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Social Media Small Business Success Stories

You don’t have to be a big brand to use social media successfully. In fact, some of the most striking social media success stories come from small businesses that use social media to market their products and services in creative ways. Sometimes, taking a look at what other companies have done can help jump-start your own creativity and give you ideas about how to more effectively implement social media in your own marketing efforts. With that in mind, here are 5 small businesses using social media to achieve real, measurable success:

Naked Pizza

Of course, we have to start this post with a shout out to our fellow New Orleanians at Naked Pizza. As Entrepreneur Magazine noted when it covered them last month, Naked Pizza considers itself “a social media company that sells pizza,” as well as a healthier lifestyle. Naked Pizza uses Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to connect with customers. The Twitter account tweets specials, news and nutrition tips.

What have they got to show for it? Well, a few days ago they expanded from the original NOLA store, opening their first franchise location in Miami, Florida. Per Entrepreneur, the company now has over 300 stores under development in 18 markets and 6,297 Twitter followers, many of whom are just waiting for a Naked Pizza franchise to open up near them.

Creme Brulee Man

San Francisco’s Curtis Kimball is also known as the Creme Brulee Man. He operates a small creme brulee cart, selling out of this world flavors like vanilla bean, lavender and Mexican chocolate. He uses Twitter to keep his 13,397-and-counting followers updated on what flavors he’s offering and where his cart will be. You can read more about he uses Twitter on the New York Times and in TechCrunch.

Emerson Salon

Emerson Salon, located in Capitol Hill, Washington (near Seattle), uses Twitter and Facebook to drive word-of-mouth. They do this so effectively that according to Penn Olson, Twitter and Facebook alone bring in 75% of the salon’s business. Impressive!

Humphrey Slocombe

This tiny ice cream shop in San Francisco is known for inventive flavors like prosciutto and an extremely entertaining, slightly off-color Twitter account. In the New York Times, Sean Vahey, Humphrey Slocombe’s co-owner and operations manager, explained how Twitter has contributed to the store’s success:

“We started using Twitter just because we have zero money for any kind of advertising or promotion whatsoever. We have a product that changes daily. Our customers were asking, ‘How do you keep us up to date on the different flavors?’ Twitter was the perfect answer…As soon as we put it on Twitter it moves. It’s an instant response.”

Emma Bridgewater Pottery

Emma Bridgewater Pottery, a UK-based producer of handmade pottery, uses Twitter and Facebook to showcase their products, offer discounts and connect with customers. They’ve also made a point to connect with mommy bloggers, inviting them to tour the factory with their children. Read more about how Emma Bridgewater Pottery is using social media to build buzz online at socialsmallbiz.com.

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In Social Media, We Get By With a Little Help From Our Friends

Every time we log in, social networking sites inundate us with a flood of information, calls to action and advice. How do we decide which of it to take to heart and which of it to discard?

This is an important question for marketers, as we obviously would prefer that consumers not discard our messages!

Earlier this month, eMarketer examined the results of a study by Invoke Solutions that sought to pin down how social media users perceive advice they encounter online. The study found that people were more likely to trust information posted online when it came from people they know, rather than from brands or “independent” bloggers.

As eMarketer noted, the network the information was posted on made a difference, too. For example, 26% of people surveyed declared that they had “complete trust” in blog entries posted by people they know, while a slightly lower percentage, 23%, said the same about Facebook postings from people they knew. Interestingly, Twitter was the least trusted social networking site, even when the tweets came from friends.

However, no matter what the venue, the study participants were more inclined to trust information passed on by friends. Whether consumers blog, post on Facebook or tweet, social media means that everyone is now a potential influencer for their own friends and family. That potential for influence has always been there, of course, but now it’s easier than ever to use it.

In a post on the Web Strategy blog, Jeremiah Owyang examined the Invoke Solutions data and made the following recommendation for marketers:

Brands should focus on social marketing that harnesses the “social graph” which is getting friends to share with their own friends. By developing advocacy programs and focus on word of mouth marketing, brands can increase marketing and sales margins by getting customers to do the work for them.

Exactly!

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Econsultancy Study: Email’s Not Dead Yet, Captures Consumer Attention More Effectively Than Social Media

Social media is everyone’s new favorite shiny object, so much so that people like Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, are ready to start throwing handfuls of dirt on top of email’s coffin. But wait…a new study from Econsultancy shows that not only is email not dead, it’s actually more effective at grabbing customers’ attention than social media.

In a post on Search Engine Watch that summed up the study’s findings, Stefan Tornquist, Econsultancy’s US Research Director, made the following comments:

“Despite the current hype surrounding social media, social network adoption and its influence on e-commerce is far from maturity. More than a third of consumers (37%) do not use a social networking site, while those who have recently become a ‘fan’ or ‘friend’ of a company or brand online are still in the minority. Although a variety of media are competing for consumer attention, email continues to be the desired channel for many types of commercial communication.”

