twelveoaksgroup.net » Social Media

You Are the Expert

Elizabeth — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:05:28 +0000

Give away your knowledge and market yourself as the expert! Your knowledge and experience within your industry is invaluable and by offering it to others you will increase your credibility in the eye of the consumer and your peers which in turn yields sales. There’s no doubt this will require some invested time and thoughtfulness, and you may even give away secrets to your competition, but if you’re offering valuable information and it has your name attached to it, people will know where to go when they’re ready to spend their money.

Get creative! This is a fun way to market and connect with your customers and it doesn’t have to be complicated. There are a variety of ways to disseminate your information; think Facebook, email, Twitter, website, blog, Youtube, radio, newspaper, podcasts, or letters. Then think about what you’d like to offer up –this of course should relate back to your business. Could you share articles or books, DIY project ideas, money saver ideas, tip and tricks, offer guidance to others in your industry, share interesting facts, or the latest trends? The truth is, whether your business is just starting out or you’re an old pro, if you can offer people relevant information; increased trust and sales will be close behind!

Need more ideas or help executing your own ideas? See what Twelve Oaks Group can offer your small business!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth McPhail grew up learning about the trials, tribulations, and perks of small family-owned business. She creates and maintains websites and blogs, and in her spare time can be found on the water boating!

Branding Your Small Biz

Elizabeth — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:51:27 +0000

Big-businesses can offer product or service with a “take it or leave it” attitude –small businesses however, are not afforded this luxury. The little guys –in an effort to stay in the game or grow—are often left to tweak the image of their product or service in different situations so that meaningful messages are conveyed to potential customers at all times. This creates a tricky situation for branding consistency. Below are a few things to keep in mind as you strive to brand and grow your business.

1) Potential customers need to have a clear understanding of what and who your business is before they will buy anything.

If your business is not self-explanatory, it’s important that you convey clear and concise messages about what you have to offer and the application of it –think elevator speech, and then where you’re going to publicize that info. If your business is self-explanatory, think about the image you’d like to convey to people and how you might set yourself apart from other businesses like yours.

2) Keep everyone on the same page.

It’s Important that businesses strive for consistency and cohesion with all publicized info. The way information is presented on Twitter, Facebook, and websites varies greatly, but because each of these platforms is so effective at relating to the customer on different levels, there is immense opportunity to enhance the image of your business. That being said, it’s important the customer doesn’t receive conflicting ideas. Social media admin need to have a clear understanding of what the short-term and long-term marketing objectives are and an overall understanding of how to put forth info and respond to comments in a way that aligns with the priorities and values of the business.

3) Maintain consistent logos, colors, and fonts.

While you may be a long way from the widely-recognized Swoosh, it’s important to remain consistent with these nuances. Some brand recognition is better than none. Brochures, business cards, website headers, etc. should all maintain the same look and color scheme.

Small-business is full of compromise. Next time you find yourself at a crossroads, weigh your options and stay mindful of your business branding. Would you like some hands-on assistance? See what Twelve Oaks Group has to offer.

Elizabeth

Social Media Education: 21st century perks and 21st century risks

Elizabeth — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:50:58 +0000

It’s true that more and more private information is being used and shared via the internet, and small businesses are no exception to the trend. Marshable Business offers up four tips to protect your small biz against cyber attacks: smart passwords, mobile devise education, risk management and perhaps the trickiest of them all, social media education

Cyber security expert Rick Doten tells Marshable,

“…companies should allow employees to post online about the company in a positive light, but cautions that employees who use social media too carelessly can give away sensitive details about a firm’s internal business.”

“If I see someone tweeting about a conference in Omaha, I can guess what’s happening there. Social media’s great from a competitive counter-intelligence point of view. I can learn a lot [by] following tweets.”

