE: Comments should add value.

     b. Link to others from your blog/site. Some blogs auto track back.

     c. Article marketing such as eZine allows a link in the resource area.

     d. Link worthy content. Others can’t resist linking to you because you’re so good.

Write your Internet Marketing Plan

1. List your goal and strategies. Start general.

     a. Make this list more specific.

     b. Decide on the tactics you will use.

     c. Get out your calendar and write down when critical tasks will be accomplished.

          i. Many people find it easier to work backwards. Picture your end goal. Now what was the last thing that you did before you got there?

2. Consider your budget.

     a. Most people/businesses have either more time or more money.

          i. Figure out what your time is worth.

               (a) Hire someone to take on the tasks that aren’t your thing so you have more time to do your thing.

     b. Track your expenditures and return on investment.

3. Summarize your plan and refer to it often.