Praise for the Fan Factor
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Praise for The Fan Factor “Whether you’re a social media novice or a seasoned professional, you’ll take something away from this book. Meredith’s passion for internet marketing jumps right through the pages and inspires even this hard-to-impress reader. Count me in as the newest member of the Meredith Oliver fan club.” Alex Benshoof, Director of Marketing, Red Door Homes “After reading Th e Fan Factor, I have a game plan to make our members our biggest fans! A must read for any association who wants to increase membership engagement.” Tim Minton, Executive Vice President, Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County “Meredith is always a joy to read. Her energy bounces off the page, keeping you locked into the information. Another thumbs up for both content and engage- ment factor. Keep writing and I will defi nitely keep reading and learning.” Leslie Day, President, Inland Homebuilding Group “In a concise, easy to understand format, Meredith Oliver outlines in detail how to capture and retain a fan base that will help you grow your business. In a world that is technologically placing everyone on sensory overload, Meredith clearly identifi es how you can position yourself and your company to attract qualifi ed buyers in today’s marketplace. Her ideas will help you develop a strategy that cost eff ectively allows you to outpace your competition regardless of their size.” Rich Carlson, MIRM, CMP, CAASH, President, Carlson Communications “I am not the most tech savvy entrepreneur so if I found Th e Fan Factor helpful and easy to read I know you will too! Th e Fan Factor has many practical, DIY ideas you can implement to grow your business and expand your fan base.” Kerry Mulcrone, President, Kerry and Co. “Th e Fan Factor is the perfect combination of resources, information and real life practical stories and examples on how to take your social media eff orts to the next level.” Leah Turner, Turner Time Consulting, Tampa, FL “Fan Factor is written as though a good friend was telling you a story, with timely injections of personal anecdotes. It is a quick read, although it took me twice as long to get through because of all the time I spent highlighting passages and bookmarking pages.” Steve McAuliff e, Owner/Partner, McAuliff e & McCormick Inc. “Like many other professionals, I have not jumped on the bandwagon in using social media for business yet. But after reading Th e Fan Factor, I am excited to start! Meredith’s book provides valuable information on which sites may be the best fi t for you and your target audience. It is easy to read and very enjoyable!” Geri Nelson, Account Manager, DTE Energy “Once you can engage your audience, it’s much easier to turn them into fans who will buy your products and services, and recommend you to others. Th at’s the premise of the new book, “Th e Fan Factor”...Th is is an excellent book with a ton of useful tips and advice.” Gloria Rand, SEO Copywriter, Blogger, Speaker “I am in the process of developing an integrated marketing plan for my new real estate brokerage fi rm. Th ere are so many aspects of social media to get up to speed on. I found your book so very helpful as it was concise and methodical.” Michel e LaBlond, LaBlond Realty LLC 25 SLAM DUNK SECRETS TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS, INCREASE REFERRALS AND BOOST SALES MEREDITH OLIVER Copyright © 2013 by Meredith Oliver. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmit- ted, or stored in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission in advance from the author, except in brief quota- tions in critical articles or reviews. For information or bulk orders, contact: [email protected] or call 866-227-9769 www.CreatingWOW.com Front cover design by Justin Cohen. Cover layout and interior design by Adina Cucicov, Flamingo Designs. ISBN 978-0-9848684-5-2 Also by Meredith Oliver Click Power: Th e Proven System to Increase Sales Rock Your Social Networking: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube Video Tutorials For My Mom and Dad Table of Contents About the Author 1 Acknowledgements 3 Preface 5 Part I—Th e Pre-Game 11 Fact #1: We Can’t Hear You 13 Fact #2: We Have Popcorn Brain 17 Fact #3: We Take Multitasking to a Whole New Level 19 Fact #4: Big Companies Spend Big Bucks to Be Heard 25 Fact #5: Social Media Is a Vital Business Tool 29 Fact #6: Engaged Fans Are the Answer 33 Part II—Th e Game Plan 41 Th e DNA of a Fan 43 What Your Fans Want 53 Part III—25 Slam Dunk Secrets 57 Section 1—Identity 57 Secret #1: Profi le Your Customers 59 Secret #2: Show the Real You 65 Secret #3: Write Like You Talk 73 Secret #4: Brand Your Sites 79 Secret #5: Feature Your Fans 85 Secret #6: Keep It Real 89 Section 2—Self-Esteem 93 Secret #7: Be a Fan of Your Fans 95 Secret #8: Build a Relationship 99 Secret #9: Reward Loyalty 105 ix THE FAN FACTOR Section 3—Escapism 111 Secret #10 : Stop Selling 113 Secret #11 : When Your Fans Play, Th ey Pay 119 Secret #12 : Angry Birds Anyone? 