Posts Tagged ‘marketing to baby boomers’
Business Owners Take Note- Don’t Leave Your Social Media Marketing Plan in the Hands of Cousin Oswald “the Computer Geek”: Debunking Six Social Media Myths
Love this article- originally written almost 1 year ago- it accurately describes the market today…read on….originally posted on Business Week at http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_335887.htm
Using social media to market your business is a good idea. Just don’t plan on getting your whiz-kid nephew to do it for free
By B.L. Ochman
For companies, resistance to social media is futile. Millions of people are creating content for the social Web. Your competitors are already there. Your customers have been there for a long time. If your business isn’t putting itself out there, it ought to be.
But before you take the plunge, bear in mind the many myths that surround social media.
1. Social media is cheap, if not free. Yes, many of the tools that can be employed in social media marketing are free to use. These include Google’s (GOOG) video-sharing site YouTube, Yahoo’s (YHOO) photo-sharing site Flickr, the social-network building tool Ning, and content aggregators such as Digg and eBay’s (EBAY) StumbleUpon. Free blogging tools abound too; among them are WordPress, Twitter, and FriendFeed.
However, integrating these tools into a corporate marketing program requires skill, time, and money. The budget for an effective social media marketing campaign begins at $50,000 for two to three months. I’m sure companies have spent less, and I know they’ve spent more.
Building a site that incorporates interactivity, allows user-generated content, and perhaps also includes e-commerce doesn’t come cheap from anyone who knows what they are doing. Even taking free software like WordPress and making it function as an effective interactive site, incorporating e-commerce, creating style sheets that integrate with the company’s branding, takes more than time. That takes skill, experience, and money.
As a rule, a $50,000 to $100,000 budget can cover the creation of a simple multimedia microsite that becomes the center of an online community. Add in some widgets to help distribute the content and form a credible group on Flickr, Twitter, or Facebook and other networking groups to enhance the community aspect of the campaign. Complex functions add to programming and design costs.
A high-yield, highly targeted blog advertising campaign to kick off and support the program will cost an additional $25,000 to $100,000 a month. Advertising through Google’s AdWords, e-mail support, co-registration, and other tools that drive traffic would be additional costs.
2. Anyone can do it. A surfeit of whiz kids and more experienced marketers are claiming to be social media experts and even social media gurus. Search the bios of Robert Scoble’s 56,838 Twitter followers using Tweepsearch (www.tweepsearch.com), an index of the bios of Twitter users, and you’ll find:
• 4,273 Internet marketers
• 1,652 social media marketers
• 513 social media consultants
• 272 social media strategists
• 180 social media experts
• 98 social media gurus
• 58 Internet marketing gurus
How many of them have actually created a successful campaign for clients using social media tools? I bet you’d be hard-pressed to find half a dozen with real track records.
A successful social media campaign integrates social media into the many elements of marketing, including advertising, digital, and PR. Opinion and theory are no match for experience, and the best social media marketers now have more than 10 years of experience incorporating interactivity, blogs, forums, user-generated content, and contests into online marketing.
Video contests by companies hoping for viral buzz and Google juice are as plentiful as mosquitoes on a humid summer night. But, like their insect counterparts, most video contests suck.
It’s the rare video contest that gets as many as 2,000 entries. Many, like Denny’s (DENM) recent disastrous effort, get fewer than 10 entries. Apparently, 48 Denny’s breakfasts over four years wasn’t a big motivator.
3. You can make a big splash in a short time. Sure, sometimes a social media campaign can produce substantial and measurable results quickly.
Social media is great if you’re already a star, but that doesn’t happen overnight. Amid the recent launch of my T-shirt design business, Pawfun.com, I have relied heavily on my 4,000-plus Twitter followers and 120,000 readers of my What’s Next Blog, which I’ve updated as often as five times a day since 2003. Because that network already exists, with not one dollar spent on advertising, we were able to generate more traffic in our first three days than some major companies get after years online.
ZapposChief Executive Tony Hsieh, whose company has millions of customers who are evangelists for the great service that built the brand, quickly became a Twitter star, with more than 32,000 followers. When Dell (DELL), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), the Chicago Bulls, and other love-’em-or-hate-’em brands joined Twitter, they immediately developed huge followings.
