5 Ways to Engage New Social Media Followers

Getting new social media followers is always a good sign for a company that is trying to grow their influence and reach new customers. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to engage social media followers. If you don’t do anything but add followers to your list, approve comments and give “likes” on your own posts, you’re missing out on all that social media can bring your organization. There are five ways to engage new social media followers across the board. No matter what social media platform you’re concentrated on, you can use these tips to get better engagement levels and build a community.

Listen
Social media isn’t just about broadcasting your message. You also need to listen to your followers as well. This will help you figure out what they are interested in so you can share accordingly. Make it a point to create lists on Twitter or Facebook that target specific types of ideal clients. Use those lists to monitor conversations and take note of what your market is actively discussing. Not only will this help you engage with your audience, but you’ll find new opportunities to share and connect with them.


Use surveys to target social content
Surveys can be a wonderful tool in engaging social media followers. Everyone loves to share their opinion! By using surveys as part of your social media activities, you can get your followers involved with your company and pinpoint exactly what they want to know. Direct new social media followers to a standard (and short) survey. Not everyone will participate but there will be enough people responding that you’ll get a good idea of what will help keep and engage your audience.

 Actually be social
So many business use social media as a broadcast medium only. By being social with your followers, you’ll make an impact and set yourself apart from the competition. Engage in a dialogue! Ask questions of your followers and respond to their comments and questions. Don’t ignore what they have to say – or they won’t be fans and followers for very long.

Curate and share
No one wants to spend time with a person in real life who talks about themselves all of the time. The same goes for social media usage. You’ve got to vary your own social media updates with content from other people. Re-Tweet and Share content that comes from other sources. Not only will your followers appreciate the broad variety of content that you offer, they’ll also be more likely to share your content.

Build a strong content marketing foundation
Your social media usage is just a small part of what you have to offer. It’s a tool – not a be all and end all platform. Twitter, Facebook and Google+ usage are going to be a whole lot more useful if you have some great content to back it up. Blog posts, email marketing newsletters, videos and infographics will round out your social media marketing efforts and give your followers the value they are looking for.

For more information on Online and Digital Marketing please log onto www.cflmarketing.co.uk

Mapping Out the High Street

Consumers are increasingly happy to receive marketing messages via their mobile phones, as long as they offer something of specific, targeted value. Location-based marketing is a great way for brands to do just that

The first stage of the web was about ‘what’, and the second stage was about ‘who’.  The Third stage will be all about ‘where’.”

This is the view of Diana LaGattuta, marketing director of Nokia’s Location & Commerce business unit, which powers location-based marketing for brands.

There’s plenty of evidence emerging to back her up. Google figures show 40% of searches already have a local intent, and mobile search is growing dramatically. Morgan Stanley predicts the number of searches done on phones will overtake those done on desktop PCs by next year.

The retail sector is on the frontline of these changes, for a number of reasons. The high street needs to respond to changing behaviour that is seeing customers researching purchases while they’re in store, comparing prices between onand offline outlets. It’s also an opportunity to add location-based information to existing demographic data, allowing for much better targeting. And location gives retailers a way to link their onand offline messaging.

Figures suggest there is much enthusiasm for location-based services, with 19% of mobile users worldwide already using them, mainly via maps. That amounts to 15.2 million people in the UK, according to ComScore.

More importantly for marketers, O2 Media figures suggest seven out of 10 smartphone users are positive about receiving location-based messaging. This is backed up by research from location-based marketing specialists JiWire last year, which discovered that 69% of UK users would be happy to share their location to receive relevant content.

For brands that have experimented with location-based marketing, results have been encouraging. Now comes the need to understand how the approach fits with their other marketing activities.

Brands will need to consider an insight from the US that redemption of vouchers is surprisingly time dependent.

Most location-based marketing has been focused on ‘nearby’, so time is an interesting factor, If you’re trying to catch people near your venue, you’re not going to get them to change their behaviour in the moment. It’s more about awareness so they come back the next day. Ultimately, retailers will use mobile as a loyalty tool; vouchering will still be present, however i may not change behaviour in the moment very often.”

For more information on Mobile Marketing contact CFL Marketing on 01225 782669, whether it integrating SMS into your marketing mix or for more information on the CFL Media Console.

Firms failing to integrate their marketing

Companies are failing to integrate email with other channels, according to Econsultancy’s Cross-Channel Marketing Report, published in association with Responsys.

Only 29% are integrating email with direct mail, 24% with search engine marketing, 14% with display advertising and 14% with mobile marketing.

And, while around half (49%) of companies integrate mobile into broader marketing campaigns, of these, 35% say integration is very basic.

Most businesses are still in the early stage of developing an integrated approach to marketing, with 25% of companies saying that a lack of a clearly defined strategy was the greatest barrier to developing an integrated approach to their marketing.

Marketers are most likely to be integrating on-site content management (44%) and search engine marketing (37%) with display advertising.

Integrating display advertising with online channels increases conversion rates – 70% of companies integrating search engine marketing saw a rise in conversions while 55% said mobile led to an uplift.

The report is based on a survey of more than 650 companies and agencies, carried out in April and May 2012.

For more information on how CFL can aid you in integrating Email Marketing with other channels, please see the presentation below.

