How to Convince Your CEO to Embrace Social Media Marketing

Let's get straight to it:

1. Tell your CEO that the way people research purchases has changed. Tradeshows, Direct Mail, TV, Billboards, Newspapers are all going down fast. Email marketing is becoming less effective, and cold calling is becoming more difficult. People have more tools for blocking out this interruption marketing (spam filters, caller ID) and even governments are helping customers block this marketing (CAN Spam Act, National Do Not Call lists). You might need to include some definitions and explanations of SEO, PPC, strategic business blogging, social media, etc.

2. Discuss how the company's marketing needs to change in response. If the way people research purchases has changed, doesn't it make sense that marketing needs to evolve as well? Talk to the CEO about how there are new, more effective techniques to get found by more qualified prospects and convert more of them to paying customers, and to stop wasting money on interruption marketing programs that continue to be less and less effective. Move where your customers are -- online, responding to video, responding to social media.

3. Show a current analysis of your company's Internet marketing effectiveness. Show some data about your company being able to "get found" by prospects in
(a) search engines,
(b) the blogosphere and
(c) social media.
To get the data specific to your company, do some keyword research using Website Grader and Overture Keyword Tool, search on Technoratifor blogs in your industry, then search on social media sites relevant to your industry (Facebook or Delicious or Digg or LinkedIn or others). Finally, use the Website Grader free marketing tool to prepare a report for your company in 1 minute. This will show how good or bad you are doing on the web in terms of marketing. Use the data from the report to show how you are missing large opportunities to reach customers that are looking for the products and services you buy.

4. Present a plan for transforming your company's marketing strategy to embrace the 21st century. You need to transform your marketing from being "outbound" (you broadcast your message to thousands of people and only 1-3% are actually interested) to being more "inbound" (people find you when they want to buy something - much more targeted and effective). In other words through ATTRACTION instead of PUSHING. This means you need to do SEO, PPC, embrace blogging and the blogosphere and participate in social media.

5. Bonus Tip: Having executives read the book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" can also be helpful. Sometimes CEOs just need an established author to tell them something, rather than an employee.

Want to know more? We offer marketing communications services and consultation, including social media marketing and innovative strategies to make the most of your corporation's time and budget. Call Promise Productions at 972-822-3587.