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MyCorpSocial: Social Media Starter Kit for Business: Small Business Resources

May 24th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

MyCorpSocial

If your business hasn’t quite joined the social media world, MyCorporation has come up with an easy-to-use starter kit that’s free with the purchase of any MyCorporation incorporation or LLC packages. The kit takes you step by step through setting up a presence on the four biggest sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. You’ll find out the basics including how to reach out to your customers, increase your fan base and follow social media etiquette. The kit allows you to customize your online profile and gives you a glossary of social media terminology, then shows you how to maintain each presence in an efficient way.

Tags: Marketing, small business resources, social media
Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Uncategorized | No Comments »

5 Ways to Create Shareable Photos for Pinterest

May 23rd, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

As Pinterest continues to grow in popularity, marketers are discovering new ways to use the fun, social network to drive traffic to their sites. Since using the Pin It button automatically embeds an originating link, every image pinned on your site is an opportunity to introduce new customers and clients to your business.

Pin-worthy images tell a story and intrigue the viewer, making them the type of content people want to save and share. In other words, you need attention-grabbing, memorable images on your website to make it Pinterest-friendly. Here are five ways to help you select images that pack a punch on Pinterest:

1. Sum it up with an image: A picture is worth a thousand words, right? But, your blog posts and web copy have been carefully crafted with relevant information and targeted keywords. So, how can you use an image to convey the whole message you just wrote 500 words about?

Unless you can find a perfect image that does capture the essence of your writing, you may want to try applying text to your images. Adding easy-to-read, bold text to a photo can help it tell a story and invite Pinterest users to click through to your site. Try Pixlr or Gimp for modifying and creating custom graphics for your site.

2. Check your photos for formatting issues: Pinners may become frustrated if they love your content, try to pin it, then realize it is not pinnable. To root out pinning problems, use the following URL:

http://pinterest.com/source/YourWebsite.com/ (replace “YourWebsite.com” with your own address)

If you have the Pin It button installed, you can simply visit each page of your site and see what comes up as you click Pin It. Check each image to see how it will looked once a visitor finds and pins it. Keep in mind that Pinterest allows a maximum width of 554 pixels for all of its images – some resizing may be in order if your images go beyond that.

3. Discover your “Inner Pinner.” It’s easy to see how businesses in the fashion, home improvement, travel, and other visually-interesting industries can leverage Pinterest for marketing their products. But, what if you are an SEO company or a law firm?

It’s time to get creative and think outside the box. Social media is about people, and people have a wide range of interests. Just as you “listen” on other social networks, to learn what the community is discussing and finding interesting, spend some time browsing Pinterest to see what types of boards people are creating.

Consider what your customers do in their spare time, if they have families, or share common interests. And, don’t forget that infographics and how-to videos are also visually appealing, as well as pin-worthy.

4. Promote contests and giveaways on Pinterest. If your company uses contests and giveaways to increase traffic to your site, cast a wider net for these promotions by using Pinterest to spread the word. To see what other companies are promoting, search for “enter to win” or “giveaway” on Pinterest.

Incorporating Pinterest into your contest promotion is easy. You can share clear, compelling images of the event and the prize, so people can quickly see what they might win. Include the keywords, “contest,” “giveaway,” and “enter to win” in the description field. For added promotion, include a dollar amount for your prize, and Pinterest will automatically add a banner in the upper left-hand corner of the pin showing the amount.

5. Pin down the exact emotion you are trying to convey. No matter what your blog or website content is about, there is an emotion underlying the words. Whether it is power, simplicity, excitement, newness, affordability or lifesaving, pinning down the exact emotion to a single word or two will help you select an appropriate image.

For example, if you want to convey peaceful, relaxing emotions, you can use a photo of an adorable litter of puppies taking a nap. Cute animal pictures are very popular on Pinterest!

When you select images that evoke an emotional response, your images will be relatable to people, and therefore, share-worthy and pinnable.

***

Is your business using Pinterest yet? Do you have your own Pinterest page, or have you optimized your website for Pinterest? Share your pinnable ideas in the comments section below.

Image courtesy of digitaltrends.com

Tags: images, Marketing, photos, Pinterest, social media
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

How to Get More Pins on Pinterest

May 22nd, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

It’s hard not to be intrigued by the creative hub of cultural and artistic curators that is Pinterest. Users are leveraging the site in imaginative ways, from cultivating boards for recipes they’d like to try to reinventing themselves with a collection of fashion trends.

But despite the wonders of pinning, marketers need to get real about what Pinterest can do for their brands. Sure, it’s a magical place, but what about the science behind promotion on Pinterest?

