They are not the only small business to miss the potential that social media has to build sales, says Rebekah King, principal of ReBiz Works in Irvine, a one-person shop that specializes in social media marketing and training.

Social media sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and online communication tools, such as Twitter and the content-update utility Ping.fm, could raise TNT’s profile, introduce it to new customers and provide an easy way to keep in front of its growing community. Also, content on social media sites is counted in search-engine results and can move a business higher in result rankings.

To be effective, a business needs a plan.

“Any social-media program has to have a focus, a purpose,” says King, who works with small businesses and advertising agencies. “They want to book more business. Social media can show people who they are and help drive potential customers to their website.”

Check out the article on latimes.com for the full step-by-step program we outlined for TNT Dunk Squad

Marketing.

Walking up and down main street talking to people whose opinions you may (or when it comes to progress in a small town – you may not) care about spreads the word about your business. Today you’re talking to Sally the hairdresser and Tom the barkeep, tomorrow Sally is chatting with her knitting girlfriends about your new bookstore while Tom is telling everyone buying a beer you: this crazy kid who came in with a new business idea.

These days it may not be Sally the hairdresser. For the family dentist in a larger community it may be participating in a parade, or a local kids fair. For the pizza parlour owner it’s sponsoring the two little league teams closest to his location. For the private school it’s doing kids events in combo with local high-end businesses. Whatever your business, getting involved in your community can make a big difference in your business’ bottom line. Here’s a few of our tried and true tricks for getting the bottom line to move in the right direction:

1. Stay close: whatever group or school or business you are going to team up with should be the closest one of it’s kind to your location. Don’t make your ideal client drive past all your competition on their way to your door unless it’s for a BIG payout. If you count on repeat business you must be easily accessible.

2. Keep it Simple: your logo can be a picture of you. Your flier can be 1/2 a page. Don’t over-explain what you are trying to do or what you want to have happen. Say who you are, what they get, and what they have to do to get it. No more (and no less – this just frustrates people).

3. Don’t be GIMME: if you are doing a program that involves “donating your services” DON”T make people GIMME a lot of information to get the program. People will think it’s a GIMMICK designed to obtain their contact info for Spamming – and you won’t get invited back. Be upfront with your community and they will respect you for respecting their intelligence.

Want to find some good community outreach programs in your area? Just ask your customers: the people who live close enough to come to you for services are the same people you want to market to.

Technology is always advancing, and as it does can either improve the value of marketing, or make it even more difficult to get an effective marketing program across to the target audience.

Are you sending SPAM emailing or a valuable newsletter?

Does anyone read your emails?

Does your brochure actually help people want to hire you, or give too much information (the average person doesn’t even read)?

Are the networking events and luncheons and trade shows you are going to actually generating new business?

Does your website bring you customers? Do you even know who reads your website? Have you ever seen a traffic report on your website?

These are all very important questions that a marketing professional must ask, and that an owner or CEO must always balance against the daily needs of running the business. What we specialize in is using technology to economize these activities – to provide a higher level of accuracy in reporting, adaptability to alter course in days instead of weeks should a program be ineffecient, and the experience to know what usually works better than most practices.

How many times have we sat through a marketing workshop that told us we needed to use some new gizmo to reach a trillion new people, only to go through the implementation process, the learning curve, and the complete headache of creating staff policies – only to find out 3 months later we saw no new business, got no new clients, and all in all wasted our time? If it’s not your ideal client you are talking to then there’s no point in talking at all – save your breath, your energy, and your time for the clients and colleagues that make your business and your profession better for the effort!

At the end of the day no one knows your business as well as you do, you’ve been doing it for years and you know your clients better than anyone. Our job is to bring the best practices from a variety of business climates to your doorstep and make it possible for you to reach new heights with new technology at your feet.

Social Media = any kind of media that creates a social or community experience for the audience. Facebook lets people do this by sharing photos and videos and news with their friends.

