How to Pitch Social Media: A New Client Presentation Outline for Digital Marketers

Compelled to answer this question on LinkedIn, I thought it would probably be pretty helpful to other too, so if you’re in marketing and you’re pitching social to new clients or up the ladder internally, I hope this outline helps!

Question:

What Social Media points would you cover in “45” minutes delivery to an audience of Business men?

Answer:

1. Why Social Media (keep this short)
   • Demonstrate the dramatic growth of social channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
   • Demonstrate the growing adoption of social media by companies large & small (Coke, Bank of America, etc.)
   • Take advantage of this downloadable (free) social presentation resource from Hubspot with 27 statistics, soundbites, and slides
2. Why NOT Social Media
   • You may have heard that social marketing is cheap or free. I have bad news. While the accounts and many of the tools are cheap or free, marketing via social will cost you time and it may cost you money!
   • Introduce “Myths/Realities of social media” – organic growth is actually pretty hard in social (Facebook wants you to pay so likes don’t come easy, Twitter growth comes through engagement, Social accounts actually come with an obligation to pay attention to them, etc.)
3. Finding Success in Social Media
   • Forget about “social media” … it’s not about being social, it’s about generating leads, managing customer relations, providing customer service, generating buzz or a slew of other strategies. It’s the strategy that’s important, not the social channel – “social” is a tool not a strategy.
   • Introduce Targeting Ideal Customers
   • Introduce Content Development
4. Case Study
   • Provide a simple case study. Consider customer service or channel growth strategies because these tend to show direct correlations between actions and understandable metrics. Examples: Company A uses LinkedIn to reach out to prospects and sees an increase in leads and conversions. Company B solves customer service issues in their channels and customers post testimonial’s thanking them.
   • If you don’t have case studies of your own, you might find a partner who can bring this experience or look to Hubspot or other Inbound Marketing folks for published case studies, usually posted to their blog or in a White Paper.
5. Questions (the most important part):
   • Give ample question time. Try to wrap it up in 30 minutes, if you only have 45 minutes or an hour. This way the audience is sure to get what they came for and, probably more importantly, it’ll allow you to demonstrate your expertise and give you the opportunity to offer individual follow up conversations.
   • Wrap up questions 5 minutes before your out time to give your closing statement!
6. Final Thoughts
   • -You don’t need a Social Strategy, you need a digital strategy!
   • -Jump in, but listen before you start chatting up the channels. Walk, crawl, run.
   • -Get help! A Social Strategist can get help walk you through the process, saving saving you time and headache by identifying results driven opportunities for your business online, optimizing your social sites, training you on the tools that will integrate social use into your (or your staff’s) day and help you set measurable benchmark’s so you’ll know if you’re on the right track.
   • -Social can help you generate leads, connect you with customers & help you grow your business.

   

   Photo credit http://www.BethKanter.org

Let us know if you found this useful, I’d love to get your feedback, suggestions and tips on presenting social. Given a presentation you love or found one you want to share? Leave a link!

If you’re just sitting down to write one – good luck!

Richard

@richardbouchez

You may also be interested in these InovediaMarketing.com articles:

• 10 EASY Ways to Inject Twitter and Facebook into Everyday Business!
• 3 Ways to Laser Focus Your Business for Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.
• Create Amazing Mind Blowing Business Cards NOW!
• Cheap & Easy Web Video You Can Do Too!

Richard Bouchez is a certified Inbound Marketing professional specializing in Social Media Marketing & New Media content development. Richard’s web, audio & video work has been honored with Emmy, Promax & CBA awards.

PROMOTE YOUR TWITTER & FACEBOOK!>>>

How can we help you?

Inovedia Marketing provides the following services, how can we help you?

Social Media Marketing

• We provide training, monitoring, blogging & copy writing services which means we can just get you started or manage and build your social networking efforts!

Multimedia Production

• Let us create your web videos! We have Emmy award winning talent and the know how to create high quality videos & podcasts on a budget. For bigger projects, our access and established relationships with full service facilities means the sky is the limit!

Web Design & New Media Development

• Put the web to work for you! From tweaks to complete redesigns, we’ll transform your website into an engaging resource your ideal customers will frequent! Ask how we can deliver highly target-able audiences to your door through new media product development! We can extend your brand, drive traffic and multiply your reach!

General Creative Services

• Copy-writing, design services, online and traditional marketing campaign development, contest creation & management. Ad creation including banner ads, print, radio, television, newspaper and direct mail.

