Two passions of mine are golf and business. These two are very similar, especially when it comes to the on-line world. As we become a more digitally connected society, it is important to build business relationships online in the virtual world as well as the golf course. Major business deals believe it or not are  done on golf courses around the world. I have come up with some unique ways golf relates to social networking for business. I am interested in your feedback so please let me know if these are sufficient points.

1. Your business takes time to grow, just like your golf game
No one can go out and shoot 72 their first time, not even Tiger Woods did that. Just like in business, no one becomes a success overnight. It takes years of building up. Some newbie golfers go to golf camp to learn the basics or maybe a golf boot camp for the fast track approach. Just like our company in San Diego called Social Networking San Diego which gives the fast track (Bootcamp) to social media and social networking for business purposes. The same applies when doing business online. If you think its easy think again. The point is You MUST get educated on how to do business online if you are to play the business game online. Is your website generating leads for you? how is your pay per click campaign doing? Is your SEO up to par? What social video sites are you on? Are your leads converting?

2. Golfing is usually done with friends, business partners, or colleagues
I cant tell you how many times i have been golfing with people i enjoy spending time with. I have been golfing with clients, partners, and of course family and friends. The thing to understand is golf is relationship building just like social networking. It takes time and those who are in it for the short run or are looking at twitter negatively just don’t get it. Twitter is just a communication tool to build relationships online. Both personal relationships and business. Think of twitter simply as a virtual networking group on demand.

Please help vote for a Fellow San Diego Business EasyTurf as San Diego’s Best Green Product Installer by clicking here: http://budurl.com/easyturf

What are your thoughts on this post?
Cheers
Justin

How CEO’s Can Create A Blue Ocean Strategy And Save The Company Using Social Media

blue ocean strategy social media

We as CEO’s know the game is changing. It’s not doing business as usual any longer. Old styles of marketing such as direct mail, telemarketing and even email marketing are producing diminishing results. The companies that will be in business in the future MUST take advantage and diversify into an on-line marketing approach that embraces social media and social networking (especially twitter) and formulate a strategy around their products and services.

Believe it or not, the numbers are showing these on-line marketing tactics cheaper than traditional methods (Better ROI) and with shrinking budgets and a need for new ideas, what better solution than social marketing? Now this is easier said then done. I have been in IT and Business for over 10 years and for marketing, lead generation, and sales, departments MUST understand how to use these tools for those purposes. Its not what tools are out these, but how your departments are trained to use them. I conduct workshops for various corporations and have given companies the fast-track approach to social media and help structure the workshops in layman’s terms so everyone understands their role and how it fits with the company culture. Strategy is the most important, and not too many people in corporations have the business and technical sense because of the dis-connect among departments that exists.

Typically, no one in the company even understands all these various on-line mediums, which is why CEO’s will need to bring in outside help to re-shape the company culture around these new paradigms.

Here is a helpful video i put together that gives the following talking points:

1. Old Style of Marketing VS. New Style of Marketing
2. Two Buck Chuck Example (blue ocean strategy)
3. Whole Foods Example (blue Ocean Strategy- Online & Off-line)
4. How you will need outside consultants to help re-shape corporate culture

This video should really touch on some great strategies for you to implement in your organizations right away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eJPo5hZ2MY

I would appreciate some of your thoughts / insight on this discussion post.
What challenges is your firm facing with formulating a social media strategy?
I would Appreciate your any feedback

Thanks
JustinRFrench CEO Social Networking San Diego
Email me at “snsdjf@gmail.com “> with any questions you may have and i would be happy to offer some advice

4. Trust is very important. We have gained the trust of many clients by always doing what we say and communicating with them regularly and measuring the success of our social marketing strategy. We may even have to make adjustments with the keywords or messaging. It is definitely a process and takes months to lay the proper foundation. Consider it sweat equity or “building brand equity” as Gary Vee says; you are investing in the long run for big payoffs months down the road. I assure you there is no quick fix or get rich quick scheme that can help your business achieve long term growth and success online. Right now we are solving on-line marketing challenges companies are having and leveraging social networking and social media tools as means of meeting and achieving business goals. Social networking used to be just for personal use, but now we have identified how to leverage these mediums to help corporations become more competitive, more visible, and more profitable. As business consultants who happen to be very technical, this has given us an advantage to be able to leverage cutting edge technology for our clients that gives them a competitive edge. That is exactly why clients continue to see the value in working with a highly technical team who is first and foremost business minded and continues to produces on-line social marketing results.

3. My executive team and I have been consulting with the SMB market for many years. Because we have worked in MANY different industries and capacities such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing, and service, we have been diversified and can provide the proper solution to various online marketing challenges no matter what business they are in. The processes and systems we use are very similar. For me, it’s just like starting a business. Once you start one business, you can start another, it’s just maybe a different target market, product, service, or business model, but the foundations to conducting business are very similar.

