Practically every time I speak with small and medium-size business owners, I get asked if Twitter is a tool for business. People have the misconception that Twitter is just a series of posts consisting of personal status updates such as “I’m eating ice cream right now: ) “  They wonder how that is relevant to business.

I’m happy to clear up that misunderstanding.  Twitter can be incredibly useful to business, and not just big brands and early adapters.

A Guide to Using Twitter for Business

I was going to write a detailed post, which would introduce newcomers to Twitter for business.  However, in doing my research I discovered this terrific Guide for Using Twitter for Business, from Duct Tape Marketing.  While it was written in 2008, and updated in 2009, it is still fundamentally accurate.  It is a simple and practical road map to show you how to use Twitter to achieve some of your business and marketing objectives.

In a future post, I will cover tweeting and Twitter in more detail.

Are any of you using Twitter for business purposes?  If so, share your story.

This according to Marc Pritchard, global marketing and chief branding officer for Proctor & Gamble, speaking at the recent conference of the Association of National Advertisers held in Orlando, Florida.

Social Media is fueling the success of advertising.

P&G, the world’s largest marketer by spending, says the success of recent advertising campaigns has been fueled by its acceptance in social media.  Pritchard cited examples such as video clips on YouTube that had been viewed 140 million times.  He said they used consumer opinions on Facebook and Twitter to determine which commercials to run during the Winter Olympics in February.

The takeaway for small and medium size businesses is this:  you need to get comfortable with social media and begin the process of integrating it into your overall marketing strategy. You may not be able to immediately measure the ROI of social media, however, investing now will increase the likelihood of success in the future.

It’s no longer optional, and consumers expect you to have a social presence.

Most small businesses start out in social media by setting up a Facebook page.  However, leveraging Facebook to achieve business objectives may seem like an elusive goal.  Facebook ads may the answer.  Here are the simple steps to get you started using Facebook ads.

Facebook ads can be useful for small businesses

Define your goals

Before you begin, it is best to determine your goals for the Facebook ad campaign.  The goals could be simply to increase the number of fans or people who “like” your page. Or you may have more traditional goals like more traffic to your main company website or an increase in direct sales. It’s important to know what you’re trying to achieve because it will impact how you design your ad.

Design your ad

The next step is to design your ads.  You’ll need an ad title, ad text, a destination URL, and a call to action.  Keep your goals in mind as you work through this process.  For example, the destination URL for an ad designed to increase your fan base should be your Facebook page.  Likewise, if you’re trying to generate sales, your destination URL should be the specific product page that you’re advertising.  The call to action will also obviously reflect your goals.  It’s recommended that you include an appropriate, eye-catching image in your ad. Click-through rates are much higher for ads with images than those that are text only.

Targeting

Facebook allows you to define the audience who will see your ad.  There is location targeting by country, state/province, city, and within x number of miles of a city.  You can also select particular demographics such as age range, gender, as well as language preference and education levels.  There’s a robust set of likes, interests and connections options that are worth exploring.

Campaign Pricing and Schedule

Once you’ve defined your target audience, you’ll need to set up a daily budget for your ad.  In addition, you will indicate whether your campaign will run on a cost-per-impression (CPM) or cost-per-click (CPC) basis, and if CPC, what your maximum bid will be.  The higher your bid, the more likely your ad will be shown.  Last define the schedule for your ad.

Measurement

Once the ads are running you’ll be able to monitor the statistics by going to the Facebook.com/ads/manage page.  There you’ll see daily figures for key measurements such as number of impressions, number of clicks, click through rate percentage, etc.

Additionally, you’ll need to monitor your Facebook page or website using web analytics to see if you’re achieving your business objectives.

In future posts, I’ll cover Facebook ads in more detail including targeting options and measurement.

This is the second in a series of four posts, which describe how businesses can get started in social media.   If you approach your foray into social media the way that you would any new initiative for your business, you’ll find it’s fairly straightforward to get up and running.

In part one of this series we defined the goals for the social media campaign – increasing sales, brand engagement or simply more “fans” or “followers.”  Once you’ve clarified what you want to accomplish, the next step is to define the steps to get you there.  In this post I’ll walk you through process of creating a social media marketing plan.