Email: InovediaMarketing at gmail dot com

Twitter: @inovedia

 

Richard Bouchez is a certified Inbound Marketing professional specializing in Social Media Marketing & New Media content development. Richard’s web, audio & video work has been honored with Emmy, Promax & CBA awards.

3 Ways to Laser Focus Your Business for Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.

 

Lose focus and customers get the wrong message from your new media marketing!

 

FOCUS is the number one obstacle you will face in any “new media,” web or social networking project be it company wide tweeting or starting a Facebook fan page. Without focus businesses “forget” to update websites, they post links  customers don’t care about and generally send mixed messages. It’s no coincidence focus is also the number one obstacle in any marketing project! Everything your company does involving new media – even the content – is marketing and the possibilities are endless so it’s very easy slip off track.

1. Find out WHERE and WHAT your customers are doing online.
   A quick survey can tell you a lot! You can ask your customers as they walk in the door, hand out a short questionnaire, cold call them or whatever is appropriate for your business! Ask about websites they visit like Facebook or Youtube. Ask them how you could serve them better by being there too!CUSTOMIZE it for your biz! @ourbiz tweets u right white tee for Men or Women. Also available various colors and in long sleeves.
   
   
2. Set guidelines “What Would My Brand do?”
   Is your brand loud and fun, like the t-shirt above? Use your brand’s “personality” as a guide for what you should post on Twitter or Facebook. A comedy club might post jokes when a Lexus dealership would not. While B2B might connect with customers via Linkedin.com, everyone should consider starting a “brand” account on Twitter in which you only post business related updates, successes, discussion and events. Facebook is an exceptional place for small business owners to connect with customers as “friends” to exercise your personal brand. Everyone wants to know the owner!
3. Make a plan. Check it, tweak and repeat.
   You never really know what any given moment will bring, so executing a plan might be just be your biggest challenge! Whatever you decide to do, make sure you sit down with the calendar you really rely on and schedule it! Schedule daily or weekly updates for Facebook, plan out the next 3 months worth of recipes for your blog. Keeping the plan simple and making it a priority will improve your chances for success tenfold. Create ways to measure your success so you cannot fail! If you were to create a goal to get your regular customers to be your friends on Facebook by sending them email invites you should check your progress in a month or so. If your efforts are stalled tweak your approach. Consider handing out social media business cards, direct mail or contesting. The point is, keep on eye on your progress and tweak it if it isn’t working.

Need help with your online product, projects or marketing? There are many free programs available for scheduling tweets and Facebook statuses and there are ways to have your social media sites monitored (for free) as well. If you cannot be active on the sites, please seek out other solutions because at the minimum you should be reasonably “accessible.” If you are asked questions or worse, taken to task, you need to be aware and you need to respond!

If you need help, there are a lot of resources “out there”  that are very cost effective and you’re welcome to shoot me an email or begin a discussion right here in the comments.

Good luck!

@richardbouchez

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• Blogs to Facebook, Where Your Biz Should Be and How to Start
• 7 Ways Linkedin.com will Improve Your Small Business
• 10 EASY Ways to Inject Twitter and Facebook into Everyday Business!
• Create your own edge! Build your own community!

 

GET KILLER CUSTOM TWITTER BACKGROUNDS!

 

 

 

Richard Bouchez is a certified Inbound Marketing professional specializing in Social Media Marketing & New Media content development. Richard’s web, audio & video work has been honored with Emmy, Promax & CBA awards.

Amazing Cheat Sheets for Anyone with a Biz Website

Your Website Tips & Tricks: Whether you’re a newbie or seasoned web guru you’ll find these cheat sheets extremely useful. Anyone with a business website should pay particular attention to Website Usability Checklist and the SEO Cheat Sheet.

30 Handy Cheat Sheets and Reference Guides for Web Professionals.

Now, truth be told told, I found this tidbit on Twistimage.com’s blog by Mitch Joel and if you’re a fan of well designed sites like I am you should definitely check it out. What about great information? Yep, it’s got that too!  Six Pixels of Separation – The Blog

Got more reference guides, cheat sheets or blogs that are key to your web marketing arsenal? Please share in the comments!

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Good luck!

@richardbouchez

INJECT Twitter into you business! GET CUSTOMIZABLE stuff>>

More articles from @inovedia >>

• Make Your Small Biz Homepage Engage!
• Blogs to Facebook, Where Your Biz Should Be and How to Start
• 7 Ways Linkedin.com will Improve Your Small Business

 

GET KILLER CUSTOM TWITTER BACKGROUNDS!

