Social Media Marketing is still relatively new and we’re all still learning how best to use it for our businesses.

The Profile Photo Faux Pas

Sam recently wrote a very comprehensive post on the importance of completing your social network profiles. I’d like to add a plea to use a profile photograph (also known as an avatar) that gives the message you really want it to. Cute animals and family groups are fine, but only if you don’t intend to use that profile professionally. And while logo avatars are suitable for company pages, owners of small businesses might be better off using a photo of themselves if they are the recognised ‘face’ of their brand.

I’ve been using the same avatar on all my social media profiles since I set them up back in 2007. While I may not look exactly like that photo any more – people still recognise me from it when I meet them at networking events for the first time. Would they recognise you from your avatar?

The Lack of Consistency Clanger

In order to get good results from social media marketing, stay on message and deliver tweets and updates on topics relevant to your audience. While it’s certainly a good idea to voice your opinion on occasion, try to avoid using your blog as a platform to post too many personal rants. We’ve spoken many times on the need to publish blog posts and email newsletters regularly. This can be made easier if you have a plan and use an editorial calendar, not only for blog posts but for all your social media updates.

Having a plan would result in fewer profiles being hastily set up on the latest networks and promptly abandoned. Or perhaps an initial flurry of activity followed by nothing at all for weeks or even months. If you aren’t ready to use a particular social network, then don’t publicise it on your website or blog. That’s almost worse than not setting up a profile in the first place.

However, it’s important not to become too noisy either. Tweeting or updating every few minutes will annoy your followers. No-one has that much good stuff to share, nor do people have that much time to read it all.

Other Assorted Social Media Clangers

Self promotion and little else becomes a turn-off after a while. For example I find that the links shared by some people always go through to a website home page, sales page, an ‘under-construction’ page, or to an error message. Their links don’t lead to content of value to my followers, so I rarely feel inclined to share them.

Tweets which are too long to retweet won’t be retweeted as often. It takes time to carefully edit them down to be within the required character count. If you want people to be able to retweet you, make it easy for them. Keep the character count down to 110-115 to allow for your RT @name and any link to be included.

Too much automation and not enough conversation. While many social media tools are free, that doesn’t mean everything should be set up to run automatically. You still need to work at social media and chat with people if you want to form any kind of relationships online. Being ‘social’ means sharing, liking and commenting on other people’s stuff too. It’s a two-way street.

A lack of social share buttons on a blog can mean missed opportunities. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to read a really good article, want to share it with my online followers, only to find no social sharing buttons to click. Fortunately I have Buffer and Hootlet (from Hootsuite) installed on my Chrome browser, but even the free WordPress.com and Blogger platforms both provide sharing options, so there is no excuse!

What are the biggest mistakes you’ve seen small businesses make using social media? 

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigdrumthump/3214172131/

Just as we think we’ve seen all the Email Marketing mistakes

Spelling & punctuation clangers. You’d think having built-in spell checkers would mean better spelling, punctuation and grammar, unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case (as Sam found out recently). A well written email marketing message is more likely to be read and speaks volumes for the professionalism of the sender.

Boring Subject Lines. These are so often treated as an after thought and written in a hurry before hitting ‘Send’ – big mistake! The Subject Line is the text that is seen in a list of unread emails and can be what prompts the recipient to open your message. It can also be the only thing that stops them from pressing the ‘Delete’ button.

Mystery ‘From’ Field. If I don’t recognise who an email is from, the likelihood of clicking to open it and find out is much reduced. For example, contact@ or info@ aren’t very friendly are they? As for noreply@ – personally I find this most off-putting!

Lack of or Confusing Call to Action. Every piece of your marketing needs to have a purpose and a clearly defined ‘Call to Action’ (CTA). Email Marketing is no different. Not including a CTA is a waste of your time and effort. Almost as bad is to provide so many options of things to click on or look at that your reader becomes confused – and does nothing as a result. That’s a waste too.

Collecting Email addresses and then not making contact until you want to sell something. This is a crazy phenomenon I’ve noticed recently. I signed up to receive updates on a couple of blogsites and weeks later was still waiting (I did check my spam filters). Then suddenly, BAM! Email after Email promoting a webinar or product launch. No thank you. This practice is just plain bad manners and, as I’m likely to have forgotten who the sender is after such an interval, their messages run the risk of being reported as spam.

We’re certainly not immune when it comes to making mistakes in our Email Marketing campaigns, but we do try our best to keep them to a minimum.

Further reading:

How not to do Emails

7 Basic Email Newsletter Mistakes (and how to avoid them) 

How not to send out Email Promotions

What Email howlers have you come across? Please share in the comments below.

Have you noticed how social media sites are giving slide presentations a new lease of life?

