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!
In this short post, I take you behind the scenes in the classroom of what it’s like to teach social networking, internet marketing, and social media to fellow business professionals in San Diego County. Teaching is another passion of mine (I know I spread myself thin sometimes) but I think educating the small business community is something I have always done and will continue to do especially during these times. Enjoy the behind the scenes look at me teaching social media for business at Mira Costa College San Elijo campus. Cheers,
Justin
p.s. If you are in San Diego County and would like to be part of my VIP Social Media Mastermind group then take this quick 20 second poll on social media for business, give your feedback, and join the group. I look forward to meeting you-
Everyone especially business professionals (rightfully so) keep talking about how to monetize social media and social networking. As of now, you should know how out-of the box my thinking is when it comes to business. I assure you that during these times, I am not the only business professional trying to think outside the box for innovative strategies. For better or worse, I am really going out on a limb on this one. Let me know if i am going over-board on this.
I will predict what the future holds (and how we can all make some money from not only social media consulting services for firms that “get it”) but possibly off things we are “Passionate” about. Besides, who wouldn’t want to make some extra money right now right?
Now hypothetically, lets say you drive a Prius. And you love it, you tell your friends how much you love it on facebook, twitter, linked-in, etc. So in a sense, you are now a brand ambassador for the Toyota prius. Now because you are so much in love with your prius and you happen to be marketing it for them “online” whether you know it or not, why couldn’t you reach out to Toyota, state your case, and charge them a small fee to write something about your experience (like or dis-like) about your Toyota prius fully disclosed of course? Believe it or not, that is what Ted Murphy @Izea has done and it is not a bad idea. I give him credit for coming up with this concept and starting to put bloggers in touch with corporations to write fully disclosed reviews. Brilliant!!
I would even take it a step further and really start reaching out to companies and demonstrating the power of these “word of mouth” brand ambassadors by providing case studies. This is already going on. Maybe even get a sales team doing B2B. This is writing on the wall for more business models that will monetize social media because at the end of the day, we don’t want all this hype to implode like the 2001 dot com bust right? If businesses don’t get educated on social media soon, they may not be around next year when things start to pick up again.
As for facebook, here is what i would tell Mark to do. Start charging a small fee for businesses to use facebook (just like twitter should do) because this demonstrates to business people the value of social media and social networking tools for corporate use. Those business leaders who STILL DO NOT see the value, will continue to be lost in translation. Or maybe schedule some twitter training from one of our internet marketing strategists by going here for our twitter for marketing training: Just one mans opinion. What are your thoughts on this post?
Many business and marketing people keep talking about social media and social marketing and how businesses can get into this new online marketplace, but I have some actual non-theory lessons from ACTUAL consulting on about 12 client projects we have worked on over the last seven months.
Social Networking for business is hard stuff. You have to be both technical, psychological, sociological, business savvy, marketing savvy, sales savvy, a good communicator, good writer,…… The list goes on. 1 full time employee or college intern handling social media marketing will not cut it I guarantee it.
My TEAM (together everyone achieves more) of Business consultants and I have been doing workshops, tweet ups in Carlsbad, tele-seminars, conference calls, coaching, training, blogging, strategy building, assessments, webinars, and consulting on social media and social networking for business for the last 7 months. (I have been doing various business and technical consulting for about 10 years)
I remember my first blog post on how i predicted that social media and social networking will save small business and STILL stand by that prediction and remember it like it was yesterday. I also remember each and every client experience, where WE went wrong, and what changes we made in our “process” to improve. I must say right off the bat that I could NOT be in this “Social CEO” position with out my twitter network. I learned more on twitter in 2 months from just listening, paying it forward, and helping others achieve what information, resources, or knowledge they cared about which in return they taught me what I needed to know to help formulate Social Networking San Diego. Consider it a PHD in internet marketing from twitter for FREE just 20 days a month on-line till 4am investing my time (video proof here).
I laugh at the colleges now trying to charge thousands of dollars for certificate programs for social media marketing and internet marketing (even Masters Degrees) when all people would have to do is just apply themselves a little bit, spend some time doing internet research, and start LISTENING! Also, we are in a HUGE recession, and colleges are in fact a BUSINESS too trying to stay on the trends and make MORE money off students. But I digress…..
