5 steps to boost sales with social media by michelle hummel

5 Steps to Boost Sales with Social Media

Presented by: Michelle Hummel

7 Top Social Media Myths for Financial Advisors Debunked

Thanks for joining me today!

Michelle Hummel CEO of Web Strategy Plus offering Web Design, Social Media, Mobile Apps, SEO, Content, PPC + More! Founder of Web Media University & Cincinnati Social Media Enthusiasts


STEP #1 CREATE THE BEST FIRST IMPRESSION ONLINE STEP #2 DEFINE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY STEP #3 CONNECT & BUILD YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY STEP #4 CREATE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT STRATEGY STEP #5 ENGAGE WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY


STEP #1 CREATE THE BEST FIRST IMPRESSION ONLINE

Google Thinks Differently Now


• Social signals now aid in the ranking of web pages “social proof”

• More likes count as a “vote” for web page quality

What’s Important Today • Quality Content • Social Engagement • Customer Reviews • Blogs that Answer FAQ’s • Social Proof


Questions to Ask Yourself

• Do you have a social media hub? • Do you drive traffic back to your

website with original blog content? • Content is critical even more now

with Google Plus • Do you share informative articles

with them? • Do you give them a reason to stay,

tell others and come back frequently?

Social media has great potential to create a sense of community around your personal brand.


Is your Website “Social Media Friendly”?

• Fresh Content, you must be writing and posting new blogs for SEO

• Social Content, you must be providing interesting content others will enjoy and share

• Easy to share, do you provide your visitors easy ways to share, like, download and/or retweet your content?

Is your content easily shareable?


What is Your “Call to Action”?

You have 3 seconds to grab your prospects attention!

•Free Webinar •Free White Paper •Free Download •Free Trial •Free Consultation

What is your strongest offer to collect their email address?


Mobile Friendly Website is Critical

Mobile Devices have become bigger than PC sales

86% of adults own a Mobile phone 53% use it to access the Internet 57% of users will not recommend a

business with a poorly designed mobile site

Mobile Internet is becoming the Internet


Mobile – A Love Story

Consumers have fallen in love with their Smartphones! Always On Pocket Computer Social Networking Shopping Navigation Camera/Video Texting And….making phone calls

Put Your Best Face Forward


• Make the first impression they get about you when searching the best

• Fresh blog content will help you rank higher in search engines for the content you want to be seen as an expert for

People like to connect

with “people” not logos – be a person who is transparent, likeable and human

• What is your most emotionally engaging story?

• When did you go above and beyond for a client?

• What is your best testimonial? • Do you have a story to share on how you

came to be successful? Trials and tribulations?

• People like to connect with real stories they can relate to.

People remember stories.


What is your Unique Brand Story?

What makes you different? •What keywords would you like to define your personal brand? •Define the unique skills you bring to the table •What makes your approach different?

Be sure to use these keywords frequently in your Content Strategy


Install Google Analytics


• What social media networks are driving traffic to your website

• Unique Daily Visitors • Length on tome on site • Clicks from where • Entry pages • Exit pages

How do you measure your website traffic?


STEP #2 DEFINE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY


Decide what social networks to

engage with

Facebook – B2C LinkedIn – B2B Pinterest – B2B & B2C Twitter – B2B & B2C YouTube – B2B & B2C Google Plus – B2B & B2C Instagram – B2B & B2C Niche Communities – Google Forums

Define Your Target Audience


Age Groups Gender Geographic area Problems you solve - “Don’t

talk about what you do, talk about what you can do for your customers.”

Answer FAQ’s from your customers

Define Your Content Marketing Goals


Improve search engine rankings Demonstrate thought leadership Increase brand awareness Increase email subscribers Reduce your sites bounce rate Increase website traffic Increase positive reviews More likes, fans and followers Increase event registration Increase blog subscribers


Create a Social Media Posting Strategy

SEO Blogs – 4-8 blogs per month SEO Press Releases – 2-4 per month Facebook – 1 post per day Twitter – 3-5 Tweets per day Google Plus - 1 post per day Pinterest – 2–4 pins per day Instagram – 1 post per day LinkedIn Personal Profile – 1 post per day LinkedIn Groups – 1 post per week LinkedIn Company Page – 1 post per day YouTube – 1-2 videos per month


Create an Editorial Social Media Content Calendar

Develop a blog content writing schedule Create Daily, Monthly or Weekly Posting Themes Plan Ahead to Promote Events Decide what days and at what time you will post Plug into excel to track easily Don’t forget to include Holidays and post about

current events


Create a Fun Weekly Posting Theme

• Funny “Mondays” • Trivia “Tuesdays” • Local Must Attend Events

“Wednesday” • Deal of the Day “Thursday” • Stop the Press “Friday” • Shout out to another Business

“Saturday” • Guess this image “Sunday”


Do you have time to consistently post every day and write a weekly blog or would you rather focus on your business and have proven professionals helping with your digital

strategy?

