How to market your business online simply, safely and successfully.

1. 5 secrets of a
The
Social Media Ninja
How to Kick Ass – Take Names – and Dominate Your Marketplace
By Kalynn Amadio

2. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
It’s the 21st Century and things have changed. For argument’s sake, let’s
assume we agree on this point.
One industry that has experienced an EPIC impact is marketing. So we can
agree on this point too, let’s define marketing.
mar-ket-ing [mahr-ki-ting]
noun the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the
producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing and
selling.
For our purposes, marketing is an umbrella term referring to the selling of
your goods and services to the consumer in all the modalities available in
the 21st Century.
In the past, local brick and mortar small business owners have not been
able to afford to engage in all the most successful types of marketing like
television advertising, radio advertising or billboards, as well as print ads in
popular high circulation newspapers and magazines or even a Yellow
Pages ad.
Because I really believe that our economy rides on the backs of small
business, my mission is to help 1,000,000 small business owners increase
their profits by $1,000,000 each to create a Trillion Dollar Marketing
movement.
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3. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
When small business is profitable, they are creating jobs and stimulating
local economy and we all benefit from that.
As an internet marketing consultant and information marketer, you can
imagine how giddy I became when the paradigm shift that caused the EPIC
change in marketing for local small business owners turned out to be the…
internet.
The recent conversation taking place between small business owners and
marketing and advertising firms is…
Why do I need the
Internet?
And the way I answer that question is…
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4. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
because Yellow Pages is no longer the way to get found.
Marketing has shifted from a one-way broadcast, from the business out to
the consumer, into a multi-point conversation with the consumer.
You need to know where your customers are hanging out. Understanding
your customer’s habits and the digital footprint of your business are the
keys to successful marketing in the 21st Century. Which brings us to…
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5. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
SECRET
1
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6. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
Traditional Social Media:
If we can use the word traditional and social media in the same sentence,
this is the context. Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are the big three social
media sites today that bring a small business the most bang for the buck.
The barrier to entry for all three of these sites is a big fat $0.00 for any local
business owner who invests the time to set up the structure.
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7. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
There is no cost to opening an account on any of these social media
platforms and anyone can build a Facebook Business Page that is attached
to their personal account but still held separate in cyberspace.
In 2011, I listened to Jeffrey Hayzlet, the former CMO and VP of Eastman
Kodak at a keynote panel as he explained his strategy with the big three.
Hayzlet explained that he views Linkedin as the sidewalk outside his home.
Anyone can walk by whether they know him or not and he can see who his
neighbors are doing business with.
Twitter he views as his front porch. These are the businesses and people
that he welcomes coming to his front door and he may even open the door
and have a conversation, a get-to-know-ya session which may or may not
lead to doing business.
Facebook is his living room. It’s more personal and only family and friends
are invited inside. His attitude makes sense for keeping your personal
Facebook interaction apart from your business interaction. However,
Facebook has made it even easier to separate the two with the business
page.
Recent reports[1] tell us that social media as a marketing method is having
the largest impact on small business as a positive return on investment.
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8. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
Comscore released a study earlier in 2011 that showed how business
brands that post at least once every day will reach 22% of their fans in a
given week.
[2]
[1]
Social Media Examiner, November 8, 2011
[2]
Media Bistro [INFOGRAPHIC], September 28, 2011
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9. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
SECRET
2
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10. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
Secret number 2 is local search as brought to us by Big Brother Google. Or
as I affectionately like to refer to them
SKYNET.
Google is the big dog, the Grand Poobah, the…okay you get it. They’re big.
It’s not just that Google is big, but it’s their control of search on the internet
that changed the story for the local small business owner.
In November 2010, Google made a discovery. They realized that some
smart people who use their search box, (around 30% of users at the time),
were modifying the search entry with a local modifier. In other words, this
30% was not just typing painter when they were looking for a house
painter because that would give them results for who the famous painters
of the world were and what art is hanging in the Louvre. These geniuses
would search for painter 90210 or house painter Schenectady for example.
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11. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
These modifiers would force the Google algorithm to deliver local results.
So duh, Google decided that if 30% had figured out how to force local
results, there had to be more people who wanted local results but hadn’t
figured out how to force it.
This led to the EPIC change for local business, Google decided to deliver
local search results automatically.
Local search results for businesses and maps showing the location of the
business fulfilling the search keyword criteria are presented automatically
on page one of Google search results beside paid advertising for the same
keywords.
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12. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
The value of this is priceless and local business owners can take
advantage of this change for free on their own or at a low cost with an
expert.
It’s important to note here that
Local Search is as
much about reputation
management as it is
about being found.
Without getting into a long explanation, just remember that the internet is a
living interactive environment. Sites like Google and Yelp encourage
consumers to review local businesses. And we both know that people are
much more likely to bother reviewing when something went wrong rather
than when everything went right.
