Kirk Davis

Business Education
Bellevue, Washington

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Social Media Marketing for Beginners

Get the big picture of how to do social media marketing and start creating your own social media marketing strategy.

Written Apr 24, 2009, read 2399 times since then.

The Goal of Social Media is to Increase Sales. Really?

Social media provides the tools that enable us to have online conversations. I know, the big advice out there today about social media is don’t try to sell anything to anyone. The idea of social media is to be part of the conversation to build relationships over time. Of course, our goal in business is to sell more stuff to more people. The new revolution in business is social media marketing. If done right, it can be your key to radically improving sales. The question is how do you increase sales by using social media? What should your strategy be? Sun Tzu in the Art of War explains that strategy is determined by the terrain. Here is an overview of the social media terrain.

Your Word-of-Mouth Marketing Just Got a Megaphone
There are three ways your customers will eventually find you:
1) Search engines
2) Advertising or promotion
3) Recommendations

Susan Boyle, chances are you have heard of her, the Britain’s Got Talent superstar already has over 40,000,000 views on one YouTube video in less than two weeks. She is listed on the second page of most viewed videos of all time for YouTube. Most of us heard about Susan because her performance was recommended. The idea is you want your business, your products, and your services to be recommended as well. Recommendation is the shortest distance between you and getting new customers.

Social media gives your word-of-mouth marketing a megaphone. You have a good business, your customers are raving about you, and the customers you want are looking for you. So why is it taking so long for people to find you? Here is an important rule of social media marketing . . .

You Must Be Present to Win
Out of sight is out of mind. There is a saying in business, “You must win mind share before you can win market share.” Social media is where conversations and recommendations are happening. By joining the conversation you become visible and you are in a position to win mind share.

Here are some ways to be present to win:
1) Listening to conversations in your field of interest
2) Participating in those conversations
3) Publishing information
4) Facilitating conversations

Listening
Ask your customers which social media they use. Biznik, Twitter, Facebook, forums, YouTube, others? You can also search topics that relate to your business to find where relevant conversations are occurring online. You can use www.google.com/alerts and www.search.twitter.com to find the most current articles, blogs, newsletters, and other published content. It will help you gain insights into your customers, your industry, and discover a whole new world of ideas. You will be at the leading edge of the conversation.

Participating
By participating on social media websites like www.biznik.com, www.twitter.com, and hundreds more, you can create a profile that will help you show up on the front page of search engines. (I was surprised today to find I was on the front page of Google when I searched my name.) Participating in social media increases the likelihood that you will show up on the front page of search engines when customers are looking for you.

Here are some interesting ways to participate. You can start a blog. Comment on other people’s blogs. Comment on relevant news articles. Comment on published online articles and forums. You can also attract attention by linking to interesting information on your website and other published materials and send it out through Twitter.

Publishing
You can publish (for free) pictures, videos, articles and announcements. Your new customers will find your published materials and those materials will link back to your website. There are hundreds of places to publish your information.

Facilitating
Social media websites like Biznik, Facebook, Ning, and others allow you to create social networking groups for free. You can facilitate your own conversations that will meet the specific needs of your existing and new customers while keeping you top of mind.

Social Media is More like Customer Service than Marketing
There is a buying process customers go through when they are deciding to do business with you:
1) Awareness - In this stage you come to their attention.
2) Consideration - In this stage they can see your participation online and it builds trust.
3) Purchase - In this stage they have decided buy.
4) Loyalty - In this stage they are your raving fan and want to stay engaged and connected.

Social media helps with the awareness, consideration, and loyalty aspects of the buying process. Think of social media marketing as your customer service outreach. You provide customer service because you authentically care about your customers. It is the same with social media.

If you have a choice between spending time making sales or doing customer service, your number one priority is making sales. Just behind that priority and equally important is providing excellent customer service. Chances are, you are already good at customer service and social media gives you amazing exposure to new people very quickly.

“Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About”
You know what I mean. You really have to give them something to talk about or point them to something worth talking about. Believe me, we are all learning how to use social media to gain new customers. I’ve talked to several social media experts and they admit they are stilling learning and discovering. No one has all of the answers. So don’t feel bad as you muddle through this new terrain.

The best advice I have heard about social media marketing is to spend no more than one hour per day working on it. You are already busy enough. What you put online stays online and works for you 24/7. So giving it an hour a day allows you to build slowly and get better as you go. I also recommend keeping a social media notebook to keep track of the tools, websites, gurus, and ideas for improving your social marketing efforts. There is no way to keep all that information in your head.

Marketing efforts will pay off faster than customer service efforts. You may not get results over night; however momentum will build over time as you give your audience something to talk about. Don't give up too soon. Just tweek your approach, your message, and your delivery until you get the results you want.

Radical Self-Promotion - Crawl, Walk, Run
People do business with people they know, like, and trust. Social media can really get you out there. You are the face of your company. As you participate and publish you build credibility and trust. That’s why we call it “radical self-promotion.” We want to get know you. Start small. Crawl, then walk, and then run. Learn one social networking site at time and then add more as you go.

