How Small Businesses are Using
Presented by:
Vanessa Cabrera
Your Social Media Mentor, Inc.
to get BIG Results
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm

Your Social Media Mentor –
Vanessa Cabrera
Chief Creative Officer
Your Social Media Mentor, Inc.
www.yoursocialmediamentor.com
yoursocialmediamentor@gmail.com
Facebook.com/yoursocialmediamentor
@vanessacabrera
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 2
Tidbit About Me: I just had
my first child in June
whom I lovingly used to
refer to as #fatty on all my
social media
platforms…B4 he had a
name.
Meet Matteo!

3 Award Winning Small Business
Marketing Campaigns
Each year, the Small Business Online Marketing Contest hosted by the City of
Chicago Treasurer’s Office, provides incredible examples of how small businesses
can use marketing channels like email and social media, to run successful campaigns
that attract new customers and help them do more business.
This year, Constant Contact was a proud sponsor of the event.
Here’s a look at this year’s top winners, and what you can learn from the success of
their campaigns:

The Campaign
3rd Place – Mike Handmade
The Business: Located in the heart of Andersonville, Milk
Handmade is a women’s clothing boutique that specializes in
small-run, handcrafted goods.
Milk Handmade planned a Secret Sale that allowed email subscribers to take 50 percent off
everything on the sale rack. When they came into the store they had to mention that they
were there for the Secret Sale, and then they would be rewarded with an exclusive
discount.
Not wanting to distract from the promotion, Milk Handmade kept the email short, simple,
and clean — including just one photo of an item that would be included in the promotion.
The Goal
The goal of the campaign was to reward loyal customers who shop often, as well as
customers who don’t come in as often but continue to subscribe to the store’s email list. It
was also an opportunity to sell inventory, and prepare for an upcoming season.
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 4

THE RESULT
The campaign had a 43 percent open rate, with a simple subject line, Our Little Secret.
The click-through was at 10 percent, even though the only link provided was to the website.
In the three days following the email promotion, Milk Handmade had nearly $1,000 of sales exclusively
from customers who had received the announcement.
What you can learn Here’s how Hallie Borden, owner of Milk Handmade explains the results:
“Customers had an excellent reaction to it. They felt that they were getting special treatment and that
they were being rewarded for subscribing to our email list, which was my initial goal. Additionally,
customers who had not been in for a while visited and got back in the habit of shopping with us. The
email had a great impact on our in-store sales, and helped to foster lasting relationships with our best
customers.”
By rewarding your best customers, you not only have the chance to drive more sales, you also have the
chance to boost loyalty and generate the recommendations you need to grow and do more business.
When creating your next campaign, start by thinking about your best customers and how you can
create value for them.
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 5

2nd Place - Mohop
The Business – Mohop is an eco-friendly footwear company
specializing in interchangeable shoes that allow nearly infinite design
options with just one pair of soles.
The Goal
The primary goal of the promotion was to raise $50,000 for their Kickstarter campaign to increase
manufacturing capabilities. Secondary goals include obtaining new followers through the various
social media channels they use, gaining new customers, and getting national and/or international
press for the company and their mission. Finally, the promotion was to test proof-of-concept for both
their in-house marketing skills as well as consumer demand for their product.
The Campaign
Mohop’s campaign centered around a campaign on Kickstarter— a crowdfunding website where an
individual or business seeks financial contributions from the public for a creative project. Typically
rewards are given to contributors that back the project: a DVD of a short film; a MP3 of a musical
recording; or in Mohop’s case, a pair of sandals.
To promote their Kickstarter campaign, Mohop used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, and
promoted the campaign through email, as well.
Their most successful promotion was through Facebook, specifically when they posted photos of
their sandals and wrote a message like: “Support American artisanal manufacturing by SHARING our
Kickstarter campaign!”
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 6

THE RESULT
The campaign ended up in the top 1.2 percent of highest-funded fashion Kickstarters ever,
with a total of $67,020 raised in 45 days. Mohop exceeded their goal by 34 percent and
increased sales by 1,045 percent over the corresponding 45 days from the previous year.
New customers increased 1,721 percent over the previous quarter. Their newsletter open
rate for campaign messages was 52.3 percent (vs. industry average of 18.3 percent) and the
click-through rate was 15.6 percent (vs. industry average of 3.2 percent).
What you can learn
One of the most important factors in the success of this campaign was the power of word-of-
mouth. As Mohop promoted the campaign through its different channels, they began to
see their reach extend beyond their current network of fans, followers, and email contacts.
People weren’t just getting involved in the campaign, but they were also talking about it —
posting about it on social media, and spreading the word through offline conversations.
When planning your next campaign, think of ways you can use the power of word-of-mouth
to encourage shares and get your message in front of a wider audience.
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 7

