Storm Dawg Marketing

Ok people… this is HUGE!
( &  yes I still owe you all a review of the Twitter tools…it’s coming…until I get you mine…check out this great video review of Hootesuite and some other complementary Twitter tools done by G4

Very recently (a week ago) my father a restaurateur who is almost 70 asked me to help him set up a Twitter and Facebook for his business.  I was totally floored.  First and foremost because, well this is my dad we are talking about.  He doesn’t usually ask me for advice.  Like EVER.

He is one of my mentors when it comes to all things small business, including the marketing of small businesses.  I usually bounce ideas off of him to get his feedback.  Though most of his feedback finds me disagreeable (sorry Dad) …it’s really his experience that I am looking for and learning from.

He doesn’t really know what I do for work…I actually don’t even think that he knows that I write for a Blog.  For the expressed reason that he will tell all of my relatives and they will all leave comments on my posts like “Good job honey,” and “Can’t wait to see you at Sunday Dinner.”  It’s not Facebook… I don’t invite them here. Sheesh!

So for all of you who said “of course he would ask you about Twitter; you write about it and use it”.  You would be wrong.  He has no idea.  And with my dad I’ve learned not to offer suggestions.  It’s better to wait until my opinion is asked.  And boy was it ever!  So here is my chance to explain to my dad “this is how you can use Twitter for your business.”

So I asked him 3 Things:

1.  Why do you want to be on Twitter?

2.  What do you want to get from Twitter?  (New customers, return business, to connect with your clientele…what?)

3.  How are you going to measure the effectiveness this has on your business.  (Site traffic, foot traffic…what?)

I was surprised by what my dad said, though looking back I don’t know why….

His Answers:

1.  Well I know that by being on things like Twitter and Facebook I can improve my natural search rankings.  (How does my dad know this?)  I can reach my customers in their homes and on their phones with little cost besides “sweat equity” on my part.  (Jeez he is freaking amazing me here!)  Is this the cool new thing?  I thought I was ahead of the curve.  (That you are Dad…that you are…but not that far ahead, so we’ve got to move QUICK!)

2. I want new business.  (Totally saw that one coming!)

3.  Well measuring foot traffic is never really something I’ve done…  Site traffic is something I will for sure measure.  But my measurement will be in increased revenue.  (HMM…well ok….but how will you know what is driving this since I know you are doing other marketing?  Of course I didn’t ask him that!)

With his first answer surprising me…the other two are for the most part what I expect any other businessman to want from their social media efforts.  After all, business owners aren’t doing this for the “fun” of it.  They’re there to make money.

To Be Continued…..
For the suggestions I gave my dad please check out my next post.

Thanks
Christina Kudym

Yes, social media can be time consuming but it’s worth it. Like anything worth doing, it’s worth doing well. And to do it well, it may take you a little time.  Thinking of not investing the time?  Ask yourself this:  Can I afford not to invest the time?  I know, “Time is money”…trust me, I know!  Let me explain why I think you should invest your time.

Unless you are a huge brand like Coke that had a “fan” create their Facebook fan page for them - imagine that…their customers taking the time to do their social marketing for them…and people talking all day about how they love their product…whoa – you will need to devote some time to figuring out a social media strategy.

Maybe you’ll start with a Facebook ad or Fanpage…Maybe a Twitter account…maybe all three.  Whatever you do, have a “game plan.” Look around and see what other businesses like yours are doing. I’m not saying you should copy them, but you can certainly learn from them.  Play around with Tweetdeck,  Seesmic,  HootSuite and other free services that help you organize your online presence and engagements.  Find the one that suits your needs and makes sense for your business.

Think your customers aren’t talking about you online?

Think again! Not only are they talking about you, they’re also sharing their opinions with their friends, relatives and total strangers.  Can you afford not to listen to what they are saying? Wouldn’t you like to be able to thank the people saying nice things about you…and have an opportunity to turn an unhappy customer into a happy one?

