As I listened to presentations in social media marketing events and read emails and comments from you, my readers, the pain was clear:
Social media marketing takes too much time!
So when I was at Social Media Marketing World, I cornered Ian Cleary, founder of RazorSocial.com and expert in social media tools and technology.
What tools does Ian himself use every day — both free and paid — to save time while getting results in social media? Watch this video to find out:
When you’re running a small business, time, energy and money are your most valuable resources. Those resources are usually in scarce supply so you have to pay even greater attention when trying to attract your ideal client.
Put simply, an ideal client is a specific group of people who share the same common traits and problems that your offering (product or service) can help them resolve. They buy what you are selling and provide your company the best word-of-mouth recommendation to their friends and networks.
Here at PR in Your Pajamas, we talk about the various PR tools at your disposal. However, there’s a danger of missing the forest for the trees. That is, being preoccupied with individual tools and losing sight of the bigger picture.
Talk to a PR consultant and many are hired when something urgent comes along: a new product announcement, a major customer comes on board, something negative happens and there is a crisis in reputation management or the stock price takes a dive. At this point, it’s tempting to take a shotgun approach to PR: solve a specific and time-sensitive need. However, it’s better to approach things strategically.
Strategic PR maximizes your resources to ensure you meet your business’ most important goals. Here are the key elements:
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Don’t look now, but mobile-friendly marketing is now de rigueur.
More and more people are accessing the internet through their mobile devices. In fact, Microsoft Tag estimates that mobile access to the internet will overtake desktop access by 2014.
When it comes to social media, an increasing number of people are using their smartphones and tablets to access Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. According to a report by eMarketer, 46% of those surveyed accessed social networks from their smartphones in 2012, while 16% used their tablets.
Emails are also increasingly consumed in mobile devices. Based on March 2013 statistics, 43% of email is read on a mobile device. We’re seeing the same trend in PR in Your Pajamas: 50% of our subscribers read our emails on their iPhones.
Clearly, mobile marketing is something you can no longer ignore.
But is mobile marketing for everybody?
Viral videos, link baits, Google ranking…. These signs of online brand popularity sure can be intimidating. Especially if you’re in a type of business that isn’t exactly mainstream sexy or interesting.
What if you’re in an industry that’s boring? Is there no hope for you to succeed at getting exposure for your business, whether in traditional or social media?
Of course not.
While some products and services are more exciting and have more mass appeal than others, every business can reach out to its target market in a meaningful and compelling way.
Below are some ideas to help you see the noteworthy and newsworthy parts of your business.
You may be wondering why I didn’t call this post “takeaways” from Social Media Marketing World. That’s because I didn’t get to see all the sessions I wanted to see (so I grabbed the recordings) and I’m writing this from the plane with a glass of wine so, frankly, I haven’t had the chance to think strategically about the big picture takeaways!
I’m so excited about the quick tips and tools I picked up from some of the best social media marketers in the world that I wanted to share them with you as soon as possible.
Here you go: Read More→
One of the defining moments that shaped my career was taking my first accounting class in university. I hated it. I knew it was something I was going to avoid at all costs, for as long as I could. I immediately switched out of my business major, and studied for a communications degree instead.
For a long time in my small business, I just avoided looking at the numbers. I simply put receipts and expenses in a box, printed out all my invoices and handed them over to my accountant once a year. No worries!
The problem with that system is that I never really knew where things stood. Sure, I knew how much monthly revenue was coming in and the big expenses like paying contractors who worked for me.
But I never really knew the big picture of where the business was going and more importantly, how it could affect my lifestyle. Knowing where my business stood financially would have made it easier to decide when to launch a new product or service, when to take a new client on and when I could ease up and say no to opportunities that came my way. I had no financial roadmap to follow and more importantly, I wanted my business goals to truly support my lifestyle.
Many years later, I still hand a paper trail every year to my accountant. I’m just not wired to input every expense into online tools like Freshbooks, no matter how simple they make it. Instead, I have a customized Excel spreadsheet that works for what I would like to know. If you hate numbers like me, consider this type of financial planning to support your personal values and what you truly want in life.
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I caught up with Mari Smith, Facebook Marketing Expert, at her Social Media Immersion Day in San Diego, and got the chance to ask her a couple of questions sent by PR in Your Pajamas readers.
The room was busy at the time, and it was very noisy, so do read the summary of her answers below this video: Read More→
Is there a writing style for PR?
Traditionally, yes.
PR writing style tends to be more journalistic than editorial. It’s more informative than salesy.
However, since PR is now going into the realm of content marketing, writing for PR is beginning to encompass different types of writing. This includes blogging, web copywriting, and even writing for video.
But I believe the foundations for good PR writing remain. No matter what medium you’re using, when you’re writing for PR, you strive to be direct to the point, factual, interesting, clear and credible.
Most people treat content marketing as just another tactic to promote your business. However, some believe content marketing is much more than that.
That’s the point of view of Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion and Owner of River Pools & Spas, in his Content Marketing World presentation entitled “Distilling the Magic and the Mystery that is Content Marketing Success.”
Sheridan used content marketing to save his swimming pool business, which was on the brink of bankruptcy. Sheridan’s content marketing was so successful, he is now also a consultant, advising other businesses how to do content marketing effectively.
Sheridan’s main point can be summed up like this: Read More→
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