Kindermusik september 2010

transcript

http://www.thecreativecollective.com.au

Low cost or no cost ways to grow Low cost or no cost ways to grow your Kindermusik businessyour Kindermusik business

http://www.thecreativecollective.com.auhttp://www.sboprogram.com.au/tracc

• Award winning business owner• Have started 4 businesses from scratch, some

of which have since been sold• Now owner/director/franchisor of The Creative

Collective. • Work with start-ups through to large

corporates locally, nationally and internationally

• Love training and assisting others

Introduction – Yvette Adams

Rio (6 years) and Matisse (3 years)

My business was started when

my youngest was just 7 weeks

old, from home.

I’ve since gone on to win awards and

have 5 staff, 25 contractors and

1 franchisee with many more

planned!

I’m a parent too!

What I did in my first year with Kindermusik head office…2007

2000 on the database 6729 on the database

Unique users per month to site = 665

Unique users per month to site = Regularly 5000+

Communication frequency = infrequent

Communication frequency = every two weeks – either newsletter or special offersOnline sales = $6000 per

annumOnline sales = $100,000+ per annum

Predominantly offline marketing

Predominantly online marketing

So where are YOU at…???

• Website? have one? use it?• Google Places? know it? use it?• SEO? know it? use it?• Emarketing? know it? use it?• Adwords? know it? use it?• Facebook? know it? use it?• Twitter? Know it? use it?• Linkedin? know it? use it?• YouTube? know it? use it? • Blog? know it? use it?

• Build their ‘brand’/ ‘profile’• Market more• Work on the business, not in the business• Get more leads/inquiries• Get more sales

And ideally….

• Have more time!• Earn more money!• Take a holiday!

What most business owners I meet are trying to do…

• Building their online presence/profile• Ensuring they have a GOOD website with strong calls to action• Creating a bullet proof conversion system• Systemising/procedurising EVERYTHING they do• Tracking and measuring EVERYTHING they do• Delegating more – leverage their time• Retaining & reactivating their customers• Keeping in touch with a database regularly with quality content• Conduct research to understand buying motives and barriers to sale• Only doing marketing that gives a GREAT return on investment• Create and take publicity opportunities for the good of their business• Use cloud computing and other technology that saves time and money• Have clear business objectives, a business plan

What business owners should be doing if they want to succeed…

STOP START

Always doing what you’ve always done (because you’ll always get what you’ve always go, or worse – times are changing!)

Thinking outside the square of the most innovative marketing strategies you could possibly engage in

Burying your head in the stand and making excuses about being busy/non techie/limited by budget

Being open minded about the possibilities and how they could benefit your business some of which are very easy to do and low cost or no cost!

Throwing stuff out there with no proper measurement devices in place

Tracking and measuring EVERYTHING you do

Measuring the cost of advertising and marketing activities

Measuring the impact of marketing activities

Doing things offline… ..if they can often be done faster and cheaper online

Looking for new business If you haven’t maximised what you’re already sitting on and what they are worth to you

Hoping for the best and having a ‘bit of an idea’ of what you want to achieve at the end of the day

Getting crystal clear about your objectives, setting SMART goals and targets

But first let’s shift some mindsets!

So let me show you the exact steps you need to take to get your businesshumming….!

STEP 1 – Set up tracking devices• Google Analytics or other web stats in place• Offline procedures in place

You must ask every single person who:• Walks in• Phones up• Emails you

For their: • Name• Email• Phone – main and alternative is ideal• Post code• Preferred method of contact i.e. phone or email• HOW THEY HEARD ABOUT YOU. ‘newspaper’ is not enough – try

and extract exact name of the publication and note it.

STEP 2 – Get set up with the tools you need to be efficient

Google has a lot to offer….

2.1 Google Account https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount

2.2 Google Profile http://www.google.com/profiles/

2.3 Google Maps http://www.google.com/maps

2.4 Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alerts

2.5 Google Calendar http://www.google.com/calendar

2.6 Google Analytics http://www.google.com/analytics (covered)

2.7 Google Trends http://www.google.com/trends

2.8 Google Webmaster http://www.google.com/webmaster

2.9 Google Docs http://www.google.com/docs

2.10 Google Sites http://www.google.com/sites

AND there is many more!

