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By definition Social Media is defined as the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, video and audio. Social Media Marketing is also a fancy way to describe the process of getting the right message to the right people at the right place - to create the right conversation.

Key Points to remember:
A new way to communicate on-line
It is not an option for future success
TRUE power: creating communities & 2-way dialogues
Smaller investment with a higher returns
Must have a good foundation site

Concerns people have:
What tools are available today? Tomorrow?
What will be available tomorrow?
Where should we start?
Who’s going to manage and execute?
Who’s going to create the content?
I’m not seeing results from current efforts.

Need to get your foundation set to implement Social Media or just want a tune up?  Call, click or email us to get the help you want.
 

Recently we created a Video Tutorial on tweeting in 2 minutes or less 4 times per week.  Tweeting is a simple way to take your daily activities as an Entrepreneur, Manager and Sales Person.  The simple formula is thinking about the activities you've been involved in, what value you provided to a relationship (Prospect, Customer, Raving Fan) or what value you received from them and to write 140 characters or less.

Once you've done this, you share it.  Share it through your website and then through your website share it to your Social Media Relationships.  Here's what it looks like:

Activity --> Content --> Sharing --> Education --> Increased Credibility

When you share these educational moments, you increase your credibility with your Prospects.  When they read your postings and it resonates with them they have the "finally, someone gets me" feeling.  When you do this, they become your Customer.

You should have some way to track the impact of your relationships.  We use a "Goal to Actual" gage in our program that lets you as an Executive have insights on how your relationships are progressing (the more value you provide the more the relationships progress from Prospect to Customer to Raving Fan).

Remember, in 2 minutes or less 4 times per week:

Activity --> Content --> Sharing --> Education --> Increased Credibility

Most people know they need to do this, but just don't get around to it.  If they do, it's only for a short time before they push it to the "back burner."  Want to do it but need a hand getting started?  Contact us and we can help you in three simple ways:

1. Do It Your Self (DIY)
2. Work with you on a One-on-One basis until you have the skills and habit to do it on your own
3. You just show up, provide some direction and we do the rest.

Have you ever thought, what is the value of the relationship?  Maybe from a Customer, maybe from a Vendor perspectives?

Here is 5 easy ways our friends at Strategic Coach have helped us quickly identify a fit to do business with someone:

1. Do they appreciate what we have to offer?
2. Will they utilize our existing strengths?
3. Will they enhance our capabilities and offerings?
4. Will they reward us financially for our efforts?
5. Will they refer our business?

This is an "estimating" tool.  It's as good as the "estimate" is correct.  We use a 1-5 score for each item.  1 being the lowest score, 5 being the highest score.  Any one above an 18 we will work with (excluding hate, slanderous or adult content).  Anyone below an 18 we'll take a closer look to see if they would eventually be 18 or higher or not.

If you don't want to "tally" up the number of clients you have, but want to measure them individually against a simple formula, this will get the relationship juices flowing.

Each yes means greater value for us to provide and for the client to receive by working together.

Let us know your Vision,Mission, and Objectives and see how we can blend them to make a successful team.

Or in other words, if you routinely stop and think about your contact types (Prospect, Customer, Raving Fan) will you experience innovation where it's most valuable?  Can knowing your relationships enable innovation in your daily life? 

YES!

If you pick key topics that are reserved for only a Prospect (credibility creation for you to increase their confidence you will help them accomplish what they want to achieve), or only a Customer (educating them what others have done using the same products/services they are using and the benefits they enjoyed from it), or only for a Raving Fan (stories they were able to know/hear before anyone else) you will find increased innovation where it's most valuable - in your relationships.

Try it for one day, take notes on how shortened the conversations were, how condensed and precise the information sharing was and the sense of accomplishment felt at the end of the conversation.  The more sense of accomplishment felt, the more value the relationship had.

So remember, routines of knowing your audience before you speak enables innovation in your relationships.

