|
I am announcing very exciting news!
After several months
of research and responding to numerous requests from my newsletter
subscribers, I am proud to announce my new workshop "Increase
Sales Through Social Media Marketing". 
- Ever get an e-mail from a friend or colleague asking you
to join LinkedIn™ but didn't know what it was or why
they were asking you to join?
- Did you know that Facebook™ and YouTube™
are more than just websites that high school and college
kids spend their time on?
- Have you ever heard of Twitter™ Digg™ and
Squidoo?
If these words or websites are not in your current marketing
vocabulary, then you and your business are missing out on
one the most important Internet phenomena since e-mail. I
kid you not. If you are not taking advantage of what some
experts are calling the Social Media Revolution, then you
are missing out on the #1 opportunity to significantly grow
your business, bar none!
Read on to find out more about this workshop.
Some refer to it as Web 2.0, others as grass roots media.
Regardless of what you call it, it’s powerful. How powerful?
6 of the top 10 websites are social media sites with combined
monthly visits approaching 1 Billion. That’s Billion
with a “B”. These include YouTube, Twitter, Facebook
and Linkedin,
What is Social Media
Marketing and
How is it Different Than Traditional Marketing Strategies?
Marketing is no longer a one-way conversation. Consumers
are talking back in record numbers and giving their opinions
on everything. From politics, to music to what they buy and
who they buy it from. Almost anyone can now produce and publish
articles, pictures and video and send it out to a global audience
within a matter of seconds with the simply push of a button…and
for zero cost!
Social media marketing is a method of promoting your brand,
product, service or company by making your presence known
via a variety of social media networks. Social media marketing
is much more viral than traditional forms of marketing because
users now become content producers by posting blogs, writing
articles, leaving short comments and messages. This relatively
new marketing allows you to enter the minds of your consumers
and prospects and have a real conversation and/or tell them
a story about your company, products or services.
The bottom line is that consumers trust referrals from friends
more than they trust advertising. In this case, friends are
those they’ve met and built a relationship with within
their specific community or network. And even though they’ve
never met, a bond and level of trust has been built up over
time and multiple interactions and "conversations".
Are There
Different Types of Social Media?
Yes there are. And although the technology
is still evolving, most experts agree that social media can
be broken down into 8 different categories.
- Social Networking - sites like MySpace and Facebook
- Business Networking - sites like LinkedIn and
- Social Book Marking - sites like Del.icio.us and StumbleUpon
- Content Voting - sites like Digg and Reddit
- News Aggregation - sites like Technorati and Newsvine
- Directories - sites like Wikipeida and Prefound
- Video Sharing - sites like YouTube and Metacafe
- Photo Sharing - sites like Shutterfly and Flickr
Who Uses Social Media?
You do! That’s right.
You are already using or participating in social media whether
you realize it or not. Ever look up old friends on Classmates.com,
read a blog, watch a YouTube video or look up a definition
on Wikapedia? Congratulations, you are part of the social
media revolution!
And guess what, so are your current and prospective customers.
A recent survey by Pew Research found that the proportion
of North Americans using social networking sites increased
from 7 – 22% since 2005.
Before I Go Any Further,
Let Me Take a Moment
to Shatter a Few Myths About Social Media
| Social
Media Myth #1
Social Sites Are Just For Teenagers.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
While there are some sites like MySpace and others
that were originally created to cater exclusively to
teenagers, many of them are now attracting older participants.
And although there are literally thousands of social
sites out there today, once you determine the goals
and objectives of your social media efforts, you’ll
be able to narrow down the list to a select few that
will concentrate on your target market. |
| Social
Media Myth #2
Social Media is Just a Fad - It Will
Pass!
When the Internet first arrived on the scene, it was
all about providing information and selling "stuff".
And while that is still a large part, Web 2.0 is all
about users interacting with each other and consumer
generated content. When 6 out the top 10 websites in
the world are social sites and they are getting 1 billion
visitors a month and growing, I guarantee this is not
a fad. This is Web 2.0, the future! And the best part
is, that you have the opportunity to learn about it
and get involved in it while it is still relatively
new. |
| Social
Media Myth #3
Social Strategies Are Just for Big
Companies.
The Internet is the great equalizer!
You are what your customers and prospects see, hear
and read on line. If you make great products or provide
great services and you can reach the right audience
through a compelling social media strategy, then your
company will benefit with more exposure, higher brand
awareness and of course increased sales. My advice is
not to worry about what the big boys are doing, do what
you need to do to grow your business and believe me
you need to be doing social media marketing. Social
media is a great “guerrilla marketing” tool
that you can take advantage of and start reaping the
benefits from very quickly. |
| Social
Media Myth #4
Social Media Marketing Will Cost
a Lot of Money to Implement.
The good news is that creating and implementing a social
media-marketing plan does not have to cost a lot of
money!
As a matter of fact most social media websites cost
nothing to join. Now don’t get me wrong, as with
anything, you’ll certainly have to devote an adequate
amount of time and resources to be effective, but in
actual hard dollars and cents, your investment can be
quite minimal. |
| Social
Media Myth #5
Social Media Marketing is Primarily Used for Finding
Friends and Sharing Video and Photos.
While YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and other similar sites
are indeed used to find friends and share experiences,
photos and videos, many savvy marketers are finding
that they can connect with groups, users, fans and enthusiasts.
How?
By providing free information that members might find
useful or enhance their experiences. These types of
sites should not be overlooked as a way to open 2-way
dialogs with your target market. |
| Social
Media Myth #6
You Have to be a Marketing Whiz or Computer Geek to
Effectively Use Social Media.
Once again, not true!
If you can surf the Internet, buy a book on Amazon
and read blogs, you have the skills needed to benefit
from social media.
Frankly, the most important thing you need to help
your company get involved in social media marketing
is the desire to learn and the time to implement some
very basic ideas and strategies. Now, are there more
advanced features on some of these sites?
Sure, but even those can be applied by just asking
current users or reading instructions that many of the
sites themselves provide.
I'm telling you, this is not rocket science! |
Now You Can Learn
How to Unleash the
Power of Social Media Marketing
I have gathered the best of the best information and brought
it all together for three jam-packed hours. No "geek
speak" or esoteric mind-mapping. Just specific time tested
strategies that you can start using right away.
During my 3 hour workshop, you’ll
discover tips, techniques and tactics that you can use the
very next day to launch your own social media campaign. You’ll
learn how to:
- Improve customer and prospect relationships
- Conduct free market research via direct prospect interaction
- Increase brand awareness
- Generate traffic to your offline business
- Drive traffic to your website
- Things you must do before you set up your social media
campaign
- How to integrate social media into your current marketing
plans
- Understand the critical steps to social media success
- Easy ways to get started in social media marketing
- Questions you need to ask before you get started
- Decide whether to do it yourself or hire an outside company
- Develop realistic expectations
- And much, much more.
I am launching
this workshop
immediately and
am taking workshop bookings for delivery beginning in April
2009.
I am also
available for keynote
addresses if that is your preference.
Contact Roy today to arrange
for this workshop to be held for your organization or business.
You can also schedule a free
complimentary phone session with Roy to find out more
about how this workshop can provide you with an insight on
this new medium that will help increase your sales and create
better communication with your best clients.
 Stay
tuned!!
All good wishes,
Roy Prevost
|
