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How to Make the Most of Social Media Marketing in Trinidad and Tobago

Posted by Christopher Chin Lee On February - 8 - 2012

You’ve determined why you want to engage in social media marketing in Trinidad and Tobago, you have even laid out the basic plan of attack. But have you considered what your involvement will yield, and how best to not only analyze it, but to keep it on target?

Take a moment to ponder what social media is about… it’s sharing. That sharing could encompass opinions, experiences, even facts people have gathered regarding a given topic. Think of it as a two-way street. It’s not just you putting out posts hoping they’ll be read, even acted upon. It’s also about a flow of information to you. Which of that information is useful to you, and how will you respond to it? Your answers to those questions should become an integral part of your social media marketing plans.

Getting warm and fuzzy

There are many ways of looking at social responses from consumers, one of them is sentiment. Being able to understand the feelings in what people are saying about your company or brand can give you valuable insight to whether or not you’re on the right track with all of your online marketing. Some people’s feelings are generated from an experience and may seem hard to change. It is possible, though, to influence those sentiments if you understand how it is they came to that feeling.

For more on the use of sentiment data, check out this on the Sentiment Analysis Symposium

Staying involved

However, you won’t know what people are feeling, or saying about you if you aren’t keeping up with your social media channels. Keeping track of your accounts, monitoring what’s being said, and responding when appropriate, requires a time commitment as well as an organized approach.

Social Media Today lays out some ideas about scheduling your social media work that could help keep you on track. Here we have a quick take on what they suggest.

There are certain platforms that require more frequent attention, so twice each day you should:

Check your Twitter feed and reply when called for. Be active – join a conversation
Check your Linkedin profile and Groups. Find some way to engage with this site at least on two occasions a day. You may want to start a discussion, post an interesting article, or make new contacts
Check your Facebook page and post something of value at least once. Take some time to respond to comments.
Check Google alerts for competitor information or mentions of your brand.

At least once a week you will want to spend some time on these activities:

Organize your Facebook and Twitter lists for targeted messaging
Spend an extended period of time on your Linkedin discussions in your Groups.
Schedule tweets and status updates for the following week to maintain consistency.
Research new tools and products.

Don’t forget to also schedule a day to respond to blog comments and check analytics to determine blog and website traffic.

For information on how we can help you build a strategy for your social media marketing in Trinidad and Tobago, contact us today.

Brand Credibility, OnLine Reputation Management, Planning, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Optimization, Social Media Policy, Training

“Like” Social Media Marketing? Be Ready For the Relationship

Posted by Christopher Chin Lee On January - 12 - 2012

Just as in any relationship, having your business involved in a social media marketing campaign requires great care, attention, and understanding. It’s no doubt that social media is wildly popular. An analysis by Experian Hitwise reveals “Facebook” as the most popular search term, and the most popular website for 2011.

While it seems there aren’t many people who aren’t involved in some sort of social media, for business use, however, it’s not so simple. A Pivot Conference report showed that while roughly half of brand managers consider social media marketing as still being in the experimental stage… nearly half see it as mainstream, or that it will be by the end of this year.

But is that a bad thing? The notion that things aren’t necessarily set in stone when it comes to social media marketing is freeing. Our suggestion is to develop, or get help developing a social media plan, but be prepared to make adjustments along the way.

Choose the sites that will lead you to your target customers.
Craft messaging that speaks to your prospects and encourages action.
Be aware that many consumers want something tangible for their connection.

Understand what consumers are looking for on social media sites. CMO Council , a marketing ideas exchange, and Lithium, a social media marketing company, partnered for a survey that found “consumers engage with brands through channels like Facebook and other social networks largely to learn about new products, enter unique promotions or contests, or to play games…”

Most importantly, know that it may take time to generate the leads and conversions you are looking for. Part of the “experimental” side of social media is to try out a strategy and make adjustments where and when needed. Knowing when to make those changes requires continual monitoring and evaluation. Finally, be aware of the tools and the mindset needed to measure success. Remember, ROI isn’t always monetary.

