Mediaboss Marketing

Article updated: 3/31/2014 5:04 AM

Here's a thought that may require some thought: Social media could be one of your business' most effective marketing tools.

One reason, says Patrick Finn, is the low cost. But at least equally important, is that it "allows us to hit our circle of influence," said the owner of Patrick A. Finn Ltd., a Palatine design and build business that focuses on custom homes and remodeling.

The right targets, nicely reached. "We've done direct marketing, but not very successfully," Finn says. "It's a lot of money for a 99.5 percent rejection rate." In contrast, Finn's e-newsletter has a significantly high 49 percent open rate.

Finn is a social media marketing believer. So is Michael Menn.

Principal of Northbrook's Michael Menn Ltd. and a certified green professional who takes the designation seriously, Menn designs and builds sustainable buildings. It's not much of a leap to understand his commitment to social media marketing.

"Social media is a choice I made," Menn says. "I sat down with my marketing team and we talked about whether a promotional campaign built on social media would work. We talked about how to do it, whether a campaign would sustain us."

It would and does, along with traditional face-to-face networking that Menn says takes as much as 30 percent of his time.

Menn's social media marketing has been enormously successful. It helps that Amanda Hart, Menn's chief marketing adviser and, within the past month, Finn's adviser as well, understands how to use social media.

Buttressed by analytics that help determine the best time of day for an email blast or Facebook posting, Menn and Hart focus on a topic each month. "We do something personal," Menn says. "I'm not Procter & Gamble. I'm not Kraft. I'm me, a small business. People like knowing what Michael does."

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Business owners become social media marketing believers

Hauppauge, NY (PRWEB) March 31, 2014

According to Facebook, Inc., someone hits the 'Like' button 4.5 billion times per day. That's over 52,000 times every second. Facebook can be a gold mine for small business owners who put the time, resources and staffing behind their social media marketing campaign.

Long Island social media marketing consultants at Upside Business Consultants say, however, that many business owners struggle when it comes to actually creating a social media marketing plan and executing that plan consistently. An added challenge is the limited Reach Facebook Fan Page posts now get. Fewer posts are now reaching Fans in their newsfeeds, creating new challenges for small businesses that rely on pages to market themselves.

Like any marketing campaign, we recommend putting a social media strategy in place to make sure that you are producing content that is relevant to your target audience, reaches that audience and then encourages interaction with that audience. For many small businesses, that process is not always intuitive,says Doug Betensky, President of Upside.

In a recently published article, Mr. Betensky shares 21 effective tips on how to launch and grow a new Facebook page to assist local business owners and clients. Within the article, he explains that every business owner has a common goal and that is for their Page to become a valued resource to their target audience.

Oftentimes, many of us are focused on just getting likes. We should go beyond getting likes and focus on gaining loyal fans and brand advocates. In order for this to happen, you must become a valued resource. You can become valuable when you excel at producing meaningful content that fulfills a need or provides a solution to a problem better than your competition does, Mr. Betensky explains.

Upside Business Consultants also recommends creating a portfolio of content that balances shared content with original content. An effective way to give people a reason to join your community is to provide something there that they cannot get elsewhere, whether it is content, an exclusive offer, information etc. Its important to not treat every marketing channel the same, says Doug Betensky.

Upside Business Consultants also advises scheduling posts at the time fans are more likely to be online. This can increase the chances of capturing their attention. Equally important to posting good quality content is the execution piece. Its essential to commit to and follow through on a posting schedule to get results.

To read Upsides article entitled 21 Ways To Launch Your New Facebook Page and Grow Your Fan Base, visit http://upsidebusiness.com/blog/2014/02/17/21-ways-to-launch-your-new-facebook-page-and-grow-your-fan-base. Call (516) 610-0922 for more information.

About Upside Business Consultants LLC Upside Business Consultants is a Long Island marketing consulting company specializing in strategic marketing consulting, internet marketing, social media marketing and marketing coaching/training. It also provides full service marketing services, including social media management, search engine optimization, online advertising, web video production, website design and PR. Upsides marketing consultants in New York have been nominated as Top Social Media Agency on Long Island by the Long Island Press.

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San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 31, 2014

Social marketing startup Gruv announces the launch of its new platform focused on promoting individually owned businesses through its online marketplace. Gruv is a discovery, social connectivity and e-commerce platform which differentiates itself by allowing users to discover great content directly from the individually owned business and facilitates the transaction so that discovery can instantly be turned into an experience with the potential for long-term engagement between the business and the consumer.

Most individually owned, home-based businesses rely heavily on referrals to generate revenue. However, growth of the business and new customer acquisition are severely limited because there are very few ways to engage prospective customers those within a few mile radius, says Sonal Sahai, Founder and CEO of Gruv. The Gruv platform allows freelance and creative professionals as well as instructors and coaches to post their services, blogs, even their portfolio on its online marketplace to gain visibility and reach an audience they couldnt previously. All the content comes directly from the source - the business, so it is not artificially curated. This way the business speaks directly to its consumers and engages them with meaningful promotions, continues Sahai.

Gruvs goal is to bring users and businesses together at the corner of local and social. It allows users to connect with the businesses they are interested in supporting and allows for notifications when the businesses post offers, blogs or other value-added services. Gruv incorporates connectivity with e-commerce enabling businesses to create customer loyalty, and for its connected users to be rewarded for it.

About Gruv:

Gruvs inception began when founder Sonal Sahai realized she wanted to interact more efficiently with her small business customers. She felt it was important to provide a platform that allowed businesses to reach out directly to their potential users those within a few mile radius and allow for social connectivity to drive customer loyalty. Gruv provides a set of self-enabling tools so businesses can manage their online presence in their own words, with their price and on their schedule.

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Gruv Launches New Social Marketing Platform for Individually Owned Businesses

(PRWEB) March 31, 2014

Extra dates have been added to the existing schedule of short seminars aimed at helping local buisness owners with social media marketing. Marketing Director Andrew Maynes explains the fundamental differences for different businesses "every business maintains a unique personality and it's this business personality that can be difficult for business owners to communicate to the world, Think Cloud Studio is helpins small business owners understand how to broadcast positive messages and adding their personality".

The short seminars have been devised to focus on the many available options within the social media marketing arena that often overwhlem small business owners. Some campaign activity will work for some businesses but not for others, so it is important a business spends their budget on the activity that will increase sales explains Maynes.

The seminar breaks down the fundamental processes for structuring a social media marketing campaign and how to start distributing positive messages. Measuring the success of campaign activity is also covered. The course covers most of the available options to business owners to get started with internet marketing for practically no cost.

With limited spaces for the seminars it is important to book early and in advance. In-house training is available on request by contacting Think Cloud Studio directly on 01827 714753.

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