In the Social Media Gold Rush, We Can Forget The One Thing That Will Guarantee Us Success

Social media marketing is rather like a gold rush, right now. People are coming from the four corners of the earth to try to win some gold. Small and large businesses, alike, are pulling out their pick axes. Some are definitely striking it rich but some are just digging in the dirt, and contradictory advice is coming from all sides.

But that's not necessarily the fault of your local social media expert, because the really fun part of the process is this: the major social media sites keep digging up that gold and moving it. Of course! I would, too, if I were them.Their goal is to make more profit through advertising. Our goal is to get the word out there without spending too, too much money. Hmmmmm....

Folks who enjoyed serious success early on have now found their gold has been moved. For example: SEO providers have been optimizing the heck out of websites over the last few years, carefully sprinkling keywords everywhere, streamlining the look and the feel of the site (many sites look exactly alike these days), and generally doing a great job. So why is Google throttling the traffic to these sites? Well, it's kind of like going into a casino and knowing how to count cards. Eventually, they kick you out.

The game is changing drastically it seems almost minute by minute. Even as a blog get posted, its advice is going stale (I guess including this one!). Business might feel pressured to jump and jump fast to adjust their marketing strategies and through it all forget one important thing.

What's that? Their Customer. The one person who can really tell a business what they should be doing.

In these crazy times, we need more and more to get back to the basics of marketing.

1. Who is our Customer?
2. What does s/he want?
3. What does s/he need?
4. How is s/he finding what s/he needs?
5. Where is s/he looking?

Answering these questions will give you a much clearer idea of how to use social media to market to your Customer. Your approach can be thoughtful. Your website can be designed to appeal to the very folks you are trying to attract.

For example, if you are a personal trainer offering exercise coaching and you determine that over 65% of your potential clients are women 45-55 years old, you might choose Pinterest as a marketing platform because Pinterest is most popular with women. You might soften the lines and the colours of your website. You might promote yourself in terms of the bikini body as opposed the six pack.

Or if you are a clothing manufacturer and you determine that your customers are mostly male, 18-24, you might consider Tumblr, a micro network that attracts teens and youth. You might update your site to be quirky and interesting to young people.

Your Social Media Director or Consultant should be talking, all the time, about your clients and what they're doing online, what sites they're visiting online. Because if your Customer is there, then that's where you want to be too. Avoid turning over too, too much dirt to find the gold. Follow your Customer.

Jacqui Burke is a Social Media Consultant based in Toronto, Canada. http://www.jaybirdsocialmedia.com

You're why we're here. How can we help you?

5 FREE Social Media Tools I Use Every Day to Build My Business

1.       Hootsuite
http:www.hootsuite.com

Hootsuite is a posting platform that allows you to post across platforms at once, schedule posts to go out during the day, and generally do pretty much anything you can do on your various social media sites but from one location. Free up to five social media connections. Essentially, this platform allows you to reach more people with one post, and get all your posting done at one time. Natch!

2.       MailChimp
www.mailchimp.com

Mail Chimp is a tool for sending out graphically rich, appealing emails but, also, it keeps track of your list maintenance for you. You don`t have to do a thing! With email STILL being the number one way to connect to your potential clients, Mail Chimp has proven to be an invaluable tool. Free up to 2,000 contacts.

3.       Google Analytics
http://www.google.com/analytics

I am religious about checking out my and my clients`s stats every day to see if I can catch trends as they happen, or push more what works. Google Analytics is a solid tool to see where your traffic is coming from, visitor behaviour, and can even track conversions.

4.       Many Contacts
www.manycontacts.com

Want to increase your conversion rate? Use Many Contacts! Not only does this site make form building easy, it collects your data for you (and syncs it with your Mail Chimp – or other email service) automatically. Awesome!

5.       Google Keyword Tool
https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner

If people are looking for your business online, how are they searching for it? Use Google Keyword Tool to increase optimization and boost your keyword strength. This is totally free but you need a google account to use it.

