Facebook offers a connection to the largest volume of local people and eyeballs there is on the web.  So maybe it’s enough?  Maybe all you need to do is get on facebook, figure out how to use it to your greatest advantage and you’re done your online strategy?

It is an enticing promise, even to me.  With all my personal discomfort with the “realtime web” and “social web” If I knew I could count on facebook to retain all the value it has right now I think I’d gladly throw in the towell and learn how to fit in and fit it into my work and life.  For more see my previous post on social networking listed at the end of this page.

Here’s the hitch: Facebook is new.  Compared to most businesses its BRAND NEW.  It is really just the newest jem to appear on the web.  The reality is social networking sites will come and go but your business, we all hope, will be here to stay.  To achieve that you can’t make your web strategy ONLY Facebook.  There is plenty to be learned on Facebook but remember: It is just ONE tool to connect with your customers.  Just think if you bet on MySpace as your web strategy a few years ago?  You’d be talking to yourself.  You’re “friends” on myspace are probably not there anymore.  The value you created in your relationships on myspace are mostly gone.

This is where having your own place on the web comes in.  Use whatever tools you’re comfortable with on the web to connect with people but when you have specials, offer advice, or show off new products refer to your website.  It’s that easy.  Get a website.  Keep it up to date.  Add interesting stuff to it.  Mention it in the course of conversation on whatever the social tool of the day is.  You’ll be steadily converting your new contacts to customers which will learn about your website and business.  Since anyone can look at a website it doesn’t go out of style like logging into your MySpace account to see what your friends are up to.

I’ll give you the bottom line with a simple question and a simple answer.

Q. What tools should you use to connect with customers?

A. Anyone you want.  Just drive your followers, friends, etc to your PERMANENT, persistent, and growing web presence; your website.

Here is a list of previous articles I’ve written on social networking:

Social Media Explained

GoSpotting, Facebook, And What It Means To Be Local

It’s Quiet In Here!  What Do I Say?

Who Has Time To Connect With Customers Online?

Blogging for Dollars

Listing your business with the chamber of commerce, the yellow pages, and other local directories has always been a powerful driver of new business. It’s also costly.  Here’s how the web is turning this old way to list your business on its head:

• Google is easier to search than a paper book
• Customers can’t easily talk about and rate the businesses in a paper listing
• You have to pay for each listing in each town
• Paper directories are only really good for the residents of a location.  New residents, travellers and those passing through don’t use the local phone directory unless they have to.
• Websites don’t cost as much to build, maintain, and deliver as yellow pages (That’s an understatement!)

Since I’ve convinced you you should pay attention to these free listing services here is a list of the ones that can create the most value for you by delivering new business:

• GoSpotting.com — While it is a gratuitous plug for our own business listing service, you will get a completely local audience and the opportunity to be on a VERY short list of local businesses.  You’ll even get a search engine boost.  Search engines like your site more when it has been talked about elsewhere on the web.  Visit GoSpotting.com, sign up for a free account if you don’t have one, and make a “New Post” in the “Business Listing” category.  See our listing for an example  http://www.gospotting.com/cumberland-md/spot/289001
• Yelp! — This is the current heavy weight champion of free local listing services with reviews and ratings.  Sign up for an account and you can list your business.  http://yelp.com
• Google places — This is likely to be the 500lb gorilla sneaking up on the local listing market.  They have comprehensive tools to list your business, ratings, reviews,  and, if you so desire, tools to easily pay for search positioning.  http://google.com/places
• Merchant Circle — This is an interesting service.  They’re 1 part yelp and 1 part google places with a very persistent newsletter  http://www.merchantcircle.com

List your business or organization with these services and be found by web and smart-phone savvy customers (which is increasingly everyone!) AND add clout to your website with the search engines.

Are you already using any of these directories?  Which ones?  Have you noticed any new business from them?  Comment, and share your experience.

I’ve talked about how sites like GoSpotting.com, Facebook, Twitter, and so on are really good for making contact with new customers and bolstering your relationship with existing ones.  What if you don’t understand how to be “connected in realtime” to your potential (and actual) customers?  Personally, I understand.  You’ll notice I’m NOT telling my customers to “find me on facebook” nor am I giving daily updates on GoSpotting.

