You are here:Home Archives for The Mayor of Hardware

6 Hour Social Media Strategy

6 Hour Social Media Strategy

According to Social Media Examiner –

“25% of Small Businesses Spend 6 – 10 hours

each week on social media marketing.”

I asked my network what they thought – many of my followers responded that even if they had that time to spare – they wouldn’t know what they should be working on.

That got me thinking what a 6-hour social media strategy could look like –

To keep things simple I’m going to focus on 3 platforms – Facebook, LinkedIn & Houzz.

8:00 a.m.

  • Post to Facebook – Share a tip / cool photo / ask a question

20 mins

12:00 p.m.

  • Respond to any comments on your Facebook post.
  • Scroll your Facebook Feed, see if there is anything that you can comment on.
  • Scroll your LinkedIn Feed, see if there is anything that you can share or comment on.

20 mins

4:30 p.m.

  • Respond to any of your Facebook or LinkedIn comments. If no comments, find something to comment on.

10 mins

8:00 p.m.

  • Scan the Houzz discussion board, see if there is anything for you to comment on.

10 mins

This strategy gives you an hour per week of cushion… You can search for more content worth sharing, create your own or have a glass of wine… 😉

There is a lot time allocated for responding and interacting with your network. That’s one of the most important things that you can do –

“Focus on listening and responding not shouting at your community”

The above times are suggestions, pick whatever times work for you. I try to “check in” every 4 – 5 hours when I can.

Once you get into a rhythm you can alternate your posts between the different platforms.

You will also be surprised at how much you can do from your phone while you’re waiting on line at Starbucks or watching TV.

I wrote this post for all of the naysayers out there that tell me they don’t have time for social media.

Having a social media plan doesn’t have to take up your entire day.

If you would like to learn more about social media –

Click Here to register for a free social media course taught by myself and Denise Butchko.

I help my customers build a social strategy that creates authority, social proof and generates the leads that they want.

 

Filed Under: Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment

Skipping This Simple Step Could Be Sabotaging Your Social Media Efforts

Screen Shot 2015-05-23 at 1.37.28 PM

Did you know that –

“Photos account for 62% of all brands posts, and 77% of all engagement.”

-Simply Measured

It’s more important than ever for you to not only include photos in your posts, but to make sure they display properly.

It only takes a few minutes to resize your photos and yet so many companies aren’t doing it.

If you’re not a graphic designer and don’t have any idea of how to use Adobe Photoshop – I strongly suggest using Picmonkey.com. This totally free site will help you resize your photo in seconds. I have been using it for years and never downloaded a virus.

Unfortunately every platform does require a different size image – some like squares or rectangles, they have different heights and widths…

How many times have you scrolled your Twitter feed and only been able to read half of that quote or seen part of the pic. Twitter moves so fast that if you can’t catch their attention, your audience will just keep scrolling.

According to Bufferapp.com –

“Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than those without.”

I can’t think of anything that can increase your batting average more than a properly sized photo.

But how can you keep all of the sizes straight?

Glad you asked –

Denise Butchko and I created a downloadable cheat sheet for you to keep as a reference. Click here to get the cheat sheet.

If you have any questions about social media or how I can help you with your efforts please don’t hesitate to send me an email at richdemarco@optonline.net.

Happy Posting!!

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: 2 Comments

Closet & Cabinet Expo is a HUGE Success!

20150414_182320-2If you attended the Closet Conference last week than you are probably just coming down off your high. This was the first time in a while that the rooms were full, the traffic lasted all day and people were excited about a strong year ahead.

Skip Labella kicked off the Conference by sharing Closet America’s “Go to Market Strategy” – the room was so full tables needed to be taken out so that we could fit more chairs.

There was a panel discussion that focused on the benefits of Insourcing VS Outsourcing. People left that session with a clear vision of the advantages and disadvantages of both models.

Closet Factory Virginia Beach owner, Jeff Bruzzesi explained how he turned building custom homes into a successful marketing strategy. By creating organization through out the custom homes, clients quickly realized that Jeff could do much more than build closets.  Here are some of the photos.

From the Conference nearly 200 people took a short bus ride to Plus Closets. They showed us the workflow in their shop, how they make drawer boxes and how they ship orders. It was one of the most organized tours that I have ever been on.

As we do every year we ended the day with a Networking Reception. We drank, ate, caught up with old friends and made new ones.

