It seems odd that this would even be necessary to discuss, but if you poke around the web enough, you'll see that a lot of companies and individuals are not fully completing their profiles on LinkedIn and other sites.
Wouldn't that be the same as not completing an application or only putting your company's name on a board and then not saying anything else in a commercial?
Setting up a profile can be a little time-consuming - but don't make the mistake of not giving as much good information about your company (or yourself) as possible. It's important to keep it succinct, but still descriptive. It's akin to the elevator speech. A slice of content meant to, in a short period of time, give the proper impression and positioning of your organization.
Many, many important people (prospective clients and prospective employees) do the majority of their research online. Do yourself a favor and make sure that you make the same effort you would in person, in print, or on a billboard, online. There are millions more impressions to make online, so make yours count!
The Next Truth - Who should blog for your company?
Keep Clicking,
Michelle Marquardt
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
How do I start to represent my company on social networking sites?
Today's Truth: How do I start to represent my company on social networking sites?
This is not hard at all!
1) Use your LinkedIn profile to add information about your company - keep it POSITIVE and TRUTHFUL!
2) Create a profile on LinkedIn for your company. CAUTION: You may not be the "authorized" person to do this - proceed carefully. If you are, simply create it and share with everyone. If you're not sure where your company stands, get great examples of companies who have great profiles to share first.(Again, Southwest takes the cake!)
3) Also check out your competitors. Share their profiles if they have them.
4) Another way is to create a Facebook page for your company.
5) Do you have training videos you can upload? Add them to YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. This is free and uses great stuff your company has already paid for and completed.
That's how you can get started!
The next truth? What is the importance of completing online profiles?
Keep Clicking,
Michelle
This is not hard at all!
1) Use your LinkedIn profile to add information about your company - keep it POSITIVE and TRUTHFUL!
2) Create a profile on LinkedIn for your company. CAUTION: You may not be the "authorized" person to do this - proceed carefully. If you are, simply create it and share with everyone. If you're not sure where your company stands, get great examples of companies who have great profiles to share first.(Again, Southwest takes the cake!)
3) Also check out your competitors. Share their profiles if they have them.
4) Another way is to create a Facebook page for your company.
5) Do you have training videos you can upload? Add them to YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. This is free and uses great stuff your company has already paid for and completed.
That's how you can get started!
The next truth? What is the importance of completing online profiles?
Keep Clicking,
Michelle
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Finding Your Customers Online
Today's Truth: You CAN Find Your Customers Online!
So, you have a hunch that your customers might be making purchases online (YOU'RE RIGHT! FOLLOW THIS HUNCH!). But you don't know where they are clicking?
Well, if a person is in the market for whatever you are selling, the name of that product or service is where you start.
For instance, if you sell soap on a rope, you might try Googling "soap on a rope" and see what results are given. Where is your company listed in the search results? High? (GOOD JOB!) Low? (Hey, no problem, add a little more content to your site and maybe play around with Pay Per Click or Adword campaigns.) Nowhere? Boo. Do you have a website? Has your website been spidered by Google? Talk to your IT team about doing this if you're not sure if it's been done or not. The key is to submit your sitemap to Google so it recognizes your site and will then spider it during searches. This practice use to be frowned upon, but now there are ways to do it that won't get you in trouble and are easy to do as well. More info on this here.
Another way to find your customers is to poll them. TIP: It doesn't matter what channel you use to poll them, just ask! If you have a postcard or a telesales operation, simply ask, "If you're shopping online for X product, what sites do you visit most often?" If they don't mention yours, ask for feedback on why not. Also, run surveys on your website quarterly. This will give you plenty of feedback on what you should be working on to make your site better. And please, offer some incentives for this! People do like to give their opinion, but show them how much you VALUE it by throwing in a little something (a white paper, a coupon, a knick-knack, etc.)
Tomorrow's Truth: How do I start to represent my company on social networking sites?
Keep Clicking,
Michelle
So, you have a hunch that your customers might be making purchases online (YOU'RE RIGHT! FOLLOW THIS HUNCH!). But you don't know where they are clicking?
Well, if a person is in the market for whatever you are selling, the name of that product or service is where you start.
For instance, if you sell soap on a rope, you might try Googling "soap on a rope" and see what results are given. Where is your company listed in the search results? High? (GOOD JOB!) Low? (Hey, no problem, add a little more content to your site and maybe play around with Pay Per Click or Adword campaigns.) Nowhere? Boo. Do you have a website? Has your website been spidered by Google? Talk to your IT team about doing this if you're not sure if it's been done or not. The key is to submit your sitemap to Google so it recognizes your site and will then spider it during searches. This practice use to be frowned upon, but now there are ways to do it that won't get you in trouble and are easy to do as well. More info on this here.
Another way to find your customers is to poll them. TIP: It doesn't matter what channel you use to poll them, just ask! If you have a postcard or a telesales operation, simply ask, "If you're shopping online for X product, what sites do you visit most often?" If they don't mention yours, ask for feedback on why not. Also, run surveys on your website quarterly. This will give you plenty of feedback on what you should be working on to make your site better. And please, offer some incentives for this! People do like to give their opinion, but show them how much you VALUE it by throwing in a little something (a white paper, a coupon, a knick-knack, etc.)
Tomorrow's Truth: How do I start to represent my company on social networking sites?
Keep Clicking,
Michelle
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Welcome to Where In the Web Are Your Customers?
Where In the Web Are Your Customers is all about helping companies get comfortable using Social Media and dealing with the fear that "people will talk".
Today's Truth: People will talk.
Social Media is all about talk. It's about chiming in. It's about participating. It's social. Don't be a wallflower! Get in on the action. If there is something bad to say about your company, rest assured - it's already being said. Why not join the conversation, and better yet, why not take this new insight and DO something about it?
Is ignorance really bliss?
Imagine the good that could come of a very public resolution and customer experience that results in satisfaction as opposed to ignoring what people are saying? Don't give up the reigns of your company's brand, lead the charge and provide a way for your customers to tell you what they think - they're already telling everyone else.
Who does it right?
Southwest Airlines - Their CEO has a blog. Yours should too. Throw out the idea that "we can't afford the extra staff". Southwest leverages [FREE] posts from their customers...they're getting double the bang - free and testimonials!
Esurance - Shockingly hip for such a dullard industry. Throw out the idea that your industry isn't "ready for this".
Who gets it wrong?
The Onion. - So sad to say, as I still laugh very hard at much of what these genisues put out there. But surprisingly, this cutting edge pillar of comedy simply does not embrace publically created content. Their elitist attitude is no longer helping their brand in a world where everyone feels entitled to weigh in. (Note - Submissions to this blog are welcome!)
Sears - Can I just say, bless their heart? These guys don't get much right online. From not tying the in-store experience to the web experience to not understanding the channel itself, Sears is destroying their rebranding efforts by not embracing the web. Sears makes great products and offers real value...but they are missing opportunities due to a lack of intergrated marketing understanding and insufficient web (or deficient) web tools.
Tomorrow's truth? Finding your customers online isn't as hard as you'd think.
Weigh in - share your experiences or just let me know what you think! That's what Social Media is all about!
Keep Clicking,
Michelle
Today's Truth: People will talk.
Social Media is all about talk. It's about chiming in. It's about participating. It's social. Don't be a wallflower! Get in on the action. If there is something bad to say about your company, rest assured - it's already being said. Why not join the conversation, and better yet, why not take this new insight and DO something about it?
Is ignorance really bliss?
Imagine the good that could come of a very public resolution and customer experience that results in satisfaction as opposed to ignoring what people are saying? Don't give up the reigns of your company's brand, lead the charge and provide a way for your customers to tell you what they think - they're already telling everyone else.
Who does it right?
Southwest Airlines - Their CEO has a blog. Yours should too. Throw out the idea that "we can't afford the extra staff". Southwest leverages [FREE] posts from their customers...they're getting double the bang - free and testimonials!
Esurance - Shockingly hip for such a dullard industry. Throw out the idea that your industry isn't "ready for this".
Who gets it wrong?
The Onion. - So sad to say, as I still laugh very hard at much of what these genisues put out there. But surprisingly, this cutting edge pillar of comedy simply does not embrace publically created content. Their elitist attitude is no longer helping their brand in a world where everyone feels entitled to weigh in. (Note - Submissions to this blog are welcome!)
Sears - Can I just say, bless their heart? These guys don't get much right online. From not tying the in-store experience to the web experience to not understanding the channel itself, Sears is destroying their rebranding efforts by not embracing the web. Sears makes great products and offers real value...but they are missing opportunities due to a lack of intergrated marketing understanding and insufficient web (or deficient) web tools.
Tomorrow's truth? Finding your customers online isn't as hard as you'd think.
Weigh in - share your experiences or just let me know what you think! That's what Social Media is all about!
Keep Clicking,
Michelle
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