Posts tagged: Part-Time Social Media Specialist

The roles I played at VA Partners – Sales, Marketing AND Social Media

Posted on April 24, 2012

My co-op term is officially coming to a close here at Venture Accelerator Partners. I found that when working at a growing company there is a lot of opportunities to engage in a number of different roles. In addition to learning skills about marketing and social media, I was also able to learn about other areas of business. Here are just some takeaways that I learned with the many hats I wore over the past four months.

Marketer                                                                           Free digital photos –  sheelamohan

The first and perhaps the most important thing that I learned was how crucial corporate blogging is. Blogging is an easy way to engage with your audience when it is done consistently. A good way to think of blogging ideas is by figuring out questions that people have and how you could answer them. Try splitting your blogging efforts between different members of the team. I also learned about what and why SEO is so important. There are a number of methods used to increase SEO including using keywords and organizing posts into categories.

Social Media Specialist

Previously I was merely a social media user, but now I feel like I need to be a social media engager. I have learned that social media isn’t just about broadcasting information, it’s about creating a conversation. It is a valuable tool that if used properly can have a great impact on your business. Connect with others on social media by re-sharing content, and developing relationships. It isn’t enough to blindly be using a social media outlet. There should be a strategy and goals in place to see results; whether it’s simply more brand awareness or turning online connections into offline opportunities.

Sales Researcher

I also had the opportunity to be a sales researcher here at VA Partners. I was responsible for locating key contacts and entering information about their company into a CRM system. I learned how important a CRM system is for a business and the amount of detail that goes into organizing one properly. It is also critical to figure out who your key contacts are for each specific client in order to get the best results when connecting with them.

Networker

Among the many firsts I had over the past four months one of the most challenging was learning to network. As recommended by the team I attended a number of events including Entrepreneur 101 at MaRS Discovery District, Sprouter and Third Tuesday. One of the main things I learned is that networking doesn’t start and end with a conversation; it’s important to be prepared ahead of time and follow up after. For example go into the event with clear goals, make sure you have business cards in a convenient place, and carry a pen and a notepad to write down others’ information. Following the event connect with who you talked to on Linkedin or Twitter.

 As you can see, working at a small company allowed me to develop a lot of different types of skills and take on a variety of challenges. I am glad to have had the opportunity to be involved with the many services that VA Partners offers. Check out the “What We Do” section for more information of VA Partners services.

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“Marketing Communications”: Where and how to tell your story

Posted on February 28, 2012

by Tabitha David

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a session within the Entrepreneur 101 series hosted by MaRS Discovery District .This one was entitle Marketing Communications and was presented by Mark Evans. I have outlined the main takeaways from this year’s presentation which are different from last year’s session that Stephanie Goodman attended. She wrote a blog about her findings as well.

Marketing is not a rinse and repeat cycle; in fact it is the complete opposite. When developing a marketing strategy it is important to continually be assessing what is working, what isn’t, and how to improve. There are two main questions to answer when thinking about your marketing strategy.

What is your story?

  • Target Audience: Figure out who your ideal customers are. What kinds of people will be interested in your product? How many of them are in the market? Where can they be found?
  • Competitive Edge: Something that makes you unique. This can include new features, low prices, or excellent customer service. What is going to make a potential customer choose your product or service over someone else’s?
  • Customer Benefits: How does your product or service help a customer’s life become easier, faster, or more productive? Pay attention to what your customers are looking for in a solution.

Once these questions have been answered you have developed your core message which was also mentioned in Stephanie’s earlier blog. A good rule of thumb: you should be able to delivere your core message in one breath in order to engage your potential customer.