The study stresses that emails need to be relevant and timely, but as long as marketers don’t make pests of themselves, it seems that most customers are more than happy to invite them into their inboxes.

But that doesn’t mean that marketers can afford to ignore social media, either. Even if 37% of consumers don’t use social networking sites, that means that 63% of consumers DO use these sites, and more are joining all the time. Plus, social media offers an unparalleled opportunity to foster word-of-mouth, as status updates, posts and videos can quickly go viral.

As they try to grab a piece of the thought leadership pie, some marketers and social media professionals are ignoring the fact that email and social media are not necessarily mortal enemies. They can play nice. You don’t have to choose one or the other. For example, why not let your customers share the offers you send them via social media? Or use social media’s viral nature to help build a killer email list?

Fortunately, most marketers understand this. In fact, a recent study by e-Marketer showed that two-thirds of marketers have begun integrating social media with their email marketing efforts.

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Social Media ROI Round-Up: 5 Resources to Help You Develop a Measurement Strategy

2010 was supposed to be the year that we learned how to calculate the ROI of social media. However, as we learned last week, most marketers still aren’t sure what, if anything, they should be measuring. It’s almost August. Tick-tock, y’all. Now, when it comes to measuring the impact of social media on the ROI of an integrated direct marketing campaign, Dukky rocks. No false modesty here-our analytics can show you how many of your responses came from each social networking site and even which customers have the most influence and bring you the most business.

We’re all about bringing the social media revolution to direct marketing, but at the same time, what we do is only part of a comprehensive social media strategy. There are lots of other ways to use social media to market your business, everything from providing customer service through social media channels to setting up a company Twitter account and tweeting clever quips and helpful information. But how do you measure the ROI of all of that engagement? Hopefully this list of social media ROI resources from industry experts will provide some insight:

Brian Solis: ROI: How to Measure Return on Investment in Social Media

Written at the beginning of the year and still timely, this post from Brian Solis is a lengthy but worthwhile read for marketers struggling to quantify the value of their social media efforts.

Augie Ray/Forrester Research: The ROI of Social Media Marketing: More than Dollars and Cents

In this post, Augie Ray of Forrester Research outlines how to measure the value of social media from 4 different perspectives for a more complete picture.

Garry Przyklenk, Search Engine Watch: SMART Social Media ROI: Show me the Money!

Garry Przyklenk offers a simple, step-by-step guide to calculating social media ROI.

Altimeter Report: Social Marketing Analytics

View more documents from Jeremiah Owyang.

Social Media ROI by Erik Qualman

Almost everyone in the social media sphere loves Erik Qualman, and this video is one of the reasons why. The sequel to the hugely popular “Social Media Revolution,” “Social Media ROI” is packed with statistics showing how companies that have used social media successfully are measuring its impact on their bottom lines.

Feel free to share your thoughts and any additional resources in the comments!

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New Study Shows Marketers (Still) Confused When it Comes to Measuring Social Media ROI

According to a new study by eROI, a digital agency based in Portland, Oregon, many marketers using social media are struggling in two very important areas: integrating social media with other marketing strategies and measuring the ROI of their social media efforts. (h/t ClickZ)

I can almost hear you thinking “Wait a minute…this is news?” These problems are not new, of course. Ever since companies began to incorporate social media into their marketing mix there has been a debate about whether it was even possible to measure the ROI of social media and if so, how one would go about it. However, there is a pretty clear consensus about which metrics NOT to use: numbers of friends and followers mean almost nothing. One follower who is willing to engage with your company and spread the word about you to his or her own followers is worth a thousand followers who never tweet or post about your brand. When it comes to marketing, engaged followers are the only followers that count.

Unfortunately, the study (available here) found that 65.5% of marketers surveyed were tracking an increase/decrease of friends and followers. 59.5% measured traffic coming in from social sites, while 39% tracked mentions of the company. Only 35.7% were tracking new leads, and only 28.5% were tracking sales.

The good news is that more and more marketers are recognizing the advantages of incorporating social sharing into their email campaigns, with 59.1% allowing customers to share offers with their networks.

In the report, eROI notes the importance of tracking and measuring all social media initiatives:

No matter how small they start, marketers should start tracking and measuring their social media efforts (currently one-fifth of respondents said they don’t track anything).

At Dukky, we also believe that it’s important both to incorporate social media into your marketing mix and to track its impact. That’s why we make it easy to create direct marketing campaigns that use social media to amplify your company’s message, raise awareness and help you get to know your customers a little bit better. Plus, our detailed, real-time analytics leave no room for doubt when it comes to social media’s impact on the ROI of your campaign.

How is your company measuring the ROI of its social media marketing efforts? Does social media seem to be paying off for you? Let us know in the comments!