More and more small businesses are running targeted ads on Facebook, developing fan pages and keeping customers happy on Twitter. Why? Because that is where their customers are!  So that is where you need to be.  Not should be…NEED to be.  Did you know that Comcast, Southwest Airlines, QWEST and Verizon all use Twitter for customer service?

Here is a great article that gives you seven cases of businesses using Twitter to service customers.

Engagement is key. As most of you know, when you make a connection with a customer, they’ll keep coming back to your store.  They come in because they like something about you or your store.  They will tell you by their reactions to your small talk or smile what level or type of engagement they want.

What people who use SMS (Social Media Sites) are telling us/you is they want to engage on these sites and expect to be engaged with before they make a purchase.  Here is another great article that will give you some insight into how small businesses are using social media to compete with large brands.

There is a new breed of consumer coming…really they are already here.  If you don’t understand where they are coming from, you aren’t going to know where to look for them,  and more importantly, how to sell to them.

So…do you have time for social media?

Next week I will give you my thoughts on a few of the free tools I mentioned today -  Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and Seesmic for starters.

If you have any questions on anything you see here, just leave a comment on this post…I will be glad to help you out.

Until next week,
Christina Kudym

Every small business knows that Facebook is the most popular social networking site on the planet. Every SMART small business knows that if they’re not on Facebook yet, they’re missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with customers and grow their business.

What small business owners may NOT know is that they need to get started RIGHT NOW.

Ireland’s LaCucina Limerick has a simple recipe for success that any small business can replicate to get their business on Facebook TODAY and start seeing results TOMORROW! The Simply Zesty blog featured them because they were able to use Facebook to:

• Connect with 2,000 people, the majority of which were local and their best prospective customers
• Ask questions, post pictures, and p interact with her customers and prospects (a simple status update of “Pineapple on pizza?” got more than 60 comments)
• Leverage the popularity of restaurant frequenters, such as the Munster rugby team, by posting stories and pictures and helping the team’s fans become their own
• And have fun with their products with a great give-away – “Tag the Pizza” (they post a picture of their pizza, ask fans to “tag” themselves in the photo for a chance at a freebie, spreading pictures of their food throughout their fans’ friends)
• (Click here to learn more about how they’re using Facebook.)

You cannot afford to wait any longer for success like this. If you don’t get your business on Facebook RIGHT NOW, then your customers won’t be talking about your business at all…or worse…they’ll be talking with your competitors.

Click here to get your business on Facebook RIGHT NOW. Then, leave us a comment below with your business’s name and a link to your page. (We want to become your fan, too! )

Does your business already have a page on Facebook? Leave us a link as a comment below and share your success!

We’ll follow up next week with some great tips on what to do with your page, and who knows…we might just feature YOUR BUSINESS!

Bryan D. Jennewein

All right guys, before I get started let me just say that I was a total Twitter “non-believer”  just a few short months ago.  However, being the competitive type and hating to be out of the “know” on anything,  I decided to give it a whirl. 

Side Note:  I do also see the inherant value and benefits of multichannel marketing…and you can never rule something out for your business unless you try it yourself right?  Right!

So I signed up April 3, 2009…easy.

Then I started trying to find people I knew on Twitter to follow/friend whatever…it’s all the same right?  I used to think so.  Well let me tell you, that was not so easy.  I didn’t really know many people on the site and Twitter wasn’t anything like Facebook.  Also, people were saying weird things and speaking in this annoying Twitter language.  Tweeps and Tweets, # & @ signs flying all over the place.  I didn’t get it. I was busy and didn’t have time to learn a new language (so I thought), so I abandoned the site for a few months.

In August I took a new job as the Social Media Coordinator for Infogroup and decided that I really didn’t do my due diligence with Twitter.  So I gave it another go. 

Fast forward to present day… I LOVE Twitter.  I use it to ask questions and see what people who I “follow” are up to.  You can follow what anyone says…  seriously…you can watch the CEO of Kodak tweet about his love of peanut butter.  What’s that?  You like peanut butter too?  Well, what do you know…you have something in common with him.  Tweet @ him.  You might get a response.  (Totally an example – I have no idea if the CEO of Kodak likes peanut butter…guess I could tweet at him and ask.)  

