Here are a few quick tips and reminders about how NOT to use social media (that is Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, YouTube and the like) when promoting your locally owned, independent small business. If you want to upset customers in your store – ignore them. The same goes for the web. Your customers REALLY don’t see a huge difference in the reality of the web and the brick and mortar… maybe you still do, but I promise – they don’t. So, use the web to leverage your time and your customer relationships. And by all means – don’t turn your back on anyone at the party. It’s not nice…

Here are some specific tips. Let me know what you think and add your own in the comments section!

Do NOT Use Social Media as…

• An outlet for traditional media – For example, don’t post the graphic from your recent direct mail campaign blindly and expect that people will care.
• An online billboard – Don’t constantly announce and scream promotions and push an offer or even a subtle marketing message towards your fans/followers exclusively. This is not a billboard for you to spit out information and no one to talk back to you.
• A 100% free tool – While New Media TOOLS are often free to use, the time, strategy development, and even some elements of advanced use cost money. The point is that $100 goes a long way on New Media—web sites are cheaper and more social; strategy development is more straightforward; and the results are all but immediate. For FAR less investment, you can gain impressive and quick returns.
• A magic wand – It’s not a “build it and they will come” sort of media any more than a web site is. You must promote your social media presence elsewhere and engage in its use strategically or your use of the tools will fail. It’s more about HOW you use it – just being “on” social media doesn’t mean you will improve your results.
• A place to ignore other humans – Rude is no more popular or socially acceptable online than off. It’s still rude to ignore someone standing in the same room with you or to slam a door in someone’s face. The same applies on social media. Whether you know them or not, kindness and respect for other humans is always in good taste.
• A platform to be distasteful – Don’t post or allow employees to post anything negative towards other humans or anything that is distasteful. If your grandmother would have so much as given you a sideways glance, don’t post it. Big personalities are welcome – as long as they’re clean personalities.

Business & E-mail Marketing Lessons from Restauranteur Jeff Good

Have you been revolutionary this week? I hope so… Let’s get started with this week’s marketing lesson on E-mail Marketing.

Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.

Last week, we learned how important it is to be “consistent in the small things” and to “do what makes your heart sing” from small business owner turned publishing superstar, Jill Conner Brown (aka THE Sweet Potato Queen and Multiple #1 New York Times Bestselling Author).

This week, Jeff Good, co-owner of three locally owned and operated restaurants, started off the ResultsRevTV episode again discussing consistency. Maybe moving mountains and finding success means just being consistent and reliable in what you can get done in your business? How can you be more consistent this week in your marketing and customer experience?

Building Blocks for an Effective E-mail Marketing Program

Yesterday, Jeff spent a lot of time talking to us about his highly successful e-mail marketing efforts. Here are a few tips you can apply to find success in your own e-mail marketing campaigns this week:

• Use a robust software solution for your e-mail marketing. This assures you are compliant with Federal spam laws and that you have access to valuable customer insights and analytics.

• Practice using the software by sending test messages to yourself over and over again until you get it right. Don’t practice on your customers, or you’ll hurt your brand by sending out e-mails that look BAD.

• Use an e-mail solution that has a “schedule your campaign” feature. Make sure you know how to use that feature! This will allow you to create campaigns on your schedule – and send them at the best time for your customers. Jeff has learned that Monday afternoon and Tuesday mornings are his best times to send for a great response.

• Collect e-mail addresses consistently and aggressively. They are GOLD to you and will contribute mightily to your business success now and far into the future.

• Accept that the balancing act between e-mailing too much and not informing your customers is a delicate one. When in doubt, make sure your customers are informed. They can delete the e-mail if they wish, but remember that they chose to be on your list.

• Don’t be a spammer. That means NOT collecting e-mails wherever you can (like from the CC: line of a chain e-mail). Only send e-mails to those who requested them. Jeff admitted that he was a recovering spammer, and he recommends again such practices.

• Respect privacy. Always do the RIGHT thing by your customers by never sharing their e-mail address or your list as a whole with anyone, even your closest ally in business. Have thick skin and don’t let it bother you when people unsubscribe from your list – even if it’s your best friend.

• Never send e-mail just to send it. Only send valuable e-mails.

BONUS: Jeff on Customer Complaints & Employees

Jeff also shared some general wisdom that he’s learned from more than fifteen years in the restaurant business:

• Create a vehicle to collect customer complaints. Jeff uses highly visible printed comment cards in his restaurants. They process approximately 200 cards a week – some complimentary; a few not so much.

• Take customer complaints seriously. Create a system that allows you to respond to complaints quickly and consistently. But also nurture an environment with your employees where complaints make it to you, the owner, so that you can ALL learn from these complaints/mistakes together.

• When you receive a complaint, go out of your way and over the top to make it right. When someone praises you, say thank you. Jeff sends a small gift card as a thank you to customers of his fine dining restaurant for every comment card they submit.