That was just day 1… 🙂

Day 2 didn’t disappoint – The Expo floor was packed with new items. Here are some of my favorites are –

The Boot Butler.  It’s a space saving way to hang your boots. It helps your boots maintain their shape, avoid creases and allows you to easily find the pair you are looking for. This is a cool item that your customers will love.

There was a handbag pull out and a pull out clothing rack for shallow closets, both are made by Glideware. Storing handbags can be a big problem especially if your client is like my wife and collects them… (That’s a topic for another day)  There are solutions for shallow closets, most are not as pretty as Glideware’s. Both options will work great for your high-end customers.

The Expo wasn’t all about accessories – Titus is introducing 5 brand new cam colors. They are designed to match the new textures that are on the market.   I consistently get asked for light gray (silver) and medium brown (warm cherry)  These should be available in 30 days.

Your turn – What were some of your favorite things about the Closet Conference & Expo?

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

For those of you that couldn’t attend, Woodworking Network has many of the presentation slides available on line – Check them out here – 

Be sure to save the date for next year’s Conference in Pasadena – March 22nd – 24th.

See you there!!

Filed Under: ACSP, Closet Conference, Closet Hardware Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment

Using Social Media For Your Business? Don’t Make These Mistakes –

You have finally decided now is the time to get involved with social media – That deserves an all caps – AWESOME!!

It’s the best thing that you can do for your business and your brand, as long as you don’t make these mistakes…

Social Media Small BusinessDiscuss Controversial Topics

This is at the top of my list and I know you’re reading this and saying – Duh…

I can show you multiple Twitter and Facebook Company accounts that are constantly posting about politics and it will only get worse as election season gets closer.

You don’t do that – Great!

What about on your personal page?

That is just as bad – once you put something online out it can and will be found.

I do my best to ignore those conversations. You don’t want your brand to be known as the next Sean Hannity.

Constantly Post Sales Pitches

Here is some tough love – nobody cares about your white sale as much as you. People don’t go to Facebook to be sold. Your potential customer is hanging out on Facebook to catch up with friends, maybe learn something new or take a quiz to find out which Seinfeld character they act like.

Don’t get me wrong sharing a sales pitch 10% of the time is ok, just make it less in the form of a coupon and more in the way of educating your client.

For example – Explaining the difference between a floor built closet and a hanging closet is great info for anyone looking and trying to make an educated decision. By showing your expertise it might make your phone ring.

Ignore Your Community

The point of social media is to – wait for it – Be Social! Yes you do have to respond to every comment and yes it should be a timely response… Not two days later. Your followers are watching everything that you are doing before they consider calling you. This is how people shop today – if you are not responding or worse respond negatively they will move on to the next company.

Go MIA For Months at a Time

This is almost as bad as ignoring your network. Imagine if you were dating someone and after the second date they disappeared for 3 weeks. When they showed up again – how would you respond? What if after the 3 weeks they showed up and asked to borrow $20? I agree ridiculous…

I have some bad news for you – when you disappear for weeks and than post a coupon or ask people to visit your showroom without establishing a relationship you’re creating the same emotion.

Are you using Facebook / Twitter?

What have you experienced?

Do you have any questions?   Leave them in the comments section below. I love to know what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Filed Under: Facebook, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

Don’t Waste Your Time Attending The Closet Conference IF –

IF – You think you can spend an hour walking the Expo floor and than get back to the shop…

IF – You’re way too busy to spend three days speaking to colleagues…

IF – You know everything…

Not the advice you expected?

Keep reading, give me a chance to explain.

You’re wasting your time because your not allowing yourself to learn something new, meet new people or come up with new ideas.

You work all year responding to what’s in front of you, never actually taking the time to slow down and work on your business – Attending the Conference gives you that luxury.

The Conference is a full day of inspiration, some of the topics include –

– Learning the go to marketing strategy of one of the leading closet companies in the country.

– Closet production – Manufacturing Vs Outsourcing.

– Learn first hand how the large kitchen manufacturers are building closets.

After a full day of sessions, we get out of the classroom and visit Plus Closets for a plant tour.  There you will see some of the newest machinery on the market.

By the way I haven’t mentioned my favorite part of the day – catching up with old friends and networking with new ones at the Top Shelf Awards Reception. 

All of this happens before the Expo even opens!

The deadline for early registration is March 22nd.  Click to register now and save $75. 

Meeting with vendors and seeing the latest hardware at the Expo is a bonus to all that you will learn during the Conference… Hope to see you there!

 

 

Filed Under: ACSP, Closet Conference Tagged With: , Leave a Comment
« Previous Page
Next Page »