Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [214]
Facebook is an email-like method of allowing people to receive updates. However, unless they are aware of the update by constantly watching their Facebook page or their Facebook feed, they could easily miss the update. However, Facebook allows you to contact your subscribers through Facebook mail, which also goes to their regular email. It’s a double-contact email, because they are notified of the message in their Facebook inbox through email—a great way of making sure your message gets through to your friends.
Twitter allows you to gain subscribers, and you can communicate to them through traditional tweets, but there is no way to know who saw your status update and who didn’t. There are a few ways to measure the feedback from your updates, but not on the personal level, like an email response rate. You can send direct messages in Twitter, but they had better be personal. Direct messages broadcasted to all of your followers pitching your service aren’t popular.
Email is still a personal medium, and the majority of Internet users still list email as the primary reason they go online. For some, especially in business, email is a lifeline to all that goes on around them. Email is still one of the cheapest and most effective marketing methods available, and incorporating a strategy to build an email list is simply smart marketing.
Review and Hands-On
Make a list of the blogs that you read currently. If you don’t read any, find a list of the blogs in your industry or news and information blogs. Make note of the organization and navigation of those blogs—what would work for your business? What wouldn’t? By reviewing different blogs, you will find elements and styles that you like and dislike, so make notes of those elements.
WordPress was discussed heavily in this chapter and recommended as a blogging platform. If blogging is in your plans, take the time to have WordPress installed. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Set it up on a development server or a stand-alone server where you can make mistakes and see how things work. I always recommend people have a personal blog to use as a testing ground, rather than trying things on a business blog.
Develop your content plan for the next three months. Try to plan at least two short blog posts per week for the next three months. The better you plan, the less you’ll be stressed when searching for a topic.
In developing the plan, read through the blogs that you have selected or bookmarked, and find the style you enjoy. The quick, short updates typical of the beat reporter? Or is your style the more thoughtful, drawn-out analysis of an investigative reporter? It is important to find a style that is comfortable and suits your personality.
As your blog comes together, review the layout and design chapters (Chapters 11 and 12) in order to make sure your blog follows the same principles as successful websites. Do not lose sight of clear navigation, contrasting elements, and clear calls to action. Ensure that your primary call to action is clear on the site and that your subscription options are visible and suited to your business.
Chapter 18
Week 15: Get Friendly with Social Media
Social media. The sound of those words makes most marketers and business owners shudder. It’s a fear of the unexpected, the unknown, and the uncertain. Everyone from trade journals, industry peers, and teenagers are telling you that you should be using social media, but no one seems to be telling you how, why, or what you can expect from it. It seems to be just