We have developed a systematic process of identifying core business problems and challenges with marketing, establishing a framework, agreeing on deliverables, and implementing the proper solution for our clients. The workflow we have created is proprietary and clients have been blown away at the efficiency and results it creates for their company. We make our clients aware that things may not always go according to plan, but they are rest assured knowing we have the right problem solving capabilities, the team in place, and the same concepts we have employed for years that has been largely successful for several other clients. Not to mention a lot of this is due to the trust factor we have gained over the years. At the end of the day, that is what companies pay us to do- solve their online marketing problems. Whether its strategy, planning, training, consulting, implementation, etc. Companies need to go above and beyond for their clients these days and I am seeing this everyday thanks to social networking sites like twitter. Doing business online is a HUGE complexity and sadly many companies have been burned. Just like when I was in the IT field, we had to establish trust first before our clients accepted us. We achieved this by selling ourselves, not just our products or services. Think of doing business on the internet like a science- a science we reveal to our signed clients just how everything ties together for great business success on the internet.

Is your website generating new leads/ new business for you? Test it here: http://www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com/free-website-evaluation/

2. Our country is built on small and mid-sized businesses and because of the Internet, companies are now able to compete on-line with large fortune 500 companies with an even smaller budget. It’s all about having the right strategy. It levels the playing field and enables a communication channel that would have never been possible in traditional marketing or media. We have now seen that a small business with a great product or service and the right strategy can achieve huge economies of scale on-line. Look at what has happened with twitter. Our current business model leverages twitter to be used as a business tool for our clients to achieve some of these business objectives: PR, customer service, branding, marketing, and of course developing lasting business relationships. Twitter has enabled corporations to get back to the foundations of doing business in a digital age which is much needed right now. Being more transparent, not always selling things, and building an on-line community culture around community. Remember- people want to do business with people. Think of this new way of doing business on line as social marketing. If someone from company A does something good for me, say help me out or point me in the right direction, or does a good job on a project, I am going to tell 10 of my friends and just like word of mouth referrals, the same happens now online in a virtual setting.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post!

As extremely busy executives, we know the following:

-budget allowances are gone
-competitive forces are growing
-layoffs and cuts have been made, and hopefully not a second round
-sales are down

As the VP of marketing goes into the CEO’s office Monday morning and says “I just spoke to a company on Linked-in who is doing social media and social networking consulting for business development and lead generation and I think we should consider it. This could be our chance to get ahead of our competitors and shift some of our off-line marketing budget into on-line marketing and advertising. The CEO says “That on-line marketing crap has never worked before, what makes you think it will work now? We don’t even understand how the hell it works! Do they even have case studies? What was the ROI?” VP Says “I spoke to a company who seems very credible from their recommendations, has case studies, video testimonials, and has developed a proven system and strategy that really seems to make a lot of sense. I think it leverages social networking and social media sites for business development and lead generation purposes. It really gets back to the old way of doing business by developing relationships with customers first, earning their trust, and then it’s just a matter of time before they do business with us. Plus, the viral ability with online marketing makes word of mouth referrals spread much quicker when they see how great our products are they tell their friends, family, and colleagues. What do you think? CEO says “Well, maybe this couldn’t have come at a better time because sales, marketing, and IT have never seemed to be on the same page, what we are currently doing isn’t working, and this may be a chance for us to gain a competitive advantage. How do we move forward? Well, they offered to do a FREE Webinar for us on the growing trend in social marketing to see if we may be a good fit for the program. I think we should do it. The CEO says “let’s check it out”. 3 months later……Progress has been made, ROI is up 15%, and employees at the various departments are shifting gears and getting re-educated/ re-trained on how to use these social tools and how to sell in a digital age.

“When is your VP of marketing going to take a NEW innovative direction for your firm? Give the CEO some hope so he can sleep”

What is your feedback on this story? How many think this ACTUALLY happened? Please respond below. Leave your comments. I look forward to your guesses-
JustinRFrench CEO & Chief Internet Marketing Strategist
Social Networking San Diego
http://www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com

graphic credited to www.sciencebuddies.org

Here is a reminder of the scientific method with the spin for a social marketing strategy:

Steps of the scientific method:

1.    Ask a Question -what goals are you trying to achieve with your on-line marketing efforts? On-line branding, customer service, online PR, increase traffic, increased visibility, increase website ranking, better conversion, marketing a new product or service….

2.    Do Background Research -we research your competition, identify what keywords are best to use, and formulate an online marketing strategy/ plan tailored around your particular business model (this can NOT be a one size fits all approach to on line marketing!)

3.    Construct a Hypothesis -based on our research/ assessment- we hope to achieve these types of results with this on-line marketing campaign…

4.    Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment -we will assign the right team, implement the strategy, and market test and confirm our on-line marketing campaign (either 100% outsourced or a joint effort (best results are achieved with a joint effort- we do training, coaching, and educational instruction on who does what in the on-line marketing strategy)

5.    Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion -quarterly reports using analytics, benchmarks, deliverables, goals met, and other ROI measurements compared to alternative marketing efforts

6.    Communicate Your Results -we will report to the executive team what results were achieved, areas we suggest for improvement, and best approaches moving forward.

