Watch this video on how IKEA used facebook as a platform to engage customers in the opening of a new store and used users to promote its products. A great example of a remarkable social media marketing campaign.

Stoney deGeyter compiled the “Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period!” It contains 400 items in over twenty-three topics including domain names, site design, navigation, links, and buttons. The posting is from 2008, so it doesn’t include anything on Twitter, but it’s great nonetheless.

via “Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period!” – Holy Kaw!.

With the growing popularity of social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace, companies can be seen utilizing these platforms to gain increased exposure, awareness and interactivity with their brand.

TD Canada Trust has introduced the TD Money Lounge on Facebook, in aim of targeting their post-secondary market. Students can become a member of the Facebook Group, receive updates and notifications on contests, budgeting, and financial advice. The particular marketing strategy executed by TD Canada Trust allows the company to change the general “boring” stereotype of banks, into an interactive, youthful, and fun learning experience. Students can learn about their spending habits and discover suitable products and services that would cater to their individual needs. 

With the benefits of interactivity and increased exposure, however, come drawbacks such as difficulty in measuring performance and time required to see results (Chaffey, 2007). According to Pam Lontos and Maurice Ramirez, marketers can make several mistakes when choosing to use social media marketing. These mistakes include: having more than one face on the internet, collecting friends, presenting the wrong messages, posting inappropriate information, and making the assumption that having only one “face” displayed on the internet is the best choice. Nowadays, with the utilization of different marketing initiatives such as print media, television, and mobile advertising, social media marketing provides another opportunity for companies to broadcast their message and reach even wider audiences.

Here is a short (and sweet!) video on Social Media Marketing in 3 Minutes.

A new study from Euro RSCG Worldwide, referenced by eMarketer, shows that a fair number of people say they are more likely to “lash out” at brands online.  Not a surprise.  It’s been a long-time observation that people will say (or write) things online that they never would say when talking to someone directly.  I just can’t help wondering.  When it comes to brands and products, does that freedom to lash out mean people express more accurately what’s true for them, or less?  Either way, it’s worth paying attention.

Among some other findings from the study, eMarketer points out that “the stigma of online socializing is fast disappearing … Although only a minority of US Internet users thought online social groups could be ‘truly social,’ nearly three-fifths disagreed with the idea that socializing on the Web was only for ’sad, antisocial types.’”

Even more interesting, something that eMarketer doesn’t mention is that contrary to what one might think at first, it’s older internet users who most disagree that online socializing is only for antisocial losers.  For example, 59% of 45-54 year old’s disagree while only 51% of 18-24 year old’s do.

Conversely only 26% of 45-54 year old’s agree that “social media online enhances my social life offline” compared to 36% of 18-24 year old’s.

So compared to us sad, old online socializers, who are apparently more content to engage with others armed with an internet connection from the comfort of our living room sofa, and go no further than that, the 18+ set more often sees online socializing as just a means to an offline end.

Ah — to be 18 and old fashioned again!

The video below was done by Dwayne Huggins. It will give you tips on free facebook marketing. Whether you are working on a small marketing budget or a large budget this will help you a great deal.

If you are in business you should be using this powerful, free marketing method to drive traffic to your business. Facebook is ranked the 2nd most visited site in the world, why would you not be using it to your benefit. Dwayne lays out some killer tips on how to use facebook to market your product or service.

We want you to see what lengths we will go to help assure your success. Never forget the fact, that in Network Marketing, my success will always depend on your success. Take action and get started “Today!!”  Contact me at Patrea24@gmail.com

Patrea Bullock, JD
President & CEO
New Age Vogue, Inc.
916 – 781 – 6601

Literally Stop Aging:  www.newagevogue.spabeautyathome.com

As we wrap up the end of November and the Thanksgiving Holiday let’s review the most popular top 10 viral videos Ads.   Ad Age and Visible Measures have compiled the lastest list of the top 10 winners. Click on the videos below to view and let us know your favorites.

Top 10 Viral Videos

Top 10 viral Videos

Top 10 Viral Videos

Top 10 Most Viral Videos

Blog Post by Warren Raisch – Top 10 Most Popular Video Ads for November 2009

Often we can look to the auto industry as being ahead of our industry in adoption of technology.  As the auto dealers debate the pros and cons of social media what are the implications for the Equipment industry? I believe there is a lot to be learned. 

