Does your business have a social media strategy in place? What is it?

To increase customer retention? Increase sales? Decrease lead acquisition costs?

Increase visibility?

I read a statistic today and I’ll try to find the link but it is important for you to know that only 50% of companies have an actual social media strategy or social media plan in place. And even LESS are measuring the results or ROI of their social marketing campaigns.  Why? Because there is so much customization involved to develop and determine the proper key performance indicators, backwards engineer the campaign, and then establish the tools & tactics needed. Believe me when I say it- social media campaigns are extremely complex & customized around each clients business model and we LOVE a challenge. Something we love even more is when clients get results like winning the San Diego’s best green product installer contest or selling all their tickets for their fundraising event. Simply put, when your clients see results in social media and can measure ROI, they finally see the true value in social media that it can bring to their organization:

1. decreased online advertising expenditure

2. increased customer retention & satisfaction

3. much higher conversion rates than paid advertising

because of the trust factor (through facebook & twitter communities)

4. much cheaper lead acquisition compared to paid online advertising

What type of ROI have you demonstrated for your clients using social media?  Are you a business using social media yet? What have been your results?  I’d love to hear from you!

Cheers,

Justin “Results” French

The Biggest thing I love about social media is that you can record real-life instances real-time and share with the world, or at least share with your friends & colleagues you are connected with.

I had the good fortune yesterday of being able to see history unfold in front of my eyes while watching the race horse Zenyatta being rode my the great jockey Mike Smith at Del Mar Racetrack. For those of you who don’t know, another passion of mine (among many) is horse racing. Even as a little kid going to the track with my father and uncles once in a while was a huge treat. Now, this day would be a fun filled family outing that will talked about for years to come. The reason? This female horse has won 18 races in a row! She remains unbeaten and I had the privilege of being able to experience first hand the excitement and energy of a full house at Del Mar cheering this horse on.

So here are the Top 3 Lessons Learned from Zenyatta’s 18th Win
1. Social media and social networking is much more popular among women than men (this is a fact) and if we analyze this one might see women as being more sociable, creative, and more “giving” than men.
2. Energy is contagious, and I sense that although the Trainers and others were a bit nervous for the 18th win, at the end of the day it was the heart of Zenyatta coming through at the end from all the cheering and excitement of the venue. This tells us to always lead with our hearts in ALL we do and I can attest that being in business, social media, and high tech management over the years following my heart has been crucial.
3. Legacy is greater than currency as Gary Vee says, and thanks to social media, we now have ways to share with future generations our passions and sharing a piece of history like Zenyatta winning the big race at del mar will live on!

What are you doing to follow your heart? Are you doing what your passionate about? Talk Soon- Justin “Results” French

p.s. here is a video clip of the win to get a sense of how much energy was filled in the air

1. Fails to Reach the Proper Target Audience
2. Generate Targeted Traffic
3. Have A Proper SEO Foundation
4. Have A Blog
5. Have An Integrated Social Media Marketing Plan

Yes, it’s there, it’s pretty, but is anyone looking at it? Is it bringing you new business? Is it generating leads? What is your conversion rate? Whats is your ROI on your monthly online marketing budget? Are you paying for online marketing software every month and seeing a return on this investment? Is it exposing you to a new market? Building your brand? Are you monitoring your personal or company reputation?

“Your website is only a billboard. You can have the most beautiful website in the world, and without traffic, it might as well be a billboard in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa.”

Contact us today and see how a social media marketing campaign can drive targeted traffic to your website while increasing click through, conversion, and decreases online adversing expenditure.

With internet marketing, you make your marketing dollars work more effectively online by establishing a CONSTANT presence on many sites. Over time, your customers will either do business with you or purchase from you when they are ready.  We help your website pop up on search engines; you should have blogs on your website with updated content meant specifically for your prospect. Suddenly you’re a trusted source for information on your products/ services.  You have a Twitter feed that keeps the consumer updated throughout the day on news and events pertaining to THEM and their specific interest- reminding them that YOU are their dependable source. 