We look for confirmation from other consumers before we make the
decision to buy. We trust peer recommendations far more than company
advertising. [3]
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13. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
So the reality is, your customers are already talking about your business
online and that interaction is also part of local search results. Google your
business now and see what your customers are saying.
[3]
Kikabink News, June 3, 2010
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14. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
SECRET
3
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15. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
This is by far my favorite of the 5 Secrets. It allows the most creativity and
has the largest chance of creating the elusive “celebrity” factor for any
business. It’s also the most underused and misunderstood of all the social
media platforms.
Yes, you heard me right; YouTube is a social media platform. It’s not just a
place where kids go to watch stupid cat videos, Jack Ass stunts and video
game “shows”.
Here are the cold hard facts…
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16. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
is the #2 Search Engine behind
Google, the #3 or #4 ranked website on the globe (it changes back and
forth every few months) and is owned by Google. That’s important to know.
Google owns YouTube and places a great deal of emphasis on the content
that lives on YouTube.
YouTube reported that an average of 48 hours of video was uploaded
every minute in 2011. That’s over 2.2 billion hours of video a day.
Why YouTube you ask? Because people look for videos to answer their
questions, show them how to do something or review a product or business
they’re considering for a purchase. That’s what turned YouTube into the 2nd
largest search engine online and what makes it an ideal marketing platform
for local business owners to showcase their goods and services.
Oh, did I mention that starting a channel on YouTube is FREE?
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17. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
SECRET
4
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18. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
Secret #4 is having a website or blog. Between 46-48% if small businesses
in the United States still do not have a website.
Today, a blog can be your website. They are no longer mutually exclusive.
My favorite platform for building websites or blogs for the past 3 years has
been Wordpress.
Wordpress is a free technology that can be installed on any website. There
are so many free and paid WP templates available that it’s easy to find
something that works for your small business at little to no cost.
Purchasing a domain name will run you no more than $12 a year and often
much less if you shop around. Hosting your site will cost as little as $10 a
month. So the investment to have a website is very small.
Now ask me why you need a website or a blog. Go ahead, ask…
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19. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
Just like video, we go
online to look for
information that
answer questions, or
review a product or
business.
If your business does not have a website or blog, consumers can’t find you.
If they can’t find you, they can’t evaluate you and decide to do business
with you. You must be where your customers are. It’s really that simple.
Secret #4 has a direct impact on the viability of our next and final Secret,
the secret where all business is heading this decade.
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20. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
SECRET
5
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21. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
Mobile has caused a media revolution.
There were 90 million US owned smartphones registered by the end of
October 2011. A recent Google survey [4] of 5000 smartphone users
showed that 95% used their mobile phone to do a local search.
(Remember Secret #2)?
88% used it and took action within 24 hours.
61% called the business, 59% visited and 44% actually made a purchase.
If your business doesn’t have that website/blog and aren’t working on a
local search campaign as in Secret #2 you’re not going to show up on that
mobile search.
[4]
TechCrunch, April 26, 2011
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22. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
Mobile media also includes opportunities like TEXT or SMS messaging.
97% of text messages are opened within 1 minute of receipt. You can’t buy
that type of yield with direct mail or email.
Don’t forget apps. Apple iTunes has over 662,000 apps listed in the iTunes
Store. Apple represents 28% of the mobile phone market. Android which is
partnered with Google owns 46% and Blackberry 17%. All three offer apps
to users and any small business can have an “app for that” to create more
interaction with consumers.
QR or quick response codes are also being used creatively by businesses.
They are free to make and can be used in a variety of ways.
Mobile includes tablets like the iPad, augmented reality, near field
communication, smart wallets, couch commerce and social media with geo-
location social media like Foursquare. Don’t forget navigation systems like
Garmin too.
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23. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
Any one of the 5 Secrets applied to your small business is better than none
at all. But when you begin to stack all five, your message and vision
becomes amplified to the point that it can’t be missed or ignored.
There is still time to
get established before
it’s too late.
We are still in the early stages of digital marketing but it’s moving FAST.
The longer a business waits to go online with any and all of these 5 secrets
the harder it will be to carve out market share.
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24. The 5 Secrets of a Social Media Ninja
This report covers the basics but there are numerous additional parts and
pieces that can be used to help a local small business grow.
Much of what has been addressed here can be done by any small business
owner at little to no cost. The barrier to entry has never been lower.
It will take some time and effort, some education and trial & error, but it can
be done. If you know it’s time for your small business to amplify your
message and reach more consumers give these 5 Secrets a try or give us
a call at 866-945-8150. Or email us at info@ikalynn.com and reference 5
Secrets in the subject line. We would be honored to help you become part
of the Trillion Dollar Marketing movement.
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