As a Denver Marketing company we work to stay on top of changes coming to online marketing. On Wednesday Facebook took the steps to begin the filing process to become an IPO. This week we will be looking at the full reasons behind, benefits, and disadvantages of Facebook becoming a publicly traded company. We will conclude by outlining what this means for us businesses involved in marketing through Facebook.

Why did Facebook file?

The answer here is very simple, they were required to. This happened because Facebook finally reached a point where they had more than 500 shareholders and were already making more capital than what was required to file. Due to business laws Facebook was required to file before April or face penalties for not being a publicly traded company.

What are the benefits of the IPO?

Obviously Facebook will have the opportunity to gain investors money with this initial offering. In the long term this means higher regulations on business, however as stated before those are unavoidable. What comes with this though is an opportunity to expand and become a company that will stay longterm instead of potentially falling by the wayside like other online upstarts.

What are the disadvantages of the IPO?

There are two large disadvantages which have been focused on for Facebook and it’s IPO.

1. No more privacy

Facebook has prided itself on secrecy and not releasing the next big thing until it is ready. Due to how companies are required to report on the stock exchange Facebook will be required to be more open about what they are doing. Though we believe Facebook will be able to stay on top of what they are doing in the long term it could slow them down due to the amount of reporting they have to do as a publicly traded company.

2. Limits on planning

This is what we were alluding to with the previous point. With the reporting that Facebook will have to do there will be potential that they could lose sight of long term planning. The key of Facebook’s success (as much as it annoys some) is that they are constantly innovating as a website. This means that if they aren’t careful they can no longer be relevant to the online community.

3. Control

Zuckerberg has stated that he will maintain full control of the company. This could be a discouragement to investors who are accustomed to having a say in how their investments work. Overall as long as Mark continues to keep the company relevant to the online community there should not be any issues (until he has to relinquish control).

What does this mean for Internet marketers?

Currently on the books there are no significant changes for us. However, Facebook is saying that they will begin to sell user information at a higher price than before. This could lead to a public outcry, however over a free online service there isn’t much that people can do against it. We will have more insight into the companies workings with their quarterly reports, how we use them will be up to us. What are your thoughts on the IPO?

This falls into Inbound Marketing

Facebook offers an Inbound Marketing opportunity. We have compiled success stories of our Inbound Marketing services.

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Today’s guest blog post comes from Frank Belzer of Kurlan & Associates.

Maybe you have already read this article in the Harvard Business Review regarding the prevalence of dishonest communication via email as compared to face to face communication. This is probably not a huge surprise for most of us – if we have been in sales any length of time we realize two things:

1. Honesty is desired by prospects and sellers alike, however many transactions and exchanges are full of lies and deception.
2. Email communication – although extremely popular (especially among the younger generation) and easy to default to is not the best way of talking to prospects.

Perhaps though the statistics, the level of deception and the fact that it is on the rise are the things that shocked you the most. Notice this one statement from the research – “those using email had 5 times more lies per word communicated than those speaking face to face. Lying appears to be more common when the communicator is psychologically and physically distant from the person receiving the message”.

Think about the impact of that statement for a moment!

Two things clearly happen or are accentuated when we rely too heavily on email communication. First of all we don’t get the truth and that is a biggie. Secondly, we don’t build or enhance the relationship with the client like we should because this is a two way street. When the communication is stifled and dishonest we are not drawing closer to the person and we are not learning about their interests. These are both fundamental and essential to having a good rapport and relationship with your prospects.

So what is the lesson here when it comes to email?

The younger generations have grown up almost entirely without human to human interaction when it comes to relationships outside of family and close friends. Networks are virtual, friending is done with the click of a mouse and texting has taken the place of talking in many cases. Shaking hands and eye contact are two examples of behaviors that simply used to be good manners and natural, but now we have to train people how to do these things. The technological revolution that we have all enjoyed and in many cases depend on has actually had a negative side when it comes to human interaction and real social behaviors.

Email works in sales two ways – and only these two ways! (Obviously can be helpful for account management and sorting out details as well, this is in reference to actual selling)

1. As an appetizer that is sent before or prior to a call or meeting. Set expectations, next steps and providing homework. Letting someone know they can expect your call on such and such a date.
2. As a dessert it follows up a genuine conversation with a thank you and a next step. It might provide some additional information they were interested in getting from you.

Email is NEVER the main course when selling! However we are finding that too many sales people like to revert to email when they really should not. Why? It protects them from some of the things they don’t like and it is easier. Like most things that are easier – that’s the wrong course.

Frank Belzer is Senior Sales Strategist and VP of Corporate Training at Kurlan & Associates, a sales process consulting and sales coaching company. You can see his original post here.

Need more sales leads?

Frank has some great advice on how to nurture and close your sales leads. But what if you’re not getting any new leads from your website? Come see how we’ve helped other companies increase their inbound leads from their website and other online tools, and see if you might be a good fit for our help as well.

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Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Pinterest, Reddit…how many social media outlets can you name?  And, wait!  Let’s not forget the old school, veteran social media outlet that is simply blogging.  Now, perhaps you are sitting at your desk thinking, how does social media fit into my Denver marketing needs?  After all, isn’t Facebook just for college kids to connect with one another, and isn’t Twitter just another way to get celebrity gossip outside of People magazine?

Actually, the answer is no.

In this digitalized world we live in, social media needs to be a huge part of your online marketing plan for your business.  The underlying reason for this is that social media makes connections.  Social media connects people to other people, businesses to other businesses.  Social media can help drive traffic to and from your website or blog.  Today, we are going to touch on a few of social media’s highlights.

1. Getting more people to read your blog

A great way to use social media to drive traffic to your blog is to plug your own articles on Twitter or Facebook with a catchy line that sums up the read.  An enticing blurb is great to inspire clicks, and therefore article readers!

