Category Archives: Social Media Tips

Is It Legal to Post Photos From Google Images On My Facebook Page? | by Noe Gaytan

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Noe Velasco
Latest posts by Noe Velasco (see all)

Photo Credit: MikeBlogs on Flickr

If there is one thing that I have learned from working with social media, it’s that people love photos. Just look at the countless image sharing web sites that have popped up such as Instagram and Flickr. Almost every good article that you will come across on the internet will also include a picture. When we make Facebook posts for our clients, we always get more Shares and Likes if we include an image. For whatever reason, people are just naturally drawn to visuals. So when the need for photographs arises, many people look to Google Images and don’t think twice about posting it on their Facebook. While this may be morally or socially acceptable to do on a personal page, there are deeper legal and ethical implications when doing this on a business page.

There is a term in law known as “the three a.m. stoplight”. If you pull up to a red light at three in the morning, and there are no cars around, is it illegal to run it? The answer is yes, it is illegal. However, chances are you won’t get caught so most people choose to take that risk. The same applies to sharing images on the internet. If I were to take a photo from somebody’s blog and post it on my Facebook page without proper attribution, I would be infringing on their copyright. Internet culture has evolved so that most people don’t really consider copyrights. We choose to run that red light because, hey what are the chances that blogger is going to happen upon my Facebook page, right? Most people may choose to take that risk with their own personal accounts. But business owners with their reputation on the line will certainly think twice about it.

Luckily, there are ways around this. So you think that picture of the cute kitten would be perfect to post and show your followers? Well you can get permission the old fashioned way: just ask nicely. Wherever the image originated from, you might be able to contact the owner. However, since the internet is a share-happy place, the post you find might be a re-post of a re-post of a re-post, and the person you try contacting may not be the proper copyright holder. In that case, it would be safer not to use the image. Another approach is to specifically search for “free to use” images. These can easily be filtered through an advanced search on most image databases. In most cases you will be required to properly attribute the work by including a link or naming the author. There are even ways to shorten the URL and make the link less intrusive.

Many people look to Google Images to find pictures because it is what they are most familiar with. But the question “Is it legal to post photos from Google Images on my Facebook Page?” Google Images is a search service that compiles images but it is not a database. Any image found through Google Images is coming from a separate site. It would be that site that holds the copyright. There are other web sites that ARE media libraries where you can find photos and videos, often for a price. Getty, AP, and Reuters are the top paid sources. Flickr is an excellent place for finding free to use images.

If you come across an image you want to share, you can take one of two approaches. The first option is to share the link. You can do this by copy and pasting the URL onto your Facebook status, or by clicking on a “Share” or “Like” button that might be on the page. Each one is formatted differently on Facebook, so try both and see which you like better. Or, you can upload the image yourself and be include as part of your post something like “Image by MikeBlogs on Flickr”. Nobody wants to get into a messy copyright infringement situation. But business owners should not let that keep them from sharing images. If you use the proper tools embedded on to most sites, then you are sure to be safe. That is why the share button exists. Social media is all about sharing. Just remember to play nice and give credit where credit is due.

How to Turn an Unhappy Customer Into a Raving Fan

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Zeb Welborn
The owner of Welborn Social Media and the founder of The Tutoring Solution.My goal is to help business owners share the passion they have for their business with as many potential customers as possible.By helping passionate people achieve their dreams I am helping to create a society of passionate leaders that will help inspire others to make their dreams a reality.
Latest posts by Zeb Welborn (see all)

The most frequent question I get from potential clients is, “What happens if somoene posts something negative about us?”

The truth is that if people are upset with your business, they will find a way to get the word out about your unfair service.  If you’re worried about people posting negative comments about your business, then you might want to re-think the way you’re conducting business in the first place.

Today, businesses are being held more and more responsible by their customers.  If one customer feels upset about the way they were treated they can tarnish the reputation of a business.

Everyone’s heard the saying, “A happy customer tells a friend.  An unhappy customer tells the world.”  The greatest thing about the Internet is that it’s changing that relationship.  The new way business is done is, “A happy customer tells its network.  An unhappy customer tells the world. And an organization demonstrates how it treats its customers.”

