intelligent MARKETER November 2014 Issue 2 by Your Marketing Coach :)

The Holidays are Right Around the Corner....

and intelligent MARKETERS know that you need to start marketing well in advance to launch a successful and profitable holiday marketing campaign. This is why I have decided that we should talk about tips and ideas to help you put together a holiday marketing strategy that will launch you into 2015!

In this issue of intelligent MARKETER we will be sharing “The Power of Facebook Advertising During the Holiday’s”, “How to Run Super Powered Promotions”, introduce you to Small Business Superhero Kristen Bishop owner of Keystone Natural Family Medicine, and so much more!

Ideally, you should already have your holiday marketing strategy in place and ready to launch....but, if you are like most small businesses that is likely a goal not yet seized. Before you get too down on yourself, I’d like to point out that something is better than nothing! So let’s just get something started :) We gotta start somewhere... right?! We will work on getting ahead later.

Don’t end this year saying “next year will be better”. NOW is the time to create and implement a strategy that can LAUNCH you into 2015 and beyond! Let’s put our creative hats on and put something in place to help you capture some leads this holiday season...you in?

Looking to grow your fan base on social media AND capture more email leads?

Contests, promotions, and giveaways are a great way to grow your fan base and capture more email leads! Most social media users jump online (regardless of the platform: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc...) to be social, have fun, be entertained, catch up, be inspired, or learn something new. NO ONE jumps on Facebook (Twitter, Pinterest, etc...) to be sold to! Businesses that are marketing have more competition today than ever before. They are not only competing in their industry, they are competing with friends, family, cute puppies, and babies! So, how does a business compete with the social aspect of social media? The answer is simple...BE SOCIAL :) If you want people to engage with your business you have to be social. Think about it this way...have you ever been at a party and met the guy no one really wants to talk to or be around? It’s not that he isn’t a nice guy...the problem is that all he

does is talk about himself and / or business. Light conversation about “what do you do” is fine...but this guy takes it to the extreme. You came to the party to be social not be sold! The same is true on social platform....hence, the social.... Yet, so many businesses still use the social platform to talk about themselves and push their sales message out to the masses. Here’s the challenge...your audience can tune you out, or worst yet, turn you off! And they are... So, what do you do? Be fun! Be inspirational! Be creative! Be engaging! Host a contest! Provide a giveaway! Promote FREE stuff! Now, we’re talkin’... So, which type of promotion will be the most effective for your business? To determine that, we need to discuss the different types of contests you can run. This list is not meant to be inclusive but to give you a kickstart in your thinkin’ of the possibilities :)

Ask your audience to enter their information (typically their name and email) into a form in exchange for a chance to win a prize. The purpose is to collect user entry information (potential lead). The key here is to make it easy for your audience to enter for their chance to win. Oh yea, and remember...you give away one prize in exchange for a bunch of potential leads that are interested in what you were giving away :) Good deal, right?! The goal is to get engagement...and engagement gets you exposure :) Ask your audience to participate in your contest by uploading a photo. If you ask for photos that can benefit your business then you can use them for future marketing material...genius right?! This is a “winner, winner, chicken dinner”...as Guy Fieri says :) ...from Food Network?...anyways :) Movin’ on! Basically, the same concept as a photo contest only with video. This can work on many platforms...YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Vine...ah, the possibilities are ENDLESS!!! BIG HINT....video is the “new cool kid” on social platforms. Embrace video...learn how to create them....and use them in your marketing...or you’ll be eating lunch by yourself! The ULTIMATE exposure opportunity! Ask your audience to voice their opinion and vote for their chance to win a reward. Voting is easy to do and gets your audience engaged. Engagement = Exposure. Yea, Baby!

There you have it, a small sampling of some Super Powered Promotions for your business. With the holiday’s right around the corner it’s a great time to get people engaged in something FUN! Here’s the deal....not only is this marketing strategy fun for your audience but it’s also fun for you and the people involved in your business! Wanna learn more about how to actually design, run, and implement a Super Powered Promotion for your business? Click here to learn more... 5

#AskYMC Ask Your Marketing Coach QUESTION: I know there are many things I can do to market my business on Facebook but what is the #1 thing you would recommend? Mike ANSWER: Mike, this is a great question! The number one thing you can do on Facebook is to capture leads. One of the best ways to capture leads on Facebook is to run a contest, promotion, or giveaway. Actually, you have given me a great idea! I will include an article in this month’s publication on running contests, promotions, and giveaways....thanks Mike :) QUESTION: Facebook has made a lot of changes that has resulted in businesses getting virtually no exposure unless we run Facebook Ads. My question, is posting on Facebook still worth our time? Lisa ANSWER: Lisa, this is a question I have been getting quite often lately....so thank you for asking! I’ll stick to the short answer as to why you should still include Facebook in your marketing strategies. There are two primary reasons you should continue on with Facebook: 1. According to a new study by G/O Digital, when people want to find out more about a local small business — they check Facebook more than any other social channel with a

