How Small is your Community

I can remember growing up in what I thought was a small Central Texas town called Harker Heights.  You know, the type of community where you would walk out of the house around 8 AM after breakfast with the family and then be home before it got dark just in time to have dinner with the same kin.  I knew everyone in a 3 mile radius (at least that is how far I would ride my bike daily in all different directions).  On Sundays I saw the same 150 people in Church.  During school, I played with the same kids on the playground.  A big event would be the “new kid” that entered school.  Every Saturday, I was at some sporting event, whether it was a game I played in or one that my sisters competed in.  During dinner time, as my family and I sat around the wooden table breaking bread; I would hear about vacations, deaths, births and typical events that others in the community were experiencing.  It became even more exciting when I visited my Aunt who was always more than happy to share all of the plights, trials and tribulations that our extended family and friends were experiencing.

This was a time that the nightly news came on at 5 PM and then again at 10 PM.  You had to make a phone call pressing buttons on a home phone.  The cord would restrict your movement and if you didn’t memorize the number you would have to look it up in a big book.  There were 12 channels on the TV in the family room.  If your parents didn’t pay for HBO which came out in 1972, you had to squint your eyes to watch in on the fuzzy channel 2 (in my case, I would see a movie I wasn’t supposed to watch and go to my friend’s house across the street to watch it.) Some households still had black and white TV’s like the one that sat on my dresser in my room.  ATARI was about 6 years old and Donkey Kong was the craze.  However, we only played it at dark because there was too much going on during the day.

Now my father was a principal and we moved to several different towns throughout the state of Texas.  We started out in Harker Heights (a smaller town outside of Killeen, Texas) then moved to an even smaller town in North Texas called Valley View where the elementary, middle school and high school were all in one building.  From there my family moved to Gainesville, then Denton, and finally settled in the historical town of Kilgore.  Each town was the same.  I made friends in school and church.  Once we moved, I started all over again and made more friends in another community.

Although technology hadn’t invented the cell phone, satellite radio or all of the other instantaneous satisfactions we have today; I was completely informed of what was going on every day.

Today I live in a suburb just outside of Dallas, Texas and not much has changed in my small community!
However, my community is NOT Rockwall, Texas where I live today that I am talking about here.  Sure, there are parts of Rockwall that are my community, but that is only where I lay my head at night.  I will explain further how I have come to this realization.

My community is very small.

Recently, I spent a month on a farm my wife and I just purchased in Northern Michigan.  I was very apprehensive about spending such a long time away from all of my electronic devices that allow me to work and communicate with the world in the same fashion I have become accustom to.  If truth be told, I think I was the most worried that I wouldn’t have access to a 24 hour news station that kept me up to date with what was happening in the world.  (The town we bought the farm has a population of less than 500 people, no cell towers within an hour and very poor internet connection.)  With a simple purchase of a Verizon JetPack; I found out how small my current community really is but how informative they can be.

Today I noticed ten birthdays, a couple of family members enjoying a beer in Ireland, one of my son’s coaches daughters getting married, my sons friend playing with a Lion in Florida, my wife’s friend sharing her determination in losing the “baby fat” from her recent delivery, several comments about how it is Monday, a friend told me they don’t like Fake People, one of my daughter’s teachers was collecting backpacks for children in Nairobi, and a college buddy of mine  whom I haven’t seen in person in years playing volleyball in his pool.

Yesterday, a former colleague of mine text me.  Now this may not seem like much but we hadn’t talked directly for over 10 years and we knew everything about each other like we had worked together daily.  We didn’t have to carry on a whole lot through text because we knew how our families were doing, what ventures we were up to and all of the experiences that have happened to each other over the last decade.

I can even tell you right now that my childhood best friend who I met in Kindergarten is spending the week in Pikes Peak, has an highly trained chocolate lab, a kid who celebrated his birthday a couple of months ago and is deeply in love with his beautiful wife.  Again, might not seem significant except the last time I talked with him in person was the 5th grade and that was only because I visited him when he moved off to Virginia from Harker Heights.

Yet, my community is very small.