The good news is, through social media you become visible, your SEO improves, you encourage raving fans, you get recommendations, you get to know your customers better, you get to meet new people, and yes social media will result in more sales. I highly recommend it.

Your Social Media Marketing Plan:
1) Search online for social media information about your industry, market, and line of business.
2) Identify, and if helpful, join social media websites, online communities, blogs, and forums that are relevant to your customers
3) Pick one social media website that is most relevant to your customers and be present to win.
4) Spend one hour a day listening, participating, publishing, and/or facilitating. Keep a social media notebook to track websites and lessons learned.
5) Track your website traffic, your search engine placement, and the source of new sales to measure your effectiveness and continue to get better as you go.

Learn more about the author, Kirk Davis.

Posted by Chad Gleason, Kent, Washington | Apr 27, 2009

Great read as always Kirk, your insight on simplifying the madness of social networking is much appreciated.
Posted by Julia Robinson, Woodinville, Washington | Apr 27, 2009

Great article, Kirk - good to run into you in Biznik!
Posted by Nancy Grant, Bellingham, Washington | Apr 27, 2009

Good perspective Kirk! Thanks for providing some more practical ideas to the social media discussions.
Posted by Bob Schlosser, Kent, Washington | Apr 27, 2009

Kirk

Great info as always

Cheers

Bob Castle Bridge Winery
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Apr 28, 2009

Chad, thanks for the kind words. I also feel like social media is madness at times. I'm looking forward to seeing you at Shine!

Julia, it is good to connect with on Biznik. I just saw your article. Very nicely done. Thanks for taking the time to comment and compliment.

Nancy, it is music to my ears to have say that these were practical ideas. Thanks for the nice compliments. Speaking of compliments. I noticed from your website that you are highly thought of as well.

Bob, I'm so glad to see you on Biznik. Now I get to see you online and offline. I really like your profile picture. I'll also be seeing you at Shine.
Posted by Merry McNutt, Tacoma, Washington | Apr 28, 2009

Great information, Kirk. You are such a great writer...clear and to the point.

Thank you for your overview of the social terrain. I'm still hesitant to begin to Twitter...I fear the time it sounds like it takes to keep up on it. What are your thoughts on that?

I'm a big fan of the referral process and thank you for all the referrals you've sent me.

Time to get our May book discussion plans out. :) Shall I start? Merry
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Apr 28, 2009
Merry,

I think a lot of us are feeling the way you do about Twitter. Until you start doing it, Twitter doesn't easily make sense. Once you start you wonder why you hesitated. I was telling several friends today to check out this article on Biznik. They said they had already read it. I was surprised when they told me they had seen my post about it on Twitter. People really follow Twitter.

I know you are into self-directed IRA's. I used the search twitter function and found this post
- TripleNetHouses: Self-Directed IRA Earn 9.1% fixed for 10 years. True turn-key real estate investment. www.TripleNetHouses.com. This was posted just 10 hours ago. I thought it might catch your interest. Twitter is a pretty good way to connect with others who share your interest.
My recommendation is, start by searching for the topics you are interested in on Biznik, Twitter, Google Blog search, and Ning.com. There are many more, but these are a start. Twitter really is amazing.

Try it out and let me know what you think. Thanks for being our guest speaker last week.
Posted by Piper Lauri Salogga, Seattle, Washington | Apr 28, 2009

You know I'm a fan!! And so lucky to be a client of yours too :). Kirk, I love how simple this is. It really takes the convoluted guesswork out of marketing through social media. See you on Twitter!
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Apr 28, 2009

Thanks Piper, our last session was amazing. You've really have a great new sticky message. You'll have to let us know how it is working. Thanks for being a fan. I feel fortunate to have you as a client. Thanks for letting me try this article out with you before I published it.
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle, Washington | Apr 28, 2009

All good points here, Kirk. I think what we're all struggling with here is to find a balance so social media doesn't take over our lives. I just wrote a blog post on this delicate dance, particularly when it comes to on- and off-line networking and marketing.

I probably spend an hour a day (not all at once) on social media marketing. Just today, two different people tweeted my blog post and I got three times the views as an average day. I think the incredible impact of Twitter for me has been the power of the "retweet" (RT). My content is reaching many more people, some who aren't following me on twitter but read about me in someone else's tweet. So it just widens your audience.

I think your point about people figuring things out for themselves is well taken. Each business is different and while a blog or Twitter might help one business achieve a goal, it might be the wrong tool for someone else.

Thanks for the common sense advice, Kirk.
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Apr 29, 2009

Wow Judy! I appreciate your comment. I didn't know how amazing Twitter was until a couple of weeks ago.

I just had a chance to read your last couple of blog posts. They were great. I appreciate and agree with your post called "Slow and Steady: The Tortoise Marketing Strategy." In your blog post you explained how you recieved a very good ROI on your one hour a day of social media. Your blog is very captivating and thought provoking.