• The quality of the business that you build will determine the quality of the employees you will attract.

Want more?
How many e-mails does Jeff have in his database? What campaign has been his most successful to date? How does he consistently sell out events using nothing more than e-mail marketing? Watch the full episode archive HERE and learn the answers to all of those questions and much more.

Jeff Good is co-owner of Mangia Bene Restaurant Group, a locally owned and operated restaurant group in Jackson, Miss. Jeff and his partner Dan Blumenthal own and operate their original, high quality, high touch restaurant concepts Bravo! Italian Restaurant & Bar, Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint, and Broad Street Baking Company as well as Mangia Bene Catering.

You may reprint this article in its entirety if you attribute the article to the Results Revolution and include our mission statement and website address in the credits.

Editor’s Note: This post was submitted by Mike Ingalls, FOX 40 News Director in Jackson, Mississippi. They are great supporters of small businesses, especially through their social media engagement and web site.

It is tradition that good magicians don’t reveal their secrets.  News people do not live up to the same strict standards as magicians.  Hopefully, that will help your small business. In fact, I’m going to reveal how you can get FREE advertising, by getting your store in a local news story.  You don’t have to spend money to get your message on local television news programs, but you will need to spend some time making relationships.  Right now, you should look up the telephone number for all of your local newsrooms.  Don’t just call your favorite station!  That would limit your chances of getting air time.  Call and ask to talk to the assignment manager (one tip, call around 10am, 1pm, or 3pm; those are usually slower times of the day, but if the person sounds busy, call back at another time).  Tell the assignment manager what type of business you run, what topics you can speak about on camera, and ask them to put you on their list of contacts.  Leave your name and cell phone and tell them you would be willing to be a source for any future stories.

So, what happens when they take you up on the offer?  You must understand that news people are fighting the clock and several deadlines every day.  If you get a call at 10:00 a.m., the reporter needs to get you on camera as soon as possible.  To get this free advertising, YOU need to find a way to make yourself available.  One quick story; we were doing a story about Ole Miss potentially replacing the plantation owner mascot.  Our reporter called a local business that sells Ole Miss paraphernalia and he was told by the owner that she couldn’t talk because she was stocking shelves.  For the purpose of this lesson, we heard “No, I don’t want more than a minute of free advertising.”  Instead, we ended up at a local mall.  “I’m not wearing make-up, I didn’t do my hair this morning, and the store is a mess” are other reasons interview requests have been turned down by small business owners.  If you take one thing away from this article make it this; if you say no to an interview that will get you free publicity, your competitor may say yes.  Make some phones calls, and when they pay off with an interview request, make the excuses for why you can’t do the interview disappear.

Small business owners can learn about how to use product samples to catapult their business forward from e-commerce and wholesale greeting card entrepreneur Grace Bateman, owner of Peru Paper Company, at a free event next Tuesday, March 16, 2010.

Bateman will be the featured small business owner on ResultsRevTV; the show will be webcast before a live audience from the LemuriaBooks.com building in Jackson, Miss. The event is free and open to the public. Local small business owners are encouraged to attend.

As owner of Peru Paper Company, a company that produces and sells high-quality, handmade stationery and paper products from recycled materials, employing underprivileged and marginalized women in Peru who would otherwise not have the opportunity to make a livable wage to support their families, Grace Bateman has gotten the word out by telling her story to anyone who would listen and sharing samples of her beautiful, intricate, handmade cards wherever she can – including an Oscar “swag bag” that went to 25 A-list celebrities last week in Hollywood. Grace will be sharing how she discovers WHERE to send samples, HOW she packages and presents her cards, WHY telling your story is so valuable and much more on next week’s show.

This event is the second in a series of weekly webcasts of ResultsRevTV and part of the Results Revolution (www.resultsrevolution.com). ResultsRevTV is the show where small business owners learn how to grow their businesses through smarter marketing. Each week, attendees will learn from the experience of a successful small business owner. The event will include live question and answer time as well as door prizes and a special gift for local attendees.

In the Jackson, MS area, bring your lunch and join us live at Noon in the LemuriaBooks.com Building (adjacent to Banner Hall on I-55 North between Northside & Meadowbrook). Wherever you are, you may join us live on the web at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/resultsrev.

The Results Revolution is a nationwide initiative seeking to create strong economies through locally owned and operated small businesses. The Results Revolution encourages consumers to shop locally, equips small businesses to do effective marketing, and facilitates networking among the business community. The Results Revolution was founded as a free resource for small business owners by Jackson area marketing consultants, Marianna and Andy Chapman.

Marketing Lessons & Publicity Tips from THE Sweet Potato Queen

This week on ResultsRevTV, we learned from Multiple #1 New York Times Bestselling Author and small business mega-success story, Sweet Potato Queen Jill Conner Browne. Jill had a lot share, especially on the topic of dealing with the public – from her customers to the media. Best of all she offered encouragement to all of us as small business owners to “do what makes your heart sing.” Jill said the best advice she ever received was to “do what makes your heart sing – what you are passionate about – and the money will follow.”

