Continued growth in Asian countries using Facebook with Indonesia leading with a 14% gain

Facebook adds ‘become a fan’ as an upsell to existing event and polling engagement ads- Basically, users have the ability to become a fan of the associated Facebook page once they’ve interacted with the existing event or engagement ad. This allows advertisers to maximize value and increase their fanbase.

Facebook nearing 1 billion dollars in revenue. While impressive unto itself, the article explains the 3 important contributers to its growth. Not surprisingly, it’s Facebooks;

1. Self-serve ads
2. Emerging virtual goods store
3. Branded ad campaign services for agencies and marketers

Facebook introduces their Preferred Developer Program. Initially, 14 companies are listed as preferred vendors that you can choose to hire should you need a custom Facebook page, Connect integration, or application development. A great lead generation possibility for those specializing in Facebook development.

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I just released the newest whitepaper entitled, “The Future of Marketing With Facebook Pages.” You can obtain a copy here by either opting via email or using your Twitter account to download the copy.

This is a 12 page whitepaper. The first part of this paper articulates how 3 stakeholders within the community will play a role in shaping Facebook pages as a strong emerging social marketing tool. We will then explore 4 mission critical elements that a successful marketer will need to have in order to succeed with Facebook pages. The final part will include a summary of 7 key takeaways. Below is an excerpt from each part of the paper.

In future additions to the paper, I will explore how Facebook Ads and Facebook Connect can round out the suite of Facebook marketing solutions. The only way to be notified is to opt into the Smart Social Media Tip of the Week. I welcome comments and feedback.

You can learn more about how our Facebook engagement marketing solutions can help your business here.

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Stakeholder #2—Consultants and Vendors

The second stakeholders include vendors such as social media consultants and web designers who will start to offer services catered around Facebook pages.

The services will be categorized into several areas:

1. Setup and Implementation of Applications: Vendors such as web designers will go beyond simple set-up of pages. They will offer customized page designs that enable embedding of flash, multi-media, and static html designs. They will also offer implementation of applications that are relevant to the client’s business, as many do not have the time to search for relevant applications.

1. Engagement Marketing Services: Vendors will provide engagement-marketing services that will assist fan page owners to learn to engage and interact with fans more productively. The marketing strategies that consultants offer will revolve around:
   1. How to best integrate the fan page into the overall marketing mix
   2. What types of content to produce to facilitate word of mouth
   3. How to use Facebook ads as part of the overall marketing campaign

1. Customized Applications: Geared more towards established brands and enterprise-level businesses that have sizable marketing budgets, vendors such as agencies and application developers will create customized Facebook applications to help these brands achieve the goals of their Facebook marketing campaigns.

Mission Critical Elements to Master For Facebook Pages

Anyone interested in successfully marketing Facebook pages will have to understand the mission critical elements.  Most page owners can grasp mastering 1 or 2 of the elements below. However, true success will come to the marketer who can simultaneously master all four elements of the following elements:

1. Analytics
2. Applications
3. Integrated Marketing
4. Engagement Marketing

Mission Critical Element #1– Analytics

When Facebook rolled out the analytics tool Insights, it indicated how determined the company was about pages becoming a viable social marketing tool. They know that a robust social marketing platform isn’t simply about the features but also about the ability to track and measure activities. Although measuring website traffic with tools such as Google Analytics has been around for sometime, offering data about the interaction with a social network is relatively new. Facebook is one of the few major social networking sites to offer this type of data.

The metrics that Insight offers are in-depth and measure every imaginable type of interaction. Some key data that Insights offers about fans are:

• Breakdown by sex and age
• Top countries and cities represented
• Interactions per post
• Media consumption – what type of media fans are viewing (photos, audio, and video)

While more businesses and marketers are starting to accept social media, very few have deciphered how to exactly measure success or lack thereof. As a result, Insights is a key stepping stone for Facebook to persuade marketers and brands to use the platform by providing measurable data that can track activities.

Why Master It?

Understanding key data about an audience allows a marketer to create a customized engagement strategy. Insights will help in two areas:

Review Existing Engagement: Existing analytics allows a marketer to review existing engagement strategies to determine why they are succeeding or failing. Let’s say the goal of a page is to market and attract a certain age bracket. Through Insights, you realize that the age bracket is not heavily represented; you can then perform an audit of your strategy and make corrections.

