Get In The Conversation… Notes from CRBJ Breakfast

// April 9th, 2009 // Technology

I had a great time sharing some basic overview information this morning at the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Power Breakfast.  Thanks to Andy and the crew for including me.  Just some notes for those of you who may be looking for a recap of my “blah, blah, blah..” time. 

The biggest point I wanted to get across was to get in the conversation.  Getting in the conversation is free.  Tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging platforms are free.  You can monitor what people are saying about you and your company!  Below are the four points that were included in the booklet this morning…  my big point of “Get In The Conversation” has connections to all four points.  If you aren’t sure how to start or get rolling PLEASE do not hesitate to contact me, I’d love to help!

Social Media, Interactive Marketing and Flow

Word Of Mouth: “I can sell your product better than you.”  Word of mouth marketing is what I also call trust marketing.  Word Of Mouth marketing is also known as “Viral Marketing”.  We spread the word about products we love, buy and use.  I talk about social media, blogging and WordPress (blogging platform) a lot.  Because I do this, people trust what I have to say about those topics.  We all pay attention to the people we trust or who have an authority in a specific area or service.

The Obligatory Website:  Most businesses have a website because, well, every other business does.  If you have a piece of the World Wide Web real estate, why not use it to it’s maximum potential!  Don’t let your site sit static with no reason for people to visit except to get your phone number.  Your website is your biggest ticket to finding new customers as well as new sales avenues.  You have an opportunity to tell your story and become the leader/authority in your arena.  Websites can and will often be the center-piece to your online initiatives.

Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Management: SEO & SEM activities ensure that #2 (your obligatory website) gets traffic… more importantly qualified traffic.  There are two ways to go about this: Natural and Paid.

–Natural (or Organic):  The most cost effective method is to acquire high placement naturally.  This involves your website, how it’s laid out, what page titles you use, what content you have, how often the content changes and the number and quality of incoming links to your site.  Natural placement takes some time, but can be supplemented by paid placement as you grow.  Example: the company I maintain all the SEO/SEM for had 10-15 keywords on the front page of Google in April 2008.  Since then, with a site redesign and a focus put on the SEO, we have been able to acquire over 250 terms on the first page of Google with a value of over $7,000/month.  That value is based on how much it would cost us to “pay” for this type of placement or the value of the “click”. Over 25% of new leads on the site are now coming from the internet and most are coming from search engines.

–Paid:  Google and Yahoo! offer the opportunity to “pay for placement”.  You can have your ad appear based on specific keyword or phrases that a user may type in. It’s important to remember, this can be very costly depending on your desired terms or keywords (more popular search terms cost more money).  You must research which terms and keywords work for you.  You are paying each time a user “clicks” on your term or keyword.  This gives you the ability to place value on a “click”.

Blogging/Transparency/Social Media: Whether you like it or not, people are talking about you or your company.  It can be positive or negative but if you aren’t “listening” in the social media arena then you can’t defend yourself or, better yet, say “thanks” to those who are praising you.  There are many mediums online that people are using to talk. Here are some that are important to monitor and get involved in.:

Twitter (Examples include Comcast, Guitar Center)

Social Media (Facebook, LinkedIn)

Blogs (Thomas Nelson’s Michael Hyatt, Chris Brogan)

Forums/Discussion groups (citydata.com)