FACEBOOK MARKETING

Facebook Marketing is the process of using Facebook to showcase a product, keep fans engaged, build a community people want to be a part of, and attract new customers all with the hope that readers will share it with their social networks

•       It is driven by word of mouth so it results in earned media rather than paid media
•       Resonates because it appears to come from a trusted third party source when it is reposted by a friend
•       Fosters brand awareness
•       Accessible for anyone with internet access

  

  SMALL BUSINESS: REDWING HORSE SANCTUARY         

    

Redwing Horse Sanctuary is one of the largest horse charities located in the United Kingdom.  With 5569 fans currently since its launch in Spring 2010, the charity has seen great success from their Facebook page.  Redwing's Facebook page has made immense improvement to their business by allowing direct engagement with supporters, attracting new generations, and gaining valuable insight of how to improve their business.  To others who are trying to grow their business, Redwing's advice is to be prepared to put in the time.  Also, make sure to keep your page updated and answer questions that are addressed.  The Facebook page should also exemplify a similar "voice" representative of your brand.

http://www.facebook.com/RedwingsHorseSanctuary

BUILDING COMMUNITY

·       Facebook pages for incoming freshmen classes

o   These allow new students to get to meet people before college begins so they can come to school already knowing some people

o   These groups also enable people who meet through the group to stay in touch so they can eventually meet in person

·       Groups for alumni

o   Allows alumni to stay in touch, keep in contact, and reconnect with their friends from college

·       Some Universities have stopped distributing email accounts

o   Facebook is becoming so popular that schools have begun to use it as a means of communication with students

o   It can be used to share school news and inform students of upcoming events

·       Some universities use Facebook as a recruitment tool to seek out and attract students who they want to attend their university

BENEFITS

·       It is very inexpensive

·       Helps to create awareness for a company and their products/services

·       Efficient way to reach a large number of people (over 500 millon facebook users)

·       Can market to a specific geographic area

·       Provides personal interaction with the customer

Statistics about Small Businesses that use Facebook Marketing
88% has been able to generate additional exposure
72% have reported increased traffic and more subscribers
62% has seen improved Google search results
56% has created new business partnerships
51% gained qualified leads they never had before
49% reduced their marketing expenses because social network marketing is free
43% noticed an increase in sales

CONCLUSION


In conclusion, as an entrepreneur owning a small business you would use Facebook marketing to gain exposure in the market place.  This relates to our entrepreneurial marketing principals due to its low cost and effectiveness.  This can provide one with instant consumer insight and if used right can reach new markets that would otherwise be missed by traditional marketing of a small business.  Touching back on Redwing's advice, put in the needed time to create and maintain a successful Facebook page.


LINKS
Video:
o   http://topwebsiteplacement.com/social-media-marketing/
Facebook Marketing mistakes that people make:
o   http://mashable.com/2011/04/02/5-facebook-marketing-mistakes-small-businesses-make/
10 Small business social media marketing tips:
o   http://mashable.com/2009/10/28/small-business-marketing/

QUESTIONS:

1. Have any of you used Facebook to promote either your organization, event, or school?
2. How else can Facebook be used?
3. How might Facebook Marketing relate to our team projects?

  

Fundraising: Believe in Yourself

Fundraising: Believe in Yourself

When I first was assigned this topic I did not know where to start.  So, I first began by simply Googling the definition of “fundraising.”  According to Webster.com, Fundraising is “the organized activity of raising funds.”  This definition still left me puzzled and made fundraising seem really basic.  As I dug more into it I learned that fundraising is not impossible, but is an ART.  It is an art of believing in yourself that requires networking persistence, sales/marketing, and lots of energy & passion.  I was able to come to this conclusion after doing what any savvy entrepreneur does.... reaching out to his or her network.  I first started by going way back to when I took ESP 201 when I was a Sophomore.  I was able to find the recorded conversations I had with these folks and figured that would be a good start.  After listening to these I decided that I would also email two other entrepreneurs that I had recently met.  Not only would this give me first hand insight on what it takes to fundraise, but it would also be a great way to network and connect back to these individuals.  These individuals were able to provide me with useful information as well as links to places I could find information on fundraising.  Below I will break fundraising down by discussing the four areas of fundraising: networking, persistence, sales/marketing, and having lots of energy and passion. 