Twitter is chock-full of interesting people.  They share events, new product releases, and anything fun and exciting going on in their industry.

I also use Twitter for work purposes.  (Well of course! ) I watch for brand mentions, customer complaints and competitor news.  Yes…you too can do this.  It’s simple and best of all, it’s FREE! 

So back to my original question.  Why should you use Twitter? 

1.  It will get you in direct contact with people just like you to ask questions and share ideas.

2.  It will get you in direct contact with your customers! 

3.  You can see mentions by customers or prospects of your brand or company name, services and products.  And you can respond immediately!

3.  Use shrunken URLs to track interest in what you are saying and doing.  Again FREE.  Don’t know what a “shrunken URL is? 

Check this out http://bit.ly/pages/about/

4.  Build a network of Tweeps – yes Tweeps – who will stick by you and help you reach your goals. 

Twitter…Try it!

Follow me @ChristinaKudym

Good morning, everyone!  I am working from home today due to some extreme weather conditions.  Anyone else out there working from home today?  One thing I noticed about working from home is how much coffee one can consume when working but a few feet from the coffee pot.  Seven cups and counting, folks.

Today’s caffeine-enhanced post is about this blog being rebranded. Yay!  I’ve been talking about branding over the last month, and now most of you probably know why. 

If you don’t, let me enlighten you.  Infogroup – our company/mothership – has rebranded.  We are now showing our united front to the world.  Yep…we’re global…so watch out world, and watch this really great video all about it. 

Since we are now showing a unified front through our product and service offerings, logos and branding, we will also be giving StormDawg a new look and feel.  The new look and feel will be one that represents our entire organization and all of our customers’ interests.  We are going to be launching this sometime in January so keep your eyes open.  We think you will really really like it! 

Although I cannot give you too many details, I will say that the new blog will be in one word…AWESOME!  We have been working with the design firm Dizzain on the new look for the blog.  They have been great and are a talented crew.  Thanks, guys – we can’t wait to see what you’ve cooked up!!

Meanwhile, Bryan and I have been gathering research like mad to put together some great content.  What we want to do is create a place that you will want to stop in every day for your daily dose of humor, sales and marketing tips…and well, I can’t give it all away.  You will have to stay tuned! 

In the meantime, stay warm!

Christina Kudym

ABC News reported in their article, “Neb. Small-Business Owners Say They Get No Help,” that Small business owners gathered in Omaha Tuesday to discuss what they feel is a lack of help from government stimulus programs and banks. Some of the business owners interviewed recount tales of home foreclosures, lending struggles and land devaluations – all things that significantly impact the small businesses that Omaha representative Lee Terry describes as the backbone of the U.S. economy.

If this article (and the 50 small business owners that gathered in Omaha) indicates anything, it’s that the recession is far from over, small businesses are STILL struggling, and many are having difficulty finding the help they “need.”  … or was it “want?”

We blogged a while back about a few great resources for small business: The SBA, SCORE, local banks to name a few. Now it’s not always easy… handouts (bailouts?) are easy. These are more like hand-ups. Our free marketing contest has even helped-up a few hundred small businesses drum up new customers and breath life into some marketing practices. (For those of you waiting to enter again… February we’re opening the contest back up, and it’s going to be BETTER THAN EVER!)

With all of the cries of small businesses these days, I’m reminded of a saying from another one of our blog authors, Christina Kudym: “Mom said no… … … Da-a-a-a-d!!!”  (She’s hilarious; follow her on Twitter @ChristinaKudym.)

With all the “bail outs” going on for larger industries, are we losing site of our own responsibilities? Do we “need” help or “want” help? Or to say it differently, are we just whining too much? Is there an opportunity to take even more pride from owning a business if you can steer it successfully with whatever resources are made available to you?

Or… does the government have a responsibility to the backbone of the U.S. economy to step in and help when times get tough?

Or further still… is there a risk to the greater economy without greater intervention?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this evolving discussion.

