Efficient Online MarketingHow to use online social media to build your asphalt business

By Sandy Lender, editor of Asphalt Pro magazine

sandy@theasphaltpro.com

Consistency

Consistent message across your platforms

Consistent images

Consistent tone

Consistent personnel

Let’s look at an easy way to accomplish this…

Organize Yourself

Assign the person who updates/monitors your social media presence online

Create a folder on the desktop

Let’s discuss what goes in the folder

Rotate your passwords because hackers are smart

The Folder

E-mail address(es); password(s)

Signature/tagline (http://wisestamp.com)

Bio (long and short); images (low resolution)

Mission statement

Site & group URLs

All in a folder on your desktop where you can find it easily

Where do you need to be?

Google+ beats Twitter by a nose

facebook is still #1, but I’m starting you all with Google+ and LinkedIn…then facebook and Twitter

Don’t ignore your website and blog

Website = static; blog = dynamic (let’s discuss before we dive into the social sites)(social media beats search in publishing circles; ppl trust word of mouth)

Your blog

Dynamic (spiders & bots troll for active discussions)

Content content content; visit & comment elsewhere

Moderate it; be active in controlling content of both posts and comments

Bit.ly; hootsuite; Klout; www.wordpress.com

Use your blog to drive traffic to your website

Let’s discuss “comment etiquette abroad” (chat elsewhere; no spamming; no fighting)

Your website

You can make the website dynamic by adding comment features; posts (like a blog); live links within the site and to other sites/blogs

When you post an image, name it with keywords

Use social media tags so people can easily share posts

How to use the social networks

Only the Paranoid Survive (by Andrew S Grove; 1999)

Not every transaction has to be for business; as Depeche Mode said, “People Are People”; social media is supposed to be social, but keep in mind…

You have limited time to “play around” online; time is money

Connect your media—twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube—they all offer ways to post simultaneously or at least share what you’ve posted among the platforms

Where to be seen

http://plus.google.com

http://www.LinkedIn.com

Your state DOT’s blog

Your state APA’s blog

http://twitter.com; www.facebook.com

Others (newspaper article comments—you don’t have to be first, just be salient)(you’d rather be a source IN the article) (YouTube)

Google+

Google+ (let’s get there)

http://plus.google.com

Assign yourself an email

Assign yourself a username (use your email)

Assign yourself a password you can remember

Upload your profile picture

Google+ (what you want to see)

Google+ features

Circles—people you want to have contact with

Stream—think of this like the facebook feed or Twitter feed—ignorable until you start following useful people

Hangout—good for meetings; web conferencing

Uses hashtags in the stream (similar to Twitter)

LinkedIn (for professional use)

LinkedIn (how to get there)

www.linkedin.com

Professional use—more than 70 million professionals use it

Groups; Questions

How to request connections professionally (follows)

Recommendations (written); Endorsements (of skills)

Apps add value & start conversations (SlideShare; TripIt)

LinkedIn groups to check out

Linking Construction (over 34,000 members)

Highway Design Engineers

Highway Maintenance Professionals

Asphalt Shingle Recyclers Association

Road Builders Professional Group

(tons more of these)

LinkedIn (the look)

Facebook (Part 1)

Set a timer before you get started because facebook will suck your life away

Set up a group page for your business; group vs person

What to post

When to post (Thursday; Friday traffic)(10% see it)

How to promote a post

Facebook (Part 2)

Privacy settings are for people

Watch your message

Watch your message

Watch your message

Twitter

www.twitter.com

Handle = username

Hashtags

140 characters or less

Retweets make things viral easily

Bit.ly or Tinyurl.com

@NAPATweets; @Asphalt_Inst; @asphaltroads; @AsphaltPro

We’re all in this together

Asphalt Pavement Alliance = AsphaltRoads.org

www.AsphaltFacts.com

www.AsphaltPavement.org

www.TheAsphaltPro.com

The Point: Get Recognized

Build your brand through viral messages

You want DOTs, state engineers, commercial developers, LEED project managers, or the store owner down the street who needs to repave his parking lot to recognize your company name & logo as a professional, friendly, quality, competent, community asphalt pro when he has a project ready to go.

Social media is about viral messages.

Viral Messages

Relevant messages get shared.

Short messages get shared.

Entertaining messages get shared.

Educational messaged get shared.

Make your message go viral.

Connect with AsphaltPro

www.TheAsphaltPro.com

sandy@theasphaltpro.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/sandylender

http://plus.google.com Sandy Lender

http://twitter.com/AsphaltPro

www.TheAsphaltForum.blogspot.com (blog)

Now go tweet this info!