Dangling The Carrot - But Which Carrot Will Work?

Or in a bit simpler, and not so dirty sounding, terms “the call to action.” A phrase used to describe that which motivates people to act. 10% off, a free cookie, a scandalous picture, there are as many options for creating a call to action as there are thoughts. 

Which leads to the problem of determining which is the right one for your business. What is it that you have to offer that will get your customer base to act? For every business this is going to be a bit different, and to discover that little gem of knowledge you will need to understand who is your audience. You will need to dig deep - use a survey, ask your customers, look at what typical perks your customers love to get - and use it.

For example, if you own a restaurant, and you are looking to drive more traffic to your drive-thru, you offer a special on Foursquare. Everyone loves a discount, even if it’s a small one. Plus, it’s simple and more impotently it is free to set up. All it costs you is 5, 10, 25% off all of the orders in which the customer checked-in and went through the drive-thru. Simple as that. 

And, you can customize your call to action  to help you determine it’s ROI - because you always want to know if it worked. With the example of the restaurant drive-thru. You simply keep count of the traffic that is going through your drive-thru before you launch the Foursquare deal, and then measure it against the amount and use of the deal after it’s launch. This will give you a fairly good idea if the deal worked, or if you need to tweak it a bit. Maybe you’ll need to utilize other types of media/social media in your effort - try advertising the spacial on Facebook, Twitter, or your next radio commercial just to get the buzz going. Social media works best in combination. 

The possibilities are endless when it comes to creating a call to action - and it’s easy. You just need to look at your customer base, and what you can offer to sweeten the deal enough to get them to do whatever it is you want them to do. Be creative, think outside the box, and most important give you customers what they want.  

Social Media and Small Businesses

I am amazed by the number of small businesses that are still not making use of, or barely making use of social media. Now, I am not sure if it is because I am immersed in the world of social networking all day, everyday, but for me using social networking as a tool for getting your business or organization’s name out there, well is as simple and easy as it comes. 

Even at its easiest, every business, organization or cause should have a Twitter and Facebook account. Really, what is an hour of your day for more business and exposure. Yet, I know so many of my favorite local business and organizations are not taking advantage of these amazing, and might I add free, marketing tools. 

Facebook, admittedly, is not the easiest of social networks for business and organizations to get started up, but it can be done. Not to mention, there are way more people on Facebook than Twitter, but to succeed in Facebook you have to put forth a lot more effort. Sometimes, even some money in as well. However, if you have the resources, like extra time, a little cash, and a whole lot of gumption, then Facebook will help take any business to the next level. There are endless options to work with in Facebook, such as Tabs, Pages, Ads, and all of which can be specifically designed to get your business the well-deserved attention. 

As for Twitter. Well…Twitter is quite possibly the easiest social networking site there is, and one of the most underused by businesses in my opinion. Twitter, and all of its eccentricities, is an ideal marketing tool for the small business. Not only is it completely free, you can basically setup your entire day in about an hour. A few quick searches on google news, some daily specials, coupons, or musings, and you are off. The hardest part about Twitter is staying on top of it, but even that has gotten easier with the loads of new social media consultants that are out there. Huhum, I have to insert a small and very shameless plug that Social Spacing can help you with those needs. OK, back on track. So for me, I find that Twitter is a tool for the masses. Small or large, businesses and organizations should be using Twitter everyday to let the world know they are there and ready. Only thing it is going to cost you is some time.

Don’t be afraid, and just do it. Social Media shouldn’t be scary - it should be fun. Reach out to you customers, make some contacts, and you will be surprised at the results. 

Facebook Is Changing!

Well It has finally happened. My Facebook News Feed has started to change. For the longest time I have lived a puritan Facebook life. I did my best to keep my feed simply updates from my friends. Then there was the advent and boom of Facebook quizzes, games, and applications, which only furthered my resolve against diverging from the traditional newsfeed of my friends constant updates and yammering. But then it happened, Facebook decided to change Fan to Like, and my whole world has started to change. As a social media consultant, I new that this change was going to have a very significant effect, but I didn’t falter that it would change my Facebook Puritanism resolve.

