I'm usually not a big fan of shameless self promotion. You know, the whole "look at me...I'm kind of a big deal". Well, sometimes a little self promotion isn't a bad thing. Especially during the infancy of a new business venture. Hell, most people would argue that shameless self promotion is one of the biggest keys to a young business' success.
Anyway, at the end of July, I promised a video tour of the new Rock Solid Media office in Galion, Ohio. So, without further delay, I present the official video tour!
Since the beginning of August, I've been participating in a Twitter chat with other public relations and marketing professionals. Twitter chats aren't a new phenomenon in the social media-sphere. In fact, there are 2 other Twitter chats that I know of happening on Tuesday nights at 8pm.
Even though this concept isn't new, it is for the target audience of this particular chat. School PR Chat was started by Shane Haggerty (follow Shane on Twitter). Shane is the Marketing & Communications Director of Ohio Hi-Point Career Center and he's started a new venture called Social Learning Lab. I encourage you to check out Hi-Point's website and Social Learning Labs.
One of the goals of School PR Chat is to bring together school district public relations and marketing professionals to share insights about a very challenging area of communications and marketing. Since its inception in early August, the venture has struggled to get a high level of participation. One of the biggest reasons is that school PR professionals are still slow to embrace Twitter as a viable channel for communications.
So, what's the point of this post? First, I wanted to bring attention to a chat that, as I write this, needs more participants. School district public relations professionals need to work together to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of the internet and social media. School PR Chat can help connect school PR pros with one another
The other reason is to encourage you to think about starting a Twitter chat for your area of expertise. Use Twitter as a way to network with other professionals in your field or with current and prospective clients. Use the social media channel to show your knowledge or to learn more to expand your knowledge. Don't be scared of Twitter. You never know when it might just lead to your next client!
If you're a school district public relations professional, I'd like to invite you to the next School PR Chat. Just search #schoolprchat at twitter.com!
Since April, we've been pretty consistent in writing new articles for our blog. We've had a bunch of people read our posts, and we appreciate you taking time to read our posts.
So, where the hell have we been? We're changing in several different ways. First, we've added Tegan Ellis to our staff, and are bidding farewell to Bryan Mulvany. Bryan, over the last 12 months, has been a great catalyst for helping Rock Solid Media grow. He's decided to pursue another career path, and we wish him all the best. Tegan is a 2010 graduate of Ohio Northern University, and we're excited to have her onboard. She'll be working primarily with the Bucyrus City Schools as their Communications Specialist. We hope to have her bio page added soon!
Second, we're moving. Rock Solid Media is "movin' on up to the East side." Literally! We've found a new home in the old JcPenny building, now the Lincoln Way Professional Building, in Uptowne Galion. We're excited to be making the jump to our first "true" office space. Pictures and a video tour will be coming soon. One of the first tasks after we move in will be to host a "Stock the Rock" party with our friends and current clients. We'll make sure to share pictures!
So, while we make these changes, we hope you'll be patient with us. We've got a lot of new information, ideas and other great stuff we want to share with you. Stay tuned for more!
Earlier this week, we took a look at what we termed the "positives" and the "challenges" to one local government social media initiative. We generated some good feedback from the readers of the post, and we were also contacted by the IT Manager for the City of Mansfield to chat some more about their foray into social media. A big virtual pat on the back to the IT Manager for listening! Wish more people would do that! We couldn't be happier that the City of Mansfield has taken on the task of engaging their community through social media. Our hope is that they're successful and that other municipalities develop their own presences.
The positives we mentioned are just that: positive. The challenges, however, could have extremely negative consequences for the future of the City of Mansfield's social media efforts. We want to offer three tips to the City of Mansfield for their social media campaign that could help them achieve the goals they set. For the sake of full disclosure. We've been contacted by, and will have a phone chat with, the IT Manager for the city, but are in no way affiliated with them.