These tools are really great. If you need help setting these up or consulting, I am available for consulting and training on a reasonable per hour basis.  Contact me:

http://www.jaybirdsocialmedia.com

info@jaybirdsocialmedia.com

@jaybirdsocialmedia

+647-292-0210

Skeptical? 3 Compelling Reasons To Get Your Website Mobile Ready

If you are to decide to spend the time and money it takes to upgrade your website, you have to know it's worth it. Here's three reasons (with back up data) that tell us we can't afford not to make the change.

Internet users are moving onto mobile in incredible numbers. They are accessing, researching, and making buying decisions on their smart phones. But a huge percentage of websites (estimates are over 80%) are not optimized for mobile. Their sites hard to navigate (most mobile users will just bounce off) and, indeed, harder to find. The Internet is competitive. You want to be there when your customer comes looking:

1.   Cell Use Is Our Number One Choice For Accessing The Internet

As of February 2014, cell access of the Internet outstripped PC access
(SOURCE CNNMONEY CITING ENDERS ANALYSIS):

Mobile devices accounted for 55% of Internet usage in the United States in January. Apps made up 47% of Internet traffic and 8% of traffic came from mobile browsers, according to data from comScore, cited Thursday by research firm Enders Analysis. PCs clocked in at 45%.

As of January 2014
(SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH CENTER, WASHINGTON DC):

• 90% of American adults have a cell phone
• 58% of American adults have a smartphone
• 32% of American adults own an e-reader
• 42% of American adults own a tablet computer

2.                 Consumers Are Researching/Making Their Decisions On Mobile

SOURCE: TELEMETRIX:

50% of consumers are using their smartphones exclusively to start their research and 31% continue through the process and make buying decisions online. Of the 50% who start their research, only half know what they’re looking for when they start. The other 50% can be influenced by brand marketers.

SOURCE: GOOGLE RESEARCH

 A startling 82% of consumers are using their mobile phones to help them make buying decisions while inside your store with comparison pricing research but, also, using merchant apps.

Of those users, 60% expect their business solution to be within walking distance and 33% are looking for pertinent details:  phone, location, business hours.

3.  More And More Consumers Are Coming Online Via Mobile

SOURCE: EMARKETER

Smartphone uptake is massive. According to eMarketer, the low cost of smart phones will result in 2 billion in use by 2015. We recently tipped over the 1 billion mark. And projections are over 5 billion by 2017. We are at the uptrend of a burgeoning market. Projects say that over 90% of Internet users will be accessing the Internet via their phone alone.

As I said, you can't afford not to do make your website mobile ready. We are offering a free service to take a look at your site and let you know what you need to do and how much it will cost. Get your FREE Assessment*, today!

5 Ways To Get Your Site Ready For Your Mobile Customers

Over half of online customers initiate their purchasing searches on their smartphone and this number is trending up, meaning that more and more customers will be looking for you on their phones over the coming months. We all need to be mobile ready. But what does mobile ready or mobile optimized mean? Here are five things you can do to your website to be most appealing to mobile users:

1) Responsive website or mobile version:
Responsive code or a mobile version of your site are both designed to make it easy on the eyes and the fingertips of mobile users. If your site is not optimized for mobile, you may find that your potential mobile customers bounce right of your site to your competitors'.

2) Basic Information
Mobile users want to know your basic information: 1) where you are - including a map, 2) your phone number, and 3) your business hours. Display these prominently on the front page of your website and your mobile customers will thank you by bringing you more sales.

3) Clickable Phone Numbers
Make sure that all phone numbers on your site are clickable. This means that when a mobile user clicks on a telephone link, the number will automatically load into her phone. All she has to do is press one more button to be connected with you.

4) Increase Media and Reduce Text
Mobile users tend to want simple graphic messages that get straight to the point.

5) Mobile Verbal Search
Many mobile users are using voice search tools to find what they want. That means you need to change your keywords strings to ones that are longer and more closely mimic human speech. For example, if you are a flower shop at Gerrard and Coxwell, you might use the following keyword phrase: "flower shop close to Gerrard and Coxwell" or "flower shop on Gerrard".

Cost of all this? Assuming you will need to get your website redesigned, all these techniques should be included at an approximate rate of $100 per website page. If your site is already generally designed for mobile, then the costs would be minimal.

