Monday, March 21, 2011

Growing Your Customer Base through Social Media


Few people find the name Santa Fe synonymous with social media marketing, but that’s not for a lack of brick and mortar companies in and around New Mexico’s capital city who are using the internet to stretch the limits of their influence and grow their business in new and unique ways.

The reality is the Internet has no borders – these days you’re just as capable of reading Twitter updates from a Himalayan Sherpa as you are the latest incoherent ramblings of Charlie Sheen – and social media has become the great leveling tool that can help small-time businesses compete with major corporations.

When it comes to the cost effectiveness of marketing in general, there’s no cheaper or more effective way to go about it than by creating a social media presence for your business. Why spend money on billboard ads that only a small percentage of the local population will ever see (let alone pay attention to) when you can achieve widespread exposure by having your customers do the legwork for you, sharing web links to your company site with their voluminous number of Facebook friends?

So, what are the first steps?

Number one, build a website. Regardless of your company’s size – whether you’re a budding home-based craft maker or the owner of a well-established wholesale jewelry outlet with 50 employees on the payroll – a web presence is fundamental to your continued growth.

Next, take advantage of free social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to advertise yourself in creative ways. Get yourself listed with location-based mobile applications like Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook Places so that your customers can announce to their vast legions of online followers that they’ve “checked in” to your establishment. You might not think of this as a very effective means to get the word out about your business, but in practice it can be a powerful tool.

Don’t know the first thing about doing either one of the above? Join the club. If you think that every website in existence was created by a business owner skilled in HTML and with a little too much spare time on their hands, think again. You can buy software programs that are relatively simple to use (far simpler than learning how to program a website manually). 

Or, you can partner up with a company like Flyline Search Marketing, a local social media specialist with a demonstrated knack for web design and a keen understanding of your local business landscape. Who knows? You might even get Susana Martinez (one of the most high profile Santa Fe residents heavily active in social media) to “Like” your Facebook page. Hey, it’s possible. Visit Flyline Search Marketing to learn more.



                 

Friday, March 11, 2011

Internet Marketing - Santa Fe, New Mexico


Flyline Search Marketing


Serving Santa Fe & The State Of New Mexico
Premier Internet Marketing Agnency

Looking for an honest, hard working Internet Marketing Agency that can help you design and deploy a successful Internet advertising strategy for your firm? If so, we encourage you to contact us at 1-866-258-5511 or visit our main web site at (http://www.flylinesearchmarketing.com) to learn more about the services we offer. We are a Google Adwords Certified Partner serving the entire state of New Mexico and of course Google Adwords program design and management is a core competancy of our firm.   

We work hard for our clients and many of them turn into great sources of new business leads for our company. Here is one in particular that we encourage you to speak with. Her name is Julie Lippitt. Mrs. Lippitt owns a company called Pete's Plumbing Incorporated. The business is located in Alpharetta, Georgia and has been a Flyline Search Marketing client since the day we opened our doors. Flyline Search Marketing provides Google Adwords program design and management, Yahoo/Bing sponsored search program design and management, media consulting, social media marketing (Twitter, Facebook), blogging and press release services. We have also provided some brand development work for them as well. We created their current logo and helped them design and deploy a new Green or "Eco-Friendly" Plumbing line.

Contact Julie Lippitt
770-442--3934

Pete's Plumbing Blog

Pete's Plumbing Custom Facebook Fan Page

Pete's Plumbing Website

Pete's Plumbing Twitter Page


Flyline Search Marketing also serves Carithers Flowers of Atlanta, arguably one of the largest florists in the southeastern United States. The Carithers Flowers company is a second generation family owned and operated business. The owner and President is Mr. Carithers, a nationally acclaimed florist. Mr. Carithers and his family have been proudly serving Atlanta and the Metro Atlanta area for more than 40 years. Carithers Flowers hired Flyline Search Marketing in early 2009 and has been steadily growing their relationship with our agency since that time. We support the Carithers Flowers in a number of ways. Services we provide for them include: Google Adwords program design and management, Yahoo/Bing sponsored search program design and management, media consulting, social media marketing (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube), blogging and press release generation and submission services.

Contact Charles Carithers
770-980-3000

Carithers Flowers Blog

Carithers Custom Facebook Fan Page

Carithers Flowers Website

Carithers Flowers Twitter Page



                             

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Busting Social Media Myths

Some myths deserve to be busted in cold, hardcore fashion. But, when it comes to social media marketing myths, there are so many of them that it’s tough to know where to start. So, we’re starting with the three most prevalent.

Myth #1: Social Media Marketing Isn’t Right for My Company
Nothing could be farther from the truth. If you take a look at corporations that should be on the cutting edge of social media, like Apple or AT&T, you might be shocked to learn that these companies are lagging behind. Instead, you see brands like Old Spice and Smirnoff Vodka stealing the show and leaving everyone else in the dust.

Why? It’s certainly not because deodorant and booze are easily associated with social media. These companies made social media work in their favor because they used the one thing that can level any playing field: creativity.

Myth #2: Social Media Marketing’s No Different Than Spam Marketing
The difference between social media marketing and spam marketing is huge. Spam marketing is the equivalent of taking the easy – and far less effective – route to “getting yourself out there.” On the other hand, social marketing actually requires you to engage your customer base – hence the word “social.”

The fact is social marketing can be a fun experience for both you and your customers because it encourages interaction. When was the last time you heard someone say “Oh look, another spam email!” with anything but disdain in their voice? On the other hand, a well thought out social marketing strategy can actually get your customers excited about your brand, which will lead them to share the love with friends they think will also be interested.

Myth #3: Social Media Marketing Requires Too Much Work
It’s true that a social media marketing plan does require a fair amount of thought effort. But the fact that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are entirely free to use changes everything.

A social media campaign brings an immensely greater ROI than traditional advertising because you’re not spending money on the actual advertisement – not to mention the fact that it can reach a far bigger audience than your typical TV, radio, or billboard ad.

In the end, it's true: you do need social media if you want to get to your target audience, find out what they need, get their attention and maximize your marketing budget. If you need a kick-start to launch your company’s social media profile, it's true, there’s no shortage of local and national companies that can help you on your way.