How My Son Increased His Band's FB Fans by 570% (Without Spending a Dime)

 It's no secret I want to kill Social Media. I consider 72.3% of it a cocktail party with no end and even less of a point. Yet the remaining percentage has some viability for business. The more we experiment, the more we "throw out" the useless, and the more I see a twinkle of marketing light at the end of the tunnel.

No need to send the "But you're a caveman" argument my way; service businesses rank barely above funeral homes and municipal services in number of "likes". True. So this ain't about fixing me. It's about finding a fix for the losers who are selling YOU this current crock that Social Media is the "answer" to your marketing ills. Hardly. It is the answer to their marketing ills.

Last month's Coaching Call with Sheila Lathan (www.snappysocialmedia.com) showed a path that has worked for us and clients. In another call, we found intelligence and strategy in the approach from www.marketinghardware.com. Those traits are mystifyingly lacking in most other presentations.

Yet, as the formula continues to change, and we continue to throw money and brain cells at the answer, I mentioned we were also experimenting with:

1. Facebook ads. Yeah, I know Social Media is all about peace, love, and understanding but somebody mentioned "ad revenue" in a meeting and Zuckerberg clearly liked it. Though I would personally like to torture him for lowering the collective IQ of those addicted to FB, our ad experiment increased "likes" from 104 to 822 in 21 days. A 790% increase.
   
   Calm yourself. An upcoming Coaching Call and later SMI will cover this technique. For now, focus on this no-cost gem...
   
       
2.  Bribery. Oh whatever. There are groups out there who you can pay to generate "likes". Sure, it sounds like digital prostitution to me too, so I didn't go that route. Then my son discovered a way (actually "re" discovered an old principle forged anew) to earn likes and shares, deceptively simple, and astoundingly effective.

On the last coaching call it was clear that even marketing-savvy contractors can be UNCLEAR about extracting maximum benefits from Social Media.

Sheila Lathan (www.snappysocialmedia.com) ripped through about 15 slides in 79 minutes to help clarify the cause. You heard and saw FIVE STEPS to help you -

1)      Build the BEST Social Media Networking Plan. You saw the steps to boost visibility, TOMA and trust. It's not enough to just have followers.  

 

2)      Choose the Right Apps and Networks. Other than the "Big 3", there are 4 other social apps and networks you should know about. Sheila breaks them down on this call (but still told us WHICH ONES she chooses.)  

 

3)      Analyze your preferred audience. You heard top techniques for identifying top followers, and how to engage them.  

 

4)      Adjust your plan for top results. Hey, if you're not monitoring, you can't adjust. Sheila gave the background to analytics and worthwhile numbers.  

 

5)      Top 5 Social Media Trends to watch for. Most are happening already. Which ones can profit you... or pummel you for ignoring?

The point is: Social Media is here to stay. It's big, powerful, and fast. So, grab access to your replay now at the Member's Only site. 

Once you've determined your goals and have your marketing plans in mind, it's time to create the action steps you'll take, and that comes in the form of your annual marketing budget. You know what you want to do, so now you ask yourself, how much should you spend and where should you spend it?...  

How could "click fraud" be affecting your advertising budget? A report from MarketingSherpa.com talks about the problem. 

 Just as you'd want to monitor the effectiveness of other types of advertising, you'll also want to monitor the quality of the traffic that comes to your site from online ads. A backend log file, a high-quality analytics package or canned click-fraud solution offered by vendors are some of your options. 

Looks like somebody is a "Bill" collector...