In the good ole’ days, marketing used to be one-way messaging. Simple stuff. You have a product or service and you tell folks about it. Now, with the advent of social media, marketing is becoming two-way – customers finding YOU when they are seeking products or services. And they are not quiet about the experience.
Marketers, however, are the guardians of a company’s brand. So how do you walk the two-way street of social media marketing, keep the brand intact, and use new technology to your benefit?
Understand that Social Media Marketing is NOT Social Media Networking
Business is business. According to technology forecaster Daniel Burrus, “Marketing and networking are two different things. Marketing is about branding and positioning yourself while networking is about making connections.”
So a word to the wise for those who are jumping with both feet into the FaceBook world. Separate personal from business. You can set up multiple accounts, and the personal account should be the only one to have photos of the kids and that crazy friend from high school who just found you online. The business account is about getting more business, and creating a face for the business, which is your brand. Boiling it down, business social media is about responding to client issues and questions, and positioning your business to do more business and attract more customers.
Social Media is about Helping Search Engines Find Your Business
So how do you use Facebook or Twitter or your blog to boost your search engine optimization (SEO)? You link and integrate them so that folks who find something titillating you have Tweeted about can then find the business with genius and foresight enough to have you on board. It is really a part of expanding your Web and email marketing strategy.
Think about it. People really do not buy things until they think they need them or want them. So, having little snippets of what you are selling ‘out there’ where they can be found by someone looking is what marketing is about at its core. Social media just makes the information more prevalent, and it allows for some two-way communication, so you may be qualifying someone way early in the process.
Every type of social media account should be linked back to your main Web site, or the Web site where you want folks to go. It is the total online activity that is important when you are trying to increase your rankings in search engines, and by linking everything together, more activity is reflected. SEO is sort of like popularity. The more popular you are, the more easily people can find you, and that translates into more business, eventually. (Assuming you are meeting the price and product standards for which they are looking.)
Branding IS Important, Even on Twitter
Actually everything that is communicated to the world about your business should have that consistent look and feel. All the social media sites allow some branding; take care that you utilize that option, so you are extending your brand whilst Tweeting. And, remember that branding is not only your colors and logo, but it is what the public thinks about your company or product, so keep the verbiage and the message consistent as well.
Taking a Partner Who Understands You
When you’re wondering how to market home care services effectively, the very best thing you can do is to have a partner who understands how to most effectively wield the new technology possibilities to produce the best bottom line results in the least amount of time. Now, as always, corecubed is ready to take you by the hand and lead you through this new technological minefield. We are experts at providing regular, monthly marketing communications. Our knowledge of social media marketing can yield rewarding results while steering you away from any pitfalls.
Also, a good starting point is just regularly communicating. We are, in fact, the gurus of email marketing – able to craft eNewsletters filled to the brim with valuable information that is both relevant and rewarding for your customers. Instead of dragging your e-mails to the trashcan, they’ll be keeping an eye out for your next communication. Aren’t you reading this to the end, after all?
Technology CAN be a good fit. You just have to have the right tailor. Call corecubed today for a fitting and find out how to market home care the right way.