MKLINK Internet Marketing Tips

Why Companies should be using Facebook as Part of their Marketing Mix - Part 2

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:29:57 +0000

So before I go on to give you some tips on HOW to get the most out of Facebook, I want to RECAP on WHY it is so important in the first place. Because from experience, if I don’t give you the why – the HOW is irrelevant.

1) It enables INSTANT interactivity to be added to your website at ZERO cost. If you’ve been thinking about setting up a blog or conducting customer surveys or adding video or enabling feedback on your website – e.g. a noticeboard, blog, poll or forum - Facebook allows you to do all of this – and a million times more without having to spend any time or money on programming your website.

2) It’s a fantastic communication tool – second only to email. Once you have a loyal band of followers, you can send messages very efficiently again with zero cost. If you’ve ever heard one of my webinars about email marketing, you’ll know exactly just how important that constant, consistent and relevant communication is. Facebook is getting better all the time at this and enables multimedia embedded within the communications that is just a dream to use.

3) Use it as a referral network. I’m in a not-for-profit business networking club in Cheltenham and each week we meet up and pass business to each other.

The idea being that you develop a list of trusted individuals that you can feel confident in doing business with because you look out for each other. And it works. It doesn’t work overnight because relationships take time. I’ve been a member since July 2009 and my membership has brought me many thousands of pounds of business – as well as making new friends and enables me to source suppliers that I can trust.

But the downside is of course that I have to pay my monthly and annual fees – which come to about a thousand pounds and I have to be there at 630 am each week – rather than being in bed. It’s a small price to pay but all of this can be done on Facebook – and with much, much further reach and zero cost.

Again, it doesn’t happen immediately and it basically involves helping other people, adding value to memberships and groups and actively going out of your way to be someone that others want to do business with. But this is infinitely better that standing around wondering why you’re not getting any leads or sales or spending a fortune on Yellow pages or other advertising that either doesn’t work or is working less and less.

4) Prospecting for New Customers & Target Niche Markets.
Half the battle of succeeding online is to find a niche that isn’t being served or over exploited and then market effectively to it. This has been proven time and time again with regular websites and microsites and niche blogs. If you ever heard me talk about Ebay – for those of you that sell products rather than services – although it can apply to services as well – you’ll know that with a big portal site – half the work is done for you.

The web is a big place so using a place like Facebook and checking out the various groups that almost certainly exist to serve your specific clients means that you have to do a lot less legwork. If for whatever reason that a group – or indeed number of groups don’t exist that will contain either your target market or at least contain people that have access to your target market – then you can simply make your own group.

This leads me on to number 5.

5) Customer Research
What better way to find out what the people in your market wants than by asking them. Traditional ways of doing this would include buying lists, sending out letters or cold calling or standing in the street. Facebook has all the people and groups you could ever want and as long as you don’t annoy people – you have access to as much market research as you can shake a stick at.

6) A Client Management Tool.
Of course, once you have done your research and identified niche target markets and have networked and all the rest then by now you’ll hopefully have some clients to look after. What better way to keep in touch with them and give them ongoing support than to set them up as private individuals in your account that other people haven’t got access to and keep a kind of open diary with them. This way, you have an efficient way to keep all your communications – even invoices and business details together – without having to keep sending and replying to emails all the time.

Half the battle of maintaining customer loyalty is keeping your clients posted as to new developments, dealing with issues as they arise and communicating as well as possible.
Now that I’ve covered just some of the reasons WHY your business should be exploring Facebook as the next marketing channel, I’m now going to briefly offer a few suggestions and tips on how to make it as effective as possible.

End of part 2

Thomson Interview Transcription

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:45:31 +0000

Marketing Tips from MKLINK

MKLINK Marketing was incorporated in 1998. Since then they have generated over £40 million in additional revenue for their clients, ranging from small companies to Building Societies. MKLINK specialises in “common-sense” marketing derived from real-life experience rather than theory.

Q: Thank you very much for talking to us today about your direct marketing plans. Can you tell us why you decided to choose Thomson Local data?

Mike: “Thank you. I decided to use Thomson local data simply because I was recommended it and having run a quick Google Search, I found that the feedback was good. I’ve used other data suppliers in the past and was wary because some of the data wasn’t very fresh. The fact that Thomson Local verify all their data gave me confidence to invest.”

Q: Why is it so important to choose accurate business data for your marketing campaigns?