You see Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Flickr and so many other social media sites allow us to experience the day to day lives of people we have come into contact with.  We are able to see kids grow up and get married, enjoy in their successes and consul during tough times.  Social Media has allowed each of us to develop our own personal communities just like the one I grew up in as a child.  Although we have jobs, kids and other life obligations that keep us from talking in person or seeing some of our oldest friends; we are still able to keep them as a daily part of our lives.  My personal community is built of the best of old colleagues and friends from every place I have been employed or lived.  It continues to grow, but only at a pace I allow it to grow.

My community is small compared to many on Facebook as it only consist of 532 people which is just a little larger than the small township our farm resides on in Northern Michigan.  However, it is my community, and the great thing about my community is I can retreat back to it anytime the everyday stresses start to mount.

For more information on how you can utilize Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest or other social media sites into your business community visit DeliveryMaxx at http://www.deliverymaxx.com or contact 888.936.6299.

Is your business Social?

The world today has every business talking about Social Media, Online Reputation, Content Management and other terms which may sound Greek to the average person.  Terms that have turned that geek from your high school into today’s millionaire.  Automotive Dealerships, Churches, Attorneys, Real Estate Agents, and almost every type of business have added so-called digital media experts to their labor pool.  Sometimes starting salaries in upwards of $60,000 to $90,000 have been awarded to twenty-year-old-something wonder kids.  Unfortunately, the results have not always been favorable and many of these companies are no better off than when they first started entering the digital highway.

First things first!  Every business should have a plan.  This is where most companies fail when trying to play in the digital playground.  It starts and ends with leadership.  Many company leaders are very good at what they do, but they do not know how to promote their business digitally.  It’s not because the leader isn’t smart enough.  It’s because they are afraid to learn digital.  These are the leaders that say, “I don’t use Facebook, or know what a Tweet is.”  That doesn’t mean their potential customers are not congregating here, and it certainly doesn’t mean to act like an ostrich burying your head in hopes that the situation will change.  Embrace technology, and have your management team embrace it too.  You don’t have to be an expert, but you do have to use common sense.  Now, I know that isn’t you so keep reading along.

In days passed, leaders understood demographics of who listened to what on the radio (before Satellite), what shows were popular on cable television (before TIVO & DVR), how many newspapers were in circulation (when newspapers still existed), and what highways had the most traffic (Flying cars are on the way, we hope).  The internet isn’t any different.  These same potential customers are now spending thousands of hours in front of their computer getting entertainment, news, and information.  They utilize handheld devices (smartphones, tablets, handheld gaming systems, phasers) easily identifying the trends of the day.  The only difference in 2014 versus 1990 or even the year 2000 is the shift of where potential customers are lurking.   No longer are the days where every progressive city has a mall to attract consumers to shop.  It doesn’t make sense to build these massive structures for shopping just like it doesn’t make sense to throw your money in the wind (toilet) when it comes to advertising and marketing.

If you are still with me, you have completed the first stage by admitting that you have a problem.  This is the biggest hurdle.  So where do you go from here?  It’s easier than you may think.

Now, I am assuming you have a website that tells your story.  If not, stop reading now and start focusing on your website today.  Before you focus on your website, make sure you fire anyone and everyone in your company that has anything to do with your marketing team and the decision not to have an optimal website.

However, if I have not lost you yet then you are probably a company that has Facebook, Twitter, and perhaps even a YouTube account.  You may even have a verified Google Plus and Yahoo page accompanying your digital network or you may even dabble in Pinterest.  This is a great starting point and now you need a plan to make them start working for you.  You can also look in the mirror and be happy that you can briefly understand that your kids are not reverting back to their infant years when they are talking about where they were hanging with their friends (Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat, and Instagram).  (You don’t have to like it, but you do have to accept it.)

Key point number one is to understand that the consumer does not want to know you are advertising to them.  Social Media hot spots are where Person A gives a Shout Out to Person B, or Person C shares a moment on Thursday that happened 10 to 15 years ago.  That doesn’t mean you can’t advertise to potential customers.  You just have to understand there is a way to talk with the consumer without invading their space.

Let me back up my point here.  Facebook has 1.28 Billion active users.  YouTube has a large share of 1 Billion.  Google has 540 million while Twitter grows each day, currently with 255 million users.  Instagram boasts 200 million while LinkedIn has 187 million.  Pinterest is sitting at 70 million and Vine has 40 million.  What highway, radio station, television show, or newspaper has that kind of reach? If your business is not social, and you are not planning to embrace the future, fire yourself!

