Social Media Marketing; Learn How to Move the Google Needle

I am in Dallas this week at the Optimization Summit Conference. Tami Siewruk, the event organizer and Chief Imagination Officer at Multifamily Pro has done an outstanding job with a stealer line up of top rate small business and Social Media Presenters. I feel pretty honored to be on the same ticket along side guys like Christopher Penn, Jason Falls, John Jantsch and Geno Church to name a few. This may well be one of the best positioned Small Business Conferences I have ever attended.

Tami’s following from pulling off successful Multifamily Brainstorm Sessions for over twenty years has mostly drawn apartment folks. The attendees here are ready for change, they are past talking about Social Media, and are eager to implement. Many still have questions, and more over fear, but they are ready to pull the trigger. Some with big apartment portfolio’s. We are moving past the place of talking and into doing. I love that, it is pretty cool and very exciting.

My session on Wednesday is Move the Google Needle, and will cover the below outlined items in four two hour sessions.

1. Anatomy of a Search Engine; The difference between organic and paid searches and where you should focus your time and resources
2. Domain Names and Alternate Domain Names Own the right web site addresses and watch your traffic soar.
3. Keywords The most important list you’ll ever make
4. Title Tag A search engines first impression of your web site —-make it a good one.
5. Meta Description Tags Your chance to tell a search engine user why they should click your link over all the other
6. Home Page Content This critical content must be created with two audiences in mind: your residents and the search engines.
7. Link Popularity Learn how to increase your web site’s popularity and become noticeable with the search engines
8. Hurl your URL The easiest way to effectively market your web site
9. Social Networking Sites Find new business quickly and effectively using these new sites
10. Articles Be known as a content expert in your field and allow others other’s to market your web site for you
11. Press Releases Generate buzz and make a splash on search engines
12. Blogs Your online forum to inform prospects about your products and brand
13. E-mail Marketing Stay “top of mind” with your residents and prospects

Here is a link to the slides, Move the Google Needle should you have further interest,

Will we sell more stuff

As we wind down the year, like many others I reflect a lot on where we have been, and where we are headed. It seems like we have been talking about Social Media Marketing and all of the benefits for a long time, yet until recently folks looked at you like you had a horn protruding from your head.

As we close out 2009, Social Media IS all the buzz, but will it deliver the Results? And friends, some Social Media Marketing Studios get rather fuzzy regarding Results.  Most business folks aren’t so fuzzy about results, yet how many times have you heard

“I Know Half My Marketing Works, I Just Don’t Know Which Half”

The first question to ask your marketing studio or marketing director, frankly the only question, is “Will we sell more stuff”

“The sole purpose of marketing is to sell more to more people, more often and at higher prices. There is no other reason to do it.”

That was our starting point for our own business at Urbane Apartments when we started to apply Social Media Marketing in 2004. Build it and they will come IS a myth, you have to market your product, there really is no other way. Our Goal for employing the effective use of Social Media Marketing was To Rent More Apartments.

Put that bluntly to many of the Social Media Purists typically spurs a reaction, as some folks aren’t so comfortable with Results. It is easier and more fun to talk about all the many things that Social Media Marketing will do to enhance your companies relationship with your customer, all of which are true, but the bottom line is, If You Aren’t Selling More Stuff, It Is Just a Hobby.

So, That is our Starting Point for effective use of Social Media Marketing, To sell more stuff, to more people, for more money.