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Why Social Media Matters to Direct Marketers

Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Debra Ellis and originally published on the Multichannel Marketing blog, which I can’t recommend enough. It is reprinted here with permission.

An open letter to direct marketers…

There are those who say that direct marketing is dying. It is being replaced with a new “unmarketing” philosophy embraced by consumers and forward thinking companies. There will be no room in the future for the tactics that used to motivate people to respond to corporate messages.

The opposing viewpoint is that social media is a fad that will disappear like pet rocks and the Macarena. This group argues that most of the people tweeting, linking, and nudging are kids with nothing better to do. Before long, we’ll be back to normal.

Which side is right?

Neither. To paraphrase Mark Twain, “The report of direct marketing’s death has been greatly exaggerated.” If you dig deep into the stories you’ll find that most of the people calling for a memorial service don’t understand direct marketing. And they definitely don’t know how to use it to grow a company.

Direct marketing works. Whether it is catalogs, postcards, letters, or email, it generates revenue. And, any tactic that delivers a return on investment will be used. When someone tells you that your marketing is dying, you know better because you see the results every day.

Social media works, too. It’s different from direct marketing, but every bit as effective because it humanizes companies. Customers get to know the people behind the products and promotions. It creates a connection that won’t be broken by lower prices. It makes your company more attractive to your competitors’ customers.

What happens if you ignore social media?

If you think that I’m going to say it’s the end of your world, you’re wrong. It’s not (at least not today.) But, it is the start down a slippery slope because social media is here to stay. The platforms may change, but the concept and ability to really connect with your customers won’t.

Ignoring social media will put you behind any existing competitors who are embracing the channel. Even worse, it allows new companies to build relationships with your customers, charming them away from you.

Social media is the venue that changes the world’s marketplace into corner stores.

Imagine that your company has a store in a small town. A new fellow comes into town and introduces himself to everyone. He attends functions with a smile and helping hand. He seems to be everywhere; chatting with your neighbors, leading fundraisers, and offering information. Everything seems harmless enough, helpful even, until he announces that he is opening a store as your competitor. He has clearly established credibility and your revenues will suffer.

The same thing will happen to the business you are managing today if you fail to join the social media world. People who are in it now are looking for opportunities. You will provide them one.

You have an advantage, if you choose to use it.

You know direct marketing. You know how to plan a campaign, test variables, and measure the results. Social media marketing isn’t that different. It requires a different tone and focus, but it still needs planning, testing, and measuring.

The combination of direct marketing and social media is what we have been seeking for so many years. We wanted the ability to connect with our customers, learn from them, and provide exceptional service. The new platforms provide the tools to do just that with customers around the world. It is hard for me to imagine why everyone in the direct marketing industry isn’t jumping for joy.

Instead of elation, there is a lot of explaining why social media doesn’t work.

“My customers aren’t involved in the social media scene.” (Have you looked at the demographics lately? You may be surprised.)

“I don’t know what to do. “ (Let someone teach you. There are plenty of us around who understand social media and a few who understand how to make it work with direct marketing.)

“It takes too much time.” (In the beginning, it is time consuming but it is manageable. When you are established, it saves time and money because you can resolve issues quickly and economically.)

“I don’t see a return.” (You will. It takes time to build relationships. Once established, your customers’ lifetime value increases.)

Social media matters to you whether you accept it or not. It has the potential to move your company to new levels up or down. You choose.

Choose wisely.

Note: If you aren’t sure where to start or you’re not seeing progress with your current social media strategy, check out my new guide “Social Media 4 Direct Marketers“.

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Social Media Marketing Offline

Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Rebecca Coleman, and was originally posted on her blog, The Art of the Business. It is reprinted here with permission.

I talk a lot about social media marketing: tips, how-tos, etc. But a new and increasingly interesting field of social media marketing is taking place off-line, in the real world.

So, I’ve been doing some research on the topic, and here’s what I’m finding out:

Tracking social media hits is really challenging. A great deal of the resistance of businesses, in particular, to starting social media marketing is because it’s hard to prove the ROI. What I mean by that is, “If I have a facebook page, how many tickets will I sell?” It’s hard to prove, because of the ripple effect of social media. If I send out an invitation to a show, I know who that invitation goes to. But any one of those folks could pass it on to their friends, or their friends’ friends, and so the people who actually show up at my theatre may be the 3rd or 4th generation (or more) of that invitation.

This is part of the reason why I love social media so much, but it does make it difficult to track where people are coming from.

Using social media offline can help to track where people are coming from. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I saw an ice cream place on Twitter post a tweet that said they would be offering a 1/2 price discount on ice cream for the first 10 minutes after the Canucks scored a goal. So, if the Canucks score a goal, and someone comes in and asks for 1/2 price ice cream, you know that person is on your Twitter feed.