 

Richard Bouchez is a certified Inbound Marketing professional specializing in Social Media Marketing & New Media content development. Richard’s web, audio & video work has been honored with Emmy, Promax & CBA awards.

Big idea? Itching to execute? Now what?

You’re sound asleep in the middle of the night. You wake in a cold sweat because you’ve got it! There it is, the golden marketing idea that will bring the masses to your door! So, where do you go next? Who’s going to execute it? Is it even realistic?

I’d like to introduce you to mFormer.com because I think their concept could help a lot of people get started on marketing projects big or small. Their new online resource for locating a wide range of marketing services and vendors could be especially helpful for business owners and marketers who lack they’re own marketing departments. mFormer.com also offers a free referral service, you can submit your project and they will get you started with vendor suggestions. If you’re a marketer you can create a free listing in their directory here.

SHOP AROUND: Whether you want to start at Facebook community, flyer a neighborhood or spread viral videos, don’t be afraid to schedule face to face or phone interviews with numerous marketers. Even seasoned marketers learn more about  projects just by requesting bids and occasionally you may find out a project is more affordable than you thought! If you  can’t hire out an entire project it’s a great idea to hire an experienced marketer as a project manager. They can help shape your idea, evaluate the folks you want to involve or simply layout guidelines and directions for you follow.

AVOID “DIY” MARKETING PITFALLS: Like many projects, marketing projects are often more complicated that initially thought which makes them more expensive in time & dollars! Let’s face it, everyone’s trying to save a buck and most don’t have a choice, but many projects are better not done than done “on the cheap.”

Try to avoid:

• Taking on too much. Whether it’s you or your staff, everyone makes this mistake and it’s an opportunity killer! You can get sloppy, distracted and so can your staff. Be fair to yourself, can you really make this project a priority?
• Recruiting your sister, cousin, uncle or the next door neighbor’s kid for “skilled labor.” Even if they are Photoshop experts, for example, “free labor” tend to miss the big picture. Designs tend to lack brand consistency or worse.
• Handing over Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts to interns! This is your identity & reputation we’re talking about. It’s also an opportunity for you to listen to your customers!

What’s your story? Got a horror story from a project you should have hire out or tips on hiring the right company for the job? Please share in the comments.

While I have no direct affiliation with mFormer.com and I have not used their services myself, in the spirit of “transparency” I want to point out that you will find InovediaMarketing.com listed on their site in the Social Media Marketing category. We offer new & traditional media marketing services such as  multimedia project management.

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Good luck!

Richard (@richardbouchez)

NEW: CLICK TO GET YOUR KILLER CUSTOM TWITTER THEME! IT’S YOUR INSPIRATION & TURNED AROUND FAST!

Follow @inovedia on Twitter to get a focussed stream of SMB marketing info!

*Mall questions photo by Wok on Flickr here

*Pen mightier then sword photo by feastoffun on flickr here

Other InovediaMarketing articles you may be interested in:

• What would they write about you?
• Create Amazing Mind Blowing Business Cards NOW!
• Blogs to Facebook, Where Your Biz Should Be and How to Start
• 7 Ways Linkedin.com will Improve Your Small Business

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6 Random Rules for Owning a Website

Your Website Tips & Tricks:

1. Own your domain name: Domains are cheap and even if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re better off to own your domain name and have someone else manage it. Note: make sure you alone have access to the “password change” email to ensure you cannot be denied access to the domain (if you need to quickly switch web folks for whatever reason).
2. Own your web hosting account: Same rational as mentioned above. You absolutely need full control and access to your hosting account… you might give someone a spare key to your home, but you still need to be able to change the locks!
3. Use a large, well known, web hosting provider like GoDaddy: I learned this lesson about 10 years ago when I had a hosting account with an unknown, but very cost effective, hosting provider. They actually served my needs well for years and, without warning, my sites went down one day and the message boards were lit up with angry customers who lost their data and were struggling to get back online. I was fortunate to have owned my domain name so I could quickly switch to a new hosting provider and get my sites up quickly. I’ve been with GoDaddy ever since and, while I’ll admit that their UI (user interface) is cumbersome and confusing, I give them major kudos for their 24/7 tech support which is always prompt. Anyone you might hire to build or maintain your site can certainly work through GoDaddy or any other large provider. Let them gripe about it, I also advise against using small or unknown hosting providers and I highly recommend not using your “web service person” for hosting services.
4. Advertising tip: If you’re a plumber – phone book and basic website… if you’re a bar, drop the phone book and build a website that rocks. Then go crazy with social networking!
5. Blog “off your site:” using WordPress or Blogger (for example) you will increase your name & business ranking in Google because blogs show up higher in search results and as an added bonus your blog will now get marketed by the host you’re using (WordPress, Blogger or whomever) through all the other blogs as “related articles,” popular tags, etc. You will also link heavily from your blog to your main site helping to build your linking credibility.
6. Avoid an “all flash” website and big flash introduction: Although flash sites are now “searchable” most are not up to date and therefore may not be searchable which (as a small biz owner) should send you running. Flash won’t show up on many mobile devices, will take too long to load and many flash sites are often filled with unnecessary distractions such as sound effects, transitions, etc. Unless you are also running an identical mobile site, have an amazing product selection that requires an all flash, you’re a flash designer or you’re really really really confident I’m wrong… avoid the “all flash” website. I’m not saying don’t use flash components, when utilized properly flash can be an amazing asset for your site! If you have an all flash site, see the previous tip!

