Posted by JulieD, 7:46 amMay 28, 2009 under Advertising, Marketing, Writing, online | 
Recently, I was building a new Twitter persona for a business and trying to figure out how to gain exposure.
I started by using Twitter’s search function to find people who were tweeting about the same topic. Then I followed as many as I could find. (I’m continuing to add to the list each day.)
Why?
Well, a lot of Tweeple (that’s Twitter People, in case you haven’t heard) like to follow anyone who follows them. Sure, it makes keeping up with tweets hard, but from a business point of view it makes sense: the more people you follow and are followed by, the more chance there is of someone reading your tweets. If you are targeting your followers through keyword searches, then you have found your audience. And — because of the auto-follow etiquette — they have found you.
After monitoring the profile for a while and manually following people who followed me I quickly realized I needed to automate the process and focus my energies on creating great content.
Dave Taylor has posted an excellent tutorial (with screenshots, hoorah!) taught me how to use TweetLater to handle the automation. TweetLater has other useful tools too, but for now I’m using it to
- auto-follow, and
- send a ‘welcome’ message when people follow the profile, linking back to the business’s website.
I’m scanning tweets and jumping in to conversations, and tweeting whenever the business has some news or a new blog post. I”m also engaging with people who write back to thank me for the welcome message, and many have.
I have started to see increased traffic on the business website with this unobtrusive and, frankly fun form of marketing. It feels collaborative and light-hearted and nothing like “sales”!
Posted by JulieD, 11:56 amNovember 6, 2008 under How-To, Marketing, online |
Want to build a huge list of pre-qualified prospects? Take tip from the President-Elect.
In trying to figure out how Barak Obama won the election, the pundits agree that his organization was great a using new media to keep in touch with and build their base.
So how exactly did they get people to sign up?
One brilliant example came before Obama announced his pick for his running mate. The campaign gave people the chance to be the first to know who he had picked by signing up for text messages or an email — no more waiting around for traditional news outlets to tell them the news. All you had to do was give the campaign a way to contact you and you could get a jump on even the media in-crowd. Who wouldn’t love that?
Of course, this meant you were added to their database, but people didn’t seem to care because, pay attention now, they were getting something they valued in return.
Is there something you can offer your potential clients in exchange for their contact info?
Can you offer them a “buy one, get one 50% off” deal on their first purchase? Can you give them a free, exclusive, special report (or ‘white paper’) when they sign up for your newsletter? Can you give them something that will provide real value for them in exchange for their permission to keep in touch?
Create value, create releationships, create business.
Posted by admin, 8:49 pmOctober 15, 2008 under Marketing, online |
If Your Site Doesn’t Help Its Audience, It Is A Wasted Resource
AUDIENCE
Who is the audience for your website? You must know who will use it before you can design a useful site. Will your users be prospective clients or perhaps the press, both looking for information and ways to contact your company? Will your users be existing customers, who may need product support or ways to buy add-on services?
PURPOSE
1. What do you want from your website?
Is your website a tool to build your mailing list? If so, put a sign-up box on every page. Will it provide information on your services and products for prospective customers? Make the information clear and easy to find. Is the site’s purpose to sell products? Then make it easy for your customers to buy: invest in shopping cart support and put a ‘buy me’ button next to every item.
2. What do your customers want from your website?
Don’t forget to ask your existing customers (and your customer service staff) how the website might help them. Frequently Asked Questions and auto-responders that email information on request save time and money. Or perhaps your customers simply want a way to order more services.
GETTING THERE
Make it easy for your audience to find your site. Register a domain name that is easy to type. If your company name is long try a logical shortened form (e.g. BN.com instead of BarnesandNoble.com). Try not to use dashes (e.g. writing-world.com) because people will invariably forget to use them and end up at someone else’s site.
DESIGN
- Less is more – in all design matters.
- Navigation: don’t make visitors click through more than three levels to reach a page. Make sure your grandmother can find her way around your site. Could you use a blog or social networking site? Is that what your visitors are comfortable with?
- Typography: Limit yourself to one or two fonts and colors.
- Pictures: make sure pictures are no more than 72dpi and as small as possible for faster downloads.
Animation: just say no!
- Words: cut out half your text then cut out half again. People don’t read websites; they browse, looking for something to click on.
CHECKLIST
- Does your home page clearly explain what your business is and what customers can get from your site?
- Must-have pages: Home Page; Products & Services; About Us.
- Nice-to-have pages: Press Room; Testimonials; Feedback Form.