whooping 62 percent! So, if a person wants to know more about your business and they look you up on Facebook and they find an abondoned page they will quickly make assumptions. They may feel that a business not on Facebook is not a business at all. They may feel that your business is not “up to date”. They may feel your business “must not be open”.... you get the point :) 2. You MUST, MUST, MUST embrace Facebook advertising! Facebook offers the most targeted advertising opportunities to small business today! 80 percent of Facebook users say they are more likely to purchase from a company if they saw positive user reviews on the company’s page (G/O Digital). 71 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals from friends and family (http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/30-statistics-how-social-media-infl...). When you combine the ability to reach a specific target market AND the social impact that social influence plays in trusting businesses in making purchases...it is a “no brainer” for small businesses to utilize Facebook advertising! If you have a question you’d like to ask Your Marketing Coach you can do so by using the #askYMC on Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus or email. I’d love to hear from you!

Dr. Kristen Bishop is the owner of Keystone Natural Family Medicine which is committed to “providing healthcare the way nature intended”. I wanted to share Kristen’s story as a Small Business Superhero because she and I share the same marketing and business philosophy of “serve now, ask later”. A philosophy that in turn has served us as well. By nature, Dr. Bishop is a giver / server (another word for entreprenuer by my definition). Dr. Bishop has always known that she likes to be the boss, call her own shots, and be in control of her own destiny...a statement that many small business owners can relate to :)

Superhero SMALL BUSINESS

Providing healthcare the way nature intended. Dr. Bishop’s relentless determination to be in control and make a difference led her to become a Naturopathic Medical Doctor and opening Keystone Natural Family Medicine. Dr. Bishop always knew there had to be a better way to make a profound impact on people’s health. She knew the “traditional” medial world was a giant but one that she felt she could face with confidence knowing that God intended natural healing and she was determined to educate others. 10

So, she proceeded to go “Head-toHead” with the current medical system...so much, that she even chose to put her office across the street from a major hospital! She started her business like every rational, logical business owner does - with no vision, no plan, and no money :) She did however, have a passion and that’s all she felt she needed. Her strategy? Serve others by sharing her knowledge...

At first, Dr. Bishop said she “networked like a crazy person” and looked for every opportunity to speak in the local community and share her passion and cause. Her focus? Build relationships first...ask for their help later...hope they would become a patient one day. And it worked! In just a couple short years Dr. Bishop built a solid patient base that continues to grow. Dr. Bishop describes the Keystone culture as a mix between “Doc Baker (from Little House on the Prairie) and Patch Adams (the movie staring Robin Williams)”. “Doc Baker knew everyone (and their families) by their first name and just took care of the people; and Patch Adams thought ouside the box and brought fun to treatment...that’s what we want to do at Keystone!”; exclaims Bishop. And that’s exactly what they do at Keystone... So, how does Dr. Kristen Bishop’s story relate to holiday marketing (our topic for this month’s intelligent MARKETER)? I asked Dr. Bishop what she did for Holiday

Marketing last year and she said, “we tried a 12 Days of Christmas concept where we posted 12 days before Christmas ideas, tips, and specials as an appreciation to our patients”. I then asked her, “how successful was it”? She stated, “we didn’t really track the results (as we were new to marketing online) but it was fun, it was festive, and our fans got engaged they looked forward to our daily posts. So, to us that was success”. I would agree... Keystone Natural Family Medicine’s success is the sum of Dr. Kristen Bishop’s commitment and focus of giving first and asking for help later. The quote she shared with me, “a rising tide lift’s all ships” is a perfect example of her “marketing strategy”. And that’s why I am excited to share with you (the readers) why I believe she is a Small Business Superhero :) Wanna learn more about Keystone Natural Family Medicine? You can check them out on their website or Facebook.

A simple new way to design

BUSINESS

Boosting APPS There is (or at least should be) no doubt that design and creating visually appealing content plays a very important role in marketing today. Yet, this is one of the areas where many small business owners struggle. The good news is that with the tools that are available today you don’t necessarily need to be a designer to create great looking graphics. All it takes is a tool that is easy to use and graphics that look great....which is why I am going to introduce to you two resources that can help you with the challenges you face with design....BONUS!!!!Yep, that’s two resources instead of just one this month :) Canva is an online program that makes designing simple for anyone. You can create designs for social media, presentations, fly-

ers, business cards, eBooks...anything your heart desires! Not only is Canva free to use, it is an online program so there is no need to download anything just go to www.canva.com and start designing. It’s that easy! Canva gives you everything you need to create fantastic designs for the web or print. Canva does sell images but I would suggest that you join the Dollar Photo Club to gain access to some of the best, highest quality images around. Best of all....the image are only $1! I personally use Dollar Photo Club for most of my designing needs. I love me some high quality dollar photos :) Check out Dollar Photo Club here.