My excuse for Facebook is it’s too real time for the way I think.  I think strategy and then act.  I don’t spew a constant stream of information.  You won’t find me twitching back and forth between my kids at the playground and my mobile phone.  Not when I can help it .  GoSpotting is a little different.  The way it is so local it doesn’t induce realtime addiction.  It is more like an easygoing discussion in your place of business.  But even that might be too much chatter for you.  What then?  How can you leverage the power of the web, search engines, and your website for maximum benefit without feeling like you’re spending all your time chatting online?

I have the perfect balance of old school business promotion and web communications:   Start a blog.  It is simple to do.  You update it as frequently as you want to.  Your articles or posts can be as long or short as you want.  You can refer actual and potential customers to it anytime they have  a question you’ve answered before.  What’s even better?  When someone visits your website they’ll be blown away that you take the time to offer your insight.

While you can run your blog any way you want, some things are tried and true.  here is my short list of tips for success:

• Be consistent.  If you blog once a month that is a great start.  Keep it up though.  Maybe increase your frequency of writing later.
• Aim for short but informative.  One paragraph is great.  Three can be wonderful.  More is often more than you need.  But, there is nothing wrong with a really detailed post if it stays on topic and the presentation is clear.
• Just write about things you know.  You can use the tips from a previous article I wrote on what ideas work.

Why does blogging work?

• When setup correctly, search engines will deliver more and more (as you write more and more blog posts) search results from your site when web searchers are looking for what you sell or do.  This is advertising.  The best kind too, because the web searcher is ACTIVELY looking for what you sell or do.  This is the ultimate targeting.  For more on this most important topic see my article “I can’t find my site!  Search Engine Help“.
• Your customers see the info on your site and say “Wow!  These folks know their stuff.”
• Add quality to your email responses to customers by including a link to an article you’ve written in the past.

Go start a blog!  Need help?  We can help with that at Digital Mountain Consulting.

Don’t expect that the people (customers) you talk (market) to are the same as you.  Try something .  Then listen.

That’s mostly it.  Today’s post is a reminder.  One of those things you learned in kindergarten, your grandmother taught you, etc.  However, it is one we all forget much of the time.  We have an agenda.  We have a plan.  We’re going to drive sales and visibility of our business.  I just want you to remember to spend some time in the passenger seat and try to find what your customers, visitors, donors, even employees want.

This dialog gives you an ability to listen you’ve never had before.  This is the biggest single benefit of social media (GoSpotting, Facebook, and, what’s that other one?…. Oh, MySpace, and many others).

Take a break from your usual schedule today and see if you can find just one thing you’re customers are telling you that you’re missing.

Facebook is an incredible tool for connecting with everyone you’ve met before (high school, previous email contacts, etc.).  It is also a powerful way to connect with the Facebook friends of everyone you’ve met before.  That second statement is the amazing value of Facebook.  Communicate compelling information and your friends on Facebook will pass it on to THEIR friends.  It cannot be denied — if you use Facebook to your fullest advantage you’ll be well served.  Word of your products and services will spread.

The benefit of GoSpotting over Facebook is two fold:

1. Your posts on GoSpotting are PUBLIC and can be found by folks searching on popular search engines for what you discuss.  Much of the discussion on Facebook is private, by invitation only — it can’t be found by NEW CUSTOMERS through search engines.
2. The audience on GoSpotting is VERY local.  Since it is so local it looks much more interesting to visitors because everything going on is nearby.  This relevance means your offerings stand out.

The best part?  If you’re already using Facebook you already understand the kind of content that engages your potential customers.  You can practically cut and paste your Facebook updates to GoSpotting and viceversa!  This means you can take advantage of the local audience on GoSpotting without adding to your workload.  If you’re not already familiar with Facebook?  Well, then what you learn on GoSpotting will also work on Facebook.  Win-win.