A small intro to the suite of Google’s free tools

www.google.com/accounts/Login

2.1 Google Account

2.2 Google Profilehttp://www.google.com/profiles

2.4 – Alert yourself on Google Alerts

1. Automatically manages invites and RSVP’s for events. 2. Share whole calendars company-wide or with specific people. 3. Have multiple calendars.4. Make calendars public, private or shared.5. View calendar that belong to other people.6. Quick to add calendar appointments (drag & drop).7. Full Calendar scheduling facility.8. Send calendar invitations to other people.9. Opportunity to sync your calendar with your mobile or Outlook.

2.5 – Google Calendar

2.6 Google Docs

• No Software Required – goodbye to Microsoft?• Create, Edit Word Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentations• Sort Documents in Folders• Share/collaborate on documents with other people• Upload Emails and Microsoft documents straight in to Google Docs

for editing

2.7 Google Docs

2.8 Google Sites

• Create simple or sophisticated websites/wikis without any programming knowledge.

• Share knowledge or files with your co-workers or the world.• Centralise company information with an internal website. Easy to

update information/photos/attachments/presentations.• Google have a profile update for each staff member making it easy

to find staff that may have special skills.

Apart from Google I have severalother favourite programs I couldn’t live

without which I’ll send to you post event to check out

STEP 3: Get a website and get it RIGHT!

Visually appealing Fulfills the ‘8 second rule’ Data capture prominent and enticing for users to leave details i.e.

incentive Any desired call to action prominently featured Social media links prominently featured Contact number prominently featured Opportunities for clients to ‘interact’ where-ever possible – comments,

fill in form, check availability, view photos, videos, audios etc. Easy to find the information they want with multiple navigation points

plus main service offerings clearly identifiable Loads fast Scannable copy with lots of internal links Search engine optimised Regularly updated so encourages repeat visits – events and news

articles + streaming social media good here

Does your website tick all these boxes? If not, work on it NOW!

STEP 4 – Establish and grow your online presence

+ social media!

4.1 SEO – search engine optimisation

Our methodology:

1. Research – keywords & competitors

2. Strategise plan of attack – select keywords, delegate tasks

3. Internal optimisation (on page) - page title, header tags, meta description, alt tags on images and links , keyword density

4. External optimisation (off page) - link strategies, article submissions, PR newswires, blogs

4.1.1 Research – keywords & competitors

Tools you can use:

1. https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal (free)

2. Goodkeywords – free

3. It’s not free, but it is pretty good: http://affiliate.wordtracker.com/d/722e16/699/a/155079/iMonthly cost: $52.70

4. http://www.keywordlocator.com. One time cost: $87

5. www.keywordspy.com + http://www.spyfu.com

6. Google Insights – compare search volume patterns across regions, categories and time frames

7. marketsamurai.com

8. domaintools.com – analyse ownership of competitor domains and therefore online strategy

There are many more too.

4.1.2 Research – select keywords

Mistakes to avoid when selecting keywords:

Targeting:• Single-word terms • Terms that are way too broad, and not focused to what you offer • Terms that are too specialized, which nobody searches for • Terms which are unpopular • Highly-competitive terms which you can't hope to rank well for

Number of Google Matches Term

11,600,000 writer

1,200,000 real estate writer

48,000 freelance real estate writer

9,000 freelance real estate writer los angeles

4.1.3 Strategise plan of attack – select keywords, delegate tasks

I am going to target the following keywords and key phrases……

I am going to optimise the following pages as a priority………

And further pages in this priority…….

I will need assistance from these areas……

4.1.4 Internal optimisation of page

• page title• header tags• meta description• keywords• alt tags on images and links• keyword density

4.1.5 Work on keyword density

4.1.6 External optimisation (off page)

• Link strategies• Article submissions• PR newswires• Blogs• Forums• Social media (more later)

4.1.7 Article directories

4.1.8 PR news wires

4.1.9 Blogs

+ social media!