Customize Future Engagement: Based on the existing makeup of audience and their interaction, messages that are tailored toward them can be crafted, thus resulting in a sustainable base. Performance measured is performance improved.

Going forward, it would not be surprising if future enhancements to Insights offered data on interests, activities, and other information that we include on our profile. This would be rich data for any marketer to use. Imagine a future where brands can send out tailored messages to their fan base that revolve around a specific interest and the only people who receive that message are the ones who list that interest in their profile.

Key Takeaways With Facebook Page Marketing

1. Have a customized landing page: Avoid using the wall as the landing page and consider a customized landing page created with simple html markup. The Static FBML app is a great application that allows embedding html, CSS, and images. The application makes it easier for page owners to define and implement calls to action such as simply downloading a coupon or opting into an email newsletter.
2. Leverage applications: These are the tools that help power your interaction and amplify your voice.
3. Social media Integration: Integrate other social media tools such as blogs and Twitter onto your page. This will help increase exposure to other platforms you are using. Conversely, integrate Facebook Fan Box widget, badges, and share buttons onto your website, email newsletters, and blog in order maximize touch points.

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Here are some articles and resources that we’ve written on Facebook. Feel free to share and retweet if these are helpful.

1. Facebook Fan Pages for Book Authors — A 7 page eGuide on how book authors can market with Facebook pages. Though, some of the principles can apply to businesses in general.  [link]

2. Yet Another Fanpage – The 4 mistakes that most page owners make when marketing their fan page. We offer tips on how to avoid them. [article] [pdf]

3. “Future of Marketing With Facebook Pages” Whitepaper — A 14 page whitepaper that we wrote that prognosticates why Facebook pages will become a great platform for brands. We also talk about how to be more productive on Facebook and what mission critical skillsets are needed to succeed on this platform. [article]

4. Three Tips to Optimize Your Facebook Ad Campaign– [newsletter tip]

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It seems like every week, I get an invite from a friend on Facebook suggesting that I become a fan of their company’s fan page. In addition to the countless event and group invites and watching my status feed, I just find my attention span shrinking by the moment for Facebook and social media in general.

Why? That’s the question that I find myself asking when people suggest I become a fan of their page. That’s the question every fan page owner should ask before they promote their page. Why should anyone devote his or her attention to your page? Why should we add your page to the countless other pages, friends, and information that we are already following on Facebook?

I’ve come to realize that most page owners have not answered this question much less given thought as to how to make their page stand out from the existing online noise. They have YAF- Yet Another Fanpage.

In the eyes of the invitees, we see no discernible value to joining Yet Another Fanpage. You have YAF if your page suffers from any of the following.

• No engagement — You have no interaction between you and your fans. It is simply you engaged in a monologue as opposed to a dialogue.
• No landing page –You have an ineffective landing page when users land on it.
• No reason –You invite your friends to join the page but don’t give them any special reason beyond the fact that you’re friends and they should do a pity join
• No applications — You are not utilizing widgets and applications to power your fan page.

How to avoid YAF

1. Engagement

Encourage a conversation. Start a discussion. Ask for opinions. Do something that will encourage a dialogue between you and your fans. You need to avoid the same old, same old promotional messages that everyone is doing on their page. If no one is responding to your update status and other content, then chances are, you have not developed a successful engagement strategy. Smart Social Media is heavily dependent on your ability to get your fans talking and engaging with you.

Gary Vaynerchuck has probably one of the highest engagement levels due to his natural ability to converse with his 30,000+ fans.

2. The landing tab

Set the landing tab to a customized page that will create a call to action. Applications such as the FBML app allow you to create customized designs with HTML and CSS. This can really pretty up your fan page all the while grabbing the attention of a prospective fan. The landing tab of a fan page should serve a similar purpose to that of a website homepage. As soon as a visitor lands on your website, they should be able to quickly scan and understand the purpose of your business as well as be lead to the next section of your website. You should accomplish the same goals for your Facebook page.

