Advanced Diploma inAnimal Care and Business

Module 8: Online Marketing

8.1. What is online marketing?

8.2. The power of social media

8.3. Rules of engagement

8.4. Prepare a social media marketing plan

8.5. Manage your online presence

8.6. Howto be likeable on social media

8.7. A picture is worth a thousand words

8.1. What is online marketing?

Online marketing is also called internet marketing or digital marketing and describes the use

of a variety of tools and strategies to deliver messages to consumers on the internet. It both

increases the ability of a business to be found online and promotes aspects of a business in

an effort to attract interaction and trade from customers ahead of its competitors.

There are many tools you can use to promote your business online -website, blogging, email

marketing, SEO marketing, online advertising and, probably the most powerful tool for a

small new business, social media.

8.2. The power of social media

Two of the biggest advantages of social media tools for a start up business are:

1. its limitless potential reach, and

2. its cost effectiveness.

Social media is a collection of free platforms where

you can let a wide audience know who you are and

what you do. It is transforming the way business is

done and how organisations grow. It’s a world well

worth become intimately familiar with. People now

expect to find you there so if you don’t have a

presence you might look like you weren’t invited to

your street’s end of summer barbecue. To show how

powerful it is, a recent study by the Internet Advertising Bureau in the UK found that almost

80% of consumers were more likely to give repeat business to companies they were familiar

with on social media.

For little or no cost, you can use social media to introduce yourself to the online community,

build a reputation, attract followers and entice consumers to use your services. You can also

choose to pay to advertise your business. Much of the effectiveness of social media in

spreading good news about you and your business is due to the human desire to share

experiences and stories - word of mouth.

Registering a business

Starting a business in a small manageable way as a sole trader or sole proprietorship is a

safe way of testing your idea and your market. You are the owner, have complete control

over all decisions and if there are profits, you keep everything. Record keeping is also simple.

The disadvantage is that if the business runs into financial trouble, you are personally liable

and anything you own can be used to repay debts.

A large number of businesses are run as a sole trader; in the UK it's up to 75%, in the US,

up to 72%. Most of these have no employees. Registering as a sole trader is straightforward.

The business and sole trader, you, are seen as one and the same entity for tax purposes.

If you are trading under your own name you don't need to register a company name but you

do need to register as a self-assessed tax payer for income tax and insurance contributions.

It's important to do this as soon as you start trading or you could be liable for a fine. Check

the exact rules in your local business registration and tax offices. Also, be aware of dates and

deadlines for submission of tax returns. Keeping your records up to date and clear makes

this job easy and avoids expense.

If you decide to trade under any name other than your own, then you must register the

company name and display your trading name on signage and stationery. You need to check

that your name isn't already being used. Neither can it be too similar or any other business,

trademark or company. If you're in any doubt, get legal advice.

Different jurisdictions have different regulations about running a business from your home,

for example, using a room specifically as an office may make it liable for business rates or

making structural changes or building an extension may need planning permission. Contact

your relevant local authorities to find out.

If you choose to set up a limited company or corporation, there are more complicated

procedures and forms to be completed for registration. Unless you have some experience

with this process, you will probably need both accounting and legal advice to ensure you

comply with all your obligations and as it can be quite time consuming.

8.3. Rules of engagement

Engaging in social media is similar to moving to a new area and starting to get to know the

locals. Many of the same rules of engagement apply. It’s good to be friendly but also polite;

to be aware when there’s a natural point in the conversation to talk about yourself but not to

the extent that you bore or annoy your listener; to be humorous and interesting but to remain

respectful. What you want is to be known, liked and popular so people want to do business

with you.

8.4. Prepare a social media marketing plan

If you’re not already active on social media and would like to, don’t dive in headlong. It’s worth

preparing a social media marketing plan so it’s more likely to work well for you. Be clear about

what objectives you’re hoping to achieve. You’ll already have drawn a profile of your target

audience. Develop this in greater detail. What are their interests - both with regard to your

industry and personal? Where do they live? What kind of taste, habits, and lifestyles do they

have? This will guide you as to which social network(s) you’re most likely to find them in and

the kind of conversations they’ll be involved in - in other words, where you can engage with

them.

Will your only objective be to drive traffic to your website? Will you be running competitions

on your Facebook page? Is building your mailing list your first objective? Do you just want to

raise awareness of an issue? If you have a clear plan from the beginning it will help your

focus and you can refer back to it to check your success. Social media can be distracting and

lead you in directions that won’t necessarily fit your plan. Keep asking “Is this helping to grow

my business?”

