Baby Boomers, Business and Facebook
About two years ago I found an article by Mary Smith with some ideas on how to use Facebook to reach Baby Boomers. At the time, I wasn’t sure I agreed with her, that Facebook had the potential to be more than a social networking website, geared primarily for college – early twenty market. She argued, it could also be used as part of a small business marketing toolkit.
Today, I know she was right. Her advice is as relevant, if not more so today than it was two years ago. She recommended:
- In addition to creating your profile you should create a page for your business. ( These are now called Fan Pages)
- Start a group,
- Use the events feature and polls to gather information and gently market to your “friends”.
To her list I would add:
- Create special offers and coupons just for your fans
- Take photos at events, post and tag them with names of guests, so they show up on other pages on Facebook
- Connect your Twiiter and blog updates to your fan page.
Read the rest of the article …
Today’s Consumer Still Loves Coupons
She just doesn’t like clipping them.
When my kids were little, I would rip through the Sunday paper looking for coupons on diapers. I am not much of a coupon person in general, but we went through a lot of diapers and it just seemed silly to pay full price.
Once my kids finally mastered the potty, I said goodbye to diapers and good bye to coupons. They were just too much trouble to keep up with, organize and keep track of when I went shopping.
But I do like saving money, so I am the perfect target for digital coupons. Instant savings I can download to my computer as I head out the door, or better yet to my phone.
And I am not alone, it seems the down cycle in the ecomony, along with an increase in technology which delivers coupons has led to the first increase in the use of coupons in almost twenty years.
From a study by coupons.com (ok so maybe they are a little biased) the demographics of the average digital coupon shopper is not the low income, penny pinching housewife. Instead, the consumer who prints digital coupons is an attractive target for many products and services.
- has an average household income of $97,000,
- a 23 percent higher income level than the U.S average.
- 34 percent of those who print digital coupons have a college degree (up from 32 percent in 2008), compared to 30 percent of those who use newspaper coupons and 27 percent of the general populace.
- Users of digital coupons have higher household incomes and are better educated than users of newspaper coupons and the general population.
So what do these numbers mean to you? As the delivery mechanisms continue to improve, and the economy continues to put pressure on consumer spending, coupons, particularly those delivered digitally can be an excellent incentive for existing and new customers.
Interesting, as I was putting the finisihing touches on this post ( sometimes I write a few weeks out) I read a post by Kyle Lacy on the subject of integrating your marketing, tieing all the elements together, especially when you already use printed coupons in your mix.
Facebook: There is Strength and Risk in Numbers
In the early days of home video, there were two products, Sony Beta, and VHS. There was no comparison, the Sony product was significantly better, so why did it all but disappear? Because the masses couldn’t really tell the difference, and VHS was cheaper.
I was reminded of that case, as I read an article by Louis Gray. One of my favorite sources for new technology and applications, he made a compelling case for Facebook as the Social Media Hub for the average person. While he personally prefers other products, he is finding himself forced to Facebook. He says:
” I may prefer Google Buzz and FriendFeed and Twitter and SmugMug and all these other best-of-breed sites for their specific use cases, but thus far, I haven’t been able to convert the family to converge with me there.
Facebook is rapidly becoming the Web platform with external services feeding in, and it feeding out. It becomes the conduit, but also the destination.
What does this mean for the small business owner? Regardless of which platforms we prefer, we need to go where are customers are. And more and more, they are on Facebook. From fan pages, to event listings, and even targeted Facebook ads, this is quickly becoming a site, no marketer can ignor. But there are risks, as the folks at Fat Atom discovered when Facebook took down a client’s page.
The rules of social media marketing are being rewritten daily. For help making good choices, contact roundpeg today!
Some Things Change, and Some Things Don’t
I am working a presentation for a group of HVAC distributors in New Orleans in April. Having spent 11 years in the industry, I feel comfortable talking about how to apply what I know about marketing to their challenges.
But I have been away for a few years, and thought it would be helpful to see what others have been writing and discussing. What I found is that although it seems things are moving very quickly, much of what I am telling my small business clients today, others have been saving for quite awhile.
For example: In 2003 David Squires wrote n article for the ACH&R News about how to make your websites more efficient. Interestingly seven years later, we still see much of the same issues we saw then. Text heavy and product heavy sites which miss what is really important to the consumer; How well you solve the client’s problem?
Check out David’s list of 12 ways to improve your site and see if you agree with me, that while some things do change, others remain, very much the same!
What do Journalists and Marketers Have in Common?
What do journalists and marketing pros have in common? Questions!! Both groups of professsionals begin their process with some simple questions. Here is a quick list of the seven questions you should ask as you work on your marketing plan!
Who –Who is your ideal client? – Age, income, type of business
What – What is your customer’s problem. What keeps them up at night?
How –How will your products or services solve the problem your client faces?
Where – Where is your ideal client? This also applies to where they look for information and new products and services
When – When do they need your product? When will they seek out information? Will they look far ahead of the need, or only when what they are using breaks.
Why – Why should they chose you?
For answers to these and other important marketing questions, join Matt Nettleton and Me for a look at how to transform Random Strangers into Raving Fans !
March 25, 8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Sandler Training Trustpointe Offices, 6666 East 75th Street, Indianapolis
Fee: $29.99 Seating is limited, so be sure to register soon. Click here