A customized landing tab will include various call to actions and should have a succinct and clear message for your page and/or business. Here is a customized landing page that we designed for a business-to-business network group. We knew exactly what type of actions we wanted the visitor to take and incorporated that into the customized page.

As soon as you land on The Dippin Dots page, you know you’re in for something special. They took the time to design a unique landing page that will grab your attention and give their brand a favorable first impression.

3. Give a reason

Offer your fans a prize or reward for becoming a fan. Some brands have allowed fans to download coupons to be used towards the purchase of the brand’s product or services. Other page owners have gotten creative by offering a freebie if someone became a fan. Whatever it is, make sure you try to incentive the process for people. Hold a contest, promotion, or giveaway. Do something to get the buzz going!

Bobby McKey tries to grow their fan base by giving fans a printable coupon as soon as they land on the page. Assuming that this is the only place that I can find this coupon, then this also allows for them to track and measure the success of this marketing tactic. Social media is very fluid so constant adjustment is needed.

4.Utilize applications

There is an abundance of Facebook applications that can help power your page. Applications exist for polling your fanbase, importing RSS feeds, showing videos, and so much more. You simply have to do a search for what you’re looking for and try out these applications to see what works best. If utilizing a social media tool like a Facebook page is akin to engaging in a conversation with your audience, then applications are the tools that give you a voice to be heard.

The iLike application is one of the most popular applications for musicians to power their fan page. It takes engagement between musican and fans to a new level.

Now look; I’m sure you think you have a great product, cause, or service to promote via your page. However, marketing in the age of social media requires creativity and forethought. Successful marketing requires engagement and utilizing conversational tactics to get your fan base to spread your message.

[downloadable pdf]

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I will be creating a new series of interviews called Local Social where I will be interviewing local businesses in the greater Washington DC area and explore how they use social media. The goal is twofold;

1. Explore how various industries are leveraging social media.
2. Offer a pragmatic viewpoint on how other businesses are using today’s web technology.

While it is valuable to hear how each business leverages social media, we should realize that they can always improve upon their tactics and strategies. This is where I chime in and provide the key takeaways at the end of each interview.

This week, I cover Diana Kurcfeld, CEO of Design To Delivery.

Background Info;

About Design To Delivery helps organizations successfully navigate government procurement and businesses win and management government contracts. We provide strategic planning, opportunity identification, proposal and pricing development, GSA Schedule and grant proposal support, acquisition management and contract administration, and training services.

Where to find D2D:

1. Twitter @ddkurcfeld,
2. http://www.d2dinc.blogspot.com/,
3. http://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadibblekurcfeld,
4. http://www.govloop.com/profile/DianaKurcfeld

Clientele. They support government clients (federal, state & local), and commercial clients that are in or want to get into government contracting.

Interview:

1. What are your preferred social media tools? Why?

I prefer Twitter, LinkedIn and GovLoop. I am a member of others, but these fit my needs best. Twitter allows me a platform to reach people with information about government contracting. It has been a good tool for me to build relationships with people outside of the Washington, DC area.

2. At Sachi Studio, we’re all about empowering clients to use what I refer to as Smart Social Media. This means to socialize smarter and not harder with todays online communication platforms. Can you list some tactics that you’ve used to enable you to use social media more productively?

When I first started using social media I was bombarded with a huge number of sites to join. Like many people, I signed up for more sites than I really needed, including the sites for several associations that I belong to. I decided to refine why I was using social media, my objectives, and my message. I reached out to people who had more information and got information on how to maximize my time and efforts. This allowed to figure out what sites would help me achieve my goals. I still use the other sites, although it’s less frequent than the primary ones. When I first joined Twitter people made a big deal about the number of followers I had. I decided early on that I would grow my Twitter followers organically and not thru any of the “get 10,000 followers in a day” gimmicks. I wanted to follow (and be followed by) people with similar interests.

3. What sort of specific results have you gotten from using these tools?

I’ve seen the most results from Twitter. I am interested in building relationships and sharing my perspective and expertise on government contracting. Although I’m not trying to sell anything on Twitter, I have developed relationships with potential clients. I’ve built relationships, been interviewed for publications, been invited to be on panels and to speak at events, and have also been contacted for information relating to government contracting.

