The Pedestal Group

At a networking event last week I met a lovely woman who was excited to hear I train on social media. When I asked why, she said every time she goes to a trade meeting, she’s told she’s missing out by not using (fill in the blank).  First it was LinkedIn, then it was Facebook, then it was Twitter. What’s next?

I have to tell you, I hate hearing this.  Embracing social media for social media’s sake is just not what it is about. You have to understand who your customers are and where they are looking for information.  Then be there. It sounds too simple but that’s how it is.  I know there are stories in every industry about someone making it big through Twitter, or Facebook, or whatever. But I will guarantee for every one of those incredible success stories there are many many times more stories of people who didn’t get anything.  Because their clients weren’t there. They were somewhere else.

So when I’m working with a client, we determine who our best targets are going to be. Not by dollars or some number, but by who they really are. We include gender, family status, children, age, work, hobbies, and anything else we can find out.  It is truly being able to walk around in the customer’s head that gives us the knowledge of where they are looking and what they want to find.

So please – don’t bow down to peer pressure and get into something you don’t care about.  Instead, make sure it is where your customers are before you waste your time!

We have now concluded our series on how to start a marketing plan.  So what did we accomplish?

Product or Service
Strong Company Brand
Strong Personal Brand
Established or Create the need
Long or Short Sales Cycle
Known Industry
Established vs. Startup
Tech Savvy Customers

At each step, we analyzed the company and the customers to make sure we understood who people think we are, who we know we are and who we want to be.  That is the core of a good marketing plan.  And while no one knows your company better than you do, there are many details that have not been put into words.  That makes a huge difference when trying to target marketing.  The last thing we want to do is throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks!

We’ve talked in the past about buyer personas and that is really the next step to your marketing plan.  Create 5-7 characters in your marketing story that are typical of your best customers.  What are they like?  What do they do in their spare time?  Married?  Children?  Where do they live?  Give these characters as much dimension as you can.  Then, when reviewing marketing options, ask “does this attract Scott” or is “this answering Mary’s concerns”.  Since you know so much about the characters, you should be able to answer the questions.  And we all know what my answer will be if you say you don’t know your customers that well. GO ASK.  If you are local, go sit down with them and if not, get everyone in your company together and put together what you know.  Then, the next time you talk, find out what’s missing.  Otherwise, you will not be able to tell if that new technology is the best thing to use or if traditional advertising works better.

Your marketing plan is vital to know how to steer your ship in 2010.  Many people are forcasting changes to social media this year with a tightening of networks and more depth in relationships.  If you have a strong plan, you will be able to adapt to those changes as they come and handle them immediately.  Bring on the plans!

You have got to own the information on line about you – or someone else will. That is definitely the bottom line for any small business. Right now, go to Google and Yahoo or Bing (same search technology) and do a search for both you and your company. If the top results are not YOU, you have a brand problem.

As you are working your message, there will be many times people catch part of it. That might be your company but not your location, your name but not your comany, etc. If that person wants to buy, they are going to go to their favorite search engine and try to find you. Even if they are holding your business card or material, they may want to go out and search for you to see what comes up. It is vital you know what they will find and control it as much as possible.

The easiest way to own the information is to spend three hours building your profiles. And yes, this does take time the first time you set everything up. So what do you set up?

Facebook – Facebook is up to you – many people prefer to separate their business profiles from their personal (myself included) but having the profile means you get found more often.

Google Profiles – these are great and we’ve talked about them before. You set up a profile for yourself and they are almost always first page results on a Google search.

Google Local Business – Another great tool, this is a business listing with your information.

Jigsaw – A directory of business contacts. By enterng your contact details you will get to download a name of someone you wanted to find!

LinkedIn – Set up both an individual profile and your business profile. Fill them out COMPLETELY. Your LinkedIn profile is a marketing tool so write to help answer why YOU are uniquely qualified to help your customers.

Naymz - This is the same as Plaxo. Use the same information and help get more connections.

Plaxo – Much of the information you post on LinkedIn can be used on Plaxo as well. Plaxo does a nice job to make sure your profile comes up high on search engines.

Spoke – A directory of business contacts. Again, be sure your information is correct.

Wink – Wink is a social network search engine and building a profile will help users find you.

Yelp – Yelp is a local business listing service that allows users to post reviews. If you do business locally, getting those recommendations can be gold. But you need to be listed first!

ZoomInfo – ZoomInfo has just added a company profile section so you can own both. Be sure to claim your personal information and make sure it is accurate.

There are many more places you can choose to list, but doing these will ensure when someone finds you, they are finding YOU and not information someone else put up about you. Owning your information is the first step to managing your on-line brand.