If you’re not sure if you’re using Facebook and GoSpotting to your fullest advantage with as little pain and wasted time as possible make sure to read a previous article: Social Media Explained …

Sign Up and get started today!

To start the conversation in your category think about drawing viewers into the conversation.  The kinds of things that are interesting to people are tips from your area of expertise, stories from the trenches, product reviews, events, etc.  These can be a paragraph that explains what something is, how it works, a diy how-to article, or even a question to the readers.

Ultimately, you build the value in the category you host.  The more voices in a category talking the more people will come to read.  The more visitors that come to read, the more exposure you get.

Here are some examples of engaging topics:

• Landscaping: Mulching your trees can have an unwanted effect — killing them.  Trees need the soil above their roots to be permeable by the air…
• Photography: Who even cares about depth of field?  For most snapshots you may not.  however, if you want to emphasize a subject or create a unique view the depth of field can be just the tool.  To emphasize a subject that is nearby…
• Toys: Have you read the study by Princeton sociologists about classic toys versus electronic toys?…

Now for an example of what you don’t want to fill your category with:

• We’re having a special this week on custom rugs.  These rugs will knock your socks off with their easy care pile…
• All our lawn mowers are made in the United States.  Our push mowers start at $999.99!
• Come and see our new location next to the county jail.  Walk ins welcome.

Should you ever write a post like the second group?  Yes, you can.  You want to keep the volume of business promotion posts low compared to the real information.  If you post useful information most of the time your occasional “We’re having a special on xyz” will be well received.  Let’s say 1 promotional post for every four or five will probably be a good balance.

When you post real content that helps the visitor you’re actually building their trust in your business.  To boot you’re adding reasons for the visitor to come back to your category and read again.  When they see your promotion they’ll be ready to receive your offer and more likely to be turned into a paying customer!

As the category gets busier with other people talking you may be able to post a little more promotional material.  Remember the value of trust though.  Trust is what pulls you through when a new competitor comes to town or an existing one ups the ante with sales and advertising.

In closing, be helpful and visitors will come back to read in your category, they’ll come to trust you (for good reason!), and they’ll see you as an authority on the topic.  You’ll build your brand and sell stuff.

Suggestions? Questions?  Comment below.  Let’s talk.

Here’s a simple one — keep your advertising fresh.  When you’re advertising make sure you change things before your advertising gets stale.  I’ve watched it again and again: Run a new advertisement for a week.  You’ll get some response from it.  As it’s hit most of its audience the response rate drops.  If you keep running that advertisement you’re not going to get much response going forward.  However, as soon as you change it, with an equally engaging and marketable ad that’s new, BAM!,  your response rate goes up again.  It’s almost magic.  But it’s not , it’s just new.

So, if you’ve been running the same ad for more than a week or two consider replacing it with a new one.  The hour spent cooking up a new advertisement will be well worth it.  Remember, with online advertising, you can TEST your ads to see how effective they are.  See my previous post “Do they want it?” to learn more about testing the ad and market.

Here is what you need to get started hosting a category on GoSpotting:

Setting up an account:
First, setup an account that will be used to post on GoSpotting.  Tip: Use a business email address to do it.  After that you’ll be prompted to set the “nickname” and “Web address (URL)” for the account.  When choosing a nickname, I’d suggest a nickname that sounds like your business or organization.  This means every time you post with the account it reminds visitors to the site who they’re talking with.  In setting a “Web address (URL)” set it to the page on your website you want people to see when they click through from GoSpotting.

We’ll need the text you’d like us to display to highlight your organization where your “Spot Host” block is displayed on GoSpotting.com.  This text should be 250 characters or fewer.  If you have a logo we’ll display that in your Spot Host block as well.  The largest image we can use is 250 pixels wide by 90 pixels high  Smaller images are ok.

Eventually, we’ll give Spot Hosts the ability to set their own image and text.  For now just send the text and image to us through email.  Just contact us to get started!

If you need help getting started we’ll be glad to help so feel free to comment below and ask questions.

We want this to be both easy and beneficial to your organization so if you have ideas for improvement please share them by commenting or through our contact form.