Erik Qualman's Blog, page 508

Socialize Your Ecommerce Platform

Whether your brand is solely Ecommerce, or Ecommerce is just one aspect of it, you’ve got to promote it.

One of the best and fun, most effective and budget friendly marketing strategies to use these days is social media.

Whatever it is that you do or sell, social media can help you out. You just have to do it right.

Pick Your Platform and Strategy

Between all the social media platforms, you can probably find a couple that stand out to you as being the ones that you’ll find the best work to with and those that bring you more business. Then figure out what strategy will work best and you’ll enjoy doing.

As the following article looks at, take a look at what some businesses are doing with their eCommercePlatform to promote their brand:

• A great example of a company that has a strong brick and mortar presence but is pulling in virtual customers is Sephora. With “Fan Friday” specials on Facebook, social media fans can reap the benefits of discounts and specials. Many other companies are doing the same by promoting on Facebook or other platforms so their followers and fans can see what’s going on and get extra benefits. It brings a bit of a personal feeling.

• Some companies that are solely Ecommerce are doing great things with social media, as well. Contests are huge and bring in tons of customers. For instance, Om Nom Nom Cookies has run selfie contests. This is huge with Ecommerce businesses, and it’s where contestants post pictures of themselves with the brand, in this instance, a cookie. Winners can be picked at random, but it’s a great, fun way to gain followers and customers. Another way to promote a photo contest is to have your followers vote. Not only will this engage them even more, but you’ve got the potential to go viral depending on how invested your contestants are. You may be amazed at how many more followers (hence customers) this brings you.

• Other companies, like Ikea, ask followers to post how they are using their merchandise. Even if it just gets a customer a retweet or a share, it’s fun for everyone and followers can see what real people are doing. Excellent form of marketing – and it’s free!

• Join with others and promote them. If you have a community of Ecommerce businesses that you are involved in – promote each other. Say you own a jewelry business and your friend has a cupcake store – promote each other through contests, giveaways and fun photos. After all, who doesn’t love cupcakes and jewelry together? The more you do for others, well, the more they’ll do for you.

One of the best components about Ecommerce and social media is that you can have a lot of fun with it.

You don’t have to rely on stuffy marketing campaigns.

Instead, be creative, engaging, and supportive and the customers will flock to you.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

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Google To Merge Chrome and Android

What To Say When Your Friend Invites Your Enemy To Your Party…

Can’t we all be friends? Google is playing nice guy and merging Chrome and Android into one operating system. At the moment, Chrome is designed to be basic and do web browser things while Android is the mobile operating system. Merging the two similar to what Microsoft is doing with Windows 10 and Google wants to give it a shot against their competition.  (Source MSN)

YouTube Red Takes A Hint From the Music Industry

Video powerhouse YouTube launched their subscription service earlier this week. Users pay $9.99 a month to enjoy videos from their favorite creators with no ad interruptions. YouTube Red is offering a 30 day free trial to video watchers. This free trial rose concerns among content creators who worried they would not be paid for the views during this trial (Think Taylor Swift vs Spotify and Apple Music). Fear not, no letter or announcement will have to be made because YouTube Red creators will get paid during the free trial. Maybe they took a hint from Taylor Swift and the music industry. (Source The Verge)

Word of the Day: Nutscaping

Planking, Tebowing, Owling, step aside there’s a new photo trend in town. Nutscaping is the latest photo trend to hit the web and this one even has a whole website dedicated to it. Nutscapes.com explains the trend as,“selfies for real men.” According to Metro, the steps to the perfect Nutscape are:

1. Find yourself somewhere awesome

2. Turn your back to the awesome scene

3. Drop your pants

4. Bend over and shoot Nutscape through your legs

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Social Media for the Sensitive World of Health Care

For some types of business, making an impact on social media is easy. For health care, it’s not nearly as straightforward. Patient confidentiality and HIPPA requirements mean that some of your organization’s biggest successes stay out of view. Another challenge is that you can be dealing with difficult subjects, such as life-threatening illnesses, that need to be handled delicately on social media.

