Social Media Impacts the Value of Your Business

I recently reached out to a former colleague who has a solid business doing training and marketing for apartment communities. We talked for a while about how the business was doing and the value of it if it were to be for sale. I’ve always been interested in buying the business until our most recent conversation. There is basically zero social media being done and it became a major turn off for me, but at the same time I viewed it as an opportunity. There is definitely room for growth which makes it attractive for purchase at the right price. I would offer less today than I would have a year ago simply because of the lack of social media. It’s an outdated business model. Again, this makes it attractive as social media is such an easy solution and could be ramped up quickly. The bottom line is I can confidently say that any company lacking in social media is negatively impacting the value of their business.

What Do Tim Tebow, Sticky Notes and the Slinky Have In Common?

Tim Tebow, Sticky Notes and the Slinky are all “experiments” that had surprisingly brilliant and unexpected results. The Slinky was originally designed to be a spring used to stabilize sensitive instruments aboard ships in rough seas. It is now in the Toy Hall of Fame and over 300 million have been sold. The adhesive on Sticky Notes was discovered in the search for a strong bonding adhesive. Obviously, the scientist failed in that venture but his failure became a tremendous success. Find an office in the United States that doesn’t have a sticky note and well… you won’t. Tim Tebow is a number one draft pick quarterback who’s biggest weakness is throwing a football. As a starting quarterback he is 6-1 and has his team tied for first place. Tebow still has to prove himself to remain in this discussion, but hey, I’m sure adding him to this blog won’t hurt.

We recently ran a promotion for a customer that had surprisingly brilliant and unexpected results as well. The promotion was a “slot machine” game on Facebook where if the fan of the page got 5 logos to appear across the top of their page, they won a prize.

It took about ten days for people to figure out how to make it happen, which was what we wanted. We didn’t want the promotion to only last a day. The unexpected result, however was that the people who ended up winning the contest ended up promoting our client on their own personal Facebook pages. The winners of our contest had over 1,200 friends combined. Each of those friends had the opportunity to be introduced to our client on Facebook in a way we never anticipated.

Tebow’s results aren’t in and neither are ours at this point, but by experimenting and not being afraid to try new things, we discovered a great new way to promote our clients without spending hard dollars on advertising. The only true failure of an experiment is not realizing and appreciating the unexpected results.

Facebook “Likes”: Quantity vs Quality

Many of my customers are interested in learning more about establishing a great Facebook page for their business. There are a lot of companies out there promising to get more “Likes”, but is that what you really want or need? Of course you need more “Likes” when you first get started, you don’t have any at all. At what point are you paying for “Likes” that you just don’t need? The answer comes down to your business and how you naturally get customers.

Coca~Cola has nearly 34 Million people that like their page on Facebook. Is that enough? For a consumer product like Coca~Cola, they would probably like to and benefit from having even more followers. The fact that they are a consumer product, the quality of their Fans is very high. All 34 Million of their fans have probably purchased a Coke in the last few months and will probably purchase a Coke within the next few months. This sets up the quality factor.

What good would it be for your business to have 34 Million Fans? Do you even want 34 Million Fans? For some of you the answer will be yes. I’m pretty sure if I had 34 Million Fans I would have to hire a team of people simply to manage my presence on Facebook. This would be counter productive, however, because I couldn’t possibly provide services that generate revenue for 34 Million customers.

So what’s the point? The point is, many businesses need to focus more on the quality of their Facebook Fans. Every now and then scan your list of Fans and look at their profiles. Where do they live? If you own a hardware store in Sioux City, Iowa the majority of your Fans should be from Sioux City, Iowa. If you are a realtor in Charleston, SC the majority of your fans should be from there as well. These are broad examples and you need to determine your own guidelines for quality control based on your business, product or service, especially if you’re paying a third-party to manage and promote your Facebook page.

Can Your Marketing Team Sell Patagonian Toothfish?

Take a look at this fish:

It is hideous. Would you eat it? I sure as hell wouldn’t. If I were to catch this fish I wouldn’t even bring it into my boat. I would cut the line for sure.  I wouldn’t even want to touch the thing.  However, the truth is, I have eaten it…. and if you’re a fish eater, you probably have too. 