We work in these 4 capacities:
Hourly Consulting
Monthly Retainer
Per Project Basis
Monthly Subscription

See if your corporation qualifies for starting a social marketing campaign by clicking here: http://www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com/free-website-evaluation/

Want to see some actual Case Studies for existing clients?  Click Here for Case Studies

CEO JustinRFrench

P.S. Here are 4 tips on how to choose the right social media marketing consultant

What type of results are you producing for your clients in social media marketing, social networking, and on-line marketing campaigns?

I am constantly asked- “so what are the numbers companies can expect with on-line marketing campaigns? Is it worth it? What will be my ROI?”

Well, first off, every industry is different. Think of your on-line marketing system like a gas pedal- the harder you press on the marketing machine (the more $ you spend the harder we step on the pedal) the greater your reach, exposure, and potential for more business.

I just refer them to our current case studies (see below) and a blog post i did here http://www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com/blog/
which states WHY companies need to formulate some type of on-line marketing strategy revolving around social networking and social media. Otherwise they will keep trying off-line approaches like direct mail, telemarketing, and radio and TV that are producing diminishing returns.

So i ask my audience- what are some of the returns you are producing for your customers? would you mind sharing below some of the challenges your facing in providing various consulting services to your customers? This way i can formulate more case studies for the industry. Your feedback is greatly appreciated

JustinRFrench CEO
Social Networking San Diego
http://www.twitter.com/justinrfrench

Social Networking San Diego:
Actual Existing Client Case Studies
Company names kept confidential due to confidentiality agreements

Company A
Start Date: 2/01/09
Website Grade prior to campaign: 43/100
Traffic Rank (Alexa) Top 16.91% (or 5,195,184)
Inbound Links 0
Blog (None)

Current Date: 3/31/09
Website Grade: 65/100
Traffic Rank (Alexa) Top 16.24% (or 4,547,459)
Inbound Links 151
Blog (off-site)

26% increase in traffic in 2 months!

Company B
Start Date: 1/28/09
Website Grade prior to campaign: 62/100
Traffic Rank (Alexa) Top) 4.81% (or 1,475,807)
Inbound Links 0
Blog (None)

Current Date: 3/31/09
Website Grade: 71/100
Traffic Rank (Alexa) Top 4.29% (or 1,316,909)
Inbound Links 53
Blog (off-site)

27% increase in traffic in 2 months!

Company C
Start Date: 2/01/09
Website Grade prior to campaign: 53/100
Traffic Rank (Alexa) Top 5.72% (or 2,857,215)
Inbound Links 0
Blog (None)

Current Date: 3/31/09
Website Grade: 91/100
Traffic Rank (Alexa) Top 1.33% (or 373,541)
Inbound Links 466
Blog (on-site)
75% increase in traffic in 2 months!

Contact me here http://www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com/free-webinar/
for a FREE Webinar and start forming your strategy Today-
and see if your firm is ready to discuss some of your on-line marketing challenges and what we can do to address these like we have been for MANY of our clients.

this is a social media road map i found

I keep getting asked by fellow business professionals on linked-in discussions the following questions regarding social media and social networking for business.

1. How are you successfully using Twitter, microblogs, blogging, etc. in your corporate environment?

Justin’s Answer- personal branding, product/ service branding, customer service, industry news, trends, event promotion, competitor analysis, building BUSINESS relationships, etc.

2. How do you convince those that don’t “get it”?

Justin’s Answer- I tell them go get educated and come back to me in a year when your ready to build an on-line marketing strategy around your products or services and have it done right. Once companies wake up and start realizing 1-2% returns on direct mail and telemarketing is NOT working. Why do you keep doing things that don’t work? Stop throwing good money after bad ideas and work with an innovative marketing company. Maybe they should get educated on one of our many webinars about social networking, twitter training, or linked-in training for business. I don’t have the time or patience sometimes to deal with business people that “don’t get it”. Time is money!

3. How do you measure successful ROI?
We measure ROI for our customers with our own proprietary methods and software systems we have developed and it works great! We have paying customers, they see results, and we show them monthly reports. We have to measure the success of our clients online campaigns and report to them monthly or they wouldn’t be spending thousands of dollars per month with us!

4. I’m interested in hearing successes, failures, and strategies.

We have MANY success stores (see my blog http://www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com/blog/ or customer testimonial videos.

Failures; just know you will make some mistakes, get over it- just jump it try it, learn, and learn from your mistakes most importantly of course. You will learn, test, and refine the strategy. Try to have a plan at least. The alternative is to do nothing and fail. Need Strategies- see my blog or book some one on one consulting time with me and lets formulate an online marketing strategy together.

We even have an internet consulting team I can dedicate to your next on-line marketing campaign. Don’t have time to do all this social networking stuff yourself? No problem- we’ll do it for you. Give us a shot and we GUARANTEE we can increase traffic to your website IF you partner with us, sign up, and take our recommendations. It’s worked for these clients (see videos to the right) so maybe your business is ready to jump on board.

Is your business ready? What is your understanding of social media and social networking for business? Take the social networking IQ test here: business evaluation

Cheers
JustinRFrench twitterholic
Tweets by JustinRFrench

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