M & A Rainmaker

Over the last few months we ( Silicon Crossroads VCT ) have been giving clients and selected friends and business contacts what amounts to an Internet Marketing Masterclass. This graphic here:

which appeared here http://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-marketing-landscape-complicated-2012-5 shows just how complicated social media has become. Actually these are not all the categories or all the companies and products in those categories because I can think of a few more.  If you are trying to keep up with the ever changing world of Internet Marketing and Social Media you have your work cut out.

I always start off my presentations on this topic by saying that our focus on Internet Marketing should NOT be taken to mean that we don’t believe in other forms of marketing ( so called Traditional Marketing ) e.g. Word of Mouth ( WoM ), advertising, mailshots and in particular emailshots. Actually our research has led us to the conclusion that one of the primary objectives of much Internet Marketing is to get someone’s name and email address.  Once a person has ” opted-in ” to your email database you have a friend and a prospect. All you need to do is to send them relevant, interesting, funny etc information so that they STAY on your email list !

When I originally started learning about Internet Marketing it was because I had seen some research that said that about 50% of the people who were researching and buying telephone systems did their initial research online. Today we all use Google and other search engines to research and buy the things that we are interested in or want to buy.

In the Masterclass I ask people to think about something they have researched into and perhaps bought online. You can do this too. Think about ” the process ” that you went through. ( This is the simple version ) You wanted to buy something. You Googled it. Some search results were presented. You clicked on a few. Explored the websites that you were taken to.  Compared the offerings. Made a decision. Bought. OR maybe you found a couple of suppliers you liked but wanted to wait to make the decision to buy so you just bookmarked the site or signed up for emails from the company.

I always like to understand what the ” young people’s ” process is because I think it is often different to the way we use Google. e.g. my son ( age 22 ) is always working on cars and if he doesn’t understand something or wants something he will type the exact question into Google e.g. ” how do you fit a light bulb to the rear quarter light of a Peugeot 105 “. As they say – you can tell someone’s age by the way they type things into a mobile phone – one finger is OLD, one thumb YOUNGER, two thumbs YOUNGER STILL. So different age groups Google ( Internet search ) in different ways.

Some people do not understand ( or believe ) that a website is a waste of time and money if it is not being FOUND ( for relevant search terms – words and phrases ). The objective is not only to be found for the company name ( hopefully that is a given ) but for the PRODUCTS and SERVICES that you provide.

This begs the question ( which not many people ask themselves !! ) – What ARE the products and services that YOU want to be found for ?? This is actually a fundamental question and a cornerstone of everything that you do from Search Engine Optimising ( SEOing ) to putting the correct CONTENT into your website and to your blogging strategy.

You may be surprised at how few companies do this and how difficult it seems to be for them. If I was being cruel ( which I sometimes feel like being ) you would think that they don’t actually know what it is that they are trying to sell and therefore be found for.

For other people it is a relatively easy question. They know what they are trying to sell and therefore promote and therefore be found for.

Once understood ( and played with a little bit because some will be easier to rank for than others ) these are the “terms” that will be woven into ALL new content. ( You may want to go back and review what you have already done on the basis of this review aswell !! ).

N.B. This is an interesting time to be talking about what Google ( and other search engines ) want to see in order to rank your web/blogsite high because Google has recently changed it’s “algorithms” penalising some SEO practices. If you read some of the books about Google you will find that it was originally based upon the practice of ” referencing ” research papers i.e. a paper written on a particular subject ( the topic of interest ) would ” reference ” ( provide links to ) other worthy papers. Google ALWAYS ( and in my mind always will ) tries to provide people with the information or answer they seek – to it’s best ability. Therefore, put simply, if you provide ( good, relevant, interesting, nice to read and look at ) CONTENT you will be FOUND over the long term without any risks of being penalised. I guess some people might call this a ” Content Marketing Strategy “.

Once you have been FOUND the next task is to CONVERT visitors ( to your web or blogsite ) into Prospects and then Customers and then ANALYSE how/why/with what you achieved this success and then REPEAT IT !!!

