Myspace, Your Space, OUR SPACE
This blog was written on March 27th, 2008
This post is inspired by an event I attended today titled My Space vs. Your Space. The focus was on managing your business’s online persona while building capital. I gained tremendous insight on the benefits of Social Media Marketing.
As a forward thinking Marketer, I’m always seeking ways to keep my clients ahead of the game. In any campaign, FREQUENCY, FREQUENCY, FREQUENCY in multiple medias is a key element in getting consumers familiar with your brand. Social Media Marketing plays such a vital role in increasing frequency because you reach out to people in a space they already embrace. I believe it’s definitely not a substitute for having a website or other forms of marketing but it’s a powerful way to enhance an existing campaign.
I still remember 5? 6? years ago when I was hanging out with friends one evening and a couple of them kept raving about this phenomena called Friendster. I ignored their request to sign up thinking who would waste their time on a site like that? Wow a lot has changed since then! As I left the event I made a note to take a few minutes before the week is over to update all of my Social Media Sites. I even signed up for SocialURL which made me realize there are so many Social Media Marketing opportunities I still have to explore. Another item on my to-do list: Sign up for more Social Media Networks! because the web MY space to market myself. Wait I mean it’s YOUR space. Alright, let’s just say it’s OUR space that’s unique to each individual.
OH. You work in Sales…
This blog was written on March 26th, 2008
To begin my blogging career, I’d like to overcome an objective that often arises when I tell people I work in “sales”. I’ve noticed a slight disconnect if I use this word to describe my occupation. People have a tendency to tune me out, walk away, hang up, and even look down on me. It all goes back to the “car salesman” stigma. The Urban Dictionary defines a car salesman:
One of the shiftiest occupations a someone can take. Car salesman earn commission from whatever they sell and will lure, lie, mislead, con, deceive people into buying a car. This is especially true when it comes to used cars.
What people need to understand is that ultimately EVERYONE works in sales. Whether your title implies “sales” or not, if you own a business, are trying to make a living, are an ambitious entrepreneur, you are in sales. Your ultimate goal is to get consumers to buy your product, use your service, attend your event, get your employer to notice you, give you a raise etc. In order to do this, you must “sell”. Although I am a Marketer, I can only provide my service if I sell you the resources you’ll need to execute your marketing campaign.
I am selling a service that you want to buy so you can SELL your own service more effectively and grow your business. By buying my service which helps you grow your business, I am also growing my own (note the mutual goal).
Instead of viewing salespeople as the enemy, consider the fact that you too are in sales. In many cases, the seller has a resource or product that will be extremely valuable to help YOUR SALES.
Blog Transfer
Another downfall of Weebly is that I am unable to export my blog! I want to make sure my previous posts are still published and here for you as a resource so the next series of blogs will consist of me copying and pasting my old blogs. The archives will be off but I’ll make sure to begin each blog with the date it was written. Enjoy!
Bye Bye Weebly
My current website and blog are hosted on Weebly. I must say that Weebly has given me more trouble than any other web service I’ve used. Every single time I’ve tried to edit my blog a box pops up that says:
Oops!
Weebly encountered an exception. Please try your last request again.
syntax error
Sorry about that. In any case, click me and I’ll go away.
I proceed to “click me” so it goes away, but of course it does not go away. It takes me 15 minutes just to access the page where I can type my blog, then I have to “publish” it multiple times before it actually goes through. At first I thought it was an error that Weebly would fix, so I continued to blog on their site. Four months later the error still occurs. One of the main reasons I haven’t kept up with my blog is due to difficulty in accessing it. So finally, I’ve decide to take some time to import all of my blogs to WordPress. Now I find that Weebly does not have a tool which allows you to export their blogs! If anyone has any tips on how I might export my old blog from Weebly into my new one, please let me know. The only solution I can currently think of is to cute and paste each blog individually. The archives obviously won’t match up but at least I’ll have my information in one space.
So what attracted me to Weebly in the first place? Well they market themselves to be the “Easiest way to create and publish a website online”. Oh yeah and they are FREE. I learned that you get what you pay for. Stay tuned for a new and improved website and blog from me.
Six Easy Ways to use Promotions in Your Marketing Campaign
I love creating and executing promotions for several reasons. It keeps your product/service in consumers’ minds. It stimulates demand for your product. Promotions can also be customized and developed in so many different ways that it really gives me an opportunity to be creative. Promotion involves ongoing advertising and publicity. It’s one piece of the pie in an effective marketing campaign. Consumers only respond to your advertising when they are in need of your service or product, therefore it’s important to always be top of mind to your potential consumer. This is where effective promotions can really help!
I’ve compiled a list of 6 things you can easily do that require little or no additional effort and money.
1. 1. Wear your business- Easy way to promote while being active. If you’re participating in leisure activities such as a sports league, an adventure club or even a social club wear something such as a t-shirt with your company logo, website or a slogan that may spark the question “What does your shirt mean?” Then when someone inquires about your logo/slogan you can give a brief plug about your business. Great conversation starter!
2. 2. Put Your Logo & Contact Info on Every Outgoing Piece of Paper and Electronic Document- People like convenience and this makes it so much easier to be at your consumer’s fingertips. They can reach out to you immediately after seeing a promotional product that reminds them of you because they don’t have to go look anything up. Make sure your thank you cards, emails, any promotional products, brochures, paper documents, etc. all have your logo and a way to contact you, even if it’s just a website.
3. 3. Put Tips on Business Cards -You can imagine how many business cards I receive from all of the networking I do. Make yours stand out by placing some useful tips on the back. For example many people have PDAs that don’t have the letter keypad it’s hard to identify a number such as 1-800-CALL-NOW. Having a business card with the letters on the phone pad would come in handy. Common phone numbers and websites are also good tips. I’ve even received a business card and on the back they listed how to figure out your blood alcohol level depending on your weight and the number of drinks you’ve had. Figure out some useful tips that may correspond with your business and put them on the back!
4. 4. Social Networking- Most social networking sites are free! What a great way to promote to thousands of people in a space where they already belong. Get your company on as many sites as possible because in this day and age you really need to reach out to your consumer. Don’t wait for them to seek you out. Remember, convenience is a huge factor in consumer’s buying decisions. Currently every single business needs a website. Sooner than later every single business will need a Myspace, Facebook, etc.
5.5. Cross promotion- Identify other businesses that target your same demographic and develop promotions that benefit both parties. For example, give a discount for your business if they purchase something for the other business. Create a giveaway that involves products/ services from both businesses. You can also place each other’s information on your website and in your store.
6. 6. Create an Interactive Blog- Pose questions on your blog and ask readers to answer them by offering an incentive. For example, everyone who answers your question will be entered to win, Free advertising on your website for one month, a gift card, products/services from your business, etc. The more you engage your reader, the more likely they’ll be to return to your blog.
New Blog
I’ve been blogging for a few months using Weebly which also hosts my website. I consistently have problems logging on to my blog page so here I am with a new and improved blog! Please visit: www.marketingmelodie.com for all previous blogs!