If you'd like a mobile-readiness assessment absolutely free, go ahead and visit jaybirdsocialmedia.com and fill out the handy form.

Good luck, out there!

The 2 Social Media Platforms Your Business Must Be On

The benefits of social media for business are widely debated -- except that efforts on all platforms definitely help your business' bottom line and every business I know can point to clients they have found online through community building efforts. But social marketing is so new, we are all learning what works and what doesn't and, further, search algorithms change, corporate strategies change. The social media landscape quakes almost every day.

There are, in my mind, two kinds of social media sites: 1) Fuzzy Benefits and 2) Solid Benefits.

Fuzzy benefit social media platforms include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest. These platforms offer increased reach and possible community building. There is no question that if you can attract a community of folk interested in your product or service on these sites and get them to follow you or sign up for your newsletter, you will increase your sales. None of these sites, however, will increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Because of recent changes and emerging data Google+ and Linkedin are in the Solid Benefits box. And these are the two site that you need to be on if you want to really capitalize on social media marketing in 2014.

Linkedin is becoming the elite of the social media sites with highest average income per member and hosting the highest percentage of business decision makers of any social media site. Linkedin is also the fastest growing social media site. If you are trying to attract business, this is the site for you, though Linkedin offers no SEO benefit.

Google+, however, is poised to become the king of SEO. Google+ treats all pages and posts on its social platform as if they were a separate websites which means each and every one can be assessed and returned in a pertinent google search for information. And, remember, two thirds of all searches are still done on Google. Most people turn to that engine for answers and that engine is poised to favourite posts on its own social media platform. If you are a business trying to be found, Google+ is a site you need to be on and need to be reasonably active on.

The rules are always changing but these two platforms will, likely, dominate in the coming years. Get your business on them right away.

Facebook Limits Your Audience? Two Ways To Still Be Seen

Facebook has just announced that they are limiting - even more - the amount of business page followers who will naturally see any given post. Why? They want you to spend money to boost the post, of course, and who's to stop them? They're running a business, too, right? Their business is monetizing human interaction. I might do the same thing if I were them.

But for those of you, like me, who are small to micro businesses trying to make it in a very competitive market, Facebook's recent change in operation does not bode well. We're all working hard to build a following and, now, that following -- even though they have opted to see our content -- won't see it unless we pay for it.

Daunting? Yes. It feels like it's going to become a game about who has the most money, again, right? Weeeeell, not exactly. Here are two simple techniques that will help you beat the system - at least for a little while.

1. Like your own posts.

Sounds tacky, right? People who like their own posts seem to be vain and silly. In fact, not very long ago, liking one's own posts was the height of Facebook gauchery.

However, you will notice that some folks are liking their own posts as a matter of course, now. Why? Facebook added a little ticker on the side of the screen that shows folks actions pretty much in real time. A kind of an unfettered feed, this ticker will tell you who's liking or commenting or sharing right now. Now in the most recent incarnation of Facebook, that feed only refreshes if you do, however, it's still there. If you like your own posts, that action comes up on the ticker feed increasing your chance that people online will see it.

Also, Facebook will keep a post alive and show more people the post the more people like and comment on it. So, if a post is interesting to your audience, the platform keeps putting it out there. Posts that are uncommented or unliked (therefore uninteresting) will simply disappear. A post, then, can still go viral -- get seen by a ton of folks -- if people respond to it, like it, comment on it, share it.

So, like your own posts on your business page. Change back to your own self and like that post again. It will help.

2. Form a Marketing Support Circle

Following on this idea, it would be great if a post would get an automatic like or two as it goes up or gets a comment or two early in the process or is guaranteed to get a share or two. It follows, then, that small business can seek out other small businesses and form a marketing support circle. It might only take three or four individuals supporting a few posts a day to make a big difference in how many people actually see the post in their feed.

So, get out there and find three or four others who are trying to do what you are trying to do. Help each other. Like each other's posts. Comment and share each other's content both as a business and as an individual. It will help.

There. Two ways to work around the new Facebook restrictions. At least for now. Until they change it all again. 