Tweets can be used to drive traffic to articles, Web sites, contests, videos, and so on—if people already care about your brand, or if you have a truly original idea that people will want to share with their followers.
One recent example of a Twitter-generated success is Savvy Auntie, a community for aunts, godmothers, and “other women who love kids” that was launched six months ago by Melanie Notkin. She has counted on Twitter to drive traffic, help her find suppliers, products, and even investors. She developed a Twitter following before launching her business, then tapped into it for help when she launched.
4. You can do it all in-house. Wrong! You need strategy, contacts, tools, and experience—a combination not generally found in in-house teams, who often reinvent the wheel or use the wrong tools.
It is rare indeed to find an in-house team that can not only conceive and execute a social media campaign but also drive traffic to it with effective e-mail segmentation, search optimization, blogger outreach, blog advertising, Google ads, and more.
5. If you do something great, people will find it. Quite simply, that never was true. Until you can drive traffic to your social media effort, you’ve got a tree falling in the forest, heard only by those standing nearby. A great number of tools can drive traffic, including StumbleUpon, Digg, and Twitter, but nothing works better than word of mouse—one friend telling another, “Hey look at this!”
6. You can’t measure social media marketing results. You can use a variety of methods, including mentions on blogs and in media; comments on the content; real-time blog advertising results, and click-throughs to your company Web site. You can get very precise statistics from a variety of sites, including Google Trends, Twitter search, Google Analytics, BackType, and Compete.
The tools are there. The gurus who know how to use and interpret them—not so much.
Ochman, president of Whatsnextonline.com, has been creating new media marketing and online brand strategy since 1995 for companies including IBM, Ford, McGraw-Hill, Budget Car Rental, Stacksandstacks.com, and American Greetings. She tracks online marketing trends and campaigns in What’s Next Blog.
The Ultimate Home Care, Elder Care, Senior Service Website: Learn All You Need To Know About SEO & How to Capture Leads FAST.
Join us for a Webinar on December 3
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/380919515
The Ultimate Home Care, Elder Care, Senior Service Website: Learn All You Need To Know About SEO & How to Capture Leads FAST.
Let’s face it, your current website is probably not generating much cash flow for you these days, right?
It might be a corporate franchise site or one of those “dated” templates that are hard to manage yourself. Or, maybe you’ve resorted to using GoDaddy’s Website Tonight? (been there)
Learn from the pros- one hour of amazing content that will show you how to get the most attractive lead generation website ever put together for your Home Care, Elder Care, or Senior Service business (or maybe you need more than one!).
Learn the secret search engine optimization techniques that will work for any website that you currently own.
Learn why web masters are TERRIBLE about making changes to your site, take way to long, or never respond at all- and what you can do to change all of that once and for all.
Learn about the “new” websites that allow you to make some changes on the fly all by yourself, and meet a web designer who is not only a sales professional like you, but is obsessed with great customer service.
Join us!
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/380919515
You asked for a lower price, we delivered: The digital edition of the most complete marketing program for elder care and senior service providers is now available to you.
We have sold out of the full edition of the Power Marketing Conference Videos and Audio Tracks.
Many of you commented that you were on a budget, and wanted to know if we had anything at a lower price to offer.
Now we do!
- The entire conference is available to you via online video and audio only.
- No handouts, no powerpoint presentations, no extras, just video and audio.
- So, if you want the basic version of the conference via video and audio here’s the deal you have been waiting for!
The best marketing conference held this year (Sept 30th Power Marketing Conference) is all on video and MP3 audio.
Every SEO, Social Media Marketing, Print, Radio, Video and Referral Strategy was discussed over a 2 day period.
We caught every moment on audio and video.
It’s all yours.
Spend the last 2 months of 2009 preparing for the best 2010 possible. Learn tips and strategies that are easy to implement and will increase your bottom line dramatically in the years to come.
Here’s what you will receive online only- 8 Videos and 8 Audio Tracks:
- The Imperfect Marketing Blue Print- Print, Radio, TV, Video, Internet, Networking In-Person, and understanding message to market match. (M2MM)
- How to get the best testimonials, use them in print, audio, and video.
