Any business function requires a commitment – we don’t “try” to do our accounts.  We do them.

We don’t “try” to sell.  We sell or we don’t or there is no business.

We don’t “try” to network – we are either in the room talking about our business or we are not.

Social media is a new business function that needs to be assessed and integrated into your business.

In order to utilise social media, Video Social Marketing looks at and assesses the following for every client:

• available resources (time, money, human)
• evaluate current marketing activities
• determine what it is that a business wants and expects to achieve
• obtains a commitment from the client to optimise social media opportunities
• enter into a monthly agreement for a minimum of six months to support and ensure the success of the marketing implementation.

Social Media has the capacity to work amazing wonders in a business and we recently had one of our clients (who is completely inspiring and in her 70’s!) with whom we were initially reluctant to work – within three weeks of setting up her Facebook Page and Blog, she reported sales to three people she had never met and a couple of  months down the track, she now has an international customer base of more than twenty, none of whom she knew previously.  That was a start up business!

Like any business function, social media requires that a strategy be built, worked into a business plan and then outstanding tactical execution.  Social Media is a landscape that literally changes daily; it can be tricky for a business to stay on top of and remain responsive to the market place.  Clients who take on specialist support tend to be the more successful in utilising social media.

For this reason, every client is offered a continuity package that they can both afford and that suits their business.  Just like you have a bookkeeper or accountant looking after the financial functions in your business, allow yourself the benefit and business growth that working with Marketing and Social Media specialists can bring.

Turn Social Media to Business Profits

Meredith

Well, today was the day that all changed! In looking at what the market was demanding and identifying what smaller and solopreneur business needed, we decided that smaller businesses should have the opportunity that bigger, better resourced business has.  We launched, DIY Social Media, beginning with Building a Great Professional Profile on LinkedIn.   After all, if you are going to delve in, ensure that your business is well represented, looks great, utilises appropriate keywords and is just, well, totally awesome!

“Thank you so much Meredith. The worksheet you provided along with the workshop today was just what I needed to get it all sorted into a logical order. Actually being there allowed me to sit down and get the job done without any distractions and knowing you and Patricia were there to problem solve made it that much easier. It wasn’t nearly as daunting as i thought! My thanks to you both, I appreciate your help and support.” Alicia Birch, Photographer

“Meredith is a subject matter expert on social media. She presents her material in an easy to understand format, she is personable, and is always willing to help you work through the maze of social media tools. I would definitely use Meredith’s services again for my future requirements.” Kaz Muddell, Mind Body Motion Personal Training

“Hi Meredith – Thanks so, so much!!!! I have already received a few recommendations since the workshop (following my requests as you so kindly helped me with)!!! You and Trish were so wonderful!!! I only wish I had met you a lot earlier!! Looking forward to the Wordpress workshop!”   Maria Zavaglia, Zav Designs

We were not only completely thrilled with the result of the workshop, but completely impressed by the willingness of participants to support each other, learn, grasp new concepts and turn their profiles from “ordinary”, like most people’s on LinkedIn, to absolutely extraordinary profiles that stand out from the crowd and represent their business wholly and beautifully.

With our Fabulous Facebook workshop and Wonderful Wordpress (Blogging) workshop coming up, we know that we are just going to continue this awesome DIY Social Media trend!

Thanks Team.

Turn Social Media to Business Profits.

Meredith

Referrals, word of mouth and pre-purchase researching has always been a part of what we do as human beings. What has changed is the way we go about our buying.

This short video goes over some of the aspects in the all important buying process, shares some of the attributes Google looks for in a website and more.

Social Media has an enormous role to play in any marketing plan or marketing mix for a business. It’s important to note that it’s called a “marketing mix”, because it is a mix of strategies, both on and offline, that create a sustainable marketing plan, reach and in turn, business.

Today’s market and consumers demand that there is readily available information that allows potential clients to research and gather data in order for them to make a buying decision, before they ever contact you or enter your “shop”.

Social media has said goodbye to the “blast and broadcast” type of advertising of the past and says hello to conversational, PR type activity that works to position you as an expert in your field, create a relationship with your market and generally, “be found”. Google says “be found” and if you maintain social media as well as your website, “being found” becomes that much easier.

Social Media Marketing is an awesome form of marketing and needs to be acted upon now and with that, a holistic approach where your business uses an integrated strategy will see a far more sustainable business built.

Turn Social Media to Business Profits.
Meredith

Website: Video.Social.Marketing

Would you rather have thousands of connections and you provide no product or service to them…. or is it preferable to have great engagement (I saw it called “ROE” – return on engagement) with connections and that a smaller number but more profitable connections.

This is about interaction, engagement and dialogue… the days of “broadcast and blast” are over. We want to build relationships with our market and be open to discussion with our market.

So, of course having a lot of connections can be very valuable, help get your brand to market and get known – the next step is about turning Social Media to Business Profits and it is important to never lose sight that you are in business to create profitable relationships.