- Give It Time - Unfortunately, social media isn't the "be all, end all" of communications. Unless you're Lebron James, Lady Gaga, or some other famous celebrity, you won't get 1,000 followers or fans in a short period of time. There's a saying that applies really well to social media. "Anything worth having is worth working for." Social media growth, and more importantly engagement by fans and followers, takes a great deal of time. It won't happen overnight. If there's one thing that plays into Mansfield's favor, it's emotion. Citizens of the city have an emotional attachment to what happens in their local government. Use that attachment, not in a bad way, to help you achieve your goals. Don't be afraid to throw a little gasoline on the fire every now and again just to make sure people are listening. But have the fire hose on standby to make sure the blaze doesn't get out of control!
- Bring It All Together - While we're not priviledged to the City of Mansfield's website traffic, our guess is that they have a fairly high volume. If you visit their website, you'll see that they have some really great video content in the form of a Video TourBook. One really easy thing for them to do is to provide links on EVERY SINGLE PAGE of their website to their Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account. Heck, why not create a separate landing page with widgets from Facebook and Twitter and invite people to "like" and follow. Ultimately, the city's website needs to be the central hub of all information, and the social media "outlets" are venues for driving more visitors to the website.
- Patience is A Virtue - We sort of touched on this in the first point, but it's so critically important that it's worth repeating. Success in social media requires a great level of patience. You're not always going to make the right moves or post the right content. Anyone who says they are a "guru" is crazy. Social media is still so young and still evolving. Don't be afraid to fall down, because you will. If your strategy is sound and your determination strong, you will succeed in social media.
What tips or ideas would you give to the City of Mansfield based on the newspaper article and their current efforts on Facebook and Twitter?
A story recently ran in the Mansfield News-Journal that highlighted the City of Mansfield's venture into the world of social media. The City has launched a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter account. To say we're pleased by this development would be a massive understatement. Mansfield is about 25 minutes from our headquarters, and is the largest city within the North Central Ohio region. Their presence in the social mediasphere could have a positive effect on other entities, both private and public, and encourage these groups to take the "leap" into utilizing Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools.
Before we give too many more virtual high-fives or pats on the rear, we need to take a deeper look at Mansfield's social media efforts. The good and the bad. We'll start with the positives and then identify challenges Mansfield will need to overcome to achieve success.
The Positives
1.) In the Game - No matter what people say or think, positive or negative, about the social media efforts by Mansfield, the mayor and his staff are to be commended for taking the leap and getting in the game. Many of the city's contemporaries are still "scared" to make the jump because of fear of public criticism, among others.
2.). Goals Set - One of the biggest challenges of many organizations lies in goal setting. Social media is such a new venue that goals are difficult to set. According to the article, the Mayor's goal is to "inform citizens and area businesses of fun happenings in Mansfield, by showcasing the best of what Mansfield has to offer to the current residents, visitors and future residents." So the tone of the page has been set, and visitors have an expectation of what they're going to find. Excellent.
3.) Media Coverage - The only reason we found this story was that the News Journal ran it in their online edition. While the article didn't provide a direct link to Mansfield's Facebook Fan Page, it did cause us to open a new browser tab, log in to Facebook and do a search for "City of Mansfield". So, if for no other reason, the buzz that's been created from the article should help this local government social media initiative gain momentum.
The Challenges
1.) Timing - After finding the Page, we discovered it had actually been created at the end of May. The article ran at the beginning of July with the statement that "Mayor Don Culliver launched a campaign Thursday to use social media websites." So the Page was started over a month ago, but yet it is just now showing up in the media? A press release should have been sent the day the Page and Twitter account was launched. In an area like Mansfield, or North Central Ohio for that matter, organizations are still gun shy about using social media. Make a big deal about it.
2.) Expectations - This one is HUGE. In the course of the News Journal article, the city's IT manager (we'll get to that one next) was quoted as saying, "the campaign's future will depend on how well people respond. If the Facebook page hasn't attracted a certain number of friends by Aug. 1, the city won't put any more effort into it." First and foremost, how are you measuring "how well people respond?" Is it an arbitrary number of followers? Where are you getting those figures? Hopefully the IT manager didn't pull those numbers from his rear end. Another point is the length of time. The City is only going to give this initiative a month, really, to work. Story runs July 1, one and only measurement will be taken August 1. Final piece to this is that the IT manager only mentioned Facebook and didn't mention the Twitter account. He doesn't seem to have much faith in either channel.
