Attended a great webinar put on by Hubspot this week. Brent Leary, co-founder of CRM Essentials, presented on How to Use Social Media to Attract More Customers.
You can find the video and slides for download here. Check it out!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
If you answered, “online” you’re a few steps ahead of many of the so-called “experts” in the space.
image by justinsomnia
But all kidding aside, while prognostications about the economy, Wall Street and who’s the right play in Tampa this Sunday abound, many of us are interested in new trends and topics for social media in the new year. Peter Kim posts an excellent collection of opinions from those in the social media know on his blog.
Check out Social Media Predictions 2009 here.
A couple of particularly interesting observations. Particularly interesting in part because they have been part of previous entries on this blog (insert shameless plug here).
The point that really caught my eye was David Armano’s prediction that businesses will have to come to terms with the idea that set it and forget it (respect to Ron Popeil) sites and email blasts, while ostensibly cheaper than some traditional marketing tactics and therefore attractive in the current economic environment, are not really leveraging the power of social media. In fact, without “qualified and passionate people to make them successful,” they might as well not bother.
This idea goes back to my post regarding switching out of traditional marketing tactics to focus on new, or online marketing because it is relatively less expensive. My original point was that to successfully leverage the true strengths of social media, internal resources (people) have to be empowered to manage, with honesty and candor, the new marketing efforts. This may or may not be less costly than traditional techniques. But the point is that simply buying banner ads or putting up a Facebook fan page, while fairly inexpensive, does not a social media effort make.
Social media allows for personalized, real time consumer/business relationships. Relationships, in my experience, typically require dedicated people to initiate, engage and nurture them.
Sorry Ron… but set it and forget it does not apply.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
I was in a meeting with a client the other day when the topic of lead generation came up. Specifically, we were discussing ways to make an informational site into a more dynamic, lead generating site.
After a 10 minute spiel on why new marketing would be the way to go, my client looked at me and in no uncertain terms let me know that there was no way he could convince his boss that any of these “new marketing” techniques are worth shifting resources into.
Especially given the current business environment.
So when I saw this post at WebInkNow it caught my attention. Some great ideas on ways to convince your boss (or client) that new marketing might be worth a shot.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
In a post last week I noted that many are shifting away from traditional marketing tactics in favor of online or “new” marketing tools in response to the economic downturn. The thinking is that with less of a marketing spend companies can increase, or at least maintain sales through online channels.
Maybe. But I would argue that to effectively leverage online efforts, companies must build their presence over time rather than simply shift to digital media tactics as a result of budget cuts today. This is along the lines of the old “dig your well before you’re thirsty” idea.
Great chart on Sherpa that shows in some detail the apparent shift. The accompanying article elaborates on the findings.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Follow me on Twitter