Turn Social Media to Business Profits
Meredith

Money is not the price with social media. The old adage, “no such thing as a free lunch?” and “nothing in life worth having is free” – rings true here – social media is powerful with a capital P and there is a cost – it’s that the cost predominantly the time investment if you choose to run your social media yourself, for your business. If you do this, what else do you forfeit in terms of money making activites?

Think about this – if your pet got sick, would you go to veterinarian school for six years so you could fix it? Have you taken a three or four year apprenticeship so you can cut your kids’ hair for “free”? Have you enrolled to do Accountancy 101 so you never need to pay an accountant? No! You outsource all this work to get the right results (just ask my kids when I went through the hair cutting phase….).

Social Media can be financially free. With that, will your brand be completely unblemished? Will you have consistency of marketing message? Does it work with your other marketing and sales strategies? Do you have an angle to market that really showcases your unique selling proposition and how you are different from everyone else? Quite possibly not.

Free with social media can also mean you are not showcasing your unique talents, skills, products and services in the best possible light. Free can be cheap and cheap is often nasty.

Working with professionals is not free, but it is more likely to be a more economic investment – make sure they have metrics in place and can work with you to develop a strategy which will see your organisation…..

Turn Social Media to Business Profits.
Meredith

Website: Video.Social.Marketing

Recently at a Sydney Web3.0 Conference, the experts’ (and yes, I would refer to these business leaders as Experts) had the same message – it’s time to act and your business cannot ignore social media.

Fabulous when you have a great social media team on your side, like us! However what we find is that business is nervous and continue to choose ignore it as best they can….. But, as a small to medium business, which most of VSM’s clients are (so we truly appreciate your challenges and reticence from experience) – you are missing the most amazing marketing opportunity to both communicate with and listen to your clients, undertake market research, create conversations and relationships with the market as well as position yourself as the expert you are! And, best part yet, once your infrastructure is set up, it can be FREE!! Yes, FREE! Get it set up well and if you can afford help, of course, outsource it – if you can’t – this is FREE MARKETING!

If you aren’t yet convinced, that’s ok – Business is for the land of the brave, those who are willing to learn, unlearn and relearn and if you aren’t willing to do so, then aspects of your business and income will suffer.

Contentious today, I know and we are here to help you.

That said…. Turn Social Media to Business Profits.
Meredith

Website: Video.Social.Marketing

Social Media is an ever changing and morphing beast and the best we social media strategists can do is work to keep abreast of the changes! We read and subscribe to a number of fabulous and edgy publications that let us know the insider’s secrets.

Of course, there is still the good old fashioned way of finding out the game has changed – such as heading to the platform of choice and finding functionality is missing or added! Then finding a fix or sharing the news!

Either way, you want a social media strategist working on your team that understands the marketing mix, talks “strategy” rather than, “you gotta have this”, understands your demographic and business and doesn’t see social media as the silver bullet, rather a fabulous and sound way to build and extend your online profile.

Turn social media to business profits
Meredith

Website: Video.Social.Marketing

Video is an incredibly powerful way to build rapport and keep content fresh and flowing. Using YouTube is also a great way to get some “Google Juice” – Google own YouTube and we cannot ignore that YouTube is the 3rd most searched search engine on the internet. So, why would you NOT have content, rapport and expertise building collateral, going to your potential market.

Of course, videos that are informational, entertaining or funny will be viewed more favourably and if your videos are of good value to the marketplace, they are likely to come back for more!

Turn Social Media to Business Profits.
Meredith

There are people upset at the privacy issues, which seem to be ongoing and just this week, Facebook reneged on a Business Page being able to create a custom “Landing” tab – often a Welcome tab.

It seems that Facebook wanted Businesses to either have 10,000 Fans or “Likes” OR spend $10k a month, with a dedicated Facebook Account Manager to be able (re)instate a Custom Landing tab.  Crazy state of affairs!

Video.Social.Marketing have some pretty substantial, large clients – none of them have 10,000 “likes” and only a handful have the capacity to do so in the short term.  Sysomos has reported that only 4% of Business Pages actually have more than 10,000 “likers”…. and we are led to believe there are 4 million business pages on Facebook.

Later on in the week, we received a “oops, you can have it back again” type message where we find that once again, we can create Landing Tabs for businesses.  Maybe the revolt for Matt Trainer and Facebook by developers and business generally was all too much  Facebook to cope with and they have made amends….. only time will tell if it’s temporary or permanent!

In the meantime, we will continue to create good quality landing tabs and “calls to action” for our clients and keep you posted of the moves by Facebook – they have become such a force to be reckoned with…. has the power gone to their head?

The mutiny against Facebook has not yet proven to have impacted them – but these unannounced changes and other issues users are experiencing, may well open the door for another social network to pounce…. stay tuned.

Turn Social Media to Business Profits

Meredith