Tag : communication

  • Should You Follow Your Favorite Brands on Social Media Platforms?

    Posted Aug 1st, 2011 By in Social Media With | 3 Comments

    Social media marketing is a booming trend, so it’s no wonder that it’s easier than ever to find all of your favorite brands on popular websites like Twitter and Facebook. Businesses of all sizes are relying on social media to improve customer communication since social networking is much more efficient and cost effective than communicating via the telephone or e-mail.

    If you’re a customer that has a concern, question, or a comment, you can reach out to the majority of brands through social media in a matter of seconds. On top of that, since brands are relying on social media for marketing purposes, many top businesses are giving their customers rewards for following them on Twitter or liking them on Facebook.

    Here are a few top benefits you can receive from following your favorite brands in social media:

    1. You can be heard. Rather than sending an e-mail to a business or even participating in a survey, you can post your comment or tweet a response in just a few seconds. Since most businesses are new to the social media plunge, it’s likely that you’ll receive a response within a few hours or even a day to your question or concern.

    On top of that, since Twitter is a public website, a business won’t want other customers to see a public customer concern that hasn’t been dealt with. If you’re posting on a public social media website, a business is much more likely to respond to you than if you just send an e-mail.

    2. You can find out about special deals and contests. Brands are more excited than ever to use social media to promote specials, giveaways, and contests. Even mega brands like Verizon have leaned heavily on social media by using hashtags on Twitter to promote a series of giveaways to drum up sales from new customers.

    If you have a favorite brand, it literally pays to stay in the know and use social media to take advantage of discount offers you can’t find anywhere else.

    3. You can eliminate confusion. If you’re confused about a company’s new product or how to take advantage of a coupon, you can post a question on Facebook to receive a near immediate response. This is much more effective than visiting forums with answers from other Internet users.

    Why rely on another customer’s speculation or perspective when you can go to the horse’s mouth and get your answer directly from the brand through social media? Even better, you won’t have to worry about staying on hold with a company for minutes on end to get the help you need.

    4. You can become part of the bigger picture. Starbucks is one of the leading brands in social media, and they have taken the next step by introducing the forum My Starbucks Idea. The amazing thing about this forum is that customers are allowed to post their ideas and suggestions, and Starbucks actually listens.

    This is a brilliant strategy on behalf of Starbucks. Customers everywhere are impressed that they are being heard by a large corporation, and Starbucks is getting great ideas for free that they can use for product development.

    Guest Author:  Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

     

  • The Important Psychological Components of Social Media

    Posted May 12th, 2011 By in Social Media With | No Comments

    When it comes to social media, psychology has a lot to do with the success or failure of a business. This greatly affects how business owners market their services. Social media communities are increasing in popularity, and there is no end in sight to this trend. Because social media is prevalent in marketing, there are ways to take advantage of the psychology connection.

    The Success of Social Media

    Social media channels flourish because society needs them. They allow individuals to connect with others on personal levels. This provides a person with a sense of belonging. The concept of group membership is what social media is born from. Contributing to an important group discussion can make a person feel important and valued as a part of a community.

    Creating interesting and enchanting content is the key to success in social media. The most effective content reaches people on emotional levels. An individual should feel a sense of connection to the product or service being presented. Marketing information should be engaging, relevant, and uncomplicated. It should also be displayed in a clear, simple, and logical manner. (more…)

  • 4 Most Common International Email Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

    Posted Apr 20th, 2011 By in Email Marketing With | No Comments

    International email marketing is the quickest and most cost-effective means of communicating with consumers across the world. However, there are several different hoops to jump through before you complete a successful email campaign. Sending an email with U.S. focus across the globe is bound to land you with a poor rate of return, and here’s why:

    1. Language

    The first one is the most obvious issue; language barriers. It would be wrong to assume that all email recipients are willing to receive communication in English; therefore, it is important to have a strong grasp of the native language. If this means you need to involve a native speaker in the process then so be it. On the other hand, some countries prefer to receive marketing material in English even if it is not their first language. It is important to understand the preference of the targeted location or you will find very few of your emails convert.

    In addition, it is important to understand nuances of the English language across different English speaking countries. For example, there are many different terms in the U.S., U.K. and Australia that are exclusive to that country.

    2. Time zones

    Second, but just as important is the impact timing can have on the opening success of your emails. This can cause problems in several different ways. To start with, emails sent at the beginning of the working day are proven to have much better open rates than at other times of day. This of course is made problematic by the fact that the start of each country’s working day is different all over the world; therefore, it is important to be able to automate campaigns to run on different time zones. (more…)

  • Impact of the Apple iPhone on Business

    Posted Mar 10th, 2011 By in Mobile With | 2 Comments

    The Apple iPhone is an incredible expansion of the individual’s ability to communicate. While some may dismiss it as an electronic leisure item merely designed to appeal to the nation’s lust for high tech toys, the fact is that any communicative device, especially one as ingenious and versatile as the iPhone, can be a great asset in business, including Internet marketing.

