Mobile Marketing & Online Customer Getting Solutions

Local businesses and big brands alike are getting in on the Facebook mobile game.

Rich media is now possible.

This includes text, graphics and even embedded video because of mobile’s new HTML5 standard. Since everyone’s got a smartphone, or upgrading, rich media is way more mobile.

So it has to be part of your strategy moving forward.

On Dunkin’ Donuts Facebook business page a user can build their own custom drink with 3-D graphics and even feel their smart phone vibrating as if the coffee was pouring into their cup.

This kind of interactivity using multiple senses and smart phone capabilities will be key. I’ve even heard there were some apps which appeal to smells and odors. These offer a world of possibilities to the marketing agency working with your local business.

Here’s more from xconomy:

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This is a big step for Celtra, but founder and CEO Mihael Mikek would be the first to downplay its significance to Facebook’s overall mobile strategy. After all, the social-networking giant is undoubtedly trying out many kinds of mobile-focused ad technologies besides Celtra’s as it seeks to make boatloads more money off its growing mobile audience.

But the Cambridge startup, which took a long road through the recession to get to this point, now sits in a decent spot; mobile advertising seems poised for a rebirth. “This is just the beginning,” Mikek says. “The future will be doing optimization.”

He’s talking about things like making mobile ads shorter or longer depending on how consumers are interacting with them, and taking into account the time of day, consumer’s location, and weather when displaying ads. Celtra already does a lot of this, he says.

More broadly, Mikek, like others, sees that “everything is going to be mobile” in the future of technology. “The next releases of desktops will be powered by mobile software” built to work with things like touchscreens and apps, he says. “Mobile software is the software of the future.”

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What mobile steps have you already taken? What steps are you planning for 2012?

If your answer is none, make a quick note of that in the comments and tell me one sentence why.

I promise to read and respond to you with answers and solutions.

Local businesses are quaking in their boots about the Facebook business pages switch to the new timeline format.

This likely creates a chasm between small businesses and big businesses.

Big businesses have plenty of budget to make the transition. Many local businesses don’t.

So what’s the cost effective solution?

Since many small businesses don’t have a dedicated social media manager simpler is better. So here’s a few tips:

1. Cover graphic

It can be 810 pixels wide. It can’t include any call to action. Just your business branding.

2. Pinning

You can pin an event announcement, news story, customer review or interesting article about your industry. This “main event” stays highlighted at the top for 7 days.

This area gets top billing so make the most of this essential ad space.

3. Profile photos

You can include images of your business brand, offices, and employees. This makes your business more real and warms it to Facebook visitors.

4. About section

Tell a little about your business and you can include a call to action here.

5. App section

There’s room for 4 different pages or Facebook apps and anything goes here. I recommend call to action photos and other cool eye-catching photos.

Here’s more on the Facebook timeline transition from BizJournals:

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One small businessman, Steve Rasmussen, who owns Milk Pail Market in Mountain View said he spends 15 to 20 hours a week on Facebook managing his company’s page, often while doing other things like watching TV or listening to music.

His page is quite active for a small business, with lots of posts about upcoming events like cheese tastings, deals on products and questions from customers.

“I announce these things (like events) either to try to get people to attend through Facebook, or just to let the community of Milk Pail know what we’re doing out there,” he said. “A lot of our customers really like knowing what we do behind the scenes.”

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What 1 question do you have about how to get more customers from Facebook? If your business isn’t on Facebook your competitors are leaving you behind. What’s holding you back?

I vow to read and point you to solutions when I respond to your comments.

First know what Facebook is. As a B2B business you must understand the Facebook platform.

It’s almost like an after party where people gather online. They love to see photos and videos. They love to see what’s new with their family members and friends.

They even love to see what old school friends and high school people are up to now.

This is what you’re competing with. This is the main reason they’re on Facebook.

So by designing engaging and fascinating content you can compete with these other updates. 70% of BTB marketers are already doing this.

Think of it like you’re at a networking party.

Would you walk up to someone you’ve never met and say, “Hey my name is ________, I sell commercial carpet supplies. Buy from me now.”

If you’re a successful networker you know how ridiculous this is. You’d never do it. Because it’d never work.

You’ve got to learn a little bit about the other person. If they say they’re into home decor you can talk about a cool book on Persian rugs or other carpets.

Then that can lead into a deeper conversation about commercial carpeting.

Keep this “I’m going to a party to meet new people” mentality. Do this and your success likelihood soars.

More from Entrepreneur:

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2. Integrate leads with likes. ClearRisk, a risk-management company in St. John’s, Newfoundland, does this well. It offers a free, information-rich e-book in exchange for contact info. Once visitors like ClearRisk’s page, they are directed to an embedded sign-up for the company’s book, Insurance Premiums Are Killing My Business, which is delivered via e-mail.

Regularly share content like e-books, white papers and webinars within your Facebook content stream. Remind your fans of the usefulness and effectiveness of your content by offering solid links and snippets via posts that emphasize the material itself vs. sales-driven “Sign up now!” directives.

