When it comes to getting social media right I was not surprised to see Sir Richard Branson’s tech-savvy influence in the forefront of social media.
In an interview between Jeff Sweat, Editor-in-chief, Yahoo and Porter Gale, VP of marketing at Virgin America, Porter certainly tells how getting social media right can have a very positive effect on customers and clients of Virgin America…
“…If somebody says “Why should I fly Virgin” on Twitter, you could see a stream of answers of why people think they should. So it’s had a lot of positive results for us that we didn’t expect.”

To get social media right, it is about extending a conversation to customers and potential clients and establishing a channel of communication and therefore an exchange of ideas, opinions and feedback.

We need to embrace social media and start learning about it and engaging ourselves in this form of online interactive communication.

There are quite a few different channels available the most popular being Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn and not all these may suit your business. So some research is the key to successful social media marketing to ensure you are getting social media right.

So if you require assistance in setting up, implementing and maintaining your social media marketing plan, you can visit our fan page and click our like button if you liked this post and we are happy to offer you a free consultation and proposal.

Social media is here to stay

…so business owners need to embrace this as Google’s new CEO, Larry Page has shown that social media is at forefront of his mind. Within days of taking on his new role; a company-wide memo was sent out promoting the company’s social media success and bonuses attached to this.

Read full article here…

Page has obviously been motivated by Google’s major rival Facebook, with more than 500 million users, Facebook is the largest social networking in the world.

Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group, had this to say about Vic Gundotra, whom has been appointed as Google’s senior vice president of social.

… “He is one of the sharpest guys to have left Microsoft. He has a strong ability to build relationships. He’s probably one of the most experienced people to put on a social project. However this is an area that is very new and still largely in the discovery phase, which means his success is not assured.”

To further strengthen the importance and significance of social media a recently released 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report found…

” that 90 percent of marketers said that the channel was important to achieving business success.”

So businesses; as social media is here to stay this is the best time to get involved as we are in the discovery phase as stated by Enderle and professional marketers find the medium to be extremely useful if employed properly.

Here at Townsville Social Media we are committed to helping business achieve success through social media channels.

So if you require assistance in setting up, implementing and maintaining your social media marketing plan, you can visit our fan page and click our like button if you liked this post and we are happy to offer you a free consultation and proposal.

Social media is here to stay and as we are here to stay we would like to offer you ongoing support with any questions or queries regarding social media.
Kaz :)

What is the Social Media Cycle?

Everything in life is cyclic, so why not social media.

The internet has come such a long way in such a short period of time and it changes constantly.

Internet Marketing started with someone developing a website and then by using different techniques was able to rank high on the google search page. From here sales would be made.

However, these websites began popping up a dime a dozen so Google then had to do some rethinking as they had to show credibility with websites they were promoting.

So Google had to do some research; so now to ensure that number one page of ranking; blogs / websites needed to show quality with ongoing valuable, informative information to maintain their ranking.

With this demand for quality and interaction on the internet there has been a huge shift towards incorporating social media in businesses.

So if everyone is using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube do we need to continue with our blogs anymore.

Below is a quick basic video Townsville Social Media Marketing have put together to show you the extreme value and importance of blogs and social media in the overall social media cycle. This will then ensure your online success into the future.

So enjoy and if you have any questions or comment please share as we are all living in this social media cycle.

For further information on incorporating social media into your business contact us at Townsville Social Media Marketing and we would love to provide you with a free web analysis to ensure the social media cycle finds its way into your business.

This video is a quick overview on the working of our social media marketing machines and how vital they are for all businesses. Using these social media marketing machines keeps small business in front of their competition as they are showing their wares where the greatest traffic is found.

Contact us and we will be more than happy to promote and excel you into the future with a social media marketing plan to meet your needs using the social media internet marketing machines!

What is the difference between social media and traditional marketing, let’s take a quick look at each one.

What is traditional marketing… you are watching TV and just as the show is pumping it goes to commercial.

What is that all about???
That is called interruptive marketing you can choose to either watch it or you may well be a channel flicker, this is why channel flicking lives in every household. However the fortune spent on advertising as made commercials quite entertaining and can compete well with any flicker.

Social media marketing is when you participate by hopping on Facebook or Twitter to see what has been going on and you see an entry where a friend recommends a product or a service from a fanpage on Facebook or Twitter.

You see the product and/or service and realise you would like to have it as well. Though this is not the reason you went on Facebook, you were influenced by a friends recommendation and so you go check out the site and then you can make a decision whether you interact and then maybe purchase the product or service yourself. So you order or go back to Facebook this is social media marketing AKA participation marketing.

So that was a quick interpretation of social media and traditional marketing.

We have seen that the marketing landscape has changed more dramatically in the past 5 years than in all forms of marketing in the past 50 years.

Consumers have access to technology where they can do their own research on products and services. Research has shown that 97% of consumers are already doing this.

Traditional marketing surrounds us constantly at work, at home, on the way to work, social functions there is always some form of marketing. Due to this ever increasing form of marketing we have developed “ad blindness”, we just do not see most of the advertising. This is why millions is spent on advertising getting impressionable people to promote products so as consumers we take notice.

This interruptive marketing that you are exposed to provides a captured audience with an awareness, you may take the information on board and consider the product, you then decide on your preference of the brand and then you may purchase. This type of marketing has been shown to a large audience to maybe get one potential buyer.

Social media marketing is more socially geared the consumer is a participant. There is an interaction on the website, Facebook, twitter, YouTube etc. As a consumer you can choose to become involved and with this interaction and involvement you, as a consumer becomes intimate with the product and service. You then purchase and recommend the product and or service and this then influences your peers to trust and see credibility in the product and or service. Townsville Social Media Marketing or on our fanpage.