New Media or Emerging Media = The exciting (and confusing) part of technology advancement is we don’t always know what to call it. That’s this stuff. Currently this includes social media, online communities, mobile marketing, and a bunch of new tools and platforms we’re learning how to use.

1. YOU MIGHT BE A SPAMMER IF: you compulsively send strangers connection requests and not jut the people you met once, but the folks you’ve never ever met…

Yes, LinkedIn is a place to connect with colleagues, references, past co-workers, and prospective clients – but stalking people has never been a pleasant experience for the stalk-ee. If you are reaching out to someone you don’t know for a good reason, then tell it to them. I’ve reached out to many people I didn’t know, for work purposes or client projects, but in the subject line will say “you don’t know me, found you on LinkedIn” and start off the message by saying why I’m emailing. The result? About 4 times more responses.

2. YOU MIGHT BE A SPAMMER IF: you join lots of groups and post your sales pitch in them over and over and over and over and over..

LinkedIn Groups is your destination to find and join communities of professionals based on common interest, experience, affiliation, and goals. Stay in touch with organizations, schools, and companies that you are and were a part of, network with professionals with similar interests and goals, and collaborate in a professional community online.

Groups are typically organized around a company (IBM or Apple), a trade organization (AIGA or APA), or a special interest group (Mac Users, Blackberry Users). You apply for membership and the group owner can either accept or decline your request for membership. Once accepted, you have access to discussion boards, job boards, news feeds, and the ability to submit news articles to the group. Being involved in the community (posting answers to questions, sharing news articles relevant to the community) is a way to increase your visibility, credibility, and esteem within the community. Trouble seems to be – this takes time. Rather than spend this time, many seem to post their sales pitches as discussions over and over again…. my guess they think this visibility makes people think of them – and it’s true… but thinking of you as an intelligent authority or just the pain-in-the-keester newbie?

It’s totally appropriate to get out there and try new things – try the groups, try posting comments, try inviting connections – but if no one posts comments, and your invitations aren’t accepted take the hint that you may be coming on too pitchy and not enough of a human being. People like people, much more than salespeople….

But, I digress. My tangent is distracting us all for the point of today’s rant.

Pointless, cheezy, salesy, uninvited emails via facebook.

I recently received this from someone in one of my groups:

When Britains Got Talent start Susan Boyle took the stage in front of the three judges, it was all the audience could do to stop themselves from laughing. In front of them stood a 47 year old woman with an unpolished appearance who was certain to humiliate herself in front of millions. Then she did something extraordinary. She sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from the West End musical Les Misérables so beautifully that she received a standing ovation and is the talk of the UK. Her audition which has since been put on Youtube has received tens of millions of views.

So what business lessons can Susan teach us?

1) Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Susan was written off before she’d sung a note. But not everything is always as it seems, sometimes it’s worth giving people and services a chance before writing them off. They may just surprise you.

2) A book is always judged by its cover.

The audience’s reaction to Susan was hardly surprising. Were we all being cynical? Well yes, but that’s human nature. Even though your product or service may be outstanding, people tend to make quick judgements. Is your website, packaging or marketing conveying the right message?

3) Be extraordinary

Susan isn’t a huge hit because she sang the best version of” I Dreamed A Dream”, there are better versions around if you care to look. She’s a huge hit because people were not expecting her to be so good. The fact that she exceeded everybody’s expectations made her performance extraordinary and something that people want to talk about. Is your company creating things worth talking about?

Finally a big congratulations to Susan who will continue to chase her dream. Something we should all be doing.

DO YOU SEE HOW LONG THIS IS?

And it’s not even from a friend. I don’t know who any of these people are. This some yodle esposing yodle-um for (who’s exactly?) benefit. I don’t get it.

1. FACEBOOK IS NOT A BLOG

your blog is a blog. posting a link to your blog is cool. I can read it if I want. It doesn’t clutter up my facebook page. that’s cool.

2. FACEBOOK IS FOR FRIENDS

I have friends that ask me questions about my business on facebook. I answer them.  That’s it. if it’s more than one paragraph I call them or email them offline. Every business owner I know and respect handles this the same way, so you might want to also.

3. FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS SEND SPAM

And you shouldn’t either.

R

It doesn’t matter what it is; a newsletter, postcard, fun picture or a sample of your work, sending anything out to your address book on a semi-regular basis is good for business. Let’s be clear: I am NOT advocating sending out a digest of boring crap that you think is important. I am NOT cheering for the rights of the cheezy sales guy sending me a 3-page long “regular priced 199 but for you it’s 99 (if you order in the next 10 minutes)”. I am ABSOLUTELY NOT endorsing the emailing of a daily quote that will be the first thing I curse at every morning….

What I am always encouraging of is the sharing of your brand and your personality in a way that betters the lives of those around you. If you are a online video company send me one of your coolest videos (if you have cool videos… if you don’t then just make one that’s funny) every month. If you’re a celeb photographer send me something no one else has seen yet. Are you getting the drift yet?

The trick to a great newsletter/eblast/marketing thing is

1. Be consistent with your personality.

If you are funny then your email should be funny. If you are overly stuffy then your email should be funny. If you are boring your email should be funny. If you are nerdy (like me) then it wouldn’t hurt to share something that will make everyone else feel a little more smart than they did before (I share my tech love of the month). Just don’t over-educate people – keep this short and entertaining!

2. Give the audience something that matters to them.

I know you want to sell your widget. Or talk about how cool you are. Restrain yourself. Think for a minute about who your ideal client is – a CFO? CEO? Small Biz Owner? IT guy? What really matters EVERY DAY for this ideal client of yours and what could you give them that would help this? Is it a coupon to the mac store, or the inside scoop on a new product (that has nothing to do with your products, but is consistent with your brand as “smart techie person”). Maybe your contacts would like to know about an upcoming charity event, or a community day at the park. Giving value doesn’t necessarily mean giving a discount on your product – but giving value always means make your readers day better than it was before your email.

3. NOT trying to “trick” anyone into something

If you are giving a coupon away, just give it away – don’t make people fill out a survey or give you their email addy – you already had it to send them the email with this amazing coupon!!!!! I know some sales coaches that tell you a 3 sentence “sales tip” at the top of their newsletter, and then go into 3 pages about how super-fantastic-incredible their coaching services are. I even know a girl that sends out “quotes of the day”… every single day… and I love her sweet heart, but it’s an automatic service that she doesn’t send every day – she pushes a button once and then forgets about it… while I get ANOTHER email in my inbox that I don’t HAVE TO read… it’s rather tragic.

So if you can take these 3 tips to heart I think you’ll shortly be a part of this wonderful newsletter family I find myself in – welcome to a world where people are happy to hear from you and ask to be on your mailing list.

R

*Author’s Note*

Please don’t think I hate email. I love love LOVE email. I just greatly dislike junk email. I also really really REALLY like saying hi and keeping in touch with colleagues. I just greatly dislike junk email. Notice a pattern?

You know who you are, and what you are selling, but do we?

It’s easy to tell the biz owners and salespeople that feel they must “educate” their customers before making the purchase. This “educating” often turns what should be a 30-second commercial or introduction into a 90-second or (even worse) 5 minute explanation… the handshake becomes a hand-clasp and pretty soon the person your talking to starts sweating and looking for the door.

Don’t worry – I’ve been there too. In fact, we all have (come’on, admit it!).

Educating your customers comes after they become your customer, not when you are shaking the hands of strangers at a networking event. What we need is a quick snapshot of who your prospects are, if we are to have any hope of recommending one or two of our colleagues to you.

So keep it simple, stupid – tell me your name, your company name, and the simple-est explanation of what you do that you can possible come up with… how do you know if you’ve got it? If you can tell the neighbor’s 6th-grader what you do in 3 sentences or less and they get it – or ask you more about it – then you’ve hit the mark.