Before the Internet, if a customer was unhappy, they would leave your store, never come back and tell all their friends about what bad service they received.  The worst thing for a business would be to lose customers and not know why they were losing customers.  Knowing your problems and confronting them will help any organization retain customers and acquire new ones.

Today, businesses have an exciting opportunity to REALLY understand what their customers want based on reviews they leave on a variety of websites.  They can then implement strategies to address the needs of their customers and provide exceptional service.  Some organizations understand the value this can bring to their business and others do not.

Organizations can do one of two things when a customer complains, they can hide from it and hope it goes away or they can react to it and confront the problem head on.  Here are two examples of how organizations react to customer feedback.

Before I begin my story, and tell you about how to turn an unhappy Customer into a Raving Fan, let me say that I’m not in the habit of complaining about organizations, but when I do it’s because I genuinely enjoy my relationship with the business, but they do something that makes it feel like they are trying to cheat me out of something.  These are the only two complaints I’ve had against any company in the past 10 years, but these companies handled them in two distinctly different ways.

#1 – Big League Dreams in Chino Hills –

The Comment:  “Dissappointed.  I played softball and soccer here since the park opened.  I used to love playing here.  The place was packed and although pricey was still a fun place to get my exercise in for the week and release some stress.  After adding up the seasons played here I’m estimating I’ve spent around $4,000 or so.  On Thursday nights play has gone down from 30 games a night to around 12 and they’ve decided to raise prices . . . I came into the pro shop on the third week of the season to pay my player fee because my coach forgot to mention it to us and it slipped my mind.  The response from the proshop was either you pay a $10 penalty making it $40 or you can’t play.  Considering I’ve been a loyal customer for nearly a decade I expect some allowances to be made for this type of situation.  Not only were they forcing me to pay an additional $10 which made me feel like I was being taken advantage of but they were also condescending and accusatory in blaming me for the oversight.  I go to their park to relax and have a good time, not to feel cheated.  This is my last season at Big League Dreams.  I used to love playing here and I hope they realize that making their customers happy is their number 1 priority.  Deleting comments to Facebook only add to the misguided efforts of their business.  I hope they can turn it around.  I would love to see Big League Dreams be great again.”

The Response:  I originally posted a similar comment to their Facebook page and after many of my friends began liking the comment and reiterating how frustrated they were the administrator deleted my comment adding to my frustration.  I never received any response from Big League Dreams and as a result me and my entire softball team decided to play at another venue.  In addition this comment and others left by frustrated players were left up for all to see.

The Outcome:  Just from our team, Big League Dreams lost close to $4,000 per year in happy, satisfied customers who would have continued to use their fields and be happy to do so.  Yet, when the opportunity arose to fix a minor problem by their staff we felt mistreated and so, we took our business elsewhere.

#2 – 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport – Ontario

The Comment:  “Unhappy.  Tell me if I’m missing something here.  I’ve been a member of 24 hour fitness in Chino Hills for years, my brother and I wanted to join the gym and he gets quoted a price of $39.99, meanwhile, me a loyal customer for years gets quoted at $69.99 because I’m already a member at another gym.  And they won’t let me cancel and renew my membership under this new plan.  Common sense would tell any organization that you treat your customers well . . . instead giving me an ultimatum, pay up or cancel my membership.  I’ve enjoyed my experience at the 24 hour fitness in Chino Hills, but feel angry and dissappointed that an organization as big as 24 would work so hard to try and stick it to their current, loyal customers.  I hope things in the organization change.  Other than that it looked like a nice facility, but you can be sure I will never use 24 hour fitness again.”

The Response:  Within the hour this posting, I received a call from the same individual that gave me the ultimatum to cancel my membership saying that she had worked out a way we could stay at the club for the agreed upon price for my brother.  Two days later I received another email from the Club Manager asking if there was anything she could do to help me become a part of the club.

The Outcome:  24 Hour Fitness could have missed out on $960 per year from my brother and I.  After posting my original comment, I was committed to never using 24 Hour Fitness again . . . Today, I am telling YOU what a great organization 24 Hour Fitness is.

24 Hour Fitness gets the power of negative reviews, social media and the Internet and will continue to thrive.  Big League Dreams in Chino Hills does not and will continue to struggle.