The quandary is that Facebook and other social networking tools ARE A BIG DEAL whether we want to admit it or not.  J.D. Powers released the following statistics:

And it has become a big deal. J.D. Power and Associates researchers cite impressive numbers:

• Facebook added 100 million users in nine months.
• If Facebook were a country, its population would be the fourth largest in the world.
• 100 million videos are on YouTube.com
• Online bloggers now number 200 million, three-quarters of them posting opinions about products and services.
• Nearly 80% of consumers trust their peers’ opinions.

We can not bury our heads in the sand and pretend that this will not affect our future business considerations.    An article by Steve Finlay on Wardsauto.com does a good job about talking about the pros and cons of Facebook.

http://wardsdealer.com/interneteletter/dealers_face_up_091113/

Worth a read!

Web 2.0?  No problem!  Marketing your business to the over 80 Million blogs on the internet may seem like a daunting task, so why not let the experts handle it?

It’s inevitable – it’s the 21st century and people are going to talk about your brand online. Learn how Travel Spike can track conversation about your brand, good and bad, with our Social Media Monitoring and Online Reputation Management tools!

“Fry warns on social media” – yes, it’s PRWeek again. (Or, if you’re in the States, it’s PRWeek – but monthly. Of course.)

Englands most treasured national treasure, the warm, mellow, avuncular and perhaps, even, a little tweedy, Stephen Fry (for all those of my faithful blog snorkellers who are not familiar with this afternoon-tea-and-crumpet of a man – he’s a middle-aged gay comedian) has pronounced on social media. This is the same man who made a complete Twit of himself – he had a Call-me-Dave moment with a surfeit of Tweets – not many weeks ago, so I suppose he has the experience to back his pronouncements up. Anyway PRWeek pounced on the pronouncement (I’m channelling the spirit of Stephen here) and published it (issue dated November 27 2009 – if you haven’t seen it, go out and buy one for £4.22, or whatever spurious cover price they’re featuring this week, it’s a collector’s item, in that there’s not going to be a print version for much longer). (Apparently.)

Anyway, summarising wildly, dear old baggy, arch, loveable Stephen has (apparently, again) ‘warned communicators of the risks inherent in using social media as a new type of PR channel’. (Welcome to the party Stephen! Better late than never, I suppose.) He went on to say (according to t’Week) “All new means of communication have been derided and decried because they are seen as encouraging demagoguery of the worst kind. It may be that there will be dark days when social media are seen to cause genuine damage and even death by inflaming people wrongly.’

By which I think he means that every new type of communication that comes along gets hi-jacked by the snake oil salesmen and the charlatans, and, if a majority of people continue to insist on using social media as an extension of the nasty, murky dark bit in their heads, then there could be fisticuffs.

And it’s not that he’s wrong – rather that what he’s saying is so dreadfully obvious and has been done to death on fora around the world. As Mr Fry is an enormously clever man, I can only take from this that there is nothing more interesting, relevant or current to be said about social media.

Dear CEO:

It is tough out there isn’t it? 2010 looks like an upswing year; it seems like everyone is talking about social media, Twitter, Facebook, and all; and you are trying to figure out how to leverage the new media to drive business results. You find yourself asking, “What are we going to do and who do I put in charge?”

Before we answer the question directly for social media leadership, let’s review leadership at your company for a second …

Who leads the strategy and execution to meet various business opportunities and challenges at your company now? I would guess you look for people that have business experience and have a track record of driving business results. Someone who understands the target market you serve, the influencer of that audience, has an understanding of what that target segment values, knows the competition, carves out differentiation, knows how to communicate effectively to drive brand awareness, and someone who drives innovation to maintain industry leadership and customer loyalty. Sounds like the CMO or marketing leader to me.

So now back to social media … I know, your CMO doesn’t really understand social media. To make it even more confusing we all see some of the social media players as snake oil salespersons, MLM schemers, or good honest people that are sharp as can be on social media, but a little green with regards to business and driving product/service revenue and profit. Heck, maybe you have even seen “The Social Media Guru” YouTube video … this certainly does not paint a good picture. But then again, everyone is getting on Twitter and Facebook and you know you need to as well. What to do? What to do?

