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Should You Network For Your Business?

Should You Network For Your Business?

The simple answer is yes… but you must be smart about how you do it.

The most common complaint is burnout, which typically happens because they try to attend as many events as they can. Networking, when done the right why can lead to a very positive result if you’re willing to give it the time it needs to develop. The following are tips that can help make networking more successful for you and your business.

 

NOTE: If you plan on attending networking events to solely get business you probably should change your action plan

 

 

- Think about what your target market is and who your power partners are.

- Be strategic with the groups you attend. Look at a list ahead of time to see how many people in the same industry will be there.

- Attend several groups in the beginning to find the best synergy and energy.

- Ask friends or business colleagues for the best groups to attend.

- Think about joining a local chamber to get more involved.

- When you show up to event ask the leader to point out the individuals that would be your power partners.

- Once you commit to a group make sure you attend.

- Develop relationships outside of the meetings.

 

 

To optimally develop networking relationships and make them work it’s vital to meet your power partners for coffee, lunch or a drink after work. Try to develop more of a relationship outside of the typical business environment so they can learn more about you and vice versa. They might be the best at what they do but if their attitude or ethics are not great then they don’t deserve your referral. Think of meeting these individuals and training your new sales force. The more you develop a relationship, trust and competence the easier it becomes to refer.

 

Networking can take time but when it’s done in the right way, it can be the best source of business for you. If you don’t have the time to build relationships and don’t take it seriously you will constantly scratch your head wondering why others don’t refer business to you. Whereas, if you make the time, plan out your meetings strategically and are willing to be patient once you gain their trust your referrals can spread like wildfire.

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Best Practices For Hashtags

Best Practices For Hashtags

Hashtags (#) are the best and quickest way to search and figure out what Twitter users are chatting about. The bottom line is Twitter is more than just talking about what you’re having for dinner and when used properly the connections are endless.

 But, most importantly is how you use them, why you use them and what are the right ones to use, makes all the difference.

 

1. FIND AND THEN JOIN A CONVERSATION

Hashtags allow you to find your target market and when you do it’s very easy to find weekly chats where you can engage with link-minded individuals, support other’s ideas and share your opinions.

2. DON’T OVERUSE THEM

Think of a hashtag as being similar to Google ad words. When explaining to someone how they work the best analogy is to compare it to typing words in a Google search to find a product. Hashtags work very similar on Twitter and allow you to find others that are chatting around the world on a specific subject. The key is to use one, maybe two keywords (hashtags) in a tweet that is most relevant to the topic of conversation. Using more than two can be downright irritating to others and overkill.

 

Example of a great hashtag – I recently found out that I must adhere to a #glutenfree lifestyle and I’m looking for help. Using the hashtag #glutenfree allows your tweet to be seen by so many more individuals (not just your followers) that are discussing gluten-free and it’s a great way to connect with those that are discussing it. This is also how you can gain followers and start following those that are discussing gluten-free.

3. TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE

Think about networking face to face with individuals, it’s all about building a relationship, discussing your business and finding power partners. Twitter is the exact same thing only online. When you think about whom you want to connect with, hashtags makes it extremely easy.

 

If you have any other tips for using hashtags, please feel free to comment below.

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How To Choose Social Platforms For Your Business

How To Choose Social Platforms For Your Business

With all the existing & emerging social media platforms out there, choosing the right ones for your business can be a daunting task. At the beginning of the social media “revolution” I would frequently see business owner’s eyes light up and the suggestion of them being on Facebook or Twitter. Essentially they thought it meant instant fans in the thousands (and some even thought millions)! Now, I get more of the reaction “Social Media didn’t work for me.” Or “It’s not a good fit for my product category.” While there are numerous approaches and strategies when it comes to actually managing social media platforms for business, lets first address actually getting to those platforms.

 

CLICK HERE to see a list of the top social platforms so far for 2012 (determined by traffic generated only, not effectiveness)

 

STEPS TO DETERMINING PLATFORMS

 

1) Look at your clients/customers, partners & associations BEFORE looking at the list of social platforms

Before you get overwhelmed looking at a list of thousands of platforms to start accounts on, first figure out WHO your clients/customers are. Do NOT take this step for granted. Once you start discussing this or making a written list, you will see how it starts to grow. Once you have your list of clients, move on to partners, vendors, sponsors, etc. These are just as important to connect with as your existing clients. And don’t forget about that dream ideal client… what do they look like (on the inside…not in appearance silly)

 

Find Out Where The People/Business On Your List “Hang Out”

 

* What platforms are most of your existing clients on?

* Are your vendors, partners, suppliers, etc active on social media? If so, what platforms?

* What is the demo of your ideal client? Find the platform that best matches that

 

If you didn’t consider your customers existing platforms, you would all be talking a different language and never connecting!

 

 

2) Consider Your Time… Be Realistic

Again, BEFORE looking at platforms ask yourself “How much time do I have to dedicate to this daily/weekly?” Every platform has it;s own unique learning curve and some take longer than others to take hold. Determining how much time you have to dedicate to your social media marketing could eliminate some platforms immediately.