Review sites, can be extremely valuable to any business.  Most people won’t post negative reviews about a business, they will just refuse to go back.  I wrote those reveiws because I enjoyed spending my time at both places and wanted to continue our relationship.  One company made it easy to do so and the other did not.

The Internet is changing the way business works.  Today’s successful businesses will embrace negative comments as feedback and attempt to fix the problems that upset their customers and not try to hide those comments.  They will embrace them and then work to come up with solutions that will make their customers happy.

Happy customers make frequent customers. And frequent customers make happy businesses.

24 Hour Fitness Super Sport in Ontario

By the way, I revised my Yelp Review for 24 Hour Fitness to read as follows:

“UPDATE:  I received a call from 24 Hour Fitness shortly after posting this comment.  They listened and worked hard to correct the problem.  We are now members of the 24 Hour Fitness in Chino and are thankful that the staff at 24 Hour Fitness took the time to handle our situation in order for us to become customers at 24 Hour Fitness.  While our initial experience was less than ideal the staff, in particular Caren, worked with us to ensure our happiness.  Thank you 24 Hour Fitness and Caren.”

24 Hour Fitness knows how to turn an unhappy customer into a raving fan.  Do you?

At Welborn Social Media we can help turn unhappy customers into raving fans.  We can help monitor what people are saying about you online so you can take action to make sure you retain customers and bring in happy new ones.  Contact Zeb today to find out how Welborn Social Media can help improve your online reputation management and marketing efforts – (909) 973 – 9089.

 

A Content Marketing Hub Every Marketer Must Have | by Niveen Salem

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Zeb Welborn
The owner of Welborn Social Media and the founder of The Tutoring Solution.My goal is to help business owners share the passion they have for their business with as many potential customers as possible.By helping passionate people achieve their dreams I am helping to create a society of passionate leaders that will help inspire others to make their dreams a reality.
Latest posts by Zeb Welborn (see all)

Niveen Salem – Elite Marketing Secrets

A Content Marketing Hub Every Marketer Must Have

What is a content marketing hub every marketer must have?

Sonia Simone, an author and one of Copyblogger’s co-founders calls it a “content hub – a centerpiece for your content marketing”. You probably figured it out. Yes, it’s a blog!

What is a Blog?

A blog is a online educational center about your business based on value offered. In marketing terms, it’s called attraction marketing. It’s simply your real estate piece of land on the internet. It’s a place to interact with your potential customers. But before you start a blog you need to understand your audience. This will stem from having a strong niche. Only then you’ll be able to research their problems, issues and concerns and help them find the solutions through writing a content marketing strategy about the problems. It’s the foundation of all social media tools.

But, wait a second: I thought social media is Twitter and Facebook?

Social media outlets are great to start a conversation but ultimately you want to bring your visitors back to your home base – your blog. Creating a social media marketing plan for your blog is essential in promoting your content. Here comes the importance of all social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube and Pinterest.

Why Blogging – 10 Benefits to Start your Own Blog?

  1. Thought Leader: When you blog you’re perceived as a thought leader and an expert in your industry or niche. People will start coming to you for questions, concerns and problems that they need answers for. It creates a conversation rather than a one way monologue.
  2. Trusted Source: When providing valuable content in your blog, your readers will build a trust relationship with you which turns into a lead and a lead turns into a sale.
  3. Blogging Sharpens Your Saw: When you’re blogging regularly, you’re forced to read and educate yourself about your industry. Eventually you’ll become more informed and educated than your competitors. Your presentations will become better, your problem solving abilities and skills will enhance and your tool and resource systems will grow. You’ll simply become a better teacher who have an answer to every question. All this from blogging!
  4. Freedom: A blog gives you an incredible amount of freedom where no one can tell you what to promote or not. You have total control over your content and your audience. No one has the right to flag your content as inappropriate or decide suddenly to cancel your Facebook Fan Page or delete your LinkedIn group discussions. One of my LinkedIn group discussions was suddenly deleted after reaching 42 comments in a few days!
  5. You have 100% control over the look, design and functionality of your site
  6. Blogging Traffic: Statistics show that blogging creates 55% more traffic and visitors to companies. Source: Hubspot.
  7. Build a Tribe: Blogging creates a tribe of followers, fans, readers and build relations with potential customers
  8. Your blog is a great way to generate leads. You can always make money blogging by monetizing your blog if you’re in the affiliate marketing industry
  9. You can include many sources of content marketing in your blog (not only writing) – such as a video or a podcast.
  10. By 2013, it is projected that 128 million people in the US will be blog readers. Source: MyMarketingDept.

