Week 13: 50 Shades of Gray

Have you ever worked for a big corporation in a gray cubicle? Sure, you try to put up some pictures of your friends and family, but it's still a Gray Cubicle. Deadly dull, but you bring home a paycheck so you tolerate it. What if you could start a business and break away from all that? This is the subject of my first campaign.

One thing you will need is an objective. At this point, my main objective is to create awareness of my Facebook page, my blog and my website. This is because it is a new business and just building a community. Other objectives might be to generate sales, collect email addresses or even gather donations for a non-profit organization. It is important to think about what your ad objective is and then decide how you will track your success.

My first ad campaign will target people who want to...

BREAK FREE OF THE GRAY CUBICLE!

Actually, there is one ad that targets people who are trying to start a business using social media. I believe a mixture of ads presents a more interesting campaign.

Here are my first 3 ads and why each would be effective.

AD #1

The image in this ad says it all. It will draw the attention of women who work in corporate environments. I would place this ad during a typical lunch time for a full time employee, say 12-1pm. It also might be effective between 5-6pm, right after work. A tired worker would relate to the dissatisfied look on this lady's face. This ad leads her to a website where she can find out how to start a business.

AD # 2

 

This ad is designed to make the viewer curious. There is an image of a website and a bunch of eyes in "the cloud". They are invited to click on the video and then "like" the page. I like the "dreamy" look of the lady on the armchair. This creates awareness of the Facebook page and increases followers. 

Oh, and here's the actual video in  case you want to see it:

AD #3

 

We can almost all relate to being so bored at work that we nearly fall asleep! This ad leads the viewer to a blog article on this very blog. How do you like that, Crafties! My first instinct is to run this ad in the middle of the afternoon when my target audience might be bored and checking their Facebook. Then again, they might be asleep when I run the ad. Guess I'll just have to watch my analytics to find out what time works best. 

Well that's all for now. Leave me a comment about what objective you would have for your Facebook ads.

Maxine

Week 12A: Sizing up the Competition

I know, it can be unpleasant, but peeking at your competition can really help you do better in your business. The businesses listed below are already living the life I want to lead - helping people start their own business. None of them are doing exactly what I want to do, but they are close enough. Let's look at the top competition for my business, diy4biz.

COMPETITION

Greg Clowminzer 

Greg does advertise himself as a business coach, however his posts are more about handling life. People may perceive him as concerned about their lives rather than just their businesses.

He doesn't handle himself well on social media. His website URL is not obvious on Facebook. I can only find his phone number unless I dig really deep. Many of his posts are philosophical/wishful thinking. Doesn't appear to be a practical person.

Asha Mankowska

This is more like it. Asha connects more with her audience. She writes more on her posts. Seems like a woman with a brain. However, her website is tacky.

Rae Majors-Wildman

This lady puts up a video on Facebook that is, well, not very well thought out. Her facebook page is spotty, not kept up. Her twitter page is much better.

Roberto Blake

Roberto is really amazing. When I friended him, he messaged me and we had a little conversation. His pages are a combination of fun stuff and business stuff. Well kept up. I might handle things the way he does.

Kimanzi Constable

This guy has a nice website, and that's about half of what I want to do. He also seems to write well on his blog.

FACEBOOK ADS

Looking at the four Facebook ads above, I am most attracted to #1 and #4. Why? Because of the imagery. The pie gets my attention and the hobbit with the sword also draws my eyes. The call to action for the first one is simply to "Like" the page. This could be a useful strategy. People are asked to "Get Offer" or "Buy" all the time. For example, in the next two ads those calls to action are used. However, simply asking for a "Like" seems easy enough. Whoever "Likes" the page may buy later from news-feed posts. The last call to action is the strongest of all. Not sure if I like it but it is offered as a free trial, so no risk there.

TWITTER ADS

The four Twitter ads above are all apps so the call to action is to "Install".  I like the imagery on #1. Ad #3 is interesting, too. It appeals to people who want to earn a little money on everyday purchases. The obvious message is that when you buy anything, like french fries, you earn money.

TRADITIONAL vs SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING

Traditional media would include TV advertising, newspaper advertising, radio, billboards, etc. I do not have cable TV nor do I read newspapers. I do listen to the radio sometimes but have little exposure to billboards because I do not commute on a freeway.

Everything I do is on the computer and the Internet. Truthfully though, advertising doesn't work on me. I earn barely enough income to cover rent, food & basic bills. I ignore all advertising by habit. The only advertising that has worked on me this semester is the samples offered at Trader Joe's. Sometimes I find great food products because I can taste it ahead of time. That's it. Food is the only thing I buy.