Pick up the phone! 4 Critical Website Techniques For Small Business.

Cellphones are becoming a dominant method for folks who need to find a local business right now. Right this minute! People who are looking on their phones are often buying right now.

Imagine. You are on the way to visit a friend at and you don't have a gift. What about flowers? What about a gift basket? You grab your cell phone and find out that there's a gift basket store just a block from their house. And it's open. Easy-peasy.

Imagine. You're working a set of appointments in a new area in the city and you have to, have to get some dry cleaning done. Pick up the phone. There's a handy dry cleaner right there. Easy-peasy.

Imagine. You're on your way to a big presentation and, disaster! You spill that Timmies coffee all over your printed materials. Need a copy shop right away! Pick up the phone. Easy-peasy.

I, honestly, don't know how I functioned without the phone. I may be saving a good hour a day in efficiency and productivity just making use of features like web search, transit schedules. That's a lot of time, either to work or (gasp!) to spend with family and friends. And the whole world is starting to do the same. You want this business. It's the equivalent of having a storefront in the centre of town that gets tons of foot traffic because of location.

How can you maximize your chances of getting this business

1. Search engine optimisation.
There is room, on a small screen,  for about three entries. If the search is 'sports equipment Yonge and Eglinton' and you have a sports store near that location, you want to be one of the three top entries. Through the use of Social Media, keywords, and other techniques, your shop can be there.

2. Have a website designed for easy viewing and navigation on a cellphone.
Many sites require a second, specifically designed mobile site. However, most of my clients are small, local businesses with small websites. For these folk, I recommend a re-design and a switch to Responsive code. Responsive code checks what device is viewing the website and optimises the site for viewing on that device. It's nifty and intelligent -- and you don't have to go to the bother of updating two sites every time you decide to have a promotion!

3. Your phone number should be front and centre and clickable.
Your company's phone number should be at the top of your website. Aaaaand, front and centre on every page. Most websites have stopped even putting the phone number on the front page, let alone at the top, making a cell phone user really dig for a quick way to contact you. Crazy. What are you hiding your number for? And remember to make that number clickable - so that if the cell phone user clicks it, the number is loaded straight into his or her phone. Easy peasy.

4. Put critical details at the top.
If he or she only had a tiny, little screen to look at, what would be the most important thing for a customer to see? What does a person on the run want to know? Is the store open? Where is the store? What specials are on right now? What brands do they carry? Put this information or links to this information right at the top for your cell phone users.

This might require a redesign of your website but it is critical to increased sales figures as the world switches to handheld devices.

5 Reasons For Why Social Media? Because Yes.

To some, social media is their primary (and low cost) toolset for gaining, keeping, and keeping in touch with clients - and making more sales. Inbound marketing is taking off. Why?

1. Traditional Advertising Ain't Working Anymore.
Traditional advertising is being zapped, ignored, muted, switched off. Build yourself a list of consumers who *want* your information. Who are more likely to read it, watch it, digest it.

2. Keep The Connection.
We all know that a happy client is the best advertising; so we all work hard to make our clients happy. But in order to really capitalize on the word-of-mouth generated by your hard work, you want your company name on the tip of that satisfied client's lips. Social media marketing is a low cost, highly effective way of staying connected. Sending an newsletter a month is all you need to do and your client will remember both you and your great service.

3. Promote To An Already Warm Market
Got a little time on your hands or a little extra product lying around? Tell your already satisfied clients all about it quickly and easily; give them a deal and make a bit of profit out of unused assets. Send special promotions via email, post them on Facebook, Google walls. Tweet! Once set up, this costs you nothing but a bit of time.

4. Grow Your Community
Simply being out there and active in social media will attract potential clients to your online community. You can build your list of email addresses and followers naturally with various techniques. The more followers you have and the more email addresses you contact legitimately every month, the more sales you will make.

5. Be Known. Build Your Brand.
A solid social media marketing campaign can be like a large billboard at the side of the road. Everybody knows about it. And when the time comes that they need your product or service, they are going to be more likely to think  of you.

Inbound marketing is poised to be business' communication platform of the future. And you can have it now. And with a minimum of investment. Really.