Marketing Tips and News

What is the state of Florida doing to stem the tide of cancellations from summer visitors due to concerns over the oil spill? Tourism officials and fans of the state are going social and using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other forms of social media to show that the Sunshine State is indeed beautiful, clean and open for business.

The thinking behind this effort goes like this:  “If you don’t believe all of us in the tourism industry, see for yourself!”

You can get involved in the effort, too. After all, isn’t that what social media is all about? Interacting, sharing, joining in the community.

Visit the Share A Little Sunshine Facebook page and upload your photo or video of what’s happening wherever you are in Florida today.

The arrival of summer campers to Camp Boggy Creek on June 12 marks the beginning of the Camp’s 15^th consecutive year of caring for seriously ill children. By the close of 2010 the Camp will have served over 50,000 children and their family members throughout Florida, all at no charge to them.

Camp Boggy Creek first welcomed campers in the summer of 1996 following an intensive two year construction program on its 232 acres located in Lake County.

The mission of the camp is to allow kids with chronic or life threatening illnesses to enjoy traditional camp experiences in a medically safe environment so that they can forget they have what they have and just be kids. Founded by actor/philanthropist Paul Newman, it was his vision to create a place where kids could in his words, “kick back, relax and raise a little hell.” Newman was joined early on by co-founder; Tampa resident retired U.S. Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

Camp Boggy Creek, a non-profit organization, relies on the generous support of individuals, corporations, foundations and healthcare partners to reach its $4 million annual budget. Additionally, it relies on nearly 2,000 volunteers each year to fulfill its mission.

Camp Boggy Creek is always in need of volunteers and supporters. For more information visit www.BoggyCreek.org or call toll free 866-Go-Boggy (866-462-6449.)

What do donuts and camping have in common? Through the end of this month, when you purchase a donut from a participating Florida Krispy Kreme location, you can help send a deserving child to Camp Boggy Creek, Florida’s camp for seriously ill children. http://tiny.cc/z1021

How important are customer referrals to you business? If you’re looking to improve your profits and expand your business, there’s no better way to bring in new customers than to have your current customers refer their friends to you. Not only does a referral show the loyalty of your existing customer, good word of mouth that drives new customers your way is immeasureable and the ultimate goal of any marketing program. It’s also one of the toughest marketing goals to achieve.

So why are you still spending your marketing dollars and time on traditional advertising? Direct mail, newspaper advertising and radio advertising are expensive and their effectiveness is hard to measure. Here’s where the value of social media comes in. You knew I’d get around to talking about this, right?

For example, what is the value of the exposure your brand receives when a potential new customer sees a friend recommend your brand on their Facebook page? I would argue that a friend’s recommendation, or fandom of your company or product on Facebook is like a customer referral times 100. That’s because the reach of social media is not only expanding every minute, it is also reaching audiences that traditional media is no longer able to reach.

Log on. Reach out. Spread the word!

You may be noticing some subtle additions to our home page. In an effort to promote one of our growing specialties, we’re adding links so our visitors can join our e-newsletter list, visit our archives or link quickly to Constant Contact.

We’ve chosen Email Marketing by Constant Contact® and have been working with this industry-leading program for more than a year now. It’s an easy, effective, and highly affordable way to get your message out to your customers, clients or members.

We have created high-impact, professional-quality emails for ourselves and our clients. These have helped all of us to build strong connections with our audiences, leading to referrals, repeat business and loyalty. We offer our clients every conceivable level of assistance with their email marketing program. So far, our full-service approach, in which we design, write, edit and distribute your e-news while you tend to your core operations, has proven most popular. This plan includes maintaining your e-mail list and reporting on opens, click-throughs and other statistics.

Discover how the power of Email Marketing by Constant Contact can help you better connect with your customers, strengthen your relationships with them, and grow your organization.

Join Our Email List Email:

While Twitter is not yet as popular as Facebook if you’re counting users, there is a lot you need to know about this social media platform and its growing base of users.

5 million tweets per day: Twitter is phenomenally popular and its search function has taken off.

Want to reach the 18-34-year-old demographic: According to a consumer cross-channel research study by the Art Technology Group, 42 percent of them are using Twitter and other social media to do product research and shopping. And they’re passing on their recommendations to anybody who reads their posts. If these people make up your market, Twitter is an important tool for you.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-whos-using-twitter-2010-4#ixzz0mthkHd6F

There are a lot of marketers out there who claim to be experienced in social media. Here’s the thing, just because you have a Facebook page or a Twitter account does not make you an expert in social media.

