marketing

Can You Supercharge Online Reviews?

December 7, 2011 by Kenny Leave a Comment

Prior to reading this article you should read about levels 1-7 for this to be effective for you.

Think about how difficult it is to get a happy customer to write a review.

An unhappy customer will rent a computer at Kinkos, create an online account, and search for a place or two to write a bad review but WOW is it challenging to get a customer to write a review after a good experience.

What are the possible roadblocks to get reviews?

Customer forgets.
They don’t want to take the time to do so.
They feel like you have not earned it.
They are intimidated by the internet or technology.
They are in fear of their privacy because they do not quite understand online review sites.

A follow up communication about their purchase can lead to a better experience for the customer and inspire them to write a review. This is a good time for you to ask them and even send them a direct link to make it easy for them.

The only roadblock we have not covered with the follow up is intimidation and fear. You can implement a system that helps to overcome this which is something we have done with our clients…for their customers.

A powerful system for overcoming all the potential roadblocks is to attract internet savvy customers and offer them all methods for reviewing you.

Put a QR code on the front door.
Have a Facebook Fan Page with links to review sites
Put review links on the home page of your website

Consider the possibilities of attracting internet savvy customers and what that can mean for your business.

With all else being equal would you rather have a new happy customer that has 3,000 friends on Facebook or 50 friends on Facebook?

Would you rather have a happy customer that has their own blog with 450 followers of people with similar interests or someone that does not know what a blog is?

Would you rather have a customer that can click on their mouse and tell 250 people in your area that your business is great?

The only question left is how to attract the internet savvy customer.

Use internet marketing, of course.

Is it possible that an online savvy customer has a higher value to you because of their reach with a click of a button. Compare this to the technophobe that is jump-up-and-down happy with your service, and they tell 2 people about it at lunch next week.

In the future or even now you may see companies host a customer appreciation day and show their customers how to have fun on Facebook or write online reviews about companies they frequent. Companies will hire a professional to come in and teach their customers the value of Social Networks and writing online reviews so they can help their friends navigate the good and bad companies.

The event will be positioned as a customer appreciation event but it will also serve as a method for increasing the customer value of your existing customers by increasing their reach…so they can tell everone how great you are.

A level 8 review may be the customer that has written reviews on several companies over a period of months and now they write a review about your company. That is completely natural, it demonstrates that this is a person that is contributing to that online community, and they are probably writing a legitimate review.

Do not be surprised if reviews from regular reviewers have more relevance when it comes to the review sites.

Take This Action or Risk Going Backwards

June 11, 2011 by Kenny Leave a Comment

If everyone else is moving forward and you are not, is that not the same as them standing still and you moving backwards?

Paralysis of Analysis is defined in Wikipedia as:

Over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation, so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome…A person might be seeking the optimal or “perfect” solution upfront, and fear making any decision which could lead to erroneous results, when on the way to a better solution.

I often hear these excuses from business owners paralyzed when it comes to Social Media and Online Marketing.

I don’t know what to do.
I don’t have the time.
I don’t want to make a mistake.

So your answer is to do nothing?

A deer in the headlights freezes…and then it gets run over.

Take action and things start to happen. The path will become more clear as long as your moving forward. You also pickup ideas and learn things along the way. As you move forward, even if you make a mistake, you are still better off than standing still.

Create a Facebook page
Start a YouTube channel
Open a Twitter account

You don’t have to go through them all immediately. You don’t have to write 100 tweets or Facebook updates or get 10 videos ready. Just open an account and start a profile.

When you take action you may find the vault inside of your head open up and it is full of creative ideas.

Pretend you are a customer looking for a solution that your company offers. What would you do? What would you hope to find? What do you actually find when you go to Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube?

Which of your competitors seems to be doing it right?

Hire a consulting company to do research for you. Let them come to you with a detailed explanation of networks you should focus on. Research is the biggest and first step to determine the path you should take.

Warning—> If you jump in without doing any research at all, you may not make a mistake that costs you millions…but you may have to start over. As an example, one of my clients created a personal profile on Facebook and used it as a business page. That is against the rules of Facebook and it can get you kicked off. Do some research or hire someone then…TAKE ACTION.

