Oct 14

Preparing For a Social Media Consultation

By matt Consultation, Facebook, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

Preparing for a social media consultation ~ The Importance

Preparing for a social media consultation is just as important as your social media efforts, which is why most people are so unprepared when they meet with us. I recently got an inquiry from someone I met in one of my many classes I teach and I offered to meet with them to help hone in on where their efforts should be focused. A few days ago I received a Facebook private message from them with 3 documents attached. I downloaded the documents and read them over a cup o’ joe in the morning. I was blown away at how incredibly prepared this client was. They are prepared to not just meet with me, but prepared to win and with a warriors heart. I have so much information on this client including background, strengths, weaknesses, and most of all their passion. I know and fully understand the why behind their product. That is incredible! It is also incredibly exciting for me! I learned and began to believe their why, I understand the marketplace in which they are trying (and will I might add) dominate. I understand their competitors and what they offer and I can see how their passion will override any product out there. I can see clearly what their vision is of success and what they would like to happen in the digital space. That is where I come in, they just don’t know where to start and how to get there.

Respect the process

I am currently going through a transformation of our business where we are saying no to projects that don’t fit our area of expertise, I am trying to better manage our schedules to be more efficient. I have turned down several offers and clients in the past few weeks and am finding it hard to fit in the consultations. Well, what a breath of fresh air when I got this information from the client. It showed me that they value my time, they value my expertise and they value me. Yep, I want to work with that client, no doubt. Not only do I want to work with them, I want to watch them succeed and be amazing. That is so inspiring! I appreciated not only their dedication to their product and their success but the respect for my time is what really inspired me.

What should you do?

So what does it all mean? Am I saying that I don’t want to take on new clients? No, not at all. Am I saying that if you aren’t prepared then I won’t meet with you? Nope, not that either. What I am saying is that you will get such a better result if you actually take your meeting with someone you want to manage your brand and social media online much more serious than just a quick meeting where you ask for social media management pricing information. I want to help you, but you have to want the help, not just the relief of knowing it is done. I can’t tell you how many times I say to someone in our office ~

“I can’t care about their business more than they do”

When you do take the time to realize that you need to outsource your social media and hire someone to do it be prepared! Here are a few tips and questions to ask yourself before you meet with someone or an agency to handle your brand in the digital landscape. *Side note, if you have these questions prepared and the agency or person looks at you like you are crazy and pulls out a rate card – RUN! RUN BABY RUN!!!

Who are you and why did you decide to start (product line, service, etc)
Do you have a personal attachment to this? What is your passion?
Why would consumers care about your product and what is the feedback you have received so far?
What does the competitor market look like?
What do you know about the digital landscape? (you don’t have to know everything, that is what we are here for)
What digital successes have you had so far?
What is your 3 year plan or goal for your company/product? (yes 3 years because social media and digital media take time)
How comfortable are you personally in the digital space? (social media, search engines, etc)
What have you done to make sure your business is successful besides just meeting with me?

In Conclusion

Meeting with a social media manager or a digital manager is time and time is money. Get your poop in a group and make the most of it. I love helping people and I love watching their business grow, but more importantly I love meeting with people who value my time and respect my profession. It inspires me to want to work hard for them and be a digital honey badger. If you read this and think, I want help! I want to get off my bum and quit hoping and start doing then we should talk. Be a warrior, have a warriors heart and let’s discuss your success and what it looks like in the digital world. Fill out this form for a free consultation and watch what can happen with your brand.

Oct 01

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Quit wasting your time with social media

By matt Facebook, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

There, we said it! Quit wasting your time with social media. If you don’t have a strategy, a plan, and a focused result you are looking for then YES! You are wasting your time. You know you are “supposed to be there”, says who? The person who doesn’t even do a good job at it themselves? You are also supposed to be doing a lot of things. For example, you know you are supposed to exercise and eat right, but do you? Probably not because you don’t have a strategy or a focused result you are striving for. Just because someone says you are supposed to be there doesn’t mean that you should. Going to the gym and walking aimlessly on the treadmill is pointless if you are trying to build your arm strength. Get it? Same applies to social media marketing, don’t just “be on Facebook” because some expert told you that you should be. You should be on Facebook or any social media platform for that matter because you want a specific result from your efforts. Do you want to build relationships? Do you want to grow your online presence? Do you want a tribe or community of people who view YOU as a the expert? Then great, you should be on social media platforms….. but that isn’t all. You should actually BE THERE!!! Not just with a profile and a cool pic, be there, and be active.

Just quit already.

