Many large businesses have an automated service connected to their Twitter accounts, but how can you successfully reach your potential customers if you’re not engaging with them live? Consider this, on average your followers are also following over 100 Twitter accounts, and chances are they are not reading every single tweet that comes their way.  However, many will most certainly read a tweet with a “@ mention” of their Twitter handle. Make it a point to engage some of your audience personally every day. Respond to something they are tweeting about or @mention them in a tweet of your own, or retweet (RT) one of their tweets. A nod in their direction could go a long way.

This can be a very simple and very effective way to increase your smart marketing effectiveness on Twitter.   A great idea is to ask potential clients about a specific problem they face and how your business or company could help them to solve that problem.  For example, if you are a gym owner, you could send out the following tweets:

• What would you like to have at your gym?
• How much are you willing to pay for a gym membership that you are fully satisfied with?
• How often do you make a purchase after receiving a free trial?

Getting feedback from your potential clients is priceless.  You will know exactly what each person is looking for when they are scouting out a gym.  This inbound marketing tactic will take your business to the next level because your potential clients will see that you actually care about the services they want.

Let’s get started right now: What do you struggle with in your online marketing? Comment below so that we can help find the best solution for you!

As a small business owner, you already know that you should have a Twitter account that should be updated weekly, if not daily.  But have you ever thought of how to use Twitter to call attention to all of your excellent staff members?

Featuring Your Staff

Many of your staff members may already have their own personal Twitter accounts.  But as a staff member at your small business they should also have their own business account correlated with their job.  After that, your small business Twitter account should make weekly posts about their staff.  This can be something simple such as:

“Jennifer Gray, our very own licensed dietician, will be out of the office this week on vacation – enjoy Florida and bring us back some sun!”

Or it can be a little trivia fact such as:

“Did you know that Mathew Jones graduated from UNLV with a 3.90 GPA back in 2007?  Way to go!”

However you want to do it, this will show potential clients that you care about your staff and as a result of that, you will care about them, too.  This will also show your staff that you appreciate them and everything they contribute to your small business every day.  In addition, this gives you, the owner, a chance to introduce your current clients to new staff members that have joined your team.  When you feature each staff member, this also gives your clients the ability to reach out to specific members of your staff with their own Twitter accounts associated only with your small business.

One of the most annoying things about surfing the internet these days is the over-use of flashy, in your face advertisements.  You go to YouTube to watch a video and it forces you to sit through a 30 second advertisement that isn’t even related to the video you want to watch.  The problem here is the outbound approach to marketing that many businesses around the world are currently using.  But statistics prove that this movement is slowly causing the US population to tune out advertising of all kinds, including commercials on radio and TV, billboards, and internet pop-ups.

With the inbound approach to marketing, customers are seeking out your business.  This allows the small business to save money in the long run because they are not paying high advertisement fees.  If you want your small business to effectively use smart marketing, you need to add Calls to Action to your web page.

A Call to Action, or C2A, is a link on one page of your website that takes users to a new landing page with information that they are interested in.  Here are some tips on creating compelling C2As:

If you wouldn’t click on it, other users probably won’t click on it either.  Take this concept and apply it when you are designing your C2As.  Also, make the entire C2A button clickable.  Users are not going to click five places before finding the right place to click on a larger button.  They will simply move on a lose interest, exactly the opposite of what you want them to do.  So, make the whole button clickable, not just certain parts that say “Click Here!”

Everyone loves free things, so offering a free service with a C2A is a perfect opportunity to implement smart marketing techniques.  If your small business doesn’t offer free services, this would be a good time to think of simple things to offer potential clients.  Free services range from consultations, tips, e-books and white papers – all of which will increase traffic, which in turn will increase conversion rates.

Ask yourself this: why are customers coming to your site?  If they are trying to solve a problem, then make sure your C2A leads them to a solution.  It should be obvious what you are trying to promote with your C2A.  But in the same respect, don’t go with the obvious “Click here!” gimmick.  Make it interesting, creative and pleasing to the eye.

Article first published as LinkedIn Means Business on Technorati.

There has been a lot of talk as to whether or not social media is the front runner in another inflated internet bubble waiting to burst, leaving users “virtually” friendless and clueless. Will everyone be out of the loop, with no one keeping track of daily deals, happenings or status updates? Warren Buffet confirmed this fear stating that although it’s not as big as the dot com bubble, social media is not long term by any means. However, industry trends and buyer behaviors are stating otherwise.