3.) IT Manager - You waited for it, and here it is. Why the hell is an IT manager running a social media campaign? A great friend of our company is the IT Manager for a professional sports franchise in Columbus, and the last time we had drinks, he never mentioned running that franchise's social media efforts. If you read his initial comments in the article, which we quoted in the last point, it would seem he doesn't want this campaign to be successful. Why would he? It takes time away from his switches, ethernet cables, hard drives and spyware. Don't get us wrong, we love "propeller heads", but their job shouldn't be to manage communication channels with the general public. Nor should it be his place to comment publicly in the local newspaper.
Ok, so where do we see this going? Frankly, if Mansfield's presence on Facebook and Twitter still exist after August 1, we'll be shocked. There are too many challenges and roadblocks that the city's administration has put in front of this campaign for it to be successful. We want it to be a success, please don't misunderstand our statements. There are just too many factors and indicators that point to this campaign's demise before it even really gets started?
Read the entire Mansfield News Journal article, and then check out the City of Mansfield on Facebook and on Twitter. What do you think? Do you agree with our perspective? Are there other challenges to, or opportunities for, success? We'd love to get your feedback.
And if you're reading this and happen to be Mayor Culliver or the IT Manager for the City of Mansfield, feel free to give us shout. We'd love to chat more!
According to
Hubspot,
"lead generation is the science of converting site visitors into leads. In inbound marketing, visitors become leads once they fill out a form in return for some sort of offer on a targeted landing page. These leads can then be qualified and distributed to the sales team who will work to convert them into customers."
We work a lot with school districts in various ways to assist them in their marketing and communications efforts. We're also a Certified Hubspot Partner. So, it just became a natural progression to question whether lead generation can work in school districts. Let's start answering this question by looking at the first 2 parts of Hubspot's definition and apply them to school districts.
Lead generation is the science of converting site visitors into leads.
School district websites, the good ones, typically have a high volume of traffic. Especially if the district is constantly creating compelling, search optimized content. Many districts don't capitalize on their high traffic volume for one simple reason. They're not focused on generating leads. Why? Because a school district believes it isn't selling a product or service, which isn't entirely true. School districts are in the business of educating young people and equipping them with the knowledge or skills required to graduate, maybe go to college, or in some cases, enter the workplace. So, a district is selling a service; education. Career technical centers kind of understand this idea because they have to actively recruit students into their programs to survive. However, traditional k12 schools are missing a huge opportunity because they don't see the education they're providing as a service to their students or the students' parents. Traditional k-12 schools should focus on lead generation for no other reason than to increase the reach of their e-newsletters and social media efforts.
In inbound marketing, visitors become leads once they fill out a form in return for some sort of offer on a targeted landing page.
The whole idea behind inbound marketing is to pull your best customers and prospects to your website by creating great content, promoting that content through social media, and then converting site visitors to leads. I talked about it earlier. School districts that are creating great content are already pulling their "customers" (students, parents, alumni & community members) to their website. They need to take the next step and create calls-to-action that link to landing pages. These landing pages need to offer the visitor something they don't typically get by visiting the website on a regular basis. So, if a school district is utilizing e-newsletters, they need to create a call-to-action (CTA) and place it on the web pages that are getting the highest amount of traffic. Place the CTA above the fold of the web page, and link it to a landing page where visitors can sign up to receive the district's e-newsletter. Tell the visitor exactly what they're going to get from receiving the e-newsletter, how often they'll receive it, and reiterate your privacy policy that you're not going to share their personal information with anyone, and that it will be used for the sole purpose of keeping them informed about the district and its activities.
Can school districts use inbound marketing? Absolutely! While districts aren't trying to sell a product or service like a business, they are selling themselves to a specific group of customers who have a strong emotional connection. The idea of using inbound marketing techniques to grow a district's e-newsletter database is just one example.
What other ways can school districts use inbound marketing in their marketing & communication efforts? We'd love to hear your feedback!
