Since my last post, I’ve enjoyed one hell of a ride! And Social Media has been part of it… however, not to the degree you’d think a “social media lab rat” would admit too. I mean hell, if it was working that great don’t you think I’d have blogged on somewhat of a routine?
I’m not here to discredit all you social media “experts” because… quite frankly… I could stand to sub out some work to you! BUT… do NOT think that Social Media isn’t a part of my marketing strategy when it comes to clients. It’s just that my forte is Automotive… and Automotive has plenty to worry about with vendors already on the payroll producing before you jump off into the Facebook or Twitter pond. Now, don’t get me wrong… whoever the hell handles the SEO for Twitter is a genius and should be making Ryan Seacrest money! But I digress… I’ll be blogging more now… making it a goal to do so once every seven days. You’ll enjoy it… because I’ll be giving credit to all those who I am learning so much from! Some of them know me and some of them don’t. Stay tuned for more from the Timmy Hendrix Press.
If you’re a business owner and you’re using social outlets such as twitter, facebook and/or youtube as a way to promote your products and services you may be a little frustrated that you can’t see any measured success from the effort you’ve put in so far?
I hate to tell you this… but the concept of a return on investment for social media marketing is really no different than traditional forms of marketing like tv, radio and print. Let’s take twitter for instance. Do you know every single person that is following you? Have you targeted the people you follow to only those who live near you or others in the same industry or business as you? Your tweets may be no different than your radio ad that ran at 3:12 am this morning??? Not a very big audience. And your facebook fan page has how many fans? 18?
You see, you have to first be consistent with your post. Have a good message, hook or whatever you want to call it. You also, at the same time, have to be searching and researching to build your followers. Have your sent your current customers an email or letter to let them know your social sites are there? Have you spent any time to develop a plan to qualify your current customers on what their social media habits and participation level is? There’s just a little more work to it than putting it out there. Much like your traditional marketing. Buying tv time because it’s cheap and the production was free is generally going to leave you with less than expected results. But a well conceived marketing campaign that includes multiple outlets to compliment each other can yield great results.
I feel social media marketing has the opportunity for stronger and quicker results in certain industries. The restaurant, night clubs and fast food industry have an incredible advantage in my opinion. But, once again, they have to develop a following and the have to be consistent with using things such as twitter and facebook. A couple of examples… one restaurant I know uses there facebook fan page to invite everyone to Ladie’s Nite every Tuesday. That’s a personal invitation to over 500 people each week. Another restaurant I frequent has $.99 margaritas on Monday night, but instead of twitter or facebook, they purchased an expensive digital billboard across the street to tell the people that drive by?
If you’re using it, use it consistently… and keep working your “database” for a bigger and more relative audience. If not, you’re going to continue to feel a little frustrated that you haven’t become the next @NAKEDpizza (it’s a twitter thing… look ‘em up). Feel free to call me, email me, tweet me or txt me if you’d like to talk more about your social media marketing… or your traditional marketing for that matter.
I just realized I didn’t blog at all in June! Ok, so the viral marketing lab rat (self proclaimed of course) didn’t post one single thing about anything? I’m guilty! I have a bunch of excuses btw, but we’ll save them for later.
Half of 2009 is over! Can we get a collective sigh? And can someone go ahead and push fast forward on the remainder of this one? Don’t get me wrong, life if good… but it has certainly been better!!!
So, it’s July 1st… I’ll be back in the swing after the 4th here at blog central. In the mean time, the tweets flow steadily from my phone. If you want a really good twitter app on you phone WITH OUT downloading anything, then you need m.slandr.net. It’s great!
You’ll find my thoughts on marketing and advertising right here… periodically. I’d love your feedback as I find sharing ideas fun… as opposed to keeping them to yourself, which I find not very helpful and rather tends to stunt a person’s growth.