Ultimately everything comes down to the bottom line – drive revenue, lower traditional marketing costs by using Internet Marketing to generate traffic to your website, measure your ROI, and have a sustainable online marketing system that becomes more powerful over time. 

So it’s time.  Time to make that website work for you, time to embrace the future of social marketing with a company like Social Media San Diego that has the integrity, credibility, and track record of results to help build your online brand and improve your companies performance in all areas. Time to get online. Time to get it done right!

Social Networking San Diego will get you there- We offer the Fast Track 

social media marketing seems to still dominate conversations these days. Companies testing, companies measuring, companies even bringing in outside help like social media consultants. One thing is certain though, through all the hype, noise, and water cooler talk- there are some companies who take action and some sitting on the sidelines still waiting to get into the game.

Let’s take the top three benefits of social media that we have seen on why companies are embracing this new marketing channel:

1. Your business is looking to cut costs on traditional advertising and use internet marketing and social media marketing as a cost effective substitute. This not only cuts down on costs, but allows you to be more targeted with your messaging. You can effectively extract your audience according to the proper demographic and geographic market you are going after.

2. Your company is looking for sustained growth or long-term growth with social media as compared to advertising. If your business is considering social media and you’re looking for long-term growth & sustainability then social media should be part of your strategy. Social Media allows scalability, growth over time, and by consistently engaging with your target audience you build trust. You constantly educate your prospects and customers giving them valuable information. When you do this overtime, you develop greater trust with your audience and build your brand equity much stronger. This also helps shorten the sales cycle and touches your audience through various points across the value chain.

3. You can develop an influential relationship with a key influencer who has a large trust relationship built with their audience. Once you have their trust, you can possibly ask them to help you get out a message to your target audience. If you care about social media and go about it the right way, you will be able to leverage those relationships. But one word of advice- if that person does you a favor, don’t forget to do a favor for them when asked. It’s always 50-50.

4.Bonus: Because Lebron James is on twitter now and that’s proof enough of why you’re business/ personal brand should be on there too! Don’t believe me- watch this inspiring video on his brand and being “Real”

Lebron’s story is truly motivating and inspiring.  I think of Lebron as a humble leader on and off the court and he has much less of an ego than Kobe- but I digress…

Sent from my iPad 🙂

Justin “Results” French

p.s. Sharing is caring and re-tweeting is always appreciated

Are you a social media consultant? Are you involved in a social media mastermind group? Well if you are not, I wanted to share with you a question I get asked a lot lately. I wanted to explain why I feel social media for business is BOTH an art AND a science.

1. Social media is an art because you have to be both strategic, creative, and somewhat tech savvy. I’m not saying you have to be a programmer, BUT you have to know how to be human in a digital world and utilize the online tools. This can be very difficult for some, and require some teaching, which is why I passionately teach at Mira Costa College a Social Media and Internet marketing course that has been rising in popularity. It’s called Introduction to Marketing Your Business Online and you can find out more info by clicking here: social media workshop

2. Social media is a science because it ties very closely in with sociology (which was one of my favorite subjects in my lower division) and studies the human behavior in groups. Hence the rise of social networking, social media, and other human behavioral technologies that continues to advance. Social media requires people to be REAL and if you are not, others will know. The 5 realest people I know in social media are GaryVee, Chris Brogan, Scott Stratten, Brian Solis, and Tony Hsieh of Zappos.

So what do you think? Is social media an art OR a science? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts. Enjoy the world Cup!

Justin “Results” French

1. He is living proof that if you CARE enough, engage, and work your face off you can become mainstream

Watch CBS News Videos Online

2. He is down to earth, completely honest & transparent

3. He is one of the most energetic hard working hustlers I know (besides myself)

4. He knows how to balance fun, work, and of course family life

5. I had the honor & privilege to meet Gary twice (Boston Gravity Summit and a Wine Meet-up in San Diego)

In summary- Gary Vee has been a great inspiration in my continued jounrey of internet entrepreneurship, social media consulting, and most of all following my passion.  Feel free to leave a comment if Gary Vee has had an impact on your life- I would love to hear your story.  Please leave a comment below.  Cheers

Justin “Results” French

Top 3 FREE Social Media Tools For Small Business