Chilean Sea Bass, originally known as the Patagonian toothfish, is one of the most popular menu items in fine dining restaurants today. The made up name, Chilean Sea Bass, was a marketing gimmick to make it sound more appealing to restaurant patrons. (Would you order the Patagonian Toothfish off a menu?) 

There are dozens of examples of marketing gimmicks like this that have taken something that sounds ugly and unappealing to something that appeals to the masses. All it takes is a simple change, a new name, a new package, a new logo. Are you currently marketing your Chilean Sea Bass as Patagonian Toothfish? If your product or service isn’t working the way you want it, then maybe you are.  

What can you do differently to change your Patagonian Toothfish into this?

Great Food, Great Advice

I’m was recently in Aspen, Colorado visiting friends and ran into a remarkable entrepreneur at dinner.  We were at Elevation Restaurant and Bar and I had the privilege of meeting the owner, Mr. Tommy Tollesson.  Tommy’s restaurant has been a success in Aspen for over ten years.  This is remarkable because the clientele in Aspen is f-i-c-k-l-e!

I pulled Tommy aside later in the evening and asked him if he would share with me his philosophy for success.  He started to rattle off a list of ideas like he had been asked this question a thousand times.  I think the reality of it was that he was just speaking his truth and it came easy.

First, he said, “You have to have a vision.  You have to know what you are going to create, be consistent and stick with it.”  You can’t flip flop.  You can change and adjust to new trends and introduce new items to your “menu” but you still need to be consistent.

Second, he said you can’t be stubborn.  You have to be willing to take constructive criticism and adjust accordingly.  There is a simple humility that Tommy has and I believe he really meant you need to be humble in order to be open to criticism.  Tommy isn’t flashy and if you were new to his restaurant you would think he was the manager, not the owner.  I mean this to be a compliment.

Lastly, Tommy said, you need to know your clientele.  ”Aspen isn’t Las Vegas”, he said.  ”We can’t cater to 25 year olds.  We have to cater to a more mature audience in order to be successful for ten years.”  Aspen is fickle as I spelled out earlier.  Restaurants come and go.  Those that last as long as Elevation build a loyal base of patrons and it’s because they know what to expect when they make a reservation.

If you ever get a chance to visit Aspen, be sure to visit Tommy at Elevation Bar and Grill.  I think you’ll see for yourself why he’s a success.

Recap of Tommy’s 3 Keys To Success

1.  Have a vision

2.  Don’t be stubborn

3.  Know your clientele

Do Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Matter in Social Media?

Yes.  Especially if it’s a business page.

Customer Service on Steroids

My friend recently stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Vail, CO and took her dog Buster along for the trip.  They are a pet-friendly hotel, which is tremendous customer service, but not what impressed me.

The first night she was there Buster barked and barked and some other guests complained so they offered to let her move her room so he could have a balcony.  What a great way to accommodate her and her dog and provide fantastic customer service.  The thing is, this still isn’t what impressed me.

The next night she left Buster alone again and was nervous that he would bark, the guests would complain and she would have to leave the hotel.  Sure enough, her phone rings shortly after dark.  ”Hello, this is security from the Ritz-Carlton.  I just wanted to let you know that we have Buster.  He is at the front desk greeting guests and helping out the staff.  He was barking quite a bit so we made a little bed for him behind the desk and he hasn’t barked since.”

WOW.  I really don’t think I need to elaborate on this.  Kudos to the staff at the Ritz-Carlton in Vail.  I’ll be bringing my dog very soon….

The Chosen Ones

I don’t get a newspaper anymore.  My news comes online and it’s based on my interests.  A great deal of my news comes from Facebook.  For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to use USA Today and local newspapers as examples.  USA Today is a national newspaper that gives readers a broad idea of what’s going on in the nation and the world and your local newspaper gives you a broad idea of what’s going on in your county, city and local area.  Their websites, of course, do the same.  Is this what people truly care about though?  Of course.  On some level, we all care about what’s going on in the world, in our cities and in our towns.