Let me help a bit because I understand this social media thing can be overwhelming with regards to where to start. First off, I strongly suggest that you look to someone with sound business experience either with significant experience taking your product/service to market or with strong marketing communication skills. This is imperative, because you need a marketing/product/communication plan, as always, first. Social media should be viewed as an important part of your customer interfacing, marketing, and conversation (not just communication) channel. Social media is not a separate “thing”. It is another element that MUST be integrated into the entire business/marketing plan. The social media game plan needs to be owned by your marketing leader – it can not simply be handed to an intern to fill in the gaps.

Once you have selected your leader you should expect, demand of them, that they use continuous innovation to capture market leadership. Today that innovation is social media; tomorrow it will likely be something else. But leaders need to stay students for life, constantly leveraging their rich experience and continuing to learn what their domain area has to offer.

That said, I would like to share with you a few places/people I have learned from recently that have helped me to leverage my marketing, product marketing, and product management experience to drive results with social media. I am a perpetual student and always seeking people and places I can learn from. There is no shortage of places or people for me to thank for things I’ve learned about social media, but these few really rank tops:

Groundswell – Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. This book is a full comprehensive look at social media, complete with case studies, alignment to existing business principles and practices, statistics, theories, and understandable explanations. The book was written two years ago. Many other books have been written since, but from what I have seen, no book has anything dramatically different to say or explain. It started with Groundswell and Li and Bernoff’s book is one I recommend. It will provide a most complete understanding of social media, influence your mentality and approach to implementation, and provide a solid basis.

Now you have your foundation and are ready. You want to set a plan and implement “Social Media Conversion and the Social Media Marketing Funnel”. In my blog, I have suggested the LCR Mentality, things you need to do “Before You Start with Social Media”, and even provided an “Executable Game Plan for Winning Ultimate Customers with Social Media”. But I give credit to Brian Solis for his guidance to answering the question, “What social media outlets do I use?” Brian has an excellent approach to help you determine where you get the most bang for buck (or time investment) when you look at social media outlets. (While Twitter and Facebook get the most hype, they may not return the best results, OR may require other social media outlets to produce great synergy maximizing results.) Check out Solis’ “The Conversation Prism v2.0”.

As I mentioned, you can not stay stagnant; stay ahead of the curve; know where things are going. This requires continuous participation in the social media forums and communities you find most helpful. But if you want a very thought provoking and insightful look at the evolution of the social web, I strongly suggest you read “The Future of the Social Web” by Jeremiah Owyang who was a Forrester analyst at the time the report was released. The report is not cheap, but there is a very good free overview called “The Five Eras of the Social Web” that is very informative by itself.

Social media is an extremely powerful toolset. Yes, there are many out there looking to cash in on a much hyped trend that give social media a bad name. But if you look to put social media leadership and management in the hands of an experienced, proven leader that stays current to maximize company and professional standings you will see winning measurable business results. Just think who you trust and who you want to give the keys to your business.

Best regards,
Social Steve

“Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritation and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.” ~ Mark Twain

Sometimes, I’ve just gotta laugh! When I boot up my computer in the morning, my homepage is set to msn.com. Not because of any particular preference, it just is. Upon waking, I instantly get a quick synopsis of what has happened in the world as I slept. Sometimes I wake up  to good news and sometimes, not so good.

The couple that “crashed the party” at the White House seems to share the same dilemma as the news of the economy. The news on the internet changes from moment to moment. I never know quite what to believe! One moment I read, “it’s ok, the couple gained clearance through the Secret Service”, five minutes later, I migrate back to the internet stream of news and “no, the couple illegally entered into the halls of the White House.”  Flipping back again, “The couple entered the party by jumping through every hoop there was and there was no security breach.”  Now, which is it? Let’s get it straight!

The scenerio is the same with the financial news. Some days, I wake up and the economy is looking more positive, with cause for a little celebration. I can return to the internet news postings and all within 15 minutes, the economy has “gone to hell in a handbasket,” never to rebound again! Check again at lunchtime, and suddenly new home sales have risen, or the cars for clunkers program really did the trick, or Bozo the clown states the economy is on it’s way up now and all is well! You just never know, because by the end of the day, the story has changed and reversed course at least 14 times. Now, which is it?? Let’s get it straight!