The social media marketing plan is really a project plan – a series of tasks and timeframes – that you will follow.  I’m a big fan of lists and use them in all aspects of my life.  Think of the plan as a to-do list the end result of which is a strong and sensible social media presence that will allow you to accomplish the goals you laid out in step one.

To get started, gather all the existing information that is relevant to and would influence you plan.  This information would consist of:

• All components of your existing traditional marketing campaign (print, email, etc.) – key messages, target market, dates for any marketing milestones, etc.
• All components of your sales or public relations activities – dates, location, target market, etc.
• All components of your existing internet marketing campaign (if any) – key words, ad text, demographics, dates, etc.
• Any other important dates, such as, industry-specific conferences, seminars, etc. that you will participate in.

Next you’ll create a six or twelve-month calendar that shows the marketing/sales/PR activities already planned and you’ll integrate the social media tasks.   Initially you’ll need to set-up your social media profiles and establish your baseline analytics so you can measure success.  The next social media tasks will be to create content and posts that support and augment your existing activities, and set you on the path to accomplish your goals.

Sample Social Media Marketing Plan

Once you’ve organized all your activities in one document, you’ll be able to visualize social media as a natural part of how you grow your business.

In the next post I’ll provide specifics on how to implement this plan.

I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has a developed a plan that is similar or different to this one.  I’m always looking to leverage best practices from our readers.

Findings in a recent report indicate that social networking continued to grow over the past year.  The report, based on Forrester’s Consumer Technographics® data from more than 275,000 consumers in Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, examines how consumers are engaging with social technologies.

According to the report, the number of people who joined social networks increased by 8 percent in North America, 11 percent in Europe and 18 percent in China.

However, the number of people who created social content did not increase. Says Jacqueline Anderson, Forrester Research Consumer Insights Analyst, “one-­third of online consumers in the US regularly watch user-generated videos on sites like YouTube.  But, only 10 percent of US online consumers upload videos they’ve created to public sites.”

Awareness of the trends uncovered in Forrester’s research provide insights that help businesses determine how consumers may select and purchase products and services.   Businesses should potentially decide to focus less on driving user generated content, and more on creating fresh and interesting content for their customers.

You can read more about this report at www.Forrester.com

It’s been said that if you’re not leveraging social media these days, you’re not really on the internet.  This is the first in a series of four posts in which I will provide details on how small businesses can get started using social media.  It’s easier than you think.

Step 1 – Define Your Goals – What do you hope to accomplish?

As with any new business initiative, it’s important to know what you want to accomplish before you start.  “Social media” is an umbrella term for lots of different web platforms and social networking sites.  It can be overwhelming and difficult to determine exactly what’s best for your business. To narrow your focus, first clearly articulate what your business objectives are and that will naturally help you decide how to proceed.

Building and maintaining a Facebook page or Twitter account without a clear strategy is just wasted time.  Businesses that find success are those with clear objectives.  For small businesses, reasonable objectives could be:

1)    Build up your fan base (Fans are people who “Like” you on Facebook or “Follow” you on Twitter.)  Why would a small business want to have “fans”?  The reason is that you can send out messages to your fans with a click of a button and it propagates to their own pages.  You have a direct link to this group.  This can be very powerful and efficient way to communicate.  And the good news is that it’s two-way communication.  Your “fans” can send you messages or comment on things you’ve posted.  You’re truly having a one-on-one conversation with your fans.

2)    Increase Sales – Establishing a social media presence gives you yet another way to reach potential customers.  There are 500 MILLION people on Facebook alone, and some of those people are your customers or potential customers.  Not having a presence is turning your back on a potentially huge market.

3)    Build Brand Engagement – This is an extension of the first item.  Having a social media presence gives you the opportunity to communicate directly with your customers.  You should use this opportunity to build engagement and loyalty to your brand.  Offer your fans incentives (discounts, coupons, etc.), request feedback on new products ideas, and recognize loyal customers. This will make your customers feel appreciated and special.

There are obviously many business objectives, but hopefully the list above will help get you thinking about just some of the possibilities.

In future posts, I’ll describe the Steps 2 through 4.  Stayed Tuned!

Are you an owner of a small business using social media?  Let us know how you’ve made it work for you.