The Call To Action. The Most Important Thing You Need To Do On All Social Media

The Worst Mistake

I was lucky enough this week to be able to spend some time in the beautiful rural setting of Horsham where I presented some workshops on Social Media and related digital media and marketing practices. Through the day I was asked about what I thought the worst mistake you can make on social media might be. 

Now I see a lot of poor decision making in general in my travels but with the possible example of being dishonest and intentionally misrepresenting yourself which I don't believe any serious business does these days, I believe the biggest faux pas that I see consistently in the digital space is the consistent lack of an effective, short sharp and simple call to action at the end of every interaction with your audience on every social media platform you use to promote your business or organisation.

 

Rationale

Perhaps it is that the function of the Call to Action is so obvious that we often forget to put it in but regardless of why it is important to fully understand what it does. Basically the Call to action answers the question 'what next'.  Specifically what is it that you want that individual to do now that have finished with the piece of content they have just finished reading, looking through, watching, etc. and you now require them to go onto the next step.  Now in the ideal world it would be nice to think that everyone engaging with your content would intuitively know what to do and how to do it next. Experience of course shows clearly that they won't always know how to so the simple solution is to tell them simply and clearly by way of short, sharp calls to action.

Types of Calls to Action

As you might expect there are a plethora of popular, proven and appropriate calls to action that will work for any conceivable situation on social media. From a structural point of view it always helps to combine what is needed with what will happen when they do that.

For example:

• Click here to download
• Press to sign up free
• Insert code to get a 30% discount on price
•  Subscribe now by clicking here

In every case the  person receives a single clear instruction that provides the required action and the immediate benefit that answers the all important question of: what's in it for me or WIIFM as the marketers like to refer to it. This is a critical thing to consider as regardless of your market or segment or product offering, everyone out there today in the Google age where we have been conditioned over several years to want and receive additional value frequently, will be looking to get the same from you with minimal effort in the process.

Format

In more recent times as the appreciation for the role of the Call to Action has grown, more attractive and aesthetically appealing formats have become available to use so that it is generally no longer just a few words of content turned into a hyperlink, but more likely to be a stylish button whose size, colour and shape support the other design elements of your web or social media page and as such further support the branding on that page. Buttons like these shown below from Max Buttons are typical of what you can use and adapt on your own corporate website or social media web pages:

 Summary

In the final analysis it is an important strategic function to map out what you are trying to achieve at each customer touch point and by extension what the next step beyond that will be so map it all out first and then check that you have provided all the necessary instruction by way of a well thought out and straightforward series of Calls to Action for your digital audience.

So if you'd like to learn more about PR or any other form of marketing or social media marketing  just sign up for a free workshop through the Digital Enterprise and there you will qualify to earn a free four hour one on one workshop. Just book by clicking on:

www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program

 So until next good, good luck and good marketing.

Regards
Daniele - See more at: http://roadscholarsmarketing.blogspot.com.au/#sthash.hLRVBQgv.dpuf

 Naturally if you would like to learn more about any aspect of social media marketing please feel free to sign up for any of the seven free two our workshops and earn a free four hour coaching session for your business as a reward for attending the workshop by checking out the session times and dates on:


http://www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program/workshops

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.

So if you'd like to learn more about PR or any other form of marketing or social media marketing  just sign up for a free workshop through the Digital Enterprise and there you will qualify to earn a free four hour one on one workshop. Just book by clicking on:

www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program

 So until next good, good luck and good marketing.

Regards
Daniele - See more at: http://roadscholarsmarketing.blogspot.com.au/#sthash.hLRVBQgv.dpuf

So if you'd like to learn more about PR or any other form of marketing or social media marketing  just sign up for a free workshop through the Digital Enterprise and there you will qualify to earn a free four hour one on one workshop. Just book by clicking on:

www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program

 So until next good, good luck and good marketing.

Regards
Daniele - See more at: http://roadscholarsmarketing.blogspot.com.au/#sthash.hLRVBQgv.dpuf

How To Add Value To Your Business

Perhaps it shouldn't surprise me that this week as I delivered two separate day long courses on Social Media marketing and Selling Skills, I was asked the same question by members of both classes. Namely what's the best way to add value to my business? Certainly this is the million dollar question that as marketers we all need to ask as the basis for meaningful differentiation.

As I've alluded to several times over the years with this blog the  key is to refer this question back to the unresolved portion of the customers need and focus on providing solutions around those.
In particular the two broad areas that yield the most benefit for businesses I believe are the ability to increase the amount of benefits customers receive whist concurrently decreasing the effort required to deal with your business. Each of these broad categories plays a huge part in the delivery of true value.