Integrated Email Marketing Best Practice

View more PowerPoint from CFL Marketing

Strike gold during the Olympics 2012

As you will know the Olympics is fast approaching (Friday the 27th July)

Whether you are a London venue expecting extra footfall or you are thinking of putting on an Olympic themed promotion, its an excellent opportunity to drive extra custom through your business.

CFL Marketing can help you build a custom promotion to bring the crowds in.

Whether its sporting based games or promotions, Olympic club discounts, fancy dress, themed parties and events we have it covered.

Call us on 01225 782669 or log onto http://www.cflmarketing.co.uk/offers to request a sample pack

Please see below some ideas -

Are you set for the big Kick off?

As you will know the European Championships is fast approaching (8th June - 4th July)

WIth games being played at either 5pm or 7.45pm it is the perfect opportunity to drive the after work trade to your venue.

The key dates are the 11th, 15th and 19th of June when the 3 Lions are playing (and hopfully a few more dates after that!)

CFL Marketing can help you build a custom promotion, to bring the crowds in.

Whether its in game promotions, supporters club discounts, WAG parties, or themed parties and events we have it covered.

Call us on 01225 782669 or log onto www.cflmarketing.co.uk/offers to request a sample pack

Please see below some ideas -

The single most effective way to drive party bookings into your venue...FACT!

Thirty years ago when disco was in it’s prime I started a promotion which years later became a must have weekly campaign in every nightclub in the UK.

It became known as the birthday mailer and this is how it works.

We have in our extensive database the date of birth of every young person in the UK aged between 18-30.

A fully personalised digital mailer is sent three weeks before the young person’s birthday inviting them to a free night out with up to twelve of their friends.

In addition other offers such as free drinks, queue jump are essential to get maximum returns.

In the age of Facebook, Twitter and the like it’s a promotion, which the younger generation of nightclub managers haven’t used or seen the success that a good birthday mailing can bring.

Even today there are well known night-clubs who rely on the footfall that the mailings can bring in, a well known Midlands night-club is getting returns of over 200 people a week at a cost of £70.

Depending on your spend per head that can mean an extra weekly income of up to £800.

A recent addition is the use of text response, the customer is invited to text the size of the party they are bringing, when they do this you will have captured their mobile number*

This is the opportunity for the night-club to upsell the night with extra incentives.

We have a great range of designs for the mailers, go to www.cflmarketing.co.uk to see some examples, phone Bruce, Mike or Phil on 01225 782669 for sample packs which we can post to you.

Give this promotion a try, as an incentive we will not commit you to anymore than four weeks mailers, with a minimum of 100 packs per weeks.

In the current economic climate it is difficult to get people out but for sure they will go out on their BIRTHDAY.

And this is something the social networking sites cannot do, and that is putting a well designed birthday card in their hands, with their name on it, arriving in the post.

Kindest Regards

Bruce Bronson

* Ask about our media console for text transmission.

Our birthday mailing examples below.

How to Set and Track Your Marketing Budget

Setting a marketing budget for your business is one of the most critical factors in your success. Although most businesses would love to spread their influence and message as much as possible, time and money limits can keep them from doing so.

Setting a specific budget for your marketing activities has a number of benefits. It will help you steadily grow your business without overtaxing your resources or your staff. It will help you build a consistent marketing plan that will grow your list of prospects. It will also help you keep your spending in check. You are less likely to jump on the next big thing if you have already created your marketing budget and know how much you will be spending on a particular set of activities.

Finding Your Sweet Spot
In order to set a marketing budget that works for your business, you need to spend time crunching the numbers. The general rule of thumb is that your marketing budget should be between 1 and 10 percent of your total sales. However, this can vary depending on several different factors. If you are a brand new business, you should probably spend more in order to get more exposure.

Look at your total sales for last year and then look at what a budget of 1 to 10 percent would look like. Pick a range that makes the most sense to your business and your industry.

Spending Your Budget Wisely
Once you have created a number to work with, it is time to determine where that money will be allocated. There are many different choices. With the rise of web marketing, the choices have become even more diverse.

Traditional marketing and advertising costs can include:
•Print

•Radio/Television

•Direct Mail

•Trade show booths

Web marketing options are:
•Email Marketing

•LinkedIN

•Twitter

•Facebook

•Content Marketing

How you determine where to spend funds over these categories?

It can be helpful to look back to the previous year and determine which channels produced the most results. If you are expanding to incorporate a new channel – like email marketing – look to the best practices of the industry and expected ROI figures in order to determine if it will be a good move for your business.

As you spend your marketing budget, be sure to leave some room for the unexpected. Keep in mind that training for your team and others, hiring experts for specific projects and website improvements should all fall under your marketing budget.

Tracking Your Spending
No matter how you decide to spend your resources, it is important to keep track of your spending. Be very mindful of where your new clients are coming from. If you are using a newsletter or ebook on your website to track leads, be sure to ask how the website visitor found you on the opt in form. Have your sales people and customer service representatives ask clients how they discovered your company.

Then compare your leads to your marketing efforts and see what is giving you the best results. If you find that your email marketing newsletter is bringing in more leads than your print ad, allocate your print budget to marketing your newsletter. By tracking your results and fine tuning your budget as you go along, you can make the next business year a profitable one.