I also used Twitter when I needed a resume for a quick-turnaround client proposal. My followers re-tweeted the info and I did get a resume. I use TweetDeck to manage my tweets. I created columns so I can keep track of everyone. For instance, I have news, government, small biz, and health & fitness as columns. I can quickly scan these columns for information, and then read the other columns for tweets with more general information. I really make an effort to read people’s tweets and not just the people I know well. This has allowed me pass along useful information to my followers and to develop relationships with people I can reach out to when I have questions.

4. Do you think that “building relationships” online using a platform such as Twitter is actually more time-efficient than doing it offline? In the sense that building it online is simply a matter of a few tweets and messages here and there. All totaled, it’s simply minutes out of your time. Whereas in person, it could be a few hours logged between phone calls and coffee meetings before something productive can occur. Thoughts?

It may be more time efficient, but it certainly should not replace the other parts of relationship building (phone & especially face time). In my opinion, some exclusively online relationships can lead to a false sense of familiarity, which in the long run may end up being superficial. One thing I have found is my community of Twitter followers and people I’m following really do seem to care and genuinely want to connect with people. That is a great starting point for building a relationship.

In terms of time management, platforms such as Twiitter are a timesaver in the sense that I’m not traveling to all of these out-of-state/country locations to try and meet people. If I need to travel later to reinforce a relationship, then that’s fine. I’ve actually met quite a number of of my Twitter relationships. We make arrangements to meet at events we’re attending or to get together individually for coffee. I’ve even introduced people via Twitter who have also met in person.

5. Seeing that part of your business is to help them navigate the government procurement and win contracts, would you be recommending your own clients to use social media?

I’ve been asked by clients about how social media relates to government contracting and how they can use social media for their business. Government contracting, like all business, is built on relationships. I have met and built relationships with many government employees and government agencies on Twitter. They post information on their agency, upcoming events, industry events, etc. There are also news agency related to government contracting on Twitter so it’s a good way to stay up-to-date on events and issues. One thing I caution my clients is to need make sure they have specific policies for employees using social media networks, particularly information relating to the posting of company information. I have heard stories about employees posting about a proposal they are working on. Posting about contract awards could also pose a problem. Companies must read their contract carefully so they know about any potential limitations about publicizing a contract win.

6. What’s been the biggest surprise to you so far in your usage of these tools?

The biggest surprise is they have been useful tools. I was very hesitant to initially use social media, especially after hearing they can be a time drain. I also was surprised by how quickly they can be effective if they’re used properly.

7. Speaking of time, how much time do you put into these tools on a weekly basis?

It really depends on what is going on although I don’t spend as much time as I did when I first started (it really can be addictive). I review my Twitter and Facebook accounts several times a day to see what people are talking about (spending about 5 minutes per site). I have most of my social networking accounts set up so my Tweets and blog posts automatically update to the various sites. That really saves time. I have my LinkedIn groups set up so I’m emailed a daily digest that I can scan and only read articles that interest me.

I get weekly emails from Plaxo and LinkedIn, which give me a snapshot of my connections’ activities. Most of my Twitter postings are government contracting related information. Some days I run across a lot of information to post, other days – not so much. I may tweet from an event I’m attending or send a random thought from my mobile phone. I spend more time on Twitter on Fridays for two reasons: 1) I really want to share good people I know for Follow Friday; and 2) I’ve found some really interesting people to follow on Follow Fridays.

8. Best advice you can give to any business trying to use these tools?

Determine why you want to use social media – networking, sales, social, etc. Then do your homework on the best site(s) for you based on your objectives. Set aside specific time to use it and don’t get sucked into the black-hole of time mismanagement by limiting the number of sites you use. Social media can be a real timewaster if you don’t plan ahead.