An example:

my buddy Lesley Sattin over at monkeyjoespeak introduces herself as someone who does “stuff with your logo on it”

Doesn’t get much more simple than that, does it?

Deepening Customer Loyalty Through Social Media by Aaron Strout

When was the last time you said to yourself: “Wow, I’d recommend this product or service to a friend”? Within the last month? Six months? If you have to think about this question, you’ve already made my point. Over the last 50 years, outsourced manufacturing, poor customer service and an overall commoditization of products and services have served to erode consumers’ affections for most brands.

While the idea of diminished customer loyalty may be disheartening–after all, if customers aren’t loyal, they don’t rave about your brand to other customers and they certainly can’t be tricked into forking over a greater share of their wallet–all hope is not lost. In fact, smart brands like Dell, Ford and Sears are starting to see increases in brand affinity as a result of their social endeavors.

Before we talk about some of these examples, let’s start by reminding ourselves why loyalty is important. Arguably the biggest benefit is highlighted in an article by loyalty guru Fred Reichheld, titled “Leading with Loyalty.” Based on research Reichheld’s employer, Bain & Company, conducted last year, “companies that enjoy [the] ‘loyalty effect’ grow at better than twice the average for their industry.”

If doubling your growth rate isn’t enticing enough in and of itself, Reichheld also proves in his landmark book, The Loyalty Effect, that “as little as a 5 percent increase in retention can improve a company’s bottom-line profitability between 25 percent and 85 percent, depending on the industry.” Not too shabby, but also easier said than done.

Let’s take a look at how a few well-known companies are using social media to dramatically improve their customer loyalty:

•   Dell Computers: As recently as 2005, Dell was struggling mightily to keep its customers. Complaints of poor customer service combined with a scathing barrage of bad press stemming from stories of laptop batteries catching on fire led CEO and founder, Michael Dell to tap current “chief blogger” Lionel Menchaca to help right the ship. Through a campaign of open and honest communications via the Dell blogs and proactive participation by its employees in Dell’s support forums, customer satisfaction and loyalty have started to come back in full force.

•   Ford: It’s no secret that the auto industry has come under heavy scrutiny over the last 12 months. The big three in particular have suffered huge PR and sales hits during that time as they attempt to figure out what’s next. During that time, Ford made a giant leap into the world of social by bringing in social media head Scotty Monty. Through tools like Twitter, Scott’s blog and Ford’s Sync My Ride community, they have slowly begun to win back customer and influencer confidence. Ford still has a long road ahead, but they are reaping the benefits of being reconnected.

•   Sears: you’ll be surprised to find out that the company you used to know as Sears is not your father’s department store. In fact, you may be surprised to know that Sears launched its SKU community last summer, and now has more than 200,000 members.

According to VP of Community, Rob Harles, Sears is starting to see some little wins with their community: “Overall, customers are starting to feel that they are being listened to, core members skew toward being some of the most valuable/profitable customers and the ability to reach out to customers and solve their issues proactively is definitively turning around customer perceptions.” Rob mentioned that in one extreme case, the SKU community turned a client from “I would never shop with you again” to “I have put my store card back in wallet.”

If Dell, Ford and Sears can do it, why can’t you?

For anyone interested, here are a few steps to help get you started:

1.   Listen first – You may already know why your customers aren’t as loyal as they might be. If you don’t know, you should start by listening to what they are saying.

2.   Engage – Unless you are one of the lucky few brands that instill passion in your base, think about giving your customers a reason to engage with you. This is most easily and simply accomplished by offering compelling content that is not about your company’s products, but is germane to the customers’ lifestyle. Wrapping this content in social tools makes it more scalable and repeatable.

3.   Measure – If you are diligent about putting steps one and two into practice, make sure you measure. Not only will it help you gauge the effectiveness of your program, it can help you get more funding to fuel it–especially during tough economic times like we’re living through now.

You can also follow them on Twitter (465 friends at time of writing this blog) and become a fan of their new I Wear Read 4U campaign on facebook… Let’s see how it does over the next few months.