Nothing is more annoying to myself and your viewers than when you post some really good stuff for a week and then boom, nothing….. hello?? Bueller….. Bueller…….Oh well I guess they are gone. Then OH you’re back… umm ok where did you go? That is extremely annoying and frustrating to the people who have chosen to connect with you. So you post a few more things and connect with more people and then do it all over again. Those efforts are futile and pointless, and you should quit wasting your time with social media You do more harm than good when you are not present and active in your social network. So quit wasting your time. I do a lot of education and the #1 excuse I hear for not being active on social networks is….. drumroll….. I don’t know how it works” Let me clue you in really quick….. it works if you work it, that is how it works. It works like real life, you connect with people, you provide value to their lives, and you build a relationship, shocking I know! How well do you think that relationship would be if you made a new friend and all of a sudden you fell off the face of the earth? Doesn’t come across as very reliable right? You are there, then you aren’t, then you are, then you aren’t. Not reliable at all. Is that the message you want to send? I don’t think so. Any time you have spent on social media is completely wasted and gone when you quit with your efforts and forget your focused result you want.

In conclusion.

So there you have it, you have my permission to quit wasting your time with social media. Now, if you want to rock it and get some outstanding results with your social media and you don’t have time or desire to learn to be consistent then outsource it. (I happen to know a great company wink, wink,) If not, then no worries mate, move on to something else. Whatever you decide to do just do it, don’t kinda sorta do it, just do it. Are you In or Out? Leave a comment below or share this on your favorite social media site and let’s start a conversation!

Aug 26

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How to use social media in order to promote your business

By matt Business, Facebook, Marketing, Promote Your Business, Social Media No Comments

As you well know, social media plays an important role in the existence of any business, and therefore you should definitely use it in order to gain more customers. However, you should keep in mind that social media can be used in several ways, each business owner choosing the best strategy for his business. Taking this into account it is safe to say that even if social media has a great influence over your business, you should be very attentive to the way you are going to use it. If you find the best way of using social media marketing you will be able to develop a successful business. Even if it looks simple, this is actually a difficult task, and therefore you should be attentive to all of it.

If you are looking forward in using social media marketing in order to promote your business, you should take into account the following facts that might help you during the entire process.

Hire someone professional

One of the first things you should keep in mind is the fact that social media is not a hobby, at least not when the fate of your business is at stake. This means that you should not handle this alone, especially if you do not have enough free time. On the other hand, you should not hire someone who does not have experience in the marketing field. There are many students, and even children, who know how to use social media websites. However, they do not have the necessary marketing skills in order to help you in an effective manner. Therefore, even if you pay a higher amount of money, this will be an investment that will come back to you.

Have several marketing strategies

Everyone has to agree that social media plays an essential role in the life of any business, being one of the most successful marketing strategies. However, no matter how successful it may be, you should never depend solely on social media. You should keep in mind that this is a risky movement that may cost you a lot. Additionally, you should also know that the official website will always be more important than any social media website, and therefore you should not ignore it.

Invest money and time

Every business needs some investment, and therefore you should keep in mind that you will have to pay a price in order to have a great marketing strategy. Even if social media marketing is cheaper than the other forms, you still have to pay a certain amount of money in order to get it right. This means that this will not be for free. Even if there are many people who are using social media marketing without paying any money, their results are not very good.

Now that you have all this information concerning social media marketing you should be prepared to start on your own.

Aug 19

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The impact of social media over several businesses

By matt Business, Facebook, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

The truth is that there are many marketing strategies, one being more successful than the other. This means that you have multiple ways to promote your business in order to succeed. As you can see, it is easy to promote your business, and yet you need to act carefully. If you want to have a truly successful business you should think about using social media as well as possible, finding a way that actually fits your overall marketing strategy. Nowadays there are many people who have used social media in order to promote their business, being able to succeed. Following their example you can easily find success, being able to raise above your competition.

Everyone knows that social media plays an important role in the evolution of any businesses, but the truth is that each individual is responsible for this evolution, and therefore social media has only a partial influence with this process. Therefore the impact of social media over a business depends in some way on the business owner’s activity, and not only in using social media in a random way. The truth is that there are many businesses that have used social media, failing at the end because they did not know how to use it properly. Therefore, if you are in the situation when you need social media marketing in order to save your business, you should really think about using it properly.

As you well know, social media websites play an essential role in the marketing strategies, having a great influence on the branding process. Therefore, it is no wonder that there is an increasing number of businesses that have decided to use social media for this purpose. For instance, there are many startups that are using social media, some of them without even knowing what to do. Therefore they create a Facebook account hoping that this will do the trick.

Since social media websites are very important in the development of a business, there has been conducted some research concerning this subject. It has been found that a great amount of the businesses that were using this marketing strategy have managed to develop in a considerable way, and therefore nowadays every business has a website where one can find several social media websites attached. In this way the customers are able to find all the information they need.

Now that you know the true importance of social media marketing and its influence over any business, it is time to start using it. This is not a difficult process and therefore you should get it right. However, if you feel that you need help you should hire someone professional who can handle the situation. No matter how you will use social media, the important thing is to keep using it for a long time, reaching your target audience. In this way you will be able to attract more customers, having the power to increase your overall profit.

Aug 12

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The importance of social media marketing

By matt Facebook, Marketing, Social Media No Comments

Social media plays an important role in many fields, and marketing is one of them. As you well know marketing is essential in the life of any business, and therefore every business owner should be aware about its importance. Therefore, if you own a business you should know that marketing is the only field that with decide whether you will succeed or not. The truth is that there are many people who believe that if they have an innovative product they have already succeeded. However, the history is full with situations when a product that has been invented hundreds of years before has managed to become popular only after the right marketing strategy has come around.