- Social Media Marketing Basic through Advanced
- SEO concepts and information that change the playing field online- change the way you think about writing ads, blog posts, articles, event flyers and more.
- Using video to your advantage without having to appear on camera!
- Straight from the “far side” of the senior market- how to get more referrals from reverse mortgage specialists, financial advisors, elder law attorneys, and more
- Landing pages, websites, blogs and more- what’s REALLY important in the development of your online presence today (As opposed to 2005). Even if you are a franchise owner, and have little control over your own website, you can take control.
- Community Education Presentations- How to use a package of educational information to your advantage, including press release, and step-by-step approach. Advanced Concepts in PR.
One payment of $279 on sale until December 1 for $229 is at this link:
Make your purchase now. Just like the conference was completely sold out, this offer will too. Guaranteed!
Sincerely,
Valerie and Staff
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
Watch these amazing testimonials from elder care and senior service providers!
Getting a great testimonial isn’t that hard, if you know the “formula”.
At our Fall Marketing Conference we did an entire session on the perfect testimonial.
Here are some of our results!
You should absolutely know the formula for terrific testimonials- order your copy of the entire conference today: www.PowerMarketingConference.com
View everything at this link: http://www.screencast.com/t/reEjq7sE
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
If You Market Home Care, Elder Care, or any other Senior Service, Read This Note Because We’ve Moved the FREE Line, Get Your FREE stuff now.
Updates and Notes from Valerie and LTC Expert Publications LLC
Wow, what a year so far. Time flies, and business is flying around faster.
Once again it’s time to make a few adjustments to the business model that we can all stay sane around here.
The good news is, we are about to “Move The Fr…ee Line”.
Do you know what that means?
(FR…EE is our way of spelling the price $0 without being considered spam. Just go with it.)
It means we will be giving away more fr…eee stuff, because we know that when we offer more fr…eee stuff more people sign up, more people take the time to learn, and when it REALLY REALLY counts, more people hire us to solve their marketing problems.
Right now we are enrolling clients for the social media marketing package faster than lightening. We’ve brought on a few new assistants to help us with data entry and updates. Our web design department is over loaded with requests, but happily plugging away at some of the most beautiful and UP-TO-DATE looking websites that I’ve ever seen.
Here are a few samples of our website work:
- http://www.angelcaremn.com
- http://www.SeriousSocialMedia.com
- http://www.AllForYouHomeCare.com
- http://www.GuardianReverseLending.com
Ok, so the http://www.PowerMarketingConference.com for 2009 is over. The videos and Power Point presentations, binder and everything else at the conference that we have on tape is yours. Find the pricing and the payment options at http://www.PowerMarketingConference.com
The Fr…ee Line Has Moved:
I wonder if other people say they are “going green” just to save on printing costs. Well, regardless, we are going green and saving on printing costs.
LTC Expert Publications LLC is now completely digital in a digital age.
I do maintain that seniors love reading the mail, and YOU should have some form of print media (ie newsletter) sent out each month.
So, what’s fr…eee? Risky for us, but now everything at our newsletter level is fr…eee. And yes, if you are a current subscriber, we are turning off the billing. It’s all fr…eee!
You can sign up for our private membership website for fr…eee , gain access for fr…eee, see all of our materials for fr…eee, and roll around in it to your hearts content. But please give a moment to get everyone enrolled. It’s fr…eee so give us a small break on getting you registered. 
Here’s the link:
http://myeldercareblog.com/eldercaremarket/subscribe/
Other Important Updates:
1. Priceless Caregiving Book- moving forward without a hitch, more to come.
2. We just launched a new website http://www.SeriousSocialMedia.com for business owners who are not in the health care biz. Send your referrals to us!
3. We are moving forward on a briefly mentioned lead gen service for elder care and senior service providers. The new URL is www.MyParentsNeedCare.com – ah but it’s not up yet, so don’t get too excited.
4. VA Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit- the real scoop and lead gen opportunities coming your way, I think…..more to come on that project.
5. Mastermind Marketing Groups: $47 per month. Great calls. You folks will be the first ones to get on board for trying both new lead generation programs above. Want to join one of our mastermind marketing groups?