There are 100’s of other statistics that you can search online to find out more benefits of blogging.

How to Create a Blog?

Nowadays creating a blog became a very simple process as 1, 2, 3:

  1. You need to choose and create a domain name
  2. Then create a web hosting account
  3. Then use a simple WordPress blog theme

How to Blog?

I know the objection as I was there before you: ” But I’m not a writer! What am I going to write about?” There are 5 reasons why you can become a killer blogger. How to blog is very simple once you follow these steps:

1. Write about your passion
2. Offer valuable dynamic content and avoid putting your readers to sleep with these 6 ways.
3. Use marketing tactics and strategies when writing a blog post. Here are 3 valuable tactics:

  • Be the Resource Your Customers Really Need
  • Answer the Unanswered Questions
  • Find the Questions Your Customers are Asking

4. You’ll always need to improve your blog post using these 5 tips

  • Plan your blog post before you start writing
  • Give examples of how and what to do, not only why
  • Always end your post with a call to action
  • Edit your title, introduction and conclusion
  • Use easy formatting

5. Content curation is a well known concept in blogging which allows you to write a blog post about something you’ve read online. THE RULE is to refer to the author’s name and article link in your post. When I first started blogging on my blog – Elite Marketing Secrets – I used this method a lot until I was able to create my own content.

6. You can find blogging ideas to create your own content using these sources:

  • Other blogs (curating content)
  • Books
  • Magazines
  • Movies
  • TV
  • Forums
  • Friends
  • Real life story
  • Success / failure stories
  • Google
  • Social media
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Best of…..
  • How to…..
  • Case studies
  • Solve a problem
  • Your blog comments

7. Humanize or personalize your blog posts with your personality. Nothing is more boring than reading a blog post on a certain subject without feeling the author’s personality involved in the post. Mention your experiences, likes, dislikes, others experiences or stories. Storytelling is the #1 reason for grabbing your audience attention. It’s key in content marketing. If you master storytelling, then you mastered marketing and that is what 99.99% of marketers lack.

8. Here are a few more good blogging practices and tips:

  • Be consistent
  • Be organized
  • Be specific
  • Make it about your audience not about you (be interested not interesting)
  • Write a compelling headline
  • Engage your readers
  • Respond to your comments
  • Promote your content
  • Optimize your post
  • Join a blogging community
  • Share your expertise and others

Free Blogging Book

I’d like to offer a free blogging book here as an added value. Inside the book, you’ll discover how to blog your way to the top of your home business organization. The concepts in this book can be applied on any business.

Click here to get your free blogging book from Elite Marketing Secrets

To Your Success,
Niveen Salem

27 Tips on How to Build a Vibrant Twitter Community

Posted on by
Zeb Welborn
The owner of Welborn Social Media and the founder of The Tutoring Solution.My goal is to help business owners share the passion they have for their business with as many potential customers as possible.By helping passionate people achieve their dreams I am helping to create a society of passionate leaders that will help inspire others to make their dreams a reality.
Latest posts by Zeb Welborn (see all)

@WelbornMedia

Building a Twitter community is the most important skill to develop when starting a Twitter campaign.  Fortunately, building a strong Twitter community is easy to do.  Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to establishing a thriving Twitter community:

  1. Tweet, Tweet Often and Tweet with a Purpose – Before you start your Twitter campaign begin by thinking of your purpose . . . or generate a mission statement.  Our mission statement is to help business owners share their passion with others.  We work with passionate business owners to help them increase their exposure, build their businesses and become positive examples for their communities.  Every tweet we send out is aligned with our goal of helping business owners become successful.  You won’t see tweets from us about what we had for dinner or our plans for the weekend.  Be true to your mission, tweet, and tweet often.  The more active you are on Twitter the faster your community will grow.
  2. Provide Value – Everyone says you need to provide value, but I never really understood what that meant.  Value is an ambiguous term, but it still applies.  My understanding of value is offering something to someone else that is a genuine effort to improve their lives.  Many people online, and on Twitter post what I call, “look at me articles.”  The greatest way to give value and create a more enthusiastic community is to genuinely try to help others.  It helps by addressing specific people’s issues and concerns and then sharing those issues with others.
  3. Actively Listen – The coolest thing about Twitter in my opinion is the search feature, type in any word into the bar at the top of the Twitter page and every single tweet that had that term in it will show up.  This provides marketers with an amazing opportunity to reach out to people who are actively communicating on Twitter.  For our clients we actively look for users who are communicating about their product or service and we reach out to them . . . we listen to them and we alter our strategies based off of their responses.  Listen actively and you will have a more engaged community.
  4. Don’t Sell – Don’t post “Look at Me” articles . . . most people get on Twitter and constantly post tweets that sell . . . buy this or buy that.  Do that and be sure to create a non-existent Twitter community.  No one wants to constantly be sold to.  So, don’t sell . . . be helpful and sales will come.  Use Twitter as a way to generate relationships first . . . trust second . . . a whole bunch of other things between and sales last.
  5. Follow Others – Follow others who post tweets that resonate with you and engage with them.  The more you engage others, the more likely they are to engage with you.
  6. Use Your Face as Your Profile Pic – People connect more to other people so be sure to use a profile picture that shows your face and preferrably a happy face at that.  We personally use a logo for our business twitter account, @WelbornMedia, but I usually connect with more people using my personal Twitter account, @ZebWelborn which has a picture of my beautiful face.  It always feels nicer to know who your talking to and easier for people to develop an emotional connection with you . . . thus making your community stronger.
  7. Look at Other Peoples Lists.  Once you find people to connect with and people who you enjoy communicating with, check out the lists they’ve created.  Chances are there will be more people like them that share their passions and interests and you can connect with them thus building your Twitter community.
  8. Jump into Conversations – Don’t be afraid to get your feet wet.  Conversations are happending all over Twitter all the time.  Twitter chats are a great way to get involved.  But, most importantly, don’t be afraid to respond to people . . . most people love getting responses to their tweets, so don’t be shy and meet more people.
  9. Followers Don’t Matter.  Active Followers Do. – The amount of people following you will not matter when it comes to making sales . . . the amount of engaged followers will.  There are tons of automatic following programs and Twitter has a large amount of users who don’t use the service on a regular basis, meaning a follower who is no longer using Twitter is no longer seeing your Tweets.  Building an engaged following is much more important than building numbers.  Don’t be obsessed with numbers, be obsessed with relationships.
  10. Be Consistent – I heard an analogy once that being a Twitter user is like being a farmer.  Few people have the patience to be a farmer, to plant the seeds, to tend to the plants all year long and then to harvest the plants at the end of the season.  A farmer can’t be absent during the process . . . if he does not tend to his crops, his crops will die before it’s time to harvest.  Twitter is the same way . . . You plant seeds by initiating conversations with different people.  You cultivate those relationships on a regular consistent basis and, then, and only then will you harvest the fruits of your labor.  If you ignore your crops they die.  If you ignore your Twitter followers they will not become your customers.

  11. The Tutoring Solution – http://www.thecatutoringsolution.com/

    Share Stuff – As the owner of The Tutoring Solution, our mission was to help inspire students to become successful in and out of the classroom.  To develop connections with other groups similar to ours we began sharing messages from other members of the #EdChat group, as a result they learned about our programs and our goals and began sharing our stuff.  We then, worked together to promote our missions and our community grew.

