bringing the power of online meetings to everyone
Webinar: Tips for Growing Your Small Business
with Digital Marketing and Social Media
December 5, 2012

About Me
What I do:
- Director of Marketing, AnyMeeting.
- Accelerate growth through digital marketing, social media and PR.
- Identify channels to reach, engage and convert customers.
Worked with leading brands, start-ups and growth-stage firms:
Speaking Credentials include:

Agenda
• Where do we start?
• Focusing on the customer: developing buyer personas
• Trends: paid, owned and earned media convergence
• Review of digital marketing channels and best practices for small business
• How to use social media to increase awareness—and transform your
customer relationships
• Four secrets to content success
• Metrics and KPIs: How to measure the effectiveness and return on
investment (ROI) of your small business marketing efforts
•

Digital Media
New Media?
Social Media?

Know Your Customer
New Media?
Social Media?

Developing Buyer Personas
• Buyers Success Factors
• Rewards this buyer believes they will achieve by purchasing.
• Perceived Barriers
• Reasons to question the first question.
• Buying Triggers
• When looking for this product/service, what triggers buyer to act.
• Decision Criteria
• Which 3 benefits does buyer use to evaluate against competitors.
• Buying Influencers
• Is the buyer the decision maker? Who else is involved in the decision?
• Resources Buyers Consult
• Who does buyer rely on to make decision? (Other customers, blog, website)

Why Buyer Personas?
Using Buyer Personas provides benefits including:
• Reveals a common point of view about customers’ goals and needs
• Provides valuable insight into the motivations and personalities of specific
buyers and users
• Serves as a vehicle for helping develop an initial set of market
requirements
• Supports a process for prioritizing development efforts
• Delivers insights into preferred marketing channels, marketing content and
the context(s) for interaction

Why Buyer Personas?
Using Buyer Personas provides benefits including:
• Reveals a common point of view about customers’ goals and needs
• Provides valuable insight into the motivations and personalities of specific
buyers and users
• Serves as a vehicle for helping develop an initial set of market
requirements
• Supports a process for prioritizing development efforts
• Delivers insights into preferred marketing channels, marketing content and
the context(s) for interaction

Trends: Channel Convergence
Digital Media
New Media?
Social Media?

Owned and Earned Media Goals
• Visibility: Content across multiple online
channels
• Relevancy: Content found using targeted
keywords in major search engines
• Engagement: Audiences subscribe to content
across multiple channels, comment, and contribute
in generally positive tones
• ROI = Return on Investment. Revenue generated
is greater than cost to generate it

Digital Marketing Channels
Your Website
Blogs and
Newswires
Webinars
Audio, Video
and Webcasts Email
Social
Networks SEO
Social
Sharing

Websites
website

Site Visits Impact Perception
“A short visit to your website can change a person’s
perception of your company or products for better or
worse.”
- web usability expert Jakob Nielsen

Blogs and Content Marketing
blogs

What is Content Marketing?
blogs
“… the art of understanding exactly what your
prospects and customers need to know then delivering
that content to them in a relevant and compelling way
to grow your business”.
- the Content Marketing Institute (CMI)

Blogs and Content Marketing
blogs

Webinars and Content Marketing
webinars

Email Marketing for Small Biz
What is your objective?
• Customer Acquisition
• Customer Retention email

Email Marketing for Small Biz
What is your objective?
• Customer Acquisition
• Customer Retention email
What should you use email for?
• Build Personal Relationships
• Limit direct sales pitches
• Provide content that is either educational or entertaining (or both)

Email Marketing for Small Biz
What is your objective?
• Customer Acquisition
• Customer Retention email
What should you use email for?
• Build Personal Relationships
• Limit direct sales pitches
• Provide content that is either educational or entertaining (or both)
When to send?
• Varies by industry
• Perform tests for your business
• Use common sense (don’t send business email on Friday at 5PM)

Email Marketing for Small Biz
What is your objective?
• Customer Acquisition
• Customer Retention
email
What should you use email for?
• Build Personal Relationships
• Limit direct sales pitches
• Provide content that is either educational or entertaining (or both)
When to send?
• Varies by industry (Weekdays 12-4 PM have highest open rates)
• Perform tests for your business
• Use common sense (don’t send business email on Friday at 5PM)
Tools and Formats?
• Make it easy to unsubscribe
• Ensure format looks good in most mail clients (and mobile)

Email Marketing for Small Biz
email

Email Marketing Evolved
Best practices:
• Use the “WIIFM” rule
• Use the Five P’s for emotional response email
1. Positioning
2. Pain
3. Promise
4. Proof
5. Plan (course of action/call to action)
• Create compelling headlines
• Use words that trigger interest and emotion
• “Secret”, “Breakthrough”, “Limited Time”,
“7 Tips for”, “Imagine”,
• Include images but ensure the message comes through if
images are blocked
• Continuously build your list
• Integrate with other channels and drive traffic to your site
• Test and measure – learn what works and stick with it.

SEO: Optimization vs. Marketing
SEM
SEO

SEO: An Example
SEO

Choosing the "Right" Keywords
SEO

Choosing the "Right" Keywords
SEO

SEO
SEO

SEO
What is the magic formula? SEO

SEO: Get a Google+ Page
SEO

SEO
SEO

Social Sharing
Sharing

4 Secrets to Content Success
Use the F.A.R.E. Content Model:
• Frequent: Determine how often
to post to each channel
• Authentic: Ensure you are in integrity
with your business and your customers.
• Relevant: Choose keywords/phrases/topics that
best describe what your target audiences are
searching for most frequently.
• Engaging: Create content that your target
audiences will be most willing to invest their time
in – (i.e. educational or entertaining or both!)

Social Sharing
Sharing

Social Sharing
Social

Social Networking
Social

Social Networking
Social

Social Networking
Social

Social Networking
Social

Social Networking
Social

Social Networking
IDG Study: 95% of consumers use social media
Social

Social Media: What to Post
Create a social media posting schedule that is
appropriate for your business… Social

Video
Video

Video
Video

Video in Social Media
Video

Video in Social Media
Video

Video in Social Media
Video

Newswires Wire

Newswires Wire

Newswires Wire

Digital Marketing Channels
Your Website
Blogs and
Newswires
Webinars
Audio, Video
and Webcasts Email
Social
Networks SEO
Social
Sharing

Measurement and ROI
Major goals:
• Boost sales and brand awareness
• Strengthen customer relationships and loyalty
• Increase engagement and referrals
Measure progress through:
• Leads, sales or transactions
• Positive ―chatter‖
• Increased traffic to website
• Length of visit and repeat visit to website
• Increased site registration for email newsletters
• Search engine and other site referrals
• Registrations for events
• Requests for new products/services from existing clients
• Referrals from existing clients and affiliates
• Increases in media/blogger coverage

Q&A
Chris Bechtel
Director of Marketing, AnyMeeting
Digital PR, Content Marketing and Social Media Strategist
http://twitter.com/chrisbechtel
http://twitter.com/anymeeting

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