Tap the Creativity of your Facebook Fans

Posted on February 20, 2012 by cedwards

Engagement and interaction are two keys to making your Facebook page successful. However, finding posts that people will respond to is not always easy. We have found something we think you should try. One of our sister companies routinely uses photo captioning and they get very high levels of interactions/comments. Find any interesting photo, post it and ask for people’s most creative caption. It is amazing what people will come up with. Here is a great photo to get you started. Please credit it as follows: Photo courtesy of Keira Bishop

Used Lap Cat

Be certain you have permission to use any photos you might post. A great place to look for photos is stock exchange, found at www.sxc.hu.

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Encouraging visitors to comment on blogs

Posted on February 20, 2012 by jthomas

Blogs offer opportunities to communicate with your visitors and start discussions.  Seeing comments proves that people are reading your posts.  It creates traffic and adds creditability to your blog.  Encourage your visitors to share their opinions, start discussions on your blogs and ask questions.  Here are 4 easy ways to jump start conversations and create traffic through your site:

  1. Write about something that is important to you or your business- write about a topic that is important to you.  This will open up the blog for comments that are relative to a topic about your business or community.
  2. Add links to your posts- Add links to related blog posts.  Adding clickable links within your posts will encourage visitors to interact more and spend more time on your site.   If visitors are engaged they will more likely comment.
  3. Add a call-to-action at the end of each blog post- people move quickly; remind them to take action before they move away from your blog.  Close each post with an action.  Be clear and precise and make sure it is directly related to your content in your post.
  4. Thank the person- People love to be recognized.  Let them know their comment is valuable to you.  Write back and thank them for their comment.  More than likely they will comment again.

The idea is to keep your visitors engaged and taking action.  Interactivity will help encourage more comments on your blog and your visitors will be more likely to remember your site.  The more often they visit, the more likely they will be to comment during their visits.

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Encourage Current Customers to use Check-In Deals

Posted on February 20, 2012 by fbaio

Problem: I am a business owner and I want to reach new, potential customers that have never heard about my business.
Solution: Encourage the customers that are currently shopping in your store to check-in on Facebook and you can potentially reach all of their friends on Facebook.

Many business owners are looking for new, inexpensive ways to reach potential customers. There are opportunities all around you, but why not focus on a solution that is free and encourages the word-of-mouth of your current and loyal customers?

Facebook allows customers to check-in when they arrive at your place of business. Each time a customer checks-in, they are exposing your business to all of their friends, not just one or two that they may happen to see that day. By checking-in to your business, customers are informing ALL of their Facebook friends exactly where they are and why they are there. Think of a customer checking-in as a personal referral of your business. The best part is, customers can check-in multiple times which only increases the validation of their referral.

Facebook has even offered a way for to you provide an extra incentive to increase check-ins. You can offer a check-in deal for customers, which would only become available once a customer has checked-in.

Click this link to watch a video to learn more:

Facebook Check-In Deals for Businesses

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End of Winter Coupon Ideas

Posted on February 16, 2012 by klampe

This winter has been milder than normal with less snow then most places anticipated.  If you run a retail store this means your typical winter inventory probably hasn’t moved as well as in years past.  Before you start promoting those spring items how about pushing that winter stock out the door using great incentives and new means of promoting those incentives?

Start by scheduling a sales event (Winter Inventory Blowout) with great deals and coupons for popular items that you need to get rid of. The next step will be to promote it in print, on the radio, in e-blasts, on your website, and even on social media.   Make sure to remind people that we are due for at least one late winter storm (they are already thinking it) and to stock up while the prices are low! Plus folks can always use those items next winter – you’ll help them be prepared and you won’t have to sit on the inventory. If you are in a warmer climate simply use the same techniques but for a seasonal inventory blowout or something along those lines.