If your business or organization is looking for help navigating the social media landscape, you’ll find plenty of marketing consultants or agencies who say they can help you. Here’s a simple way to check out their claims. Take a look at their social media presence. How often do they update their social media sites? What is the quality of their content? Do they have anyone listening to them? Are they engaging with others through social media?

Last year I went searching for a web developer who could assist me in redesigning my blog. I found a few I was interested in working with. Then I took a look at these companies’ or consultants’ own blogs. Many had not made a post in months. One had not posted to their business blog in more than a year. None of them had comments posted. Now why would I want someone to help me with a blog design when they can’t even keep up with their own blog?

Beware of marketers who post to social media sites constantly but don’t seem to be engaging in dialogue with others through this medium. My 11-year-old can post to Twitter every hour on the hour. But it takes a skilled communicator to spark conversations and engage in true grassroots communication in the social media arena.

One of the main reasons I started my own business in 2003 was to find more work-life balance. When I founded Write Result, I opted not to rent an office but to work out of my home. I now employee one other full time employee who works from her home and several part time employees who work from their homes.

I’m not the stereotype  home office worker who sits around in her pajamas all day, and neither are the people who work with me. We are all hard working, creative, talented professionals who enjoy the flexibility that comes with not having to report to an office and work within a set period of time each day.

I like the peace and quite of working from home. And while I sometimes miss the interaction of people in the office, I find that without the interruptions my productivity has soared. I get more done in one hour than office workers get done in half a day. That’s because no one is popping by my office to chat and I’m not sitting in meeting after meeting all day long.

The best thing about working from home however, is the balance I’ve found in my life. I don’t have to turn in a vacation request to take my daughter to the dentist. When the kids are out of school for the summer, they are home with me not stuck in a summer day care program. And I work with a dog under my desk. Can’t beat it!

An estimated 40 million American workers now work from home at least part of their workweek.

Improved retention and morale, a better work life balance and increased productivity are just some of the benefits employees who work from home site as the results of telecommuting.

So whether you are starting your own business or re-organizing the way your business currently works, consider allowing your employees to work from home at least part of the week. You’d be surprised at how happy your employees will be and the high quality of work they will achieve.

We’d like to be using social media to market our business, but we just don’t have time.

I hear this nearly every day. To me, it’s not about whether or not you have time to add one more item to your to-do list, it is about shifting your priorities. I’m sure when e-mail came along, there were business people who said “I don’t have time to check  e-mail, I have to keep answering this phone.”

Social media is here to stay and if you’re not using it, it’s like not answering the phone when your customers call.

However, utilizing social media by taking part not just in the dialogue, but listening to your customers and potential customers, does take time.  How much time? Surveys show that of those marketers using social media, more than half spend 6 hours or more a week.

So what’s the answer? You want to participate in social media. You need to be doing it. How about hiring an expert to do it for you.

I don’t prepare my taxes every year. I hire an expert accountant. Sure, I could do it myself. But why should I spend hours if not days trying to prepare my own business tax return when an accountant could do it better in less than half the time.

Same thing for my car. I have to keep my car in good working condition. I could probably tune it up myself, but why not hire a skilled mechanic.

While the number of companies outsourcing their social media marketing is currently around 20% that percentage is growing. That’s because you need more than time to take part in social media – you need expertise.

Otherwise you could be running on empty and missing out on important deductions.

The top social media tools used by marketers according to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report are as follows:

Twitter 88%

Facebook 87%

Linked In 78%

Blogging 70%

Are you or your organization using any or all of these popular social media tools from a marketing perspective?  A survey of current marketers using social media shows that most plan to invest more time in blogging this year. In fact, small business owners and non profit organizations are much more enthusiastic about utilizing blogging in their marketing mix than large companies or corporations. Why?

While the report doesn’t answer this question, I have a few ideas. Most of us who have been blogging 3 years or more are very comfortable with all forms of social media. But we’ve come to appreciate the impact and reach of the growing blog community. In fact, more than half of the top ten daily online media destinations are social media, with blogs being the most prevalent. That means blogs are beginning to – if not replace traditional media – at least be a credible influencer of what people now consider news and credible sources for information.

By blogging, you take a greater part in informing consumers, clients and constituents about your business or organization. That’s social media time well spent.