Are you still with me?  I’m glad because although it makes for an interesting dinner conversation about how you fired yourself, it isn’t pleasant or good for your ego.

Be careful here.  Every 20-something with a computer who wears tight jeans, a t-shirt with a clever saying, and tennis shoes claims to be a social media expert.  Colleges even offer this as a course, and some of you reading this blog have paid for it.  

Social Media was meant for two or more people to hangout (virtually I might add) or communicate in a (virtual) common place of interest.  Now something that you might like to know when it comes to your business.

Social Media has become a place for Person A to brag with Person B through Z and all of B through Z’s friends and family about Little A’s Certificate of Appreciation for enrolling in the running club.  Then you have someone else chime in saying how happy they are for Person A and subtly tell the group how excited they are for their little one who earned the Perfect Attendance Award.  (I know this award has been around forever, but really?  We still give an award for doing what you are supposed to do?)

Social Media is not about posting your product or service three times a day on Facebook.  It isn’t about placing your commercial on YouTube.  It’s not about using 140 characters to remind us to try your widget or read your blog about free-range chickens (or whatever you’re into).  Too many so called social media companies love telling you they manage all of their channels.  Then they are excited to show you how many times they have posted to your network.  Next time asked them point blank if they have ever posted that same content to another one of their clients.  That is not social media.

Now to training 101.  What if you were able to get Person A to share with Person B through Z and all of their friends and family about your product or services you provide?  What if conversations continued about your great product and services on all of the social media channels?  In addition, what if every time you earned a new customer they became another virtual mouthpiece for your company’s product or service.  Not because you asked them or tricked them into singing your praises, but because they wanted to sing your praises.  We are living in times where ordinary people want to promote the businesses and products they enjoy, whether it be a tweet about how excited they are for the latest summer blockbusters, sharing a link on Reddit of a website with really funny T-Shirts, or making a status update about a tasty new flavor of Gatorade, if you use social media to get people excited about your business – they WILL!!!

This is working Social Media.  Now, go be Social!

DeliveryMaxx is a full digital service provider for Social Media Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Search Engine Optimization, and complete Content Management program.  Clients include automotive dealerships, attorneys, church organizations, non-profits, hotels & hospitality and many more.   For more information visit http://www.deliverymaxx.com or contact 888.936.6299.

The Future of Social Media Marketing

The world of social media is constantly changing.  New sites, applications, and features are constantly being implemented and it is near impossible for business owners to oversee their day to day operations AND monitor social media and internet trends.

That is where DeliveryMaxx comes in.  DeliveryMaxx is the most advanced and fastest growing digital media marketing company on the planet.  We do the work for you to ensure you are getting the most return out of online marketing campaigns.

Here is a look at a few ways DeliveryMaxx can help your company grow its online presence:

Specific Consumers

Internet users have the ability to block out unwanted messages.  If a person sees someone wearing a tee-shirt with a unicorn on it that they want they go home and use Google to search for the shirt specifically.  That person will not click on the google advertisement at the top selling non-unicorn tee-shirts, they will continue to search for a company that has the item they’re looking for, and even if 100 companies carry the shirt, the one that gets the sale is the one that promoted their product correctly.  DeliveryMaxx’s experts takes your content and promotes it in ways that it will help people find exactly what they’re looking for, exactly when they’re looking for it.  Trying to force someone to buy something they don’t have any interest in ever purchasing doesn’t work on today’s online consumers.

Appealing to Previous Customers

The term Customer is misleading, you may think you’ve already won their business, but it’s easy to forget that the key word in “social media” is “social,” and you’re customers have A LOT of access to your potential future customers.  Even the shyest person behaves charismatically on social media, particularly about their experiences with brands and businesses.  It is important to think of your social media audiences as potential future customers and referrers of future customers.  If you have 1,000,000 happy customers, and one angry one, odds are your Google Review Page will have one angry review on it.  DeliveryMaxx uses custom built applications that give you and your customers the tools necessary for your happy customers to use their voice online as well.  Through our unique review sites you can encourage your customers to write about their good experience by handing them a keyboard while on site and their glowing recommendations will be visible to the world before they even walk out of your door with a smile on their face.