If both situations weren’t so serious, it would be funny!

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

A host of new Coventry and Warwickshire SMEs have been finding out how social media can help kick-start their businesses.

 Around 40 start-up businesses from the region attended a presentation from experts at Coventry-based Bridge PR on building their digital presence to help succeed.

 The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber-backed event at the Brooklands Grange Hotel, Holyhead Road, heard from Bridge PR’s commercial director Denise Taylor how social and digital media tools could help build their brand identity and raise their profile.

 “Digital and social media are turning how we access news on its head and companies need to look at how they fit these tools into their overall marketing strategies to create their brand indentities and raise their profile.

 “Bridge PR is one of the forerunners in helping businesses with new media and new media training and delegates at our event heard how they could use social media tools cost-effectively to their best advantage.”

 Gary Lillistone, managing director of Bridge PR, said: “It was surprising to here that a lot of start-ups are already tentatively using these new media marketing tools. Our aim is to help them refine how they use these tools to their advantage to give them a competitive edge in what is still a challenging trading climate.”

Obwohl das notwendige Know-how für Social Media Marketing mittlerweile online zur Verfügung steht, ist noch immer nicht einheitlich klar, wie man systematisch zu einem professionellen Social Media Marketing Konzept kommt.

Hier ist der SonnCom Ansatz:

Monitoring
Überprüfen Sie den Status Quo, Ihr online Image, messen Sie die relevante Kommunikation über Ihr Produkt/Ihre Marke.
Content
Entscheiden Sie, was Sie den Konsumenten, Ihren Kunden, der Öffentlichkeit mitteilen wollen.
Strategie
Setzen Sie Ziele und formulieren Sie die passende Strategie.
Konzept
Erarbeiten Sie das entsprechende Konzept.
SMO + SEO
Social Media Optimierung and Search Engine Optimierung.
Routine + Prozesse
Organisieren Sie die Massnahmen und integrieren Sie diese in die Unternehmensprozesse.
Messung
Messen Sie die Zielerreichung.

Diese systematische Methode garantiert, dass Sie wissen, womit zu beginnen ist, was zu erreichen ist, wie man es angeht und organisiert und wie man die Ergebnisse messen kann.

อย่างที่ทราบกันดีว่า ยุคใหม่ 2010 นี้ ความแรงที่มาอย่างต่อเนื่องและฉุดไม่อยู่ ต้องยกนิ้วให้กับ คุณพี่ Social Network ไม่ว่าจะเป็น Facebook, hi5 และ MySpace เรียกได้ว่า แรงมาก ๆ แต่อย่างว่า “Everything can run under money” ดังนั้น Social Network ทุกแห่งมักจะต้องการเงินทุนมา support ดังนั้น การให้ความสำคัญกับการตลาดออนไลน์ก็จะเป็นอีก 1 ปัจจัยที่ทำให้ Social Network เหล่านี้ มีการพัฒนาตัวเองได้

อย่างไรก็ตาม สิ่งที่ตรงกันข้ามกับการเติบโตของ Social Network คือ มีเพียง 55% ของ CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) แบรนด์ใหญ่ๆ ก็ยังคงไม่เห็นความสำคัญของ Social Media Marketing

ถึงแม้จะมี CMO มากกว่าครึ่งที่ยังไม่สนใจ Social Media Marketing แต่ก็ยังมี 10% ที่ระบุว่าเคยได้ลองใช้สื่อ Social Media แล้ว โดยระบุว่า “Social Network เว็บไซต์ นั้นค่อนเข้ากับกลุ่ม นักเรียน นักศึกษา มากกว่า”

นักการตลาดส่วนใหญ่จะสนใจการผสมผสานของสื่อ Sociel Media Mix มากกว่า เช่น 52% สนใจ Internet Forum, 47% สนใจ webcasts หรือ podcasts, 47% สนใจ Email, 37% สนใจ Blog และอีก 52% สนใจ Webinars โดยไม่ได้ระบุถึง Facebook หรือ MySpace

