Pay-per-Click Advertising vs. Social Media Marketing

February 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment
pay_per_click

Recently, many of my connections have asked me what the difference between the two is, or are they one and the same.  Yes, there is a profound difference and here is why:

Pay-per-Click (PPC) is an Internet advertising method used to direct traffic to websites, where advertisers pay when the ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. PPC “display” advertisements are shown on web sites or search engine results with related content that have agreed to show ads.  These are the ads that appear at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs.  PPC Ads are the opposite of organic (unpaid) search engine results.

The best ways to get started in paid advertising are through Google Adwords, Facebook Advertising and LinkedIn Ads.

What’s the difference?  With Google and other search engines, you choose words and search phrases that people will be searching for.  With Facebook and LinkedIn, you choose what type of people, their likes and interests that you will send your ad to using keywords.

It”s important to make clear that paid search advertising is not a replacement for anything, but should instead be used to complement other marketing strategies. It takes a lot of time and effort, resources and ongoing management, and it”s something you really need to invest in.  Many companies and small businesses especially — look at paid search as a replacement for the yellow page ads that they used to run or the classified ads that they”re doing. Or, they think that if they just pay to be on a search engine, they don”t have to invest time and resources in search engine optimization to rank higher organically.

How Paid Search Can Help Grow Your Business:

  1. PPC is a great option if your business is not ranking well in the search engines with organic search alone.  PPC can support your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy by helping your brand show up in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for the most competitive searches. Notice that we say “show up” rather than “rank” because there is nothing PPC can do to directly increase your organic rankings. However, PPC can be used to make sure that you have some kind of representation on page one while your SEO strategy catches up.
    TIP: A solid SEO strategy is an ongoing process over a 6-12 month time period.  If an agency tells you otherwise, look elsewhere for assistance.
  2. PPC is an extremely powerful tool and a valuable asset for enhancing your company’s online presence.    Studies show that the average customer needs to see your company products or service 6-7 times before they make a buying decision. Having your PPC ad on the front page of SERPs is powerful, as a supplement to your social media and SEO strategy.
  3. Conducting PPC campaigns through search engines, Facebook and LinkedIn is a powerful way to generate a constant flow of traffic (lead generation) to your website.  These are highly qualified and targeted audiences who are searching for your product/service or, in the case of LinkedIn and Facebook, have “likes, interests and qualities” that align with your company’s brand, products/service.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites.  Social media marketing programs center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. A company communication spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as opposed to the brand or company itself. This form of marketing is driven by word-of-mouth, meaning it results in earned media rather than paid media. Earned media is in essence an endorsement of your brand as statistics prove that people are more likely to trust a brand and subsequently make a slots purchase from a brand that their friends and family, or community has endorsed.  They become your brand evangelists.


How Social Media Marketing Can Help Grow Your Business

  1. Over 75% of consumers use social media in some format to learn about products and services.
  2. Increased communication for businesses fosters brand awareness and can also act as an improved customer service channel.  Your business now has the opportunity to respond in real time, without the customer having to call and navigate your company “phone tree”, go to your website’s FAQ’s or whatever method they are using to communicate with you.
  3. Social media serves as an inexpensive platform for all businesses to implement marketing campaigns; marketing campaigns that are measurable and quantifiable and offer a much shorter timeframe to quantify your Return on Investment (ROI).

All great reasons for why we are so passionate for social media and internet marketing!

With that said, many of the so-called social media rules are not new, groundbreaking or even shocking.  They are based on the fundamentals of communication and interaction.  So whether you are using online media for personal or business reasons, treat others as you would like to be treated.

Getting started in social media marketing isn’t as daunting as it may seem at first.  There are a few simple things you can do to make a splash in the online community.

Start and Maintain a Blog

It’s a proven statistic that blogging increases website traffic by at least 50%.  This alone is why your business needs to start blogging now.

However, before you dust off your writer’s hat, it’s important to know that an effective blog requires a sound blogging strategy, time commitment and resource commitment.  Once you start a blog, you must be committed to maintaining it forever; just like everything indexed on the internet lives online forever.

Once you set up your blog, it’s time to start creating content.  Content can be anything, but it should obviously be relevant to your target audience.

How Blogging Can Help Grow Your Business

  1. Keep in mind that you are not selling your products and/or services.  You are committing to putting out really great content that others will want to share, thereby creating word-of-mouth advertising!
  2. Encourage your readers to interact through questions, comments or feedback.  If they leave a comment, be sure to respond to them.
  3. Again, the huge spike in website traffic…so what are you waiting for?
  4. Keep blogging consistently (at least once a week) and keep it real, and your readers will keep coming back.

