SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIO INSTRUCTIONAL CD OFFER!

For the rest of the month of February, 2010, I will be giving away a copy of my instructional audio CD entitled “The Seven Secrets of Revolutionizing Your Business Through Social Media” to any local Jefferson City, Columbia, or Central Missouri area businesses and sales professionals that ask! This audio instructional CD is valued at $29.95, and will help you charge up your marketing efforts using low to no-cost methods. You will not want to miss out on getting this information! The ideas, tips, and strategies presented are very simple to understand and even easier to implement. If you are a business owner, sales professional, organizational leader, or even elected official, this is something that you will have an immediate use for.

Here’s some of what you will learn in this 7-part program:

• the single most critical marketing factor that will cost you your business edge if you don’t pay attention to this marketing trend
• the undesirable result of not taking action if and when your competitors learn of these before you do, and what you must do to stay on top in your field
• how to hack down your advertising & marketing budget, and replace it with something that gets measurable results
• the low-cost and highly effective alternative to “grapeshot marketing”
• a new free service that the majority of households are now discovering and accessing while you continue to dump money into “Stonehenge Media” sources
• a new trend that most large businesses have not discovered that is becoming the most effective form of advertising and brand-building
• a new way to increase your exposure and add potential clients in rapid-fashion like never before

All you have to do to land this valuable information is to contact me via Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/carltonf) or by calling me at (573) 893-9498 and I will be glad to hand deliver a copy to your place of business. I will even post a picture on my blog and include your business name for added exposure! So don’t delay… once the special offer is over, I will have to charge the regular price to continue producing the CD’s. Contact me now, and I will look forward to seeing you at your place of business!

To your success,

Carlton Flowers
Marketing Strategist
(573) 893-9498

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WILL THE RECESSION ELEVATE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN 2010?

“The Great Recession” has brought hard times to businesses in just about every sector, and has everyone re-thinking and re-prioritizing business expenses and operating strategies like never before. During economic “high times”, waste abounds. But during tough times, deep thought is put into every aspect of business. Couple this with the fact that we are seeing a trend where more and more people are moving away from television and traditional media, and we have a problem worth paying attention to. As a result, companies think twice before dumping the usual amount of cash into traditional media marketing and advertising.

Unless a certain traditional advertising method is tried and tested and producing positive results, it’s risky business to throw large amounts of cash at new untested marketing ideas. However, testing new concepts and ideas can now be done relatively free of cost through social media communities. And the good news? There’s a huge audience waiting on sites like Twitter and Facebook to participate in your marketing and advertising ideas.

High levels of participation can normally be achieved, and the success of testing the market in this manner is due to the insanely large percentage of people participating in social media communities. Just today, it has been reported that Facebook alone has registered 400 million users worldwide. This figure is up 50 million from the last estimate I read just one month ago. Another staggering statistic is the fact that 50% of the registered users check in on a daily basis. This creates an enormous opportunity for businesses.

The goal in advertising and marketing is to get your message and/or brand in front of as many people that you can, and to engage your audience accordingly. Common sense would tell you to take your message where the majority of the people are gathering and paying attention, which just happens to be Facebook and Twitter. Does it make sense to spend advertising dollars in a declining media market? Of course not. That’s why social media marketing is making more sense by the day.

That gets me to my main point. I see social media marketing becoming a cost control measure in the coming year as companies and agencies slash budgets vehemently to survive. Pulling money out of the declining traditional media outlets and doubling down on social media marketing is a complete common sense cost cutting strategy that we are already seeing, but you can bet your bottom dollar that it will become a strong trend in 2010.

Have you observed an increase in the use of social media for marketing purposes among small businesses, corporations and government agencies in your area? Tell us about it in the comments section below!

Carlton Flowers
Marketing Strategist

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ARE SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGING JUST A FAD, OR ARE THEY A REAL TREND?

In the past 3 years, we have seen the explosive growth of the social media scene. Facebook has garnered over 350,000,000 active users worldwide, Twitter has attained roughly 45,000,000 users, and there have been 130,000,000 blogs indexed by Technorati since the year 2002. In 24 hours alone, over 900,000 blog posts are created. But even with these staggering statistics, there are still those who believe that the social media explosion is a fad, not a paradigm shift.

I strongly believe that social media represents a paradigm shift in the way that we as a people communicate and interact with one another. When the fastest growing sector on Facebook is the 55+ age group, you don’t have a problem believing that this is a definite all-encompassing shift. But the sheer numbers of people participating in social media communities and blogs does not determine the long-term viability of the trend alone. What makes me boldly state that the social media trend is “boldly going where no man has gone before” and will show no sign of weakening is one thing… monetization.