Here’s the link: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/SecureCart/SecureCart.aspx?mid=C4F2E07B-E963-4BF2-B43B-5537CC70CC9E&pid=01af1df7b2333ecd80441096504b5353
6. Finally, you can now schedule your own appointments to speak with Valerie or a staff person. Just click on the link below. Choose your service or “need”, and schedule your own appointment. All appointment times shown are on CENTRAL TIME so you will need to adjust for your own time zone.
Need an appointment? Here ya go!
http://www.schedulicity.com/MakeReservation.aspx?business=LEPXCN
Happy Marketing!
Sincerely,
Valerie and Staff
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
Free- and Great for Small Elder Care and Senior Service Businesses
Just signed up for Sokule – great for online businesses and it’s free. http://tinyurl.com/mn8l6n
Make new contacts easily, exchange frequent communications in a nano-second, and pocket some of that Green Spendin’ Stuff.
SoKule makes it drop-dead easy to earn money without you having to lift a finger. Just get others to track you and when they upgrade under your affiliate link, you make money.
You can join free and earn commissions on every sale you make, or…
You can join paid and earn much more on every sale you make, plus you get an amazing suite of applications to save you time, effort, and money.
You’ll find all the applications you need to make your business hum in one convenient location. You can even choose the applications you want.
Applications like Sokwall, Live Profile Links, Video Ads, Text Ads, Autoresponder Messages, ClickBank plugin, SoKule Tokens (Sokens) to help you get more followers (trackers), plus lots more.
And How’s This For Some SoKule Magic…
When you post your messages on SoKule, your posts will automatically show up on Twitter and 40 more huge social networking sites just like magic. It’s true nano-second technology.
SoKule puts you in complete control.
Elder Care/Senior Service Providers Free Content for Your Monthly Newsletters
Hey folks-
Here’s your August newsletter content!
At LTC Expert Publications LLC we know how important it is to:
- Provide you with incredible customer service
- Fill all of your wants and needs
- Beat the competition…every time!
And, to help us do that we’ve got a great deal for you!
Attached is a monthly FR…EE newsletter filled with content that you can use throughout the summer in YOUR OWN CUSTOMER NEWSLETTERS….instead of always talking about the latest research in health care, throw in some “Readers Digest” fun stuff.
CLICK on the link below, compliments of US and Premier Reverse Closings.
It’s copyright free- just cut and paste. No worries.
Just copy and paste anything you want from this attached document. It’s yours, use it as you wish!!!!
Sincerely,
Valerie VanBooven and Staff
valerie@theltcexpert.com
877-464-3936
http://www.theltcexpert.com
http://www.ltcsocialmark.com
http://www.MySeniorService.com
http://www.eldercaremarket.info – our blog
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
Elder Care Marketers: The Importance of Writing Your Own Book
It doesn’t have to be a BIG book, or a bestseller. It can be self-published easily, and cost effectively.
Having your own book is a huge credibility builder. Many of my clients know this because we’ve ghostwritten many for them.
For more information on how you can make all of this a reality for yourself visit http://www.SeniorServiceAuthor.com
Congratulations to Lilly Sarafan and the Johnson’s for putting this together!!! Way to go HCA!
Innovative Senior Care Agency Promotes Healthy Longevity with New Book, Happy to 102
Home Care Assistance Unlocks the Secrets to Living Longer and Happier
PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Home Care Assistance recently released its new book: Happy to 102: The Best Kept Secrets to a Long and Happy Life. Written by a team of senior care experts, Kathy N. Johnson PhD, CMC, James H. Johnson PhD, and Lily Sarafan MS, the book lays out specific lifestyle factors that promote healthy longevity for all adults.
Based on the well-known Okinawa Centenarian Study, Happy to 102 spells out precisely what it takes to delay or escape Alzheimer’s and other chronic diseases, slow down the aging process, and enjoy better health in our senior years. It lists explicit factors, such as diet, exercise, sociability, mental challenge and sense of purpose that affect longevity. Chapters include, among others, “You Age What You Eat” and “The Psychology of Living to 102.”