I Don’t Have Time For Social Media

June 9, 2011 by Kenny Leave a Comment

In a previous article, I talked about Social Media overwhelm. Business owners often suffer from this and all of their Social Media gets diluted because they are unable to keep up with all the accounts or they do nothing at all.

Both situations you will often hear the business owner say,

“I don’t have time for Social Media.”

It is true it takes more of a time committment than running a television ad, a yellow pages ad, or a newspaper ad. However, it works and that is just the way it is.

Would you ever say,

“I don’t have time for customer service”

When it needs done and it is crucial to success you find a way to get it done.

One possible solution is to hire someone to do all of your Social Media for you.

Another option is to participate in your Social Media. If this is the option you choose here are some hints to find the time.

Social Media Content Creation Hint #1

Take an entire day and:

Write down rants and stories
Take pictures of happy customers, products, employees
Record short video clips-tips that could be valuable to your customers

You do not have to create content for your Social Media every day. Even if you add content via updates and tweets every day, you do not have to actually create the content each day. If you follow the bullet points above that may give you 20 Facebook updates, 60 tweets, and 5 videos.

That can last for 45 days.

Social Media Content Creation Hint #2

Uploading an update, tweet, or video only takes 60 seconds or so…it is the content creation that takes the time.

For ongoing content creation you may be pressed for time. Buy yourself a digital audio recorder and keep it on you at all times. Treat it like your wallet or purse. Anytime you have a random thought or idea, record it. Most people talk ten times faster than they type.

Plus, you can record an entire Facebook update at one stoplight.

Once you have collected a few audios, get them transcribed. Using this method alone will give you enough content for Twitter and Facebook.

Social Media Content Creation Hint #3

Using methods above and adding video content will have your competitors thinking you have found an 8th day of the week.

The recording of the video itself will take the most time but much like painting, the preparation and cleanup can take longer.

Record videos all in one day. Fix yourself up however you need to and record them all in a row. Keep a change of clothes handy so it appears that you recorded the videos on different days. Stand or sit in a few different positions at different locations so it changes up the background.

Hire someone else to do the minor editing then upload the videos one at a time.

Social Media Content Creation Hint #4

Repurpose your content.

After you have recorded a video, have it transcribed and turn it into 1 blog post, or a 3 part Facebook update, or 12 Tweets.

Please comment below and tell us which of these Social Media strategies are you already using? What are you going to use?

Want to Use Video Marketing But You Are Not a Keynote Speaker

June 1, 2011 by Kenny Leave a Comment

Great news! To use video marketing effectively you do not have to be a:

Keynote Speaker

If you don’t like speaking in front of the camera this article should help.

First- You are not as bad as you think. The people watching are just regular people like you. You are used to seeing actors, speakers, and spokespeople with their radio voices and energy.

Guess what? That is not necessary for effective video marketing.

Video is engaging and you need to have videos on your website and as part of your Social Media. It humanizes you and makes you a real person, and not just some faceless corporate entity.

It shows your personality, your smile, and it shows that you have the same challenges in life that so many others have. Your customers can relate.

Here are some tips if you have difficulty speaking in front of the camera.

Relax. It is just a camera. You are not on stage in front of a live studio audience.

Start recording. They get easier and easier.

Have someone you know stand behind the camera and talk to them. Forget the camera. They just happens to be something between you and the person you are talking to.

Actually speak to a person on the other side of the camera. Your natural communication abilities will show and that is good for the viewer. Your facial expressions and body language will be “normal” rather than staged.

Make sure your lighting is good. Natural light is best. You want the light coming from behind the camera not from behind you at the camera.

Do not stand in front of glass or pictures because the light reflects back into the camera.

No striped shirts. Cameras can get quirky. This is too techy to explain…just do not do it.

As important as the visual is, the audio is just as important. People will actually watch a video that is a little bit blurry but if it sounds bad, they will not listen to it.

Length of video? Say something valuable and stop talking. If you want a specific number…3 minutes or less is good. If you have 9 minutes of good video to say what you need to say…great. Break it up into 3 separate 3 minute videos. This will allow you to get more views and backlinks.

Not sure what to say? Commonly asked questions by your customers make for good content.

Still need more content? Give us a call. We can help you develop compelling content to drive more sales.

Last but certainly not the least…you need equipment. There is a ton to choose from. We have a special report that goes strictly to our clients and it makes it easy for you. Call us and tell us why you should get the report for free and we may send it to you.