Create your Business Profile on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn 

Each of these online communities will get your brand more exposure and allow you to communicate with prospects and customers in real time.  There are hundreds of online communities; what is key is to start small and be committed to being active and engaging in those communities.

Think of Social Media as being at a dinner party – conversations should develop, expand, educate and entertain.  Keep these in mind when participating in social media.  The more you participate, the more you establish yourself as a trusted expert and friend.  If you do it right, it will equate to brand evangelists, lead generation and ultimately, sales.

Social media marketing requires ongoing time, resources, commitment and patience. A sound social media strategy and plan equates to 5-10 hours a week.  If this is not feasible to maintain for your business, consider hiring Grow Social Marketing for help in the marketing strategy, plan and ongoing management of your social media and digital advertising efforts.

What other methods are you using to market your company online?  We’d love to hear your comments, tips and suggestions below!

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Social Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

How Should Your Company be Using Social Media in 2012? Our Predictions…

January 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Row-Smartphones

In order for your company to compete and innovate in today’s digital marketplace, investments in time, money and energy must be made in social media. 

2012 is going to be an exciting year for social media! Yes, we’re excited.  So how should your company be using social media in 2012?  Here are the most critical ways.

1. Social media must be incorporated into corporate websites

Many businesses have added social media links and information to their websites that consumers now look for these links. Visiting a company’s Facebook page or Twitter profile has become as important as reading reviews on the business and corporate websites have noticed this. Have 2012 be the year your company integrates social media to engage in the conversation.

2.  An increase in social media usage on mobile devices             

CNet.com reported that, “In April, research firm Gartner reported that over 296 million smartphones shipped worldwide last year. This year, the research firm expects that figure to jump to 468 million. Next year, smartphone shipments could jump to over 630 million, the company said. But all those figures pale in comparison to Gartner’s expected 2015 shipments, predicting 1.1 billion smartphones will ship worldwide.”  For companies, having a website that is optimized and integrating your social media presence is critical for brand building and awareness, lead generation and customer service.

3.   An increase in personal support

Individuals are reaching out to others through social media websites. Their problems, issues and causes are spread through outlets like Facebook communities; this has become an accepted outlet to share experiences, find others who support the same causes or have the same problems. This type of viral support will only increase in the years to come.  For companies, being at the forefront in the social communities presents the opportunities to:

  • Listen to and gather feedback from your customers, employees, investors.
  • Learn how your brand is perceived by loyalists and detractors.
  • Create transparency on issues that are important to your customers and your business.
  • Improve customer service by providing immediate solutions.
  • Act quickly and in a multi-faceted way to crises.
  • Drive new product and service awareness and adoption.
  • Conduct ongoing, real-time research and analysis.

4.   Social media budgets will grow                                                                   

Now that businesses have seen how social media has affected the world, they realize how important their own social media presence is. Websites like Facebook and Twitter, are such a large part of everyday life for so many people that it’s hard to picture life without this social connection.  For companies, the time spent effectively managing and engaging their audience on an ongoing basis through social media will grow.

5.   Social media advertising will grow

With so many people skipping TV commercials, businesses will look to take their advertizing where the people actually are: social media websites. Some companies will create in-house positions and others will outsource to get their information to the public (via blogs, reviews, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other outlets relevant to their business.)  Grow Social Marketing can manage your social media advertising campaigns that will drive results to your bottom line.

7.  Online news and PR will be increasingly social

Many people get their news on social media sites, so a large number of news outlets have Facebook and Twitter accounts to keep people updated. Most of these news accounts allow readers to comment, ‘like’, retweet and discuss news stories with others. This will only increase in 2012 and more people will want to voice their opinion.  For companies, this means that writing and the distribution of search optimized news releases for brand management purposes will become increasingly important.

8. Your social media footprint will grow                                                                     

With the recent addition of Facebook’s Timeline, people can now look back through your Facebook “life”. Not only that, but your gaming profiles, Yelp! profiles, Twitter, Flicker, Myspace, Linkedin, YouTube,  etc. all increase your footprint. For your business, the more social media sites that are introduced and you create an account for will continue to increase your social media footprint. This footprint will live forever in the digital world.