Networking

The idea of networking will be brought up the rest of your life, (as we have discussed this already in class) and is very important in fundraising.  When I helped start a charity in high school, my Dad explained to me the importance of what he called the 2 F’s—Family & Friends.  These are the people who are the closest to you and will be your most important resources.  They can help introduce you to others who may help with fundraising and can be extremely beneficial financially when trying to get your first investments.  It is best to build a network early that can help mentor you and also provide you with the resources to fine tune your product in order to receive further investments.  These people will also help critique you, which is extremely important when trying to improve as a person and improve your business concept. 

Persistence

Venture Capitalist receive thousands of pitches weekly, and thus one of the most important aspects to receiving funding is being persistent because you may not get the presentation the first time around.  You do not want to be over the top when reaching out to someone; however, when you truly believe in your product you must work extremely hard to be given the opportunity to present to possible investors.  As my Dad always told me if you want the job or the opportunity to pitch you must ask for and not wait for it to come to you. 

Sales/Marketing

This is the aspect of fundraising that occurs after networking and being persistent in being given the opportunity to present your idea to investors.  Not only does this step involve selling your idea to the investors, but more importantly you are selling yourself to the investors.  There have been millions of ideas out there that have failed solely because of leadership and investors not believing in the person behind the idea.  Therefore, you must sell yourself to the investors and make them believe in you, which in turn will make them believe in your product.  I have read countless articles and talked to countless entrepreneurs about how they believe it is more selling an investor or potential customer on yourself, rather than the business concept.  Chris Barry, Founder of LifeStorage and Facilitec, told me that in order to win people over when he first started his first company at age 21 that he sold himself by imitating larger organizations in a similar field.  He did this because he knew they had more experience than him and he wanted to come off to others as looking very professional.  He later said he was able win more customers by making himself look more professional in the way he dressed and talked, even though he was a lot less experienced than his competitors.  Sales/Marketing also involves the actual pitch and its content.  When I talked to some entrepreneurs they provided me these tips on what your pitch should include:

6 Tips from Matt Spiegel--CEO of Tap.me and Founder of Resolution Media:

1. Keep your pitch simple
2. Have a vision
3. Focus on what's first
4. Understand what you need money for
5. Have a financial model (even though everyone will know its wrong)
6. Listen to VC's (their input can be valuable and they want to hear themselves be smart)

Matt also told me to look at AirBnB Initial Pitch to investors, as it is simple and concise.  AirBnB has risen $1.3 billion in funding, and they did this through their simple pitch and networking by having investors persuade other investors to invest in their idea.  Here are two links about AirBnB:

http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-a-13-billion-dollar-startups-first-ever-pitch-deck-2011-9#-1

http://www.paulgraham.com/airbnb.html

5 Tips on what VC’s are looking for from Andrew Swinand--CEO of Cardinal Path and Partner at Abundant Ventures:

Energy & Passion

The last tip I have for successful fundraising is having that energy and passion every time you talk about your product.  Ask yourself this question: Would you invest in an idea/person if they did not seem fully invested and passionate about that idea?  The answer to that is NO, and therefore, you need to make sure to convey your energy and passion in your presentation (Even if its talking to someone about the idea on an elevator or over a cup of coffee).  One tip an entrepreneur gave me about starting something is that you must find something that you truly enjoy doing in order to fully show passion for it.  For example, I helped start Alpine Children’s Charity, which raised over $1,150,00 in seven years.  This charity raised money for an issue that affected me personally—Type 1 Diabetes.  I was able to show others that I had the passion to find a cure and thus they were willing to donate to my cause. 

Conclusion

I could go on forever about fundraising as it involves more and more aspects when actually pitching to an investor; however, I decided to outline four topics in this Blog that I believe are crucial to not only setting up an opportunity to fundraise, but also when convincing someone to invest in YOU and your idea.

In addition, here are some useful links I was given by the entrepreneurs I reached out to:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/david_s_rose_on_pitching_to_vcs.html

http://www.askthevc.com/wp/

http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/07/pitchdeck/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/money/howtoguide/article52718.htm

Question to Class:

1. Why does the idea of fundraising intimidate you?
2. What do you think is the best way to first fundraise and why? (Own money, VC’s, family/friends, other)
3. Can you think of another creative way to fundraise other than the one’s above? Give the advantages and disadvantages of this type of fundraising?
4. How would you describe Fundraising in 5 words?