Leave it to Dan Zarella, the social media scientist, to study and produce concrete data to get Pinterest marketing results. In this article, I will share some of his useful discoveries and practical tips for getting more pins on Pinterest.

How long should descriptions be?

Descriptions help Pinners find your content and can give context to images you have pinned or repinned. Using keywords in your descriptions will make your content even more searchable. According to Zarella’s research, Pinterest descriptions that are the most repinnable tend to be around 200 characters long.

What types of images are the most pinnable?

Pinterest is basically an eye candy store, filled with inspiration for fashion, home decorating, art, and plenty of other creative pursuits. So, it’s no surprise that images having to do with design are the most pinnable.

Businesses in the wedding industry, or those offering interesting products, should have no trouble finding pinnable images. But those in other industries will need to get creative. If you are a financial services company, why not create boards of the things people can buy with their well-planned finances?

What types of pins are the most repinnable?

Even with plenty of pictures of cute animals, gorgeous dresses, and serene vacation destinations, images of food top them all as the most pinnable. People enjoy sharing and trying out new recipes, and anyone planning an event can appreciate a little bit of culinary inspiration.

Again, some creativity will be required from businesses whose connection to food is not as obvious, as say, a restaurant or gourmet cooking store. Insurance companies could create boards of healthy food, from heart-healthy recipes to diabetic-friendly fare.

What kind of content will be repinned?

When your images are repinned on Pinterest, suddenly a whole new audience opens up to enjoy your content. To get more repins, focus on content that attracts Likes rather than comments. Zarella found that “likeable” content gets more repins than “commentable” content, so simply aim to please rather than to get people talking. Pinterest is a visually-driven network, so save the chattiness for other social media.

How can I format my images to be more repinnable?

Believe it or not, size matters on Pinterest. When it comes to creating repinnable images, bigger is better. In fact, Zarella found taller images to be the most repinnable. A quick scan of your homepage on Pinterest provides the proof-the taller images stand out, drawing the viewer’s attention. In his research, Zarella found that the greater the pixels (upwards of 800), the greater the repins.

***

Are you already a pinning pro? What have you found to be useful in attracting more pins and repins on Pinterest? Share your tips in the comments section below.

Image courtesy of tidymom.net

Tags: Dan Zarrella, Marketing, Pinterest, repinning images, social media
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

How Your Business Can Profit From Retail Showrooming

May 21st, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

The proliferation of mobile devices—and shopping or price comparison apps to use on them—has retailers worried that consumers are using their stores as “showrooms” to check out merchandise, then go online on their phones or tablets to find the same product cheaper elsewhere. But a new study from Wave Collapse, reported in MediaPost, suggests that worry about showrooming may be overblown.

The study found that people who use shopping apps in-store to research products or compare prices aren’t necessarily more likely to go online to buy—they’re simply more avid shoppers in general, across all channels. In fact, 93 percent of those who used apps in stores also reported buying something at a physical retail store in the last week, compared to 84 percent of people who didn’t use shopping apps in stores.

While the research may ease your fears that people are standing in your store, checking out your products and then buying the same thing on Amazon for less, the news still doesn’t mean you can relax. Wave Collapse found that many people who use smartphones in-store aren’t looking for the same products online—they’re seeing if they’re available at other, nearby physical stores. In other words, they’re doing what they’ve always done—comparison shopping—but they can just do it faster now.

Wave Collapse’s data also shows that smartphone shoppers are desirable customers who aren’t limited to mobile purchasing. Some one-fourth of smartphone owners report buying a product on their mobile devices in the past week, 60 percent report buying something online, and 87 percent report buying something in a physical location.

It boils down to this: Mobile shoppers are power shoppers, whether online, on the phone or in the store. So if you see a customer whipping out a phone in your shop, don’t get grumpy. Get over and offer to help them by:

Providing more information about the product
Offering additional help such as setup or delivery
Explaining extras such as warranties and other offerings that might set you apart from the competition
Offering to find or order the product for them in a different size, color or style

Recognize mobile shoppers as power customers, and treat them accordingly.

Image by Flickr user whiteafrican (Creative Commons)

Tags: Marketing, sales process, small business, Technology
Posted in Marketing, sales process, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »

Quotegine: Online Business Proposal Tool: Small Business Resource

May 18th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

Quotegine

If your business proposals could use a makeover, Quotegine can help you develop professional-looking business proposals that are easy to create, have more features and allow you to track your results. Quotegine can be used for any industry, ,and you can collaborate on the proposal with a team. Everything is created, sent and signed online, so there’s no need to print anything out. You can use one of Quotegine’s many templates or create your own custom design. After your proposal is delivered, you get real-time analytics that tell you how much time a client spent on each page and what captured their interest.