Having said all that, I read this article by Tracy Petrucci and found it to be very interesting. In it, she explains why some companies have no luck with Facebook ads. She points out that the companies they hired to place the ads are in a foreign country so their default is that country. In addition, she explains why it is a bad idea to buy "Likes", why Facebook is the cheapest way to advertise, and the basics of lead capture.

Week 11B: Widening Your Circles

I remember that in high school there were cliques, different groups of kids. There were the "jocks" who were the athletes. There were the Geeks, the Stoners, the Drama Geeks, and where I grew up in Arizona, there were the Kickers in big cowboy hats and impossibly tight jeans with big silver belt buckles. No, they didn't kick soccer balls, they kicked, well... cow pies

In high school we had circles of friends with common interests and now circles of friends is a big concept on the Internet. In fact, Google+ has a featured actually called Circles.

1. Social Networks

Google+

Of course I am interested in Social Media marketing so I found some Google + Communities that interest me:

Social Media Strategy

Social Media News

Social Media Psychology

I also find the idea of Circles in that platform interesting, but the idea that might do my future business the most good is called a "Hangout". This is like a conference call but it is virtual. Something like a Skype call but with more participants, this could be a great way to hold small online events and keep in touch with my customers while giving them a place to brainstorm and help each other. Perfect for a consultant!

LinkedIn

Found a couple of Groups on LinkedIn that sound good.

Social Media

Social Media Marketing 2.1

Other interesting features of LinkedIn include an app to share a Google Presentation. There is a very, very important app called "Company Buzz" that tracks what is being said about your company on other social media platforms. Very cool. "Tweets" is an app that helps you to save time by aggregating your updates. I'm always in favor of saving time.

If you want to grow your reputation as an expert, LinkedIn has a feature called "Answers". People ask questions and various other people answer the questions. All in all, LinkedIn seems more professional to me because there are lots of moderators screening content to keep it classy.

2. Coupon Networks

Groupon

This may work for a few businesses, but setting up your coupon must be well thought out. I heard about a restaurant that offered such a great deal that their employees were overwhelmed and couldn't meet the demand. Food ran out and customer service was bad because there wasn't enough staff.
People came in the door, but this business wasn't ready.

Setting a goal for your Groupon campaign is important. Is it to get repeat business? Sometimes people walk in with a Groupon and never come back. Giving the new customers a second coupon on their first visit could be a way to avoid the one-timers and get another chance to turn them into customers. It is easy to lose money on a Groupon campaign if you don't calculate in overhead, labor, etc. when calculating Return on Investment (ROI).

As a social media consultant, I think I would stay away from this kind of promotion.

3. Yelp

Yelp

I really have a distaste for Yelp. It seems to be mostly customer driven with very little opportunity for a business to really address bad reviews. A business could be unjustly driven out of business quite easily.

However, the Millennial generation seems to love it so if you are targeting that generation and have a restaurant or entertainment or retail establishment, this may be the best place to shine.

Week 11A: ... and all that Jazz

Back in the 70', whenever somebody had a long list and ran out of steam, they would just say, "And all that jazz". This week we will look at some social media sites that are not major players but are worth mentioning.

Here are a few I am considering for my Social Media Consulting business:

LinkedIn - This is the crème de la crème of professional networking sites. I would consider this site a must-have for consultants.

Groupon - I could make a coupon for my hour long social media brainstorm session. Mostly I would let them talk about their business and take notes. Then, if our personalities mesh well, I could close them on further paid sessions.

Tumblr - this is another blogging site, but it seems more modern and mobile than Blogger.com.

Google + - I have begun to explore this platform. Not too impressed yet, but I need to give it more time.

Week 10B: Diving Right In

Sometimes you really do have to dive right in. Getting used to the water a little at a time is fine with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, but when you create your first newsletter, you either send it or you don't. Today, I sent my first newsletter and it felt so good to dive right in!

I also checked out some of my classmates newsletter ideas and commented on their posts:

Montes, Marcelle  Weddings at Twin Oaks

Grice, Kylee:  Kylee MUA - Health & Beauty

Holmes, Kendall: Carlsbad Counseling Center

   

Week 10A: Passing Notes in Class

I remember before the Internet and cell phones came along, if we wanted to send a message to someone in class, we had to write it on a piece of paper, fold it, add the person's name and pass it when the teacher wasn't looking.