8.5. Manage your online presence

Will it be just you who’s posting and driving content for social media? If you’re allowing a staff

member, family member or friend help with your communication, always check the content.

They might be more familiar with using this type of media but you are ultimately responsible

for what’s posted in your name. Bear in mind the social rules mentioned above. Everything

you say must represent you in the right voice and in a way that shows you in a good light.

Are you prepared for any questions, comments or inquiries you may get?

Be consistent with your presence. Don’t start with a flurry of activity and then realize you can’t

afford to give social media that level of time. Keep your posts at a steady stream and a pace

you can manage while you get on with running your business.

Building your community can be one of the most daunting things about starting a social media

profile. You won’t have the team of dedicated people and resources that very large

companies have, but neither will you need the bulky numbers of followers they are aiming

for.

It s possible to attract thousands of people to ‘like’ you on Facebook to enter a competition

but unless you’re gathering an audience that will have an ongoing interest in you, it’s not a

valuable following. It’s much better to aim for less numbers and engage a relevant audience

with whom you can build a loyal and successful relationship.

Cross sell yourself - promote your social media presence on your website, cards, stationery,

brochures, advertising, news features and promotions. Gather an email list so you can grow

your relationship through newsletters and referral programs. To get a following going, it may

be worth some investment. Facebook, Twitter and Linkedln now offer low budget advertising

which allows you to specify the profile of person you’re aiming at and their interests. They will

suggest posts and followers and you only pay when your ad is clicked on.

8.6. Why do you need a website?

How to be likable on social media:

Even though keeping an eye on competitors is necessary in business, don’t be put off by

someone bigger than you being more active and having more followers. Search for hashtags

that are relevant to you and join in conversations that you can stand out in. A number of

approaches tend to be successful in attracting followers and making them feel valued:

• Ask questions about their

experiences. They can be directly

relevant to your industry or related.

• Share their problems with the

community (but don’t be too personal)

and invite advice and answers.

• Post interesting material - about your

experience, an industry insight, a current topic etc.

• Be humorous. Laughter is one of the best ways to form relationships.

• Share stories or quotes. If they happen to be from or about someone in the limelight it

could get you lots of attention. (Again, be careful with boundaries.)

Try to include keywords that are relevant to your business to help with SEO but don’t just

post material about your products or service. People will find you boring, tedious and self

absorbed.

Get to know what’s going on around you and join in so people get to know you and will use

your company when they need it or recommend you to a friend. Take advantage of being a

small business - you’re the friendly, approachable, understanding one. As well as helping

the profile of your business, if you run yours on your own, instead of feeling isolated and

unsupported at times, social media can help you feel part of the buzz and activity of a thriving

community.

8.7. Why do you need a website?

A visual presence can be a magnetic way to attract attention and followers. While

Facebook is predominantly about sharing stuff that has just happened and twitter is a current

conversation, there are some really attractive and creative social networks that are primarily

visual, like Pinterest, Instagram and Vine. Pinterest attracts about 53 million users globally

every month. 75% of those do so on mobile phones. It’s where users can post their personal

collection of pictures on any topic to share, show or plan. Companies see huge opportunities

to have pictures of their products shared and are using it to encourage this. You can use

Instagram to post both pictures and videos. Vine, a video network which limits clips to 6

seconds, is popular for the ‘sneak insight’ feeling it gives.

Videos can be an ingenious and inexpensive way to build an individual personality for your

brand. You don’t need a costly production company or choreographer and flash mob. Even

global brands film their own employees doing their work, chatting to customers or

commenting on what they like about their jobs. You could make a short clip on a quirky

element of your service or be creative with a camera and take a close up of an attractive

corner of one of your products. Let these visual tools create a story about your business.

Linkedln has a more professional emphasis. It’s your chance to post your credentials and

experience and confirm your credibility to anyone who wants to check you out. See more on

using Linkedln groups in section 4.4, Building your business network.

Once you’ve begun engaging on social media networks, it’s important to monitor the success

of your different posts and conversations so you know which approaches to drop or

continue. Keep track of when you’re mentioned and of any conversations about you or

surrounding your business. There are many tools that can help with this: Google alerts, Hoot

suite, Vocus, Future Tweet and Social mention.

What a successful social media strategy gives you is invaluable insight into and connection

with your customers, potential customers and suppliers so you can continue to tailor your

business to the needs and wants of your target audience and act on new opportunities to

keep you relevant and growing.