- 4 Tips to Protect Your Small Business Against Cyberattacks

Twelve Oaks Group realizes that not every company is at extreme risk of sharing counter-intel information via Facebook or Twitter, but it is important to think about what kind of company information is being represented on the internet. Companies that don’t have a Facebook and Twitter account still need to take into consideration how an employee might be representing their business online. In some cases, business that do not have a social media account will find that their business is listed on Facebook and may even have a few “likes”, but the rest of the pages are completely empty. While this does not necessarily pose as a counter-intel threat, it doesn’t help your business put its best foot forward either. Or perhaps you’ve got a product or service on the market that’s loved by customers –loved so much that one of those customers created an unofficial business page for you. Again, not necessarily a counter-intel threat, but it does pose a risk.

If used correctly, Facebook is a very effective tool in helping you connect with current and potential customers. Interested in getting your business on Facebook? Contact Twelve Oaks Group! We can help your business master the perks of Facebook –one of the best values in online advertising anywhere.

Elizabeth

Why a Business Should Have a Facebook Page

Twelve Oaks Group — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:10:53 +0000

Back in February, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and his college friends and roommates that are credited with being the founders of Facebook probably never imagined that the social networking service would grow to 800 million plus active users. To begin with, businesses were limited to attempting to set up a profile for their site while trying to stay within the requirements for staying within the limits imposed by Facebook for a profile.

As the company grew at an amazing speed, it was becoming more apparent that businesses were not having their needs met on Facebook. Facebook has come up with an alternative called Facebook “Pages.” So why is it a business should have a Facebook Page? Let’s take a look.

New Fans

According to Forrester Research -State Of Consumers And Technology: Benchmark 2011, US Report, 96% of the total US adults online using social networks have an account with Facebook. With Facebook ranking as the number one social network of choice, the obvious question might be why isn’t your business on Facebook? (Elkay Corporate Advisors, “Top Ten Benefits of Having a Facebook Business Page,” November 10, 2011)

Personal accounts were designed specifically for individuals – not businesses or brands. A Page allows a business to showcase their work, as well as communicate with fans. And let’s face it – there are a whole lot of fans out there. That means potentially you could gain a whole lot of sales for your products and services. Even if they don’t visit your website or blog, the likelihood of a Facebook user logging into their Facebook account at least once a day has a high probability of success. In turn, that means they just might click on that new post you put out today.

Indexing

By creating a fan page on Facebook, you are increasing your chances that the search engines will index the content that you publish on your page. Hmmm, that means the name of your business and your brand is going to appear in front of more eyes than ever before increasing your visibility tenfold.

Analytics

Who’s visited your fan page? You don’t know? One of the beauties of having a Facebook fan page is that you get comprehensive reporting called Insights. For those administrative representatives (Admins) that you appoint to manage your page or app developers, they can have access to metrics on the performance of your Page or app. Gain everything from user growth and demographics, consumption of content, and creation of content. Admins and developers can use this information to make more informed decisions on how to improve your business with Facebook.

Facebook Places

If you have walk-in traffic to your business and have a street address, you can incorporate Facebook Places to have clients and customers check in. Places is a Facebook mobile application that gives you information as to where your friends are, but it can also let you share your physical location. You can check in to nearby Places to tell your friends where you are, tag your friends in the Places you visit, and keep track of your friends’ comments that they’ve made about Places you visit. Use Places to experience Facebook in a completely new way by connecting with your friends in the real world which can help drive traffic to your fan page.

Price

You won’t pay a better price for a Facebook Page because it’s absolutely free! Now that is sure to fit your small business budget, wouldn’t you agree?

Facebook has been described by some people as “the new web”. Your small business can leverage Facebook pages and ads to connect with customers and potential customers. Why not call Twelve Oaks Group at (731) 337-4330 right now and let us show you why it only makes good sense to have your very own Facebook page. If you’re not marketing on Facebook, your small business is missing out on one of the best values in online advertising anywhere.

Twelve Oaks Group

Tennessee-based Twelve Oak Group is unique in its approach to its customers. Each team member is committed to helping grow small business, making local government more accessible, and enhancing communities with their web design and consulting services expertise. We will not deviate from this approach!