2. Advertising promotional events

This can be done in many ways with social media: links to event pages with Twitter or Facebook posts, Flickr albums of past events (i.e. let everyone see how successful the event was last year, and get them to attend this year)…the possibilities are endless!  We should add that one of the bottom lines of using social media is: get creative.  Using social media to better your internet marketing campaign means finding a way to stand out from your competitors.  With social media, you can add all sorts of value to your business, and to customer experience.

3. Connect with customers

Let’s touch on adding value to customer experience: social media allows for direction business-to-customer communication, and vice versa.  With social media outlets like Facebook, you can get customer opinions on products, ideas, events, etc.  Blogs, of course, are also a great tool for this.  The ability for customers to comment on blog articles is a great way to gain consumer insight.

4. Connect with other businesses

As previously mentioned, social media can help connect your business with other businesses.  Social media can help you create partnerships, and find other ways to team up with businesses that complement your business model and goals.  On that note, social media can also help you compare your success with the success (or, possibly, lack thereof) of your competitors.  Looking at competitors’ social media tactics can help you discover what you’re doing right and wrong, and what you can do to better serve your customers.

If there is one piece of advice about social media that you take out of this article today, let it be: get creative.  As we mentioned before, social media is about getting creative, whether it’s with words, pictures, or events, get creative to bring customers in and add value to your business.  Also, when you’re focused on getting creative, you can be pretty sure that you’re going to end up having fun as well!

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As a Denver Marketing company we stay connected to our peers in order to keep up to date on what is going on in the industry.  Recently we have encountered crisis’s which peers or communities we follow have had in their online communities. After seeing these cases we felt it would be best to write a post in our Public Relations for Small Business series that lines out how to manage a crisis in an online community.

Crisis is never something that a business wants to be a part of however it happens. When it happens it is best to have a plan on how to handle the situation. Here are some tips on how to handle a crisis should it arise.

1. Silence is never the answer

If a crisis arises, either from an individual or something that involves a mass of people, provide a response.  When all of the facts aren’t there a simple “we are looking into the situation and will be respond as soon as more facts are available” will suffice.  Silence is concession. Provide a response and make sure to follow up. This simple step may not be the immediate response community members want, however it will cover the company in the end. Responding will also help build rapport with the audience.

2. Present an united front

This can be simple for businesses with a staff of 5-10. However larger businesses need to know how to communicate between each other and with the outside community during a crisis. Its been said “failure to plan, is planning to fail” this is true here. It would be beneficial for businesses to have a social media plan that lines out how they respond to crisis online. This should include who will be the one responding to the crisis. Once a crisis has been identified then employee’s will know how to respond.

3. Communicate the truth

A no-nonsense statement right? At times it can be tougher than it seems. When a crisis arises we want to promise that everything is going to be alright. However, we can’t over promise, we must always state the truth of the situation. Then we communicate what we can do to overcome the crisis. Anything more than that can cause long term problems. Recently a major corporation came under fire during a sponsored Twitter hashtag. Instead of working to communicate the truth immediately in that situation they simply pulled the hashtag and ended the conversation. Hopefully they will respond to the questions raised from during their hashtag instead of being silent.

In the end every crisis is different.  What we must realize that these three steps are key in crisis communication. Ultimately it is up to the company to determine how to handle the crisis. We hope that these three points can help a company in any crisis situation.  If your company

Success Stories

We have compiled some success stories of our Inbound Marketing services. If your company could use our Inbound Marketing services take a read. Your company is safe knowing we have planned out how to handle any crisis which may arise.

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If you haven’t heard, this week bills were halted both in the House and Senate that could potentially heavily censor the internet. As a Denver online marketing company we found this a subject of great interest. After sitting back and watching the storm of online changes we have compiled a list of lessons that can be learn from what happened this week and be applied for years to come.

Internet Users are a Majority

We could camp here for the entire post but there is more to this subject. However, the online world showed that they are a force that can persuade through majority opinions when united under a cause. It’s been a while since Internet users were in the minority but this is one of the largest movements that has been successfully organized and implemented in America. It really shows the power of the Internet currently.

Internet Users are well Informed

The majority of these pieces of legislation were meant to be passed in order to crack down on pirated music, movies, and other media. These things should be cracked down on — however Internet users quickly realized SOPA was more than that.  SOPA allowed for a looser interpretation of what is deemed as copyright infringement enablement, allowing potentially any website with user comment or user-uploaded content functionality, such as ours, to be automatically liable for copyright infringement by default. Internet users, through being able to share and analyze the bill online, were able to discover and publicize this game-changing legal liability.

Internet Users are Redefining

What can be taken from this overall is that through the power of the internet, legislation can be once again swayed through the power of the people. Previously there hasn’t been an efficient way for legal information to flow to the people in order for them to be educated and follow politics properly. Now the Internet has provided that. The American government has seen how other countries have been shaped recently through online media and the most recent opposition to SOPA shows that Americans aren’t afraid to use the power of the online community either.

Conclusion

As the Internet expands there will be even more legislation regarding it.  In the way the American government is shaped, we have the opportunity to voice our opinions. So we should stay informed on government proceedings in order to make sure that our liberties surrounding the Internet stay protected. If you have any questions or comments about SOPA feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Keeping the conversation open on the subject will help us further our knowledge of this situation and how to approach it in the future.

View this info graph on the SOPA movement from Google. Click the image for more information on how you can continue to support the movement.

Inbound Marketing Plays into all of this

The new power of the internet and internet users has not only changed politics, but marketing as well — companies increasingly need to focus on inbound marketing rather than outbound marketing. Come read our inbound marketing success stories and how you could benefit from our marketing services yourself.

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