 

3) What Are You Wanting To Get From Your Efforts? Also referred to as “Strategy”

So, you have a decent amount of info in your brain now… and you’re ready to start looking at platforms right? NOT YET!!! It is incredibly important that you decide what your social goals are. There are both metric goals and (what I refer to as) Umbrella goals. Some examples of these are:

 

* Increase Awareness (new product, service, location, etc) – This does not result in direct trackable sales: Umbrella Goal

* Use social media platform X to give new users a visual of what X product is, allowing them to review, comment & offer feedback for company benefit: Umbrella Goal

* Utilize videos/articles/pictures to create visual of company offerings: Umbrella Goal

* Generate 25% more website traffic coming from social platform(s) X: Metric Goal

* Launch product/service exclusively on social platform to generate sales of X dollars: Metric Goal

 

Alrighty…. you feel like this yet? We haven’t event gotten to the platforms themselves!

 

 

3) Based on Your Goals Set Above & Time Available, Look at Size of Platforms and Ease of Use

Start considering overall site traffic. Platforms always recommended to be incorporated into strategy because of the sheer number of users & search-ability are Facebook & Twitter. That doesn’t mean you need to focus your efforts there, but being able to be found on platforms of that size is important.

 

4) Consider Niche Platforms For Your Industry

While you may exist on Facebook, that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from LinkedIn, Digg, YouTube, Pinterest & more!

 

LEGAL INDUSTRY check out this social networking platform JUST for you!

 

EVENT PLANERS & Businesses that service weddings, this platform is GREAT for you to look into!

 

REAL ESTATE, INTERIOR DECORATORS, CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES look into starting an account on this networking platform

 

RETAIL, BAR/RESTAURANT, LOCATION-BASED businesses we recommend being on Foursquare

 

Other Honorable Mentions For Great Platforms For Small Business: Pinterest,  YouTube,  Tumblr,

 

 5) What People Think Of Your Business/Product IS Social Marketing Too! 

Don’t forget about the oldie but goody platforms like Yelp, Google Reviews, Yahoo Review, Travel.com, Hotels.com and many more!

If customers or people you have encountered in your business are out there “chatting” negatively about your business or writing bad reviews, you need to be aware of those as well, Addressing them publicly is the best way to handle most issues that arise.

 

 

Now What?

You’ve now determined what platforms your target audience resides on, which platforms you will sign up for, what your goals are for each and how much time you will dedicate to individual social platforms.  So now what?

 

The overall objective of social media are to tie all the intangible efforts out there back to your brand. And by doing so, accomplishing your goals. How do you do that? Well… that’s a whole nother blog post. So stay tuned!

 

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International Marketing: How Important Is “Word of Mouth” To Your Business?

On my recent travels to Spain, I spent the first week or so in Barcelona eating mediocre food. It wasn’t until 5 or 6 days into the trip that I began to meet people, talk to locals, take tours and get recommendations on what to do and where to go from other tourists & people I randomly chatted with. What I found was that you REALLY need to know where you are going to find a great place to eat, a specialty store or other particular establishments you may want to visit, because there is a SEA OF SATURATION when it comes to lil cafés and stores!

There are cafés that look absolutely adorable on the corner of a plaza but the food is sub-par. Or shops that you would think have the best products or price because of their storefront or how busy they are, but you almost always experience that ever dreaded “buyer’s remorse” after purchasing things from those places.

Once I got recommendations and knew exactly where to go (with the help of a map and a couple locals that understood my spanglish), I enjoyed the best food of my trip! Amazingly fresh tapas with waiters from all over the world that made my experience in their ten table lil restaurant one to remember! When I asked them why they are not as busy as some of the other cafes and what they do for marketing, they said they rely on “word of mouth” and trip advisor. So that got me thinking…

 

… Could Your Business Survive On Word Of Mouth Marketing? And what would clients/customers say about you when describing your services and their experience????

 

Yes Spain is Social, but the companies that embrace that are almost always the larger chains/franchises and well known brands that exist in numerous cities. No offense to Mickey D’s but I don’t exactly want to check-in on Foursquare while visiting Tarragona, Spain to get some free fries! I want to eat the food from local farms & restaurants, shop at locally owned stores that have history and a story, not Facebook Review Starbucks (which will get you an upgraded size espresso drinkers).

So I came up with a few questions that I thought would help any business owner in any products/service category:

 

1)      Where do your current customers come from and how did they find you?

2)      If you are found multiple ways (internet, signage, ads, etc) what percentage does each represent?

3)      What is your client retention rate?

4)      Do you have steady renewals or returning customers? If so, do you ask why they chose to return to you rather than your competition?

5)      Do you ask your clients regularly how you are doing and what their feedback is?

6)      Have you ever asked your existing clients to tell their friends/networks about a specific special you may have coming up?

7)      When a client does leave, do you ask why or continue to stay in contact with them?

8)      Do you have any sort of reward or discount program for returning customers?

9)      What would your employees say about working for you?

10)   What would a potential client say to their friend after receiving their first service from you?

 

Feel free to comment publicly on some of these, add your own questions or shoot us an email! I am right there with ya and will be addressing all of these myself, so for those of you that know me you can be expecting a survey soon. 

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