A.B.C. – Always Be Converting
March 15, 2010 by Doug Mitchell
If I ever get caught up in the online world I like to watch the clip below (don’t watch if you’re offended by strong language…because this clip is pretty “strong”). This is the famous Always Be Closing scene from Glengarry Glen Ross where Alec Baldwin eviscerates a team of under performing real estate salesmen.
In a harsh blood boiling way Baldwin reminds me to remember the phrase A.B.C….Always Be Converting. A conversion can be a product sale, a phone call, an email sign up, an SMS text marketing campaign opt in, etc. What does conversion mean to you? Have you defined this most elementary outcome you’d like to see occur when someone DOES find your firm or you personally online?
It is wise to keep your eye on the A.B.C. ball when developing a web strategy so we don’t end up with 1000 fans, 500 followers, and $0 in sales. ABC.
Is the Economy Turning Around?
March 12, 2010 by Doug Mitchell
More small and medium sized companies are proactively contacting us and looking to become findable and engaging online through effective web marketing strategies. So is the economy turning around…or is the realization that Marketing online is not an option anymore? I believe it’s the later.
In Iowa we lag behind the national trends which means that we’ve probably not seen the worst of what’s coming. But the message here is that businesses who spend smart marketing dollars today will reap massive benefits when things do turn around and growth starts again. Spend smart. Use the technology tools available to your business to reach out and engage your markets (and find some you never considered). If you need help…pay for it.
Managing the Edge Awarded Top 100 Small Business Technology Podcast
March 11, 2010 by Doug Mitchell
The very smart and savvy folks at Small Business Trends Radio put Managing the Edge into their “100 Best Small Business Podcasts” lists in the “Small Business Technology” category! If you’d like to subscribe you can do so here.
This is great recognition for Andy Brudtkuhl and I as we just reached our 30th episode on the show and we’re only picking up steam. The podcast as a vehicle to share knowledge, build value, develop a reputation, demonstrate skills, etc…is unparalleled.
We have great time doing the show too and putting what we preach into practice. We’re living what we provide our clients and that authenticity is driving business growth. Thanks Andy and SMB Trends, and to our amazing audience that keeps us inspired to share knowledge in our special way.
“Social Media” Sleeps with the Fishes
March 10, 2010 by Doug Mitchell
I hope you’re still with me and please let me explain.
Like many of us, I live in an always on, hyper-connected, socially engaging, linking, tweeting, statusing, emailing, automating, filtering, searching, blogging, podcasting, video’ing world that accelerates geometrically each few months. In this world it’s hard to remember that most businesses are still NOT doing much of the above as part of an overall web strategy.
If I meet with 100 businesses over the next week, I’ll find that 50 are “experimenting” with some of the above and perhaps 1 or 2 are strategically using over 50% of the tools to become “a socially findable and recommendable” business. The balance are still stuck with their old brochure site that hasn’t been updated in 3 years because “The girl who built my site for free to start her design career went to work somewhere and we don’t even have the passwords to change things if we wanted to.” (I’ve spoken to 2 businesses doing a combined $45 million in the last 2 weeks in this exact scenario)
It’s ironic that if asked, every one of the businesses in my survey would say the first place they…and their target customers look for information on people, products, places, and services is the web or more specifically, “They Google It”. Yet…when asked if Internet Marketing as a real part of their marketing strategy…vs. simply playing with the tools in an ad hoc manner…nearly all say no.
In most cases, companies are merely bolting on more features to a broken platform…like putting a fresh coat of paint on a rotting structure. There may be some benefit…but ultimately the structure is shaky. This is why social media as a stand alone practice is not the recipe I’d like to see being cooked in most business kitchens.
Can a company see great result with the bolt on approach. Yes. But most will not reach anywhere near their ultimate potential without an integrated web strategy for their companies. I’ve seen the examples like you have of the pizza place or the retail store seeing more traffic by advertising/sharing/connecting on Twitter. Some businesses are more suited to this strategy agreed.
I believe however that the term and practice of “Interactive” or “Social” Marketing is far more relevant and representative of reality. So for me…”Social Media” as a term and practice sleeps with the fishes. To get transformative results, it’s best to take a holistic approach that encompasses the client’s:
- Website platform
- Business methodologies
- Definition of Conversion (call,click,buy,submit information)
- User interface
- Email marketing
- Local search
- Local business listing
- Social findability and organic placement
- Online brand (employees and company)
- Target markets
- Metrics for success
- Commitment level from the top down
- Desired keywords and long tail hyper targeted keyword opportunities
- Ability of the company to execute on a strategy period…from a human resource standpoint (the NUMBER ONE reason we see failure in the online world is the skewed perception that these tools can just be added to Jimmie in marketing’s role “because after all he’s young and gets this stuff.”) Who’s responsibility is this and what are the metrics of success?
As with other tools (like blogging a few years back) Social Media converts and luminaries get sweaty and preach Gospel on the street corner and proclaim the arrival of the savior (aka Twitter)…but as a disciplined professional you know that without a comprehensive Interactive Marketing strategy behind your efforts that social media is….well….social. It is possible and desirable to state loudly and proudly that you’d like social tools to become transactional and that’s where most companies and consultants don’t execute.
Entrefest Wrap Up
February 28, 2010 by Doug Mitchell
The createWOWmedia team had an amazing time at Entrefest 2010. Thanks again to the UNI team that gave us great support as we streamed and recorded video and audio. We even did 4 episodes of BizTactical and interviewed some very smart entrepreneurs.
The exuberance and passion that I heard in the walls was amazing. I didn’t get to hear ANY of the sessions this year because we were just too busy in our multimedia streaming suite. Next year I hope to change that. Stay tuned for video and more clips coming from our 2 days of participation.
Take a look at the twitter stream from Entrefest and see the great commentary coming directly from the show.
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