Social media marketing company Involver packs its Facebook presence with goodness that communicates the brand’s value: videos, a PDF with a collection of Facebook success stories, client logos and more. And its newsletter sign-up is in an obvious spot.

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Share a success tip on how you’ve gotten a lead from your Facebook business page.

If you’re struggling with the Facebook platform and not getting much from your Facebook local business page tell me what you think is holding you back.

I pledge to read your comments and give you solutions in my responses.

You don’t want to waste time on Facebook. As a local business owner you don’t have any extra time.

So what if you could post to Facebook everyday?

You probably set that as a goal. And you probably failed on that goal.

Could you spare 5 minutes or 7 minutes each day?

If you’re like most business owners I talk to the answer is “yes”.

The key is an editorial calendar. You can also think of it as your marketing calendar or your content marketing calendar.

You know all of the interesting topics, events and promotions your company is doing over the next 30 to 60 days.

Start seeding cool little updates and informative little posts on your Facebook local business page building your followers’ anticipation for these events and topics.

Here’s more from entrepreneur:

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How can time-crunched entrepreneurs find a way to post regularly to their company’s Facebook page? Entrepreneur Magazine writer Mikal Belicove suggests creating an editorial calendar. Using your marketing calendar as a guide, coming up with Facebook posts ahead of time can help keep you organized and refreshing the content on your page more regularly.

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How effective is your marketing calendar? If you don’t have a content marketing calendar or editorial calendar what’s stopping you from getting one?

I pledge to read and respond to your comments with solutions and resources.

Facebook and Twitter are social platforms. The experts supposedly say this.

What’s left out is they’re not solely social platforms.

You can properly ASK for business here. And you can GET business from these social media platforms.

The experts don’t give you this context.

You must lead with Free good stuff. Lead with good training. Lead with spectacular content.

Hook them in with compelling and educational content.

Then once they’ve interacted with you through a direct message the selling process begins.

I love the 3 contact rule. Basically, you’ll give free advice for up to 3 times. You spend no more than 3 minutes per each of those first 3 times.

Then ask for their business.

This avoids time wasters and people who’ll never do business with you.

Here’s more on this process from entrepreneur:

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If someone is continually asking for your advice, free product, tips and so forth, respond no more than three times, spending a maximum of three minutes each time, before you ask for the business. If the contact does not respond or decides to not do business with you, there is no need to offer additional expert advice and/or tips and guidance for free. People will respect you if you respect yourself and the value of your experience and advice by adhering to this 3/3 boundary formula. If you spend even a few hours every week going back and forth with the same person who is never going to do business with you, then you might need to keep your day job.
Related

If your business revenue has either leveled off or declined, it’s worth looking into whether your sales team is asking or has stopped asking for the business. If you find they are doing constant back and forth, crossing their fingers in the hope they will eventually get the buy from a customer, cut to the chase and send an email, note or even make a phone call to ask for the business, mentioning your previous contacts and guidance you have provided.

So why don’t most people ask for what they want? First of all, most people don’t even know what it is they want, which causes a delay in asking before you even start. What exactly do you want from the people you talk to and communicate with, whether it is online or in person?

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By setting aside a specific small amount of time each day for Facebook and twitter marketing you can get good results for your local business.

What strategy has been most effective for you on Facebook? On Twitter?

If you haven’t yet started your social media marketing machine what’s the 1 big thing stopping you?

I promise to read and respond to your comments so we can have an energetic conversation.

You’ve seen Facebook advertising and probably experimented with it in your local business. Some small businesses are making excellent profits from their Facebook ads.

Meetup is an underutilized resource for local businesses to establish themselves as thought leaders and experts.

On Facebook you can use this idea as well. Here’s how…

1. Contrarian Group

Start and host an FaceBook group on “best practices in business management” or “best recipes for American cooking”.
You can put your restaurant’s recipes up here and encourage group members to tweak and add to them. You can hold contests for:

- recipe submission

- videos prepping the recipes and more

Offer prizes like:

* hosted events at your restaurant

* free menu items to runners up and

* 1 free appetizer for all those who participate

Talk about local business issues related to your industry. Be an expert around the topic of your business. Become the “known, relied on, go-to thought leader” for your business category.

LinkedIn

Thought leadership groups work great on here. Happens sometimes but underutilized. Lots of opportunities to reach more customers whether you’re a B2B or B2C local business.

More from Entrepreneur:

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Falls suggests starting a Facebook group that’s not focused on your company, but on topics of interest in your industry. Ask questions of the group and start discussions.

“What will happen is that the people who are interested in those topics will gravitate to that group,” Falls says. “You’re the group administrator so all of the sudden you become the thought leader among that group of people. Well, who are they going to call when they’re ready to buy what you sell? They’re probably going to call you or at least you’ll be in the consideration set because you’re providing that value online.”

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How are you using Facebook? Ask questions if you’re looking to get better ROI and I promise to respond with tips.