Mike: “There are two primary reasons that spring to mind. Firstly is one of cost. Sending material to incorrectly listed people or companies means that essentially it’s wasted, consequently the more accurate the information the less mail goes in the bin.

Secondly is client perception. How often have you received communication where your name is spelled incorrectly or other key contact details are wrong? It looks really unprofessional and instantly alienates your recipient.”

Q: What tips do you have for increasing success with telemarketing to businesses?

Mike: “Telemarketing is a conversation all in itself and different people have different ways of doing things. However, when I built the company up I used telemarketing almost exclusively and although we use it less extensively today, I’d still recommend employing the same approach.

Wherever possible, ask for your target prospect by name. Asking for the “person in charge of marketing” or the “person in charge of purchasing” is hugely inefficient, embarrassing for the telemarketing operative and again instantly alienates the recipient of the call – whether it’s the prospect themselves or a gatekeeper.

I always earn the right to have the call. If I have sent some information to Mr. Smith, Purchasing Manager of ABC Company then I have showed courtesy by introducing myself and my reason for business. Thereafter, my whole tone is more empowered because I have a legitimate right and reason to call back.

Were I to do this for the first time without sending information beforehand (which I think is more professional personally), then again I would ask that I can send some information that I hope may be of benefit to them. I NEVER would expect to sell instantly. There’s simply no relationship yet and no respect. This way, every time you call you are gathering more information and increasing either their commitment or building up your relationship with them.

I would rather speak with less people but with a much higher conversion rate because I believe it is more efficient to qualify appropriate prospects and then give each one more time and more of a chance to respond positively.

Of course, it IS a numbers game but you can still stack the numbers in your favour by getting as much information about each contact as possible and using it next time you call. It’s easy because most people don’t bother so you will stand out!

So, if you asked for Mr Smith and last time he was away on a business trip to Kenya – you can ask if he has returned safely from Kenya. Simple. The fact you remembered – or bothered to make a note of it really stands out.

If nothing else, it reminds the recipient of the calls that you have called before and are following up and that you are not simply another first time caller. Persistence pays - as long as you make each call count and always get more information each time. You’ve made the call so you might as well get as much background information as you can each time.”

Q: If you were conducting an email marketing campaign, how would you ensure you generate a good response?

Mike: “Personalisation is key. If nothing else, ensure you put the recipient’s name in the subject field and anything else than can personalise it to them. Given the amount of unsolicited email everyone receives, it is imperative to demonstrate that you have information that is beneficial to them and not the whole wide world. There’s a whole discussion there about prospect/client segmentation!

People have information overload so the PRIMARY thing the email needs to do initially is S-T-A-N-D O-U-T to get read.

Remember that they HAVE to read the top of an email because it is the bit that is displayed. Same as a webpage – you can’t help but see the top – because it is how the page is rendered. But whilst 100% of the visitors to a web page see the top, maybe only 5% ever reach the bottom. Ditto emails.

Therefore, keep the headline punchy and compelling enough to cause the recipient to read further – or at least open the email.

I’m in favour of quite short emails. If you have a lot to say, then link to the rest of the information on a web page somewhere. This also means that you can track how many people click on the links and can build up a profile of how engaging the emails are.

Avoid using certain words that will trigger spam filters – marketing emails often unwittingly fall foul of this. There are loads of online tools available that will give your copy a spam score before you send it out.

Also make the emails easy to read. Both in terms of language and font – not everyone has perfect eyesight.

If you have the time – split test your emails to see which get read more. Up to 80% of the response can be from the headline alone.

The hardest thing I am up against is getting business people to send emails as if they’re from a real live person, rather than containing a load of corporate jargon. People buy from people so make your marketing less corporate and more approachable. It works for people like Google!”

For more marketing help contact Mike at MKLINK.

Facebook Marketing Tips - Part 1

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:40:29 +0000

Why Companies should be using Facebook as Part of their Marketing Mix - Part 1

Facebook has gotten so big now and such a player so quickly that I don’t think it can be ignored any longer and I personally fully intend to spend a lot more of my time developing my social media channels – especially Facebook – to balance out my online marketing mix.

A Brief overview of FaceBook
And when I say big – let’s quickly see where Facebook has come from and where it is at the moment and where it is going :
It was incorporated in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and a couple of chums at Harvard University and was initially designed for – and limited to – university students.
It has of course come on a long way since then although for quite a while, the main profile of the people on Facebook was younger people – and people with above average educations.

