So, how do you put together a combination that generates synergy for your online marketing?   We start with three initial steps.

1. Listing your specific objectives
2. Identifying the audience(s) you trying are to reach and developing profiles based on their demographic attributes along with their interests, connections, activities and the language they use.
3. Segmenting these audiences into homogeneous groupings you can target

For Step 1, let’s look at a list of typical objectives which you can choose from or add to in preparing a list specific to your business:

• Generating new leads
• Making new business connections
• Getting customer/client feedback
• Deepening existing business relationships
• Making online sales – conversions
• Improving website search engine results
• Increasing marketplace visibility
• Establishing authority in your area of expertise

In Step 2 we want to clearly identify the audiences we are trying to reach.  For example, let’s say that we are looking to reach affluent, well educated professionals who either own or work within a small business environment and live in a specific SMSA (standard metropolitan statistical area).

If we already serve this group, we can start by examining existing or recent customer profiles. We may already have a good demographic profile, know how they make decisions about purchasing, and perhaps even something about their personal interests.  To develop an even greater understanding of this group (local professionals), we can avail ourselves of some powerful online research tools – local area groups on Linkedin, professional groups on facebook, and other local professionally oriented social media.  By joining and participating, you will have access to detailed professional background information, connections, and interests. You can listen to and follow their conversations to better understand their online behavior.  Further, if you actively participate, you can ask specific questions that relate to the type of services you offer.

Lastly, in Step 3, if you are trying to reach more than one audience you can separate them into homogenous categories based on their specific interests.  The information gathered from your research in Step 2 will allow you to set up and test ways to address each group using pictures and language they relate to.

These steps should help get you started.   In upcoming postings I will discuss the next steps for creating online synergy….stay tuned.

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According to a recent Forrester Research study, 75% of Americans are spectators to what’s happening on social networks.  And, while the big social networks (facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for professionals) are international in scope, they can also be quite effective on a local basis. You can find a host of local groups defined by location and interest on the big sites. Then you have sites like Merchant Circle and Yelp that combine local search with user-generated reviews and other social features. Or, sites like Meetup for local networking on a wide array of niche interests. Add to this, local social clubs, news groups and local blogs and you have a huge pool of options. You can even find local blogs by location with http://www.placeblogger.com.

The rules of engagement are basically the same for local and national social networks.

• You must have something interesting, useful or of value to share on a specific topic related to your business.
• You need to connect and engage.
• You need continuity.
• You need to establish yourself and your business as a respected and trusted source.

There are numerous success models such as local restaurants that Twitter updates on daily food specials, ice cream parlors with the flavor of the day and retail stores that notify customers that follow them of new arrivals and special sales.  This applies to professional service providers as well, from local realtors to accountants to local attorneys who use these networks to establish a position of authority enabling them to garner referrals via digital word of mouth.

Before you enter the arena, do some research.  Find out where your customers are, listen to them and follow their conversations.  Check out how local competitors may be using social media as a marketing tool (e.g. you can use Twitter as a real time search engine – http://www.search.twitter.com – to see what’s going on in your area). Once you decide to jump in, don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t seem to be working – try testing different approaches.  You will never know unless you’re willing to try.

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