Not so long ago PowerPoint (and its Mac equivalent Keynote) had a bad reputation with many presentations rightfully earning the label: “Death by PowerPoint”. Slides were often too busy, too wordy to read, or just too complex to understand. Even worse were those presenters who used them as auto cues, reading word for word and boring their audience to sleep.

But now it seems that a whole new generation of talented presenters are breathing new life into PowerPoint slideshows. The best ones are creating visually pleasing and attention-grabbing images, making text short & snappy and, most importantly, keeping us interested. No mean feat in this much reduced attention span age!

So in addition to using slide presentations at traditional offline events, such as when giving talks or running training workshops, there are now online opportunities for this frequently overlooked medium.

1. Presentations uploaded to Slideshare.net quickly show up in the search engines so it’s worth taking the time to categorise and tag them properly. A basic account is free to set up and very easy to use. Here are the Savvy Marketers presentations we’ve uploaded.
2. YouTube is already known as the second largest search engine and millions of videos are watched every day around the world. Recording your slide presentation, accompanied by audio, and uploading the result to YouTube means you can then embed the video in your website or blog, and share it with your Facebook fans & friends too. Other free video sharing options worth considering include Vimeo and Viddler.
3. Another good place to share your PowerPoint presentation is on your LinkedIn profile or LinkedIn Company page. You can either add the Slideshare application or embed the video into a Google Docs presentation.
4. Webinars are becoming an increasingly popular way of sharing information online. Depending on the service used, screen-sharing means including a slide presentation is straightforward and adds that important visual element to help get your message across and keep your audience’s attention.

Creating slide presentations is yet another great way to share that all-important content, and one that doesn’t require too much writing.

What new or different ways have you seen PowerPoint used recently? Please share in the comments below.

It’s no wonder many small business owners hesitate to get started with social media marketing

Social Media Marketing is not a replacement for traditional ‘offline’ marketing – but it is an excellent addition. Here’s why:

Connect

Social Media helps you to reach out to and connect with many more interesting & influential people than if you don’t take part. At a time when the majority of phone calls end up in the voicemail zone, using the social networks can be a more successful way to make that initial contact.

It’s surprising to find that quite senior decision makers and buyers are personally involved. You will find big business thought leaders, early adopters and big brands on Twitter or with Facebook Pages. OK, so they probably don’t send out every tweet themselves, but they will be kept informed of trending topics and notice people of interest.

Communicate

An important factor to remember with Social Media marketing is that it replaces the one-way message of the old, static, brochure-type website and enables you to communicate two-way and even multi-ways with your clients and prospective clients. You can find out what they really want, instead of merely guessing. Many large brands are discovering a whole new box of customer service tools in the social networks (those who get it are anyway).

You can send out your message to reach hundreds or thousands of people in an instant at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising or direct mail, and receive a response just as quickly. Your customers and prospective customers are getting used to having their say.

Consistent

With traditional marketing activities, you wouldn’t expect to do something only once or twice for it to bring you good results, would you? That would be like going to one networking meeting or mailing out one letter, and then sitting back waiting for the phone to ring. Instead you’d plan out a campaign of activities to take place over a few months or more. You would visit the networking groups regularly and send out a series of mailings – and follow them up too.

With Social Media marketing you need to commit to doing it consistently & correctly for it to work for your business. If you’re going to be on Twitter or any of the other online networks, you have to show up often to see any return. And if you have a blog, you need to post something at least once a week, every week.

Whether your prospective clients are parents, students, young mums, the retired or redundant or they are sole-traders or business tycoons, there is a way to connect and communicate with them using social media marketing.

What would you add? Please share in the comments below.

We hear a lot of people say

This question assumes that social media is something you can do once and not have to return to. Sorry to disappoint but Social Media marketing is a bit like a huge jigsaw puzzle and, because social media keeps on changing and growing, the jigsaw is never completely finished.

As an eternal ‘tweaker’ I can honestly say that there are so many little pieces, it takes forever to put them all in the right place on the picture that is social media.

What we find is that it’s often the little pieces of the puzzle that can make the biggest difference and have the most impact on business.

Here are just 15 little pieces that you may want to use for your own social media marketing puzzle:

Twitter

• Check that you have included a up to date live link back to your website in your bio.
• If you’re using automation tools, make sure the scheduled tweets are still relevant.
• Have you cleared out inactive or spammy followers lately?

Facebook

• On your Personal Profile, check you have included links to your Facebook Business Page, Twitter account and website(s) in the Contact Information section of the Info tab.
• Engage with friends and family on your Personal profile, but gradually move business acquaintances over to the Business Page.
• On your Facebook Business Page, set up a routine to add interesting content every day (auto-linking Twitter doesn’t count ).