So from this you can see the power of social media Vs traditional marketing. For more information contact us at

Social Media Marketing is an important and powerful tool because that is where the people are.

More than 70 % of Australians hang out online searching everyday for up to date info from friends, researching a new product they are wanting to purchase, even to see what music, books are the most recommended to them by friends family and just general chit-chat. This is the power of social media.

It is a social circus with the big tent being the world. We have Facebook, blogs, twitter, bebo, YouTube, flickr and many more.
To take advantage of the power of social media marketing you need to be active in places online where your target customers hang out. Staying active can be quite time consuming so in order for you to maintain your lifestyle there are automated ways to follow up with your clients over time. The truth is marketing has shifted from a one-way broadcast to a multi -point conversation. Some stats to show the importance of social media marketing:

• 97 % of consumers use online searches when researching products/services
• 78 % of consumers trust peer recommendations
• Only 14% trust ads.

Something to think about…..

There are over 700,000,000 members combined on Facebook and Twitter alone and those members seek and make recommendations for services and products for their friends and followers.

Followers are an important and integral part of social media as they are usually following someone or a group of something they have great interest in and trust. So when those being followed make recommendations there is an increased potential for their followers to purchase the product or service recommended.

The true secret to the power of social media marketing is the peer recommendations.

Another interesting stat for Facebook:

• the fastest demographic users are 35-65 year old women
• 80 % of household buying is done by 35 – 65 year old women

Some more food for thought…

So you can see the power and importance of social media marketing, your prospects and clients are using social media. Already, according to Yahoo! 92% of all business searchers start looking online, either at home or on their mobile phone.

Why would you not be online to be found.

There are three steps to becoming part of social media marketing…

• Get out there & get found
• Engage
• Follow up

Check out this post for more information on this 3 step process. Also remember there’s a “use by” date on almost every piece of information online, so if you’re not delivering something new on a regular basis you’re going to get knocked off the shelf by someone else who is. So contact us at Townsville Social Media Marketing and we will keep you looking fresh and plump on that shelf so there is no “use by” date as we understand the power and importance of social media marketing. :) Kaz

The Three Steps to Successful Social Media Marketing are:

• Get out there and get found
• Engage
• Follow up

The first step to successful social media marketing is to be found. When the internet started businesses built websites and they would wait for a potential client to find them. Marketing online is no longer just having this website, “if you build it they will come”, scenario it is now so much more.

Google Places is a great place to start this is where you can have your business placed on Google for free and a great step to successful social media marketing.

You also need now to go where your prospects and clients are online and setting up store in those locations. Years ago “word of mouth” was the best advertising for a business and this is still true of today, however, social media like Twitter and Facebook are the new “word of mouth” of today.

With more than 700,000,000 members combined Twitter and Facebook are the forefront in “word of mouth” advertising.

So to get found you need to be active on Facebook and Twitter. Another interesting and powerful tool for social media marketing is YouTube. I always seem to be mentioning stats, however, they are mind blowing…. YouTube gets more than 300 million visitors a month who watch more than 2 billion videos, I told you mind blowing.

People go there to answer their questions, review a product or service, or learn how to do something. So by uploading videos there is a greater potential to be found.

Blogs are a great way to be found as there are more than 200,000,000 online and these are followed by people that are interested in what that blog is about; Training your dog, our environment, empowering women online many areas of interest. So to be successful with social media marketing you need a great quality blog that is not solely focused on the sell but gives great quality information.

Step two to successful social media marketing is engage….

Have your prospects and clients follow you on Twitter, Facebook and have them subscribe to your YouTube channel.

Then you start offering your clients more insightful information, expert perspective, recommendations, discounts, basically…..membership privileges.

The third and final step to successful social media marketing is… too continue to engage and provide good quality current information.

Continue to make offers as it costs 6-7 times less for an existing client to buy from you than to get a new client.

A big tip is that if a client makes a comment on your Facebook fan page then ensure you reply and use their name. This personal touch reassures the client that they are not just a statistic, they are a valued client and will stay with you.

With these three steps you will have a successful social media marketing plan. If you require assistance in setting up, implementing and maintaining your social media marketing plan, you can visit our fan page and click our like button if you liked this post and we will give you a free consultation and proposal.

Another interesting post on the importance and power of social media marketing can be found here. So enjoy :) Kaz

As I sit here watching the devastation of the earthquake in Christchurch. Only a couple of weeks ago they were watching the devastation of North Queensland where I reside.

How the tables have turned. My heart is breaking for those that are injured and those families of the ones that have lost their life on this day in the devastating earthquake. My husband’s mum, sister and family live in Christchurch and I am sitting here not knowing whether they are alive and safe

When the cyclone hit North Queensland they could not contact us after the cyclone as we had no power but they knew we were okay as no deaths or serious injury were reported. We give thanks for that.

However, this time I am not so reassured as I know there have been fatalities and serious injuries. Are they one of them. Someone’s family has lost family members that is fact but the not knowing is heartbreaking.

The earthquake in Christchurch is the worse they have experienced in regard to loss of life and damage. As was the cyclone which ripped through North Queensland right through to the border of the Northern Territory. Havoc from cyclone Yasi was felt in Victoria which is at the bottom of the country. I believe Mother Nature is trying to tell us something.

However, the reason I am writing this post is to help me deal with how I am feeling at the moment, but also to see how social media is a part of our lives.

In Townsville we are still having cuts to our power for repairs and this morning whilst I was trying to find out about Christchurch we lost power. I had my IPad and I was kept up to-date with the events through Twitter.

So thank you to all that sent out those tweets, I was not totally isolated in my home from the world.

We at Townsville Social Media Marketing send all our love and thoughts to all those in Christchurch and neighbouring towns.