While many of these pieces of advice are simple, few of us apply them consistently in our businesses. Based on Jill’s experience and success, consistency in the small things could mean big returns for your small business. Here’s how you can apply what we learned from Jill to your own small business this week:

1. Improve your customer relations by responding to each and every e-mail you receive. Always. (And Facebook messages, etc.)

2. When the media calls, be confident. You know more about your small business than anyone else. The media is calling you because they need answers – not because they already know.

3. Once a media interview is scheduled, ask for the questions up front. This helps assure that you and the interviewer are on the same page and helps prevents awkward situations and dead air, especially during live broadcasts.

4. When the media calls, be ready to answer. Don’t delay answering the media even for a few hours. And be prepared to answer the onslaught of subsequent inquiries, orders and web traffic that are sure to follow media exposure.

5. Be generous. Jill says the “first thing you do with your business is give away 10% of it to someone who needs it more than you.”

6. When you learn or benefit from another, always give credit where credit is due. Jill is tremendously humble and quick to share the names of those who have helped her along the way; she encourages all business owners to do the same.

After the live broadcast ended, Jill shared some bonus marketing tips with our studio audience. Many in our audience thought they were her best insights of the day. While we can’t possibly recreate the hilariously funny stories that she told while sharing these marketing tips, we thought we’d at least share the advice with you here:

1. At events, always have a notebook out to collect e-mail addresses, so you can stay in touch with customers and potential customers alike.

2. Use a unique business card. Jill’s hot pink, black ink only business card has her vital info on one side and on the reverse it says “Lick You All Over. 10 cents.” Underneath in small print it says “Call to inquire about our other services.” She claims not one person has ever lost her business card, and she has used the same simple card for two decades. While this somewhat risqué approach is certainly not for every business, there is a lesson to be learned. Be memorable, especially on your business card.

ResultsRevTV is the show where small business owners learn how to grow their businesses by marketing smarter. Each and every week, a successful small business owner will teach us how by sharing their own marketing experiences. ResultsRevTV streams live every Tuesday at noon CST. To attend the live broadcast or watch on the web, learn more here.

Tomorrow, we’ll learn from the e-mail marketing master of our local market – Jeff Good. As I’m prepping for our visit tomorrow, I am reminded that all great marketing campaigns start with DOING SOMETHING. I can promise you that 11 years ago when I started HALO, I had NO IDEA that I would get to this place where we are creating a completely FREE marketing and shop local resource for small, independently owned businesses.

Often, when we START something, we have NO idea where it will lead. We can’t fathom the end results – but we can envision something greater than where we are today. I can’t say for certain, but I bet Jeff Good could never have imagined the impact that collecting e-mail addresses would ultimately have on his business as it is today. It’s HUGE for his three amazing restaurants and catering company. Jeff can move the needle by sending an e-mail.

But what if he’d waited to collect e-mails until he had a purpose for them? You can probably imagine a purpose for a great e-mail list – but what if you only have 50? Or less?

DO SOMETHING. Everything great started somewhere. Nothing good ever happened from waiting.

Start today. Collect e-mail addresses from every customer, prospect, vendor, and friend that you have. Have your employees do the same. Find creative ways to collect the e-mails. The time is now. Waiting until you have an important message to send is TOO LATE.

If you’re already collecting e-mail addresses, find ways to do it more efficiently and more consistently. Like anything else, there is always room for improvement, and it is a rare case where every single possible e-mail address is collected.

E-mail is still a very powerful and effective marketing tool for small, locally owned businesses. Do not let even a single opportunity to communicate so affordably and directly pass you by. Make e-mail address collection a bold, priority initiative for your business starting today. It’s the first step in getting ready to do REALLY big things (and getting really big results for your marketing).

When thinking about every single aspect of your small business marketing, make sure that your “brand” never disappears or is weakened through the loss of one or more elements. Make sure that every single marketing piece – whether signage, business cards, advertisements or your Facebook Page – sticks to your brand:

1. Logo. (Use in the same ratio and clear resolution, no matter what.)
2. Color Scheme. (Make sure you know the exact Pantone color or process color formula for your exact brand color or colors. If you don’t know what this means, sound off in the comments, and we’ll be happy to collectively answer your questions!)
3. Domain Name. This is your URL or www.mycompanyname.com. Yes, every single business needs a web site because 63% of ALL consumers across all demographics visit a web site before making a brick and mortar buying decision (USA Today/Neilson study, April 2009). This is not optional. Neither is the inclusion of your domain name of every single communication or brand presence that you make public. Put your URL EVERYWHERE.

Use all three of these elements consistently and constantly. You will be surprised at the improved effectiveness of your marketing overall when you take care of this seemingly small and sideline piece of your overall marketing puzzle.