The Social Media Marketing Tools
MANY PEOPLE RELATE to the software programs or websites they use to understand how social media relates to their business so we’ve listed the ones we include in our social media marketing courses.
Your Website is a Digital Asset
A website is a critical component of your digital marketing strategy because you own it and no one else’s business is listed on your site – unless you want it to be.
That means you can control the content, customise the offer and make your site as attractive as possible to potential clients.
It is important to have professional images, well crafted text designed that attracts search engines, and great stories to interest your potential customers.
It’s important to be able to change your website and keep it up to date, just like you would do with your proposals, quotes or brochures. For proposals you may use a program like Microsoft Word, for quotes you could use Xero and for your website content you can use WordPress.
WordPress is called a Content Management System (CMS) and one of the reasons it has become so popular is because thousands of companies create professional looking themes as well as thousands of plugins that make your website VERY powerful.
You can create your first website very simply and cheaply but then add extra functionality like a shopping card, appointment scheduler, lead capture forms, subscription systems and many other tools from the extensive “marketplace” of apps.
WordPress Content Management System
You can get a professional website designer to install a theme (template) and install programs (plugins) to give your website functionality but once their work is done you should be able to make small modifications yourself.
The more changes you make to your website the better your changes of being detected and indexed by Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines.
When the search engines discover your website and make it available in their search results your website is considered relevant and so your website will appear in the free or “organic” area of the search results (not as an Ad that you need to pay for).
Organic Search Results
When you optimise your website contents to become more relevant Google will show your website on page 1of their search results.
The process of optimising a website involves using the correct relevant keywords and phrases that your customers are using to search for the services your business provides.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is something you can do yourself based on your knowledge of the industry and experience in marketing your business.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a system that Google created to help webmasters (and ordinary business owners) understand what is happening at their website.
Some pages of your website are more valuable and attract more traffic than others and a well designed website will direct website visitors to the pages you want them to see.
Learn how to create a compelling Call-To-Action (CTA) and Google Analytics will tell you if your website is performing successfully.
Once you understand what is important you’ll start optimise your website visitors journey to achieve a better result.
Content Marketing and Business Blogging
Google revolutionised “Search” and made it easy for people to find what they are looking for.
Your customers are looking for a solution which can include many different parts and they will spend a lot of time researching what they need online – before they even call you.
If your website doesn’t help them, give them information or confirm that the information they have is correct they’ll move on to someone who is an “expert” in their field.
You may be good at what you do and if your website content and blog reveals that in case studies, examples, white papers, customer journey stories etc then YOU will become the authority figure they are looking for – and you’ll most likely get the business.
These stories (or blogs) keep your website fresh and up-to-date and Google loves that.
Video Marketing & Youtube
As an online business owner you can engage with your potential clients using video. Video is an excellent way to build rapport and help them get to know you. This video from Sam about buying an online business is a good example.
Blogs are important because they contain words and key phrases that customers search for but many people prefer to watch a video explanation, demonstration or presentation and these now show up in the results pages.
Smart phones with powerful video capture capabilities and Youtube video hosting platform enables you to capture and publish video quickly and cheaply.
A good video (or better) video gallery will help keep you front of mind and improve your standing as an authority in your area of expertise. You’ll learn what Derek Farmer did as a successful real estate agent for McGrath in Sydney Lower North Shore.
Youtube is a social network too and viewers can make comments and rate you.
Whether you like it or use it everyone knows about Facebook and it is a great way to connect with customers via their friends and family.
Facebook is important because it’s a digital form of a recommendation service. If a friend or relative of yours has used someones products or services and has enjoyed the experience you’ll be more likely to consider that company as a potential supplier.
The key with Facebook is to engage as much as possible with people who like your page or use your services – it’s a public show of affection that is contagious.
The fun starts once you start to combine your client base or target demographic with Facebook paid advertising and custom audiences. Facebook also has a great analytics tool to show you what’s working.
This is a social network for business or work colleagues. Linkedin is often used as a digital resume and the endorsements and testimonials on LinkedIn are one of the best ways of demonstrating authentic praise or regard.
Build a big enough network and you can share stories from your blog and other articles and create an “engaging” discussion around it.
If you are not the type of person to do this yourself, find someone to manage this platform on your behalf.
Blog articles and posts can reach thousands of people and then be shared or commented on. You can link your profile to your company website to drive more traffic to it.
Twitter is like group SMS on steroids. It enables you to broadcast your thoughts in short messages (and links) but it also enables anyone to follow you and make comments on your comments.
You can include hashtags and mentions in your messages and they help you get discovered or viewed. Most of all Twitter is all about what is happening right now and when you connect with more and more people and have them share (or retweet) your messages you can reach an explosive audience very quickly.
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