Comments are welcome, we appreciate advice, stories and other suggestions! Please share this article by clicking the + button below.

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You may also be interested in: New post > Create your own edge! Win the New Marketing game!

-Richard

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“New Marketing” Tips 1- 6

Tips 1 through 6 in my “New Marketing” tips list for small businesses online. From changing your cell phone to finding interns these tips will help you keep it simple for cheap. While there are many services out there that perform same or similar services for free as well, these are my suggestions based on my own experiences.

1.Upgrade your Cell phone: When you have the right tools, everything is that much easier. You will be more inclined to follow up and follow through if you make email and web access as easy as possible. Get a Smartphone! Here your basically looking for accessible email, but as you get swept away with online marketing tools you may quickly find yourself taking / uploading photos and video or checking different websites and web statistics that mandate smart phone use. Cell phones that can do what you’ll need them to do, plus some, are available to you for around $100 bucks on Craigslist.com without a contract! You may also qualify for one through your carrier at a discount with a contract. I would look for a phone with a camera, a qwerty keyboard (purely subjective), internet access, POP3 email access and camcorder. Some great used phones that will work well for your social marketing purposes are the Motorola Q, Treo 650 or above, Blackberry Pearl or other Blackberry multimedia models and the iPhone. Please don’t’ think you’re limited to these; there are many other capable phones out there.

2.Get a Gmail account (the next slew of points refer to all Google apps / tools, but please note that similar services are also available elsewhere via Yahoo.com, for example).

3.Set Google alerts in Gmail: Setting up Google alerts for your business name, your name, your employee names, your competitors’ names and your supplier / area or important product names to keep tabs on what people are saying about you or for news you may need to know. Google alerts will regularly search the web, alerting you to key information as it hits the web. More importantly, news you can use to market or better connect with your customers.

4.Google Calendar: Share a Google calendar, mark your daily special & weekend events or anything else notable and encourage your customers as well as your employees to “share” your calendar. Make sure you keep it up to date! Google calendar modules can also be incorporated into your website and other’s websites fairly easily so also encourage others to embed your calendar into their website.

5.Use Youtube: Create Videos and Other Content! Search the web for examples of what other businesses are doing to create marketing or informational videos for their sites. Use youtube.com to host your video, it’s your most reliable distributor and the cost is perfect! There are many so many ways to embed your video and share it and, even more importantly, by using youtube you make it easier for “the masses” to stumble across your videos.

6.Multimedia Marketing Interns: Bring on an intern or two to work on marketing your business via the web and through multimedia projects. You should provide a computer, a video camera (rental or purchased) and a list of projects with expectations. Also schedule weekly meetings with your interns for updates exactly what they’re doing, make sure you have access to all sites (including passwords and usernames) and make sure you are very clear as to what is acceptable and what is not. While this will take some time and coordination it could pay off big for your business.

For tips #7 -14 click here

If you found this, or any of our articles useful please connect with me on Linkedin, recommendations referring to this site are greatly appreciated! To view my Linkedin profile visit: www.Linkedin.com/in/richardbouchez send me an invite using this email Richard@RABpromo.com. Please mention InovediaMarketing.com in your connection request.