125 Secret #13 : Th e Easy Button 129 Secret #14 : Pin In to Win It 133 Secret #15 : Tell a Visual Story 137 Section 4—State Change 143 Secret #16 : Time Your Messages 145 Secret #17 : Lighten Up 149 Secret #18 : Keep It Fresh 155 Secret #19 : I Did It My Way 161 Section 5—Sense of Belonging 165 Secret #20 : Get Involved 167 Secret #21 : Celebrate Together 171 Secret #22 : Invite Participation 177 Secret #23 : Meet Up and Tweet Up 183 Secret #24 : Spend Quality Time Together 189 Secret #25 : Build Online Communities 193 Part IV—Th e Equipment 197 Part V—Th e Score 207 Conclusion 219 Have Meredith Oliver Speak at Your Next Event! 223 Click Power: Th e Proven System to Increase Sales 225 Endnotes 227 x About the Author eredith Oliver, aka “Th e Digital Diva,” is an Internet sales and mar- Mketing expert. She is a professional speaker, author and consultant. Meredith is the founder and president of Creating WOW Communica- tions, a full-service Internet marketing and professional speaking compa- ny. Creating WOW Communications works with a variety of industries including marketing for home builders, senior communities, apartment communities, professional speakers, associations and small businesses. Creating WOW delivers services such as website design, search engine optimization and social media marketing. Meredith holds a Master’s Degree in Corporate Communication and Technology from the prestigious Rollins College and a Bachelors of Arts Degree, majoring in Psychology, from the University of Central Florida. She has 12 years of Internet marketing experience developing websites and online campaigns for small and medium size businesses. Meredith is also a professional speaker delivering keynote speeches, workshops, webinars and seminars to a wide variety of audiences, includ- ing real estate, healthcare, education, association, insurance, technology and women business owners.. She speaks most often to business owners, sales people and marketing professionals, and is a proud member of the National Speakers Association. 1 THE FAN FACTOR Meredith speaks at a number of regional and national tradeshows and conferences each year. Meredith’s seminars are consistently standing room only and rated by attendees amongst the most popular, entertain- ing and educational seminars off ered. She is one of the speakers in the nationally acclaimed “Rock Your Sales” rally which appears to sold-out audiences across the country. Meredith’s fi rst book, Click Power: Th e Proven System to Increase Sales, was originally published in 2010. Th e second edition was published in 2012 and is available online at www.CreatingWOW.com. Meredith is the author and host of a social media tutorial series titled “Rock Your Social Networking” featuring click-by-click instructions on how to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube for business. Meredith has numerous published articles in national trade publications and newspapers. Her blog, Th e Digital Diva Blog, (http://thedigital divablog.com) is popular amongst sales and marketing professionals. Meredith lives in Raleigh, N.C. with her husband, son and two Shih Tzus. 2 Acknowledgements love being a fan. It’s who I am. I love to cheer and root for the underdog. I I love competition. I love winning and even losing. Special thanks to the artists, athletes, professional speakers, authors and others who put them- selves out there on a daily basis and give us something to cheer about. I learned how to be a fan from my mom and dad. Th ey have been my unwavering fans since the day I was born. Always positive and encourag- ing, it’s because of them I’ve never seen any task as too hard to tackle. Allen Oliver must be acknowledged for being the “fan” prototype in the book. Allen, I knew on our second date I was going to marry you. I just didn’t know what an incredible journey we were going to take together (or that you were going to wear “licensed apparel” for the rest of our lives). Brittany Smith, you are an angel who was placed into our lives for a reason! Th e idea for the book started the night we went to see Bon Jovi together and it never would have actually materialized without your shepherding, encouraging and editing. In my professional journey, I’ve been lucky to meet several incredible people who willingly formed the Meredith fan club.