At it's very core, inbound marketing is all about pulling prospective clients to your great content, converting those prospects to leads, nurturing them, and then closing the deal. When you go bass fishing, you have to lure the fish to your hook, react to the bite, set the hook and land the fish. So bass fishing and inbound marketing are the same? Not really, but there are 3 areas that bass fishing and inbound marketing resemble one another!
Lures Are A Start
Look in any bass angler's tacklebox and you'll find a myriad of different lures for different situations. Spinnerbaits are great early spring/fall baits to use when bass are chasing shad and other bait fish. Jigs are pretty much a good all-purpose lure when your looking for the "big bite" Plastic worms are perfect for those hot summer months when the bass are a bit more lethargic. Ultimately, all these baits are great for catching bass, but you have to know when to use them.
An inbound marketers "tacklebox" isn't much different from a bass angler's tacklebox. Different tools for different situations. Blogs are great content to show a business' expertise in a particular area. Whitepapers are even better content than blogs because a business can actually go into more detail about a particular service or a client success from implementing a business' product or service. Videos are great content because viewers can instantly build a connection with a face, or a business can show its product or service in action. These are just three examples of "lures" available to an inbound marketer. However, just like a bass angler, an inbound marketer must know when to use them.
Location, Location, Location
Bass anglers may have the greatest lures in the world, but if they aren't around fish, they'll never catch a single bass. Bass anglers use lake maps to locate ledges, points, and other structure that could hold bass. Then, once their on the water, they use pretty sophisticated depth finders to find these structures and determine if they have the right elements (brush, logs, pea gravel, chunk rock) to hold bass. Once they've found a "spot", they then start fishing to see if any bass are in these locations.
Inbound marketers are no different, except their "lake maps" are the internet and social media. Once a company is on the "lake" they have to do some research to find the right elements. Inbound marketers do this through tasks like keyword research and social media research. Once they've found the right elements, inbound marketers start optimizing their website for the best keywords and start listening to social media conversations to find out what others are saying about the products or services that are similar to those of their business. Inbound marketers then start "fishing" by sharing their great content with the social mediasphere, through lead nurturing campaigns, and pay-per-click campaigns just to name a few.
Rinse & Repeat
Once a bass angler has located fish on a structure with certain elements using a certain lure, they'll start looking for other areas on the lake with the same attributes. Once they find areas with these attributes, bass anglers will start trying to build a "pattern". Once they've found a pattern, they can start catching bass by the barrel full!
Inbound marketers are similar, in that once they've started to convert visitors to leads, they start analyzing the data to find how the visitors found their content and how those visitors converted to leads. The name of the game in inbound marketing is lead conversion. Once an inbound marketer starts converting site visitors to leads, they can hand the leads to the sales team to close the deal.
So, bass fishing is a lot like inbound marketing. They both have tools, are all about location, and require a great deal of analysis to experience success. What other ways do you think bass fishing (or fishing in general) and inbound marketing are similar? We'd love to get your feedback!
Photo courtesy of my personal tacklebox
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Josh Nason, one of our good friends at SendLabs (check these guys out) recently wrote a post about inbox exhaustion. Josh defined inbox exhaustion as "you send to your list way too much, wearing them out and causing them to unsubscribe or worse, file a spam complaint." If you haven't read their post, check it out!
Why is this whole concept of inbox exhaustion important to understand? One word: TRUST. Especially if you're a small business. These days, people expect to get bombarded by the big box stores with deals and offers. Most customers don't have a personal relationship with these businesses. They (customers) just want the next great discount from a place like Kohl's.
Small businesses, on the other hand, work very hard on a daily basis to build relationships with their customers to gain trust. Once you have a customer's trust, you work even harder to maintain that trust. You nurture that trust like you would nurture your own child. So avoiding inbox exhaustion in your small business email marketing strategy is all about nurturing your subscribers' trust to continue winning their business.
So, how can you tell if you're creating inbox exhaustion? And, more importantly, how can you mount a coordinated effort to stop it? Josh touched on these, but we want to drill them home. Here are 3 signs you've created inbox exhaustion and 3 strategies to combat this "disease".