9.   Creating a website that is compatible with mobile devices

With the increase in smartphone owners, iPads, Tablets, Nooks and so on, companies will have to make sure their website can be accessed through these devices. People often access their favorite websites from their smartphone or tablet while at work, in the airport, waiting at the doctor’s office, etc. If they can’t access your businesses information, your business loses out.

10. Defining and Determining ROI

How you go to market using social media practices and tools must be measured.  It should be measured in the standard ROI methodology but also measured in terms of the “new ROI”, Return on Influence, which these social media efforts produce.

Grow Social Marketing understands that it can feel overwhelming when navigating and managing the rapidly changing online media landscape.  We will work with you to help you establish a meaningful brand presence.  We will train you on social media best practices and audience engagement.  If needed, Grow Social Marketing will manage your social media presence, helping you connect in a strategic and meaningful way, with the stakeholders your business depends upon to succeed. Together, we will optimize your online presence to deliver powerful brand engagement and drive business performance. 

How do you see social media evolving in 2012? What trends do you predict? Please share your comments here.


Filed Under: Business, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Website Tagged With: , , , ,

Networking on LinkedIn

December 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
linkedIn

Can You Network with Complete Strangers on LinkedIn?

Yes. How, you might ask? For those of you that hate to network, LinkedIn is the best way to connect with people. I tell those that say that they dread networking, think of it as “networking in your underwear”. On so many levels, LinkedIn helps to fuel the expansion of your personal and professional network.

For example, today I received an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. His name and photo did not look familiar to me. And, his invitation contained the standard “blurb” that LinkedIn creates when someone sends an invitation to connect. However, I meet a lot of people while I am out and about, so I thought we may have met somewhere in the past. After reviewing his profile, I realized I still could not recall this person. I noticed, however, that we have a mutual connection in common. Instead of accepting his invitation, I responded with apologies and asked if he could refresh my memory on how we knew each other. He replied that he knows a person with the same name as me, but it was obvious we are not one and the same. Because this person and I had the same friend/connection in common, I decided to converse with him. This led to a conversation on “how do you know” our mutual friend and sparked the conversation. This fueled an ongoing dialogue of conversation on a variety of different topics. For example, I asked him how he liked working at his company. After communicating back and forth, I accepted his invitation to connect.

Why use LinkedIn to Network?

  • People you want to meet: LinkedIn helps you identify commonalities with people you want to meet, by displaying how you are connected.
  • It’s an online Rolodex, helping you keep track of where people are professionally and personally, in life, family, honors, achievements and awards.  You have instant access to email and phone numbers.
  • Syncs with the contacts in your phone with your LinkedIn contacts. With the new LinkedIn app if you have a smart phone. You will never have to worry about finding someone’s contact information.  Tip – you can “bump” your phone against another phone using the LinkedIn application and be instantly connected on LinkedIn!
  • You just never know.  Long lost friends from years past? LinkedIn can spark a conversation. A current deal you are working on, through your LinkedIn network you may find that a connection works there or they can introduce you to a key contact at that company.
  • Social networking closes the gap across boundaries, locations and people. LinkedIn is powerful in connecting people, building resources and bringing people together.

Best Practices when Networking on LinkedIn:

  • Treat online networking the same as in person. If you are trying to network via LinkedIn, do not create a facade or initiate a connection under a false premise. I’ve had several people attempt to network and connect with me on LinkedIn under the false premise that we are “friends”.
  • Put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. The recipients’ immediate reaction is going to be, “who is this person?” and “why would I want to connect with them if I don’t know them?” When sending an invitation, LinkedIn allows “friends” as an option when asked “how do you know ___”. Always keep in mind that networking is about building relationships and treat it as such, regardless of how and where you are networking.
  • Personalize your invitation for everyone you send an invitation to connect. Don’t use the standard blurb that LinkedIn gives you when sending an invitation. Take an extra moment to personalize your invitation while keeping the recipient in mind. Tell the person why you want to connect with them.
  • After connecting, send a follow up note. Use this message and include a call to action, a note of thanks, to schedule a meeting or to initiate a conversation.
  • Post a LinkedIn update to your network regularly – This could be something you are working on, an article you read online, or something that you came across that speaks to your area of expertise. Doing so keeps you top of mind with your network.

LinkedIn can be a powerful tool in growing your network and growing your business. Stay tuned for an upcoming article on using LinkedIn for B2B.

How are You Using LinkedIn to Network?

Filed Under: Business, Networking, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,