Bryan D. Jennewein

Have you been thinking about starting your own business or going out on your own? Very soon (in two days in fact) it will be a new year… is this the year for a new you or your new business?

The AMEX Open Forum featured a fantastic article about seven truths everyone should know before going out on their own. Check out the article here: “Don’t Quit Your Cozy Corporate Job and Go Out on Your Own Until You Master These Seven Truths.”

One in particular struck me as a really good piece of advice:

Focus is the solitary suggestor of success. Spraying is the enemy. Focus is mobilizing. Therefore: Take your index finger, cover up the tip of the hose, and shoot out a frozen rope of focused effort. Otherwise you’ll spread yourself too thin, the result of which will be a diffusion of energy investment. This is not good. Your challenge is to constantly ask yourself questions like: “Is what I’m doing RIGHT NOW consistent with my #1 goal?” and “What consuming my time but doesn’t make me any money?” Remember: William James was right when he said, “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” How much time are you spending on things that diffuse your focus and hamper your goals?

What do YOU think makes great advice for anyone going out on their own?

Bryan D. Jennewein

Ever feel like there’s just too much to do? If you’re a small-business owner or entrepreneur, you’re answer is almost always “Yes.” In fact, you’re probably exclaiming, “Yes! Yes! All the time!”

Want a solution for calming the chaos? I came across a great article in the AMEX Open Forum website by the Behance Team titled, “5 Ways to Reduce Anxiety in 2010,” and I just knew these would be tips you’d love.

Check out the article here: http://bit.ly/5W1qFJ

The five tips were surprisingly simple:

1. Avoid reactionary workflow
2. Reduce your insecurity at work
3. Worry only about problems within your circle of influence
4. Practice saying “no”
5. Eat (I LOVE this tip!!)

Now… does anyone have any tips for DOING these things?

Bryan D. Jennewein

Another one of our first free marketing winners was Trinity United Methodist Church.  The church was so happy with their results that they asked our marketing experts to come to their church and speak about how to market smart for your church.  We are working with them to put together a package specifically tailored to help places of worship build their congregations.  Thanks so much, Reverend Nan, for all of your insight!  Below are the things that we worked on for the church.

Marketing Plan:

We decided on a combination of email and direct mail.  Because Trinity has a limited budget, we wanted to make sure that whatever we created could be easily maintained once our marketing sponsorship was over.  We designed 3 emails and 3 postcards that we thought fit their personality.

We decided to market not only to help build their congregation but also to build awareness of their brand new community center.  (Our InfoGroup NonProfit division also put together a fundraiser for the new community, which we mentioned it an older post…they were even on TV!)

To help build the church’s congregation, we targeted new movers to the area within the last 6 months (omitting movers within the same ZIP Code “of Course”).  To boost awareness of the community center, we targeted consumers within a 1.5-mile radius as well as businesses within a 3-mile radius of the church, advertising the party and meeting rooms that are available as well as their amenities.

See below the Email & Corresponding Postcards we designed and deployed.

Special Note to Direct Mailers who use Email w/Direct Mail:

If you are looking to cut down on the cost of your direct mail campaigns, you can choose to mail to only those people who opened your email.  This gives you an indication they are somewhat interested in your offer or message.  You could also personalize the Direct Mail to say ” you saw our email..”

To give the Trinity campaign maximum penetration, we sent our direct mail and email campaigns to the same audiences and did not net down our mailing by email open rate.

Trinity Church – Congregation Builder to New Movers
Theme: Make New Friends in Your Community

Click Here for the Email Click Here for the Postcard

Trinity Community Center – Awareness for the Center Sent to Consumers in the Area
Theme: Imagine the Possibilities

Click Here for the Email Click Here for the Postcard

Trinity Community Center – Awareness for the Center Sent to Local Businesses
Theme: Need Some Space?

Click Here for the Email Click Here for the Postcard

The question is: Did they work?