 

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The Importance of Social Media Personalization

Posted on January 24, 2012 by jthomas

Social media personalization is becoming more and more important for business owners. We all know that maintaining a Facebook presence, as well as participating in other social networks such as twitter and LinkedIn to name a few, can be a valuable way for you to connect with customers. Personalizing social media profiles will not only allow your customers to find you easier, it will help keep you and your customers connected. There are several things you can do to personalize your social media pages; here are just a few simple ideas for personalizing your Facebook page:

•    Personalize your Facebook Page’s Photo Strip – Businesses are finding creative ways to use and customize the look of their pages. Consider using the photo strip to spell out or promote something. By default, Facebook uses your five most recent photos. An easy way to customize your photo strip is to create a photo album for your photo strip, keeping these photos separate from others. After you have added the five photos you want to use to your album, they will load into your photo strip as the most recent uploads. Keep in mind, when you add other photos to your wall, you will need to delete them in order to keep your custom photo strip in view. Here is an example of how NMR personalized their photo strip:
NMR's Facebook photo strip

•    Create a Facebook Username – Choosing a username is optional. By default, Facebook provides you with a URL consisting of randomly generated numbers. An advantage to choosing a username is that it will give you a distinct Web address for your Facebook profile, rather than random numbers, making your Facebook page URL easier to find and share, as well as making it look more professional. Enter www.facebook.com/username in your browser to select a customized version of your Facebook profile URL.
•    Create a Custom Welcome Page – You can generate a custom welcome page from any custom tab by setting the page as your ‘Default Landing Tab’ (under ‘Manage Permissions’). A great way to use this page along with welcoming new visitors is to encourage them to ‘Like’ your page so they don’t miss out on special offers, new products, special events, etc.
•    Socialcam – One of the easiest ways to share videos on Facebook and Twitter. Socialcam combines video sharing with social communities and works with iPhones and Androids. Be sure to check out the Socialcam App available on the App Store and the Android Market. Post how-to’s, tips and tricks and so much more. Your fans will be sure to come back and see what’s new!

 

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Integrated Marketing Communication

Posted on January 24, 2012 by cedwards

When working with new customers/clients, we like to first look at ways they can work smarter instead of working harder – especially when it doesn’t cost any more money.  “Integrated marketing communications” or IMC, includes the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program in order to maximize the impact on end users at a minimal cost.  Or in other words, shoot everything at the same target!  Your coupon offers, events, etc. should work together and should be promoted across all platforms in which you participate – the web, social media, email marketing, etc.

It is important to take this communication one step further, and that is into your print-based media.  If you run ads, produce flyers, or do direct mail, these pieces should communicate the same information you have on your technology-based media.  Offers on the web may vary slightly, but should work in sync with your print.  Even a promotional calendar can support your web efforts.  Make the monthly coupons on a calendar the same ones you offer online.  Print the dates your sales circulars are available, or your actual sale or store event dates right onto the calendar.  If you have special events held at your store, take photos and include them as the image for that month on next year’s calendar.  Include a map, store hours and locations and phone numbers on each month.

Think about your integration like a triangle – print, technology-based efforts and social media all work together and support each other.

The Integrated Marketing Triangle

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In-Store Support

Posted on January 24, 2012 by klampe

Many things can happen at your register – you can ask for an e-mail address or phone number, ask to join a discount club, or simply ring up sales.  But one thing you may not have thought about is giving your customers a reason to come back!

Along with a receipt you can give the customer a “Bag Stuffer”…which can contain coupons, discounts, and really promote your website and Facebook.  On this promotional piece make sure to tell customers they can visit your site for new discounts every month.  Also include that they can get those updates automatically by liking your Facebook page or signing up for your e-mail newsletter. To make sure the customer saves that “Bag Stuffer,” include a coupon or two which are good on their next purchase (5% off / $5 off next $30 purchase). This is just one more way to promote your store, website, and social media!

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Building on your Current Email List

Posted on January 20, 2012 by fbaio

The rewards of building an email list are endless for business owners. Email allows you to be connected to your customers and to send them valuable information, not only about your store, but about specials and events that they will want to know about!