Added Benefits

Again it's easy to say that we all want to add benefits to our clients and prospects alike but how. Simply stacking on additional elements of the offering may in itself not motivate the customer because they may see little or no benefit in it. Suffice to say the more closely related these additional product offerings are to customers own need, the more they will be sought after and valued.
Key examples of added benefits include:

• Extended warranties
• In house training
• Free servicing
• 24/7 Online and /or phone technical support
• Free placement parts under warranty

Decreased Effort

Equally as important as adding additional benefits to your product offering is the notion of reducing effort through any form of improved efficiency and /or increased convenience.  There are several examples that can be used to illustrate this area of value adding such as:

• Extended trading hours each day or week
• Free home delivery service
• Free assembly service
• More locations
• Multiple payment options

Ultimately the aim of leading brands will be to optimise value added offerings by both adding sought after benefits whilst concurrently decreasing the effort required to buy, set up, run, maintain and ultimately dispose of the product or brand.

As a challenge then I ask every reader to examine their own key market offering and detirmine at least one additional way they plan to increase the marketability of the product by increasing value add and formally plan to make that change in as quick a timeframe as possible. In thirty years in Marketing I have consistently found that the best approach is to actively strive to offer both sides of the Value Adding equation together, rather than one or the other per-se.

For more information on marketing please purchase a copy of the critically acclaimed Marketing Works now at: http://amzn.to/1tNJYem.


So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.

Review Sites And The Need To Build Your Online Reputation

Background

Through my work with the Law Institute and numerous individual law firms I have seen first hand the belief that so many current day service providers such as lawyers have that referrals will continue to power their business development as it has in years gone by.

There is no doubt that in years gone by a business card handed over from one person to another would essentially drive a guaranteed approach from another potential client and although most people are still happy to  provide advice when asked, most recipients of that advice will now do their due diligence on that individual or business being put forward. Enter the advent of the online review site.

How Review Sites Work

Basically these sites are a platform where customers are able to go to write independent reviews by your current clients. customers, members or subscribers. Ultimately the level of customer service, product quality and how well the business delivers on the expectations of its target market will determine whether the review are positive or otherwise.

These reviews are certainly important and form the basis for another potentially viable point of differentiation between your business and key segment rivals so complimentary review will be well received. 

What Sites Are Most Important For Your Business

Different review sites are popular within different markets. It is therefore important to research the most popular to uncover what type of reviews are most commonly submitted to that site as a function of the community that use it and therefore the markets that are most directly influenced by it.

For example Urban Spoon is widely used to source quality restaurants, cafes and eateries of any description,  Trip Advisor is a leading website to source the best value in travel and accommodation packages and Angie's List which specialises in service reviews.

Highly Rated Review Websites

There are literally dozens of specialist review sites out there that review products, services or any other conceivable market offering. This is further heightened by the fact that virtually any site can be used to capture and promote consumer reviews. Understanding this it is imperative to stress that the number one priority for any business is to provide an unfailing level of customer service and quality delivery that will be the undermining motivation for people to review you regardless of the site. So first thing's first. Get it done right every time. Then you can selectively target sites you feel are most closely aligned. Some of the better know ones include but are not limited to:

          Amazon Review

·        Angie’s List

·        Bing Places

·        Citysearch

·        Doneright.com

·        Epinions.com

·        Google+ Local / Google Places

·        Home Advisor

·        Insider Pages

·        Judy's Book

·        MerchantCircle 

      Stumble Upon

·        Trip Advisor 

      Urban Spoon

·        Yahoo! Local

·        Yellow Pages

·        Yelp!

Formulate A Review Strategy for Your Business Or Brand

On confirming which particular review sites you want to focus on the next logical step is to formalise a consistent and scalable strategy that can be adopted to harness and leverage the goodwill by creating an account on these sites for your business and filling in a comprehensive profile on the business.

It is vital that any business wanting to build a stock pile of glowing reviews needs to make it almost effortless for their clients to go to these sites and generate the favorable reviews. Tactically this could mean some simple actionable points such as:
1. Put two key site URLs on the back of your business card or a separate 'appreciation' card
2. Provide the inbound link you want people to click on to land on your preferred landing page
3. Lay out some brief steps on how do a review
4. Institutionalise the process of consistently asking satisfied customers for reviews

Despite being largely undervalued and underperformed by many businesses, review sites can be highly impactful to raise awareness and create selective demand for your business.

To learn more about review sites and all other aspects of social and digital media marketing please join us at any of the free Digital Enterprise Program workshops and automatically qualify for a free four hour coaching session to develop and hone a superior marketing strategy for your business on:

 http://www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program/workshops

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.