Facebook advertising is one of the most powerful advertising tools that we have available to us as small businesses today. Years ago marketers had to spend millions of dollars (and countless hours) gathering data to understand their target market better so that they could be more effective in reaching them. Today, a marketer can log into Facebook and find out anything they want to know in seconds! They can see marital status, how many children they have, what their favorite color is, who they hang out with (what they like / dislike), what kind of car they drive....heck, what kind of car they want to drive! The information is endless! So, what should we do with this information? It’s simple....Facebook Advertising.

Here some interesting stats Facebook shared about the power of Facebook during the holidays. - 60% of people on Facebook in the 2013 holiday season found Facebook extremely influential to their holiday shopping* - 89% of holiday shoppers who shared their holiday shopping experience on a social network did so on Facebook* - 4.2X more often that people access Facebook on mobile phones before holiday shopping, compared to search engines* Here’s six steps to help you get the most from your Facebook advertising this holiday season:

*Source: “The Impact of Mobile and Facebook While Shopping”, by Millward Brown Digital and Firefly, Jan 2014 (study commissioned by Facebook of 500 US holiday shoppers with smartphones, Nov-Dec 2013.

Step 1 Set your goals. What are you trying to accomplish with your Facebook advertising? Are you trying to grow your fan base? Capture Leads? Drive traffic to your website? (Hint: you should only have ONE goal if you want to be effective). Let’s assume that you are looking to capture leads to stuff your funnel that will help you launch into 2015.

Step 3 Create your funnel. If you want to capture leads you need to have a landing page that can capture their name and email. Then you need a CRM System so that it compiles the leads you are capturing. It is critical that your CRM system integrates with your landing page so that you don’t have to “move” the names from one list to another. Next, you need to have an autoresponder that will deliver whatever you are offering automatically to the individual requesting it. Typically, your CRM system should have this capability. Now that you have captured the lead, delivered the giveaway, then you should nurture that lead and follow up. Nurturing the lead will increase your chances on closing them on your product or service.

Create your Facebook ad. This is a topic that should be covered by itself (which we will do in an upcoming issue). In the meantime, check out Facebooks Guide on Advertising to learn more about running a Facebook ad.

Determine what you will give away. The ABSOLUTE BEST way to capture leads is to give something away that is immensely valuable for free. This could be an ebook, video, training, audio recording, sample of your product, trial of your service, the list is endless!

Step 2 Design your ad image. Most small business owners are not designers :) Truthfully, you don’t need to be a designer if you follow these simple steps to creating great ads. I recommend using Canva as the tool to create your ads....it’s simple to use and makes designing fun! Check it out.

Step 4

Step 5 Plan early. Complete a content calendar to determine which dates are important to your business, outline what messages you will send on key dates, determine how much time it will take to create your entire campaign, and mark the calendar to set time aside to get er’ done :)

Step 6

So, whatcha gunna do with all that info? Here’s an ebook that Salesforce created as a “swipe file” of email marketing that businesses used in the past. I sure if you take a look you might find a nugget or two that might help you in your own holiday marketing! Click here to download the ebook.

Holiday Marketing Calendar Ok, so let’s do this...planning thing all the successful people talk about :) Here’s a quick hoedown on the dates you should know to make the most of your holiday marketing:

Cyber Monday began in 2005 by Shop.org. It is the first Monday after Thanksgiving and is geared towards online sales for shoppers. In 2013 there were more sales on Cyber Monday than for Black Friday which is proof of the increase in online shopping!

Green Monday is the second Monday in December that is another big shopping date for online retailers.

Free Shipping Day is a day merchants can offer free shipping and delivery in time for Christmas Eve.

Remember Seinfeld? Festivus was made popular by the sitcom as a protest to the commercialization of Christmas.

Two-thirds of all annual seasonal spending is for this one single day....so clearly it’s a biggie :)

Hanukkah is and 8 day observance in re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Kwanzaa is a celebration in African American culture that lasts a week long. It is a time to celebrate, give gifts, and feast!

Super Saturday is an opportunity to target the shopping procrastinators by offering “last chance” purchasing opportunities to get gifts in time for Christmas.

Boxing say is when customers make exchanges an redeem gift cards they have received for Christmas. This is a great opportunity to clear inventory with specials.

The closure of a year past and a celebration of a New Year! Many give thanks, reflect, and celebrate as they bring in the New Year. 19

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Thanks for reading! Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d LOVE to hear your thoughts and feedback :) Hit me up at misty@yourmarketingcoachonline.com