Welcome to March Marketing Madness! This week you will have the opportunity to hear from marketing experts around the country via guest blog posts on Sanera.
Our first guest blogger is Kent Huffman, and believe me, when it comes to marketing, he knows what he’s talking about. Kent led the global marketing communications team at Perot Systems, was the VP of Marketing for CompuCom Systems and is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for BearCom Wireless. I have been following Kent on Twitter for over a year and his links/comments have been right on the money. In the last several months we’ve struck up interesting conversations about marketing and business.
Welcome to Sanera Kent!
Social Media Marketing on a Shoestring
If you’re a small business owner or manager—or even a corporate marketing executive with a very limited budget—and you’ve been wondering how you could leverage social media to help grow your business, you’re definitely not alone. Almost every marketer I know is having to deal with limited financial resources in 2010, primarily because of the challenging economic times we’re facing right now. So what do you do?
No Money? No Matter!
In most cases, success in social media marketing doesn’t necessarily require a large financial investment. But depending on your level of involvement, it may demand a significant commitment of time. Jessie Paul, author of the book, No Money Marketing: From Upstart to Big Brand on a Frugal Budget, says, “Unlike media such as TV, radio, print, or even Google Adwords, which are capital intensive (i.e., the more money you have, the more successful you are likely to be), social media in its current form is labor intensive.” But because of the magnitude of the potential opportunities presented by social media marketing, that investment is often a wise one. Jessie goes on to say, “Social media gives marketers a chance to be in direct contact with customers. That is very hard to get in any other media and is worth quite a bit of experimentation to achieve.”
I’ve been active on various social media sites (including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn) since early 2009 and have been amazed at the benefits and opportunities it has brought to me and my company in a relatively short period of time. As Jessie suggested, I didn’t have to invest very much of my marketing budget to reach my social media marketing goals, but I did spend a lot of time developing strategy, content, and most importantly, relationships. I have to say it has been worth every minute.
Key Social Media Channels and Sites
If you’re just starting down the social media marketing path, an important first step toward making the most of the online social scene for your business is to select the right channels and sites to use. Robbin Block, author of the book, Social Persuasion: Making Sense of Social Media for Small Business, says, “Knowing your own abilities and the impression you’re trying to make can play a big part in the types of sites you choose. There’s a big difference between creating original content and simply participating. For example, posting a response or voting is much different than writing an article. If you’re a creator—that is, you have the time, talent, or inclination to create original material—then content sites are a good choice.”
“Whether you choose to be a creator, a participant, or a blend of both depends on your strategy,” adds Robbin. “Certain types of small businesses are a natural fit with particular social media categories. For example, a speaker might post a video on YouTube, list events in online calendars (like Yahoo! Upcoming), and upload presentations to SlideShare. If you’re short on budget but long on talent, that may help you decide. Writers may choose blogs, videographers may choose content sites, social animals may choose networks, and subject experts may choose Q&As.”
Some of the most popular social media channels and sites for businesses include:
- Blogging: WordPress, Blogger, TypePad
- Microblogging: Twitter, Tumblr
- Social networking: LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning
- Social network aggregation: FriendFeed, NutshellMail
- Events: Meetup, EventBrite, Yahoo!, Eventful
- Wikis: Wikipedia, PBworks
- Social bookmarking/tagging: StumbleUpon, Delicious
- Social news: Digg, Mixx
- Photo sharing: Flickr, Zooomr, Photobucket
- Video sharing: YouTube, Vimeo
- Audio/music sharing: MySpace Music, The Hype Machine
- Livecasting: Skype, USTREAM
- Product reviews: Epinions, MouthShut
- Business reviews: Yelp, Customer Lobby
- Community Q&A: Yahoo! Answers, WikiAnswers
Reaping the Benefits of Conversations
Once you’ve selected the right social media channels and sites for your individual situation, you’re ready to join the discussion, build relationships, and ultimately reap the benefits.
Recently, Network Solutions and the University of Maryland (UM) conducted a compelling study about the use of social media in small businesses. “Social media levels the playing field for small businesses by helping them deliver customer service,” says Janet Wagner, Director of the Center for Excellence at UM’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “Time spent on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs is an investment in making it easier for small businesses to compete.” Connie Steele, Director at Network Solutions, added, “Tough market conditions mandate small businesses to think and act creatively to sustain themselves. Social media can be the best friend for small business owners who constantly seek new ways to maximize productivity while keeping costs low.”
And those same challenges apply to most every marketer, no matter how small or large his or her organization may be. Eric Fletcher is the Chief Marketing Officer at McGlinchey Stafford (a commercial law firm based in New Orleans) and is one of the most popular CMOs on Twitter. He frequently writes about social media marketing-related issues. Eric says, “The ultimate goal of any social media marketing effort should be to enhance the brand and move forward on a continuum that leads to a new or deeper relationship with the target. Nothing accelerates the establishment and deepening of relationships like the give-and-take of conversations on social media.”
Eric is also acutely aware of the budgetary challenges marketers are facing today. “In an environment where marketing budgets are frozen (if not shrinking), a robust social media strategy is based more on the investment of time than dollars,” he notes. “We have always understood two things: the value of word-of-mouth marketing and the need to ‘fish where the fish swim.’ In social media, those two essentials come together—giving any enterprise, regardless of budget, a way to have a daily conversation with a world of prospective customers.”
Thank you Kent for sharing your expertise with us today!
Social media has been an effective strategy for growing my business and has been a remarkable tool for many of my clients. Don’t forget, if you would like to ask Kent specific questions regarding social media marketing or marketing in general, feel free to leave him a question in the comments section.
See you tomorrow for another installation of March Marketing Madness…
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Kent, I use twitter for my small biz http://www.royalmysorewalks.com n it has surely paid off but Isnt there a very thin line btw online mkting on social media n spamming ? How can one be more effective with social media without invading a person’s space. After all one person music is another person’s noise !!
The most effective use of social media is as an inbound or “attraction” marketing tool, not an outbound marketing tool. Your goal should be to use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other appropriate social media channels to develop relationships with your target audience by 1) listening and learning, and then 2) sharing useful information with your contacts. Over time, they will come to respect you and understand what you do. Then they will approach you when they have a problem that needs to be solved that falls within your area of expertise.
Kent
Wineye, thank you for visiting Sanera PDC! Here is Kent’s response:
The most effective use of social media is as an inbound or “attraction” marketing tool, not an outbound marketing tool. Your goal should be to use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other appropriate social media channels to develop relationships with your target audience by 1) listening and learning, and then 2) sharing useful information with your contacts. Over time, they will come to respect you and understand what you do. Then they will approach you when they have a problem that needs to be solved that falls within your area of expertise. Kent
That’s a great starter list, Kent. Social media is certainly an investment of time and can reap great rewards. One of the greatest rewards I find is the opportunity to hear what people are thinking and, as you said, to level the playing field. If we choose, we can be so well connected as to seamlessly facilitate collaboration, communication and coordination. I’m not too sure about the concept of fishing where the fish swim, though. I think, rather, the beauty of social media is that we can swim where the fish swim. We’re not out to “catch” people and reel them in, we are out there to listen, respond, connect and develop relationships. If you want to fish, buy an ad.