Online Marketing เป็นส่วนสุดท้ายทีจะูถูกตัด หากต้องถูกตัดงบโฆษณา CMOs ส่วนใหญ่เลือกที่จะไม่ตัด และยังมีถึง 23% ที่ต้องการใช้งบ online ในอีก 12 เดือนข้าง

ข้อมูลเหล่านี้เป็นของต่างประเทศเสียเป็นส่วนใหญ่ ซึ่งไม่ต้องพูดของพี่ไทยเลย ความสำคัญเหลือแค่ขี้เล็บ

Source: Epsilon

Read it in German.

With all the know-how about social media and the necessary marketing mix and measures, it is still not easy to apply a systematic approach to create a decent social media marketing concept.

Here is the SonnCom approach:

Monitoring
check your online image, measure the relevant communication
Content
decide what to tell your consumers, clients, the public
Strategy
set goals and formulate your strategy
Concept
create the social media marketing concept
SMO + SEO
Social Media Optimization and Search Engine Optimization
Routine + Processes
organize the regular work, integrate into company processes
Measure
monitor progress and achievements

This method ensures that you know where to start, what to achieve, how to attack it, how to organize it and how to measure it.

Buzz Marketing nei social media. Come scatenare il passaparola online è un libro di Dario Caiazzo, Andrea Colaianni, Andrea Febbraio e Umberto Lisiero, edito da Fausto Lupetti nel 2009.

Come viene sottolineato nella prefazione di Diego Masi (presidente di Assocomunicazione) il libro nasce dall’esperienza lavorativa dei quattro autori, che con la loro agenzia sono stati tra i primi a lavorare in modo sistematico sul buzz marketing in Italia.

Il Buzz (o viral) marketing è una disciplina che nasce in un contesto che è ben spiegato all’interno del primo capitolo del libro: il pubblico cambia e il nuovo consumatore postmoderno cerca il dialogo con l’azienda (e con gli altri consumatori) attraverso una serie di siti e strumenti raccolti sotto il nome generico di web 2.0.

Una parte importante di queste tecniche è il WOM (Word of Mouth), ossia il passaparola già studiato negli anni ’60 da Lazarfeld nonché oggetto del secondo capitolo, tra buzz marketing e viral marketing. Oltre agli obiettivi e alle strategie viene anche dedicato uno spazio importante all’etica professionale che è molto importante in questo ambito, visto che il WOM da parte degli utenti dovrebbe essere spontaneo e sostanzialmente gratuito.

Altro aspetto, trattato nel capitolo tre, è il social media marketing, ossia l’attività volta a promuovere un sito o un prodotto attraverso l’utilizzo dei social network e degli altri social media, attività spesso trascurata dalle aziende per mancanza di competenze interne oltre che di tempo.
Non mancano qui i casi di studio di successo, sia a livello di attività di marketing sia per quanto attiene quel mondo particolare e affascinante che sono le brand communities.

Come spesso evidenziato anche in questo blog prima di agire è importante conoscere che cosa si dice di noi sulla rete, attraverso il monitoraggio della reputazione online, i cui principi ed i tool di riferimento sono descritti in dettaglio nel capitolo 5.

Infine il libro si chiude su di una panoramica interessante dedicata ai modi in cui il buzz online si lega e si integra con il passaparola off-line.

In conclusione Buzz Marketing nei social media è un libro interessante e concreto, che unisce  l’esperienza professionale degli autori a delle valide sintesi dei principali testi sul social media marketing, come L’Onda Anomala e La Coda Lunga.
Una lettura sicuramente consigliabile, specie per chi approccia per la prima volta questi temi.

Whether I’m consulting with business clients or conducting social media workshops, the same questions come up repeatedly. They are great questions and need to be understood before engaging in social media. I’ve attempted to answer 5 most asked questions, but in reality, I’ve only scratched the surface.

Does my company need social media marketing?
This question is a favorite of mine and one I’d like you to consider after reviewing the video below. Social media is not about what someone had for breakfast. For those of you harder to convince, be sure to watch through to the end.