While there are challenges, there are also enormous opportunities. Health care organizations can’t afford to ignore social media, as 41 percent of survey responders said social media affects their decision on where they receive health care. Whether it’s Facebook, YouTube or somewhere else, these channels provide the perfect opportunity to address misinformation and provide valuable advice to patients.

Here’s how to make the most of your health care organization’s social media while avoiding some of the pitfalls that could arise.

Get Guidelines

Any company of a decent size will have a social media plan in place. For health care organizations – whether it’s a big hospital or a small practice – this is especially important. You need everyone on the same page, as there could be public complaints that need to be addressed and important information that needs to be shared. This is especially true for health care organizations, where privacy of the patients is essential.

Be Customer-Minded

People expect an answer, and when they ask something via social media, they want an answer right away. PricewaterhouseCoopers found that almost half of all people trying to make appointments via social media expect to hear back within hours. Not being prompt is a good way to frustrate people who are looking for immediate feedback.

Outsource to Professionals

Depending on what your organization is looking for, it might make sense to outsource your social media to a marketing firm dedicated to your industry. Leaving it to professionals will mean you’ll reach the right audience of potential clients and not have to worry about the task. Find the right agency that understands what your organization is all about and let it guide your social media strategy if needed.

Find Out What Works Best

The health care industry is vast and varied, and that also goes for effective social media strategies. A pediatric hospital, for instance, will have a much different presence than a medical device manufacturer. From the start, determine what the goal is and then work accordingly. Maybe it’s best to use social media as a platform to dispense medical advice, or maybe it can be used to share positive stories. Whatever the goal is, the messaging needs to be consistent.

Work With Patients

Photos are what social media is all about, yet finding the right ones to share in the health care industry can be difficult due to privacy concerns. If there’s a great story from the patient’s side that can be tastefully shared, work with that person to see what can be done. Anonymity can and probably should be kept to protect the patient, but they might be fine with sharing a positive experience. The right kind of story can have a big impact if it’s compelling and well told.

Educate Others

More people than ever are turning to the Web for health care advice. WebMD and Wikipedia are the most popular, but much of the information people seek comes from Facebook and YouTube. This is an opportunity for your organization to establish its value to potential customers and share expertise. It’s not only useful, it also helps build loyalty.

Don’t Spread Yourself Thin

There are a number of social media platforms out there, but unless you have vast resources, it’s best to focus on the ones that can make the biggest impact. Out of 1,500 hospitals with an online presence, Facebook was regarded as the most popular. Sticking to just a couple platforms will ensure that your message isn’t diluted and that existing audiences aren’t neglected with a lack of updates.

Look Toward the Future

When it comes to keeping patients informed, social media is fast becoming the preferred form of communication between patients and health care providers. With that in mind, it’s smart to stay on top of industry trends to see what’s possible in the future. Some hospitals have implemented online support groups to better serve patients. Think of what else could be possible for your organization to better serve patients or customers.

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When Wi-Fi is Halloween Creepy ..

When Wi-Fi is Halloween Creepy ..

 

Internet privacy is fast becoming an oxymoron…meaning zombie dead. Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab are using Wi-Fi signals to create a sonar-like technology. Coined “RF-Capture” this technology has the ability to detect a person’s shape,physical movements, and identify individuals based simply on their silhouette. The team has found that these silhouettes are extremely unique, and can even act as a second form of finger printing. RF-Capture will be used prominently in the safety and  health-related industries, and the complete findings are published on the MIT site with an interesting video for entertainment. So, if you don’t want your silhouette tracked wear that Halloween costume 365.(Source Tech Times)

 

Uber Riding Kittens…

 

