Determining which platform to use for business can be a daunting task. I’ve seen small, little-known brands take off like wildfire via Facebook campaigns, while some large companies struggle to make their presence known. Just compare Squishable, a small company out of NYC that has created a very niche market – they have more than 280,000 fans on Facebook and they engage their customers. Yet Staples has less than 200,000 and many of their posts garner less than 8 responses.

Choosing which networks to leverage takes time and requires some key research. There is a place to start, however.

CMO.com (Digital Marketing Insights for CMOs) created a simple chart that tells us which primary outlets are better for the engagement we seek. It’s from 2010, so Google+ isn’t included, but the information overall hasn’t changed.

Use this guide to decide which outlets are best for communication, exposure, promote incoming traffic and increase presence in search engines (branding).

 View full-size PDF CMO.com’s Social Media Landscape

It’s important to realize and remember that there is no cookie-cutter method to using social media to better your business. Little known brands have a much bigger hurdle to jump, but if they listen to their customer base, they can stand to gain a higher percentage of wealth in the long run.

What’s your industry? And what tools have you found to be best for increasing recognition of your brand/company and, ultimately, increasing sales?

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/10/23.
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Post tags: conversion, facebook, marketing, social media, twitter

PayPal later became the norm for eBay and large etailers because it allowed people without credit cards to shop online.

Today, more and more online consumers are flocking to payment methods they feel provide the most security. Ideally, this includes methods that rely on users logging into third-party sites they trust, which, in turn, provide merchants with only a transaction number.

Read full article at Practical eCommerce

Pamela Hazelton is a senior contributor to Practical eCommerce.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/06/24.
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Post tags: conversion, Ecommerce, practical ecommerce

I am not alone…

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Pamela Hazelton is a senior contributor to Practical eCommerce.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/05/27.
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Post tags: conversion, Ecommerce, mobile commerce, practical ecommerce, smartphone

Your return policy can make or break a sale all on its own. Consumers want to feel comfortable about their purchases, and part of that comfort is knowing they can reach out to you if there’s a problem.

Read full article at Practical eCommerce

Pamela Hazelton is a senior contributor to Practical eCommerce.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/05/19.
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Post tags: conversion, Ecommerce, practical ecommerce

You started your dream job twenty years ago. Over the years you’ve been responsible for key changes and advancements in the company. Management sees you as truly dedicated and you’ve worked your way up to a six figure salary.

You’ve tucked away some money for your kids’ college, but also didn’t pass on the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of your labor. So, this past year, you had that in-ground pool installed, upgraded to a nice, but not too pricey, sports car and picked up annual passes to Disney to put smiles on your childrens’ faces.

You’re living comfortably, even though the bulk of the money you’ve saved is earmarked toward college tuition.

This morning, you wake up, hop in your new car, hitting the local cafe before heading into work. You pull into the company lot, and head for the front door.

But… it’s locked.

There are no lights on, and few cars parked. You and a handful of your coworkers stand outside, wondering what’s going on. Then, your boss pulls up, and gives you the bad news. The company is now closed. Not due to the economy or failing product line, but rather, because he was so intrigued by what the Internet had to offer he decided to take all that hard work you and everyone else has done and offer up the product plans online… for free. After all, information wants to be free, no?

Sound absurd? Perhaps, but those downloading illegal music, movies, books and software are creating a very similar impact. You know who else is? The rest of us.

When did we become a society that thinks others should be offering up their hard work for free outside of charitable contributions? When did it become okay for someone to give up their dream job to put food on the table when that dream job, within all legal limits, would pay the bills?

More importantly, when did we become so expectant and accepting of others’ notion of getting things for free that we made “freemium” a primary focus of our own business models?

It doesn’t matter how (or exactly when) this all started. What matters is what we do with the information we’ve amassed, often at great costs.

How much money does someone who provides a wealth of free content really make selling premium goods? The answer: Not nearly as much as he could.

We’ve taken the traditional “sample taste” and “try before you buy” and turned it into “sample how easy it is to tie all the pieces together and learn my entire business model.” Think that’s an overstatement? For some, maybe, but for most, there’s so much time spent giving “tidbits” away that it’s difficult to keep track of what you actually gave. And if you are holding back (likely not nearly enough), someone else is there to fill the void.

The worst thing about “free” is it totally devalues everything we’ve done thus far. I don’t know about you, but my education was not free. The time I’ve spent researching, analyzing and strategizing came at great cost.

John Jantsch made some pretty bold statements about “information wants to be free” at the AmEx Open Forums. (Read: 5 Reasons Free is Hurting Us All)

When content is consistently given away it loses its value–not only for the producer, but also in the eyes of the content consumer.

- John Jantsch

John’s right. It’s time we step back and rethink things. If that means experiencing a slow season while we re-educate users, we can only benefit in the long run.

I’ve read many articles on this topic, along with comments by those who say we must provide valuable goods, services or knowledge for free in order to attract a bigger clientele or new customers. I’ve heard the arguments that say we need to give and give and give in order to build our lists. And I call foul.

To those who really think all this free content is necessary to bring real people through the door, I can only ask, “Whatever happened to the testimonial?”

With all the advances in technology, one element of business hasn’t changed: the power of “word of mouth” advertising. Therein lies the possibilities of real success. After all, if people aren’t talking about you, even the free content you’re offering is worth just that: zilch.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/05/19.
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Post tags: conversion, freemium, marketing, Mistakes That Kill, social media

It’s okay to ask for them…

For every complaint you hear, there are at least ten consumers who walked away silently. Later, perhaps, they’ll complain about you to their friends or on Facebook, but the majority of customers who feel they’ve been done wrong will never take the time to tell you.

