Core Business Solutions Advice

Core Business Solutions Advice: Social Media: It's Not A Fad, It's a Fact

This past week Curt Middlebrook and I conducted a seminar on Social Media which was the second seminar we've conducted on the subject with new specific information. I think we can all agree that it's obvious that Social Media is the biggest shift in how we communicate and conduct business since the Industrial Revolution. If that's true, what facts about Social Media's growth and influence, can really confirm this premise?
During the development of this second Social Media Marketing Seminar, I discovered some amazing and startling facts that can help put these changes into perspective.

By the end of 2010, Generation Y will outnumber the baby boomers. Now Generation Y is defined as:the Millennial Generation or Generation Next or Net Generation, is a term used to describe the demographic cohort following Generation X. Its members are often referred to as Millennials or Echo Boomers and were born about 1974 to the mid 1980's . And at last count, Baby Boomers numbered 112 million and dropping. Plus 96% of Gen Y's have joined a Social Network! Generations X & Y consider email passe'.

One in 8 couples married since 2004 in the US met through Social Media. Romance that starts in the local bar or at a party or a work place is soon to be replaced by Social Media connections, friends and a tribe of twitter followers? Sacrilege!?

LinkedIn facts: On average, a new user joins LinkedIn every second, it has almost 50 million users and every Fortune 500 company is on LinkedIn. For you new position seekers out there, here's something to get your attention: 80% of employers use LinkedIn as their " primary tool to recruit employees."

We all know the growth of Social Media has been fast, but how fast? Here are some facts that speak to this. It took 38 years for radio to reach 50 million users. For TV, it took 13 years for 50 million people to watch it regularly. The Internet took just 4 years to reach 50 million users and IPODS took just 3 years. But, FaceBook took just 9 months to add 100 million users! In fact, if FaceBook was a country, it would be the 4th largest in population behind China, India and the US and FaceBook has over 200 million users in the US alone!

Now get this, the fastest growing segment or demographic on FaceBook is females age 55-65 years old! It's not just for college students and the Gen Y's anymore. Hulu has grown from 68 million streams of TV shows in April 2008 to 373 million in April 2009. Plus 90% of people who can TiVo ads, do TiVo the ads.

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world with over 100 million video's posted. A full 25% of Americans have said they watched a short video this past month....On Their Phone! The cell phone will be the marketing tool of choice, the interface that will be used to reach consumers.

Twitter is also changing the speed and reach of our communications world. Eighty percent of Twitter traffic is by cell phone. Imagine what that means to your business if your customer has a bad experience with your product or service. If they spread their concerns about your business virally through Twitter? How many more people now know about it? With that in mind, think about this- Ashton Kutcher and Ellen DeGeneres have more Followers on Twitter than the population of Ireland, Panama and Norway....Combined! That's called true marketing reach! So what can this also mean? Think about it this way: "What happens in Vegas stays on FaceBook, Flickr, LinkedIn, DIGG, My Space, YouTube and Twitter!" Word of Mouth is now World of Mouth.

Wikipedia has over 13 million articles and studies have shown it is more accurate than the Encyclopedia Britannica and 78% of the articles are non-English! In fact, if you were paid $1 for every time an article was posted on Wikipedia, you'd make $156 per hour!

There are over 200 million Blogs and 54% of bloggers have added content daily. Twenty Four of the 25 largest newspapers have experienced record circulation declines. Only 18% of traditional ad campaigns produce a positive return on investment. 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations and only 14% trust the recommendations of ads. As much as 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, photo's, notes, video's, blogs and news stories, etc.) are shared on FaceBook.....Daily!!

What does this all mean? Social Media is not a fad. Social Media is a fundamental shift in how we communicate. We no longer search for the news and information, now the news and information finds us! Every company and sole proprietor needs to get involved in Social Media Marketing.

I encourage all Core Business Solutions clients and show them how to be active on as many Social Media platforms as they can. It's not just a way to promote your business or your brand.