What do we care about most, however?  We care about our family and friends most.  When you ask most people to list their priorities the top three will likely be their family and friends, their job and their religion or spirituality in no particular order.  So where do we all go to get news on our family and friends???  Why, Facebook of course.  My new Sunday morning routine isn’t reading the “funnies”, Sports section and Entertainment section of the Detroit News anymore.  It’s getting a cup of coffee, opening my laptop up and seeing what my family and friends did this weekend.  Who had babies?  Who lost a loved one?  Who had a great time in Las Vegas?  That’s what I care about most.  I know that’s what I care about most because that’s the first thing I “research”.  Then I’ll go to my favorite news outlets and look up how the Detroit Tigers did last night and see if they are still in first place and of course see what’s going on in the nation and the world.

What’s my point?  What am I getting at here?  Well, another thing that I can choose on Facebook is what “advertisers” I allow to appear on my news feed.  I can’t choose that at all with a printed newspaper and websites, including Facebook, are getting a little smarter with the targeted advertising they feed me, but to be honest, it’s never really what I want to see.  I mean, how many times can they suggest I like “Mayhem” on Facebook before I can make it go away.  I can’t.  I can control that I “LIKE” Pepsi and I can see what Pepsi is posting on Facebook in my newsfeed.  I chose that.  So did 4.5 Million other Facebook users.  31.5 Million users chose to allow Coca~Cola to advertise on their newsfeed.

This is the equivalent of telling USA Today or the Detroit News what advertising you want printed in the paper they deliver to your doorstep.  Pretty powerful when you think about it.  So if you don’t have a fan page on Facebook, I suggest you get one now.  If you do have a fan page, but you really don’t have a strategy, I suggest you work on it.  You need to create enough interest on Facebook that people choose to allow you to advertise to them.

Want to Increase Your SEO and Cut Your Advertising Dollars???

I have been saving this post for a long time.  I’ve tried to figure out a way to “monetize” it and earn some revenue from it, but it’s more of a concept than a product or service.  The bottom line is I can’t really keep it to myself anymore and it’s time to burst.  So here it is….

LIST YOUR COMPETITORS ON YOUR OWN WEBSITE!

If you are an apartment community and you advertise on apartments.com, rent.com or  For Rent or Apartment Guide’s websites, you’re already paying thousands of dollars a year to list your information side by side with your competition.  So why not add them all to your own website, increase your content exponentially and get the Google juice as a result?!  The bigger the company, the better the results should be.  Allow your prospects to shop and compare your communities with your competition on your own site.  Make it even easier for them than the websites you pay to advertise with and create a shop and compare chart with  all the amenities and services you offer right next to what your competition offers.

This will work for almost any website really.  Do you own a hair salon?  List your competitors, their services and rates and compare them with your own.  Run a local coffee shop with a few locations?  List your competitors and their menus and pricing.  Own a landscaping service?  List your competitors and tell the consumer why you are better.

DO NOT:  List their phone numbers.

DO:  Put photos of your competition.

DO NOT:  Bad mouth your competition.

DO:  Share reviews about yourself and your competition.

DO:  Add as many competitors as possible.  The average consumer will find it anyway.

DO NOT:  Be afraid!  The average consumer already knows your competition anyway!  If they don’t then don’t listen to me.

I’m not going to tell you every little detail of this concept and how to make it really work.  If you want a great plan of execution then you’ll find me.  I’ve given you enough information to be dangerous.  If you really are better than your competition, offer complete transparency and crush your competition online and in your bottom line.

Brainoblog to Broaden Content

Brainoblog will be taking a shift from focusing on the apartment industry to expanding to all things marketing related with a focus on Social Media, Internet marketing, Search Engine Optimization and anything else that catches my interest and attention.  My expertise is in the apartment industry, however, my new venture has launched me into residential real estate, mortgages, retail, insurance and more.  What I have learned is that my experience in apartments will serve me well in any industry or service.  The basic rules of Social Media and SEO apply no matter the product or service.  I am excited to broaden my horizons and look forward to working with new people, products and organizations as well as continuing to build on the knowledge and relationships garnered in the apartment industry.

For the record, apartment people are some of the hardest working people in the American workforce.  I’ve learned so much from so many of you!  Thank you for continuing to share in my personal growth and success.

Stay tuned for more details on my new venture, Mind Racing, a full-service marketing consulting firm.