And, if you have been considering working social networking into your marketing strategy but aren’t sure how to take the first step, or want to contract someone to handle the management of this for you, Contact Us!

Social Media Savvy

Granted, some are easier to find than others, but on more occasions than I’d like to recall, I’ve found no lead to twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc., and had to log into my account on these networks and spend more time than I should’ve entering multiple combinations of people or company names to try to find the person/organization I’d like to follow.  Twitter isn’t perfect.  Example:  I just searched Richmond grocer ‘ukrops’ and Twitter tells me: “We couldn’t find anyone named ukrops.”  I know they have one, and turns out, the search field requires the apostrophe before the s.  This wouldn’t slow people down, and good for Ukrops.com having their links on display, but imaging hoping to find an individual and running to that problem.  Take a few stabs in the search field and if you haven’t guessed the exact combination, you very well may give up and forget about it.  Lost opportunity!

Here’s a big offender: The New York Times.  Currently I stay abreast of breaking new with email alerts.  But, what if I don’t want that cluttering up my inbox and just want to set up to follow them on Twitter.  I go over to nytimes.com and – I’m still looking – where is the link to their Twitter profile?  Now I have to log in to Twitter (extra step, and if I’m mobile on a smartphone additionally frustrating) and look them up.  Pftt.

What are they? Social media badges/buttons/icons are a visual flag to your web visitors that you have a profile on any given social network.  Check our Contact Us page to get the idea.  If you prefer to limit competing graphics on your site, a text link works just as well.

What do they do? A badge/button/icon/text link properly positioned on your site will signal visitors that you have presence on these social media platforms, and given they are on the same platforms, with a single click can connect and follow any latest news from you or your organization.

Why are they important? More and more people are keeping informed about the happenings in their personal and professional lives by connecting with people and companies on social networks.  I no longer dial the weather to get an “instant” forecast for my local area, I check with RVaWx on Twitter to stay updated.  Takes 2 seconds.  No more dialing and waiting for a recording to pick up.

MAKE IT EASY for people to find your updates on Twitter, Facebook, or whatever social network you are using that best suits your purposes.  Put them ALL up there.  Maybe you’ll catch extra videos to a YouTube channel or your blog.  Put it clearly in a corner of your main web page or contact details page, your email signature, etc.  Don’t make potential followers search that information out, because with the pace of technology we are experiencing today, we are ALL becoming too spoiled to do so.

Everyone is pretty clearly informed about the massive shift in marketing, mainly impacted by the Internet and Web 2.0.  But even within the overall shift and focus to online marketing, there are shifting undercurrents within Web 2.0.  For instance, Myspace is out, Twitter is in.  What’s working within this media?

A recent study from the Online Publishers Association (OPA) compares the percentage of time spent in various online activities from a 5 year period: 2009 to 2004.  The study also asks the question to respondents, “which components of your current digital marketing campaigns are delivering the best results?”

An overview of the findings as well as a link to purchase the $200 report – if you’re feeling lavish – is available HERE.

But a quick answer’s here: #1 component is being reported as “search” (search engine results) and #2 as email. Most important takeaway for now: search and email still constitute the core of a solid online media plan.  Don’t forget that social networking profiles and blogging will contribute weightily and inexpensively towards organic search presence.  Also don’t forget that the interludes between these “shifts” are changing at a quicker and quicker rate.  For instance, a report of the next 5 year period could show event more drastic percentage shifts.

Monogram Marketing can help you maximize the application of these and other components in your marketing strategy.  Contact us for more information.

We focus on these 4 platforms because they are the most recognized across the major search engines and they easily integrate and connect with one another. It’s important not to look “sporadic” online.  The critical objective when position our clients across these networks is actually interacting with users and potential customers on a regular basis as well providing relevant resources.  We don’t just give away all your secret knowledge.  We follow 4 simple steps:

1) Design a schedule for online networking

2) package teasers of knowledge to capture the audience’s attention

3) solidify a sense of expertise

4) leave a call to action

One of the best parts about utilizing these platforms is that they are all free.  But time is a valuable resource and the type of clients who need our services don’t have that resource available to plan and execute an effective online networking strategy.  Let Monogram do it for you, while you focus on serving your clients’ needs.

Helpful articles:

Smart Social Networking For Your Small Business, Forbes.com, June 2009

Is Facebook Really a Good Tool for Business?, Ann Handley of MarketingProfs, November 10, 2009

Using LinkedIn Groups to Increase Traffic to Your Business Blog, Michael Cohn, Biznik article, November 2009