Who knows, you may find the right social marketing mix and see great results. Then, you can “like” your marketing plan just as your customers like you.

Interested in starting a social media marketing campaign? Contact us today.

Planning, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Policy

Socially Facilitated Marketing and Sales Programme – Defined

Posted by Christopher Chin Lee On August - 19 - 2011

Contact WSI in Trinidad today (868 390 9251) for your Free Consultation.

Lead Generation is a critical element of a Marketing and Sales strategy because without a continuous stream of leads from your existing customers and new prospects there would be no potential sales. In a whitepaper titled, Taking Online Lead Generation to the Next Level, Deven Pravin Shah, a WSI Digital Marketing Consultant, included “Develop a Go To Market Plan“ as a key element of taking your plan to the next level – a summary of the white paper can be found here.

In my previous post I gave an overview of the fundamentals of Socially Facilitated Marketing and Sales (SFMS) as a Lead Generation strategy and outlined the 10 Foundational Steps for a SFMS Programme. The 10 Foundational Steps elaborate a “Go To Market Plan“, but they required further articulation and at the point in time it would have caused the post to be too long.

Good News!

Two days ago Vishay Singh of AVAX Consulting was invited by WSI Por Marketing to speak on their Episode 61 Bi-Weekly Community Call about SFMS. Vishay elaborated on each of the 10 points and I wanted to share this with you so you can take the notes.

Here is the link to the Bi-Weekly Community Call and as a bonus you can view the slide presentation that was used at the webinar the previous week whilst you listen to the show.

Contact WSI in Trinidad today (868 390 9251) for your Free Consultation.

Brand Credibility, Customer Communication, Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Planning, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Optimization, Social Media Policy, Socially Facilitated M and S, Training

Strategic Lead Generation using Socially Facilitated Marketing and Sales

Posted by Christopher Chin Lee On August - 16 - 2011

Contact WSI in Trinidad today (868 390 9251) for your Free Consultation.

In a recent presentation, Vishay Singh of Avax Consulting put forward the idea of Socially Facilitated Marketing and Sales. He premised the idea on the following thought by Larry Norman:

“I’m fishing for men (customers and prospects) with a certain kind of bait, and the bait that I am offering is not a candy; it’s a very specific thing that I’m offering, which is a deep gospel and a deep conversion.”

He went on to define Socially Facilitated Marketing and Sales as “the new online layer that needs to be added to businesses that feeds the business with strategic information and measurements … that opens up new relationships and customer interactions.”

He identified the key components of this new online layer as:

Online Rpeutation Management (ORM)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Business Analytics
New Tools
New Training for the Sales Force

He clarified that it is not just about the “how to use” the tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, but involved the development of a strategy that “marries” traditional off line marketing strategies with online strategies. In his words,

It “is the ability to forge a seamless link between offline and online marketing by” integrating the following elements:

The 5P’s (Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People),
The 4C’s (Customer Solution, Customer Cost, Convenience, Communication),
The 7 Step Traditional Sales Process (Pre Approach, Approach, Needs Assessment, Presentation, Meeting Objectives, Getting Commitment, Follow Up) and
Dovetailing it with the Customer Buying Process.

Arising out of the aforementioned thoughts, he listed the 10 Foundational Steps for a Socially Facilitated Marketing and Sales Programme as:

Define and know your Goals
Build your Organization as a Team
Online Reputation Management (ORM) Plan
Understanding the Competitive Landscape
Knowledge Harvesting of Relevant and Current Knowledge
Development of appropriate Policies
Determine and Pilot Specific Marketing Initiatives
Performance Measurement and Reporting
Integrated Sales Approach – Getting to the final desired conversion
Return on Investment (ROI ) – It’s not only about the money!

In terms of the central tool, the foundational stone, on which these 10 Foundation Steps would rest, is a Blog – “Utilize a Blog as your SFM&S Cast Page, as the link between your Social Media layer and your Search layer.” Here is the infographic that Vishay used to illustrate his point: