YouTube

No Secrets – The Success of Social Media in Small Business

.There really are no secrets when it comes to the success of social media as a business tool.  The sheer convenience of being able to communicate and interact with customers is enticing a growing number of businesses to jump on the social media bandwagon.


According to the 2011 Domainz eBiz Review, 50% of businesses with an online presence were using social media, compared with just 29% in 2010.  In the next 12 months, the majority of the 725 businesses polled plan to increase their investment in website and internet tools.

But it’s not enough that your business is using social media – you need to be using it in the right way.  That’s where marketing specialist Kerry Ensor, founder of Social Media Mgr, comes in.  The impact of specialist advice on business social media strategy can be the difference between success and failure.

Some local businesses have shared their experiences on how social media has helped them.

.

Is anybody out there?


For social media to be effective you need to be where your customers are, … Read More

Using Video in your online marketing

Posting and sharing video on your website and social media platforms is a great way of connecting to your customers, whether its your own video or linking/embedding someone else’s.

We’ve all seen the viral video campaigns.   They range from cute to bizarre to emotional and more often than not gain media attention because of the amount of people who have viewed them and the impact this then has on the person concerned.  Case in point, in yesterday’s news the story of the boy who was bullied and fought back.

Here’s another, a video showing a babies’ reaction to his mother blowing her nose (!) that’s gathered well over 9 million views in just one week(!), proving that babies are always appealing…click here to view (embedding has now been disabled)
Read More

Researching your Competitors using Social Media

I have just read a very good article in the Social Media Examiner called How to Gain Competitive Insight with Social Media.

.

This is a very interesting topic which not only highlights  a) how you can research your competitors online, beyond Google, but also, b)  gives some insight into what you can be doing online yourself, in order to be one step ahead of your competitors.

.

The further advantage is that you can research what people in your industry are doing in other territories of the world – this can also give you a competitive edge for your local business ahead of others.  Great stuff !

.

The article gives some good tips of researching competitors – have a read of the article to find out how to do the following indepth research.  There are also references and links to some good online tools you can use:… Read More

Sky News Australia talks Social Media for Small Business

I have just watched a fantastic news clip from Sky News from last Friday (12th Nov), called Technology Behind Business where they interview a panel of Australian Social Media experts.

If you haven’t got 13 mins to watch the interview in full, I have summarised it below.  Some great content, especially how they summarise Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin from a business perspective.  Also, I enjoyed listening to hear the Aussie accent for a change  :)

Summary:

It starts off introducing the topic by saying that

SME’s (small to medium sized businesses) view Social Media as the “unknown” with more than 50% currently shying away from it …… Read More

Flashmob Marketing

After watching Jamie’s Oliver’s Food Revolution the other night and seeing the Flash Mob he organised, I searched on the web to find out more about this “Flashmob” marketing technique and what it’s all about.

A Flash Mob is a true example of interactive marketing.  It’s where marketers create a really unusual experience in a really normal place, usually involving music and dance.

Obviously not the stuff of small-business marketing, but fun to watch: the power of the interaction of people and the ongoing “viral marketing” using YouTube.

This one happened just a couple of weeks ago at Heathrow Airport – it involved 500 people and was the basis of an advertisement for T-Mobile – what a great welcome home for some unsuspecting passengers!

Last year, T-Mobile also did something similar (but a bit more staged) in Trafalgar Square  which involved 13,500 people (I love the song, and the memories of London!)… Read More