LinkedIn

• Check that your profile is up to date – current employer & summary
• Have you selected your specialist areas yet?
• Create a Company page for your business and start promoting your products & services.

Blog

• Is your Sign-up box to collect visitor details and build your list prominently displayed?
• Check that the RSS feed link works (clicking on it should open a selection of readers, not a page of code)
• Give readers plenty of opportunities to share your articles around the internet.

Google+

• Create and complete your profile (with photograph) and include relevant links to your other online homes
• Create a Google+ Business Page and add your information to the About Page.
• Add a Google+ Profile Badge to your website and blog. (If you’re on WordPress here’s a plugin: http://plusdevs.com/google-wordpress-plugin/)

As with all marketing activities you will need to try, test and monitor to find out which social media pieces work best for your business.

Over to you – what jigsaw pieces would you include?

QR Code Generator – what you need to create your own QR code. Here’s a post with a useful list of code generators to choose from. (I’ve just used QRMobilize to set up my personal QR code and found it quite easy to use.)

We’re also experimenting with Goo.gl which is a URL shortener combined with a QR code generator. The benefits of this is that it lets you track the number of visits to the page where the QR code was read. Make sure you’re logged into Google and just type the URL of the page you want to direct people to. You’ll then see your newly shortened URL. Once you have your shortened URL, click on “details” and you’ll see your very own QR code has been automatically generated for you. You can then right click and save it as a JPEG (for best resolution) or take a screen shot of it. Then you can use it on any of the materials listed below AND you’ll be able to see clicks generated from the QR code and track what’s working for you.

QR Code Reader – which one you choose depends on which smartphone you have. For my BlackBerry, I’ve downloaded the free lynkee.com which was quite straightforward to do, and seems to work well. However I do find that you have to be very precise (and have a steady hand) when capturing the code to enable it to be read.

QR Code Applications for Small Businesses – While some TV ads are sporting QR Codes, personally, I’d struggle to snap the code in the very few seconds it was on-screen!

Perhaps their best applications are to be found offline, on printed media, such as:

• Business Cards
• Trade Show Literature
• Posters
• Direct Mail Postcards
• Take-away Menus
• Magazines and Newspapers
• Product Instructions
• and many more!

The QR code you can see at the top of this post is for our own Savvy Marketing Tips! In this case, we’re using it to encourage people to subscribe to our newsletter, and the link will take you to a sign up box.

If you’re using QR Codes, what’s the best application you’ve seen so far? Please share in the comments below, we’d love to know!

As with many consultants

I expect some of you have watched the latest run of programmes on the TV: Gordon’s Kitchen Nightmares, Hotel Inspector & Country House Rescue. They all have a common theme of businesses needing help. For the most part, the party involved took on the advice of the consultant, whether it was Gordon Ramsay, Alex Polizzi or Ruth Watson. However, there were a few individuals, who despite being in terrible debt with a failing business, refused to accept their advice. This is the first reason not to hire a consultant: if you don’t take any notice of what they say. Keep your money instead and keep doing the things to promote your business that don’t work – you know better after all!

The second reason is if you’re not committed to the project. Perhaps it seemed like a good idea at the time, but then other things got in the way and slowly but surely, the website got neglected, you don’t have time to follow up the actions recommended by your consultant, you have to stop for a while as other things have taken priority. If you’re not 100% committed to making the project work, then it won’t work. A half-hearted attempt with any marketing campaign is a sure fire way for it to flop. Like any marketing, internet marketing takes just as much hard work, time and commitment.

Finally, you’re desperate! Business isn’t good, you’ve neglected to market your business properly during the good times and now the economy isn’t great, you’re panicking. A cobbled together campaign in a very short time, in the hope of immediate sales and leads isn’t going to help your business. If things have got that bad then it’s professional business help that you need, not internet marketing help!

It can be tempting to think that the internet will bring instant results for your business and you can easily pay for leads and sales which will come flooding in once you get a presence on Google. If only it were that easy! If you’re thinking of hiring some help for any of these wrong reasons then think again and consider what type of help you really need.

Do you take the same amount of care over your Email Marketing?

Just because email is quick and easy to send out, doesn’t mean you can afford to get into sloppy habits. Or that you can simply ‘throw together’ your campaign email or newsletter in the hope no-one will notice if it’s full of typos. Because they will. If you’re lucky, your readers will take great pleasure in letting you know there’s a problem; if you’re unlucky they will just quietly unsubscribe from your list. After all, who wants to hire a [fill in the blank] if this is an example of their work.