Networking In All Its' Variations Great And Small

In a recent post I spoke about how unfortunate it was that one of the most powerful or all promotional tools in the form of Public Relations was so often overlooked by so many businesses that could I believe. benefit greatly from it and in the same way I know that networking in what medium you prefer has a similar capacity to further augment the existing marketing efforts of most businesses.

To this end it was interesting then that I was recently invited to a BNI networking event by Mark Wenzel the noted Principal of the Eon Financial Group who introduced me to Melinda Nash.

Apart from being the Head of this newly formed BNI Chapter, Melinda is also the Director of Integrilend Loan Solutions which is a leading business based in Kew  that provides Residential, Commercial and Asset Finance loan services for the Melbourne metropolitan area providing a huge range of finance services including refinances, new property purchases, first home buyer loans and Reverse Mortgages for senior citizens.  www.integrilend.com.au)

Melinda understood that referrals were an obviously ideal way to grow a Mortgage Broking business.  As she looked into ways to grow her business, Melinda discovered BNI (Business Network International).

During a visit to an existing chapter in Carlton it became evident that the power of this system was real. At this particular group there was already a mortgage broker in the group and given the nature of the system adopted by BNI  that allows only one position available for each business type, it was also clear that she would need to start a new group for her to be part of an BNI group.

Accordingly Melinda started this new chapter a few months back and despite the challenges involved has managed to lay the foundations for a powerful group. Currently this group has around 20 BNI applications for membership and with only around 5 to go, it is well on its way to establishing itself as Melbourne’s newest BNI Chapter at Green Acres Golf Club in Kew East.

If any businesses would like to investigate the possibility of joining forces and becoming a member they are welcome to contact Melinda on 0410 502 337 or melinda@integrilend.com.au for more information on BNI.

Whether it's with BNI or any other in person or online system, I urge everyone to review what groups are available to them and make a concerted effort to join in and contribute in a way that is mutually beneficial and satisfying.

Until next time, good luck and good marketing.

Regards,

Daniele.

The Case For PR As Part Of Your Blended Promotional Marketing Mix

What is PR

 Public Relations (PR) or publicity as it is sometime called is one of the key pillars of Promotion and for many businesses especially small and medium sized enterprises, remains very much the missing piece for a complete promotional package.

Public Relations is complementary to but different from advertising, direct selling, sales promotion, digital media and all other forms of promotion based marketing. Specifically PR has been defined on Wikipedia as:
 
The practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization and the public by using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment.

http://bit.ly/1ru6OVa

The Aim of PR

The aim of public relations is to positively influence or persuade the public, prospective customers, investors, the media, strategic partners, staff and any or all other stakeholders to gain, remove or maintain a certain point of view about it, its management, products and services, associations or political leanings. 

Typical PR Activities

Common activities include but are not limited to: Working directly with media outlets and providing direct content for stories or being interviewed  to provide in part or whole the basis for a journalistic  piece for that publication, written content for news and feature articles together with arranging interviews with expert spokespeople, speaking at conferences, winning industry awards, sending press releases to prominent news distribution services like AAP, who drive press release distribution

via Australia’s leading press release distribution network.

Benefits

The  key benefits for using Public Relations as part of your promotional strategy revolves around two key advantages. Namely:
1. There are no direct costs for publicity so for example if a food reviewer comes to your restaurant to review the quality of the food, it will cost you nothing.
2. Such publicity is seen generally as being independent and therefore much more reliable than say internally generated and run  content for advertising purposes.

Disadvantages

The biggest single drawback to having any form of publicity is simply that for the most part you simply have no control of it. In the example above of the restaurant reviewer you don't know if you will receive a favorable review or a poor one, with the case of AAP you send your press release out to hundreds and in some case thousands of news outlets but again you have no control as to who will and wont pick up the piece, which often amounts to a large amount of wastage in time and related costs such as content writing fees and  sending fees for news services.

What Makes A Story Attractive For PR

 News items tend to get taken up when they are newsworthy. By this I mean interesting, funny, topical, educational and generally of meaning or significance to a particular audience or group.
If your story or content meets one or more of these criteria it will have a genuine chance of being picked up and published in some of the new services you're targeting. On the other hand if it doesn't meet any of these criteria it probably wont so you will need to rewrite the PR release to make it more news worthy. For a free copy of the AAP Press Release Template you can go to:  http://bit.ly/1viehIi

So if you'd like to learn more about PR or any other form of marketing or social media marketing  just sign up for a free workshop through the Digital Enterprise and there you will qualify to earn a free four hour one on one workshop. Just book by clicking on:

www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program

 So until next good, good luck and good marketing.

Regards
Daniele