Trinity received more than 40 phone calls for the community center, but sadly only 1 new visitor to the church was counted.  The counts themselves were low so 40 calls is not bad for our first time out!  Statistics show that you need to communicate with someone at least 7 times before they read what you send.  We communicated with each audience 3 times during this campaign.  Guess we need to continue marketing here!  The community center, however, booked 2 events from the campaign!!  More importantly, we were able to get the word out about the community center and what it has to offer.  I foresee them getting some calls about this campaign in the future.  Since this is a new campaign we don’t have an idea of a sales cycle so there is no way to predict the % of calls they may see in the coming months.

As we said above, Nan was so pleased that she wants us to speak to other church leaders about our offerings as well as give marketing tips.  She has even offered to use the community center for the event.  Wow!  Thanks again Nan!

Our American Church Lists division will be offering 25% to churches who see this post and want to do some marketing to build their congregation or raise awareness of their community center or activities.

Please Call 877-733-1812 and mention ”StormDawg Offer Code 93SDB”

( Note this offer cannot be combined with any other offer and is good one per customer only.  Offer Expires Dec 31st 2009.)

Until next time,
Christina

One of our earlier winners of our Free Marketing Contest, Texas Mountain Cedar, is seeing such great success, we thought we’d share it with all of you, and finish with an incredible offer… a 20-40% discount! Keep reading or click here for discount information!

Background of winner: Texas Mountain Cedar Designs is a family owned and operated business. With more than 18 years of experience working with Texas mountain cedar, the company has developed a unique artistry building pergolas, trellises, arbors, and fences from cedar.

Marketing plan: For this business, we selected a combination of direct mail marketing, email marketing and web site advertising. We designed a custom tri-fold brochure (click here to see it!) promoting their arbors, pergolas, trellises and the like. For email, we targeted both business and consumers, and repeated the message twice (click here to see it!). Finally, we promoted their website with Google AdWords (Paid Search) and a targeted landing page PLUS got them listed on Google Local. (They didn’t have business cards, so we printed those, too.)

Campaign details:

Direct mail marketing – Tri-Fold Brochures (click here to see it!)

The brochures are in the mail right now. The unique 800# we included will help us track how many calls come in.

Email – “Add Beauty to Your Landscape” email blast to businesses and consumers (2x) (click here to see it!)

We emailed a total of 1,294 recipients 27,356 recipients, including businesses and consumers. (You never know who will respond to your message and in what setting.) We targeted the email list to Texas Mountain Cedar’s best prospects, so we didn’t waste a dime mailing to the wrong audience. We saw an unbelievable 30% 38% open rate with business and 16% open rate with consumers, and the calls are starting to come in!

Local – Submission of main website to Google Local Search

We submitted the Texas Mountain Cedar to Google Local Search, so people could find them easily when searching for their products in the area. This tiny improvement has resulted in only one phone call lead for them.

SEM – Google Paid Search Marketing

We leveraged some of our strategic partnerships to sponsor some Google AdWords (Paid Search) for Texas Mountain. We tested eight variations of ads with a conservative budget to find the best one. Our tests alone yielded 2 calls and 5 web form leads, while these in combination with the website resulted in an additional 22 calls and 1 more web form lead.

Has it worked?

Overwhelmingly yes! 25 calls, 6 web form leads, and more than 926 unique visitors to their website. And this doesn’t even include their tri-fold mailer! (We’ll report on that soon.)

Here’s what Nancy, one of the owners, had to say recently about one of her successes:

“We are going to a home in Southlake on Sunday to look at a yard for a pergola to cover an area 15′x17′x30′. It’s the perfect neighborhood – high-dollar homes. Most everyone has a pool. […] I’m hoping for more inquiries after the brochures go out. Then I’ll start to follow up with the businesses, starting with the ones closest to us and work my way out. Lots of work ahead, but I’m loving every minute of it!”

It worked for Nancy and Texas Mountain Cedar, but will it work for you?

We believe it will! And we’re offering any reader a 20% discount on successful services just like these! Get your campaign started right now by calling 1-866-549-6811.  Call now, this offer won’t last!

Or, lock in your discount and get an additional 10-20% off! Just fan us on Facebook and tag us on your wall! Just follow these three easy steps.  Or call 1-866-549-6811.