Weakpoints:

1. Upon review of her website, she needs better social media integration. Not every website visitor will buy but you need to find a way to stay top of mind to them. Integrating Facebook badges, Twitter widgets and other embeds will allow visitors to connect with her on these secondary sites and continue building the rapport.
2. Move away from the Google Blogspot platform and migrate the blog to a Wordpress platform and then migrate the blog over to her website servers. Considering the amount of useful posts she has, it is not getting full traction by having the blog platform seperate from the website. It’s like building a house with a weak foundation. A strong blogging strategy has to use a strong blogging platform. During the interview, she did mention considering moving the blog over. Integrating the blog into the websites will improve search engine optimization efforts along with increasing brand identity.
3. Once she moves the blog over, she should also consider improving the SEO of her website. DC is all about the government contracting business and there are tons of daily keyword searches for those keywords. That’s just money left on the table.

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Facebook releases a new widget called Fanbox. This can be found under your profile picture with a link that says “Add Fan Box To Your Site”. From the developers wiki, this “is a social widget that allows Facebook Page owners to attract and gain Facebook fans from their own website. The Fan Box lets users:

• See how many users are already fans, and see some of their friends who are
• Read recent posts by from the Page
• Become a fan with 1-click without needing to visit the Page

Much like the Twitter widget, this allows you to convert some of your website traffic into a larger fanbase for your page all the while creating a richer interaction with your visitors.

It should be noted that this widget is 200 pixels in width and over 500 pixels in height. So regardless of which page you want to integrate this into, be sure you have enough space to do so. This should fit well into most sidebars. In the future, I’d like to see other options for this widget such as the ability to have a horizontal version of this where the width is wider and the length is shorter.

This is just another reason why I encourage businesses to get on the Fanpage bandwagon. Facebook intends to really develop the Fanpage platform in the coming months so that it becomes a robust marketing platform for businesses and organizations of all sizes.

Feel free to list any creative ways that you are using this new widget in your comments

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I’ve been completely fascinated by what’s been occuring with Iran lately. I feel that we are witnessing history unfolding before us. I honestly believe the voices that are being shouted out could not have been heard as loudly as it were not for social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Iranians are logging into their Facebook account to find out what’s going on. They are Tweeting to update the world on the tragedies that are occurring as we speak. The force and the impact would not be as strong if it were not for the tweets, updates, and uploaded Youtube videos.

If you’re learning to leverage social media applications for your business, the Iranian elections can teach you some valuable lessons. For starters;

Be transparent. The Iranian government was not very transparent in how they finalized the votes. In doing so, they created alot of distrust amongst the citizens. This is really the heart of the issue here. The people of Iran are fed up with the level of secrecy and behind-the-scenes manipulation of the voting process.

If you’re going to use social media, be transparent in your efforts. Don’t manipulate your readers or audience. Don’t fake things like Wal-Mart did. It’ll only backfire on you. Look for opportunities where you may need to disclaimer or caveat issues when communicating to the public especially if you see possible miscommunication or misinterpretation occurring. Your consumers and customers want to know that they are consuming truth and not fiction.

Accept opposing viewpoints. Iran’s government didn’t do this. When the people took to the streets, law enforcement and the secret police came in and gave these people a beatdown. Seven people died because of the Ayatollah’s inability to accept the opposition’s viewpoint.

Look- people aren’t gonna always agree with you. In fact, the bigger your company is, the more likely you’ll have opposing viewpoints and dissatisfied customers. They’ll tweet their dissatisfaction (Quiznos sucks). They’ll make comments via their blog (KFC printable coupons backfire) and they’ll start Facebook groups that your company sucks (Verizon customer service sucks). If you do anything similar to what the Ayatollah did, which is to enage in censorship, then you’re just asking for more forceful opposition. Embrace the feedback and the opposing viewpoints. Chances are, you can improve your business based on their feedback. So don’t delete comments on your blog just because they don’t agree with you. Engage in a dialogue.

Be real. Iran’s elections was anything but real. The government has engaged in all sorts of duplicitous efforts from the very beginning of this election process. They have shut the voting process down early and prematurely declared Ahmadinejad as the winner. They have also shut down the SMS text messaging system so that Mir Hossein Mousavi could not grow grassroots support on the day of the voting.

Who in their right mind wants to be part of something like this? No one. In the eyes of the people, it’s all fake.

People want authenticity. In Iran, they’re demanding it.

