As most small businesses begin to dip their toes into the social media waters, the shear number of social networking websites and online tools can be very intimidating, even crippling. And it certainly doesn’t help that new social tools are being introduced everyday. To help small businesses navigate these waters, we’ve developed a pretty simple, social media strategy process that involves three main steps. Read the rest of this entry »
A special guest post by Jayme Thomason…my new partner in crime.
I don’t know about where you live, but in Kansas City, tow truck drivers seem fairly aggressive in their “customer acquisition efforts.” Drive on any highway in Kansas City and you’ll see them. Perched on frontage roads and sitting in parking lots ready to come to the rescue of motorists in need.
I’m not an expert in the industry by any means, so maybe it takes this aggressiveness to make a living as a tow truck driver. Some might see this laying-in-wait strategy as sort of vulture-like, waiting to pounce and take advantage of people in need. Or, you could view tow truck drivers as the cowboys on the white horses, coming to the rescue. However you look at it, I think we can learn a couple things about content marketing from these savers of stalled cars.
1. They know exactly where their customers are and that’s where they hang out.
2. Because they hang out where their customers are, they’re ready to jump into action when they see a need.
Tow truck drivers know who their target audience is, mostly rush-hour commuters on highly traveled roadways. So that’s where you’ll find them hanging out. Do we have as good a handle on who (specifically) our target market is, and where (exactly) they hang out online? If not, here are three places to look for them:
Blogs – do keyword searches for blogs within the industry in which your customers work and start reading the top 5. You need to educate yourself on what your target customers are reading so you know where your content can add value.
Forums – forums are a great place to look for the “pain” of your target market. Listen for specific issues, questions and problems and then create valuable content that addresses those things.
Social Media Communities – sites like Facebook and Twitter are great places to find out what your customers care about and what they’re interested in, in their own words. Listen for those interests and words and then create content for each.
So what can we learn from our tow-truck-driving friends of the highway? When approaching our content marketing efforts we need to be more aggressive about finding out where our customers are hanging out online, pay attention to their needs and jump to their aid with relevant content. Approaching content marketing with this type of customer-centered strategy could have an amazing impact on your business.
Imagine your customer saying, “Wow, I was just commenting about how hard it is to hire good HR people and then company x posted a great blog about just that topic! They must be paying attention!”
This is what we’re all trying to accomplish with our content marketing efforts – one relationship and solved problem at a time.
“Give a man a fish…feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish…feed him for a lifetime.”
Well that’s our mantra these days when businesses approach us looking for social media help in Kansas City. View the video below to get a feel for how we simplify the social media strategy process and help Kansas City businesses catch their ideal fish.
July 1st Update – Just noticed that NBC Action News has revamped their video player and older videos are no longer supported. The transcript of the video is still provided on their website.
Original Post:
I must be doing something right…NBC Action News keeps calling. Here’s another interview from Tuesday (3/23) morning’s newscast on Twitter etiquette and a few best practices to remember.
Quick Summary:
Google, your boss and God can see everything you do on social media.
Leading with the hard sell or being overly self promotional is a significant turn off. Don’t be that guy.
Know that your competitors are probably monitoring your activity. Don’t tip them off.
July 1st Update – Just noticed that NBC Action News has revamped their video player and older videos are no longer supported. The transcript of the video is still provided on their website.
Original Post:
Despite community outreach efforts to locate a serial rapist in the Waldo area of Kansas City, MO, it’s unfortunate that some people have the audacity to push false information into the social realms, which has created a false sense of hope within the Waldo community.
Unlike journalists who are ethically required to back up their stories with facts, the general public has free reign to post content (fact or fiction) through blogs, social networking sites and other online forums. This content is then viewed by both interested searchers and search engines, who spread and index the news through their normal channels. In most cases, accuracy is “assumed”. But you never know when there might be a bad apple in the bunch.
This topic has been debated quite a bit in the last year or two. This video outlines my thoughts regarding a specific “social sales approach” that focuses on soft selling through content development and engagement with your target buyers or key influencers.
You keep hearing that your company needs to be blogging.
You’ve even read articles (here) about why you should have a blog. And these articles make sense and spell out the benefits that a blog can provide in terms of helping you market yourself on the web. But how do you get started? If you’re ready to pull the trigger, what are the things you need to consider so that your blog is not set up for failure?
Let’s break this process down into three key considerations: developing your blog content strategy, blog setup and ongoing content development. Ready to dig in?
I’ve been presenting on social media marketing quite a bit around Kansas City and it’s neat to see so many folks getting excited about the opportunities that these tools and technologies provide. But I’ve noticed something that’s consistently happening during my presentations. As soon as I throw out the word “blogging”, I see eyes roll and shoulders drop throughout the audience. Geez….You’d think I was a Yellow Pages advertising rep at a search engine optimization conference.
For non-web-savvy people and businesses, the negative connotations of blogs and blogging are still top of mind. Do any of these sound familiar?
Aren’t blogs just personal online diaries?
If I start one, what the heck would I write about?
I’d rather not create more work for myself or my business…