Engage and Hook Your Customers in 3 Easy Steps

So how do you engage and hook your customers into your brand and business?

Well before we can truly answer that question effectively, we need to understand why customers engage.

To which there are two simple reasons…

1. They were made to feel special. They were made to feel the centre of attention and the most important customer in the world.

2. They received something of interest to them at the right time.

So, now we know why customers engage how can we capitalise on that? Well in a recent post, What’s more effective for eCommerce – Email or SMS Marketing? I talked about 3 rules you should follow when marketing to your customers.

Make it personal. Make it relevant. Make it on time.

And by following these simple rules you will be able to engage and hook your customers.

Making it personal
Marketing your business/brand in a personal way can be tricky, you want to get your message seen and read by all of your customers, but how can you do this in a personal way without breaking the bank or working double over time?

This is where mobile marketing can be the answer to all your prayers. The mobile phone is a personal device, so by texting your customers your message you are already a step ahead of content marketing or dropping an email into a customer’s spam folder.

However by using their first name in the text you will be to connect to your customers on a higher level of personalisation. Imagine getting a text message from your favourite brand addressed to you…

“Hi Jake – just to let you know we have the brand new range of Nike trainers in-store today that we think you will love! Drop in and see us or visit us online here www…..”

Making it relevant
Make the content relevant. For example as a male, am I really going to want to know about a new range of dresses being released? So segment your customers into separate contact groups.

Use your sales to influence your messages… For example, Jake has just bought a new pair of basketball trainers…

“Hi Jake – Just to let you know we have a great new selection of basketball clothing in-store, some great tops and shorts – drop in and see us or visit us online www…..”

Making it on time
So Jake is not going to want to know about all your great new basketball gear at 4 in the morning. Every customer is different, but look at what time of day most of your purchases are made and start to send messages in and around that time.

Record your results and see what works
As said earlier, every customer is different. However by testing different offers, different opening lines, and different times to send your message – you will soon learn and see what your average customer likes.

Don’t be put off by opt-outs and unsubscribes, you are always going to get them. The people who remain opted in are far more important and the ones you should concentrate on – so start engaging your customers!

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Top 25 Social Media Marketing Tips from the Experts

Social media has increasingly become the significant driving force in marketing.  So, how does the average company or brand make the most effective use of this very important tool?

Here are 25 things that experts can implement to maximize the effectiveness of their social media campaigns.

1. Post regularly – The more your audience hears from you, the more trust you’ll be able to build.

2. Deliver relevant content –  ensure that what your audience hears (and sees) is interesting and fits seamlessly with your brand identity.

3. Post unique content – Try not to curate too much of your social media content, as most likely your target audience has seen it before. If you want to stand out on social media, your content needs to be unique to your brand.

4. Share and retweet – a great way to widen your audience and show that you know what’s relevant.

5. Don’t discount the “smaller” social networks – Test out everything, which includes Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, etc. You might be surprised at the results!

6. Be as visible as possible – Don’t be afraid to follow some of your competitors, and even interact with their content.

7. Be a helper – Respond on Twitter or Facebook when you have legitimate answers to questions, and never follow up with calls to action or sales language. Be genuine about wanting to help.

8. Vary the appearance of your logo – Experiment with different colors and layouts that clearly communicate who you are. This presents a good opportunity to split test which posts get the best engagement.

9. Learn from your mistakes – Analyze past posts to determine what works consistently and what doesn’t.  Refrain from posting content that fails to get significant engagement.

10. Always use images on Twitter –  Use images to your advantage, as they get better engagement than tweets that only has text.

11. Limit tweets to 100 characters – this provides extra characters for people to share your tweets with comments or @tags.

12. Stop fishing for likes and shares – Try engaging your audience in ways that encourage conversations and interactions. If people find what you post interesting, they will share.

13. Mix it up with content formats – Make sure that your social media posts (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) are well-branded, and don’t be afraid to use different formats.

14. Host live hangouts – This makes the social media experience more real. Both Google Hangouts and live Twitter events are great tools to use.

15. Make strategic use of #hashtags in all relevant social media platforms –  whatever you do, please don’t make up hashtags as you write your posts. Thoroughly research trending hashtags. There will be times when you can blaze your own trail, but if you want to broaden your reach, you need to follow existing trends.

16. Get good at one thing at a time –  try not to establish several different social media channels and attempt to keep up with them all. It’s a good way to burn out fast. Master one social media platform, and then move on to the next.

17. Automate whatever you can – Always maintain a fresh flow of content. Don’t be afraid to use automation tools to schedule your posts and keep your content organized.