Tags: Marketing, sales process, small business resources
Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Resources, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Uncategorized | No Comments »

What the Thought Leaders Have to Say About Pinterest

May 18th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

Pinterest continues to get plenty of buzz as marketers learn how to leverage the trendy social network to generate business. But what do the thought leaders of our industry think about the Pinterest potential?

After watching a video featuring some of the best marketers out there, I came up with six ways Pinterest is proving it is a game-changing social network with staying power.

1. Accessible Content Sharing

According to Social Media Club Chairman and Founder Chris Heuer, Pinterest will stick around because it isn’t as geeky as previous social bookmarking sites. The Pinterest community is large and varied because the site makes collecting and sharing content more accessible to audiences. All users have to do is find an interest, and dive in. Finding new content and sharing with others is instantaneous, and Pinners can accumulate both pins and followers very quickly.

2. A Lasting Impression

Ogilvy’s SVP of Global Strategy and Planning Rohit Bhargava believes the instant in which we can absorb information from an image makes all the difference. Because we are inundated with so much information, and we have immediate access to just about everything, visual content makes a more lasting impression on us. Images convey messages quickly and make concepts easy to understand.

3. Targeted Audience

The CEO and Founder/President of Content Launch, Jon Wuebben, thinks Pinterest is so successful because it understands its biggest target audience: women. Pinterest gives women everything they want in a social network because it is so friendly to join and creating a niche community on the site is easy. As Pinterest has grown to appeal to other audiences, this growth has been organic. But it’s hard to deny that Pinterest started as a major hub for the ladies.

4. Merchant-Friendly

NetBase’s CMO Lisa Joy Rosner notes the trend of merchants moving their products from Facebook over to Pinterest. Not only is Pinterest an ideal network to showcase products, but it helps merchants understand what customers like. Successful product development and merchandising require an understanding of what will become popular next, and Pinterest is chock-full of new trends and hot items.

5. Emphasis on Visual

Radian 6 Social Strategist Jeff Cohen stresses Pinterest’s emphasis on the visual. It’s not enough to produce great written content anymore – now companies must also produce interesting visual content if they want to be part of the social conversation. For many companies, this new direction will mean re-evaluating existing marketing strategies and re-assembling a team that can handle visual content production, too.

6. The New Interest Graph

Finally, Likeable Media CEO Dave Kerpen believes Pinterest is changing not only social media, but also commerce as a whole. While Facebook introduced us to the value of the social graph, Pinterest is now demonstrating the value of interest graph. Kerpen believes this idea is even more relevant for businesses driving commerce. After all, a social graph will only take you so far, but interests run across multiple categories, and present numerous opportunities to connect and share with friends and strangers.

***

What’s your take on Pinterest? Is it a social media game changer, or just another social flash in the pan?

Image courtesy of Mashable

Tags: ecommerce, Marketing, Pinterest, social media, Thought Leadership
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Why Social Media Users Are Your Most Valuable Customers

May 18th, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

You know social media can help spread the word about your business. But did you know customers who are active on social media are more valuable to your business because of it? That’s one of the findings of the 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer.

While customers in general care more about good customer service than last year, and are willing to spend more money to get it, the stakes are even higher for businesses dealing with social media users. American Express found that people who have used social media for customer service at least once in the last year are willing to spend substantially more (21 percent) with companies they believe provide great service – in contrast with the general population (13 percent more) and those who have not used social media for customer service (11 percent more).

People who use social media for customer service are also much more vocal about customer service experiences, both good and bad. If they have a positive customer service experience, they’ll tell an average of 42 people about it; in contrast, consumers overall tell an average of 15. For negative experiences, the numbers are even bigger. People who use social media for customer service tell an average of 53 people about negative experiences; in contrast, the average user tells 24 people.

Consumers who use social media for customer service also have higher expectations for customer service in general. More than 80 percent of them have failed to complete a planned purchase because of a poor service experience, compared to 55 percent of consumers overall.

In addition, consumers who use social media for customer service are more likely to

Why do consumers use social media for customer service? The most popular social reasons were:

Seeking an actual response from a company about a service issue – 50 percent
Praising a company for a great service experience – 48 percent
Sharing information about your service experience with a wider audience – 47 percent Venting frustration about a poor service experience – 46 percent
Asking other users how to have better service experiences – 43 percent

Clearly, using social media for customer service can have a big effect on your business—both positive and negative. If you find customers reaching out to you this way, be sure to be responsive to their needs, because you can be sure they’ll spread the word—either good or bad.

Image by Flickr user sjcockell (Creative Commons)

Tags: sales process, small business, social media
Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »

Consumers More Confident, But Still Pinching Pennies

May 17th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

As we head into spring and summer, will consumer spending blossom? While the latest data shows consumers feeling confident, the latest SymphonyIRI Group MarketPulse survey, reported in Drug Store News, finds that increasing confidence isn’t yet translating to increasing sales.

