Launching Your Social Media Marketing Plan For Sustainable Brands

Launching YourSocial Media

Marketing PlanFor Sustainable

Brands

By Brenda Horton

Twitter: @BrendaHorton -- Facebook: facebook.com/BrendaTelloHorton Fan Page: facebook.com/HwareFB -- blog: www.hware.com/blog -- email: info@hware.com

Outline Has social media changed the fundamentals of marketing?

What does peak oil and climate change have to do with location-based marketing?

A 5 Step Social Media Marketing Action Plan.

Social media is a technology tool.

It is not the answer to all your sales &

marketing challenges.

image by John Trainor on flickr

In other words, it’s one piece of your overall sales and marketing strategy.

Social media is not going to save your sustainable business from a poorly

designed marketing plan or lack of one.

How do you use the tools of online

marketing like social media to effectively and

successfully support your business goals?

How does social media fit into your sustainable

business model?

We are living in revolutionary times where there is a radical

shift happening in many areas of humanity.

Social media is...revolutionizing our business relationships and it is changing the way we connect and communicate with one another.

The business tools have changed.

However, the fundamentals of solid sales and marketing practices have not.

You still need to know who your target audience is.

Is your sustainable brand a B2B or B2C or

both?

Is your business a “place independent” (virtual)

sustainable brand?

Or a local-based sustainable

organization?

…or both?

How does your marketing support your

triple bottom line?

Does your sustainable business offer services

or products or both?

How do you incentivize your

vendors, suppliers, employees, and

customers to help spread your

sustainable brand and refer business

your way?

People still buy from brands they know, like

and trust.

We still need to ask questions like, “How does

my product or service solve my customers’

problems?”

How do we articulate that through social media?

You still need to know demographics, psychographics, and how your customers

make purchasing decisions.

For eco-conscious customers, it’s usually

value-based versus price or convenience.

What’s your unique proposition value?

What makes you stand out amongst all the other

natural skin care lines…

…or hemp clothing lines?

These are just a few fundamental sales and marketing questions we still need to be asking.

Lastly, as thought leaders and influencers

in building the green economy….

…how are you using online tools to

change the world through your

sustainable business?

How are you using social media to spread your message of doing

good while doing business?

It starts with a clear understanding of the online sales funnel.

delicious

Your Website is your online

Real Estate

StumbleUpon

Email MarketingMadMimi.comAWeber.comConstantContact.com

RSS SubscribersFeedBurner.comFeedBlitz

What call to action do you want

your customer to

take?

For example Do you want them to sign up for your

e-newsletter?

Do you want them to RSVP to an event?

Do you want them to buy your online product?

Do you want them to download your e-book?

Where’s your target audience hanging out

online and how are you connecting with them?

How are you engaging them on an online

conversation?

www.bestgreenblogs.com

What blogs are they actively participating on?

www.businessdegreeonline.net/green-blogs

Are you contributing to the conversation?

636 LinkedIn Groups in category “green

business.”Are you providing value?

We now build relationships

online… Meetup

….before we meet each other offline.

Festivals and Conferences

Networking Events

How does the sales funnel work for a local green

business?

With peak oil and climate change,

many eco-entrepreneurs are

interested in starting local sustainable businesses.

Here are few statistics on local search.

73% of online activity is related to local content.

80% of budgets are spent within 50 miles of

the home.

80% of searchers research online before purchasing in a 10-20 mile radius.

Almost every local search includes

mapped results.

74% of internet users perform local

searches.

82% of local searches follow up offline via an

in-store visit, phone call, or purchase.

35% of all searches are local.

90% of online commercial searches results in offline

brick and mortar purchases.

What location-based online tools are you

using to connect and engage your target

audience throughout the sales funnel?

Google Placeswww.google.com/local/add/

businesscenter

By claiming your business on Google Places

It tells the search engines that they have the most accurate and up-to-date information about your business location.

Google Places

It gives YOU, the business owner an opportunity to optimize your business

listing for targeted keyword sets and geographic areas.

Google Places

Claiming your place page is important, but

adding relevant content to it is what will help

with rankings.

Yelp is not just for restaurants anymore.

Over 38 million people visited Yelp in August 2010 to make spending

decisions.

Yelp Communicate with your customers

privately or publicly.

Track how many people view biz page.

Add photos and detailed biz description.

Announce special offerings.

Post up-to-date information and specialties.

How are you incentivizing your customers to do

business with you?

Check-InsFacebook

Places/Deals

e-coupons

Foursquare

A 5 Step high-level Strategic Social

Media Marketing Action Plan.

1. Envision – Create a vision of results that you want to achieve

2. Plan – High level goals and

create a plan

3. Act – Take action on the plan

4. Track – Measure your results

5. Adapt – Adjust plan, actions, or vision if necessary based on results.

1. Envision It starts with the end in mind.

What outcome do I want to achieve?

What’s my vision?

What values will guide you?

What do I want to accomplish?

2. Plan Identity the goals you want to achieve.

Determine who will lead goal by when.

Make your goals SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound.

Select and prioritize which social media platforms you will use and how you will use them.

Determine how you will measure success and by when: KPI - Key Performance Indicators.

Above all make sure your brand is consistent on every platform.

3. ACTCreate action plans for each goal and take action.

‣ Sign up for key social media platforms using your brand.

‣ Call to action for your target audience.

‣ Do status updates about them on all your social media platforms

‣ Drive traffic to your site

‣ Capture leads and convert to end goal.

4. Track Track progress on

Actions Plans and Goals

Update Results for your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Review Progress and Results

Using Metrics

Using Analytics

Have Accountability

5. Adapt Review

Revisit

Rethink

Revise

Repeat

The ultimate measure for

sustainable brands is the successful execution of the triple bottom line business model.

Social Media Resources

Facebook and local deals - mashable.com/2010/11/03/facebook-deals-platform/

www.hubspot.com

www.copyblogger.com

sethgodin.typepad.com

For more FREE business tips and strategies sign up for Hware’s Blog at

www.hware.com/blog

To get this presentationand links to

social media resources go to

www.hware.com/?p=4540

Thank You!

This Concludes Social Media

MarketingPlan For Sustainable

Brands.

Flickr Photos attributionsThank you to:

Slide 3 geishaboy500

Slide 4 John Trainor

Slide 5 Mykl Roventine

Slide 6 Music2Work2

Slide 8

WoodleyWonderWorks

Slide 10 Alisharusher

Slide 11 Webtreats

Slide 1 Vacacion

Slide 15 Office Now

Slide 16 SarahG

Slide 20 Kevindooley

Slide 23 Aturkus

Slide 26 Rachelvoorhees

Slide 27 Jim Linwood

Slide 29 BurningKarma

Slide 29 sunshinecity

Slide 33 Testsumo

Slide 37 Javier.reyesgomez