  12. Use directories like Twellow, Twubble, Twits Like Me, etc.  There are numerous Twitter directories that has influential Twitter users in your field, you can then use those directories to follow people who share your interests and in turn may follow you.  At the least you’ll see what influential people are doing to make an impact in your community.
  13. Follow those who follow you.  If someone follows you and they’re an active Twitter user, follow them back . . . not only should you follow them, but you should also reach out to them and thank them for following you.  I feel honored every time someone new follows me and I want to make sure my Twitter users know how honored I truly am.
  14. Develop a Strong Bio – Often times, Twitter users will check out your Twitter bio to see if you’re someone they would like to follow.  Be sure your Twitter bio is compelling and lets Twitter users know exactly what kind of person you are and what kind of relationship you will be creating with them.  Optimize your Twitter account . . . be sure to include target keywords, links to your website, add your location and give users a reason to follow you.
  15. Use a Strong Brand Name – Your name is important.  Use your own personal name, a name that goes with your brand, and one that Twitter users will want to connect with.
  16. Create Lists – You can create lists on Twitter which will help you when you start to follow too many people to keep track of.  I’m involved in many Twitter discussions:  SEO, Google AdWords, Social Media, and Education just to name a few.  By putting your followers into groups you can then jump into their discussions by accessing the list you have created for each group.
  17. Introduce People to Your Followers – As you communicate with people its important to share them with others.  If you know two people who share the same passion, connect them with each other.  Twitter is all about building relationships . . . Help people build relationships and they will help you build your community.
  18. Follow People from Different Niches – Everyone has their area of expertise, but that doesn’t mean you need to limit the users you follow.  If I only engaged in discussions with people who associated themselves with “Social Media,” I would be missing out on the potential to connect with new customers.  As a result, I look for niches where my services could either be used or easily referred by and connect with people there.
  19. Reciprocate – If someone does something nice for you . . . return the favor.
  20. Try to Connect with Twitter Friends Offline – While working for Los Serranos Country Club, I am frequently trying to connect with golfers offline.  Often, they will tell me they are headed to the golf course and I will connect with them.  This gives me an opportunity to meet them and get a face to the name, but it also enhances the bond we have with each other and the golf course.  I’ve always told businesses that one of the benefits of attracting people that use social media is that they have access to much more people, the people who I have met at the golf course have sent positive messages about Los Serranos Country Club to their lists of friends on Twitter, Facebook, through email and in person.  If you can build those connections you’re on the right track.  Check out this video of a user we connected with offline from our social media campaign – Louis Castillo on Golf at Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills.
  21. Build Up.  Don’t Put Down. – Nobody likes a bully.  Being negative and angry is not conducive towards building a strong community.  Everyone loves people who make them feel good about themselves.  Be a person who makes people feel good and your community will grow.
  22. Use Twitter Tools – There are enormous amounts of Twitter tools you can use to  help manage your Twitter account(s).  Do online searches or ask other Twitter users how Twitter tools have helped them.  I’ve personally used HootSuite, TweetDeck, TweetAdder and TweetChat at different times to help me manage my Twitter accounts, but there are lots more.
  23. Learn the Lingo – Do you know what DM, @, RT, MT,  Tweet, Tw, # mean?  Ask the people on Twitter and they’ll tell you.  (I can’t tell you everything)
  24. Pay Attention to @ Replies – (Ok, I’ll tell you this one)  @ Replies are when people mention you directly in a tweet.  Respond to all @ replies in order to generate a discussion and build a stronger relationship.  @ replies is where I spend most of my time on Twitter . . . when you build a big enough community you will spend most of your time there too.
  25. Add Your Twitter ID to All Signatures – As with anything you’re using, be sure to let as many people know you’re using Twitter as possible.  This means including it in any documentation you may have, in your email signatures, on your Facebook page and anywhere else you can think of.
  26. Read the Bios of Those You Follow – You can develop an understanding of what makes people tick by reading their profiles and then develop more meanginful relationships as a result . . . the more you care about their interests, the more they will care about yours.
  27. Know Who the Players Are – Know who the leaders are in your industry on Twitter . . . Follow them, learn from them and try to connect with them.  By reaching out to people who are perceived as the experts in an industry you are associating yourself with the experts . . . and who knows . . . if you follow all these steps you may become the expert yourself.
  28. Get a Personality – Get creative with your tweets . . . the more creative you are, the more you’ll stand out and the more people will want to follow you.

    Scrapbook Expo Tweet

The most important thing to remember when building a vibrant Twitter community is that it takes time and effort.  You must work at it, but that is what makes social media so amazing . . . the small business owners have the same opportunity for success as the big guys and in some cases, when done right, can outshine the largest of competitors.