Okay, I’m convinced. Now where do I begin?
Many start with tactics. They add their business profile on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter and then ask themselves – now what?  Or, worse still, they use the social networks to advertise their products without a full understanding of why they are there. What must be in place before implementing tools is a social media strategy. Here are 5 things to consider when building your strategy:

1. Research and listen – where do your existing and potential customers spend their time? (use industry keywords in Google Blog Search, Twitter Search or SiteVolume) What is being said about your company? (look at Google Alerts, SocialMention or Socialcast).
2. Identify goals – what is it you want to achieve with social media? To increase brand awareness, leads, conversion rates, etc?  With an eye toward adding value, understand what your target audience cares about and wants to read, and publish and distribute content they need.
3. Begin a conversation – interaction is key to building trust, credibility and action among your prospective customers. (Conversation does not mean advertising to your audience as discussed in my previous post Using social media: how will you be human?) It does mean engaging with them. And, it means providing them with information they want, asking what they think and as a result, watching the volume of your fans and followers increase.
4. Define targets – interacting with your online community, becoming one of them, and writing compelling content, will help you gain momentum with prospects by allowing them to see how your business can help them. Conversion is an organic result of establishing trust online and people buy products from those they trust. Be sure to measure your progress using tools such as Google Analytics. And, as with any good strategy, identify weak areas and redefine your targets where necessary.
5. Establish parameters — as businesses using social media grows, so does the need to have a policy in place to help employees understand their role. The policy should set expectations of employee participation in both business and personal accounts which align with your company’s goals. Equally important is to have a crisis management policy to allow you to react quickly to a negative situation online about your company or brand.

What should I talk about?
Knowing what to say is probably one of the hardest things for those new to social media. Many businesses feel if they don’t make products, offer discount coupons, or are not a B2C company, they don’t have a real need for social media. But the fact is, no matter what product or service your company offers, social media provides a venue to engage with your existing and potential customers. It puts the control of improvements to products and services in the hands of your customers. Giving up control is tough, but critical for businesses to succeed with social media marketing. In return, businesses gain customer loyalty and trust through thought leadership without the direct sales pitch.

Still not sure what to say? Check out Alltop. It is a digital magazine rack where information is collected from different sources to help readers find sites of interest. It displays information you need on one aggregated page, listing the top 5 stories. To understand how it can be useful to you, read Eight Ways Marketers Can Benefit Using Alltop or How Business Can Benefit From Using Alltop. Alltop gives you industry news to share with your audience and saves you time. Which brings us to the next question …

How much time should I spend on social media marketing?
In his recent post How Much Time Should I Spend On Social Media #1 blogger and social media guru Chris Brogan talks about best practices for social media management. In a nutshell, he recommends spending about 2 hours a day, divided into chunks of time:

• Spend 1/4 of your time ”listening,” finding out what is being said about you, your competitors, your marketplace.
• Spend 1/2 of your time communicating to your audience. This is your time to connect with potential customers by making comments and replying to questions.
• 1/4 in creating content. Whether you’re blogging, writing e-newsletters or online articles, updating content is how you get found on search engines. (SEO is driven by updated content.)

Does 2 hours a day seem like too much time to dedicate to social media marketing? Consider the time and money you invest in SEO efforts, cold calling, conference calling, advertising campaigns, e-newsletters and customer visits. Social media reaches beyond territories, offering time-saving tools and an increase to Web site traffic at a fraction of the cost of other marketing methods.

How do I measure ROI?
Maybe you’re already convinced why you should use social media marketing. One question remaining is likely to be: How do I measure my return on investment? How do I sell it to company stakeholders? The ROI question is probably the biggest obstacle when trying to get buy-in from senior executives. Measuring social media ROI and its effect on the bottom line is still a challenge for even the best marketers. In Dirk Shaw’s recent post Moving beyond social media metrics to business outcomes he talks about early social media metrics having a loose tie to business goals, which raised the question whether social media could do anything for business. In a later post How do you report social media success? he examines how social media activity impacts business outcomes, which is key to achieving executive sponsorship. Also, How to Measure Social Media ROI for Business a post from Mashable offers tips on qualitative and quantitative measurement. And, if you still want more, read 6 Must Read Posts about the ROI of Social Media.