The e-volve Formula is a Winning Strategy for Communications for 3 simple reasons.

1. You know your relationships by classification
   Prospect, Customer, Raving Fan

Some Reasons People fail at growing their existing business and new contacts:

1. There marketing strategy is based on two methods:
1. the “roundtuit” method
2. Spray and Pray
2. They have no reliable way to generate leads.
3. They have no reliable method to capture and follow up on leads.
4. They can’t articulate their value proposition to a client.
5. They can’t articulate why a prospect should hire them over all the other options available.
6. They completely wing the sales process.
7. They try to sell everything to everyone.
8. They expect everyone they talk to buy today.  Everything is a “hunt and kill” vs “farming and harvesting” where the law of the harvest is based on planting seeds, nurturing the seed, weeding the seedling, watering and fertilizing the seedling/plant and than harvesting the plan.  ”I am content to be the one who just plants the seed and not necessarily the one who will reap the harvest.” 
 

If you can think of all your visitors as someone who is a Prospect (someone you consider to be a potential customer), Customer (someone who is using at least one of your products or services) or Raving Fan (someone who tells your story in a positive light and may even pass you business) you'll be able to provide value to all of your visitors.

If you look at your sitelog/analytics you'll find the follow contacts are viewing the following pages and why:

Testimonials:  These are most frequented by your Prospects.  They want to know if they associate or affiliate with the type of customers you have and what they are saying.  Testimonials, aka 3rd party endorsement, is the number one credibility creator.  Testimonials are great for creating credibility for your Prospects.

Blogs:  Depending on the type of bloging you do, here's who's reading your blog.  Prospect if you write your blogs about customer experience and how they were better off working with you vs working with their existing nonfunctional solution/product.  Customer if you write your blog based on what customers are doing and how they are better off.  Raving Fans if you tell great stories that are short and easily repeatable.

Newsletters:  If they are technical writings, you will be attracting existing customers on "how to" do something.  If they are written about how a Prospect chose your product or service your Prospect is reading it for suggestions, tips and tricks and to see if what your customers are doing is repeatable for them.  If you write your newsletter about how customers are using new products and services your customers are reading them to see if they can leverage the products or services you are providing or if there are products of service they should be using from you.

Social Media:  For those looking for quick "help me" or "that seems interesting" or "that seems entertaining" your title will catch them and they'll click on your link for more information.

Email Broadcasting:  If you are communicating the right content (message) to the right contact (relationship between you and them) through email broadcasting (short title, catchy/educational intro with a link to "more" that goes to your website) you will find in your sitelog/analytics where they are going. 

Lastly, if you have e-commerce on your website your analytics should show you all the resources that generated revenue for you.  Did it come from a blog?  How about an email broadcast? Did it come through a key word search on the search engine? 

When they say "the numbers don't lie" that means "the answers lie in the numbers."  Use your analytics to see where your visitors are going.  Where they are going, or NOT going, tells you what value you are providing your visitors.

Do you feel like you would like to know better who's visiting your website, where are they going and want to be able to better educate them while they are on your website?  Contact us to see if you qualify for a website evaluation and report. 

For small businesses to be successful in today’s market place, they must transition from traditional marketing to modern marketing. 

There is “traditional marketing” and what we call “modern method of marketing”.  What is happening is in traditional marketing people do print media; they do postcards, print advertising and these types of marketing.  They are always speaking to what we call a "Prospect" - always directing themselves at a new client.  This is only communicating with future business.  It does not address your current business nor your referral business.  Traditional marketing is based on new business, it is not based on renewed and sustainable businesses.  Modern Method of Marketing is based on renewing existing business (Customers), nurturing future business (Prospects) and educating your referral sources (Raving Fans).

With the right system, the right tools and the right support you can implement or improve your marketing through testimonials, blogs, social media, news letters, email broadcasts and webinars/seminars.

If you're interested in learning how to get started or leverage what you are currently doing please contact us.