• Pay per impression• Pay per click• Content network v search network• Set your budget• Track, measure, refine

4.2 Pay per click (PPC) – how it works

• Google Adwords – target by keywords and regions• Yahoo! Search Marketing (formerly Overture) -

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/en_AU/• Microsoft adCenter - https://adcenter.microsoft.com• Facebook – target by towns/cities, gender, marital status, education

+++• Ebay –

https://adcommerce.ebaypartnernetwork.com/adnetfiles/home/en-US/index.html

• Sensis Bidsmart - https://bidsmart.sensis.com.au/• Others

Pay per click options

+ social media!

4.3 – Google Maps Local Search Stats• 60% of activity online is one way or another ‘related to local content’

(Google 05/03)• 73% of activity online is in one way or another ‘related to local content’

(Google 5/07)• 70% of online searchers will use local search to find offline businesses.

(Kelsey group)• 43% of search engine users are seeking a local merchant to buy

something offline (comScore Networks)• 54% of search users have substituted internet/search for the phone

book (comScore Networks)• 35% of ALL searches are ‘local’ (DM news)

4.3.1 – Claim your listing on Google Maps www.google.com/maps

An unclaimed listing…

A claimed listing…(of course the Coast knows how to do it better!)

4.3.2 – Flesh out your listing

The types of categories you might like to list for

Photos & Videos

Up to 10 photos

Up to 5 videos

Videos must be on YouTube

Coupons

Add fully customisable coupons to your listings including:

Images

Show on mobile phones

Apply to multiple listings

• What people are saying about (reviews)– the price, the service etc – these filter in from various sources that provide reviews (more later)

• Post to your place page – Allows business owners to post updates to their place page via short announcements i.e. ‘we’re closed this Friday’. It appears on Googles Place page within minutes

• Service areas – Google realises businesses may only service certain areas, where you are willing to travel to serve certain customers i.e. deliver pizza.

• Street view – Imagery collections are continuing to expand. People can check out destinations before they get there. 3D view now too.

• Transit features – Who is looking for directions to you and where are they coming from. Not in Brisbane or Qld yet…

The new additions to Google Places

Example Place Page PostsSpecials: "Free chips and salsa today from 4-6. We'll even throw in free guacamole."Posted 3 hours prior to the start of Afternoon SpecialEvents: "Come to our open day" Today from 9:30 am to 11:45 am."Posted 4 hours prior to the event, linking to the Facebook event page.New products: "Have you checked out our newest musical instruments? Great for baby’s birthday!"

4.3.3 – Encourage reviews and mentions on other sites (also known as citations)

Places you can encourage reviews• Google Places - All listings have an option to leave a review, so

encourage some of your favorite customers or clients to leave a review for you.

• Industry specific – E.g. If you happen to be in the travel and tourism industry, gently persuade happy customers to leave reviews on popular review sites like TripAdvisor. When you take a look at the top Google maps results you’ll notice that the top listings will have a good amount of reviews.

…but don’t fake it!

Global review sites

YelpCity Search Bing LocalBOTW LocalBrownbook.netinfoUSA

SuperpagesInsider PagesLocal.comiBeginYahoo! Local

Feel free to contribute any citation or local directory sources you’ve found to be useful on our Web Wed Facebook group or linkedin group.

Sharing is always encouraged!

• http://www.raveaboutit.com.au/ - Local reviews for all types of businesses, from hairdressers to plumbers, Australia wide

• http://www.handylocal.com.au – On later• Hot Frog• http://www.startlocal.com.au

Aussie Review sites

Don't count on customers tracking down your listing on Yelp, InsiderPages, Ezlocal and others. Add links to your website for each profile and further encourage customers to go leave reviews. See the below picture in which a doctor integrated links to his Yelp profile on his own website:

To encourage reviews…link your business profiles on your own website/social network pages

Encourage reviews offline to online

• We don't live in a perfect world and no one expects your business to be perfect (okay some do!)

• In fact, if your business has nothing but 5-star reviews across the board it might strike consumers as a bit suspect, is anybody that perfect?

• Also, negative reviews offer a golden opportunity for you to prove yourself, to go above and beyond.

