Mediaboss Marketing

Reality bites and sometimes what we picture in our head doesnt always play out in real life.

At this point most businesses know that Social Media Marketing and Advertising are crucial for growth and success. However, some businesses still have some misconceptions about how Social Media works versus the reality.

Here are 5 cold, hard truths all businesses need to understand.

The truth here is that Social Media is not a magic bullet, success doesnt typically happen overnight. Social Media Marketing and Advertising are a vehicle to get your business and its products/services in front of as many people as possible and as often as possible so your business will have success, but it will take time and a serious commitment.

Just because it isnt going to work overnight doesnt mean it wont work. Implementing a consistent and aggressive marketing and advertising campaign will generate Social Sales Success in the long-run.

Nearly 70% of all online adults, of all age groups and demographics, are using Social Media. Over 90% of Millennials are using Social Media (in case you havent been paying attention, Millennials are the new consumers!)

No matter your industry or location, it is a safe bet your customers ARE using Social Media. If you arent reaching them through Social Media it is likely your competitors are taking advantage of the fact you arent there.

Get your business on Social Media. Use the sites that make sense for your industry. Each Social Site has a somewhat specific demographic, and Facebook is a pretty safe bet. Most online adults primarily use Facebook. The bottom-line is you need to be where your customers are, and your customers are on Social Media.

If you have tried Social Media Marketing in the past, posting here and there throughout the past few years, or you ran ads on Facebook without any results this does not mean it doesnt work.

Webcast, May 4th: The Death of Email Marketing and How to Avoid It

Social Media Marketing and Advertising has changed so much in the past few years that what you tried a year or two ago is likely not an issue today.

Or, perhaps you had your assistant or intern give Social Marketing a try, they are young and hip and have been using Social Media nearly all their lives and it still didnt work.

If you did not have a formal strategy with a consistent and professionally run Social Media Campaign it is no surprise it did not work.

Hire someone who knows what they are doing. A professional Social Media Marketer will know the ins and outs of the platforms and how to use them to your business advantage.

Keep your campaign running consistently, dont start, and stop, dont abandon your efforts, and dont think that your college intern knows how to seriously market your business because they have been using Instagram since they were 12.

There are Social Media Marketing firms that will guarantee that you will make back 3 times or 4 times or 50% what you spend, they will sell you on the idea that your ads will do nothing but generate revenue. While this can happen (and does happen) it is not the only reason to use Social Media, and generating revenue comes from several other places than just running an ad.

We understand the importance of revenue and sustaining your business, we get ROI, but sometimes that return is not immediately monetary. Additionally, if you are trying to use Social Media to just generate direct revenue and ignore its other benefits you are missing the entire point of Social Media.

Understand that the return on your investment of monthly Social Media Marketing and Advertising is not just direct revenue. Social Media helps your business improve Search Rank on the internet and optimizes your entire business and assisting with your SEO efforts. It creates branding and recognition, develops your online visibility, provides word-of-mouth referrals, and creates warm (sometimes hot) leads and, finally, when combining all of this together it will assist in generating revenue.

Traditional Marketing efforts cost a lot for what you get in return. Spending thousands of dollars a year to get in front of people once a month or quarter is not a wise investment or good use of your money. If you are still running ads in the phone book, sending out coupon mailers or mailing postcards and you arent getting any response it is time to rethink your marketing efforts. If you are getting responses, but not establishing quality leads it is time to rethink your budget.

It typically takes 7 touches to get a response. You need to showcase your business to your audience as many times as possible. The more people get to know your business the more likely they are to call when they need you. Its time to put Social Media first and use Traditional Marketing as an adjunct to your online efforts. Furthermore, dont let your competitors overshadow your business. Get out there and be where your competitors and your customers are, its a wise use of your money.

Laura Donovan is the President of The Word Pro, a national digital marketing company. She is a graduate of North Central College with a degree in Organizational Communications, a discipline that has proved valuable in her Social Media endeavors. Laura been managing Facebook, Google+ and Twitter pages for small and Viewfullprofile

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The Cold, Hard Truth About Social Media Marketing - Business 2 Community

Kristina: We've seen B2C brands run to social media, but we don't hear as much about B2B brands in social - why is that?

Federico Cella, CEO & Founder, Lynkos: Mainly because the broader audience that social media offers is more aligned with the broader markets targeted by B2C brands. Also, while B2C brands usually rely more on their marketing efforts, B2B brands' more complex and longer sales processes usually involve a lot more resource allocation to sales teams and account managers.