I am always happy to educate anyone who is interested in learning more about how you can use Twitter, Social Media or the Internet to reach more customers . . . If you would like me to discuss how Twitter can benefit you or your business, please send me an email – Zeb@WelbornSocialMedia.com or call me at (909) 973 – 9089.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making the Most of Twitter

Posted on by
Karen Bardsley
Latest posts by Karen Bardsley (see all)

The way people interact with each other is changing. More and more people are communicating and interacting with one another then ever before. But before you say, “Well, social media allows more people to connect but it doesn’t mean that the connections are meaningful.” Take a moment and think about how you are interacting with people. Are you sending out mass messages or are you encouraging personal relationships? Are you engaging and strengthening communication with people or are you simply talking to people because it is convenient?” Do you only communicate when you want something? How much time do you spend making an effort? Your relationships are only what you make them. Like it or not, the facts still remain.* You are in control of your social media experience.

Let’s focus on Twitter. Twitter can be a very educational and fun resource. Not only is it great for keeping people informed about your daily life but it’s the conversations that are most rewarding. Interactions are fast, short and generally straight to the point. One of my favorite uses is simply asking people questions, there is a fantastic community spirit on Twitter, most people like helping fellow tweeters or just giving advice. One of most under utilized tools on Twitter is the search tool (www.twitter.com/search), type in a few key phrases and you’ll get an incredible amount of information back. It’s a great conversation starter!

One great way to get to make connections is to find experts and joining their group of followers and friends. When you are doing your search make sure to check out Bios, websites, links, number of followers and read their tweets to see if their content is relevant to you. If you decide it is, see if you can “join the conversation.” Content rules in social media and twitter is no exception so make sure what you contribute isn’t drivel; be genuine, be thoughtful. Reply to tweets, use direct messages but most of all befriend people and gain their respect through meaningful interaction and conversation.

 

* Twitter is a powerful tool, there are: over 465 million accounts, 175 million tweets a day and 1 million accounts are added to Twitter every day. In the U.S. alone there are 107 million users, 33 million in Brazil and nearly 30 million in Japan. “The busiest event in Twitter’s history is now “Castle in the Sky” TV screening 25,088 tweets per second (previous record was the last minutes of the 2012 Superbowl with 10,245 tweets per second).” Statistics and facts – http://www.blogherald.com/2012/02/22/twitter-2012-infographic/

Social Media Strategies Vs. Tactics | Marketing Vs. Advertising

Posted on by
Lacey Welborn
Lacey and her brother Zeb Welborn founded Welborn Media. She has designed and launched websites, several projects, marketing materials, a podcast, a book and more. Her passions include her family, her friends, creating things and helping businesses grow.
Latest posts by Lacey Welborn (see all)

Marketing vs. Advertising

Advertising: The paid, public, non-personal announcement of a persuasive message by an identified sponsor; the non-personal presentation or promotion by a firm of its products to its existing and potential customers.

Marketing: The systematic planning, implementation and control of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products.

When talking with business owners and decision makers we are constantly inundated with questions about ROI, or Return on Investment.  While platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google have attempted to address those concerns the fact remains that it is difficult to track the complete ROI benefits social media can bring to a business.  Advertising makes it very easy to track the ROI of a particular campaign because it’s a one-shot deal which can be easily tracked.  Marketing on the other hand is very difficult to assess because it encorporates the overall plan of a business to attract new customers.

Marketing is a strategy, and advertising is a tactic that can be an implementation of a marketing strategy. However, advertising does not usually work alone toward its goal. Other tactics such as market research, media planning, public relations, product pricing, distribution, customer support, sales strategy, and community involvement are implemented alongside advertising. All of these elements must not only work independently but they also must work together towards the bigger goal. A tactical executive may be very skilled at putting into motion plans to get results, but fail to see the bigger picture. That is why they may confuse advertising for marketing. Strategic executives will have a better grasp on bigger concepts, but may not understand the best way to reach their customers.

In Chet Holmes’ book, The Ultimate Sales Machine, he tells us there are three types of executives, “A full 90 percent are what I call ‘tactical executives,’ while 9 percent are what I’d call ‘strategic executives.’ And only 1 percent – the most effective executives – possess the rare combination of both tactical and strategic abilities.”

