So, your company is ready to “do” social media. Great!

But what does that mean, exactly?  Do you want to grow awareness for your business? Find and engage your customers and fans in conversation?  Or, maybe even generate some leads and sales?

Understanding what you want to accomplish with social media marketing is the first step in determining the best approach, and where you should invest your valuable time.

Our helpful guide will arm you with everything you need, including links to free and affordable social media tools, resources, and lots of best practices.  We’ve even included a list of some of the common pitfalls to avoid – so you can start marketing with social media with confidence!

Download a free copy of Leadtail’s Guide to Getting Started with Social Media.

Have other online marketing, advertising, and social media questions?  Check out the online marketing and advertising resources section of the Leadtail website.  We’ve compiled lots of other useful information to help you grow your business.

Or, you can always reach out to us directly by asking your question on Facebook or Twitter, dropping us a line, or giving us a call at 888.330.3236.

Trying to market your business, but think it’s too early to issue press releases and make social media worthwhile?  Think about it – is it ever too early to start generating interest and gathering information from prospects?  Of course not!  With a little creativity and the techniques outlined below, you can learn a ton, and create some valuable assets that will help you market your business now and well into the future.

But let’s get specific – what can you do?

Build up interest and audience.

Maybe you’ve seen some of these “coming soon” pages for products or apps that are not yet widely available?  This is a great way to generate interest for your product or service, and stock your email contact list and social audiences with early adopters (who tend to be willing to accept a product with a few rough spots in exchange for being the first to have access!).  Check out the example below.

This type of page lets you accomplish a few things:

• Quick and easy development cycle: Build a website landing page using tools like Unbounce or Optimizely to quickly create multiple versions of your “Coming Soon” page from a single template (you can create your own, or use one of the templates provided).  Keep it clean and simple; you want to create enough interest that visitors give you permission to engage with them again via email or social media.
• Test your marketing message: Use those “Coming Soon” landing pages to try out a variety of messages, tag lines, calls to action, lead capture forms, etc.. Determine if there are specific messages that are more effective at engaging the folks that will ultimately become your customers.
• Build up your social audience: Start signaling what type of product this is and who it is for. Worried you won’t have anything “worthwhile” to tweet or post about your business yet? No worries – follow and “like” other people or companies that are in your general area of interest, and share items from those sources with your audience.  Be sure to add a novel comment or perspective; don’t just pass on random items without showing how you add value!

Do social media via your personal network.

Share updates about your business via your LinkedIn status (not on LinkedIn?  You should be!). If you blog, use the apps on LinkedIn to display your blog feed on your profile. Participate in discussions on question and answer sites like Quora. Have lots of coffee meetings. Get honest, constructive feedback from your network, and listen to the questions people have after you tell them about your business. Ask people to tell you why it won’t work. Would they recommend it to a friend? Why wouldn’t they use it? How would they describe your business to their colleagues? Value and take to heart feedback that indicates you may not have it quite right yet. If you can’t get the people who find YOU interesting and worthwhile to engage with your business, how in the world will you capture the interest of busy, distracted strangers?

Lighten up about press releases!

It’s not the daily briefing at the White House, and you don’t have to have earth-shattering news to do a press release. Did you sign a new partner? Make a key hire? Attend an industry event? Write a new eBook? Expand your service offerings? All of these are worthwhile subjects for a press release, as they give you a chance to put your key messages into context, and hand feed them to social media and search engines. Press releases get extremely favorable treatment by Google, and are a great way for a your fledgling business to “own” Page 1 of search results for your key phrases.

One other note on press releases: you don’t need to hire a PR firm to do a press release (though there are lots of really great firms that can help when the time is right). Use one of the services on our Best Free and Affordable Press Release Services list  - they’re easy to use, and will often throw in some free SEO advice on your press release to help you get the maximum bang for your buck.

Looking for help with other online marketing, advertising, and social media questions?  Then check out the online marketing and advertising resources section of the Leadtail website. We’ve compiled lots of helpful information to help you market and grow your business.

And let us know how we can help. Ask your question on Facebook, tweet us @Leadtail on Twitter, drop us a line – or just give us a call at 888.330.3236

[Editor's Note: Special thanks to Karri Carlson for this guest post.  Karri leads Marketing & Customer Development at Leadtail.]

It seems like everyone wants to improve their website design these days. Maybe it’s that time of year, or maybe we get bored with our website after six months or so.

Of course, it could be that nagging feeling that your website isn’t getting the results you’re looking for… like lots of visitors, leads, and sales!

Whatever the reason, here are seven important questions to consider before starting your website design project.

1.  What’s the (real) purpose of your website?

• Generate leads and phone calls?
• Support the efforts of your sales team?
• Sell your products?
• Offer engaging content to build an audience?
• Provide helpful information about your company?

It’s okay to have more than one purpose. Just be clear on what the main one is so that you can design your website with that purpose in mind.

2.  Who is your target audience?

Can you describe them in detail? I hope so… since you’ll be spending plenty of time and money trying to find them on the Internet. Not to mention, hoping to get these prospects addicted to your website and offering. Again, who are you targeting?

3.  Can prospects find your website in search results?

Make your website “search friendly” so it shows up in the search results of your target audience, since the more people that find your site via “natural search” the less you’ll need to spend on marketing to find them. Not sure how to search engine optimize (SEO) your website? Get an expert to do it for you.

4.  How will your website visitors know they’ve come to the right place?

Your logo, “tagline”, and a handful of short benefit statements (with search-friendly keywords!) are really important for explaining what your website is all about and why your business is different. Photos, videos, and testimonials can also help tell your story and engage your target audience.