3 Signs You've Created Inbox Exhaustion
- Steep decline in open rates - Many email marketers would argue that open rates are not a good KPI (key performance indicator) by which to measure email marketing success. Quite the contrary, especially when you're trying to determine if you've created inbox exhaustion. Keep a vigilant watch over your open rates for each campaign you send. If you've built your email marketing list organically (signup box at checkout, website signup, etc.), then it's reasonable, based on our experience working with clients, to expect to see open rates that exceed the "industry standard" of 15-20%. If you notice a steep decline in open rates across 2-3 email campaigns, that should be an immediate red flag that you've started to create inbox exhaustion.
- Steep increase in unsubscribe rates - This is as obvious as the nose on your face. If your subscribers are opting out faster than a cat runs away from water, you need to immediately stop sending campaigns on the "schedule" you've developed.
- Steep increase in spam complaints - Spam complaints are death in email marketing. The more spam complaints you get from subscribers, the quicker you will end up on the ISP (internet service provider) Black List. Once you've hit this list, you have a bigger fight on your hands than you can handle. You'll need to work with your ESP (email software provider) to work with the ISPs to get off the list. But, you can avoid this "near-death sentence" if you exercise good judgment from the start of your email communication efforts.
Ok, now you've identified inbox exhaustion in your email marketing strategy. Now, what can you do to start combating this disease? Here are 3 strategies you can deploy stat.
3 Email Marketing Strategies to Combat Inbox Exhaustion
- Focus on rebuilding your list - As people start to unsubscribe, you start seeing your database decrease in size. You're reaching less people with your email messages. All hands on deck. You need to develop a list building strategy to acquire new subscribers who are interested in your business/products/services. Check out our blog post for 3 easy tips to start collecting email addresses.
- Less IS more - First, stop sending email campaigns for a month. It's crazy, and some would argue it's a waste of time. Use the down time to regroup and create a schedule of when you're going to send your campaigns. We would recommend no more than 2 emails per month, one at the beginning and one at the end of the month.
- Shock & Awe - Finally, do something that will get your unengaged subscribers' attention. We recently did something like this with a client and provided the details of the effort in a blog post. Check it out. Don't be afraid to give something away. Something big. Remember, you're trying to get someone's attention that is ignoring you and immediately deleting every single email campaign you send. Start with the subject line and work from there.
What other signs have you experienced that you're creating inbox exhaustion? What other ideas do you have for combating this dreaded disease in the email channel? We'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
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Since the beginning of May, we've been working behind the scenes with a project called the Crawford: 20/20 Vision in Crawford County, Ohio. More specifically, we've been mentoring an intern that was hired by one of the major financial backers, the Bucyrus Area Community Foundation, of the Vision project. The Crawford: 20/20 Vision is "an unprecedented effort to bring together the people of our county to take charge of our challenges and turn them around. The initiative will develop and implement a Crawford Vision that will guide our county for the next decade."
Since March, the committee leading the Vision project has held a series of meetings throughout Crawford County. During each of these meetings, it became apparent that the demographics of the attendees was skewed very heavily to the age 50 & older crowd. This wasn't a huge surprise, considering that data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the county has an aging population and that this aging population (50+) will outnumber the younger population (50 & under) by 2018. The charts below show age demographics of meetings held May 17 & May 18, respectively.
May 17 Mtg
Age Demographics
| May 18 Mtg
Age Demographics
|
 |  |
Based on this data, Janet Pry, Executive Director for the Bucyrus Area Community Foundation, hired an intern to implement social media and permission-based email marketing to reach the under-represented under 40 age demographic. Janet recently shared some insights about social media and this project.
RSM - What were the initial challenges you faced in implementing social media with Crawford: 20/20 Vision?
Janet -
Skepticism. Most of the people on the (Crawford: 20/20 Vision) committee are over 45 years of age. They know of Facebook, Twitter, blogging - but they have not really used them in any sort of business capacity. I don't think they understood the power that could be unleashed by using the various media outlets. Even e-newsletters via organized, web-based programs were not something that they used. Social media has come into the business world with such speed that many people are intimidated by the technology.
