Splash Social Marketing

Who do you partner with?

2011-08-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

Your business is your business. Your business is your passion, a realm where you are an expert. No matter what your business may be, you need others to help your business become a success. Which will lead you to the question:

Who do you partner with?

Who handles your adwords account? Who makes your commercials? Who helps you with competitive strategies? Who handles your social media? Having strong relationships with people that are experts in their respective industries is a critical component to success in any business.

When choosing a company to partner with, don't rely on just your gut feeling. Look at who they do business with, ask for referrals, if available check online reviews. Their sales people are trying to close on you the end result and not the journey. You need someone who cares about your business along that journey.

At Splash Social Marketing, we pride our selves on our relationships with our clients. We view ourselves as employees of their business and conduct ourselves in such a manner. We come with a full list of references from all of our clients.

Pick your partners carefully, as much benefit they can bring to your business, they could potentially bring detriment.

Google Plus on it's way.

2011-06-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Google is making a major push in to the social network scene, not that it hasn't dipped it's toes in the social network water before. But if it's previous efforts were dipping it's toes, this is the equivalent of Andy Samberg on a boat. My current understanding is that Google is attacking the weaknesses of Facebook. Google has introduced the concept of circles, a very good idea indeed. The circle concept is adding friends to certain circles, the circles keeps the friends separate. So you could have a work circle, a family circle and a friends circle. (Technically you could have an enemy circle... but why?) You can title these circles any way you wish. I'm sure this will lead to some people feeling hurt about not being in your top of favorite circle.

They are also incorporating new ways to communicate, not just the typical chat box. It appears that you can grab all your friends in your circle into a video chat room. Video chat is nothing new, group video chat has also been around. But to fully incorporate with a full fledged social network is new. Stickam has done the social group video chat, but it was really tailored for a video community.

I'm very interested to see how this pans out. For now I'll patiently wait and hope I get my invite to it's limited beta release.

Social Media Marketing .... It's Not Just All Fun And Games!

2011-06-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

Like us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Follow our blog! These all sound familiar and most of us even know what they mean. Chances are good that the person who handles your social media marketing understands these and a few more as well. But the question is, do they know why these networks are important for your business and do they have a strategy in place? Do they know about all the social networks available or is your business restricted to the few mentioned above?

Take a look at any business news source and you will see that utilizing social network marketing is a must. But what exactly does this mean? Should you play around on Facebook when you have time? Should you assign an employee to add this to his/her list of responsibilities? If so, you will miss out on the benefits of social media marketing and possibly even hurt your business in the process.

Social media marketing has never been more important to businesses than it is right now and business news shows us that it is not just a trend, but should be an important part of your business plan. A formal strategy should be developed by someone who has expertise in the field or you may miss out on important opportunities.

Two components which should be considered are Social Authority and Online Reputation Management. Social authority is utilized by both Google and Bing and greatly affects your placement on their search results. One outcome of this, is that it levels the playing field so small businesses have the same opportunities to appear high on a search results page as big businesses.

Review sites are everywhere now and you should be familiar with all that apply to your business. Be sure to claim your business on the site and have a strategy for combating negative reviews as well as maximizing the benefits of positive reviews.

The above tips barely scratch the surface of what should be considered in your social media marketing plan. A consultation with an expert in the field should be strongly considered. Next, consider what constitutes and "expert" in the field. Is it a recent college grad who "grew up" using facebook and twitter for social reasons? Is it a traditional marketing company who sees the importance of adding social media marketing to your overall marketing strategy and assigns an employee to be their expert? It shouldn't be. Look for someone who has a full understanding of the workings of the social networks, who can help you create an overall successful strategy, and who has true experience in the field.

See you on the sites!
Splash Social Marketing

Coolsmiles Orthodontics Em”braces” Social Media Marketing

2011-02-21T14:53:00.001-08:00

Coolsmiles Orthondontics is an example of business owners who have embraced social marketing and use it to enhance their business. Dr.’s David Amram and Leon Klempner run this successful practice which has offices located in both Port Jefferson and Medford, NY. Today, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Amram and speak with him about the evolution of social marketing within their practice.

Dr. David, as his patients call him, said that approximately two years ago a friend of his sent him an invitation to Facebook. His impression at that time was that Facebook was for college kids and he didn’t expect to have an interest in it. He did, however, give it a try and found that he enjoyed it and it was not just for college kids.

About six months later, Dr. David and Dr. Leon saw that Facebook could have value for their business. They were ahead of the curve and found that the company who built their website was unable to develop a Facebook page for them. They forged ahead and created it on their own.

Dr. David stated that they were initially very cautious in their approach to Facebook and they had releases signed before posting any pictures of their patients. They soon saw that the patients and their parents were onboard and were happy to be a part of the Facebook page. Facebook became an extension of their practice.