Here are some tips about what to be careful of in the trenches of social media and social networking consulting for businesses:
1.ROI- If they ask you “what will be my ROI”, ask them, “what is your CURRENT ROI on marketing/ advertising?” Tell them to give you a fraction of that (at least 10%) show them some results in the first quarter or six months, and then ask them for a larger budget (if you can perform)
2.Don’t under charge- Your time is valuable, and just because they might not see the REAL value in social media and social networking for business development purposes and lead generation, you still want to attract the clients who have a “perceived value” in social media. This can be hard, but where are you looking??? Our first couple accounts we did FULL SERVICE for less than 1000$/ month AND worked on these accounts probably 80 hours per month. Talk about hustling! And you know what, they left because they didn’t want to “spend the time” in social media because they were too impatient and wanted overnight success. And they felt the training was something an intern could do. Do you really want an intern handling your corporate message and controlling your brand perception online???? Let me stress to you that being in the trenches now for 7 months, this will require your client to commit to 9 months to 1 year to make it worth your time. That is if you provide a comprehensive and holistic approach to social media and social networking for business. This is VERY time consuming and a lot of work I assure you but the BEST practices approach for building a lasting community around your client’s products and services.
3.DON’T DO PAY BY PERFORMANCE- Do you like working for free? I sure as hell don’t, and we tried that and learned NOT to do it again! On a few clients, we agreed to pay by performance model and you know what happen, we worked our A$$ off, did the research, the set-up, got them leads, and they still weren’t happy. (we don’t work for the company, we get you leads, its up to you to close your deals, we are not your sales team) I would advise AGAINST bartering as well, tried that too
4.Social Media and Social Networking is not for EVERY client- Every business is different so be sure you analyze the prospect in depth BEFORE taking them on as a client. If they have a 4 year old website, why would we want to drive traffic to it? So we recommended a new website FIRST, then we will drive the traffic. (they thought they could get a good site done for 500$ so I said be my guest, then they came back for a full word press site from us)
5.Make your deliverables clear- Make sure you specify where the hours will be allocated for the project so the client is clear about what THEY will bring to the table, and what YOU will bring. We ask our clients to commit to X amount of training per month, X amount of content submissions, articles, etc.
I hope this helps clarify what life has been like for the non-theory preaching social media enthusiasts (I used to be one too, and still am a little, but businesses need help so we are rolling up our sleeves and helping what businesses we can, and who have the budget of course)
Any thoughts on your experiences? I know we have many readers who are in this industry, so feel free to leave some insight or feedback on your experiences in the trenches of social media consulting,
Thanks JustinRFrench
CEO Social Networking San Diego
Have any questions- hit me up on the G-Voice 760 – 576 – GOLF oh yeah!!
P.S. Get a copy of “Social Media Survival Guide for Business” The FAST TRACK
$9.95Click Here to order: (if you have time to read it) But this will be a helpful guide for you and your business as you journey into Social Media and Social Networking for Business. Enjoy
Secrets Revealed on social media marketing- to be successful in todays business environment requires innovation, creativity, change, technology, and of course competitive edge. These secrets will help you out- I guarantee it!
This post may be short- but small is the new big right? This is SOOOO Powerful! I have helped hundred of business people and taught them some of these tips and tricks and it has grown there business exponentially compared to other marketing tactics.
1. Act as if you are going to a virtual party (Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In are the parties- you shake hands in these virtual online networking groups to get them back to your home/business/blog/website)
2. You build relationships (Help others, givers gain, and pay it forward. By helping others gain information on things they are looking for or by becoming a resource to others you will build your community. Think of this as building brand equity (as Gary Vee Says) or investing sweat equity in your business. You are providing customer service)
3. Invite others to help you out (or to visit your home- which again is your website or blog) Consider my technique i use on twitter and linked-in: 1: how can i help you? 2: You can help me by…… This is Networking!
4. Then after the relationship is established, people potentially do business together/ refer you
What do you think? I am interested in your feedback. Do you have any tips that have worked for you? Please share your thoughts on this (leave a comment)
Thanks, Happy Networking
JustinRFrench
CEO Social Networking San Diego
“Justin has done business and Internet consulting for us, and we have been pleased with his abilities and results. He reviewed our processes by interviewing each employee, then came up with recommendations for improvement. He was right on target. His technical background, research and studies have given him an insight into what it takes to succeed with an all-encompassing Internet Marketing campaign. He doesn’t waste time; he gets right to the point.