Along with a good Blog, Social Media sites provide you a tool to:

1. Expose your expertise in your business segment
2. Allow restaurants to announce their specials, daily or even hourly
3. Let retailers announce their new discounts
4. Have New products unveiled
5. Display a Blog for a business to display its professional knowledge of its target market
6. Exhibit the expertise a customer can expect from business
7. Even display video's and photo's that can be posted to help educate your prospects or customers

Social Media- It's not a Fad, It's a Fact!

I hope this provides you new food for thought and some points to ponder to help your business. I welcome your comments and feedback.

In a few weeks another Core Business Solutions Advice blog article will be published.

All The Very Best...Always,

Walt Morey -
Executive Business Advisor Accredited by the Institute for Independent Business
www.corebizsolution.com

Is being so busy all the time driving you crazy? You're not alone. I just finished reading a great book by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. titled "Crazy Busy".Without intending for it to happen we've plunged ourselves into a mad rush of activity, expecting our brains to keep track of more than they comfortably or effectively can, in fact, as attention deficit disorder expert and bestselling author Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. argues, brain overload has reached the point where our entire society is suffering from culturally induced Attention Deficit Disorder[ADD].

There are myth's and reality's to multi-tasking. Multitasking ineffectively,what is called“frazzing”, is a common mistake that busy people make, frantically hoping that it will work. If the task matters, it is better that you do it by itself. That way you can give it your full attention. "Passion Test" philosophy- 'Give attention to your intentions to release tension.'

The author also comes up with over 15 new words for the new problems.

A few of these new terms are:

• Screensucking. Wasting time engaging with
  any screen – for instance, computer, video
  game, television, Blackberry. To combat it, you
  need to be aware that you are susceptible to it
  every time you log on or switch on.
• Kudzu. This is the clutter and piles that
  invade where we work and where we live, the
  unstoppable, unkillable stream of unexpected
  minor requests from people everywhere that
  slows us down, the spam that infests our email,
  the junk mail that overruns our snail mail, and
  the useless information that we continue to
  collect in spite of our best efforts not to. One
  of the great antidotes to this is the acronym
  OHIO: Only Handle It Once. [Sound familiar 'Minute Manager' disciples?]
• Gemmelsmerch. This is the force that distracts
  the mind or steals it away from it wants to do
  or ought to be doing. Reducing this in your
  environment and learning how to resist its
  pull are modern survival skills of the highest
  importance.
• The Human Moment vs. The Electric Moment- A human moment occurs when two
  or more people meet in person and connect
  with one another. An electronic moment
  occurs when you meet others via electronic
  devices.
• Frazzing. Multitasking ineffectively. [See above]

So, Dr. Hallowell has provided his " TEN KEY PRINCIPLES TO MANAGING MODERN LIFE":

1. Do what matters most to you. You need to prioritize your day, your week & your life.You must choose. In order to do well and to be happy, you must say, “No, thank you,” to many people and activities.
2. Create a positive emotional environment wherever you are. Work on all your business and personal relationships and keep them positive. Avoid negative people or situations. Most of all stay positive yourself! You become what you think about.
3. Find your rhythm. When you find your rhythm, you allow much of your day to be taken care of by the automatic pilot in your brain, so that the creative, thinking part of your brain can attend to what is uniquely qualified to attend to.
4. Invest your time wisely so as to get maximum
   return. Make a list of the tasks you want to complete for the day and the week. Time, like money, gets wasted if you’re not attentive to how you spend it.
5. Don’t waste time screensucking. A modern addiction, screensucking is like smoking cigarettes: Once you’re hooked, it is extremely tough to quit.
6. Identify and control the sources of
   gemmelsmerch in your environment. [See Above]
7. Delegate what don’t like to do or are not good at if you possibly can. Your goal should be to be not independent, but rather effectively interdependent. You do for me and I’ll do for you. This is what makes life possible and the synergy is fun.
8. Slow down. If we want to be as happy as can be, and if we want to preserve our position in the world, we will do so by thinking harder and feeling more deeply, not frantically trying to put in ever more hours.
9. Don’t multitask ineffectively or frazz. Give one task your full attention. You will do it better and easier. This will reduce stress.
10. Play. This means imaginatively engaging with what you are doing. This will naturally bring to bear the best part of your mind. You will not waste time.

