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social strategy

The First Rule of Social Marketing (Social Marketing Fundamentals)

by Tim on February 7, 2012

Dave Thomas wrote a great guest post yesterday that looked at where social media fits in your marketing plans. Of course, knowing where to start is half the battle.

So, where do you start?

By following this one simple rule: Social is people.

While there are specific “tips and tricks” to keep in mind about each new social network you use to market your business, the key point is that you’re looking to connect with people, not just sell your wares. People spend time in online social networks for a variety of reasons. But we can summarize those reasons down to just these few:

Staying in touch with friends
Staying in touch with family
Staying in touch with business associates

Keeping those three separate matters. Because you’ve got to understand where your business falls in the social spectrum.

According to research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, adults 50 and older cite “staying in touch with family” as their top reason for using social networks. Adults under 50 cite “staying in touch with friends.” Surprisingly, neither group says a big reason is “keeping up with products or services that I use now and again (or even every day, for that matter).” In fact, very few people use social networks to find new friends, find out what celebrities are doing or even find people to sleep with, er… date.

Again, people—your potential customers—aren’t looking to find new relationships using social networks. They’re looking to deepen the relationships they already have. So it’s rare that you’re going to find new customers using social networks, unless your existing customers tell their friends about you.

Now, how is that going to happen?

Don’t worry. We’ll touch on that in our next post.

For now, you need to come to grips with the notion that most people on most social networks aren’t there to connect with you. Yes, you can use social networks to market your brand. But you won’t do it successfully if your approach suggests it’s all about you. It’s not. As with most marketing in the modern world, it’s all about your customers.

Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

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Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social search, social strategy, strategy

Tagged as: social, social business, social commerce, social e-commerce, social ecommerce, social marketing, social media marketing, social media metrics, social media profiles, social network, social network marketing, social networking, social networks, social search, social search strategy, social shopping, social strategy, social tools, social web

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Guest post: Where Does Social Media Fit Into Your Marketing Plans? by Dave Thomas

by Tim on February 6, 2012

in Social Media, social strategy

If your company’s marketing results are leading to a lower return on investment (ROI) than you would like, take the time to see where social media is factoring into those efforts.

When it comes to some marketers, social media has been looked upon in recent times as a fad, something that is here today and gone tomorrow. Much to their surprise, however, social media continues to remain much more than just a catchy term.

According to a number of different studies, social media can and does play a significant role in furthering one’s marketing efforts.

A 2011 survey from Constant Contacts indicates that a large percentage of small businesses nationwide partake in social media when it comes to their advertising efforts.

Some 81 percent of those businesses surveyed indicated they use social media for marketing purposes, with 83 percent stating they use it as part of their marketing strategy due to the fact it is inexpensive. Meantime, 67 percent indicated it is rather simple to use.

In a 2011 mid-year report from iTracks, nearly 90 percent of domestic B2B companies said they were instituting social media marketing as part of their efforts.

Lastly, a study from Social Media Examiner of more than 3,300 marketers noted the following:

Ninety percent of marketers claimed that social media is very important for their company;
One-third of all social media marketers want the knowledge of how to oversee and measure the return on investment (ROI) of social media and integrate their social media activities;
Some 58 percent of marketers are utilizing social media for 6 hours or more weekly, and more than a third (34%) invest 11 or more hours on a weekly basis;
Only 28 percent of companies are outsourcing some degree of their social media marketing.

If your company’s marketing efforts have been slow to embrace social media up to now, reconsider your plans in 2012.

Among the ways social media can better your marketing efforts are:

Promoting online content – Whether you have a company blog, white papers, links to industry trends, etc. social media is a great way to share such information in your marketing plans. By using sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ etc. you can market your brand and all you have to offer. You will also in many cases be seen as an authoritative figure in your respective industry when you tweet, share and more with your information;
Promote other in-house assets – You should also be using social media to promote in-house things like email blasts, newsletters, business cards and more. While you don’t want to inundate your audience to the point you are spamming them, you should be using SM to highlight the different offerings you have;
A call to action – Given the 24/7 availability of social media, it is a great tool to persistently market your product/s and/or services. This is a great way to reach out to both current and potential customers who are also socially active. Challenge those individuals to follow you on a Facebook fan page or a LinkedIn profile for example with surveys, contests, special promotions and more.

If your small business’ marketing strategy is still debating the importance of social media, consider that it can:

Generate more exposure for your company;
Add to the traffic numbers and subscribers;
Better your search rankings; and
Generate qualified leads

In the event your marketing efforts need improvement, becoming more social is a great place to start.

Author bio: Dave Thomas covers small business loans and other items for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

Editor’s note: You can read more about planning for online success in 2012 here. And, if you want to write a guest post for Tim Peter Thinks, check out our call for guest bloggers here.

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Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social strategy, Tumblr, twitter

Tagged as: social, social business, social commerce, social e-commerce, social ecommerce, social marketing, social media marketing, social search, social search strategy, social strategy

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Super Social and Search Tips Before the Big Game (Small Business E-commerce Link Digest – February 3, 2012)

by Tim on February 3, 2012

in E-commerce, Social Media, del.icio.us links, social strategy

This weekend marks one of the biggest days of the years for marketers: the annual Ad Bowl among commercials during some kind of football game or something (I kid, I kid… let’s face it: my beloved Giants are going to crush QB-turned-male-model Tom Brady). But, with props to the great Gary Vaynerchuk, here are some tips to help you crush your competition:

ProBlogger looks at a 4 point formula for developing irresistible content.
Cutting right to the chase, Smedio offers an excellent Small Business Social Media Cheat Sheet.
Speaking of big ad budgets, Business Insider reports that CPG powerhouse P&G is going to slash its marketing budget in favor of social and search. Seems that even old dogs are beginning to learn some new tricks, eh?
Mark Suster looks at balancing web and mobile in a post called “Web Second, Mobile First” that’s well worth the read as you plan your mobile strategy.
And, finally, there’s been a lot of news about the importance of social sites for driving traffic and business. First, one study suggests Pinterest drives more traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. But, HubSpot offers data suggesting LinkedIn provides much greater value at driving leads. My take? Follow a “core and explore” methodology, focusing first on core initiatives, then testing new channels to see what works best for your business.

Of course, conducting successful tests requires solid measurement. If you’re not sure how to do that, take a look at our Website Analytics Fundamentals series or drop me a line and I’ll give you a hand.

Have a great weekend, Big Thinkers. Enjoy the game. And, say it with me now… Let’s go G-Men!

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And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: Google, google, Google Plus, Google+, Google+ Pages, LinkedIn, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social search, social strategy, YouTube