RSM - How did you overcome those challenges?
Janet - By hiring a young, intelligent student to initiate its use and "forcing" the issue. The only way to truly overcome the challenges, fear and skepticism of social media is to start using it and see the power it brings to the table.
RSM - Since implementing social media as a part of the Crawford: 20/20 Vision community engagement efforts, what's been the response you've received from individuals in the community?
Janet - Very positive, I believe. It allows so many more people to participate in the discussions. Going into this process, we knew that one of the hardest aspects of the process would be communications. One thing that is obviously lacking in Crawford County is one or two powerful media outlets. The newspapers' readership is dropping and their coverage of local issues is meager. We could not rely on the print media to get the word out. Crawford County does not have a television station. The radio station has been very helpful in airing news of the events, but it is hard to know how many people listen and take in the dates, times and places of the meetings when they hear it on the radio. We told the consultants right at the beginning that communication would be difficult. The social media outlets really provide a powerful communication tool.
RSM - What role do you envision social media having as you continue moving forward with Crawford: 20/20 Vision?
Janet - I think it will be vital in the implementation process. Again, we have known from the start that the planning part of the process is just the beginning and in many ways the easiest part to accomplish. Implementing a plan takes ongoing energy and by-in from community members. I think the social media outlets will provide the forum for ongoing discussions. And, there is nothing better to "nudge" someone to action than to be reminder of things on Facebook!
Besides the Facebook Fan Page, they've also started a blog, a Twitter profile, and a YouTube channel. Plus, they started using e-newsletters to engage subscribers from their social media outlets and attendees at the community meeting. We strongly encourage you to check out at least one of their social media tools.
Has the effort to engage the under 45 population using social media in this rural Ohio county worked? We think so, especially given the Insights from the Crawford: 20/20 Vision Facebook Fan Page and age demographics of a recent online survey conducted through the Facebook Fan Page.
Facebook Fan Page
Insights
| Recent Survey
Age Demographics
|
 |  |
What other ways can the Vision project engage the under 45 demographic through social media? We would like to hear your thoughts, ideas and suggestions!
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Up until 3 years ago, I was an avid fisherman. So much so that I actually traveled around Kentucky and Ohio and fished tournaments on the weekend. I was even lucky enough to fish in 2 national tournaments; one in Louisiana and one in Kentucky. I even had sponsors to help me finance my passion. Some paid cash, while others provided products. Life changed after my last national tournament in Kentucky and I've since not fished a single tournament. But, I still fish. Not as often, but my 4 year old daughter likes to go fishing and so I take her to one of the local reservoirs.
Despite my absence from competitive fishing, I still keep up with what's happening on the professional tournament trail via BassFan.com. On this website, they keep a running tab of the Top 10 World Rankings in the sport. These point rankings are based on a "proprietary method" that isn't disclosed on BassFan.com. However, they do list several contributing factors that include pervious tournament performances, strength of the field, and various others for the top-level events in the BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) and FLW Outdoors tournament circuits. And yes, there are professional leagues for bass fishing.
Very few pro bass fishermen live off their tournament winnings, although one tournament win can have a profound effect on a pro's financial well-being. The majority of pros either finance their career from personal funds, or they have large sponsorship deals to finance their careers. With the current recession we're experiencing, many of these large sponsorship deals are becoming increasingly difficult to land. Companies involved in professional bass fishing sponsorships include fishing tackle companies (Lucky Craft, Berkley, G-Loomis, etc.), fishing boat manufacturers (Ranger, Triton, BassCat, etc.), boat engine manufacturers (Mercury, Evinrude, Yamaha, etc.) and main stream companies (Toyota, Wal-Mart, Land-O-Lakes, etc.). All these companies sponsor fishing pros because they want to increase brand awareness with the nearly 40 million people, according to the American Sportfishing Association, in the United States who fish. There are other reasons, but I need to get to the point.