If you are going to use social media tools, learn to leverage it with authenticity. There’s nothing wrong with being incorrect or showing that you are prone to mistakes. I get tired of seeing so many business people set up Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts and all they do is talk about business and show the “sunny side” up. Talk about boring. Show your personal side. Talk about, within reason and comfort, your family or personal interests that matter to you. This is one on one communication with another human being.

Keith Ferrazzi recently said,

“So often people love you because of your imperfections. We don’t realize it’s really the perfect bits that frighten people off.”

How true.

If you’re a business, talk about things besides the business itself. Talk about your customers, your employees or you for that matter. We do business with people whom we like, know, and trust. Facebook status updates, tweets, and blog entries can easily reinforce the concept of authenticity. No business is ever perfect in how it runs its operations. Why cover up what we already know- that you’re not perfect.

Be transparent and don’t cover up issues that need to be addressed. Learn to accept opposing viewpoints of your customers and show that you are willing to embrace them. And be real. Chances are, revealing that other side of yourself or of the business can create hidden opportunities to connect that you were never aware of.

So what do you think? Are there other social media principles that a business can learn while watching history unfold itself in Iran?

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Let me introduce you to Lynn Miller (twitter handle is @organicmania). She’s a client of mine. I picked her up a couple years ago. She needed a simple Wordpress blog theme along with maintenance and support from time to time. If I compare her to some of my other clients in terms of monetary value, I wouldn’t put her on the higher end. I certainly have other clients who pay me more.

However, as many of us professional service providers know, money, is but a small factor in our relationship with our clients. Lynn’s contributions to my business can be measured in other ways. Whenever one of her friends or business contacts needs my services, Lynn will refer them to me. We also share similar professional interests in the fields marketing and social media. Those commonalities allow us to go outside of the client-designer relationship and talk as peers all the while brainstorming.

But then there is the personal relationship. About every 2-3 months, I host something called The Amazing Dinner, which is an at-home dinner party for entrepreneur friends. I always invite her because I want to introduce her to other like-minded entrepreneurs. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we are hang-out buddies, I do think a certain personal relationship has evolved too.  She’s connected to me on Facebook and has admitted she’s taken an interest in my various activities and drama that goes on in my personal life. Whether it be me going skydiving or being completely confused by women (aren’t we all), she will reach out to me over phone, share her own life experiences, and just be a bit more than a ‘client’ to me.

So you might be asking, “Why is a web designer talking up one of his own clients?” Good question.

I have several reasons;

1. It’s very rare that you see any consultant or any business talk up one of their clients. I am not even sure if I can recall ever seeing a web designer bragging about one of his clients. But I chose to do so here for the simple reason that none of us entrepreneurs would be here without our clients. Yes, sometimes they drive us crazy and we feel like cursing them out when they don’t follow our directions. But from to time, you’ll find a client like Lynn who makes things worthwhile.
2. Business does not always have to be business. There’s nothing in the rule book that says we can’t venture beyond the typical business relationship. I wanted to introduce you to Lynn to help show that there is value beyond the status-quo business relationship. Some of the best experiences we have in life isn’t necessarily the travels and adventures we take. But it can also be the daily interactions we have with friends, strangers, and business contacts.
3. Let’s face it; this economy is making it tough for many of us business owners. We tend to focus on what is lacking. And what is lacking is more clients! I hear ya. Believe me, I do. But no amount of focusing on what you’re lacking will ever get what you want in life. So I choose to be grateful. I choose to be grateful to have wonderful clients such as Lynn. Thanks Lynn. Gratitude folks, gratitude.
4. This one is targeted towards fellow web designers and internet professionals. We work in a field where everything is ruled by technology. Our clients come to us because of our understanding of internet technology. But behind the codes and the internet jargon are real people like Lynn who have real ambitions. They rely on us to help power their dreams into reality. Let’s remember that.
5. To encourage others to start a similar practice that I am starting. Look at your existing roster of clients and see who you would like to spotlight from time to time. What sort of value have they added to your life beyond the money? Would you be willing to go so far as to write up a blog entry about them and let them know how much you appreciate them? I hope so.

