3 TIPS for HIGH-ROI Calls to Action

What Every Email Marketer Needs to Know...

Every email marketer knows that great calls to action don't just happen on their own. It is obvious that your offer must convey a meaningful message, and it must be timely.

So how do you craft a successful call to action email customers can't resist?

Write subject lines that multitask. Every subject line must accomplish a number of tasks: telling subscribers what they get when they open the message; making the offer sound irresistible; and doing it in a relatable, conversational voice. Do not use symbols of any kind (i.e. ! - ? - $).


Create a sense of urgency. Without a compelling reason to do what you're asking the reader to do—right this second—they'll go back to their inbox and unsubscribe. Urgent, action-oriented words are more successful than words such as 'free' in inspiring your subscribers to take action.

Keep a tight focus on your offer. Stick to just one offer with a clear path to action—unfettered by the distraction of extraneous sidebars, content, links, or discounts. A call to action button should be centered on the page—right in the reader's main area of interest.

In short... It all comes down to a little push. No single factor guarantees a successful call to action—but if you get each element just right, subscribers won't even consider the option of inaction.

Are Promoted Tweets Right for Your Small Business?

While large corporations can try promoted tweets without much risk, he notes, a smaller company might hesitate—especially if your marketer has a tight budget and less experience in paid online advertising. So does it make sense for your business?

• Highly customizable targeting. There are a number of ways to target Twitter users—whether they've visited your page or have interests similar to your existing followers. And you have the flexibility of promoting your tweet in their timelines, when they search for keywords, or at the top of your profile.
• Traffic driven to your landing page. When a user clicks on your link, they leave Twitter and go wherever you send them. In this way, it functions much like a search engine.
• Opportunities for organic (SEO) audience growth. A well-targeted campaign is bound to attract new followers, who will start to see—and hopefully retweet—the tweets you send for free.

Twitter isn't just for big business—but before you dive in, take note of potential drawbacks.  First and foremost, don't tweet just to tweet.  Your followers will start disappearing simply because you are annoying them.

Three Tips for Keeping Your Best Employees Loyal

WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVOLVING AROUND OUR BUSINESS, IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR BUSINESSES TO HANG ON TO THEIR PRODUCERS. 

Because of the recession’s making jobs scarce and employees afraid of losing their jobs, employers have been in the driver’s seat for the past several years. So, when hiring folks, employers had a huge selection from which to choose. Even the lowest-paying jobs were attracting hundreds of applicants. Many job seekers were overqualified for the jobs they sought. They were willing to make concessions on salary and benefit requirements.

To be considered an employer of choice was as simple as not having a layoff or not cutting salaries. But those days will soon come to an end.

We’re approaching a reversal that every business leader needs to prepare for. Believe it or not, we’re about to bang our heads on a huge employee shortage by the end of this decade.  So, why should you focus attention on employee retention?

• Happy employees are one of your best sources of word-of-mouth advertising.
• Good employees keep your customers coming back.
• Being short-staffed impacts your ability to serve your customers and to keep your promises to them.
• If you have to pay a premium to get employees, that cost will get passed onto your customers, which makes it harder to stay competitive.
• Having a stable workforce increases productivity and profitability. (The longer employees stay, the better they work.)
• Happy employees attract new employees of a higher caliber.
• The big one is technology, and the training involved to run your business.

So, how can we earn our employees’ respect, appreciation, and loyalty, so that, by 2015, we are a first-rate employer?

Give employees the inside scoop. Employees are often the last to know what’s happening in the company. They don’t see the new ad campaign until it appears in the paper or online. They might not know your company has a Facebook fan page or an upcoming product launch.  Employees must understand the company’s vision and how to contribute to it. Share the company’s vision with them, and share it often. Recognize employees who are helping move you towards that vision. Make contributions to the company’s vision part of everyone’s review.

Trust your employees. If you don’t trust them with your customers or with your company secrets, fire those employees. Stop blocking websites like they’re 12-year-olds whose Internet access you have to monitor. If people want to waste time, they have options besides Facebook and Twitter.  No one wants to be in a relationship with someone who treats them like a child. Give employees responsibilities and privileges. If they prove they’re not worthy then let them go. Stop punishing 95% of your employees for the 5% who shouldn’t be there in the first place.

Give employees a piece of the pie. Giving raises just because people have worked for you for another year are a thing of the past. If your employees are doing the same caliber of work in the same job at the same level, why would you pay them more? Reward employees who add new skills, new ideas, or new customers.  Better yet, share your financial goals with every single employee. Make it worth their while to help you get there. Tie financial rewards to your company goals to get everyone pulling in the same direction.

This isn’t new stuff. Unfortunately, however, many employers have been afraid to try those tips. Other employers haven’t had to try them because they found it easier to get staff members and keep them. Those times are changing. We better change right along with them if we rely on employees to help us serve our customers.

Simple 'old school' saying - a positive workplace will produce positive results.  And trust me on this one, a negative environment will hit your P&L like a slap in the face. 

More to read if interested.  In the event you have one or more employees disgruntled with life or working at your company, here is a good 5 step article to help repair your team.  Click Here! 

Flight Park Billboard "DEAL" - Nashville, Tn

Congratulations to Eric and Vince Lowman on their new billboard stationed outside Nashville International Airport. 

Note the Code "DEAL" for passer-byers.  Then visit www.flightpark.net and enter "DEAL" in the discount code box to experience the 20% promotional rate in the itemized pricing window.  Fast, Simple and Track-able.

Good job guys, and good luck!

Facebook Hijacking Alert: BEWARE!

Preventing Facebook Hijacking

Facebook has improved protection for Facebook page administrators.  Now you can assign your fellow admin "lower rights" which can prevent them removing you as an admin.  Page admins can be assigned specific roles: The most powerful role remains "Manager", but there is also "Content Creator", "Moderator", "Advertiser" and - at the bottom rank - "Insight Analyst".  Facebook page managers have the power to send messages, view insights and create posts and adverts.  Crucially, they are also the only role which can access admin roles, and remove other administrators.

If SMC has helped or continues to help your company with Facebook,  you would be wise to check the roles used by your co-admins now - and adjust them as required.

Here's how you check who is an admin on a Facebook page that you administrate:

• Open your Page's admin panel
• Click Edit Page
• From the left column menu, click Admin Roles
• Type the names of other people you'd like to add in the open field
• Click Manager below the name to choose what kind of admin you want to add
• Click Save Changes

Giving a co-admin too much power may bite you in the bottom later, if their account is compromised or if they become mutinous and try to hijack control of the page from you.

PLEASE READ:  Hijacked Social Media and Business Accounts

Hijacked social media and business accounts are definitely the largest business reputation management problem today.  There are tons of social networks and business listing pages (or internet yellow pages | IYPs) that anyone can set up. Social media account hijackers set up impostor social media accounts for businesses and individuals.  This can cause major problems when the impostor social media account has thousands of followers and you want control.  A hijacker may try to sell you the account with the threat of deletion or defamation.  At this point it may be best to pay the hijacker’s ransom for your social media account.  If you don’t pay, you may lose all of the followers already acquired. Further, it is probably not worth the legal headache and cost of a lawsuit.

Similar to social accounts, online business listing pages are harder to hijack because there are more verification steps.  Even so, business pages get taken over by hijackers.  Most of the problems seen with business listings (IYPs) are created by existing misinformation online, aggregator websites and disgruntled ex-employees who have set up the IYPs and then don’t share access with the company. Social media companies and IYP providers have very little account support.  Deletion of either a social media or an IYP account can be devastating to a business’ rankings and clout online.