5.  How easy is it for prospects to find and act on what they’re looking for?

What do your website visitors want to do? And have you designed your site with these actions in mind? Take the time to figure this out before you redesign your website. For example, is it easy to learn about your services and pricing, or (gasp!) reach out and contact you?

6.  Have you made social media part of your website design?

Get customers and prospects to “like”, “tweet”, and otherwise share your website content with their social network. Put your business on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Start a blog, and post reviews and testimonials. Bottom line: make it easy for everyone to “spread the word” about your business!

7.  How will you know if your website is getting results?

Create clear goals for your website and marketing efforts. Track and measure your progress. This is where having a good web anlytics software is critical. How many website visitors are you getting? Are they doing what you want them to? Do they ever come back? All intriguing questions for sure…

Start your website design efforts by first answering these questions. Then worry about the “look and feel” of your website. Do this and your website will have a better chance of generating the results you’re looking for. Otherwise, it’ll soon be time to work on your website design (again).

Want to learn more about this fun topic? Check out these posts:

Who are you targeting with your online advertising?

Let’s talk about SEO basics. You first…

Ready to grow your business with social media?

Without web analytics your website is flying blind

And don’t forget, we’re here to help… just give us a call at 888.330.3236.

We’re often asked the question: “Where should I advertise online?” And it’s a good question… since there are (literally) thousands of online advertising options!

From paid search, to ad networks, to online directories, to websites, to social media… and the list grows longer all the time. Maybe all these options make sense for your advertising dollars, but then again, maybe not.

No worries, as our job is to help you get on your feet and moving in the right direction with online advertising… and hopefully keep you from taking too many wrong (and expensive) turns.

Now back to the question: “Where should I advertise online?” The answer depends on the following:

1. What’s your monthly online ad budget? There’s a big difference between relying on “word of mouth” and having lots of money to throw around. Not sure what you should be spending? Do the marketing math and find out.

2.  Who is the target audience you want to reach? The more you understand about your prospective customers… the better you’ll be able to reach and influence them with your marketing message. Who are you targeting with your online advertising?

3.  Are your customers local or everywhere? On the Internet, it’s easy to waste marketing dollars finding prospects who can’t buy from you. Yes, even online you need to think geographically. Getting started with your local online advertising?

4.  How will you know if your advertising was successful? What results are you looking for… orders, leads, sign-ups, phone calls? Figure this out in advance so you can measure the performance of your ad campaigns. And remember: without web analytics your website is flying blind.

With these questions in mind, here are some guidelines to help you figure out where to advertise online:

If your monthly online ad budget is less than $1,000, then consider:

• Paid Search: Google is the most popular but you should also test Yahoo/Bing. Keep in mind there are lots of other search-oriented sites that you can try such as Facebook, Business.com, LinkedIn, and (even) Amazon.com.

• Directories: These include the Internet yellow pages such as Superpages.com, Yellowpages.com, and DexKnows. Many of these providers will also create your very own web page if you don’t need a fancy website.

• City Guides: Yelp, Yahoo!Local, and Citysearch offer advertising options that can be really effective if most of your customers live nearby. And if you have a local store then make sure and put it on Google Maps.

• Social Media: It’s time to get your business on Facebook and Twitter. Why not since it’s free to set up an account and get started building your audience! Ready to grow your business with social media?

If your monthly online ad budget is $1,000 to $10,000, then consider:

• Paid Search, Directories, City Guides, Social Media (as described above)

• Small Blogs and Websites: This is where knowing all about your target audience pays off… since you want to advertise on sites that your prospects frequent. Expect to spend between $100 to $1,500 per month. Need help? Find out where to advertise online.

If your monthly online ad budget is $10,000 or more (lucky you!), then consider:

• Paid Search and Social Media (as described above)

• Blogs and Websites: Focus on sites that reach your target audience. The better the match the better your advertising results will be. Keep in mind that many popular consumer-oriented websites require a minimum order of $5,000.

• Ad Networks: There are hundreds of ad networks to choose from. Select those that best reach your target audience. For example, vertical ad networks specifically target many consumer categories such as autos, travel, health, women, and even eco-friendly consumers! And like with popular websites, most ad networks want you to spend at least $5,000.

Remember these are just guidelines. So, yes there are ad networks you can try even on a smaller budget; and sure there are popular websites which sell affordable text links. But when in doubt, stick to the guidelines until you feel comfortable with your online advertising efforts… or you risk taking one of those wrong turns we talked about.

Don’t spend your whole adverting budget on one option (i.e., Google). Instead, test different alternatives to see what works best for you… based on how you measure success. And make testing your online advertising a standard practice!

With all that said… are you ready for your online advertising roadmap?

Thanks and let us know how it goes!

Or reach out as we can help too… just give us a call at 888.330.3236.

(Btw, this was an update to our December 2008 post)

In case you’re wondering… you’re not alone. I know you’re trying to figure out how to use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to grow your business. Or maybe you just want to understand what social media marketing is… and if it can help you generate leads and sales. Rest assured. Lots of other small business marketers are wondering too… just like you!

According to the “Third Annual FedEx Office Signs of the Times Small Business Survey” from FedEx Office and Ketchum, almost two in five small-business owners reported they would be growing their businesses with social media sites. That was up from less than one-quarter who planned to up their game with social in 2009 and made social media the only tactic to increase in importance since last year.

So where to start?

Here are a few blog posts on why marketers and business owners are buzzing about social media… and how to get started:

http://www.doshdosh.com/the-importance-of-social-media-marketing/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/getting-started/

http://www.inc.com/ss/get-started-social-media#0

Oh, and I almost forgot. If Twitter is on your mind (it should be) then read our recent post: Time to Get Started On Twitter.

Remember, you’re not alone… since we’re here to help too!