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-Richard

You may also be interested in these InovediaMarketing.com articles:

• New post > Create your own edge! Win the New Marketing game!
• 6 Random Rules for Owning a Website
• Web Video: More Creative than a Commercial

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“New Marketing” Tips 7 – 14

Reminder: These are based strictly on cost effectiveness and in the spirit of simplicity. While there are many services out there that perform same or similar services for free as well, these are my suggestions based on my own experiences.

7. Community Calendars: With just a little searching you will quickly find free community calendars available around the web. These are often found on local websites in your community including sites of local newspapers, chambers of commerce, television stations, churches, etc. Create a list and update each frequently with specials, announcements and events. Not only will you get out in front of potential customers for free, you will be found in searches more often.
8. On Your Site Advertising: Create a couple advertising opportunities on your own website, perhaps in a sidebar or other strategic locations within your menu of services.These ad spaces can be utilized for leverage in your co-op dealings, used as trade opportunities for advertising or discounts on products / services. Another possibility could be offering ad space as part of a customer loyalty reward program or even selling them for a little extra cash!
9. Use Craigslist and Ebay to sell products, used equipment, etc.You may also consider using craigslist to look for an “at home marketer” or to search for internet savvy interns.
10. Coupons: Create unique coupons that are printable / downloadable from your website, but don’t expect them to suddenly drive droves of customers into your shop. Use them as “information purchasing power” to get information from your customers and potential clients. Businesses that regularly offer customers deep discounts train customers to wait for the next set of discounts.Offer coupons that are good enough to persuade potential customers to give over their email and other information, not so good that they will interrupt business.This will open the door for you to communicate with customers directly! Coupons and contesting can be a cost effective way to stay in front of your customers, but don’t get carried away or take advantage because once they add you to their “spam” list you’ve closed a door you may not be able to open.
11. Occasional Contesting: Don’t give away t-shirts give away an iphone. That is to say, do something cool and different that relates to your business. Unfortunately, there is already an abundance of crappy t-shirts in virtually everyone’s closet but who wouldn’t trade their email for a shot at a free iphone? While this may sound like a very expensive proposition, it doesn’t have to be! I suggest purchasing a gift card with the current purchasing price of an iphone (199) plus a couple months of service cost. This means you could launch a very cool contest for around $500 that will create some buzz for your business and give a big boost to your new robust email address list. Digital cameras and video cameras also make great prizes that are cooler than t-shirts for around a couple hundred bucks and are sure to get noticed. *Please research contesting or contact a lawyer before running contests as there state and federal laws to comply with as well as legal-ease to contend with that I am not addressing in this post.
12. Social Networking (and Professional): I’m not going to launch into a big thing on how you should be using Facebook and Linkedin.com and many of the other social networks for your business, I think I’ll leave that for another article but… you should. These sites will drive your name & company name to the top of search lists for free. More importantly, when used strategically, you can get real information, connect and strengthen your relationships with higher quality customers and even develop a following!
13. Email Blasts: With your newly found following on the different social networks combined with all of those emails you’ve been collecting from couponing and contesting, you are now ready to send email blasts alerting potential customers of your new services and reminding existing customers about your product offerings! Keep email blasts short and to the point with few, if any, graphics and most of all be as relevant as possible. *Please research email blasts before sending to keep from being caught in spam filters and to comply with spamming laws.
14. Blog: To the “not so web savvy” there is still somewhat of a mass negative connotation for blogging.Some initial reactions may be “I’m not a writer,” “I don’t have time” and “What would I blog about?” Well, you’ve just read numerous ideas that you should begin adopting for your business, all with good potential to raise your online profile and profitability… start putting some of these ideas into action and blog about what you’re doing or simply talk about what’s coming up at your business, why you have made certain business decisions or how happy you are that big shipment many of your customers are waiting for has finally arrived! I assure you that you will be surprised at how much there it to say and how many folks are interested! Whatever your business is, there are certainly many topics to discuss and many motivations for blogging.At first I began blogging to add content to my portfolio site, now I blog to market myself to new clients. If you’re interested in Blogging, here are some “must read” tips on creating killer content by Chris Brogan.

For tips #1-6 click here

If you found this, or any of our articles useful please connect with me on Linkedin, recommendations referring to this site are greatly appreciated! To view my Linkedin profile visit: www.Linkedin.com/in/richardbouchez send me an invite using this email Richard@RABpromo.com. Please mention InovediaMarketing.com in your connection request.

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-Richard

You may also be interested in:

• New post > Create your own edge! Win the New Marketing game!
• Make Your Small Biz Homepage Engage!
• Blogs to Facebook, Where Your Biz Should Be and How to Start