These innovative methods give Happy to 102 a unique feel and set it apart from typical aging books. “This is the first book ever published and sold on Amazon.com by a senior care franchise and will serve as an unparalleled marketing tool for our locations,” says Sarafan. “What sets this book apart is its foundation in groundbreaking scientific research of the longest living people on Earth.”
The book’s Acknowledgment section reads, “To the centenarians around the world who inspire us. To the seniors throughout North America we feel privileged to serve each day.” Home Care Assistance is the only senior care agency to emphasize healthy longevity – a combination of lifespan and healthspan. With a focus on aging in place with in-home care, Happy to 102 inspires us all to live happier, healthier lives at any age.
To order your copy of Happy to 102 today, visit http://www.amazon.com/Happy-102-Best-Kept-Secrets/dp/061528194X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247091361&sr=8-1.
For more information about anything contained in this release, please contact Jack Johnson at 702.204.1436.
Home Care Assistance was founded to serve as a comprehensive alternative to a nursing home or assisted living facility for older adults. Our constant mission to provide superior service has allowed us to successfully operate North America’s preferred brand in home care while maintaining an intimate and personal rapport with all our clients. For more information about Home Care Assistance, please visit www.hcafranchise.com
A reason to celebrate- some FREE stuff from LTC Expert Publications
Almost As Much As We Love Our Country!
Hey Valerie,
We live in a great country! Don’t you think? After all, if we didn’t have our freedom, we wouldn’t have our company. And, we wouldn’t be able to provide you with all of the fantastic cool ideas that we share each month.
Because we do live in a great country…and you can choose where to take your business…we know how important it is to:
- Provide you with incredible customer service
- Fill all of your wants and needs
- Beat the competition…every time!
And, to help us do that (and in honor of our country’s birthday) we’ve got a great deal for you!
Attached is a monthly FR…EE newsletter filled with content that you can use throughout the summer in YOUR OWN CUSTOMER NEWSLETTERS….instead of always talking about the latest research in health care, throw in some “Readers Digest” fun stuff.
CLICK on the link below, compliments of US and Premier Reverse Closings.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17051902/Golden-Gazette-July-2009-Content-for-Elder-Care-and-Senior-Care-Newsletters
Just copy and paste anything you want from this attached document. It’s yours, use it as you wish!!!!
Sincerely,
Valerie VanBooven and Staff
valerie@theltcexpert.com
877-464-3936
http://www.theltcexpert.com
http://www.ltcsocialmark.com
http://www.MySeniorService.com
http://www.eldercaremarket.info – our blog
P.S. Have a fun and safe holiday weekend. Stay away from bottle rocket fights.
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
From Our Friend Stephen Moses: LTC E-Alert #9-072: MetLife and NCOA on HEC
LTC E-Alert #9-072: MetLife and NCOA on HEC
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Seattle–
LTC Comment: Kudos to the MetLife Mature Market Institute (www.maturemarketinstitute.com) and the National Council on Aging (www.ncoa.org) for their new, jointly published report on reverse mortgages.
Read a summary below. See the full report here.
Reverse mortgages are rarely used to fund long-term care. We’ve established that fact repeatedly by interviewing lenders in our state-level studies of long-term care over the years. Examples here.
There is a simple reason why reverse mortgages don’t help many aging homeowners obtain quality long-term care. Until the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 capped Medicaid’s home equity exemption at $500,000 to $750,000, Medicaid LTC recipients could retain one home and all contiguous property with no limit on the value. Even now the most common $500,000 limit is roughly four times the median value of the average elderly family’s home. But get this: our half a million dollar limit is nearly 15 times the size of the home equity exemption in the United Kingdom’s long-term care system ($35,000). We’re more generous with our welfare-financed long-term care than a socialized health care system in Europe.
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theltcexpert (Valerie VanBooven): Reading Synergy HomeCare of NW Houston TX-Preferred Insurance Provider List on Scribd http://scr.bi/cZwbAR #readcast http://ff.im/-oxlBF -
theltcexpert (Valerie VanBooven): Alzheimer's Disease Tacoma Washington- When Dad Needs Memory Loss Care.... http://ff.im/-oqz52
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theltcexpert (Valerie VanBooven): *|FNAME|*, Alzheimer's Lead and Marketing Program Short Video - http://eepurl.com/LxET
