Reward your fan's!

Reward your fan's with a great Coupon! Here's what your Facebook Coupon could look like when it's "done right" by Sprocket Social Media.

Does LinkedIn have value?

I am frequently asked about LinkedIn. And, the most common question I get is... "so I signed up on LinkedIn, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do with it. Does it have any value?"

In fact, LinkedIn generates the most B2B referrals of all social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter (Source: Leadforce1, June 2010). And it also generates the most B2B lead conversions beating out the company blog, Facebook, and Twitter. (Source: Hubspot, State of Inbound Marketing Report 2011).

Let's consider the numbers. LinkedIn has 85 million users, of which 32 million are based in the U.S. The average LinkedIn user is between 35 and 49-years old, with $110k in income. Every Fortune 500 company is listed/represented on LinkedIn. Over 12 million small business people are LinkedIn users, of which 1.3 million are small business owners. Over 150 industries are included. And the list goes on. The answer to "does it have value" is YES.

A Restaurant Builds Relationships with Social Media

Build relationships: For B.Good, a Boston-based restaurant chain, Facebook and Twitter help to build stronger relationships with customers. On Facebook, the business runs contests to name its newest burger, posts pictures of holiday presents the company wrapped for its customers, and announces its latest menu items. On Twitter, the chain takes advantage of the immediacy of the network, collecting and responding to instant feedback. "With the dialogue and trust that we create, customers are much more likely to engage and help us," explains Jon Olinto, one of B.Good's founders. "Our loyal customers want us to improve and succeed."  Check out another restaurant, Ninja Steak and Sushi using social media to build relationships with clients.

Why does my business need a blog?

While blogging evolved out of personal expression, business blogging is less about corporate ego and more about empathy with customers. A blog is a way for you to show your expertise in your subject matter and help customers find what they need. A blog will give prospective customers a level of comfort in doing business with you. Blogging also helps you get found in search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. When someone searches for your product or service, your blog may show up as a separate listing as well as your web site.

Social Media and Trade Shows

One of the major benefits of a Facebook fan page is that you can post video footage from events or trade shows. Shoot some video footage with your Flip camera or iPhone of your booth and staff during a trade show and post it while the event is still under way. It will give your fans a chance to catch a glimpse of your location at the show and introduce them to the sales team.

A Social Media Golden Rule

Take the opportunity to help someone, without offering a sales pitch. With social media, you earn the right to promote by being helpful first. Reach out to people, direct them to resources, and establish a good relationship.

Target Customer Profile

One of the goals of social media monitoring is to gain a better understanding of the potential target audiences in your social sphere, where they are and what interests them. Monitoring will also help benchmark important metrics for social media objectives. Each month, Sprocket Social Media under the Monthly Campaign targets and identifies audiences that are interacting with your social media. We will create a "Target Customer Profile" for your business based on information that we discover in the Social Media Business Evaluation and monthly reporting. This target could be based on location, interests, affiliations, etc. This information will be used to create posts, contests, and email campaigns.