•SEO Blogs - 2-4 blogs per month •SEO Press Releases – 1 per month •Facebook – 1 post per day •Twitter – 3-5 Tweets per day •Google Plus - 1 post per day •LinkedIn Personal Profile – 1 post per day •LinkedIn Groups – 1 post per week •LinkedIn Company Page – 1 post per day

Manage Your Social Media OR Outsource Your Social Media


STEP #3 CONNECT & BUILD YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY


Build Social Media Communities

• Ideas for creating social media communities:

• LinkedIn Groups • Facebook Groups • Google Plus Community • No one ever knew the people

behind the brand – with social media – now we do

“The best way to predict the future is to create it” Abraham Lincoln


Community Needs a Leader

• A great community needs a strong leader

• Clearly define the purpose of your community

• Monitor and engage in conversations

• A good community will attract customers, influence and opportunities


Build Branded Content Hubs

• American Express - Open Forum • GE – GEReports.com • P&G – PGEveryday.com • P&G – Beinggirl.com • Dell’s Techpageone.com • Salesforce Blog • Sony Playstation -

GreatnessAwaits.com - #ps4share • Analog Devices – Engineer Zone

• Example:

SocialMediaEnthuasiasts.com

• Over 62% of business owners report having gained new clients from LinkedIn

• After a phone call or meeting with a new client or prospect find them on LinkedIn and connect – let them know you are going to send a request;

Collect business cards at

networking events and connect on LinkedIn right away


Connect with Prospects and Clients, Especially on LinkedIn


STEP #4 CREATE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT STRATEGY

What is Content Marketing?


• Create content that follows the A.I.D.A marketing strategy

• A – Attract • I – Interest • D – Desire • A – Availability


Find Great Content to Share

• Plenty of content out there! • Search for local news and events

you can help promote • Build relationships with local

businesses by sharing their content

• Curate the best content and be the “go to” place for great content


Hashtag Content Strategies

• Facebook, Google Plus and

Twitter all use hashtags • Keyword search for conversations

on Twitter about your business you can engage in

• Add those hashtags into your content posting strategy

• Use hashtags at your events to get everyone connected and engaged in conversations


Share Relevant Videos

• eMarketer shows people are 33%

more likely to consume multimedia content than textual content

• Interview with the Owner • Video tour • Video testimonials • Funny videos • Local Events • Find great videos to embed into

your blog and create playlists • Be the great “go to” resource for

great content they will want to share!

http://www.youtube.com/webmediaexpert


Invest in a Social Media Management Dashboard

Schedule your content to post to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Pinterest

Create Twitter Welcome message Setup Twitter Auto Tweets, Retweets, Create an Email Autoresponder program Create SMS text marketing program Monitor your brand across the web Reply to all your social media networks from one

dashboard

SendSocialMedia.com offers a FREE 30 day trial!


Get Content Suggestions from Send Social Media

Measure Your Content Strategy


• Email Open Rate Av. - 20% • Email Click Rate - 3.00% • Email Unsubscribe Rate - .20% • Facebook Page Posts Av. Viralty Rate - 1.92% • Pay Per Click Average CTR - 2% • Facebook Ads CTR - .05 - .01% • Website Av. Bounce Rate - 45% • Google Analytics Monitor - Page Views, Unique Visitors, Time on

Site, % Returning, Pages/Visit


STEP #5 ENGAGE WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY


Social Engagement

You want people to share things You want people be brand advocates You want people to visit frequently You want people to refer friends You want people to buy services

“Engaged customers and prospects are far more likely to do some or all of the above.”


Promote Your Testimonials

• Did you recently receive a

positive testimonial from one of your clients?

• Share it on your social networks

• This will generate brand awareness and reinforce your brand's public image


Keep Them Informed

• Keep your fans updated on what you're working on

• Product Announcements, Local Events, offering a new services? They should be the first to know!

• Ask for their feedback before your launch


Create an Email Marketing Strategy

• Create your Mailing List • Bulk Import all your Contacts • Create Email Template • Create Email Newsletter Signup

Form • Create Email Autoresponders

Cross Promote Social Media •Doing a TV interview? End the spot with a quick call-to-action encouraging people to connect and ask additional questions on your favorite social media channel

•Promoting an event? Make sure to include your social media links at the bottom of your invitations/flyers

•Live training event? Create a Twitter hashtag (#) that will be used for the event so you can connect with all the attendees and answer questions



Monitor, Listen, Communicate and Respond

• Monitor conversations across the web about your brand

• Respond quickly to all comments • Engage by asking questions, and posing topics

for discussion • Monitor all your social media accounts • Customers want to know that they are helping

to shape the products you provide – give them a unique voice through your social media profiles

• Customers want to know that you’re thinking about them

Please Contact: Michelle Hummel Founder and CEO

513.399.6870

[email protected] webstrategyplus.com

Thank you!