Uber is using a different kind of marketing strategy….Kittens. For $30 Uber will deliver some extremely adorable kittens to your house, workplace, or favorite park seating. They’re pairing with Annex Cat Rescue, Just Paws Cat Rescue, The Humane Society, and Team Cat Rescue to deliver these fluffy balls of love between 11:00 A.M and 3:00 P.M  today. On the likely chance you fall in love all the kittens are available for adoption. Uber asks that everyone remain patient since demand will be high — but you can track all the progress by tweeting #UberKITTENS although we think it should have been #MEOW. This gives new meaning to the term “herding cats.”. . (Source Tech Times)

 

Curious Mind…

Ever wonder how big a communication satellite is? Well think the size of a small school bus that can weigh up to six tons. Check out the link here for some seriously sick photos;compared to satellites we look like ants. BTW anyone agree that it would be cool to have school buses orbiting the earth.

If you get an Uber Kitty please tweet us a selfie!  @equalman

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How to Use Twitter Removal DM Restrictions in Your Marketing Strategy

 

In July, Twitter announced that it was removing the 140-character restriction on DM’s and allowing, instead a 10,000 character chat message. At first, marketers responded with a “Ho-Hum” attitude. After all, they already had live chat on their sites, conversations on Facebook, and the ability to connect personally with readers and customers on their blogs. It didn’t seem like that big a deal, frankly, especially when they had been successful using the SMS feed and getting followers into the conversion funnel. As the ramifications slowly began to set in, however, marketers have realized that, while longer DM’s may duplicate Facebook and blog conversations, as well as email campaigns, there are some followers who only use Twitter, some customers who want contact through Twitter, and some great opportunities to divide out communications using DM. Here is a list of the important facets of DM and how you can use these to your advantage as you revise your Twitter marketing strategy. Segregate Groups Based Upon Conversion StatusesYou can use the SocialBro tool that allows you to target specific followers or groups of followers based on filters and tags that you set up, and you can change those filters and tags at any time. But now you are no longer limited to 140 characters, and you can send up to 250 DM’s on any given day.

Some followers or groups of followers are already customers. You will not be offering the same content to these followers as you would to newbies. You will want to focus on new products or services, on digging into their questions and issues with your current products and services, and providing a great customer service experience. You want to maintain the good relationships that you have already established with these followers
Some followers are in the conversion funnels but are not actual customers. This group needs different incentives and different content. Now that you have 10,000 characters to engage them further, you can provide a new special discount, conduct a survey, and give some good educational information about your products/services.
You will also have brand new followers who have found you or been recommended to you, and you need to begin the careful process of defining your brand to them, of soliciting questions, of providing information about free trials only available to new customers. You may want to offer a free e-guide which your other followers already have.

Respond to Individual Followers Yes, you already have the capacity to do this through phone, email and live chat, but here is yet another platform for followers who prefer Twitter. You may have struck up individual conversations with a follower on another platform, but you not have the chance to continue that conversation via Twitter DM. You can respond to specific questions and individual customer service issues. You can answer questions that others have already asked and had answered. Offer Rewards and Incentives Based upon Level of ConversionYou can now divide up your groups of followers for rewards and incentives.

If you have loyal followers who are already customers, you may want to reward them with something special – a shopping window of time around the holidays with specials only for loyal customers, for example.
You may want to offer a specific incentive to those followers who have shown interest, who have asked questions, who have responded to a survey, or who have taken a free trial but have not become fully converted.
You have a third group of followers who have recently come aboard and are still in the exploration phase. You want them to get a “feel” for who you are and you want a better “feel” for their pain points and needs/desires. This group need “massaging” and relationship development, and small posts via DM will help. Offering a free trial or a newcomer discount might be appropriate too.

Hosting an Event There are times when you may be hosting an event, either locally or online. The event may be appropriate for only certain of your followers. You now have a method to target just the group(s) of followers you want to attend, and you have the character length to give some detailed information about why they should attend.

Customer Service Made More Effective 140 characters has never allowed for effective and efficient customer service. If you received a Tweet with an issue or concern, you had to immediately change platforms to serve that customer satisfactorily. Now, through DM, you and your customer can discuss any issue in much greater detail (10,000 characters) and probably resolve it without ever leaving Twitter. Customer is happy and you have saved time!