Where to tell your story? There are a number of platforms available for the delivery of your story. It is also essential to remember that different people respond differently to messages depending on the channels. Some effective channels include:

  • Website viewers know within 15 seconds of being on a webpage if they want to continue browsing. Create a website that reflects your organizations culture. Focus on the about page; people are interested in talking to other people not a brand.
  • Blog to build good will and to make a name for yourself as an aggregator of valuable content in your community. Also remember that blogs are you own property so they can be refurbished to use in other mediums: for example, presentations, white papers and, social media.
  • Videos hold a lot of potential to engage customers. Consider creating a short video, no longer than two minutes that acts a demo for your product or service.
  • Social media is becoming more prevalent, so think about using platforms that may not be very popular but where your target audience is active in. However, don’t rely too heavily on social media; it is only part of the marketing mix.
  • Newsletters are effective in being a timely reminder for customers who may have forgotten about your product or service. They are also delivered into someone’s mailbox creating a direct connection with a potential client.

As a marketer simply develop a message that a potential customer can relate to and deliver it to them using the most appropriate platform. For more information about the presentation you can view the slideshow.

If you are interested in more events like this sign up for your monthly newsletter which lists events in the area.

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Are You Utilizing Social Media for Sales Prospecting and Lead Generation?

Posted on November 29, 2011

by Stephanie Goodman

One question often asked by many C-level executives and those in the corporate world is “How do I know Social Media is working for my company?” The answer is simple: you have to execute a strategy and then measure that strategy. If you’re still unsure about the value in social media for marketing and sales, take a look at how many of your prospects, clients and competitors are on social media and then re-evaluate your reservations. Two weeks ago I sat in on a webinar from HubSpot that explained how leads are generated through social media. For those who are still unclear about how sales have anything to do with social media, I suggest you take a look at the important arguments I took from the webinar.

Social Media is NOT a buzz word

First and foremost, we must remember that social media is not a buzz word (or term). Although many sceptics still exist, social media is here to stay. How do we know? It’s impact on marketing, business, PR, customer service and basic customer service has expanded so rapidly that people do not use social media as the “last resort” to communicate with others, rather, social media has made its way to top of mind for many businesses.

What is a lead?

A lead is essentially a proxy for sales. Leads are those that show interest in your service/product/company or are people who you have a connection with and believe will have an interest in your service/product/company. A lead is the first step to a sale. By using social media, leads are being generated in a different way than they were with traditional marketing. Lead generation is now about the transaction of information. A company is sharing information that will hopefully entice a prospect enough that they respond to it; prospects can respond by Re-Tweeting, sharing your information or commenting on it. One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot predict how people are going to find you. What you need to focus on is giving them plenty of ways to find you. In saying this, social media marketing is not linear nor should companies treat it this way.

How do I turn a lead into a sale?

Measure, measure, measure. Use a social media monitoring tool to track who is looking at your information, how long they are staying and what they are saying (if they are saying anything at all) about it. Here is an example:

If your company posts whitepapers on their website, share it – via social media – with others. Take a look at your Google Analytics and see who is coming into your website and what they are looking at. The next thing you need to do is start researching. Research the company, their service, goals, employees, etc. and match them with the services you provide to see if you may be able to help them. You already have an introduction to the conversation with them: I saw you downloaded/shared our whitepaper…

The ultimate goal is to get people to your website; the more content you create, the greater your chance of website visits. Are you still on the fence about the quality of leads through social media? Think about it this way, the prospect that clicked on your link or shared your information is already interested in what you do and can provide. Once the interest is there, the hard part is over.

For more information on how Social Media can help enhance your Sales efforts, take a look at our Sales Prospecting with Social Media and feel free to send any further questions you may have.

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Increase your Sales efforts by implementing a Social Media plan

Posted on September 27, 2011

by Stephanie Goodman

Last Thursday I posted the blog “Starting or Managing a Social Media strategy? Key terms you need to know” which was Part  1 of a book review for How to Make Money with Social Media. In the second part of my review, I’ve consolidated important tactics from the book to know and learn when starting or managing any social media plan or strategy.

Ensure you have the resources. There is nothing worse than starting a social media plan and having it fail because the person in charge is stretched too thin with other duties or there wasn’t a social media coordinator designated in the first place. Before starting your plan, make sure your company has the resources, structure and capabilities to keep up your social media efforts. In saying this, do not leave the job of representing your company’s brand and image over to a summer intern. The changes are, they do not have the right resources and will not be there long enough to see it through.