Coolsmiles was built through relationships and therefore social marketing was a natural step for them to take. They utilize Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Dr. David said that Facebook is his favorite media outlet because it allows for interaction. He expected to communicate mostly with the parents of his patients, but has found that even the teenaged patients have direct communication with him via Facebook.

How does Coolsmiles measure their results from social marketing? By watching how many people “like” them and by reading the reports provided by the sites. Their goal is to see a steady increase in participation. They often see a big bump in participation when they have a contest open to their patients. Other methods they employ to accomplish their goals are celebrating landmarks of their patients and posting pictures of their patients. Dr. Leon likes to use Twitter to engage the patients and keep them informed of all of the Coolsmiles activities.

Dr. David and Dr. Leon chose the social media outlets which help them create the presence they desire. They build and strengthen the relationships with their patients as well as the relationship with their community.

Coolsmiles Orthodontic is located at 1645 Route 112, Medford, NY 11763, 631-289-0909 and 656 Main Street, Port Jefferson, NY 11777, 631-928-9800. Visit them at www.coolsmiles.com .

The best social marketing outlets for your company may be different. Contact Splash Social Marketing, 631-235-0155, for a free consultation and recommendation.

Understanding Internet Directories

2011-02-20T22:44:00.000-08:00

At one point, there were no home computers, no internet, no information super highways. People used telephones. When people had a need for a service they picked up a big thick book full of telephone numbers, looked up what they needed and called someone. This business model has not changed drastically, now someone can go on the internet and look up a service provider and call them. It's very simple at face value.

Most business owners will never know the true value proposition of an internet directory. But not to their own fault, internet directories will come in and perhaps promise the world, mislead, confuse but over all make you feel good you've made a good decision to devote your advertising dollars with them. Most likely you've purchased a short term good feeling, and when that good feeling fades and your brain produces that physical ill feeling you've done something horribly wrong in the pit of your stomach, you are left with a bill.. most likely a very high bill.

Does this mean that yellowpages.com, superpages.com or yellowbook.com are bad providers? No. They do a good job at internet directories, and like most huge companies, have a duty to their stockholders to produce massive profits. Their sales people have a duty to provide for their families.

So what is the value proposition of the internet directory? Advertising exposure. Exposure to the narrow market, that means people who are looking for what you do. What should you expect when you do business with an internet yellowpage company? Exposure. The big idea is that by showing your name to people who need your services, you hope to get some business out of it. Your goal is to get that exposure for as little cost as possible, remain within your budget so you don't get burned and remain happy and hopefully get some business out of it.

Where does this concept go wrong? Most internet yellowpage companies are now offering solutions beyond their realm of expertise. Let's take a look at the "guaranteed" traffic programs that most internet yellowpages are now offering. They are providing clicks from search engines. Promising you traffic to your website at a consistent rate where your price will not fluctuate. Good idea right? Not if you know the internet. Those who know internet marketing can pick apart their campaigns, their traffic, their sources and keywords. There is a huge difference between traffic and Qualified Traffic. If you ever sit with an internet directory rep who is pushing this solution, ask them "how do you determine the keywords, conversion rates and effectiveness of the keywords". Once that curtain is pulled aside, you'll see the wizard isn't all he's made out to be.

If you need a pay per click campaign, if you need search engine marketing; stick with an expert. In the long run, hiring a good internet consultant can save you time, money and frustration in the long run by giving you non-partial advice to help you grow your business.

Internet directories have advertising value. Here is what you need to know:

1.They are selling exposure. That is all.
2.Your cost is based upon several factors: Placement on page, geographic area and the extra bells and whistles they can tag on to your ad. (some bells and whistles can actually affect where you rank on their page.)
3.Page one is where it's at.
4.Don't expect a phone call or a single click to your website and you'll always be happy. Expect exposure, great exposure. Yes, that exposure can and often does lead to a phone call, or clicks to your website, and that can lead to business.. but keep your expectations in reality.
5.Always start small. Chances are you'll be spending less than a hundred a month and you can always upgrade. If you start high and it's not working, you can't downgrade. After the first two months, take a look at your exposure. Compare it with others on the page. If you are tracking phone calls, compare them. The businesses above you should be getting slightly more. Only then make your decision if it is worth the cost to move up on the page.
6.Don't advertise in areas you don't do business. Don't over buy unless you plan on expanding your business. There is no sense in paying for an entire state if you only do business in one county.
7.Don't purchase any add ons or supplemental services. You owe it to your business to speak to experts in every field of advertising that you are delving in to.
8.If you are only going to advertise on one internet directory. Make sure you pick the one with the most exposure.

Internet yellowpages still have their value and offer great advertising exposure, just make sure that's all your buying from them.