Some Other Important Considerations as You StrategizeNow that you have this additional platform, it is easy to get excited and jump right in. Here are few cautions:

Keep your “brand image” pure and consistent. Think about your Facebook posts that get lots of response and comment. Fashion your DM’s in the same way.
Recognize that back-and-forth messaging only goes so far. There are limits. If your followers have complex questions and/or issues, moving over to email or direct phone conversations may be warranted. DM is not the answer to all customer service.
Don’t reach out to followers just because DM is there. They may see this as a bit “creepy.” Send a regular Tweet first that announces a forthcoming DM and it subject matter, encourage them to read it and respond with any comments or questions. When they know to expect it, they are far less suspicious of your motives.
Remember that there is often a fine line between DM and spam. Be careful not to cross it.

The end of restrictions on DM can be a huge boon to your marketing strategy – it adds just one more method of connecting with your followers in groups and individually. If used correctly, it can really promote your brand and conversions.

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How to Effectively Use Facebook to Promote a Business Website

A website is something all businesses need, whether they are the only show in town or a global enterprise with dozens of regional offices. Unfortunately it isn’t enough to just start a website – you need to market it or nobody will know it’s there. This is where social media comes into the fore.

Royalty free photo

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are invaluable tools for any savvy marketer. The whole world and his wife use at least one social media platform to talk to friends, check out products and catch up on news. Since Facebook is arguably the biggest social platform on the web, this is a good place to start if you want to promote your business website and attract new customers. So where should you begin?

Create a Facebook Business Page

Once you have decided that your website can really benefit from some Facebook marketing, your next step is to create a Facebook business page. It doesn’t take long to set up a business page on Facebook and you don’t even need a personal account. The process is fairly intuitive, but if you need a helping hand, Facebook will guide you through it every step of the way.

Make an Announcement

The whole point of creating a Facebook page is that you tell everyone and their dog about it. Once your page is up and running, send out an announcement to your email list and post a banner on your website inviting people to check it out. It is also useful to add a link to a Facebook page in your email signature and on business marketing materials. And don’t forget to tell family and friends so they can spread the word.

Direct Traffic to Your Website

The main advantage of creating a Facebook business page is that you can use it to drive traffic back to your main website. Millions of people use Facebook every day, so if you are active on Facebook it can help to direct targeting visitors to useful content on your business website. Setting up an RSS feed from your website’s blog is sensible. This will publish small samples of any blog content you create on Facebook, which should encourage users to visit the page to read further.

Posting the same old content on Facebook every day will soon get old. Images and videos are always popular, but whatever you post, make it relevant to your brand. Link content you create to relevant pages on your website and encourage readers to visit. Talk about special offers you have or new products now available – a lot of people browse Facebook in search of good deals, so help them find one on your website.

Think of your Facebook page as an extra marketing tool. You can use it as much or as little as you like, but for best results, try and spend a reasonable amount of time creating posts and interacting with other users. And don’t forget to be informal, yet professional, at all times.

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Cybersecurity Sharing Information Act Passed

Cybersecurity Sharing Information Act Passed

Hack after hack, people are worried about their company’s online presence. In a 74-21 vote on Tuesday, Congress passed the Cybersecurity Sharing Information Act. The CISA is designed to allow companies to share cybersecurity threats with the Department of Homeland Security who pass the threats onto the FBI or NSA who try and stop the hack before it happens. Preventing hacks and breaches sounds great right? But privacy advocates and members of Silicon Valley still aren’t happy. The passed version of this contains some things that are up for debate. One being that this Act “hides new government surveillance mechanisms in guise of security protections.”  People believe the government will be able to see all their information that harms their company’s privacy. If Congress will go back and edit this is undetermined but hopefully they can come to terms with what is best for everyone’s online privacy. (Source Wired)

What To Say When You’re Told To Live In Someone Else’s Shoes…

That’s what Facebook is encouraging their employees to do. The social media site is purposefully giving their users the chance to slow down their internet to 2GB. Why would anyone want to do this you ask? Well, Facebook wants their employees to understand what it is like to use the site where connectivity is slower. Facebook isn’t expecting their employees to do this for long term because that wouldn’t be very productive. They are calling the program “2GB Tuesdays”. On 2GB Tuesdays employees can decide if they want to use the slower internet service for an hour. Sounds frustrating for those impatient people who only use high speed internet. (Source ABC News)

Quote of the Day: “Blame it on burst mode.”