Being Remarkable

Remember social media networks were designed for humans to interact with humans, not businesses to interact with leads.  When marketing on Facebook or Twitter, you’re not just competing with status updates from other businesses, you’re competing with a video of someone’s niece walking for the first time.  DeliveryMaxx applies an emphasis to creating social media campaigns that are geared towards the customers creating unique content that people are actually interested in and showing that you care about more than selling a product or service.

According to the Integer Group there are 2,314 tweets sent out every single second, so how can you stand out among the chaos?  DeliveryMaxx improves the quality of your content to be more consistent across your social channels and designing content to go viral and help grow your social reach.  We can turn you into the brand or business that people genuinely want to follow and read content from on a daily basis.

These are just a few ways DeliveryMaxx can help your business grow its online presence.  For more information about becoming a DeliveryMaxx client visit http://deliverymaxx.com 

Can Facebook & Social Media Help GM Sell More Vehicles

On May 22, 2012 I wrote a blog asking the public if GM made a wise choice dropping its 10 million dollar advertising spend from Facebook.  (For the entire blog visit: http://deliverymaxx.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/did-gm-make-a-wise-decision-dropping-facebook-as-an-advertising-medium/ )  My position then as it is now is that GM and many automotive dealerships are not utilizing Social Media Marketing correctly in particular Facebook.

In my youth, I lived in a small country town in Texas for a few years.  Often, I would hear the expression, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig…”Decisions regarding advertising by GM look like they are changing, but marketing strategy looks to be the same when you wipe away the “lipstick”.

Often, I quote Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity which is “doing the same action continuously and expecting different results.”

Companies have two schools of thought as to whether it’s worth the investment for paid advertising on Facebook or bypass it and continue using their business fan page which doesn’t cost anything to use instead.  This blog is not entertaining this debate; it is stating that to take part in this particular debate would be the wrong battle to fight altogether.

Advertising 101 says that the more eyes that view your product will give you the exposure to help you sell your product.  It is a law of numbers.  Marketing 101 tells us that the best message that resonates with your audience will help you sell more of your product.  When GM spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in their next advertising & marketing retreat developing the direction of their message, I can’t help to think about how the answer is right in front of their nose.

Advertising 101

Let’s discuss Advertising 101 first.  The more eyes that view your product will give you the exposure to help you sell your product.  Taking this principle to the core- Facebook has over 900 million active users.  Facebook is the world’s largest URL.  Facebook has captured over 75% of Social Media Users.  Your read this correctly.  FACEBOOK is NOT the ONLY GAME in TOWN!  Business must utilize Social Networking sites to market to their potential consumers.  GM needs to develop a strategy that encompasses all of the market.  Most companies try a shot gun approach without truly diving into the analytics of consumer behavior within the confines of Social Networking Sites.  Web 2.0 will allow companies to create a strategy that will weave throughout the web to reach your desired audience.  The key is to create a net large enough that will reach all of your potential consumers.

Marketing 101

Now for the Marketing 101 discussion, I am not going to pretend to have all of the answers for every company’s needed message that they should deliver to the audience.  However, I will stick to the basics.  If a company has a good product or service, a fair price, and exceptional customer care then their brand and reputation will fly through the air like a Michigan cold front in October. The consumer will be the companies best (or worst if one of the three business principles are not met) marketer.

Business 101

Assuming a company has a good product or service, fair price, and exceptional customer care it is necessary to combined Advertising and Marketing like peanut butter and jelly into a strategy that will create the unique taste the consumer is looking for.  Companies need to look at creating a forum (see advertising 101) for their consumer (see marketing 101) to share the benefits and advantages of their product or service.

Results

Key results for automotive dealerships (but you can replace automotive dealerships with any type of company) include strong CSI scores, increased sales, repeat business, more referrals, additional fixed operation revenue, domination of the web or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) value, published positive online reviews or strong Online Reputation Management (ORM), and overall exceptional Customer Loyalty and Retention.  It is about the emotion of the sale isn’t it?  Why not take advantage of what you do the best, and have your customers work to help you sell more vehicles (or product).

About DeliveryMaxx

DeliveryMaxx understands the needs of Automotive Dealerships.  They create real customized solutions that utilize both traditional media and innovative technology that helps dealerships realize tremendous results in turning “one-time customers” into “LIFE-TIME CUSTOMERS”.

For more information, visit http://deliverymaxx.com