Back to the BassFan World Rankings, and more specifically the Top 10. Given my affinity for fishing and the nature of my business, I decided to do a little non-scientific research to see how the pros in the Top 10 are using social media to help extend their brand beyond the boat launches, weigh-ins, highway mileage and traditional website presence. Below is a quick table that breaks it down by angler rank, website, Facebook Fan Page and Twitter profile.
| | Angler
| Website?
| Fan Page?
| Twitter?
|
1
| Skeet Reese
| Yes
| Yes-2
| No
|
2
| Brent Ehrler
| Yes
| No
| No
|
3
| Kevin Vandam
| Yes
| No
| No
|
4
| Tommy Biffle
| Yes
| No
| No
|
5
| Bryan Thrift
| Yes
| No
| No
|
6
| Mike Iaconelli | Yes
| Yes-multiple
| Yes
|
7
| Aaron Martens
| Yes
| No
| No
|
8
| Cliff Pace
| No
| No
| No
|
9
| Greg Hackney
| No
| No
| No
|
10
| Gary Klein | No
| No
| No
|
You Won't Catch a Thing if Your Line's not in the Water
The findings, while non-scientific, are very alarming. 7 of the top 10 have a website. I wonder why the 3 at the bottom are waiting to start with the most basic component of internet marketing. After all, it is 2010. Simply developing a static website with sponsor logos and links to sponsor websites can help build both the angler's brand and their sponsors' brands. Don't worry, initially, about developing new content. Just get with the times. Sort of sounds like some small businesses that are reluctant to develop a website. Most that I talk to cite cost as the primary reason for not having a website. Again, it's 2010 and phonebooks are on the verge of being extinct.
Find the Bait, You'll Find the Fish
As I dug deeper, I found that there are huge opportunities for these professional athletes. Only 2 of 10 are utilizing a Facebook Fan Page. Facebook is close to hitting 500 million users worldwide, with over 113 million in the US alone over the age of 18. Then, if you drill that down to the number of US users 18 and over whom either like, or have an interest in, fishing you get just over 2 million people. Not all of the 2 million people may like bass fishing, but it should give these pro fishermen (and women) some incentive to embrace social media. If 2 million isn't enough, Facebook also provides a great set of analytics tools called Insights. This is where a pro angler can start to really impress potential sponsors. They can show sponsors their fans' demographics, their fans' interactions with media, and the Page's growth over time just to name a few. The one thing sponsors want to know, at least in my experience, is what the angler's reach is. Now, at least with a Facebook Fan Page, a pro angler can provide these statistics with ease and accuracy. Plus, they can provide some really unique content that extends their sponsors' brands into the space. So, there are 2 million people in the US on Facebook that "like" fishing. How many do you think like coffee? How about cars? Flowers maybe? I think you get the point.
Don't Ignore What Others Use to Catch Fish
The other thing that raised an eyebrow was these anglers' use, or lack thereof, of Twitter. Only 1 of the top 10 is currently using Twitter. And, the one using Twitter, hasn't "Tweeted" in nearly a year. But, that's beside the point. At least he's created an account and "squatted" on his name. Twitter, while not providing the any level of reporting, still serves as a great tool to spread a message and build a following. Plus, it can help to extend an angler's reach to another group of people who share similar interests. It all comes back to one thing. Creating, building and maintaining a following on Twitter adds additional value to the angler's brand, thus providing additional value to the angler's sponsors' brand.
Lures are Great, but Understanding How They Work is Essential
A website, Facebook Fan Page and Twitter profile are all simply tools that when combined, can be powerful tools for small business marketing. These tools that can be used to ultimately strengthen an angler's brand and further strengthen the angler's sponsors' brand and the same can be applied to a small business. The only difference is that small businesses don't have sponsors. Instead, they have customers. And a small business' customers are the same as angler's sponsors. The real challenge that exists is deciding how you're going to be social, not why you're going to be social. How you engage with fans and followers can ultimately dictate the success of your social media marketing efforts. The best way to figure out how you're going to be social is experiment. But, before you engage you have to listen to understand what people are talking about and how you can engage in the conversation! It's a big pond, but don't be afraid to go fishing.
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