Google has 3.8 million GB of our photos. That is a lot of selfies and #foodie instagrams. Google Photos asks users if they want to delete pictures when their memory is almost full and saves the pictures in the cloud.  CNN did a little analysis on exactly how many pictures that is and determined that it would take 119,040 pounds of thumb drives to fit all these pictures. So many pictures. (Source CNN)

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Picture Why You Need Social Media

Photo memories….

Not so long ago, when the question was asked about what you would save if your house caught on fire (not counting people and pets), the answer was often family photos.

Photos fall into the category of prized possessions, and though they are now stored in more places than photo albums, people still worry about the loss of them.

Photos add to our story, our memories and our life. They can take you back to a moment in time at a glance. Photos are special.

Social Media

Yes, people like to post a beautiful vacation shot or one of a child on his first day of school on Facebook, but social sites are also used for storing and organizing photos.

There’s not only the storing factor, but also the sharing factor. If you have family across the globe, it’s easy to share through social media.

No longer do you need to make hard copies and send them out via old fashioned mail, or even attach files to emails to let your loved ones in on part of your photo memories.

Pinterest is a great social media site for sharing and storing.

With more than 90 million users, you can create public or private boards. With an easy upload, your photos can be stored and ready to share at the same time.

As the following article looks at, it’s all about changing the way the world remembers events and moments, and Pinterest can be a part of that.

You can organize your photos under different boards on Pinterest, whether by people, events or years. It’s a good way to weed out your favorites and have a nice, clean selection of great pics.

Facebook and Instagram are also good social media sites for sharing and saving.

With Facebook, your friends can easily save your photos to their own device. Remember, though, anyone can, so only post things you’re okay with anyone seeing. Stories are created and memories saved and shared.

Other Storage

When you have thousands of photos, you’re going want another means of saving rather than social media.

Whether it’s an app on your computer like iPhoto, the Cloud, a photo account like Shutterfly or a photo storage service like Mylio, you’ve got options.

The key is to have your digital photos in more than one place.

Whether you’re backing up to a hard drive, sharing on social media, paying for a service which stores and organizes them or uploading all to another site, you’ll want your photos accessible if something happens to your main device.

Photos tell a story.

They are part of who we are. And in today’s world of digital photography and cameras with us at every moment, we take lots of pictures.

Storage is an important part of holding onto these memories; photos are too valuable to be lost in the blink of an eye.

So use your social media, use your storage options and share your story.

At the same time, you’ll be saving that story, too.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

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Five Offline Techniques to Boost Your Online Business

The rise of social media marketing over the last few years has prompted many business owners to focus exclusively on their online branding strategy. Companies that seek to build a trust between their Internet presence and their customers tend to forget about the power of traditional marketing, and they often end up ignoring offline marketing altogether.

 

Fence signage, mesh banners, billboards, newspaper advertising, and radio spots are some of the offline branding strategies you can utilize to boost the visibility of your company on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In terms of business functionality, marketing should never be thought of as a black-and-white process; for this reason, brand owners should not think that their marketing efforts should only take place on the Internet.

 

Most marketing experts agree that certain offline marketing techniques can help companies increase their Internet visibility. Consider the five offline strategies below:

1 – Fence Signage

 

If you have a brick-and-mortar business located in a suburban area, chances are that you have a lot of fences that could display banners related to your business. A colorful banner placed on a conspicuous fence can be seen by drivers and pedestrians alike. The most common purpose for this type of signage is to direct foot traffic to a store; however, a modern use for banners calls for the promotion of social media sites. To this effect, a neat idea is to print a QR code that can be scanned

with a smartphone so that prospects can be taken directly to a social network profile or a website. Remember: mesh banners should be used in windy spots.