I suggest that you don’t become misled by that though as the demographics of Facebook have been changing very rapidly recently and it would be a mistake to assume that other demographics can’t be reached very successfully here.

Some Impressive Statistics.
This time last year, Facebook had around 250 million accounts. One year later and the number is almost twice that – i.e. getting on for half a BILLION accounts.

Now, whilst of course not all accounts are actually active, of the ones that are active, around half of them logon to Facebook every day. This means that people are spending over 500 Billion minutes per month on Facebook.

So, whilst we’re talking about statistics, I’ll quickly read off some figures I came across that may be of some interest to the more statistically oriented of you today :

Activity on Facebook
There’s more than 160 million objects that people are engaging with. Objects are pages, groups and events.
Average user :
is connected to 60 pages, groups and events, has 130 friends, creates 70 pieces of content each month.
There’s more than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month.

Global Reach
More than 70 translations available on the site
• About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
• Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application

Platform
• More than one million developers and entrepreneurs from more than 180 countries
• Every month, more than 70% of Facebook users engage with Platform applications
• More than 550,000 active applications currently on Facebook Platform
• More than one million websites have integrated with Facebook Platform
• More than 150 million people engage with Facebook on external websites every month
• Two-thirds of Top U.S. 100 websites and half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites have integrated with Facebook

Mobile
• There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
• People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
• There are more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products
Whilst researching this webinar, I came across the Freedman Report. Now I won’t read it out to you because I don’t think that it would be very useful.

But what I DO want to do is highlight some very important trends that the information I have just given you enables us to see.

Firstly, more people than ever before are using social media. And the way I see it Facebook is to the social media sites what Google was to the search engines.
OK – you can look at Bebo, Orkut, MySPace etc – but you might as well spend most of your time getting things sorted out for Facebook, unless you have unlimited time.

Secondly, whilst PEOPLE are using social media more, BUYERS – i.e. your customers are relying on customer reviews more than ever for their purchasing decisions.

Thirdly, recession-hit companies are looking for more efficient ways to promote their products and services.
The traditional one-way communication of advertising is becoming less and less prominent and is – quite rightly – giving way to a two way dialogue.
More people are spending time online and TV is giving ground. Not surprising when you can get as much music, video, news and other rich media content available these days – when and where you want it – that you can interact with.

If there’s an advert on the telly for cat food or a type of washing machine – you can’t interact with it. You can’t ask other people if it’s actually any good. You can’t instantly ask the manufacturer questions. You can’t click on the advert and get more details about content and specification.
Now, you take that train of thought to the average website that just has a static message- i.e. buy our stuff and you’ll see that there is a them appearing. People WANT to be able to interact and not just be sold to.

This has reached the point that customer and prospect engagement has actually become a key performance indicator that businesses are increasingly adding to their list of business metrics.
What do I mean by that? Well, smart businesses have know for a long time the importance of continually increasing the volume of their website visitors and conversion rate of visitors to sales, leads or signups.

Companies that are actively using sites like it are now measuring how many fans they have and how often they engage with the Facebook fan page – such things as posting comments or watching videos or answering polls – that kind of thing.

In a nutshell – people buy from other people and are heavily influenced by the attitudes and opinions of others. Consequently, more and more companies are using Facebook to help engage with their marketplace and encourage word of mouth marketing.
End of part 1

2 fonts walk into a bar…

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:33:42 +0000

…and the baman says “We don’t server your type in here…” Boom Boom.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10689931

Would you believe all the fuss about fonts…!

Saw this article on Usability

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:49:11 +0000

…and liked it :

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html

Some stuff for Thomsons Local Directory

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:37:03 +0000

http://directmarketing.thomsonlocal.com/Win/Why-Use-Direct-Marketing/Account-Manager-Top-Tips/Marketing-Tips-from-MKLINK/

Here’s an article I was interviewed for recently…

Facebook Webinar - Reminder

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:25:27 +0000

Last chance! If you have NOT already booked your slot for tomorrow’s
webinar about Facebook - please use the link below.

Don’t Miss This - FaceBook is THE next big thing in marketing online …
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/831208224

Speak you tomorrow!

Mike Knight - MKLINK.
p.s. if your PC doesn’t have sound enabled - you can dial in as usual.

Facebook Marketing Seminar

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:23:11 +0000

Hi again.

Facebook is making smart business owners incredible returns
on their marketing spend.
It’s THE next big thing in web marketing.
You’re strongly advised to use it.
(And not ‘dabbling’ - I mean really USE it!)
MKLINK’s cost of lead acquisition was halved via Facebook in the last fortnight alone
BEFORE optimising any campaigns.