The same can be said for enjoyable experiences. It’s a small percentage of happy customers who will invest the effort to write you (or post directly to your social media account). A thrilling experience doesn’t always trigger a promotional response. Still, that doesn’t mean people aren’t willing to oblige when asked.

How to Ask for a Testimonial

First and foremost, don’t follow the example of what I call “eBay stuck-ups”. These sellers – often using bold, large type – explain that they will only give positive feedback if it’s first received. In their minds, the two-way street starts with the consumer taking first action. Note: These sellers never get feedback from me at all, because my testimonials are not for sale.

Instead, initiate contact by first thanking the customer, and ensuring him/her that you’re available should there be any questions. Use positive verbiage without drawing too much attention to yourself.

Try this:

Thanks again for shopping with XYZ-Store! We truly appreciate your business. We’re available to answer any questions you may have (you can reply to this email or visit our contact page).

We rely on our customers for our continued success. We hope you’ll consider posting a testimonial about your experience so others may understand what to expect when shopping with us.

Simple and to the point. Notice there’s no incentive other than them helping you succeed. Companies shouldn’t buy testimonials. It makes them worthless. And, yes, businesses found to have jimmied, faked or otherwise offered goods in return for a great rating risk losing more than just their credibility. Because, as luck would have it, shady business tactics gain the most attention in our social world.

When should you ask for this all-important feedback? Ten to 14 days after the shipment has been received. Be sure to consider order processing and shipping times. So, if an order typically takes one day to process and three days to reach the customer, your default follow-up time would be 14-18 days. You want to give the customer time to open the package (hey, people get busy; I’ve been known to wait a week before opening a box) and use the product.

Remember these important tips as well:

• Post a Disclaimer–be sure to tell the customer you may use their comments in any and all promotional materials for the business. Also state that it’s possible that their testimonial may not be used.
• Edit Carefully–The only time you should modify a testimonial is to correct spelling, glaring grammatical errors (you don’t want the customer to feel stupid) and to hyperlink to any specifically named products. Anything beyond that and you need to ask the customer (or ditch the comment altogether).
• Avoid Posting Overly Gratuitous Prose–A testimonial should convey a customer’s satisfaction, trust and likelihood of using your services again. However, some customers think it’s better to go way over-the-top. These types of statements can appear made-up. If you know the customer well, you may want to ask him or her to tone it down. Otherwise, file it away for private ego-boosting.

One last thing. Be careful with automation tools. You definitely want a way to remove a message out of the send queue to avoid contacting customers whose orders were canceled or those who expressed they had a bad experience. You don’t want to initiate a negative response due to carelessness or an automated feedback query.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/21.
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Post tags: communication, conversion, Ecommerce, marketing

His words ring true.

In a recent interview at Forbes, Kawasaki expands on the topic:

You still have to pay someone to suck up to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal… But you should also be sucking up to Lonelyguy15. – Guy Kawasaki (via Forbes)

Imagine that. While the press is putting its focus on bringing us nobodies stories about popular somebodies, real, passionate companies want us on the red carpet touting their products. They even want us nobodies to tell them how to do their job.

Kawasaki’s goal is make more companies realize the benefit of being real and passionate. By reaching out to nobodies, who tend to be more discretionary with their money and (hopefully) sharing, even the smallest of businesses can find ways to thrive.

Hear that, business leaders? I’m a nobody and proud of it! Want my autograph?

Read the full interview…

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/15.
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Post tags: conversion, marketing, social media

In his concise, logical post, Brogan explains how an order of fajita’s passing through a restaurant dining room triggers more orders (ooh, the sizzle; ooh, the smell—its enough to make me want to head to On the Border right now).

Brogan’s idea is to offer incentives to customers if they tweet their purchase.

Know what? It could work.

There are already social sites that allow users to share their purchase information—what they bought and how much they spent—but such services require users be connected (much like you must be friends with a Facebook’er to see what he/she is sharing). Brogan’s concept is similar, but provides for broader reach using platforms most of our friends already use. The question is—as he puts it—how do you tempt others to follow suiy when they can’t “smell the fajitas”?

Some of Brogan’s loyal followers have posted creative ideas, the most compelling being offering a small discount (like 5%) if someone agrees to tweet or like their purchase in real-time. Some online stores already have “I just bought” tweet functionality built-in, but, for most, there’s no real way to confirm if the shopper actually completes the task. Thus, a real-time discount would require some development work if the store owner wants to prevent rewards hitting those who don’t hold up their end of the bargain. For some shopping carts it could mean generating coupons for a future purchase.

Instant gratification (discounts now, rather than later) is a great way to close sales. The way I see it, social media could easily play a big role in not only finalizing purchases, but bringing more people in the door.

What say you? Is live-tweeting what you’re buying worth a discount? Are consumers willing to share their purchases with the world?

Chime in below.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/13.
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Post tags: conversion, facebook, marketing, social media, twitter

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© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/03/24.
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The checkout page(s) are your last chance to seal the deal and complete a sale. The process itself can make or break the transaction. Confused shoppers may contact you for assistance, but they account for a small percentage of people who have difficulties. The majority of shoppers encountering checkout problems will simply abandon shopping carts and look elsewhere.

Read the full article at Practical eCommerce

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/02/24.
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Post tags: conversion, Ecommerce, Mistakes That Kill, practical ecommerce, shopability, usability