Receiving a passed note was exciting because you weren't always sure if the message would be nice or mean. If there was drama on the playground, all eyes might be on you when you opened your note, but one thing was sure, it was a personal communication meant just for you.

Fast forward a few decades, we won't say how many...

Now I sit in a college classroom, watching classmates check text messages and emails from their phone or notebook computer. No need for the secret pieces of paper and the sweet anticipation that went with receiving a note. Well, maybe the anticipation is still there, just a bit, because receiving an email is still a personal communication just for you.

That is why it is important as a business owner to start and keep an email list. That way, you can send a newsletter to people who are interested in what you have to say. I think I would start out by sending an email newsletter once a week. I would look at the analytics and maybe try once a month or perhaps go to more than once a week. It would depend on the feedback I received from the software.

The problem might be that you don't really have a lot of ideas about what you want to say. Below are some idea categories and how I might apply them to my business, DIY 4 Biz.

1. Useful information about your area of expertise. In my case, I would write short articles about basic marketing for small business. This would be a core interest for the entrepreneurs of my target market.

2. Latest news from your industry. This is where DIY 4 Biz could really shine. Things are constantly changing in the world of Internet marketing. For example, recently Google decided to rank mobile websites higher in their search engine. Literally overnight, people were looking for a mobile platform from which to launch their new site. News like this is really important so my subscribers don't miss something or fall behind.

3. Tips and "how to" features. There are literally hundreds tips and "how-to" features I have learned while earning my marketing degree. I probably have years of tips that I could write now. If I run out of ideas, I could always hit my books again for inspiration. This may be the kind of inspiration my subscribers need for their own marketing.

4. Upcoming events, conferences or trade fairs. DIY 4 Biz could become a great source of small business event news. I could even have a calendar on the website that people would visit to see what is going on. An upcoming event would be a great article on a newsletter. Subscribers would appreciate the chance to attend events they find out about on my newsletter.

5. Special offers. Discount codes could be sent, just for email subscribers. These codes could be a trial offer to access the back door to the YouTube channel or the website. Other codes could offer a short "brainstorming" consultation with the purchase of an hour of actual business consultation. People always love a discount.

6. Details of a new product being launched or highlighted. For my business, I plan to create a new YouTube video on a regular basis. Every new video could be a feature on a newsletter. Subscribers could click-through to YouTube and enjoy a quick video, giving them a little "marketing break" in their day.

Do you have a business or an idea for a business? If so, how could you apply the six idea categories above to your specific business? Let me know in the content section below.

Maxine

Week 9B: Category Kindness

Blogging can be a challenge for the writer but also for the creators of the Blog. Have you ever stumbled across a blog, been intrigued and then looked at the categories? A list of categories a mile long with one or two posts per category is frustrating for the audience. Let's be kind and keep those categories concise.

When categories have been added randomly without any thought or plan, it is an obvious mistake. Before you begin your blog, make a list of potential categories. Think about what you want to write about. Look at other blogs in your industry and look at their categories. What makes sense? What really could be combined into a cleaner category.

The blog you are reading right now is for the entrepreneur who is starting up or building a business. They are getting their brand started, setting up a website, learning about government permits & taxes, perhaps buying bookkeeping software and maybe setting up a brick-and-mortar shop. Marketing is on their list, but their time is limited. The categories for this blog should be helpful to my target reader without being too overwhelming. Below are some possible categories for this blog.

Build Your Blog

Communicating, Listening, Responding

Facebook Strategy

Internet Analytics – Measuring Success

Marketing in the Digital Age

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Social Media Basics

Tools that Make Life Easier

Twitter Strategy

Websites – Design, Branding, Platforms

YouTube Strategy

When you decide on categories for your blog, make sure to plan out your categories so your readers have a hand reference to navigate to the posts that interest them. 

Remember that as a content writer, when that blank screen is staring you in the face you can re-visit your categories for inspiration. Perhaps there is a category that hasn't seen a post for a while. That can be a good starting point for your next post. 

Below are some blogs who have posts about being personable on a business blog. Check these out. There are some great tips.

MV Montes

http://mvmontes.blogspot.com/2016/11/week-9-time-and-place-for-opinions.html

A Fearless Lioness Rant

https://afearlesslionessrant.blogspot.com/2016/11/week-9-blogging-for-business.html?showComment=1478579968837#c556719278149034937

Kendall's CSIT155

https://kendallscsit155.blogspot.com/2016/11/blogging-for-business-week-9.html?showComment=1478580165755#c8441148110524145000