After declining in the second and third quarters of 2011 and rising a bit in the fourth quarter, American’s confidence in their personal financial situations surged in the first quarter of the year. Some 19 percent of consumers say their financial position improved during the past year; 40 percent say it’s stayed the same; and 41 percent say it’s gotten worse. (Yes, in today’s economy, 19 percent feeling positive is good news—SymphonyIRI says this is the most optimistic consumers have been since the first quarter of 2011.)

Asked to look ahead, consumers were somewhat more hopeful about their personal financial situation for the next year.

28 percent expect improvement in their personal finances during the coming year.
26 percent expect their personal finances will deteriorate during the coming year
46 percent feel the same about their personal finances as they did one year ago.

How are these attitudes affecting shopping behavior? Even with a more positive outlook, consumers are still being thrifty.

71 percent of shoppers make shopping lists at home before they head to the store, compared to 67 percent in first quarter 2011;
56 percent of shoppers select stores based on low prices, compared to 52 percent in first quarter 2011; and
62 percent of shoppers check ads before going to the store, compared to 56 percent in first quarter 2011.

“Americans have certainly been on an economic roller coaster ride for the past few years, so it is no surprise to anyone that they will not forgo their frugal ways even though they may feel a bit more confident about their bank accounts,” said Susan Viamari of SymphonyIRI in reporting the findings. “They are opening their wallets a bit more these days, but they are still making lists and clipping coupons, so the key for marketers is to demonstrate the value of their products to consumers.”

How can you do that? Online searches, coupons and ads are the key ways consumers are hunting for the best deals. Make sure your business comes up in online searches, and use discounts and couponing wisely to attract cost-conscious customers, while still making a profit.

Image by Flickr user Beige Alert (Creative Commons)

Tags: Marketing, sales process, small business
Posted in Marketing, sales process, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Who’s Using Daily Deals—and How Can You Lure Them to Your Business?

May 16th, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

Do you use daily deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial to lure customers to try your business? A new study from Edison Research, The Daily Deals Consumer 2012, offers some useful insights into who’s using these services, why and the potential impact on your brand and business. Here’s a closer look.

Nearly one in six Americans (15 percent) use daily deal services. Daily deal users are primarily in the 25 to 54 age group; two-thirds are women; and they have a higher than average household income.

Daily deal sites are most popular in the South, where 45 percent of users are located. Next comes the West with 22 percent of users, the Midwest with 20 percent, and the Northeast with just 13 percent.

Groupon is by far the most popular daily deal site, with 83 percent of daily deals users registered there. Forty-four percent use LivingSocial, and 12 percent use “other.”

More than half of users are relatively new to daily deals, having joined in the past year. Since they started using daily deals, most users (48 percent) say their purchasing habits have remained fairly steady, but 32 percent are using deals less often than when they first started, while 14 percent are using them more often.

Deals work–only 6 percent say they have signed up but never purchased a deal. As to how well they work, there’s good news and bad news. While 28 percent of users say they’ve tried a new business because of a deal, then continued to patronize it without a deal, 30 percent say they’ve tried new businesses once, but never gone back, and 28 percent say they use deals from businesses they already patronize. Daily deals can be a good way to get new customers, but you’ve got to work to earn their loyalty beyond the deal.

Daily deal users were substantially more likely than average consumers to own a smartphone or tablet. Because they’re so mobile, there are opportunities to reach out to them with “just-in-time” deals that are local and mobile.

Daily deal users spend more time online than average consumers (3.34 hours per day, as opposed to the average of 2.25), and 85 percent go online at work. They’re also far more likely to choose the Internet over other forms of media, such as radio, TV and newspapers. In fact, they’re also more likely to listen to Internet radio and watch online videos, which could lead to cross-platform promotional opportunities.

Not surprisingly, daily deal users are far more likely to have social media accounts than non-daily deal users, and spend more time there. Some 83 percent are on Facebook, 40 percent are on LinkedIn, 20 percent are on Twitter and 20 percent are on Google+. They are also twice as likely to follow companies or brands on social media. When you get a daily deal user hooked on your business, you have a great opportunity to reach their friends and family circles as well.

How are you using daily deals in your business?

Image by Flickr user Taro Taylor (Creative Commons)

Tags: Email marketing, Marketing, Search Marketing, small business, social media
Posted in Business Development, Email Marketing, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media | No Comments »

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How Your Business Can Profit From Retail Showrooming

Quotegine: Online Business Proposal Tool: Small Business Resource

Consumers More Confident, But Still Pinching Pennies