Harold Nevin Language Translation, Inc. San Diego” March 17, 2009
Top qualities: Personable, Expert, High Integrity
hired JustinRFrench as a Social Media Business Consultant in 2009
P.S. I have personal coaching sessions i am doing so if you’d like more 1 on 1 coaching or training on how to leverage social media marketing to help grow your business: Click Here To Email Me Personallyand put in the subject coaching inquiry. I will contact you personally with more details about scheduling
2. Our country is built on small and mid-sized businesses and because of the Internet, companies are now able to compete on-line with large fortune 500 companies with an even smaller budget. It’s all about having the right strategy. It levels the playing field and enables a communication channel that would have never been possible in traditional marketing or media. We have now seen that a small business with a great product or service and the right strategy can achieve huge economies of scale on-line. Look at what has happened with twitter. Our current business model leverages twitter to be used as a business tool for our clients to achieve some of these business objectives: PR, customer service, branding, marketing, and of course developing lasting business relationships. Twitter has enabled corporations to get back to the foundations of doing business in a digital age which is much needed right now. Being more transparent, not always selling things, and building an on-line community culture around community. Remember- people want to do business with people. Think of this new way of doing business on line as social marketing. If someone from company A does something good for me, say help me out or point me in the right direction, or does a good job on a project, I am going to tell 10 of my friends and just like word of mouth referrals, the same happens now online in a virtual setting.
Social Marketing is a new buzz word going around. Social marketing basically means word of mouth marketing using online tools such as social media, social networking, and other online PR tactics. You know how powerful word of mouth can be, just imagine what it can do for your products and services! Social Networking San Diego has been able to achieve great success for our clients, and the way business is conducted today is very different from the 20th century. Consider our 21st century marketing methods which you can see here:
1. Even though businesses are going through some tough times due to economic conditions, this does not make it ok for management and executives to do nothing. Good leadership in all companies is needed to find innovative ways to be resilient during these times and figure out ways to cut costs where necessary (not employees) streamline operations, upgrade technology, and invest in an online marketing strategy. Why? Because online marketing strategies can mean a more cost effective advertising and marketing approach than traditional marketing efforts and can even reach a more targeted market in a shorter amount of time. Having your company set up on twitter, linked-in, or face book is one thing, but how are you using these tools? This is where you need an online marketing strategist to develop the right creative campaign that can then track results, measure progress, and show good ROI. The economies of scale are much greater with an on-line marketing approach as opposed to off-line. Consider this: an inbound marketing campaign, or inbound marketing system in which we help formulate and execute around your business model. We do the back-end work for our clients on social media and social networking and train them on how to leverage these tools for business development purposes and how to build business relationships online. We function as the out-sourced virtual marketing department and partner with our clients for long term contracts for long term business strategy success.
As extremely busy executives, we know the following:
-budget allowances are gone
-competitive forces are growing
-layoffs and cuts have been made, and hopefully not a second round
-sales are down
As the VP of marketing goes into the CEO’s office Monday morning and says “I just spoke to a company on Linked-in who is doing social media and social networking consulting for business development and lead generation and I think we should consider it. This could be our chance to get ahead of our competitors and shift some of our off-line marketing budget into on-line marketing and advertising. The CEO says “That on-line marketing crap has never worked before, what makes you think it will work now? We don’t even understand how the hell it works! Do they even have case studies? What was the ROI?” VP Says “I spoke to a company who seems very credible from their recommendations, has case studies, video testimonials, and has developed a proven system and strategy that really seems to make a lot of sense. I think it leverages social networking and social media sites for business development and lead generation purposes. It really gets back to the old way of doing business by developing relationships with customers first, earning their trust, and then it’s just a matter of time before they do business with us. Plus, the viral ability with online marketing makes word of mouth referrals spread much quicker when they see how great our products are they tell their friends, family, and colleagues. What do you think? CEO says “Well, maybe this couldn’t have come at a better time because sales, marketing, and IT have never seemed to be on the same page, what we are currently doing isn’t working, and this may be a chance for us to gain a competitive advantage. How do we move forward? Well, they offered to do a FREE Webinar for us on the growing trend in social marketing to see if we may be a good fit for the program. I think we should do it. The CEO says “let’s check it out”. 3 months later……Progress has been made, ROI is up 15%, and employees at the various departments are shifting gears and getting re-educated/ re-trained on how to use these social tools and how to sell in a digital age.
“When is your VP of marketing going to take a NEW innovative direction for your firm? Give the CEO some hope so he can sleep”
What is your feedback on this story? How many think this ACTUALLY happened? Please respond below. Leave your comments. I look forward to your guesses- JustinRFrench CEO & Chief Internet Marketing Strategist
Social Networking San Diego http://www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com
Call 760-576-4653 to schedule a 10 minute appointment!