Seth Godin says that “small is the new big.” How true. There are certain advantages that a small design studio like mine can have that the bigger agencies don’t have. We develop stronger relationships with our clients. In the bigger firms, there’s no such thing. If your a small business, embrace your “smallness”. But always think big.

We would not be where we are today without our clients. They help pay our bills and are the catalyst of our dreams and ambitions. But it is not a one way street. It is very symbiotic. We help them while they help us. Let’s keep moving.

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Given the existing economic conditions that many businesses are facing today, I’ve been wondering how social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogging can help many businesses who are struggling. Of course, all sorts of answers popped into my head. But I wanted to hear from the businesses themselves.

So, to celebrate the redesign of the new company site and to get a conversation going with other business owners, I’m by giving away two social media packages with a contest. I have 2 types of giveaways. Here’s how it works;

Social Media Giveaway Contest #1.

In order to qualify, tell me in your own words in the comments below, how or why you think social media can save your business in these tough times. How can these marketing tools such as Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and others improve your business? No more than 2 paragraphs is necessary to explain why you think social media can help you.

There will be 1 winner for this contest. The winner will receive a free social media audit package that we typically charge $175 for. You can learn more about our audit packages in the link provided. The winner can choose from 1 of 3 Social Media Audit packages; Facebook, Twitter, or the website audit package. The SMA packages I’m giving away can really help any business with an existing social media presence improve their marketing.

In addition, you will get a free Wordpress blog installation template along with 4 plugins of your choice and 2 hours of free design tweaks to the new theme we install onto your domain. The total value of this giveaway is almost $500. If you already have an existing self-hosted wordpress blog (that’s the .org version and .com version), then I’ll throw in another hour of free design/code upgrades or give you a free hour of blog consulting strategies. The design/code upgrades is limited to html/css or graphic design services only. No flash or javascripting here. Either way, you’ll be getting some great upgrades to your blog.

Social Media Giveaway Contest #2

The second contest is the giveaway of a free Wordpress blog installation along with 2 themes of your choice, 4 plugins, and 2 hours of free design tweaks to your site. The total value of this package is a little over $300. Please note that your webhosting provider must meet the minimum Wordpress requirements for hosting.

All you have to do to qualify is, again, tell us why social media can help save your business in the comments below and sign up to our newsletter, Smart Social Media Tip of the Week.

The most persuasive comments are those that can give a brief background on your business and how you can best implement my giveaways.

Contest ends next Friday June 24th at 9pm. Minimum of 10 comments needed for me to giveaway the packages.

So, can social media help save your business? If so, how? Let’s hear it!

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I was at The Taste of Wheaton event this past Sunday. As I walked around sampling the culinary delights, I couldn’t help but put on my marketing cap for these restaurants and see how much more money these restaurants could really make.

Most restaurants that participate in a Taste Of event are well intentioned in that they want to bring in more customers and hope to use this event as a platform for attracting new customers. While giving out samples of their food is a start, I believe is simply old-school marketing. In fact, that’s what everyone else is doing at the event!

If these restaurants were coming to me for marketing consulting, here are some simple and yet powerful tactics that I’d offer them to attract new customers;

1. Give out coupons with each order that will encourage them to come back to your restaurant at a future time and spend more money.
2. Give out brochures or business cards with each order as well. Amazingly, most of these stands didn’t have brochures or list their address anywhere on their signage!
3. Incorporate your online social media presence (assuming you have one) into your print handouts. For example, include Twitter and Facebook profile urls into your brochures. Encourage them to follow or add you by giving away a discount or freebie.
4. Collect email addresses of the patrons.

I’d also devise a long-term strategy that would incorporate word-of-mouth tactics into the above.

I always tell my website clients to not waste a visitor by simply letting them browse your site and then leaving. I tell them to have a newsletter for them to subscribe to, or to integrate their Twitter, blog, or Facebook accounts into the site so they can connect with customers in other places long after they’ve left.

The strategies and mindset used for website marketing is the same at an offline event like this. Chances are, a one-day Taste Of event will not make or break your business. However, developing strategies and tactics that will encourage customers to ‘connect’ and remember your business long after they have tried your samples is a strategy that will handsomely payoff in the long run. Don’t be myopic and focus on just today. Innovate and be creative.

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