Why Your Social Media Marketing Success is Like Baking A Cake
Crazy title for a blog, isn’t it? Picture a funnel. Now think of a cake. What ingredients go into that funnel to produce the cake? Flour, milk, sugar, butter, spices. Mix them up and pour them into a baking pan, cook for an hour and you have the end result – a cake.
Now, think of your website presence. How do people get to your website? From your Facebook business page posts, from your LinkedIn profile, from your Tweets or just by looking at your Twitter profile, from your Pinterest account (backlinks, of course behind every picture). And probably many other ways – You Tube, Google +. My point is, everything you do on social media should eventually lead people back to your website where all the important information resides.
Think funnel. Think posts, Tweets, links, videos. Think website.
Undoubtedly, your website is the bottom of the funnel; the sweet spot where you want your customers and potential clients to land. How much control do you have over your website? Does it totally reflect you, your message and your brand?
I raise these questions because many entrepreneurs and small business owners do not realize that being empowered to create your own website content by following a simple formula of the five D’s may be the perfect solution for you if you feel a web designer has not totally captured the image you want to portray online.
Enter Marisa Goudy, co-founder of the Online Empowerment Formula, and my guest this past week on The Social Networking NewsHour. Her belief is that by discovering, describing, delivering, designing and developing your content, your website will resonate so much more clearly with your target audience because you have control from start to finish. In fact, you actually build your own website under her tutelage and probably find out more about who you are professionally than you ever knew before. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?
This holistic approach to web development makes sense. Just like writing a blog or delivering a live presentation or writing a Power Point, you have to think hard about your purpose, your strategy, the skills you need and what resources you are going to use. Why should your website be any different. In this day and age of do-it-yourself projects, many small business owners are turning to WordPress formats where you pay for the hosting only and learn how to do the rest.
You do not need to be technologically gifted to pull this off. Website creation no longer requires advanced programming skills. It’s not as scary as you think. It’s empowering to have your site, the bottom of your funnel, be reflective of you.
Would you ever consider an approach such as the Online Empowerment Formula to take control of your website? Do you have a web designer that reacts to your needs immediately? Share your experiences!
Laurie Hurley is a social media consultant, mentor, and hostess of The Social Networking NewsHour. Her philosophy about social media marketing is to empower her clients to be authentic online. To listen to this past week’s show, just click here for the instant download.
12 Comments:
By Susan Berland 07 Feb 2013
I’ve always written my own content but did use an editor to make it sparkle more. Now I’ve rewritten it all on my own. I had a web developer but she was not as available as I’d hoped and way too expensive. I am now using Jill Sessa who I love, is available and very reasonably priced.
Laurie, why am I not able to comment with my photo?
Susan Berland
By Laurie Hurley 07 Feb 2013
Susan – is your Disqus account up to date? I had to change mine recently so my pic showed. Ask Jill!
She will know! Sometimes using an editor or professional writer can help spruce things up. As long as your message is still congruent with you, I see nothing wrong with that!
By Louise Edington 07 Feb 2013
Hmmmmmm strategy, not my favorite word right now for my own website, I just want to blog about what I am feeling and be a writer right now. I am better at creating strategy for others where I am less emotionally involved. This makes me realize how much I have shifted. Thanks
Why do you have captcha? I hate it so…
By Laurie Hurley 07 Feb 2013
I hear you, Louise. I am writing to my target market and giving them tips and techniques to increase their following. You have shifted and that is good!
Have to check into the Captcha – I was getting a ton of spam, even with Akismet.
By Laura 06 Feb 2013
I have a WordPress site and struggle through it to make it look pretty, wish I had a web designer! But I know that all my content on my site belongs to me and was written from my heart. It may not be perfect, but it is authentic. After reading your post I realize that this is very important, so I feel a little better now! Thanks so much!
By Laurie Hurley 07 Feb 2013
There are many do it yourself WordPress sites out there. Check on Marisa Goudy and the Online Empowerment Formula. She might be able to assist you.
By Angelina 06 Feb 2013
I am in the beginning stages of all of this. I currently just use my replicated site. Ok, with that for now. I use Blogger as I am very new to all of this. Thank you for this information.
By Laurie Hurley 07 Feb 2013
You are welcome. You may want to consider WordPress.org. All you pay for is hosting, which is very inexpensive.
By Louise 05 Feb 2013
Hi Laurie
My web master / site designer is my husband, so I’m in good technical (and loving!) hands. He transferred Priestess Tarot to a WordPress engine because he got fed up fixing the HTML code that I broke, so he gave me something that was easier for me to update than using Dreamweaver and raw HTML code (I’m not a programmer by nature!)
I hadn’t heard of the 5 D’s (discovering, describing, delivering, designing and developing your *own* content) until now, but I’ve inserted the word “own”, as it’s becoming apparent that sites are being ripped off, copied and plagiarised all too often these days. People just don’t care that they haven’t done the work themselves, but its obvious when it’s not, it doesn’t ring true when you read it.
Thank you for being genuine and helpful in the realm of Social Media and yes, learn as you go!
By Anonymous 05 Feb 2013
You are very welcome. I love my WordPress site because I can make simple changes on my own. Getting ready to totally redesign my site, so we will see how that works out!
By Laurie Hurley 04 Feb 2013
Thanks for your response Michael. So many people forget the end result of all of your online efforts (and offline) should lead to your website. It’s not difficult if you have a strategy!
By Michael 04 Feb 2013
I definitely agree with being able to get started – it’s simple and pretty quick. And you always have to keep the funnel in mind. It’s a great way to figure out how to push your customers through.