Marketing is a field that adapts according to the personal needs of a company, but also to the times in which it has been used. Therefore, you should pay attention to any marketing strategy you are going to use. For instance, even if the television commercials are important, they are no longer effective in the case of new products. This means that you need to think about all the ways you can create an amazing marketing strategy that might actually help you.

Social marketing has developed right after the apparition of the social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn. Since all these websites are very popular all around the world, they have managed to become the perfect marketing tool, being able to prove that marketing is indeed an adaptive science. Even if social media marketing is only at the beginning, the truth is that it managed to become very important, especially when it is used in a proper manner.

The influence of social media upon the present society is very important, and therefore it should not be ignored. Right now there are many people who are using Facebook for instance in order to promote their products or services. If you look carefully you will see that all the main websites of a certain business have attached all the social media links that may entertain them in a great way. The main principle of social media marketing is to promote the products or the services in an entertaining and informative manner that will attract the attention of the target audience, which is spending its time visiting these social media websites. On the other hand, social media marketing also promotes the publication of valuable content that is able to engage the user in the best way possible.

As you can see, social media marketing is very important, and therefore it should be taken into account. Now that you have all this information concerning social media marketing you should know that this is the cheapest form of marketing, and at the same time it is also the most successful marketing strategy. Thus, you should definitely use it in order to attract a greater amount of possible customers. Social media marketing represents the future of the marketing strategies.

Jun 02

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Facebook Ads – Worth it or Wasteful?

By matt Business Services, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

We are constantly asked if Facebook Ads are worth it or wasteful. While this is focusing on Facebook Ads, you should really ask that question of any advertising you are doing, is it worth it or wasteful?

Despite the fact that Facebook was not designed to provide businesses with a marketing platform, it has grown to be a social media advertising giant. In 2013, the firm made more than $5.6 billion from ads. Facebook allows businesses to purchase ads according to the marketing strategy or method they are implementing because the ad options are objective-oriented. This means that the strategy Facebook uses for advertisements is based on a firm’s marketing goals and objectives.
This ensures that the chosen ad option by a business will bring them a higher return on investments. Unlike in previous years, Facebook has improved its social context to ensure that every user can see the businesses their friends have liked. These strategies have been improved by Facebook trying to enhance the value of its ads so that businesses can attain great results.

Is this really Worth it or Wasteful?

Yes, it is sure worth it. According to a survey conducted by Hubspot in 2013, 74% of marketers integrate Facebook in their lead generation campaign initiatives, and 52% said they got a buyer through the social media platform. Datalogix (a firm that records the behaviors and habits of shoppers in more than 100 million households in the U.S) and Facebook partnered in 2012 to determine the Facebook ads’ effectiveness. The study showed that 60 distinct Facebook campaigns realized great results: 50% of the campaigns realized a ROI 5 times higher while 70% received 3 times ROI on their investments.
Hashtags, likes, the ‘boost post’ button and the ‘build audience’ button are some features of Facebook used for advertising. The ‘Ad Manager’ feature allows businesses to monitor or track their campaigns in addition to getting reports.

One quick way to make it wasteful is to not have a clear objective in mind or a clear understanding of your budget. If you have questions about your Facebook advertising or want to get started. Contact us below and let’s get in touch!

Jan 12

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Is Social Media Really That Easy?

By matt Facebook, Social Media No Comments

Is social media really that easy? In short, NO! There is nothing easy about it. It takes time, preparation, strategy, time, education, time, software, time and above all time. Are you seeing a common thread here? We get asked at least once a week “Why can’t I just have my neighbors kid do it, or the receptionist or (insert random person here) do it?, It doesn’t seem that hard.” REALLY? You think that is what successful brands and businesses did, let a random person who is good on the computer or mobile phone handle their brand in the online space? No, no they didn’t.

My simple answer is “You can absolutely have (insert random person here) do it, and it will look like they are doing it too. So if that is ok with you, it’s ok with me” The expanded answer is this: Quit being so lazy with your social media marketing or any marketing for that matter. This is your brand people! This is your dream, your vision, your income, your responsibility, your livelihood. The lack of importance placed on social media and digital media still blows my mind as we enter 2015. The amount of time that it takes to be in the digital space effectively is nothing to overlook. So when people ask, where is the ROI with doing business with you guys the answer is kind of obvious. You don’t have the time to do it right, so you don’t have to do it. That is some ROI. Of course there is always additional ways to show the return on investing in your social media, but the time you save is a simple way to look at it.

I recently found a great infographic from The Whole Brain Group that is just a small sample of a checklist you could use to make sure you are effective on social media. As you look at this small portion of what social media is really all about ask yourself, do you really have time for this? And if you don’t why on earth would you trust this amount of work and this representation of your brand to (insert random person here)? After looking at this infographic and your head is spinning, give us a call, we will unwind you and get your social media under control.

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