View Jan 2010 ACT Newsletter on Leveraging Social Media in a PDF Version

Integrating Social Media Into Your ACT! by Sage E-Marketing Efforts

Text only version is below

Social media is a powerful force that is

growing rapidly. For small businesses,

utilizing this important marketing

tool is not just smart, but is quickly becoming

essential. ACT! by Sage 2010 allows you to

leverage the Facebook, LinkedIn®, Twitter™,

and Plaxo social media sites in your marketing

efforts. In this article, we cover some of

the whys and hows of social media marketing,

and using Facebook as our example,

we will discuss how ACT! 2010 and ACT!

E-Marketing fit into an integrated social

media marketing strategy.

Social Media Marketing Results

With a successful social marketing strategy,

you can expect to increase traffic to your

Web site, locate new clients, establish strategic

alliances, and attract media attention.

Social marketing is particularly useful for

small businesses because it can net spectacular

results for very little cost. For example, a wedding

photographer was able to generate over

$60,000 in business by spending just $300

on Facebook ads that targeted women with a

relationship status of engaged in their profiles.

Social Media Today

Many people have a misapprehension that

social media is only for the young. In fact,

according to statistics published by iStrategy-

Labs in July 2009, the 55+ age group is the

most rapidly growing segment on Facebook,

and the largest segment of users is the 34-54

age group. And people don’t just sign up for

accounts and leave them idle. According to

Facebook’s published statistics, more than 50

percent of active users log on in any given day.

And there are more than 5.3 billion fans of

the more than 700,000 businesses that have

active Facebook Pages. With these statistics,

there is little doubt that there is a huge audience

for your products and services on social

media sites.

Getting Started

Rather than individual profiles or groups on

Facebook, Facebook Pages are the best place

to start. Pages allow businesses to collect Fans.

Your Facebook address can reflect your business

name, for example, www.facebook.com/

ABCCompany. You can link your Facebook

Page to your company’s Web site and to

e-commerce sites that sell your products.

Tip: Setting Multiple Window Views In ACT! by Sage

Some people prefer to display ACT! by

Sage information in several windows

at once, instead of replacing the existing

screen each time you choose to open a new

view. Then you can either Tile or Cascade

your windows. You have the option to set

the screen format in ACT! by Sage to your

preferred format. The setting is found in

the Window menu in ACT!. However, by

default, the Window menu option is hidden,

so you must first enable this option.

Here are the steps required:

Launch ACT!, selecting 1. the database

where you want to see the change.

2. Click Tools, then click Preferences. The

Preferences dialog box appears.

3. Under the Startup tab, enable the Open

each view in its own Window option.

4. Click Apply, and then click OK. Your

menu now will include a Window option,

between the Tools menu and the Help

menu, on your Menu Bar.

5. Click the Window menu to access your

Cascade and Tile options.

As you get started, ask friends and family

to become fans of your business so you have

a respectable crowd of supporters when you

debut your page with your customers. When

you are ready, you can invite customers to

become fans using ACT! E-Marketing powered

by Swiftpage™. Then, engage your fans

by posting comments on their pages and

encouraging them to pass the word about

your fan page and company.

It’s About Relationships

Relationships are at the heart of a successful

social marketing strategy. “Relationships first,

business second,” is the motto of Mari Smith,

dubbed The Pied Piper of the Online World by

FastCompany.com. You may find your time

spent on Facebook feels less like selling and

more like customer service. When people

ask for information, even if it is not directly

related to buying your product, you need to

respond to keep them engaged. Buy-buy-buy

messages don’t work. Listen to what people

are saying, the good and the bad. Engage with

fans and critics — you may pick up ideas on

how you can improve your business.

Keep It Alive

The personality of your Facebook page

should enhance the brand image of your Web

site and other marketing pieces. “The pages

that are most successful, are the ones that really

replicate the personality of the business,” says

Tim Kendall, the director of monetization

at Facebook. Keep content fresh. Use Status

Updates and Newsfeeds to tell fans about specials

and events, and regularly add photos,

comments, and other useful information.

Targeting Your Prospects

Once you have invited customers and

friends to be fans, you can go looking for

new prospects with Facebook ads. Because

Facebook users complete profiles with information

like hometown, employer, religious

beliefs, interests, education and favorite books,

movies and TV shows — it is tailor made for

targeted marketing. Profile information can

help you deliver messages to specific demographic

slices. As you create an ad, you can

add demographic criteria and keywords and

see how many Facebook users fall into your

target audience. Then you can modify your

ad accordingly to get the most bang for your

buck. You can elect to pay per impression or

per click, set maximum budgets and schedule

the ad to run on specific dates.

ACT! by Sage 2010

ACT! 2010 allows you to embed your customer’s

personal Facebook or LinkedIn pages

right into their contact record. Use this tool

to keep up with what’s going on in their lives,

so that you can add a personal touch to phone

calls and e-mail messages.

Remember to put the relationship first,

and the selling second, and you will be well

on your way to a successful social marketing

strategy. Please give us a call at 847-352-4770  for more information

about ACT! by Sage 2010 or for assistance

implementing any of the ideas discussed

in this article.

© Copyright 2004–2010 Tango Marketing, LLC. www.tango-marketing.com All Rights Reserved. This newsletter and its content have been registered with the United States Copyright Office. This content is licensed by Tango Marketing LLC and can be distributed by licensee until 06/30/2010 at which time the licensee must cease distribution and use of this content unless permission in writing is obtaine from Tango Marketing LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited. The capabilities, system requirements and/or compatibility with third-party products described herein are subject to change without notice. Sage, the Sage logos, ACT!, and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc., or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Request