A lot of what you’ll see here will be what I refer turn as “turning soil”. I grew up on a small cotton farm, and as you’ve already read about me I’m an analogy freak… so turning soil is what we did to help the crops grow and it’s what I do when I hit the web sometimes in order to expand my thoughts and make my ideas even better. So, if you’re interested in “turning some soil”… just let me know.
Ok, I’ve studied this social media phenom… and it’s got plenty of merit! I totally get it… and I see the online world of togetherness merging with everyday life with a clear vision now.
In fact, I’ve been concerned about our government being the “big brother” we all read about in high school (or at least us older folk…). But now I see all of us volunteering any and all the information anyone would ever need about us to even CLONE us! Seriously!
It’s like… we’re headed for a world that would make the show “cheaters” obsolete! And me, along with the rest of you crazy asses… could care less! lol
Look, I’m all in… I don’t know where this is going, and frankly I don’t care… I am seriously loving the technology and the closeness these social media tools are giving us! I mean, hell, I never knew I could keep up with the daily lunch special at the Eureka Springs, AR cafe’? WTH? And I like cheesecake for dessert too! LOL
Ok, until our next “serious” conversation about marketing, I’m going to get another beer.
My home is still available! If you know anyone looking for great backyard fun with a swimming pool, BBQ Hut and hot tub, just let me know! Scroll down to take the video tour or go to www.youtube.com/hendrixtim
Click the pic's URL and print to see more clearly.
It took me all week just to find the time to blog? No, I wasn’t THAT busy, but blogging is kinda like going to the gym (which I only did 2x this week…), it has to be a routine. There’s has to be a purpose (ok, well sometimes there’s a purpose). It has to excite you!
Ok, enough with the BS… Blogging is kinda cool for me though, because I like to write and I like to tell stories. Most are true, but the really good ones normally aren’t. lol… Also, I like to do a blend of formal writing with proper grammer and punctuation… but with a touch of txt msg type shorts to make me look hip!
I started this blog on Friday… It’s Sunday afternoon now… but hey, I got ‘er dun! See ya’ soon!
This home has just over 2,500 SF heated with a beautiful Oasis in the backyard. Watch the video as you’ll start out by the pool, relaxing, and work your way through the entire house! Completely updated and just in time for you to enjoy the next 6 months by the pool. Even if you’re not in the marketing for a new home in the heart of Alexandria, LA, please tell a friend to visit the site and watch. You can also see this video at www.youtube.com/hendrixtim. You can also print out the image (flier) by clicking on this link: www.timmyhendrix.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=41 or copy and paste into the address line if the link is not active.
This home is listed at $209,800, but by contacting me through this special online presentation, you can take an immediate $6,000 discount off that price. 07/07 appraisal of $235,000. Mobile (318.680.0022) Email (twhendrix@ymail.com) Thanks in advance for your help.
I’ve been utilizing Twitter for three weeks now…. still debating on it’s effective use for marketing. It seems to me that there is a serious need to “educate” users on how they can make this work for them. To me, there’s not much difference in the “tweet” than in the SMS I received from websites such as The Weather Channel, ESPN and TMZ. In fact, the SMS messages are much more useful for me personally. It’s information I’ve requested (just like on twitter) and there’s a link to a web address (just like twitter) for me to find out more.
The problem lies in the number of people you follow. I’m “following” three sources for SMS. The 247 people I’m following on Twitter is far too many for me to keep up with. Even if one of them sends a tweet that I was really interested in, or an invite to a special event or a “Tweet Deal”, I’ll never see it unless I take the time to click on their page and read all their tweets! There’s approximately 10 to 12 tweets on your screen at one time. You have to click a button to review “older” tweets. If 247 people tweet an average of 2 times per day, that’s roughly 500 total. Meaning I have to be very watchful to catch anything!
Now I fully believe there’s a way to harness this shiny new tool in your marketing toolbag, but it will take some time and some well placed cross promotions to make it effective. Stay tuned… you may see this again on Twitter. LOL
