A Consumer’s Market
By Camille Rodriquez You’ve heard the real estate phrase, “It’s a seller’s market,” or “It’s a buyer’s market,” right? When it comes to social media, it’s a consumer’s market. Let’s take a look at what that means for your business, because the implications of this are going to be long-lasting and affect your bottom line for quite some time. Yes, some consumers still make impulse purchases. It happens. Emotions still play a part in sales. However, with the exception of a few industries, most business owners are finding it harder and harder to get the attention of...
read morePurpose and Goals in Social Media Marketing
By Camille Rodriquez No one would argue that marketing a business is optional these days, but many would debate the methods. The methods and the success stories vary from industry to industry, but is social media one of the successful methods of marketing? A recent survey by Manta, outlined in USA Today, came to the conclusion that “social media is a bust for small businesses.” But when a closer look is taken at the conclusions, some interesting assessments can be made. According to this survey, some of those goals are as follows: 36% want to acquire new customers, 19% are hoping to...
read moreSocial Media Basics – Two Strategies (Part 2)
By Camille Rodriquez In our previous blog, we began exploring two basic strategies for social media marketing – the Search Strategy and the Content Strategy. To review, the Search Strategy is the process of getting your business “found” through SEO, backlinks, and website development. The Content Strategy is about creating or sharing relevant blogs, articles, or videos to create credibility, thought leadership, or referral opportunities. Both are good strategies, and both create numerous options when it comes to social media use. The best marketing actually uses both methods. In Part 2,...
read moreWhy Social Media?
By Frankie Rodriquez “Everyone tells me I need to be in social media, but I have no idea how or why.” We hear that statement more often than you can imagine when a potential client approaches us at Polka Dot Impressions. Whether it’s a phone call prompted by a referral or the folk who come up to us after the many speaking events we conduct, most business owners are looking for the logic of social media marketing for business regardless of their emotions toward it. The bottom line is the bottom line. But, not like you might think. Social media marketing is a tremendous return on...
read moreEffective Media Buying in 2013
By Frankie Rodriquez Business owners will need to pay closer attention to how they handle media in 2013. Today’s business methods require owners to spend with the best return possible. Social media marketing (SMM) is becoming a more prominent player in brand marketing of most businesses by engaging the customer. If you want your business to keep up with industry trends, you are compelled to reach more people through the use of ever-increasing social media channels as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. The goal of successful media marketing is, of course, a return-on-investment...
read moreSocial Media – Seasonal Impact
Anyone who has been involved with social media marketing for any length of time will tell you, there are seasons to social media. That doesn’t necessarily mean Christmas and Fourth of July specials, although it might. More likely though, it may mean trends or times of the year that your audience undergoes a significant shift in their attention span. That shift can be upward or downward, but social media marketing needs to take into account seasonal impact and be able to distinguish that type of shift from larger trends or patterns in your audience. As your audience grows, you will...
read moreSocial Media – Creating a Culture
“You gotta’ get your business on social media,” goes the opening line. Whether it comes from a social media marketing company or another charismatic business leader who’s found online success, you’re talked into a new “reality.” That reality tells you that if you just set up a Facebook or Twitter account for your business, the revenue will start rolling in. Overnight…Yesterday, in fact…And if you believe that, we’d love to show you some ocean-front property… Social media-generated revenue doesn’t happen overnight. In...
read moreConverting Goals Into Value
Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable, has said, “Attention is the new currency.” That is certainly true for marketers. When folks pay attention to what you’re saying – via any method of marketing – they are giving up time to listen to you. Time is a valuable commodity, and therefore if you’re using social media for marketing, make sure it’s worthwhile for others. Are you offering value? Are you “being” social or just “doing” social? There is a difference, and it will show in everything you’re doing online. It’s important to have specific goals with your marketing, and...
read moreDo You Measure Social Media?
There are lots of tools out there for measuring social media’s effectiveness, but many business owners fail to use them. There’s much debate over the best method to determine ROI, but many small business owners don’t use any methods at all. So, the real question is, do you measure social media for your business, and are you tracking growth that matters to you? If you’re a small business owner, then here are several things to consider for your own social media marketing measurements. They may not all apply to you, depending on which social media networks you’re using, but read...
read moreFriday Flick – Measuring Social Media
Have you ever wondered what social media managers and social media marketers are being told about measuring ROI or social media? Today’s Friday Flick is a quick “take-away” from a meeting I attended this morning where folks and businesses just like Polka Dot Impressions were there to talk “measuring.” For the purposes of our discussion, we defined ROI as “Revenue – Costs = ROI” and the bottom line is that it varies for each business. How you measure ROI depends on whether or not you are monitoring AND measuring the things you’re doing in...
read moreDevelop a Marketing PLAN
There are countless quotes on why you need a plan in order to reach a goal. No matter which one you like, or which one you heard yesterday, having a plan and acting on it are not the same thing in social media. With your marketing, you need both, and here’s a little acronym to help make sure that you are both planning and doing – with a goal in mind. P is for Prepare. When you take on a marketing campaign for your business, prepare your messages, your colors, your links, and your focus around your goal. If it doesn’t match your objectives, don’t post it, tweet it, ping it, or link it....
read moreThe Cost of Social Media
Let me get right to the point. No matter who you speak to, or how good they are at it, social media cannot truly be measured in ROI. You will always wonder if the money you’ve spent was worth it. There. I’ve said it. Here’s why, in the simplest of terms. Social media is about the social aspect of doing business. You have to get to know your customers, and they you, before you have a relationship. If you think that you have a business relationship with someone just because they once bought your product, you would be wrong. That is not a relationship. That was a sale. Social media is not...
read moreFree Resources!
Behind the Scenes via Instagram