Don’t be paralyzed by perfectionism

On the other hand, if you’re the type of person who isn’t satisfied with anything less than perfection, and who is forever making ‘just one more tweak’, your problem is slightly different. In your case, you need to learn that a misplaced semi-colon is not the end of the world – you might find this post about the curse of perfectionism helpful.

So, once you’ve got your Email message looking good and checked for typos, you’re ready to send it, right?

Not so fast Speedy!

Step back from the ‘submit’ button for a moment. There are a few more important parts of your Email Campaign to double check before sending it on its way. Some are obvious, others maybe less so.

1. The From field and From email address
2. The Subject Line is brief and spelt correctly, and the First Name is set up to show correctly (if you use this facility)
3. If you’re promoting an event, double check that the date, time and venue or call-in details are all correct.
4. Your contact information is correct (ie your name, business name, email, web site, phone number, postal address)
5. You’ve included clear information on how to unsubscribe with one-click – and make sure the link works.
6. ALL links work (both in the HMTL and TEXT versions of your message)
7. Send yourself a test message. This will make sure you see the message as your readers will and give you another chance to check for errors. If possible, have a proof-reading buddy who will let you know if they find any glitches when you send them a test message. It’s always so much easier to find other people’s typos than your own.
8. Send yourself ANOTHER test after fixing any problems and changing ANY text. Bordering on perfectionism perhaps, but it’s surprising how some changes can have an unexpected knock-on effect on another part of the message.

Once you’ve worked through this checklist, it’s time to publish your Email Campaign – good luck!

What have I missed? What else do you check before sending out your Email Marketing or Newsletters?

Whether your business sells products or services, the following list of low-cost and no cost ways to get more visitors aren’t at all techie to do.

1.  Tell people about it – don’t assume everyone knows about your website.  If you’ve recently added something interesting, that’s a good reason to mention it when you’re out networking.

2.  Business card – give people a reason to take a look at your website, offer them something interesting like an article or free report (this will also give you an opportunity to include them in future email marketing campaigns)

3.  Online Directories – there are so many of these directories that they aren’t as useful as a few years ago.  But it’s still worth taking advantage of free listings that include a link back to your website so long as the directory looks reputable.

4.  Social Network Profiles – people you connect with on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are more internet savvy and will probably want to visit your website to find out more about you, even before connecting.  Give them a warm welcome

5.  Email Signature – so often forgotten, this is a great place to encourage people to click through and visit your website (or blog).  Make sure to provide a ‘live’ link and check it works OK.

6.  Postcards and direct mailers – just because traditional mailings are offline, don’t stop promoting your business’s online home.

7.  Letterhead – same as 6. above.  (Does anyone actually use letterheads anymore?)

8.  Invoices – why not include a discreet promotional message and your web address? (I’d advise against anything too brash when you’re also asking for money)

9.  Voicemail – Use the outgoing message to encourage people to visit your website after they’ve left a message for you.  It’s quite unusual, so they may just do it!

10. Articles (online and offline) – If you’ve written something of interest, be sure to provide a link (url offline) so readers can click to find out more.

If you consistently use all the above methods, you will get more visitors to your website.

Do you have anything to add to the list?  Please share in the comments below, we’d love to know

Despite this, you still need to keep up your marketing as much as possible! It’s very easy to let things slide and get confused about where your precious time should be spent.

Just to help you, here are a few things you can do over the next month or so, to keep things ticking along:

1. Blog. Blogs are usually the first thing to get neglected, however, it’s important to keep it up to date. Once a week or so should be enough, no essays, a few short posts, but don’t be tempted to just leave it until September! For a bit of inspiration, see Mary Portas’s blog, which she is posting to even while on holiday.

2. Email Newsletter. If you send one out each month, don’t be tempted not to bother in August. Even if you’re off on holiday with your family, a lot of people aren’t and you still need to keep your business name in front of people. Your subscribers are the most important people to keep in contact with.

3. Social Media. If you’re usually quite proactive on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin, then don’t neglect your connections there either. You don’t have to be on these sites each day, a couple of times per week should suffice, but do find a few minutes each week to keep the momentum going.

4. Review Your Competitors. This is a good time to take a look around some of your key competitors websites and get ideas. Since August is quiet and you’re probably thinking about how you’re going to kick start things again in September, find out what your competitors are up to and get some new ideas. Going through competitors’ websites is a great way to ensure you keep on your toes with your marketing!

The key to this is preparation – get some blog posts and your email newsletter written in advance and you can determine which date the posts are published and the newsletter sent, all giving the impression that you’re busy working on your marketing, even if you’re lying on a beach!

For those of you off on your holidays, have a great summer – and we hope you at least manage to do a couple of the things listed above.

What plans do you have to keep your marketing going over the summer? Please let us know!