Another reason why social media marketing offline is starting to catch on is because of the prevalence of smart phones. Nearly everyone I know has an IPhone or a Blackberry these days. If you see a sign like this, for example:

You can immediately go to your smartphone, go on the internet or to your Facebook app, and “like” this business. And people “like” to get exclusive social media offers–which for the business is a win-win, because it offers an option to track where that business came from.

Our smartphones also make it really easy for us to offer immediate reviews. A while ago, when I went to buy a futon, and drove across town to find the store closed, even though I was there within the opening hours clearly posted, I immediately twittered the #fail. The opposite is true for positive reviews: great meals, extra special service, etc.

Online relationships lead to real-life meetings

Last week, I published my very first e-newsletter. In it, I talked about the experience I had at Northern Voice. Briefly, I argued that social media is not killing face-to-face relationships, but, in fact, strengthening them. You see, we get to know people online, and when we meet them in real life, it’s less awkward, and we already know things about each other, so it’s easier to find something to talk about. Many of these online relationships are leading to real-life meetings, or Tweetups. That’s when a bunch of folks who all follow each other on Twitter, and have something in common, meet in real life for coffee or a drink.

Stay tuned… I’m working on a post with tips about how to use social media marketing offline.

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“Social” Vs “Anti-Social” Social Media Campaigns

This month, both Pringles and Domino’s initiated new social media-based campaigns. However, the two campaigns exhibit strikingly different approaches.

Domino’s is using what could be called a “social” social media approach in its Taste Bud Bounty Hunter campaign, which encourages customers to tempt their Facebook friends to try Domino’s new pizza recipe by giving them buy-one-get-one-free coupons. Customers also get a free buy-one-get-one free coupon for themselves for the first customer they refer, plus a free pizza coupon for every 10 customers they refer who actually use their coupons to order from Domino’s.

If Domino’s promotion is all about sharing the love, Pringles’ is all about sharing the snark. We all have people on our social networks who tend to divulge a little bit too much information about themselves and their daily activities. As Marketing Magazine notes, Pringles’ new promotion encourages people “to name and shame their friends who share things online that are ‘totally ridiculous’.”

Once you flag a friend’s update as “oversharing,” Pringles sends them a message advising them that people find their updates boring and that they should “seek help” at the Pringle’s website, which is full of helpful tips like “do cool stuff.”

Lame status updates are displayed on the Pringles website, and you can also custom-order merchandise featuring your favorite “overshare.”

Pringle’s campaign is clever and funny, no doubt, but I wonder if its “anti-social” nature could limit its success. In a post on Social Media Today, Matt Ambrose commends the way the campaign encourages people to engage with the brand, but also notes a disconnect between the brand’s image and the campaign’s implications:

“Pringles likes to portray itself as a fun, friendly brand that helps bring people together. But I’m not sure this will be people’s impression when they receive a message from Pringles telling them that their updates are boring? I fear this campaign could leave a trail of broken Facebook friendships in its wake.”

Personally, I’d rather share free food with my friends than “shame” them for their status updates. If I don’t care about them, I don’t have to read them.

Which approach do you think will be more successful? The “social” social media approach or the “anti-social” media approach?

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/196606

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Influencers: Who’s Behind the Social Media Curtain?

Social media is an invaluable tool for marketers, but it’s important to remember that it’s not magic. It’s just a tool, nothing more. Starting an account on Twitter or building a Facebook fan page is pointless unless you also reach out and engage the people behind the curtain, the ones who actually make the magic happen-your influential customers. While each and very customer is valuable and it’s important to treat all of them with respect, as Jay Baer pointed out the other day, when it comes to social media, some customers are more equal than others, both more inclined and better equipped to advocate for your brand.

In fact, a study by Forrester Research shows that when it comes to “influence impressions” generated on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, 6.2% of online adults are responsible for 80% of those impressions. When it comes to “influence posts,” such as blog posts and posts on review sites, 13.4% of online adults create 80% of the posts. So, while you obviously want to treat all of your customers right, it’s worth making a special effort to keep these folks engaged and talking about your company. But how do you know who they are?

Jay Baer recommends targeting your marketing efforts toward those demographic groups which contain the highest numbers of influencers, and that’s not a bad way to get started. However, wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly who your most influential customers are, and to be able to reach out them and reward them personally? That’s one of the things that Dukky allows you to do-pinpoint exactly which of the customers responding to your direct mail or email campaigns are sharing your offer with their friends and families, as well as showing you which of your respondents’ were able to generate the most responses for you via social sharing. With our technology, you can watch in real-time as your offer travels across Facebook and Twitter, as well as by email and SMS.

Once you’ve found out who your most influential customers are, it makes sense to try to reward them. After all, if someone is bringing you a lot of new customers, giving them a little something back is simply a good business practice.

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