N.B. I borrowed this Get FOUND, CONVERT,ANALYSE mantra from HubSpot ( http://www.hubspot.com/ ) who came up with a new
” meme ” ( means a completely new area, in this case, Marketing Strategy ) called Inbound Marketing.

So, you get FOUND ( because you have built your web/blogsite to be found for the things that you want to be found for ) then you CONVERT ( via the fact that you had the right ” Landing Pages “ ( more on this another time ) and ” Calls to Action ” then you track who found you, who they are, what they did when they went onto your web/blogsite and where they came from. e.g. Was it a Twitter/Twylah post that you made that led someone to your website who then emailed/phoned you or subscribed to your email database ?

For those familear with the term we are talking ” Sales Funnels ” here like :

from http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/16759/3-Tips-For-Better-Lead-Management.aspx

It is probably useful to remind ourselves of ” How to create a high ranking web/blogsite ” ( in simple terms ). A web/blog/domain will rank high on Google ( and other Search Engines )  IF:

• The CONTENT is relevant to the search ( and regularly updated with “rich” new content )
• The ON PAGE SEO has been done ( Titles, tags etc ) and it is ” easy to be seen and spidered “.
• There are LINKS back to your your website/domain from other ” high ranking ” websites/domains
• It is based on a ” powerful platform ” ( like WordPress or HubSpot )
• The website itself and the hosting environment are ” High Performance “

Once we understand all of this this we can understand why we must create what I call an ” Internet Marketing Ecosystem “.

Similar to

which was created by http://davefleet.com/2010/01/2010-social-media-marketing-ecosystem/

In my Internet Marketing Ecosystem I typically advise to have :

• A web/blogsite based on something like WordPress or HubSpot. ( You are on Mine )
• A Twylah page. Here’s mine  http://www.twylah.com/cwindley
• Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Linkedin accounts ( as a base ) N.B. I have all of these and more but not all in M&A Rainmaker.
• Other accounts where you can post url’s on high ranking websites e.g. digg.com

and then you can establish an ecosystem that grows in power with every blog post and Twitter Tweet !!

A U.S. based Digital Marketing Agency is looking to base it’s European Headquarters in Lichfield, Staffordshire because there is already a base of Digital Marketing aware talent there. The U.S. inbound marketing leader stated that potential candidates needed to be D.A.R.C. This does not refer to hair colour or complexion or even mood. It is an acronym for – Digital, Analytical, Have social Reach ( i.e. they have established their own identity on the Internet via blogs and social media membership )  and marketing Chops. ( Chops is a slang word for technical skill if you have not come across it before ! ).

Typically young people in their late teens or early Twenties will have used Bebo, Facebook and some sort of Instant Messaging service to communicate with their friends. Fewer will be familiar with website design, Search Engine Optimisation ( S.E.O. ), blogging, social media networks other than Facebook e.g. Twitter, Linkedin and Google + and the concept of Inbound Marketing.

Inbound Marketing is a Digital Marketing strategy that, in simple terms, means – Be Found ( on the Internet using a website supported by blogs and social media ) for relevant search terms, Convert ( visitors to your website to leads e.g. get them to sign up to your email database ) and Analyse how effective you were in doing this and how you could improve going forward.

http://blog.sironaconsulting.com/sironasays/2010/03/dont-forget-about-your-social-media-mothership-your-blog.html

Blogs and Social media posts are some of the ways that you might ” drive ” visitors to your website where you will try and convert them ( to prospects and then customers ) through well designed landing pages and ” Call to Action ” buttons ( e.g. call us now and get a free internet marketing assessment and report ).

Your online presence is essentially your virtual marketing and salesforce and therefore it is appropriate to use similar techniques to manage your virtual team as you would do managing your physical team. ( Well, you would if you were running it properly ! )

So, the challenge with young people is to get them to understand that social media and instant messaging is not just for communicating with friends ( young people are often very strict and careful about who they connect with on social media – rightly – and so the concept of the ” Open Networker ” or someone who connects with everyone is somewhat alien to them ).

