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Posts Tagged ‘permission marketing’
Social Media – What a load of rubbish!
I can’t keep quiet any longer! What an absolute load of rubbish most people talk about Social Media & Networking and, more importantly, how to harness it for business use. There seems to be a whole industry growing up around myths and stories that have no basis in fact, so be warned.
Perhaps you’re still left wondering how best use it, or even if you should at all? Maybe you’ve already dived in but not finding it particularly productive or stimulating?
Let’s work backwards for a moment. Social networking is exactly about that, networking. Creating a profile, adding lots of ‘friends’ and then broadcasting your news to the world is a bit like walking into a room at a networking event standing in the middle and shouting sales messages to anyone who might care to listen. Meanwhile there are lots of people, all huddled in little groups, having interesting conversations between each other and getting to know each other.
Standing on your own spieling to the room simply doesn’t work – and you’d look ridiculous! As you might imagine, your efforts may seem a little strange and eccentric to others. Of course someone might come over and try to help you out, strike up a two-way conversation and help you get started but it’s not very likely.
You need to approach Social Networking in the same way you would a physical networking opportunity. Once you enter the space your first job is to wander about, get close to the conversations that are going on already, find the ones that interest you (and you feel you can contribute to) and then listen. Listening is the key to good Social Networking skills. It’s where it all starts. Once you’ve found a conversation you like, you can find an appropriate way to engage with it and add something of value.
This is how you can start to build a credible profile…
… which is vital if you want recognition in the Social Media space.
The Social Network across facebook
People who endlessly post comments about what they have to sell will find the Social Media landscape a very harsh and barren environment. If you’re a mega-brand and your positioning is already established then yes, you may be able to attract lots of fans and keep them entertained with the next product offering you’ve got coming up. If not, you’ll want to use Social Media to start to create that profile and help people to get to know you.
Avoid inane comments and drivel and certainly stay well away from the keyboard late at night when you’ve had one glass of wine too many but do let your tribe know what you’re enjoying right now. Be that a new product or service that you’re consuming, books, music, arts, comedy, etc., etc. Engage and comment on a range of issues that not only affect you but the people you want to connect with.
So the other golden rule is to engage… to be Sociable. It’s interesting to see people who pop into the space for just a few moments, stand there and shout about how great their product is and then promptly leave again. What would you think of a person who did this in the ‘real world’? Take time to read what others are talking about, contribute, comment, challenge if you like but above all be social. The same good communication skills are needed in this virtual environment.
Apply these simple and hopefully obvious rules and you’ll not only find the Social Media space an interesting place to be, you’ll make new connections and become recognised. Who knows… you might even find it brings you new business opportunities too.
The New Email Marketing Revolution is here, will you be joining us?
Find out how every business can harness the power of EFFECTIVE Email Marketing… today!
A 60-minute presentation that lifts the lid and shows you how you can steal the advantage!
For too long email marketing has been ineffective and hard to measure accurately. Many businesses still see email as a way to just stay in touch; however, significant new advances in email marketing technology have changed all this. The smart business owners and managers are using this already, are you?!
“Since we’ve been using the new system we’re getting results that are 100-200% better than anything before”
Email marketing is still rated as the most cost-effective way to get your message right under the nose of your target audience. Even more than this, it can deliver a number of ways to accelerate your business.
Nial Adams, acclaimed marketing specialist and public speaker will be delivering this presentation and sharing his knowledge with you.
“This guy knows what he’s talking about and shares everything!” – Previous Seminar Delegate
Attend this presentation and find out how properly managed Email Marketing can help you:
- Sell more and increase your profit margins
- Reduce waste in your current marketing
- Refine and grow your prospect/client data
- Help you find out what your customers actually want
- Build your client community and relationships
- Ensure email is integrated with your other marketing
Email Marketing has been around for years and for many the perception is that it simply doesn’t generate results and can alienate potential customers. New ways of managing and distributing your email campaigns can significantly increase the results you get and help you build on this month after month. Best of all, you can be up and running, in control, with your new email campaigns in a matter of days, and with low start-up costs.
People tell us:
“I don’t want people to see us as spammers”
“How can I effectively measure my results?”
“I don’t know enough about it to be confident”
In this fast-paced sixty-minute presentation you’ll find out how the new PUSH Email Marketing System is generating controllable results, today, that significantly beat the competition.
You will see a live demonstration of how powerful systems can help you run a campaign in the morning and start making sales in the afternoon. You’ll also find out why most businesses that use email marketing currently are actually damaging their brand, losing out on simple ways to increase results and letting their profits end up in the pockets of their competition.
TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT PLEASE CALL - 0843 289 1590
OR EMAIL – briefing@pushemailmarketing.co.uk
Book Your Seat(s) Below. Powered by Fast Secure Contact Form
Forget getting customers to buy from you…
…ask them to design your product as well!
Times have certainly changed; there’s a new cool breeze blowing through marketing and it’s sweeping away the old guard. People are finding better ways to do things and harnessing the immense power of technology that every business – and yes, that includes YOU! – have at our very fingertips, right now.
You’ve possibly heard about the revolution that’s known as Permission-Based Marketing. As far back as 1999 Seth Godin and his team identified the fact that new ways of thinking about marketing could turn the traditional method of ‘spray and pray’ on it’s head. Seth explained that we could ‘turn strangers in to friends and friends into customers’.
Welcome to a new dawn in the story of marketing..!
Despite the fact that this idea has been about for over ten years, I still come across people who refuse to accept there could just be a better way to spend their marketing budget. They continue to flog the proverbial dead horse by sending out marketing that is dull, completely irrelevant and to people who really have no interest in how many sheets of paper a photocopier can spit out in a minute.
Only a year or so ago I met someone who suggested the idea of using facebook for marketing was going to damage their prestige brand and, after all, facebook was just for kids! Sadly this mediaeval perspective still exists in some dark corners today. Thankfully other companies, the smart ones, are making hay while others sleep.
I’ve recently read that Papa John’s, the American pizza company, is using facebook to recruit fans and then asking them to come up with a winning pizza recipe! Talk about engage with your target market! This stroke of genius is simple, fast and has already caught the attention of our pizza-loving friends. Over 6,500 people entered the Papa’s Speciality Pizza Challenge and the facebook application has been loaded over 80,000 times.
Oh, and I think they’ve sold a few more pizzas too!
Now, your business may not be operating on the same scale as Papa John’s but there’s a clear and simple lesson to be learned here; engage your audience and find out what they really want and make them feel part of your team.
The fatal flaw that can be found in so many businesses is that they’re designing products and services they like the idea of and want to sell; instead they should be asking the customers what they actually want and create it for them.
So I’ll leave you with a few challenging questions:
- How do you engage with your target customers to find out what they really want?
- How do you know that what you’re selling today meets the needs and desires of others?
- What could you do, within the next fourteen days, to turn your business into a customer magnet?
And… What’s your combination for that killer pizza on a Saturday night?!