Facebook has proven beneficial to marketing efforts for B2C companies, but B2B marketing has struggled to find its footing on the platform. That’s where LinkedIn has emerged as the go-to medium for B2B marketers.

A recent study done by BtoB Magazine, showed that when asked “Which of the following social media methods does your company currently use for your B2B marketing (i.e. not personal use)” 72% of B2B marketers said LinkedIn. After reaching more than 100 million users, LinkedIn has solidified its niche as Facebook in a business suit, and B2B companies have taken notice.

The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing (an annual report done by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company) found that 61% of B2B marketers who participated in the survey acquired a customer through LinkedIn. The targeted and measurable aspect of inbound marketing is what makes it so attractive to smart business owners who are tired of spending money on marketing with no proof that it’s working. Former Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s, M. Lawrence Light said, “It no longer makes economic sense to send an advertising message to the many, in hopes of persuading the few.”

Social media from a marketing perspective changes the rules of the game. Inbound marketing is completely driven by the social aspect of the internet. By gaining permission from your target market you introduce them to your products and services, educate them and show them your value, then let them determine if it’s a good fit or not.

The “experts” are certain that social media is mostly smoke and mirrors. Maybe the social media “naysayers” don’t fall into the nine out of 10 internet users who visited a social networking site each month in 2010. This means, they probably just don’t “get” social media. They should stop the fear-mongering and recognize that social media has given access to “regular” people to determine what is share-worthy and have allowed small businesses to grow by creating a more level playing field.

While the debate if social media plays as significant a role as is perceived continues, there is no question that business owners are using it to grow their businesses, and the proof is in the data.

Problem 1 – Small Business Marketing is left until the need for customers arise

As professional service providers and small business owners, you are responsible for every aspect of your business. You oversee the daily tasks, the bookkeeping and the customer service that is provided to the customers you’ve worked so hard to get. Because you’re being stretched so thin, marketing your small business is usually left until you’re in need of more customers and then forgotten again once you’ve gotten some customers for the time being.

Marketing your small business needs to be an ongoing activity. You should have a list of daily, weekly and monthly marketing tasks that are ongoing and that are continuously generating leads.
Daily tasks can include following up with leads who have called, emailed or filled out a form on your website and participating in social media. Weekly tasks should include blogging and other participation in the blogosphere i.e. reading and commenting on relevant blogs. Monthly tasks should include developing information content, lead nurturing campaigns and checking on the progress of existing campaigns.

Problem 2 – Marketing is entrusted to under qualified individuals and no tracking methods are in place to determine what’s working and what’s not.

Small business owners and professional service providers try and cut corners hoping you’ll see a return on a zero investment. It’s easier and cheaper, you say, to just do it yourself, or have your web savvy intern or daughter hand out fliers at the grocery store, or update your Facebook page every now and then. Although you may save a few dollars on the front-end, what you’re losing in the long run should make you stop and rethink your methods.

Using under qualified individuals to handle your marketing most likely means there is no tracking method in place. If you’re not tracking your marketing, it’s practically worthless. You think you know what’s working, but you don’t really know and if you are right about what’s working you don’t have any idea how well it’s working or how much you’re actually spending on your marketing per customer. Being able to repeat your marketing successes is what helps you grow your businesses.  Having a tracking method in place, is what lets you to know what your marketing successes are. If you don’t know how to get this started, hire someone who does, and let them show you how.

Problem 3 – No company blog and not participating in social media marketing

A major reason that small business owners and professional service providers suck at marketing is because you don’t know the value of blogging for business nor the power of social media marketing for your small business. If you don’t already have a blog for your business you are now in the minority of business owners and have limited your ability to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

The same goes for social media marketing. Alone, social media marketing is not the answer to your marketing needs, but implemented within the larger marketing plan, social media marketing allows you to engage, promote and grow your online footprint, which greatly effects your search engine rankings.

Let’s summarize: 

Problem 1 – Marketing is left until the need for customers arise.
Solution: Market continuously on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to maintain steady lead generation. 

Problem 2 – No tracking method in place to determine what’s working and what’s not.
Solution: Hire someone to show you how to track your marketing, or if you already know how to track, being disciplined to incorporate tracking into all your marketing campaigns. 

Problem 3 – No company blog and not participating in social media marketing
Solution: Develop a blogging and social media marketing strategy and begin blogging for your business and participating in social media.