18. Know what your competitors are posting – Look for patterns in your competitors’ content, and test out similar material of your own.

19. Spend money on video – Every niche can benefit from videos as they get better engagement on social media.

20. Hold contests and giveaways – Few things churn up the kind of buzz that’s created by giving away free stuff, so consider some friendly competition among your followers.

21. Use your email list to promote your social media content –  it’s a great way to drive targeted traffic!

22. Invest in custom graphics – Stock photos work, however, images unique to your brand almost always gets more engagement.

23. Encourage employee engagement on your channels – The people who work for you are among your best endorsers. Enlist their help in sharing your content on their personal channels.

24. Be an authority – Position yourself as a leader in your niche, and post content that proves it.

25. Take risks – Try something outlandish once in a while, and don’t be afraid to stretch people’s perception of your brand.

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5 LinkedIn Mistakes You Need To Avoid

When it comes to your online presence and your LinkedIn profile in particular, for years, I’ve been telling professionals: Brand or be branded”

In my opinion when you fail to create a compelling LinkedIn profile, you are basically telling the professional world one or more of the following:

• You aren’t tech-savvy enough to know how to use social media
• You don’t have any truly notable accomplishments
• You have something to hide.

Every year I speak with thousands of business owners on the topic of LinkedIn and Iím constantly surprised by the number of people who believe that having their name and job title up to date is enough to merit a presence in social media.

LinkedIn mistakes people make on their profile

Here is a great little excerpt from an infographic from the Undercoverrecruiter.com. about the LinkedIn mistakes that some people make all the time.

Whilst I’ve seen every mistake possible, below are the 5 most common stuff ups that people on LinkedIn do across the board regardless of age, location or industry.

Any one of these LinkedIn mistakes in your profile could turn into a major professional liability. So here ís how to identify them and get them fixed:

1. No plan

Building a solid foundation is the backbone to being successful and all of that starts by having a plan. You†wouldn’t†build a house without first†laying the foundation or framework, right? Well developing an effective LinkedIn campaign is no different. If you donít have a plan any road will get you there right?

Before designing your profile or building your network, get crystal clear on what your looking to achieve on LinkedIn and how that fits in with helping you achieve your marketing objectives over the next 3, 6 or 12 months. In turn this will help you identify who you need to connect with in order to meet those objectives.

2. Add value

Nobody, and I really mean nobody likes to feel like they are being sold to. Hammering your new connections inbox with messages about your product and services straight away is not going to win you any friends or customers for that matter.

The clue is in the title … Social media is meant to be exactly that – social. Ok so LinkedIn is very much a professional and business based forum but the underlying principle remains.

Before you start email marketing to your contacts, think of a few ways you could add value to them. This will help develop the trust and rapport necessary for them to be interested in what you have to say. Remember, to be interesting, you have to be interested.

3. Profile Photo

You would never go to an in-person networking party naked, dressed in your dirty old sweat pants, or without any shoes. Why? You want to make a good first impression.

Yet, failing to fully optimize your LinkedIn profile has the same effect online as coming to the party dressed wrong. Studies show that people are seven times more likely to click on your LinkedIn profile if there’s a picture than if you don’t have one.

Your photo should be up-to-date, clear, professional, and an expression of you, preferably the smiling you. If you are a casual guy, no one expects or wants to see you in a suit.

In a virtual world we may do business with someone we have never met. The connection provided by a photo, especially when you can see the eyes and a warm reception can go a long way.

4. Personalizing Your Communication

A lot of LinkedIn users complain about the impersonal invitations they receive. When you connect to someone for the first time on LinkedIn, don’t just use the generic message option, “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

Take a few moments to write something personalized. It will make the recipient more open to your request and the message feel less spammy.

Personalizing your messages is important because it shows that your request is personal — that you didn’t just send out a mass connection request blindly to all of your contacts.

For example: “Hi Steve, I came across your profile earlier and thought I’d reach out given there may be some possible synergies between both our current activities. Would be good to connect. Alex”

5. Not Using It!!

Seriously, the number of businesses who ignore the platform and don't leverage it to its full capacity shocks me.

We’re talking about a platform that allows you to connect with millions of new potential customers, find new partners to help grow your organization, connect with the media to build your personal and even hire new staff.

With over 330 million members across 200 countries/territories and two new members joining per second thereís no other platform like it. In my opinion, this is why LinkedIn is the most powerful marketing tool of the 21st century.

Author: Alex is an entrepreneur and founder of Linkfluencer, the world’s leading online community for LinkedIn training. He loves playing basketball, travelling and covering the latest stories on entrepreneurship. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Facebook

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