Digital Marketing also has to be placed in context with what ” older people ” are going to be familiar with in terms of marketing and they need some convincing that all this ” Internet stuff ” is actually going to work ( and produce a Return on Investment ).

Many U.S. based Digital Marketing companies are seeking a base in Europe and the typical options tend to be Southern Ireland ( Dublin area ), London Area and Belgium or Luxembourg. Inward Investment agencies like e.g. IDA Ireland are long established and have been set up ( with full government backing ) to attract foreign direct investment.

Lichfield’s establishment of a ” Silicon Crossroads ” in the Midlands area is therefore a considerable challenge. However Lichfield has many aspects in it’s favour in addition to the skills of it’s people. For example, it’s location is superb. The road, rail and air transport facilities are second to none. The creation of ( relevant ) content is one of the key requirements of the Inbound Digital Marketer and Lichfield has a rich heritage in this respect.

If you are interested in Social Media and live in Lichfield, Home of the Cathedral the Saxon Hoard  the intersection of Watling Street and Icknield Street and all sorts of other interesting things then this post may be of interest to you.

In an ideal world it is going to sit near the top of a Google search on this topic and make a point ……..

If you want to be found for the products and services that you offer then you had better understand that Social Media alone will not achieve your objective. It does not matter whether you live in Lichfield, Staffs or anywhere else.

Largely speaking social media networks are closed communities ( they might be huge closed communities !! ) in relation to Google and other searches  and they are subject to their own particular connectivity quirks. Stuff you post on e.g. Facebook stays ( largely) on Facebook.

That is you will NOT create effective networks ( effective being ones that enable you to sell more of your products and services ) on Social Media networks alone – no matter how large your social media networks  are.

Examine your own behavior when it comes to searching for information, products and services. I will bet money that you still rely considerably on word of mouth ( WoM )  recommendations and then use search engines like Google. You might, having shifted communications with your friends from mobile/text to e.g. Twitter or Facebook, ask them what they think about something via Twitter or Facebook but you are still looking for what is essentially a WoM recommendation – just at light speed.

In reality we are, whether we like it or not, a generation of Googlers. If you want information on something; want to find something or want to buy something you Google it. You rarely used any of the advanced search options ( Those are for people in the know ). If you are like my 20 something children then you Google the exact question e.g. ” How do you fit a rear quarter light to a Peugeot ?? ” ( Try it !! ) and back comes the answer ( s ) – typically in the case of car repairs etc from forums of various kinds.

You want to ” buy an oil painting in Lichfield ” ?? Google it and you will find

http://www.framework-gallery.co.uk/ a couple of results down.

Do a Facebook search ?? ( Bing gives you Framework Gallery aswell ). Try Twitter, YouTube ?? Nothing much.

( Well done Framework Gallery by the way ! )

Being found ( via search engines ) is the key. Social Media does have a role in this. How do you get found ??

Well first, critically but not necessarily obviously you have to work out what you want to be found for ???

In Search Engine Optimisation ( S.E.O. ) speak this means what are the key words ( keywords ) and phrases that you want to be found for ?

Unsurprisingly if you want to be found for ” Social Media in Lichfield Staffordshire ” then those words and phrases need to be appearing in your website and ” content ” –  basically in everything you post online.

There are basically 3 important things in a website being found:

1. That the pages reflect the things that you want to be found for.

2. That you keep posting new, fresh relevant content ( e.g. using a blog like this one ).

3. That by doing so people will create links to your website and blogsite.  ( You become an authority in this area ).

Once the website has been found then it needs to convert ” interest ” to ” action ” e.g. sign up for a free trial offer; join a mailing list; ring a number etc ( In the trade this is known as a Call to Action ).

You also need to able to analyse what’s working – so you need the capability to do so. ( Some ” analytics ” software ).

Social Media enables you to create contacts and awareness of what you do. It is VERY time consuming but it will help to encourage visitors to your website and begin the process of them becoming customers. In some cases this can happen very quickly, in others it can take some time.

For more on this subject search on ” Marketing Newsletters ” on this blogsite.