Tech Trader Daily states that as of January 20th, 2010, Facebook is valued at roughly $14 billion. Twitpic is said to be worth more than $10 million.  MSNBC’s Motley Fool states that search monster Google could be worth $200 billion. The Tech Observer believes Twitter to be valued at around $1 billion. That’s just a sampling of a few of the major players on the social media scene. But this is not what made my mind up about the strength of this trend. What aspect of monetization makes me so confident, you ask? The local search market. Heres why…

In this day and age, nobody is reaching for the Yellow Book to find a pizza joint for dinner. They are using Google. Not only are people Googling restaurant ideas on their home computers, they are using their smart phones. The smart phone trend is getting bigger by the day, and people are becoming more accustomed to using their smart phone devices as their primary internet portholes. The use of Google for researching purchasing decisions on the local level has captured the attention of small businesses and professionals. Instead of relying solely on the radio, newspaper, and the declining television market, they must now “optimize” their presence on the internet to take advantage of local searchers by maximizing their online visibility. This has created a cottage industry that we call “Search Engine Optimization”, or SEO for short.

Now it’s time to tie it all in. What is the fastest way to optimize your business presence on the web in order to facilitate ease of indexing by search engine giant Google? It’s social media platforms and blogging. Using micro blogging sites and social media communities, business owners are able to conquer search terms related to their niche and achieve indexing for their local search market within hours, in some instances. People can pay consultants hefty fees to optimize their searchability (my new word), or they can do it organically by blogging, using targeted keywords, and interacting with people on a one-on-one basis within the most popular social media communities.

The fact remains that social media is a societal trend, not a fad, and the money tied up into this trend both on the national level and the local level is proof. So the next time you hear someone telling you that social media marketing is a farse, and the social media communities will be gone before long, just think about the hundreds of thousands of grandmas out there who are spending hours a day tending to their virtual farms on “Farmville”, and picture this obsessive activity disappearing. I don’t see this happening within my lifetime.

by Carlton Flowers
Social Media Strategist

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TWITTER TURBO NEARS COMPLETION – VIDEO UPDATE

I’ve been at the helm pounding away at the keyboard and finalizing the Twitter Turbo seminar software CD for release in February of 2010. I’m three months late on my projected release, but I’ve had so much more great information to include in this project that I just could not let it go a minute too early. Several sales & marketing professionals have expressed interest in the program, and several others are asking for information on what the program covers. This video includes a basic explanation of how Twitter Turbo will benefit you as a business owner or sales professional in layman’s terms. In the video, I encourage viewers to sign up for the email list to have immediate notification when the product is ready for release. You will need to go to the Twitter Turbo page and enter your email address at the bottom of the page in order to do so. Questions, comments, or discussion? Feel free to post them below! I’ll look forward to hearing from you!

Click Here to view the video!

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TWITTER TRAINING COMING TO CENTRAL MISSOURI!

Today I was blessed to have been interviewed by the awesome David Lile on KFRU Radio in Columbia (1400AM). David is a very charismatic gentleman who carries quite a large following with his radio broadcast. He had some great questions waiting for me, and admitted that he has not spent much time at all on the social media front, nor was he entirely motivated to do so. But by the end of the interview, he saw value in social media participation for business owners and professionals, and even stated that he may look into getting on Twitter and Facebook himself!

We had 3 callers in the latter half of the interview who all had excellent questions. I was surprised that all were interested in learning how to use Twitter, and wanting to know ways that it could be integrated into their marketing strategy. From the questions that were asked, I get a good feeling that there is a need for fundamental Twitter marketing training in Central Missouri. I plan on helping people get the basics of Twitter marketing by providing basic info in my marketing strategy podcast, and also through live webcasts. In the future, as demand dictates, I will be offering workshops and individualized consulting.

My goal is to help business owners and sales professionals explode their current market base and expand the extent of their reach by utilizing the popular social media networks, thus increasing traffic to their businesses and increasing profits. All of this is possible with the right methods and a solid strategy. For more information on social media marketing, listen to the audio podcasts on www.carltonzone.com/blog and chime in to the discussion.

Do you have a question about using Twitter or Facebook to promote your business or organization? Write in a response to this blog post, or contact me via email at carlton.flowers@gmail.com. I’ll be waiting to help you!

Carlton Flowers
Marketing Strategist

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TWITTER LIST BUILDING – TAKE THE DIRTY SHORTCUTS, OR BUILD NATURALLY?

In today’s podcast presentation we’ll talk about building your following on Twitter. Do you prefer to ramp-up the speed of your follower list growth artificially, or do you prefer “organic” follower building methods? With artificial Twitter follower list building, people hire consultants to handle the grunt work of collecting masses of new followers. Others pay an outright fee for a bulk amount of followers. But with organic building, these Twitter citizens prefer to meet and connect with others based on common interest and 1-on-1 interaction.

We will discuss the difference between the two methods, along with the following topics:

• When Twitter becomes nothing more than the Chicago phone book
• What happens when cheaters, scammers, and con artists all get together in one community
• The advantages to organic Twitter follower list building
• Why trust is vital to Twitter marketing for businesses
• The “Instant Rock Star Bait-and-Switch” dirty Twitter tactic

As always, feel free to post your comments and questions below, or call our Google Voice line at (636) 377-0006 and leave a short message to voice your opinion!

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THE SIMPLE STEPS TO CULTIVATING CUSTOMER TRAFFIC USING TWITTER

This week, Kim of the Kingdom City, Missouri Comfort Inn hotel posed a simple yet important question to me that many businesses and sales professionals often ask… “how do you drive traffic to your Twitter presence on the web?” This is an excellent question! I have a simple,  straight-to-the-point strategy that you can use right now. In today’s podcast, I’ll cover the details of getting quality customer traffic to your online business presence using Twitter as your main tool. The steps are as follows:

• First, make a nice Twitter landing page for your bio address
• Do not sell directly on your Twitter page. Make it fun. Get to know people!
• Give benefits, features, or special offers for your business AFTER your introduction
• Give people a reason to contact you on Twitter for a special offer or giveaway
• Give a link to your company website and tell people what they will see if they visit your site
• Give a steady tweet stream daily, but do NOT overdo your frequency
• Interact with as many people as possible via Twitter
• Create a Facebook fan page and link to it on the Twitter bio page
• Give every customer that visits your place of business a reason to get on Twitter BEFORE they leave your store

The details are covered in the audio podcast. Do you have questions or comments? Post them below. Or, if you would like to call and leave a 30-second message, use our new Google Voice number by dialing 636-377-0006. I’ll be looking forward to hearing your comments!

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UPS VIDEO – SEIZING SOCIAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

This video by Adam Ostrow via the Mashable blog comes from the “Seizing Opportunities” video series produced by the UPS company. Adam gives a straight-forward explanation of why you should monitor the social media activity in your industry and create your own social media marketing plan.

We all realize by now that business marketing is making a serious shift to social media sites. The three most important social media platforms today are Facebook, Twitter, and blogging in general. If you are just getting started in “web 2.0″ marketing, this would make a great foundation, and you don’t have to create anything elaborate. Getting involved and interacting with people should be your main goal.

Adam explains that it is vital to keep track of what is going on in your industry. A good way to do this is to follow industry leaders on social media websites. For example, I pay close attention to Fox Television’s Clayton Morris on Twitter to stay on the edge of social media strategy consulting. A useful site that you can use for searching out industry leaders is Twellow.

Next, you will want to decide on what management software platforms that you will use in order to stay up on the information that industry leaders are putting out on the web. For example, desktop applications for Twitter such as Tweetdeck or Twihrl will allow you to organize the way that you keep up with this information. There are also numerous cell phone applications that allow you to track Tweets. You can even sign up for social media alerts which will email you any time your business name (or one that you are tracking) has been posted to a social media forum.

Overall, I consider it a “best practice” to stay connected with industry leaders and your clientele via social media websites in order to maximize your exposure and marketing potential. Enjoy the video!

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IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE METRICS OF “STONEHENGE MEDIA” ADVERTISING WITH WEB 2.0 LEVERAGE

How do you currently measure the success of your “Stonehenge” media advertisements? What type of feedback or response do you use to gauge the effectiveness or success of a newspaper ad, radio spot, tv commercial or billboard? In today’s podcast, we’ll talk about traditional performance metrics for Stonehenge media and how you can leverage your response rate with the addition of social media marketing.

Additionally, we’ll discuss “click tracking” as a method of evaluating effectiveness, and whether or not this is a dependable indicator. Listen to the podcast and post your questions and responses below!

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BUILDING A MASSIVE TWITTER FOLLOWING – IS THIS THE BEST WAY TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS?

In today’s podcast, the topic of discussion centers around Twitter marketing. Is it really advantageous to spend time building a huge Twitter following for business exposure? We’ll discuss the pros and cons of Twitter “list building”, and whether or not you are really getting the most bang out of your buck. Also up for discussion: paid list building services and what you really get for your money.

We are now seeing everything from website sales pages to even eBay auctions promising to add a certain number of followers to a Twitter account for a certain fee. Some are even charging an exorbitant amount of money for their service, but what do you end up with? What is the quality of the list that you have paid your hard-earned money for? And who’s to say that the list sellers aren’t pulling a scam on their customers?

As easy as it is to create fake Twitter accounts, I would be cautious about the validity of purchasing guaranteed followers. Even with real accounts, there’s still no way to qualify the list members. I caution any sales professional or business owner to seriously think about delving into list purchasing before wasting their money. Many Twitter community members now frown on others who participate in artificial list building. In the end, you may not be able to “buy” your online reputation back if your fast-track idea turns sour.

Last but not least, I give my insight on what metric you really SHOULD be tracking instead of the size of your Twitter following or the number of clicks you generate from your link posting. Most marketers gauge success by the number of clicks they receive for an online advertisement or pitch. However, there is one metric that goes far beyond click counting. What is it, you ask? You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out!

Click the podcast icon below to listen in and then share your thoughts, questions and comments on the blog!

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