Kristina: Is social media a natural evolution for B2B brands?

Federico: Feeding sales leads at top-of-funnel level is key to any business; and B2B brands are leveraging social media more and more everyday. Maybe not as visible as B2C's, but they are there and there's a lot going on behind the scene in terms of AI and automated lead generation processes which feed from social media. This evolution has already started and we'll be seeing a lot of developments in that direction.

Kristina: What does social have to offer B2Bs?

Federico: Static databases that would be part of any sales development effort in the past are now obsolete. The vital piece of information sales teams need today is out there, in the social ecosystem. What people think, what are their interests, who are the influencers, who are they connected to, how are they connected to them, etc. And all this is valid also for B2B brands, both at the level of people working for them or at the brand level itself.

Kristina: For B2B brands, what are your top 3 tips in creating a solid social presence?

Federico: 1. Being active & consistent in sharing valuable content. 2. Structuring a process through which social interactions can be converted into qualified sales leads. 3. Amplifying their brand presence & credibility by engaging your current customers in social media.

Tags: B2B marketing, B2B trends, Lynkos, social marketing, social marketing trends

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Expert: Why B2Bers need social - Social Marketing - BizReport - BizReport

Forbes

5 Changes I'm Making to My Social Media Marketing in 2017 - Forbes Forbes Here are five of the latest social media marketing trends that I want to incorporate into my strategy this year you may want to consider them for yours, too. 10 Tips for Making Your Small Business Stand Out on Social MediaSmall Business Trends all 2 news articles »

The rest is here:
5 Changes I'm Making to My Social Media Marketing in 2017 - Forbes - Forbes

Nearly half of advisers (46%) have successfully turned a social media contact into a real customer, according to American Century Investments' Seventh Annual Financial Professionals Social Media Adoption Study.

Most of the new deals reached were small, with 23% of all advisers saying they posted a deal via social media pathways valued at less than $1 million. Just 4% report winning a deal valued at more than $5 million for the business through social media connections.

A majority of advisers (55%) feel that being connected with an individual or company on a social media network increases the chance of doing business with that entity in the foreseeable future. Forty-three percent feel there is little impact, and just 2% suggest pre-existing social media connections make establishing a business relationship more difficult.

As advisers might expect, the research shows Facebook is more popular for personal use, while LinkedIn is more popular for business-related use. Interestingly, slightly more advisers (24%) report using Facebook for both personal and business purposes, compared with 21% who use LinkedIn that way.

Advisers cite a laundry list of benefits seen from embracing social media for business purposes, although generally only about one-quarter of advisers cites each of these: Increased my visibility in the marketplace; enhanced my profile with clients; enhanced my business knowledge; improved my referrals or opened a door that otherwise had been closed; shared insights with clients and prospects; attracted new clients; and retained clients more easily.

Firms cite ancillary benefits from social media engagement in the form of gaining better access to expert commentary/insights, viewing more news/content relevant to clients, and getting to know prospects in a more personal way. Important to note, however, 23% of firms say they are not seeing any positive business changes attributable to using social media.

The American Century Investments research goes on to suggest relatively few advisers feel compelled to invest in paid marketing services offered by Facebook, LinkedIn and other sources. A whopping 75% of advisers do not use such services, and another 5% are unsure to what extent their firm is paying for social media marketing.

An infographic summarizing key findings is available for download here.

Go here to read the rest:
Benefits and Limits of Social Media Marketing - Planadviser.com

If you are managing the social marketing content at your credit union then youll want to read these 6 credit union marketing tricks that work every time. As a content marketing agency for credit unions, we know first hand what tricks work every time.

Offer an Internal Staff Contest to Gain More Followers

Is your credit union relatively new to social media? Maybe you are looking to grow your followers? The first place we typically start with new clients is to have their credit union offer an internal contest to their staff on Facebook (but this can be replicated on any platform, like Instagram).

Simply ask your staff to build up your followers with their family and friends to be entered to win a monetary reward (i.e. $100 Visa Gift Card). For every friend the staff member gets to like the CUs Facebook page, his or her name will go into the pot to win! If 10 friends like the CUs page, then that staff members name will be entered 10 times to win! This type of contest has been proven to be successful for several clients, and it also helps to boost excitement around the social movement among the staff at a CU.

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6 credit union marketing tricks that work every time - CUinsight.com (press release)