Skagit Marketing & La Conner Chamber of Commerce Facebook Up
Posted on | January 17, 2012 | No Comments
Facebook Power Hour Workshop Wrap-Up
Posted on | December 6, 2011 | No Comments
Thank you to everyone who attended the Facebook 101 (beginning) Power Hour. We have already had many requests for more, more and more! As long as the La Conner Chamber of Commerce keeps sponsoring the workshops, we will keep talking and teaching the power of Facebook and Social Media for small businesses and non-profits.
You can take a look at the presentation from Facebook Power Hour. You will not get the meat of the workshop, which is the live demonstration, but you will pick up some tips and get the checklist. We are looking forward to more power hours and going to the intermediate and advanced level as well.
Tags: facebook > facebook la conner > facebook pages > facebook workshops > la conner chamber of commerce
New Media Marketing Workshop Series
Posted on | November 14, 2011 | 2 Comments
Recently, we held a New Media Marketing workshop in La Conner in order to help our local businesses find ways to capture more business by taking advantage of today’s social media solutions. Thank you to everyone who attended our hour-long workshop! For those who were there, and for those of you who missed our first one, read on for some great tips to get you thinking.
In the workshop, we ask this question: Where do you (a small business) spend your marketing dollars? If you are working in an “old media” frame of mind, you’re spending your dollars on direct mail campaigns, yellow-page advertising, ineffective print advertising and static websites. If you’re working in a “new media” frame of mind, you’re spending your dollars on e-newsletters, dynamic websites with blogs, effective print advertising (integrating 2D or QR codes) facebook postings, tweets, and a YouTube channel.
Take a minute and print out the budget worksheet. Write down your current advertising outlets and what you think you’ve spent thus far in 2011 for each one. Then ask yourself, “What kind of results am I getting? How do I quantify my results?” For most of us, quantifying results through “old media” is quite difficult – it’s very hard to measure success. However, when you work with “new media”, you have tools available that will quickly show you who is paying attention to you, what they’re looking at that you’ve put in front of them, and how much mileage you’re getting from every dollar you spend.
After you have a fairly good idea of where you’re currently spending your marketing dollars, take a few minutes to think about the cost difference between “old media” and “new media”. Here’s an example of two different budgets – notice how the two compare, and how much more exposure the business on the right generates (and for significantly less money) simply by focusing on “new media” strategies.
Then, start thinking about ways you can capture more interest … and more business … by taking advantage of “new media” solutions like a dynamic website, with new, interesting and fresh content, an e-newsletter campaign, a social media campaign that includes Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and a very strategic plan for your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
We’ve been talking a lot lately about New Media Marketing because we honestly believe that it is the most effective way for small businesses to find their niche, generate new customers and clients and ultimately increase their bottom line. Take a moment to work with the New Media Checklist to see where you stand.
Because we feel that every business needs to create a “new media” plan, but we also know that it’s awfully hard to know where to start, we are offering a complimentary 1-hour consultation to help you determine where to begin, and what tools might be of the most benefit to you and your business. E-mail julie@skagitmarketing.com or janet@writeology.net to schedule!
Here are the additional resources you asked for to learn more about New Media Marketing.
Lastly, here is an example of how Julie was able to easily create content and re-purpose.
Tags: content management systems > facebook > marketing workshops > new media > old media > seo > Social Media > tweeter
Increase Sales with Social Media Marketing: A Workshop
Posted on | November 7, 2011 | No Comments
If you’re not paying attention to social media marketing and how it is changing the face of retail business, you’re missing out on a whole lot of potential revenue. Traditional marketing will never go away, but social media marketing is so important these days! Right now, Facebook users total 77% of the U.S. population – in Western Washington alone, that’s more than 1 million people on Facebook who are talking about their lives, talking about their interests and talking about (and referring!) the businesses that they know, like and trust. Is your business on their list?
There are easy ways to successfully tap into social media marketing, without a lot of cost, and without a lot of time. Want to know how? Join Julie Burgmeier/Skagit Marketing and Janet Gifford/Writeology for a free one-hour Chamber workshop that will make you a believer, and get you started on the right path to generating more business using social marketing.