Outline your company’s situation analysis. Know how your company’s goals, objectives, strategies and tactics are built. In order to be the online face and presence of a company, one must know how the company operates inside and out.

Become familiar with Social Media Etiquette. When online, follow these guidelines:

  • Show Respect
  • Show Responsibility
  • Demonstrate Integrity
  • Be Ethical
  • Add Value

Education can go a long way. There is more to engaging customers than posting an interesting fact or tweeting an article. Become a thought leader and educate your audience. People can sense when they are being sold to, so instead of telling them what they need, educate them on the things they could have (bringing these back around to the services you provide).

Quantity is just as important as Quality. Measuring the quantity of your social media efforts could include your Twitter following, your Facebook likes, Blog comments and Foursquare check-ins. Measuring the quality of your social media campaign is when you look into who those Twitter followers are, who the Facebook likes are from, what people are saying to you and about you and how they are saying it. Is there a negative undertone to the responses you’re generating or are people pleased with the information you are providing them? Measuring your quantity and quality of your social media efforts will help you determine the cold leads from the warm ones.

  • Social Media measurements: Twitter followers, Facebook fans, comments, social bookmarks, page views, inbound links, click-throughs, leads generated, ratings, downloads, conversions, likes/favourites, growth of fans, followers and friends, online mentions across blogs, positive and negative feedback and bounce rate.

For more information on services pertaining to social media, take a look at our website and feel free to email, call or tweet if you have any questions.

 

 

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Generating Leads through the Social Stream: Sysomos Webinar Highlights

Posted on September 6, 2011

by Mark Elliott

In Late August I sat in on the Sysomos “Generating  Leads through the Social Stream” webinar. The webinar was led by Mark Evans (@markevans) and NygelWeishar (@nweishar). I thought the webinar was very well done with a focus on educating participants rather than a sales pitch on the Sysomos tools. I find ‘the learn’ versus ‘the tell’ model a better way to share content and it is one that we try at VA Partners.  The webinar was a more consumer based than Business to Business, but I think there are still many great insights for B2B focused organizations.  This blog will highlight some of the key points that I took from the presentation. The full webinar has been recorded and can be found on the Sysomos site.

The Power of Social Media to drive sales: Social media is many things, including a tool for inbound marketing leads.  Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, and Linkedin can help people find your content and drive them to your blog, driving them to your site, and that may drive them to reach out with a request to learn more about your company and offerings. This could be through a white paper download, signing up for the newsletter, and ideally engaging someone at your firm about an opportunity. This method does work; for example, I have 2 meetings with opportunities where the first touch point with the prospect was with Social Media.

Social Media is not about the hard sale: You can’t be too pushy on social media. This is especially hard for sales people just getting started on Twitter as an example. I have found the best strategy is to provide advice and feedback and create an on-line relationship before trying to engage about a sales opportunity.

Know your Audience: This is one of the key components to any sales and marketing strategy and applies to Social Media as well.  Are your prospects and customers on social media and if so which platforms?  Many startups have limited time to invest in social media for focus on the key segments.  Our 2 favourite platforms are Twitter and Linkedin. This is where we spend our time and efforts.  For other organizations, Facebook and Youtubemight be a better fit.  A recent blog, “The Medium is the Message and how it applies to our Social Media Efforts” by Stephanie Goodman highlights the differences between some of the different platforms.

The three Es: Engage, Entertain, and Educate: This was a gem shared by Mark Evans during the presentation and provides his high level view on how to use Social Media.

So at the end of the day, was the Sysomos webinar “Generating  Leads through the Social Stream” successful?  I think you will need to ask Sysomos for their feedback, but from a sample size of 1 (me) it appears to be.  I thought the content was interesting enough to write a blog about it which will ultimately be shared to thousands of people through Twitter, Linkedin, company Newsletter, and our blog.  I also plan to demo their Social Media monitoring tool. For my feedback on the tool, you can reach out through Twitter, Linkedin, E-mail or phone.

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