@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 8

The Goal
1st Place – Motion PR
The Business: Chicago based public relations agency
Motion PR created the campaign, Nut Year’s Resolution, for their client NutHealth.org (the
International Tree Nut Council) to promote awareness for tree nuts, increase social media presence
and increase awareness on how tree nuts can improve health.
Their goal was to achieve 1,000 Facebook likes, 500 Twitter followers, and 250 Pinterest followers by
the end of the campaign.
In November 2013, Nut Health only had 129 Facebook likes, 95 Twitter followers and 35 followers on
Pinterest. In addition, Motion PR wanted 500 individuals pledge to add tree nuts into their diet for
their 2014 New Year’s Resolution.
The Campaign
Nut Year’s Resolution required users to like the Nut Health Facebook Page and make a pledge to add
1.5 ounces of tree nuts into their diet in 2014.
Users earned additional extra entries by tweeting out a message that they joined the Nut Year’s
Resolution, or by following Nut Health on Twitter and Pinterest. Each person that enters could win a
$100 Whole Foods gift card, which is just another example of how the campaign encourages people to
eat healthy and include tree nuts into their diet.
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 9

THE RESULT
The Nut Year’s Resolution campaign exceeded Motion PR’s goals. The campaign had a total
of 31,449 entries by 1,257 individuals. They achieved 2,433 Facebook fans, 1,472 Twitter
followers, and 357 Pinterest followers.
What you can learn
The Nut’s Year’s Resolution provides an excellent example of how small businesses can use
multiple social media channels to promote their campaign. While the campaign was focused
primarily on a Facebook audience, Motion PR was able to drive the most action when they
involved other sites like Twitter and Pinterest, as well.
When running a campaign for your small business, it’s important to lay out your
promotional strategy before hitting send. Think about the different channels you’re using to
communicate with your audience online — whether that’s through social media, email,
mobile, or on the web.
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 10

How LinkedIn Help Me Make a Name for Myself
LinkedIn turned out to be the most important tool for getting my name out there. Building out my
personal profile and kicking my networking into high gear helped me connect with some key industry
players, which led to me snagging a lot of naming jobs.
Here’s how I made LinkedIn a part of my journey into a new industry:
Write your profile in the first person the way you would talk about yourself at a networking event: You want
to sound approachable, not stiff and corporate.
Get personal when you send InMails: When you meet someone at a business mixer or a conference,
you usually try to find some common ground to kick off the conversation. Do the same thing when
you send InMails to people you want to connect with:
11

The Game Room – Keansburg
Objective: Increase Facebook fans, and get new customers.
The Plan: Run a social campaign to include coupons that people would have to Like
their Facebook page and redeem coupons in store.
Result: Started with 40 Facebook Fans. After their summer season they had over
1,000 fans and business increased by 30%!
12

Yup, you read that right, pen fishing rods.
Odds are it's hard to wrap your head
around the idea without the help of the
video above. Michael Di Pippo is the
inventor of the "world's smallest fishing
rods and reels." About the size of a large
pen, the rods telescope out to reveal a 5'3"
of fully functional fishing rod. Based out of
New York, the company has four full-time
employees and distributors worldwide.
Di Pippo decided to use video, specifically YouTube, to give product demos and preview his product because there was
a built-in market, it was free, and he was able to add tags like "Fishing," "Camping," and "Outdoors" to give his videos
more reach. "If you can make a product look like it's fun, effective and great in a video, it would be enough to make
other people want to join in and make videos with your product," Di Pippo said. "To date there are more than 100
videos on YouTube made by happy customers from all over the globe using my products."
Because of this exposure and virality, Di Pippo said his company has experienced phenomenal growth. As a result, Di
Pippo puts constant work into maintaining his company's video presence. He makes sure to respond to user
comments, which turns into sales. "[Users] would ask specific questions about the products and as long as you were
polite and answered them, the customers felt like you took the time to interact with and cater to them," Di Pippo said.
"So they decided to reward your kindness and spend money with the company.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcvXbbUxoWk#t=22
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 13

SPECIAL OFFER FOR CONFERENCE ATTENDEES!
• Chief Creative Officer
14
New Constant Contact Customers
$20 JUMP START
Purchase a Constant Contact Account and get:
• Account set-up
• We’ll upload your contacts
• Your first email designed and sent out for you
BONUS: You’ll receive an email template exclusively
designed to match your website! Valued at $199-$299
Current Constant Contact Customers
Get an email template designed exclusively to match your website
for just $99
BONUS: Receive a professional review of one of your
current emails (valued at $149)
Offer only available thru 10/17/14 (midnight) and for seminar attendees only

Your Social Media Mentor –
Chief Creative Officer
Your Social Media Mentor, Inc.
www.yoursocialmediamentor.com
yoursocialmediamentor@gmail.com
Facebook.com/yoursocialmediamentor
@vanessacabrera
@vanessacabrera #yoursmm 15
Vanessa Cabrera