Social media strategy and ROI have yet to be clearly defined. As social media continues to grow and change, networks like Facebook and Twitter are looking for ways to monetize their own businesses, and will continue their efforts in making social media marketing more appealing (and profitable) for business leaders who will help keep them afloat.  

These are the 5 most asked questions I get. What other social media questions do you think should be included?

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This is a collaborative post with John Stone of Revenue Architects. I met John at Schwab’s IMPACT conference in September of this year when he was giving a presentation on social media. Since then, we have collaborated on a couple of projects together. In this post, John and I combine our expertise to give you a roadmap of how to launch your new media marketing strategy.

This is the time of year for lists – holiday shopping, family dinners – why not add on one more: Getting started with your 2010 new media marketing agenda!

During 2009, you likely learned about the potential role of social media in your marketing plan. You recognize how the explosive growth of social networking – with tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Viddler, BlogTalkRadio, and YouTube – is fundamentally changing the way your clients learn, evaluate and ultimately make their decisions. You recognize that these web 2.0 tools are an increasingly important influence in the buy-sell process. Buyers seek evidence online to validate decisions and get instant feedback from others by listening and participating in the online conversations.

We work with leading wealth managers and financial advisors who recognize that their clients are using social media and the web to help them evaluate an advisor. The content and professional credentials visible online are an increasingly important part of their decision process. Successful advisors use their online presence to drive new business. They use blogs, Facebook Groups / Fan Pages and Twitter to engage in the online conversation increasing referrals and attracting new clients.

However, new media marketing is not a panacea. Your online presence and activity won’t replace your existing relationship building activities and the quality work you perform with clients. Your approach to new media marketing should be authentic – engaging in meaningful activities around the quality of your work and personal relationships. Tackled the right way, a new media marketing approach will further accelerate your growth.

But where do you begin? Which networks should you join? How do you build an online presence? How do you avoid introducing risk with your current brand? What is involved in using social media and inbound marketing techniques day-to-day? To help you get started, we developed the following checklist. This ten-step plan will guide you in taking positive steps forward in your new media marketing plan. With a thoughtful approach and a committed strategy, you will be rewarded with professional online presence and accelerated growth.

10 Steps to Get Started with New Media Marketing

1. Define your purpose. Determine in advance why you are engaging in new media. Is it for educational purposes or to market your business? If you don’t have clear intentions, how can you expect to have clear results?

2. Find your target market. Join the social networking sites which are comprised of your target niche market. Remember that the most popular social networking sites might not be the sites where your ideal clients visit. Go to where your potential clients are and don’t just spend time with your peers.

3. Craft your message. Your audience will only hear bits of pieces of your message at a time, so it is critical that you consistently and frequently broadcast a clear message about who you serve and what you offer. Don’t make your audience guess what you do, make it clear to them.

4. Gather and create content. Content is king in new media marketing. Demonstrate your expertise by educating your audience through blogs, articles, videos, or podcasts. Gather or create useful content to aid you in your new media marketing efforts.

5. Build your web presence & social media profiles. As you build out your profiles, you will be building a web presence that will give you a footprint beyond your website. This presence will increase your exposure to potential new clients. As you decide to participate in LinkedIn, Facebook, or other networking sites, it is important that you complete your profiles. A person is likely to only visit your profile once, so make a lasting first impression.

6. Build your network. The more people you connect with on social networking sites, the more people will see your message. Make a conscious effort to continually build your connections on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and other networks you are targeting.

7. Promote your profiles and cross connect. Let people know you are on the various social networking sites by promoting links on your website and email signature. This will help you organically grow your network. The more sites where you connect with someone, the stronger your relationship will become. Where it makes sense, find and connect with contacts across multiple social media sites.

8. Build an inbound strategy. Craft a strategy for your own website and your email/newsletter marketing programs. It is important that when potential new relationships click back to your website that they experience your brand in the right way. Ensure your website is professional and visually branded for your target audience and includes interactive web features like RSS and social bookmarking. Search engine optimization (SEO), landing page lead capture, and lead nurturing should be part of your website strategy.

9. Communicate Persuasively. Ensure your messages are sharp and clear. Are you delivering a persuasive message? Is your logic clear and concise? Are you listening and empathetic to client needs?

10. Actively engage. Use social networking sites and your website as a way to promote your content to your targeted market. This helps educate your audience and keeps your name top-of-mind. Social media is the same as any networking or marketing strategy – the more consistent you are, the better the results. Actively participate in the various social networking sites on a weekly basis to achieve the greatest results.

About Kristen Luke
Kristen Luke is the Principal of Wealth Management Marketing, a firm dedicated to providing marketing strategies and support for financial advisors. Kristen works with independent advisors to develop effective marketing plans and provides the back office support required to implement the strategies. For more information, visit www.wealthmanagementmarketing.net.

About John Stone III
John leads Revenue Architects and provides consulting, general management, education and solution services focused on profitable revenue models and integrating sales, marketing and technology systems. Clients include Putnam Investments, Natixis Global Asset Management, Charles Schwab, and HighMark Funds. For more information visit www.revenuearchitects.com.

Unintentional 4-Wheelin'

This column first appeared on RimoftheWorld.net on November 16, 2009

I was on my way to meet with prospective clients when I found myself on the crest of a mountain, at the top of a trail reserved for dirt bikes, ATVs and Jeeps. The terrain looked like icing on a German Chocolate Cake. I got out of my Kia and tried to get my bearings, angry at myself for having foolishly believed I could find any location without benefit of MapQuest’s detailed driving directions.

With intermittent cell service, I called Double Dog Ranch owners Dana and Mike. They talked me down like Air Traffic Controllers to a terrified passenger in the final scene of Airport 1975. Sacrificing the alignment on both my car and my neck, I followed their instructions and took  Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride to the bottom of the hill.

The journey taught me two things:

1)     Never go anywhere without a full tank of gas and an empty bladder.

2)     If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

The same is true when it comes to advertising and public relations. Without strategic planning, measuring and goal-setting, no matter how much you invest, your efforts will be in vain. Remarkably, time and again, I meet with clients who have no rhyme or reason for the money they spend on advertising. In fact, many actually admit that they know they are throwing away their resources.

For example, a successful real estate agent recently told me she is wasting $800/month to advertise in a glossy, full-color magazine because her clients want to see their homes in print.

“The photos and descriptions of their houses don’t do a thing to sell their homes,” she said. “But clients expect it. So I continue to pay.”

I hear this irrational rationale often. But, in this economy, I wonder why anyone would continue to invest in something that doesn’t work. Could it be that they don’t know what would? In 2009, whatever your product, service or ministry, the easiest, most cost-effective way to reach current and potential customers and donors is online.

According to the World Internet Usage Statistics website, in the United States, alone, nearly 253 million people (or 72.4% of the U.S. population) use the Internet on a regular basis. This figure represents a 134% increase over usage statistics for 2008. These numbers reveal that even late adopters are getting on the e-bandwagon.

One of the reasons we encourage our clients to invest in Internet advertising is because goal setting and measuring are easy, no matter the budget.

• For Free— choosing from thousands of free social media platforms, anyone can start or contribute to conversations about their industry and, in the process, create brand awareness. The most popular sites for this are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

While these applications are free, you will only get out what you put in. So be prepared to spend a significant amount of time feeding the beast. And don’t use the hard sell approach to pitch your product. Instead, provide valuable content to your target market.

• On a Budget—once you’ve established an online presence, direct traffic to it with affordable pay-per-click advertising. Several of our clients have found success placing low-cost ads on Facebook.

“Buying FB ads is a no-brainer for us,” says one of our clients, “We get thousands of direct-to-consumer impressions delivered to a very select target market and we only pay when someone is interested enough to click on our advertisement.”

• The Sky’s the Limit—while any Internet ad campaign will yield results, the best approach is to combine all of the above. In a perfect world, I recommend hiring professionals to set up and manage social networking sites. Then promote the sites using paid advertising, either by the click or impression.

Whichever method you pursue, establish a baseline by noting your average number of leads per week. Then, set a realistic goal for increasing that number. This way, you will be able to accurately measure the success of your efforts. Planning ahead will put you firmly on the road to success instead of bouncing around on an unmarked trail of tears.

Until next week, I’ll be Bowling for Business.