To Summarize author Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. concludes that 'We must find ways to re-create human connectedness. [FNI/Networking 1 on 1 meetings can do this, right?] We must find ways to reconnect interpersonally, which is essential both for our health and for the creation of mutual trust. Right now, we are in a period of flux. Speeding up, seemingly out of control, we will solve the problems we face once we put our heads
together.'

JOY EVERY DAY: THE REWARD OF TAKING YOUR TIME

The best reason to take your time is that this is the only time you"ll ever have! So must take it or it will be taken from you. It is telling that the phrase taking your time is synonymous with slowing down! If we want to live life fully and get the most out of the short lives we have& we would do best to slow down.

I enjoyed this book and I encourage you to get a copy. It's a good short read:

"CRAZY BUSY" Author" Edward M. Hallowell. M.
D.- Publisher Ballantine Books, 2006- ISBN: 0 345 48243 3 - 237 pages

I hope I provided you some useful food for thought.

In a few weeks or so I'll cover another subject designed to provide business owners with information they can use to help them work "on" their business.

Until Then Please:

1- Live Simply.
2- Speak Kindly.
3- Care Deeply.
4-Love Generously.

All The Very Best...Always,

Walt Morey -

Executive Business Advisor Accredited by the Institute for Independent Business

www.corebizsolution.com

Some business owners have occasionally asked me "How should I balance my efforts between Traditional Marketing and Internet Marketing?

I typically ask them "What's your answer to that question?" Most try to give me percentages of this or that type of marketing that they are trying.

My answer to the question is: Why would you want to balance them at all? Is that wise?

In 2005 a Harris Interactive Poll and a survey by the Public Relations Society of America asked a total of 10,000 people (5,000 Consumers,2,500 Fortune 1000 business people, 2,500 Congressional staffers) this question: Is Traditional Marketing Still Valid? 80% said "Yes" "It still works because people still view them."

Let me be clear that I'm defining Traditional Marketing as Print Mediums of all types, Newspapers, Magazines, Billboards, as well as TV & Radio spots and all various types of mailers, flyer's, Door Hangers, etc. It has been suggested that Traditional Marketing does have some advantages such as:

1. Best way to spread your message locally?
2. Best way to spread your message within a small targeted group?
3. Works Best For Local Retail Offers!!!
4. One Time Local Events/Sales!!
5. Uses a Physical Reminder (Card/Flyer,etc)
6. Reaches Prospects Not Web Connected

To me the most important advantage is #6. Why? Since 2005 Traditional Marketing has declined! To see why, look at these statistics:

• 72% 0f the American population owns or has access to computers connected to the Internet (Jan 2009)
• 28% of the world population has Internet access, but increasing by 10% per year [Jan 2008]
• Internet is the preferred medium to receive/find product info at work/employers [office products catalogs]and second preferred at home to a majority of Americans…..Since 2007
• Americans spend 14 hours per week watching TV- Jan 2009 {Nielsen Ratings}
• Americans spend 14 hours per week online (Google Stats) Jan 2009
• 11 research firms predicted that online ad spending will grow by 12-19% in 2009
• According to a AMA Flash Poll- May 2009- 72% of marketers : “their online marketing budgets will rise or remain the same during the recession"

Online or Internet Marketing has 3 Vital Advantages:

1. It's less costly- a large CPA firm did a cost analysis that showed the typical 1,000 piece traditional marketing campaign cost its clients a $1,450 capital outlay plus the use of from 128 to 184 man hours to produce; an email campaign had no capital outlay and used only 32 man hours to produce. So, $1,450 + up to 184 man-hours vs. $0 + 32 man-hours- seems like a no brainer to me!
2. Better Proof Of Reach- How do you know if someone actually received and read your flyer or mailer or ad in any publication. You have to take it with some blind faith unless you're running some type of coupon required special. But even then you can only count those who brought the coupon to you, not how many actually viewed the coupon or your ad. Internet marketing provides powerful web analytics, traffic tracking programs, real time conversion statistics and you can make real time changes to your campaign to improve it immediately. You'll know who came to your website and what they viewed, how long and the list goes on.
3. Conversion Rate - Traditional Marketing- General Audience Target; If you're looking for potential new customers a 1-2% prospect response is typical; a 5-7% current customer response rate is the norm. But with Internet Marketing your prospect/customer comes to you, customers know what they want and are more likely to be ready to buy!
   The typical conversion rate is higher, as much as 20%.

Another item to consider are the current generations of buyers-

• The Millennials/Gen-Y’s (born 1980- 2000) are 75 million strong!
  
• The Gen-Xer's (born 1964-1979) have about 51 million members
• The Baby Boomers generation (born 1946-1964) are 112 million potential buyers

Please note: Gen Y & X: are only reached consistently through electronic/Internet media marketing. Why? They do not respond to print media as a whole. They are always connected to computers, blackberry's, TV's and using the texting world on their cell phones. [Now you know why the Boston Globe and the NY Times are up for sale and a Seattle newspaper stopped printing & now only produces an internet version of it's paper]

• Plus the Boomers are retiring and their buying power dropping

So to sum this all up, I see there are 6 reasons why Internet Marketing is more effective:

Internet Marketing is More Measurable
A-Brand Awareness is easier to develop & measure based upon website visits/conversions,etc.
B-You'll see what you’re paying for- $ vs. result
C-Traditional Marketing requires lots of trust, did your audience really get it and respond? How do you know?
D-Your ROI is easily determined using real facts and details

Internet Marketers Make Strategic Decisions Based on (Real Time)Facts
A-You can get detailed analytics in Real Time.
B-You'll know how people found your website
C-You'll know what they do once they are on your site?
D-You'll know what people respond to?
E-You'll know what led to your conversations/sales!
F-You can make changes anytime to increase effectiveness!

Internet Marketing Is Better at Reaching Your Target Audience
A-Traditional Marketing can only target based upon a TV station's, Radio station's or Magazine's assumed demographics.
B-Internet Marketing can target small audience groups such as by Zip Code, State, Age, Gender,etc.
C- You'll know your targeted advertising spend!

Internet Marketing is a Constant Source
A- Traditional marketing has a finite shelf life (30 second commercials play & go, print ads get thrown away,etc.)
B- Internet Marketing has a permanent online presence and a good SEO/Web hosting company can provide that for you. Finding the right SEO however is critical to your websites visibility!
C-Prospects/customers can view your information anytime!
D-Search Engines will bring new customers to you who are looking for your product or service. But again effective SEO techniques are a must!
E-Searchers are more predisposed to buy when they find you.

Internet Marketing Provides Better Word-of-Mouth
A-Word of Mouth we all know provides the most likely conversions
B-Social Media Marketing (FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc) can provide evangelists of your company or product and can speak virally throughout the world wide web!
C-Word of mouth advertising is a more trusted source of leads than Traditional Ads

Internet Marketing = More Conversions
A-Campaign details can be studied
B- You'll know what’s working & what’s not quickly
C- You have less guessing so you can emphasize what’s working and eliminate what’s not working and always be improving your campaign!
D- You can test new ideas immediately and get instant feedback!

So as you can see the bottom line about Internet Marketing is it's:
1-More Efficient & Effective
2- More Flexible (adjust on the fly)
3- Much Less Expensive
4-Providing Real Time Analytics
5- Giving You Return On Investment Details Immediately

In a few weeks or so I'll cover another subject designed to provide business owners with information they can use to help them work "on" their business.

Until Then Please:

1- Live Simply.

2- Speak Kindly.

3- Care Deeply.

4-Love Generously.

All The Very Best...Always,

Walt Morey -

Executive Business Advisor

Accredited by the Institute for Independent Business

http://www.corebizsolution.com/