E-mail: director@laconnerchamber.com to register. Free for La Conner Chamber Members or $15 for “potential” members. 1-hour workshop on November 14th from 8:30-9:30 am at the Wild Iris Meeting Room.
What Squirrels and Marketing Have In Common
Posted on | October 25, 2011 | 2 Comments
I’ve been having a lot of fun lately watching the squirrels in our yard scurry to and fro. They run up a tree, down a tree, along the fence, down the fence, leap from one branch to another, then back to the fence, then back to the tree. Then they chase a buddy squirrel around the tree, along the fence and back up the tree. Then they stop for 15 seconds to catch their breath (I’d be wheezing if I were a squirrel!) … then off they go again.
It’s an exhausting life being a squirrel. So much food to gather and hide; so little time before winter comes.
Watching the squirrels this morning got me to thinking about marketing. I know … it’s an oddly random way to get from point A (squirrels) to point B (marketing), but hear me out.
Even with all that scurrying around – with all that food-caching going on – I’ll bet you 99% of the squirrels in the world don’t remember where 99% of their nuts and seeds are, 20 minutes after they hide them. While there may be some sort of squirrel science involved here, to me it looks completely haphazard.
Which is how I got from squirrels to marketing. (Brains like mine tend toward random free-association.) So today’s post is about my theory of “squirrel marketing”.
If you’re scurrying around in your marketing efforts using a relatively haphazard plan (trying to figure out the best and most cost-effective ways to market your business, your product or your service) you’re not going to see the results you’re hoping for.
Squirrel marketing does not work.
Running up and down very tall trees all the time … with nothing more than a haphazard approach … will not only make you dizzy, it will always give you less than stellar results.
Here are two things you should do right now that will get the results you need to stay successful and profitable.
- Say goodbye to shotgun advertising. Instead of the Yellow Page ad you buy every year that is completely haphazard in who it reaches, send out a monthly or quarterly email newsletter to the people who already know you, like you and trust you. Target your marketing to those people who are most likely to continue to buy from you, and who will happily tell their friends and family about you. The savings you’ll get from email marketing will easily leave you with more money for #2 … which is …
- Say hello to being online – big time. Today, your website is likely your most important piece of marketing – and one that you can’t ignore any longer! If your site is more than 18 months old, you need to upgrade. You don’t necessarily need a whole new site, but you do need some new features and you definitely need fresh new content. The world is trying to find you online these days – and I’ll bet that they’re not finding you very easily. They also expect a whole lot more from your website. Is yours up to their expectations?
If you’re worried about generating new business by letting go of things like your Yellow Page ad, stay tuned – because that’s the next subject I’m going to cover. There are many ways of generating new business these days that are infinitely more effective and much less expensive.
Whatever your marketing plan looks like, make sure your plan is cohesive, focused and targeted, rather than haphazard and ineffective. No more squirrel marketing.
Tags: Content Marketing > e-newsletter > email marketing > new content > website redesign
Want More Sales? Engage on Facebook!
Posted on | September 20, 2011 | No Comments
Today I was talking to a client about the struggles of trying to run a busy retail business, and yet still stay connected to the customers who keep her business afloat, but don’t come in every day (or week, or even month). She’s trying to post on her Facebook business page more regularly to stay in touch with everyone, but she’s having trouble thinking of things to post. Here is a list of 3 things that she can do right now to get started, and then 2 ideas to plan for down the road.
What’s new, right now, in your business?
- Have you put your fall line(s) out? Tell us about them! Take pictures – show us how cool things are and invite us to come see what’s new. Fall clothes … especially … have yummy textures and patterns. Describe them for us.
- If you have a new service, let us know why it’s perfect for us. Describe it, then add the important WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) piece.
- Take pictures of your store, your storefront, the flowers in the box outside, your staff, or a particular product that you want to highlight. It’s summer produce season – do you sell a kitchen tool that makes slicing zucchini a breeze?
Create a plan – it will make it much easier!
- Put a notepad by your register, or somewhere close to where your staff is. Ask your staff to jot down ideas for posts. Did you have an interesting conversation today that could be a fun post? Did someone give you a great tip? Did you hear a neat story about how one of your customers or clients used something they bought from you? It’s all about engaging folks so that they can get to know who you really are, and then giving them reasons to come see you again (and again, and again)!