    With a device like the iPhone, which combines separate and once bulky capabilities into a single compact package, your improvement in efficiency can be nothing less than dramatic. Any business needs to move quickly in order to maximize its profits. Anything that might contribute to lag time or a slowing down of its ability to conduct business will keep it from devoting its resources to generating maximum income.

    Whether you’re managing your time, projects or clients, the iPhone makes the perfect business partner. FaceTime makes video calling a reality, so you can see who you’re talking to. The Retina Display offers the highest resolution screen ever on the phone, and multitasking allows you to give everything your undivided attention. Plus, HD video recording gives you a great opportunity to share what you’re seeing with others on the spot.

    The vast array of business apps available for the iPhone make it an indispensable tool.  The LinkedIn app gives you instant access to your professional network. You can add new contacts on the spot and appraise others of your work with your own status updates.

    Want more? The OnlyWire app allows you to update your status and post bookmarks on over 40 social bookmarking sites with one click.

    Apple’s own database program, Bento, helps you manage everything from to do lists to event planning and business contacts, while Salesforce Mobile (a subscription-based service) gives you instant access to business and client data wherever you may be. You can log sales, access charts and graphs, and respond to new leads right from your phone.

    FedEx Mobile for iPhone lets you track all of your shipments. Simply enter your tracking number to check up on the status of a delivery, or auto track them all with a handy watch list.

    Cisco WebEx Meeting Center allows you to participate in meetings and interact in real time over either WiFi or 3G.

    If you work with clients, iTimeSheet can help you track your time by client as well as your activity reports and create invoices. Plus, you can export the data to Microsoft Excel, so you’ll never forget what you did for whom.

    As for keeping track of all these passwords, you’re all set here as well. 1Password remembers them, along with credit card numbers and other sensitive information so you don’t have to do so, and it uses multilayer security and powerful encryption to keep your data safe.

    Consider how tremendous has been the impact of the advent of communications devices. In the 1860s, people had to wait to learn of the Lincoln Douglas debates until word of it reached the newspapers. Now people use their cell phones to tweet about historic events as they happen.

    Business has been similarly revolutionized, and with the iPhone, you can carry your office with you in an enclosure that’s a mere 9.3 millimeters thin.

    You might get the impression that the Mac is the forgotten stepchild of the Internet marketing industry. But did you know that some of the top names in Internet Marketing use Macs? Get a FREE 75-page ebook that covers everything you need to know about running your Internet business using a Mac, iPhone and iPad here.

    Guest Author: Timothy Arends

  • Ask Mirna: What criteria do you suggest people use to select a social media expert?

    Posted Oct 17th, 2010 By in Ask Mirna, Business, Social Media With | 5 Comments

    Question: There are so many pseudo social media experts out there, each with his or her “solution,” that it’s become overwhelming to identify the real McCoys. What criteria do you suggest people use? – Jim Taggart, LeadershipWorldConnect

    Answer: Thank you for asking a very important question, and for trusting me to answer it for you. I am asked this same question at least once a week.  Unfortunately, the real social media experts are buried under all the hype of the fake experts because the real ones don’t have time to go calling themselves experts so they can pitch you on why you should have 100K Twitter followers, and why you should hire them to do the job. The true authorities in any industry are not hard-selling 24/7. They are too busy strategizing, sharing, learning, educating, creating, experimenting, executing, testing, growing, and helping others thrive.

    It is difficult for me to answer this question without being too controversial or self-promotional.  However, my intent is to always educate and create awareness. Thus, the answer is not only based on my opinion, but also years of business experience and thousands of hours of research and execution to back it up.

    So, how do you weed out the pundits from the fakes?

    First, let’s define expert.  Here is how Wikipedia defines the word:

    “An expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain.”

    Having extensive knowledge about a topic beyond the average person makes you an expert.  Your skills training and credentials make you an expert.  Your years of experience and education make you an expert.  However, given the above definition, the word expert should not be a self-proclaimed title. This title should be earned and given by peers after a person has logged tens of thousands of hours, and the results should speak for themselves.

    Hence, your social media expert is NOT:

    • Someone who shows you how to use the latest feature on Facebook
    • An individual who tells you to just create pages on the major social networks
    • Your web designer or programmer
    • Your previous mortgage broker who has moved on to social media because it is the next hot industry
    • Your virtual assistant
    • Someone who is simply online
    • Someone who has five different types of businesses going at once to see which one makes the fastest buck

    Am I an expert in social media because I live and breathe the Web every day? It’s possible. However, I wouldn’t use that term.  I am a student of my work. I am constantly learning, experimenting, and educating.  My expertise and knowledge are put to the test every time I have a new challenge, a client, or a new project. If I can’t prove that I have some expertise when the situation calls, it doesn’t matter what I call or describe myself. (more…)

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