I was just teaching a business class last night. One of the participants made the point, "I'm so busy I can't fit another thing in. The thought of taking time to twitter doesn't make sense." I told her that I thought the same thing until I tried it. I showed them the search twitter tool and we were even able to find recent conversations on the topic of "welding masks." Twitter is amazing.

Judy, thanks for taking the time to comment and compliment. Your point about getting three times as many views as as on an average day is because you gave them something to talk about, you are good at that. You are a social media leader. Thanks for helping show us the way.
Posted by Jeff Dickson, Beverly Hills, Michigan | Apr 30, 2009

seems to me that I've only been able to get people to follow me on Twitter who are selling something
Posted by Erin Suess, Huntley, Illinois | Apr 30, 2009

Thanks for the information Kirk! As someone who is new to social media I will keep these tips in mind. I am really working on building my presence online and have to keep in mind the balance that I should have when using social media. Thanks.

Erin http://www.lifecoachingdesigns.com
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle, Washington | Apr 30, 2009

I appreciate your taking the time to read my blog, Kirk. That was going "above and beyond." : )

I get the student in your class who was overwhelmed at the thought of fitting one more thing into their day. I really do. But for start-ups (and even us 16-year-old businesses!), the cool thing about social media is they are great marketing and networking tools, and cost you time but very little money.

Jeff, I have those people on Twitter, too. They are the ones who auto-mail you a "Get my free report on how to get 1,000 followers a day" the minute you start following them.

Got another one yesterday. Out of curiosity, I went to their profile page. They were following 500 people but had only 9 followers themselves. Not much credibility there. I use TweetDeck, which lets you sort the key people you want to interact with in groups so you don't have to wade through every message (unless you want to).
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Apr 30, 2009

Jeff,

I'll bet everybody likes you because you are the fresh prime meat man (minus the vegetarians). I just checked twitter search. Here is one comment I picked up:

miekei: @angryasianguy: you gotta stop rubbing that kobe steak in my face, i'm getting hungry, mel send me a piece!!

On twitter, you want to give them something to talk about. So talk about when and why they would use your products and give them recipes. Your posts should make our mouths water. You can link to other great posts. Posting pictures, videos of the barbecue, and your customers raving about your products will start to give you an audience. I hope that helps.

Judy, thanks for helping me with Jeff's response.
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Apr 30, 2009

Erin,

You are in an interesting field at an interesting time. There is a big demand for what you do with career assessment.

I found these tweets:

Thomas_Elliott: Taking the Career Direct assessment. Praying that the Lord would use it to give some direction.

monipaiz: Watching my career assessment. I wish I didn't have to take any decisions, already made too many bad ones...

I believe there are millions of people out there looking for what you do.

I'm certain you will do well. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Apr 30, 2009

Judy,

Thanks for your additional comments. We need your insight. I believe that for most businesses social media is going to take one to three years to build the momentum it requires to build a successful word-of-mouth marketing campaign. If you can give people something extraordinary to talk about it will go faster.

I had a chance to speak with the #1 Radio Shack sales person in the nation about 10 years ago. I asked him about his strategy. He told me that he invested two years without being a nationally ranked sales person in exceptional customers service and please tell your friends. The rest was on automatic pilot for him after that. There is an investment of time and effort with social media, however, when people are looking for you they will find you and tell their friends.
Posted by Jeff Dickson, Beverly Hills, Michigan | Apr 30, 2009

Kirk & Judy

Thanks for the insights - I guess it's like the old adage - you gotta be the show

JD
Posted by Sandy Rivers, San Mateo, California | May 20, 2009

You broke it down - perfectly. Like you, I found a blog comment I wrote listed at the top of google. Social Media is an infant and like any new born, how we nurture our baby (this love of our life), will be the growing results.

Great article Kirk. Thanks. Sandy Rivers www.CivilSplit.com
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Jun 06, 2009

Jeff,

You are in an interesting business. I would think that social media would be the best way to promote your business. Thanks for weighing in.
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Jun 06, 2009

Sandy,

Congratulations on your your blog comment. It's amazing how social media can make us visible to those who are interested. I agree with you that social media is in its infancy. I am learning something new every day. It has been fun to share these ideas and hear about the success stories. Continued success to you.

Kirk
Posted by Annie Jacobsen, Seattle, Washington | Jun 19, 2009

Hey Kirk ~

Glad I read this ~ it helps! Now, can you create a longer day? Actually, this helps me begin to consider where to prioritize, what fits MY personality (so it's less stressful to work against my natural tendencies) and build a plan.

You rock. Have I told you that before?
Posted by Kirk Davis, Bellevue, Washington | Jun 19, 2009

Thanks Annie,

It is a pleasure to work with you. That longer day thing comes from having good employees. I think you are on the road to lazy days and more money (imagine that).

Thanks for taking the time to read the article and comment. Here's to effective social media marketing.

Kirk