 

2 – Networking in Real-Life

 

No business is an island, but some business owners who spend most of their time online tend to forget about the substantial value of real-life networking. Social networks such as LinkedIn cannot replace the experience of shaking hands, putting faces to names, and exchanging ideas in a comfortable offline settings. Business owners should not forget about resources such as the local Chamber of Commerce, which is still considered to be one of the most significant organizations within a community.

 

3 – Radio

 

A 2014 Nielsen report indicated that nearly 60 percent of Americans who enjoy listening to music have not given up on radio. The proliferation of streaming music services has not done away with FM radio, and even Sirius satellite radio has managed to survive despite a major shift towards digital audio. If you listen to most commercial radio spots these days, you will probably notice that the narrator almost always includes a “visit us on Facebook” tag at the end; the reason for this is that most radio listeners are either close to a computer or have a smartphone nearby.

 

4 – Print Publications

 

News and entertainment magazines have mostly disappeared, but trade publications are still holding on. Advertising on an industry journal tends to be costly because it is highly targeted, but it can be a great way to boost your Internet presence. The key to print advertising is to think creatively when it comes to choosing the audience. For example, a Web hosting company that offers website development services could choose to advertise in a magazine dedicated to the legal profession; after all, all law firms need an Internet presence these days.

 

5 – Speaking Engagements

 

Do you have a blog for your company? Do you have something to share with your community? If so, consider appearing at a local technical or vocational school and sharing your experiences with the students and young hopefuls who are forging their careers. Before delivering your presentation, make sure you have interesting content on your blog, which you should mention during your lecture.

 

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Take a Healthier Approach to Social Media

Whether you run a small business or are simply a consumer looking for the latest in health insurance needs, have you turned to social media to find the right coverage?

Given the mandatory implementation of Obamacare a few years ago, the majority of consumers are now required to have one form or another of health insurance. For those who do not, they are open to fines, some of which can be quite expensive depending on the individual’s current income.

So, how can you make sure you not only have coverage, but have the right coverage which will take care of your medical needs at an affordable price?

Social Networking Opens Healthcare Doors

As many consumers have discovered over time, being active on social media can do wonders for one’s needs, especially something as important as health insurance.

For those looking to find the right coverage or improve the plan they currently possess, keep these social tidbits in mind, especially if you want and/or need to calculate your health coverage tax credit:

Check company social sites – As the need for health insurance grows, more and more health insurance providers are active on social networking sites. That said health insurance companies must follow the rules of engagement for social media usage that also apply to healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses and others in the field. Health insurers’ should not post any customer information on social sites without checking with the individual first. Even then, it is best to use a “general term” instead of specifying an exact individual. Saying on a company’s Facebook site that one customer saved hundreds of dollars in health insurance without naming that individual directly lessens the chances of problems;
Follow the interaction between health insurance providers and the public on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites. If companies are quick to respond to customer inquiries/complaints, they’re more likely to be the kinds of insurers’ you want to do business with. If they ignore or take their good old time responding via social media, there’s always the chance they will do the same when you call or write them needing information or corrections to your policy;
Finally, look for upcoming announcements etc. on your health insurance needs. Many insurers’ recently sent out notices to customers about the need to review their insurance plans in order to make any necessary changes so that they have coverage effective Jan. 1, 2016. Social media is a great way for these insurance companies to spread the word, along with the traditional mailings and emails they deliver. Some insurance companies will also use their Facebook or Twitter pages to provide links to health insurance industry trends and more. Once again, these are great educational tools that you can use to learn more about your health insurance needs.

In a day and age when social media is all the rage for millions of consumers and companies, make sure you’re taking a healthy approach to your health insurance needs.

Photo credit: BigStockPhotos.com

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