Ultimate Sales Machine, Three Types of Executives. 90% Tactical, 9% Strategic, 1% Both

Holmes goes on to say, “Tactical executives think only in terms of making the sale for today. They don’t understand strategy . . . Strategic executives will often look at the situation from a global perspective and see if they can develop some high-level strategy that might help to solve the problem. These executives are brilliant. They create concepts, ideas, and strategies that most would never adopt. But strategic executives are not good at, or interested in, tactics. Hence, I’ve seen many big ideas that never come to fruition because strategic executives fail in the implementation of their big ideas.”
How far ahead do you see?
The executive who thinks both tactically and strategically can develop the big ideas and the big strategies and also use discipline and determination to see those brilliant strategies implemented at the tactical level. And just for the record, the second type of executive, the strategist, can often be paired with a strong tactician and be very successful. However, the strategist may have to keep explaining and selling his or her ideas again and again to the tactical executive.”

Social media is most effective when it is used as a strategy and not a tactic.  While a social media campaign can include some tactics and advertising features, it is most successful when used as a tool to market to potential and current customers.  When done properly social media can have a profound impact on any business.

To use social media properly it is imperative to become a social business.

 

Who’s Your Ideal Customer?

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Zeb Welborn
The owner of Welborn Social Media and the founder of The Tutoring Solution.My goal is to help business owners share the passion they have for their business with as many potential customers as possible.By helping passionate people achieve their dreams I am helping to create a society of passionate leaders that will help inspire others to make their dreams a reality.
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Ideal Customer vs. Average Customer by Cynthia De La Torre

Who’s your ideal customer? Depending on your business, the difference between average and ideal customers could be hundreds, thousands or millions of dollars.

The average customer is someone who buys the product or service and has no relationship with the business beyond the buying and selling of goods.

The ideal customer is someone who continually buys the product or service and promotes the product or service to others.

As an entrepreneur, I learned early on that my success was dependent upon having people invested in my business and sharing my business with others. The Tutoring Solution, which provides tutoring for students across Southern California, was able to locate these ideal customers through email and social media campaigns. These ideal customers loved our product, loved the relationship I had developed with them, and encouraged other parents with kids in need to sign up for our tutoring services. One parent emailed her entire school telling them what a great job we were doing with her son, another encouraged five different families to receive tutoring from us and another, a High School Counselor, continues to refer every struggling student she comes across our way. These connections are not made by chance, they are fostered and have resulted in thousands of dollars in increased revenue.

Facebook and Twitter have given businesses the opportunity to locate these ideal customers and develop a win-win relationship that, when used effectively, will result in increased revenue. Not only do they make it easy to identify our ideal customers, but Facebook and Twitter encourage our customers to be more like our ideal customers. Every time they “like” our page, every time they “comment” on our page,and every time they “share” one of our posts, they are acting like a sales machine for our business.

Welborn Social Media has helped locate these ideal customers for the businesses we work. At Scrapbook Expo we developed a strong relationship with a scrapbooker from Georgia who continually re-tweeted our stuff. We connected with her and she told us she was contacting all of her Scrapbooking friends from across the United States to attend one of the Scrapbook Expos. Not only that, but she was sending our sales messages off to everyone she knew. Similarly, at Los Serranos, we located two fervent supporters of the golf course; we encouraged a stronger relationship which has resulted in the creation of our 19th Hole Stories where golfers share their most memorable events at the golf course and have taken their weekly golf match from a rival course to ours. At WireSpeed Systems we connected with Cisco Systems – the largest producer of computer networking equipment – where they made us their SuperFan of the month and consequently shared our business with more than 225,00o of their followers.

Facebook and Twitter give us the opportunity to identify, connect and grow our relationship with our biggest supporters. In the tutoring business, this has resulted in thousands of dollars in increased revenue. In other businesses, it could mean much, much more.

By its very nature, Facebook and Twitter encourage the sharing of information, and people will share what is important to them. If you give them an opportunity to connect with your business and make it easy for them to share your product or service, your business will benefit. If you want to make more money for your business, find who’s your ideal customer. From my experiences there is no easier way to find your ideal customers than through social media.

Contact Zeb Welborn today at (909) 973 – 9089 to schedule a free personalized presentation to demonstrate how we can help grow your business.