Join my complementary webinar next Wednesday 21 July at 11am.
Register now to reserve your spot at :

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/831208224

If your PC doesn’t have sound - you can dial in as usual.
See you there!
Mike Knight - MKLINK

Getting my account closed down with Virgin!

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:28:35 +0000

Hi Dad.

Just spent an hour on the phone with Virgin, being bounced from pillar to post at Virgin Media.

A few things may amuse you :

They finally found my account!!!!

I was told numerous times before - having given my address that I wasn’t the account-holder my wife was,
they finally agreed that actually there is in fact an account held by me as well.

Given that this is the first time in months that they’ve even found my details, I was actually quite
pleased. All the other calls ended up in madness, from which I am still recovering.

Latterly, I was told to write to head office - at a different address to that of last time(Matrix Court)

When I told them of my dismay - having already waited 2 weeks for my last letter had to be replied to,
they put me through to another department, to start explaining all over again.

They accepted that the service was withdrawn last year but that they had continued billing me since
September when I asked the account to be shut down.

Apparently, it was my fault.

Having rung them several times about unauthorised payments, written to them without reply and spending half a day last year arranging

for something called a MAC address to be transferred to the other provider didn’t count as asking for the account
to be stopped. Despite the fact that their records showed that the account was stopped in September last year.

Having explained my situatio, they have agreed to re-imburse 6 months x £18 which is the maximum they are permitted
and will be posting me a cheque. The remainder, I have to write to at yet another different address, namely :

VIRGIN MEDIA

PO BOX 238

WYTHENSHAWE

MANCHESTER

M22 0WJ

I asked what my account number for reference in the letter was but unfortunately couldn’t give me my account number due to
data-protection. Despite explaining patiently that it was my account and that they were speaking to me on the phone number that
they have on file and that she had undergone security checks to ascertain that I am in fact me, the polite lady still wouldn’t divulge

my own account number.

Instead, she took me to a website to login - provided me with a username and password and enabled me to get my account number
via their online billing section. Why she couldn’t then have simply told me given that she gave me far more sensitive information
viz password and username I don’t know!!!

Should I BOTHER writing to the Ba*****s for the sake of £30 ish?

I need a lie down.

My Website has Disappeared!

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:50:56 +0000

Get More tips at http://www.mklink.com/getstarted

Has Your Website Dropped Ranking?

My website has disappeared! I’ve lost my Google Page Rank! I’m nowhere to be found!

This is the cry we hear often at MKLINK from people that haven’t been careful or consistent.

What happens to Websites that have dropped in the Search Engine Ranking Positions(SERPS)?

This can be for any number of reasons.

Very often it’s because Google has changed one of it’s key algorithms which means that the factors that were keeping your website ranking in place before the change are no longer valued as highly.

Google changes its algorithms frequently to try and offer better results for visitors and no doubt also to keep SEO people guessing. After all, their search algorithms are a closely guarded secret.

It might be that the backlinks that you have to your website are no longer considered any good. This often happens when Google re-indexes your site and it’s database of valuable sites has changed. Directories and indeed any other site that have too many links coming from them are considered low value and consequently as more links get added, their value drops further.

Reciprocal links very often suffer from this shift in perceived “Google Value”

It might be that your website hasn’t been updated recently. With the advent of Google Caffeine, regular updates are more important than ever to maintain good rankings.

Possibly Google thinks you’re trying “black hat” techniques. They could include having text on your page the same colour as the background(”invisible text”). Maybe your meta-tags contain the keyphrase too many times - or indeed the body copy can have the key phrase too many times.

Remember that there’s a difference between blacklisted and just penalized.

Best Defence
The best defence against losing your ranking is getting quality backlinks from a site with a decent page rank itself. Quality is better than quantity, in my opinion. Low value links will lose even more value over a period of time and become obsolete but links from highly respected sites will always maintain a good support for your PR.

I keep saying that in order to encourage good links you need good content. Remember : You are what you publish! Give away great content & update it regularly and you’ll be a lot more robust.

If you haven’t got time to do it then get someone else to do it for you - it is worth it in the long run. If you need help getting great content written consistently for you then just get in touch - it’s part of what we do!

Find out what we can do for you today at http://www.mklink.com/getstarted

’til next time,
Mike Knight - MKLINK.