Twitter vs Email Marketing

Each week you break out that trusty email list and send out your latest collection of brilliant thoughts.  You have taken time to research and craft this wonderful newsletter to show your readers (and clients) that you have something to offer them, that you are different from all the rest who are bombarding their inboxes.  Is your message getting through?

How many emails are you sending?

How many are getting opened?

How many are getting forwarded to others?

Twitter can answer all of these important questions.

But how do I capture leads with Twitter?  I am using a subscribe button on my site to build my database of email addresses.  Your Twitter followers become your leads to convert into clients.

How to get started:

1.  Create a Twitter profile for your business.

2.  Add a Follow button on your site next to that trusty subscribe button and give your visitors a choice of how they want to receive your content.

3.  If you are not doing so, host your newsletter on your site.

4.  Include a Follow button within your newsletter.

5.  Utilize hashtags within your tweets to make them easy to find.

6.  Measure the following with a tool like Hootsuite or Google Analytics 

• Compare the click through rate for links within tweets to those that open your emailed newsletter
• Compare the leads generated (Twitter Followers), to month over month newsletter subscribers
• Follower growth, mentions, and retweets

Building a twitter following takes time and effort: measure your growth, engage those who reach out to you, and know that a large following will not happen overnight.  Twitter is a vehicle to show you are a thought leader because of your great content and it will allow your followers to become your brand advocates and share it with others.

Cheers,

Toby

Giving Away the Good Stuff

Technology has given companies targeted reach to consumers they never had before, but it has also made it easy for potential customers to ignore them.  Companies are trying to prove they are different while connecting with potential leads that matter.

Content Marketing has been successfully utilized since 1895 and provides a way for a company to demonstrate it is an industry thought leader by delivering helpful, free content to its current and potential customers.  White papers, eBooks, and infographics are current examples of content marketing and they do a wonderful job of providing value, creating leads, and giving calls to action, but they miss the mark in one place - human touch.

A TweetChat allows you to engage with and listen to many people at once while documenting the conversations and capturing contact information. Idea-share, focus groups, and feedback sessions: it’s all about conversation.  Lead the conversation and answer questions: you are able to provide insight and promote your brand without mentioning it.  Because your twitter profile is your mini-resume, those who you exchange information with are able to see who you are and even click on a link to your personal or company's website.

As with any content marketing vehicle, a tweetchat takes time to organize and promote, but because they are real-time, they allow true connections and provide these potential customers insight to you and your brand.

As always, I look forward to your feedback.

Cheers,

Toby

DO NOT change your shirt!

My beloved Boston Bruins came one step closer to the Stanley Cup last night with a 2-1, second overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.  It is clear from watching the game the Bruins are playing with heart and fire, but that is not the secret to their success.  Then how are they winning you ask?  The secret is my shirt:

From the first drop of the puck in this series and the three victories that have followed, this shirt has been on my back then carefully put away for the next game.  Life and especially sports are surrounded with routine and superstition. 

No matter if you are enjoying a game or preparing for a significant life event, embrace superstition and keep your lucky shirt at the ready.

Cheers,
Toby

reEnergize old users or attract new ones

Google is a brilliant company for may reasons.  Technology, user entanglement and now marketing.
Their latest announcement about discontinuing Google Reader has created outcries via twitter and endless chats in G+is simply testing the waters and reverses their decision, they look wonderful in the public eyes - the people have spoken and they listened.  Really?  Even if they do not, people will not walk away from Google; they are too entangled.  If you use Reader, I doubt it is the only Google product you utilize. 
Talk about getting the word out.
Is Google the next marketing superpower?
What say you?
Cheers,
Toby

What's THAT in your pocket?

HTC thinks a second tiny phone is the answer to your oversized smartphone complaints

I do not agree with the statement.  If 1 large phone is too troublesome, adding the 2nd, smaller phone, will not help matters.
I see going mobile going in 1 of 2 directions:
1.  Follow the Samsung Galaxy designs and stay just smaller than a tablet.
2. Follow the iPhone design and go the compact route.
I lean toward the larger design - what say you?
Best,
Toby

Don't fear complaints - embrace them

These Big Companies Are Abandoning Twitter And Facebook For Customer Service

Good morning all,
The link above take you to a piece in Business Insider.  As I read it, the thoughts started flowing and I kept asking myself why?
Every company has needed to do more with less and streamline their organization, but Social for Customer Service helps you do just that. Even if your tweet or facebook post is not responded to right away, it is better than being on hold or navigating a phone tree.
Is this bigger than efficiency? The fear of complaints in public? If that is true, I answer the decision maker: "it is no what the customer said, but how he is responded to." I also ask: "Is the customer right and our process wrong?"
Are we too afraid to hear from those who consume our products?
Companies must learn not to fear the negatives, but learn from them, improve their product or service and create advocates.
Don't respond to the troll who howls at the moon, respond to the objective lurker who is your fan.
Looking forward to your comments.
Best,
Toby

What is your Social Strategy - What tools are you using?

Social media is a powerful group of tools that can help your company with everything from Sales to SEO.  Before setting out please use this as a guide to get you started.


Social Strategy

1. What is your goal?
2. What are the tools available?
3. How will success be measured?

Goal

What are you trying to achieve?  SEO for your company's site, create a community, enhance customer service, promote a blog or press release - all can be accomplished through Social.  Once you determine what you want you accomplish, you can choose the right tool to reach your goal.

Tools

1. Linkedin - SEO and Community
2. facebook - Community
3. twitter - Give your Marketing campaign reach
4. Pinterest - just like twitter, Pinterest spreads the word and brings memories alive with pictures.

Measurement

1. How many have joined the Linkedin Group and do the comments and discussions look like?
2. How many new posts hit your facebook pages?  How many new "likes?"
3. How many twitter followers, re-tweets, and mentions are you getting?
4. How many followers and re-pins are you getting on Pinterest?
5. Here is the hard one - can sales be tied to these efforts?

I have named my four favorite Social channels, but there are many out there.  It is important to experiment with a few and find what you are comfortable with and to also remember that less can be more. It is easy to think about the reach Social can deliver; don't lose sight on the importance of engagement.  Without discussions, a community is only a list.  

Cheers,
Toby