- Take advantage of buying cycles. Every successful business knows what their buying cycles look like – do you know yours? Who is buying what from you – and when are they buying it? Once you know that, create quick Facebook posts based on that idea. Think about my example above with the zucchini slicer. If you are a kitchen store and late summer/fall means your customers are in buying pots to process homemade salsa and food processors for pesto, tell them what’s new and why they need it. If you’re a hardware store and fall means yard cleanup, what garden tools do you have that should be in everyone’s garden shed?
Here’s a quick example for a women’s clothing store. Post a picture of your favorite fleece jacket and then a caption: ”Our fall line of luscious, super-soft and fuzzy fleece pullovers just arrived! The colors are fabulous and will give you that outdoorsy glow, even if you’re more of a sit-inside-by-the-fire sort of girl. Here’s a picture, but you really need to come in and feel the fabric.”
Engaging with your customers and clients doesn’t have to be a chore (although it’s easy to get into that mindset). Your posts can – and should – be short, interesting, and fun snippets of information that keep you top-of-mind with the people who already know you and like you.
Ready to post? Tell us what’s new and why we need it!
This Is Way Right – Welcome Writeology
Posted on | September 13, 2011 | No Comments
Introducing (drum roll please) Janet Gifford, owner of Writeology, to the Skagit Marketing team. Janet joins us as a team blogger and content writer.
Want someone to take over the task of your e-newsletter, think Janet. Want someone to add articles to your website or blog, think Janet. Want someone to be your facebook/twitter voice, think Janet. Want your business to not show up at the top of the google search page, think again.
SXSW – A Creative Convergence
Posted on | March 12, 2011 | No Comments
I landed in Texas today. Austin that is. Guitars and baggage at the airport. Sun shining and tex mex restaurants line the drive. I find the Austin Convention Center (SXSW headquarters) no problem, score a parking spot and pick up my $1,025 badge to wear for the week (hoping nobody steals it right off my neck). Creative thought landed me here with a home exchange, car exchange, and work exchange (for a badge exchange) all while being able to do my consulting work on the road.
The best thing about the badge is free drinks, food and music. After circling the convention center I land at the loftesque corporate office of uShip, inhale a couple plates of food (starving), grab a beer and rock out (with a small group of uShip employees and anyone else who was on the list to get in) with White Denim. I meet Marshall who gives me a great tip for planning my music schedule: NPR’s Austin 100 which includes the band he will be playing with: Adam Arcuragi. SXSW Music – Film – Interactive (MARKETING)… I think this is going to be a good week.
Re-Brand – it’s makeover time
Posted on | December 16, 2010 | No Comments
So you have a brand which includes the name, symbol/logo, tag line, colors, look/feel which all together identify your products and/or services. Ask yourself, is my brand truly differentiating my products/services from my competition and telling a story? If the answer is no, you may be ready for a re-brand.
Before and After
Vital Earth Traditions owner, Kelly Ring, was ready for a brand makeover. Skagit Marketing happily took on the re-brand including restrategizing, realigning and re-branding Vital Earth Traditions. The makeover includes (and is still in the works) new logo and labels, realigned brand messaging (key messages), brand integration (key message everywhere in your biz), tagline (essence of your brand), and brand standards (consistent thru-out). Goodbye dusty back shelf of health food store and hello world here we come.
BEFORE
AFTER
A-G-E
Posted on | October 29, 2010 | No Comments
Trail running this morning, I mentioned to my running partner “My ligament on the outside of my right knee is hurting….do you know what this could be from?” in which she replied “Yes, A-G-E”. What do you mean! I don’t know anyone who is getting younger, but my most recent website launch and client, BellinghamLaser.com, is an expert on reversing the aging process when it comes to skin. 
Rhonda McLaughlin, Director of Bellingham Laser & Aesthetics Center, and I worked together from Bellingham Laser & Aesthetics Center infancy including creation of a Facebook Business Page, promoting their launch party, and completion of Bellinghamlaser.com. Rhonda did an amazing job working on content for the website and quickly absorbing any information I sent her way. As current and compelling content is the heart of successful Content Marketing, knowing how to manage and upload your content is imperative to a successful website. Content marketing strategy for a website starts from the first client meeting and is integrated every step of the way. And yes…it takes some A-G-E to understand 
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