I figured I would always keep on track with my “updates only” News Feed, which I had gone so far as to block a number of family members for posting to much junk on my wall. I never thought I would be sitting here today, writing this post, and telling all of you that my Facebook News Feed has changed. It was like I woke up one morning to find updates from social media sites, the Smithsonian, Mashable, and so many other sources that I had “Liked” showing up in my pristine “Friends only” News Feed. Then, if that wasn’t bad enough I have, as of late, caught myself paying more attention and craving more information from these Pages than I am from my friends, and this leaves me wondering about what this could mean. 

I am left feeling a little confused and excited. Confused, because of my Puritan News Feed past, excited about the evolution that social media, specially Facebook in this case, is experiencing.  It makes me wonder about what will be next. I had read on Twitter today that Social Media is predicted to die in 2012, but with these changes in Facebook it makes me wonder if death is the wrong euphemism, and maybe we should be ready to accept that all online communication is simply moving forward to the next stage in online communication evolution.

So, I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what’s coming down the line.

A Mixed Bag of Feelings - Hash Tags and Twitter

To hashag or not to hashtag: that is the question. Well…it is at least the question that is going through my mind.  In the beginning of my Twitter life hashtags were all the rage, but then out of the blue Google decided to launch their Real-Time Search and hashtags were out.  

Hashtags, through the eyes of Google, are thought to be “spammy,” but I am not sure this is true. Now, I know that I am now suposed to question all-mighty Google, but I am going to have to disagree on this one.  Sure, Hashtags are used in spam tweets, but hashtags are also a great way to get your message out to a specific funnel. For example, a specific event or conference will use them to keep track of the online chatter about the event. For me, living in the West Texas Town of El Paso; I can’t even do a simple Twitter search for “El Paso”  because I always receive a ton of results that have nothing to do with El Paso. Why you might ask? Because “El” and “Paso” are very common terms in Spanish, so how do I find the results I am looking for? Well, I simply search “#ElPaso.” This little trick ensures that I receive the tweets about El Paso that I am looking for, and not a thousand random Spanish tweets.

So, what do you do? Do you hashtag, do you not? Well that is going to be up to you. There are a ton of mixed feelings about hashtags, but no one authority. The main goal of Twitter and other social media sites is to communicate, and if you think that the use of hashtags with help you, then use them. Viva la Hashtag!  

Twitter’s Paradigm Shift: From Conversations to Information

First it was MySpace, followed by Facebook and Twitter - each were herald as the king of online communication - killing their predecessor at connecting people the world wide. However, with each of these social networks the act of creating a place that would foster communication fell short.

Twitter, was thought to be IT - the one great tool that would create a place that is ideal for communication and networking. This was until Google Buzz came to town. Now, I am not singing the praises of Buzz, because it has a long time to go before it grows up, but I do want to take a closer look at the paradigm shift that Google Buzz has shoved Twitter into.

While Twitter can and does foster communication, it would seem that in the wake of the birth that Google Buzz that Twitter has found a new place in the grand scheme of the social media world. No longer will twitter be that place that individuals have conversations with people from around the world, but now, Twitter has become that place to find information. Twitter has become that place to share and find information quickly. A place where one would look for a quick answer, like who won the game or which celebrity fell on the runway.

Twitter has developed into a place to find answers, discover new bits of information, and make a quick connection with anyone who has the smallest bit of interest in the topics you are looking for. And, with the recent arrival of Buzz, Twitter has been pushed even further into that corner of information sharing, and further from the realm of conversation.

Now, I am sure there are a number of individuals who are out there who are depressed  about the new Twitter paradigm, but for the platform that Twitter is built upon it does seem better suited for the quick spread of information…especially after the birth of Buzz, which seems poised to be that king of conversation.