We all know that it can be challenging to build an email list. Most of you already have an email list and think you are all set. However, it’s important to see your email list as something you can always be building on and improving. The more you build your email list, the more you will increase your customer loyalty and increase the opportunity for sales. There are many easy, inexpensive ways that you can continue building your email list.

1. Educate your customers about what you are offering

It’s important to continue educating your customers about your email list. Let customers know that you send out emails and the types of information that is in them. Chances are that a customer won’t turn down an opportunity to receive coupons in their email. An easy way to do this is to keep an email list right by the register. When you are checking someone else, just casually let them know that they can sign up for your email list to receive specials and information about events taking place in the store. An even better way to entice them to sign up is to show them what they are missing! Have a printed out copy of one of your e-blasts right next to the sign up pad so customers can see exactly what they will be receiving once they sign up.

2. Offer an incentive that customers just can’t live without

An email campaign is a great way to get a lot of email sign ups in a short amount of time. An easy campaign is to offer something that is directly connected to your business or even your community. A gift certificate to your store for anyone who signs up during a specific time frame is a great incentive because it provides both a value to you and your customers. Offering a gift certificate to a local restaurant or store is a great incentive too!

3. Encourage your employees by having a fun competition

A great way to continue building your email list is to put it in the hands of your employees. Creating a fun opportunity for your employees to get involved is always a win-win. Why not have a competition amongst your employees to see who can gather the most email addresses during a specific time frame? You might just be surprised by the results! You can even make the competition more fun by offering a small reward for the winner. This is a great competition that you can offer a few times over the year.

4. Advertise your e-blasts in your print marketing

In a small area of your print marketing campaign, you can let customers know that you use email marketing and that by signing up they can receive specials and event information on a regular basis. It won’t take up too much room and the opportunities are endless! You can reach a lot of customers by including this information on your next print campaign!

The moral of the story is that you always want to be building your email list in order to maximize its potential. Growing your email list doesn’t take too much of an effort on your part, but the result will definitely be worth your time!

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Claim Your Google Place and Instantly Boost Your Ranking

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Mick Danahy

Google ranks sites based on how valuable they think the site is to the person searching…naturally, they rank themselves pretty highly.  So if you register your Place on Google (a free and easy process) and include a link to your website, you are almost guaranteeing that people who search for your store will find your site without any problem.  This is how you do that…

Go to www.google.com/places where you will be presented with two options; below “Get your business found on Google” on the right side of the screen, click the “Get started” button.  If you aren’t already signed into your Google account you will be asked to sign in.  If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one by clicking the link in the top right corner of your browser.

Once you are logged in you’ll be prompted to enter your business’s phone number.  Google searches its database to see if they already have any sort of listing for your business that you can claim. If they do, click edit next to your listing.  If there is no listing yet, click “Add a new listing.” Enter the information you would like to appear on your Google Place page.  This will likely be the first result when people search for your business’s name, so the more information the better, but make sure that you add a link to your website.  Not only will that give customers an easy route to your website, but when big websites like Google have verified links to your site, search engines trust it more and will rank it higher across the board.

After you’ve finished editing the details of your Google Place, click submit.  To ensure that you are who you say you are (an official representative of the establishment you’re claiming) Google will have to call the business’s official land-line. Be prepared to answer the phone immediately after you click Finish.  A recording will present you with a pin number.  After entering the pin number into the proper field and confirming the listing, you should have ownership over that Google place, and in just a few minutes it should be a top result in Google searches for your business name.

Now that you have an official Google Place, you can use it to post information, special offers, and photos; you can even respond to customer comments and reviews publicly as the owner.

Similar processes exist for other referral/review websites like Yelp, YellowPages, MerchantCircle, Bing, and Yahoo.  It’s highly recommended that you claim as many of these pages as possible.  This gives you maximum control of your image online, and including a link to your website on each referral page will dramatically increase your chances of being found in search engines.

Claim your business on Yelp
Claim your business on Yahoo!
Claim your business on Bing
Claim your business on MerchantCircle

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Mick’s Mess Ups

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Mick Danahy

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