• There are some good case studies online dedicated to incidences where businesses stepped up and made things right after something went wrong.

See: http://consumerist.com/customer-service/above-and-beyond/

Don’t discourage bad reviews

4.3.4 – Get listed in local directoriesMany available – both free and paid

Directory listings from wesites specific to your city are a great way to help you achieve some local pull in Google maps. A quick and easy way to find some local directories is to search for {name of city} + directory on Google.

Search ‘free business directory’ or ‘free business listing’ or similar

Example of a free business directory

Government/council directories

Industry directories

Yahoo & other local search/listing options

• http://local.yahoo.com/• https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

STEP 4.3.5 – More ways to market locally…

+ social media!

1. Traffic2. Facebook Fan Pages are cited in Google Maps3. Facebook Fan Pages Rank in Organic Search Results4. Instant Credibility5. Build an Interested Local Following

STEP 4 – Get a Facebook Fan Page for your local business & promote it! Why…?

• Personal pages – you the individual• Professional pages – you the business person• Company pages v groups

How it all works

How? ‘Like’ pages and join groups where your target market hang out…• Search ‘music’ or ‘parents’ and more under Home/Groups/ and search

How? Encourage people to like your page via your website…

How? Sign up local Facebook Fans…Search users in specific location on facebook.grader.com

How? Advertise on Facebook…

Advertise on Facebook…

• To establish or build your profile online• To drive traffic to your website• To network with potential customers, influencers, or others in your niche.• To get valuable feedback – surveys, polls• To build a community• To act as an alternative form of communication – quick and easy• To hire people – be they volunteers or paid?• To update your community of new class timetables /updates/achievements /end of terms/deadline to enrol etc.• To promote events/product launches/updates/fund-raising drives?• To raise money for a child/family in need• To show a more personal side of yourself • To run occasional “twitter only” discounts and specials

STEP 5 – Get on Twitter, and start ‘tweeting’ Why…?

STEP 5.1 – Find accounts & follow them

STEP 5.2 - Sign up local Twitter followers• Click on ‘Top Users’• Once in click on ‘twitter elite in a specific location’

Sign up local Twitter followers

STEP 5.3 – Link up accounts & schedule tweets and posts ahead of time…and manage multiple accounts with ease.

Don’t forget it’s ALL public

The big growth areas…iphone apps

Social networking meets search marketing…

Facebook is having a crack too…

but it’s not here…yet!

There’s one more very powerful marketing method I’ve purposely overlooked…Can you guess what it is?

Word of mouth!!!

•Referrals•Incentives•Strategic alliances•The overall customer experience•Surveys/polls•Mystery shoppers•Immediate feedback asking for a referral

Your Homework Check out Google Tools – they could save you time and money! Check out the links I send you – they could save you time and money too! Get a website and get it right – does it tick all the boxes? If not, get them ticked! Optimise your website Explore pay per click campaigns on Google Adwords and others Claim your listing on Google Maps, flesh out your listing, encourage reviews Get listed on free and paid business directories – from local to industry specific and

more! Get a Facebook page and grow your community Get a Twitter account, follow people and start tweeting Manage all your social media from the one dashboard Explore the new emerging technologies – iPhone apps, Gowalla, FourSquare and

Facebook Places (when it comes) Get key company documents i.e. templates, forms, contacts, procedures and policies

ONLINE utilizing technology such as wikis, Google Docs or otherwise where you can share and collaborate online and mobilize your business.

Make sure your marketing features your website and other social media community links ALWAYS and PROMINENTLY

Make sure you have a good email signature with these links too! Track and measure results, then refine! Have fun with it all!!!

Want more on this stuff?

EVENT DAY + 48HRS AFTER SPECIAL!

High quality, professional produced DVD sets

Use the code ‘musik01’ to receive 20% off all DVD product orders for the next 48 hours

Want constant tips & inspiration?

http://www.facebook.com/thecreativecollective

http://www.twitter.com/creativecollect

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/the-creative-collective

http://www.youtube.com/dacreativecollective

P: 07 545 11315w: www.thecreativecollective.com.au

Kindermusik september 2010

Education