Drive Your Business

Owning your own business takes time, effort and a lot of discipline. You find yourself with limited time and resources to sustain your business as well as attract new customers. As a business owner, here are some things to consider as you take your business to the next level:

1)  Drive Traffic To Your Web Site Via Social Media

The use of social media is essential in any business. The most influential social media platform driving consumer behaviors does depend on the type the business you have. Although, Yelp, facebook, linkedin, pinterest, and google+ are the major players that we have seen success with 3treedesignlab clients. The journey from social to purchase is driven through awareness. 

A recent study with 6,000 participants conducted by Vision Critical evaluated Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to show how a company's social media strategy can drive sales. (Source: Forbes-Social Media Moves Consumers )

The top line findings:

• About 40% of social media users have purchased an item after sharing or “favoriting” it on these sites. (The company uses “Shared or Favorited” to mean pinned/repinned/liked on Pinterest; shared/liked/commented on Facebook; tweeted/retweeted or favorite on Twitter.)
• Facebook is the network most likely to drive customers to purchase.
• Social media drives not just online purchasing, but in-store purchasing as well – and at about equal rates.

Social media has become an extension of advertising. Big companies pour millions of dollars into advertisement and marketing to stay in front of the market. Many small businesses and entrepreneurs do not have that option. Thus, the easiest and simplest way to engage your audience is through word of mouth, which now-a-days is called social media. 

Here are some tips:

• Extend your business via social vehicles through your network of friends and family Invite them to be an extension of your marketing team
• Provide incentives programs for new customers who visit your web site
• Set up incentives programs with your current clients when they provide testimonials or write a review about your business on yelp, etc

2) Engaging Your User With Content

Having fresh content to engage your audience is important in any business. The messaging and content itself helps to drive the client through the sale cycle.  The rule of thumb here is to focus on tips, advice, suggestions, and what your business is capable of doing.

 Think about WHY people would want to come to your web site: 

• “This is what I know”. Being Resourceful. Updated information regarding your particular expertise. For instance, content packaged as white papers or case studies that give customers a perspective on your expertise. 

• “This is how I can help you”. Providing tips/advice. People are always looking for how to do things better. For example, including How-to-videos on your web site or on youtube while linking it back to your web site.
• "This is what is happening around me”. Relevant content about your market/industry. You want to be known as an expert in your field of work. Share information that is relevant. Knowledge is power. For instance, Forbes or wall street journal providing trends on mobile apps or technology.

• “This is that I’m all about”. Providing content from you. Write something that will give your audience information about who you are and what your company represents. They want to know the person behind the company. They want to partner, grow with and purchase products/services with people who are relatable. "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it." Check out this inspirational TedTalk explaining this concept- Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action: 

Although, it's always best to write your own content, it's not always easy to do. Here are some suggestions on how to engage users and present relevant content:

First, connect yourself to powerful resources. In our digital age, you have a lot of content around you. Link yourself up to the source of knowledge in your industry. Join communities/ interest groups on LinkedIn or on Google+. Follow people on twitter. Get yourself connected.

For example, you find an editor who knows your market, follow him/her on linkedin, twitter, google+, etc. Go to the source and be in front of the news. Be careful of who you select because your customers count on you to provide them with reliable information. This builds trust. 

Second, weed out what you think your audience would like to hear, read or see. Post the content on your web site. Remember to pick the BEST of the BEST. You are building your reputation. 

Lastly,  share it with your customer base through social media, blogs, status updates, or email marketing campaigns. Show you are engaged. Exposure is key here. 

3) Marketing Messaging and Management

There is free software called Bufferapp (https://bufferapp.com) that automates the delivery of content across multiple social media platforms. This makes it a lot easier to manage all the exciting content you have collected. So, put together your list of content as advised above, then create your scheduled posts or updates accordingly. 

Some advice here is to schedule your marketing campaigns mid-week. At the beginning of the week, most people will not see your posts or status updates. Towards the end of the week, people have mentally checked out. So, the more visibility, the better the results.

The purpose of your posts or status updates are to create brand recognition. If people keep seeing your business, they will start to associate your business with a concept. Our mind link images to emotions and thought. With more visually appealing marketing messages, you can captivate your audience and give them the experience you want to be associated with. That's the lasting impression. 

At the end of the day, the purpose of any web site is to increase awareness and revenue. In our digital world, word of mouth has now disguised itself as social media. Make your web site work for you by driving interest and allowing traffic to flow in and out of your site.  The only way of doing that is to expand your reach by plugging yourself into the digital world, co-exist in that world, and everything else will fall into place. 

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20 Stats About How Social Media Influences Purchasing Decision 

(Source: Salesforce Marketing Cloud)

1. Consumers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals (Hubspot)

2. Social networks influence nearly 50% of all IT decision makers (LinkedIn – learn more at TechConnect ’12)

3. Out of 53% of consumers who said they use Twitter to recommend companies or products in their Tweets, 48% bought that product or service(SproutSocial)

4. Twitter is the #1 online channel for influencing purchasing decisions surrounding electronics (Mashable)

5. 15,100,000 consumers go to social media channels before making purchase decisions (Knowledge Networks)

6. 49% of consumers use Facebook to search for restaurants (Mashable)

7. 74% of consumers rely on social networks to guide purchase decisions (SproutSocial)

8. 58% of Facebook users expect offers, events or promotions when they become fans (Hubspot)

9. Facebook is the most effective platform to get consumers talking about products (SproutSocial)

10. Facebook is the #1 online channel for influencing the purchase of baby products (Mashable)

11. 79% of consumers like a Facebook company page because it offers discounts and incentives (Forbes)

12. 44% of automotive consumers conduct research on forums (Mashable)

13. 38,000,000 13 to 80 year olds in the U.S. said their purchasing decisions were influenced by social media (Knowledge Networks)

14. 81% of US respondents indicated that friends’ social media posts directly influenced their purchase decision (Forbes)

15. As of June 2011, there were 213,000,000 fans of Facebook Pages (Mashable)

16. 32.5% of women say they’re influenced by special offers on Facebook vs 29% on Twitter (Business2Community)

17. 78% of respondents said that companies’ social media posts impact their purchases (Forbes)

18. Moms are 45% more likely than other women to say they made a purchase from a recommendation on social(MarketingProfs)

19. 70% of active online adult social networkers shop online, 12% more likely than the average adult internet user (Nielsen)

20. 44% of social media savvy women said their trusted/favorite blogger influences their purchasing decision(Business2Community)