Many see Facebook simply as a place to post clever comments or funny photos, but it can be a valuable marketing tool. Utilize it and you could be well on your way to having "that fun social site" be the top traffic source for your website.

Tip #1: Share compelling content (most important)

Ask yourself "Where do I want fans to go?," then share different types of content to direct them there. The possibilities and tactics are endless. Look to other similar brands to your own or the biggies for inspiration. See what they do that works and mold it to your needs.

Example: The clever team at Target saw National Bike to Work week as an opportunity. They created a buying guide on their website and with a humorous post, directed customers to visit.

Tip #2: Entice the click

When offering a discount to fans, rather than including the discount code within a Facebook post, tease it along with a link to find it on your website.

Example: PFI Western Store uses sale prices to get their fans to click through to see the boots on the website.

Tip #3: Add social media and share links to your site

If customers like your product, blog post or YOU, let them tell their friends. Include social share icons throughout your site. With each click of a "Like" or share button a post shows in the news feed for everyone to see along with a direct link back to the site.

Example: National Jewelry Liquidation Center offers a new deal each week. To help spread the word, they have Twitter, Facebook, email and even Pinterest added on their site to let visitors share the deal with their friends.

Tip #4: Utilize Facebook tabs and applications

Since a Facebook tab is simply a mini-website, it's a great location to highlight certain products, services or even run a promotion for fans.

Examples:

• Take a cue from Express, they've done a great jop utilizing their tabs for an online store.
• We help drive to our clients' websites with these Facebook tabs.
• Promotions can be run entirely on Facebook, you can also use your social media reach to push entrants to your website to enter instead.

Tip #5: Build a strong network with partners and allies

Build relationships with other companies/blogs by sharing their content to your fans and tagging them. They usually will reciprocate the favor and help broaden your content's reach. Don't for get to always B polite and thank those who share.

Tip #6: Fill out you profile

You might be thinking "Duh!," but I'm serious.The most important entry field in your profile is website. We also suggest listing your web address first in the "About" section. Every time someone looks at your profile image, they can see and click through to your website.

Continue reading: How to drive traffic to your website: Twitter
View all: "Driving More Traffic to Your Website" blog series

Moms should expect to get their fair share of macaroni necklaces on Mother's Day, however I'm sure my mom didn't quite expect what I gave her a few years back. 

As the oldest child I'm usually responsible for picking out and coordinating Mom's gifts with my sisters and brother. This particular year I decided to go rogue and do my own thing. I had planned early and knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was going to send flowers. Simple, right?

My mother wouldn't be impressed with a bouquet that's super feminine or something that's too pink. I scoured online florists for the perfect arrangement that would fit her personality just right and I found them. They were rustic and cool and exactly what I thought my mom would buy for herself. She'd love them. I added the flowers to my cart and, with a sense of pride in my selection, clicked "buy." 

The Friday before Mother's Day arrived while driving home after work I realized I hadn't gotten a phone call from Mom. Had she not received my surprise? I called to check. 

Me: Hi! 

Mom: Hey

Me: So... anything happen today?

Mom: Oh... Yeah... Thanks!

Me: Did you think they were pretty?

Mom: Pretty? Well, they will be. 

Me: What do you mean?

Umm... turns out instead of sending a beautiful bouquet, like a normal daughter would, I actually sent my mom a plant. When they called to tell her she had a delivery, my mom walked up to find I had given her a bucket of dirt.

We had a good chuckle about it, but I still felt guilty. It still goes down as the worst gift ever. Oh well, moms love you no matter what, right? 

Email has been around a while, but that doesn't mean it isn't effective. It's still one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to drive traffic to your website. Whether you're a business sending a monthly newsletter or a retailer announcing a sale, it's time to rethink your email marketing strategy. 

Don't send just to send
How often you send your email campaigns should depend on the amount of valuable content you can produce. A site with multiple posts a day, like Mashable, has enough fresh content to allow for frequent email updates to keep their readership engaged. A small blog with a new post every month or so does not. Know what your email strategy can handle and if you begin to notice lowered open and click rates or unsubscribes, ease off the gas and reevaluate.

Do your research
To find out what information will be valuable to your readers, start with your email opt-in form – it's a perfect way to gather data. Knowing where readers live, their age and even gender can go a long way in helping you strategize. You can even take it a step further, like Justin Boots has, and ask people to identify the types of content they'd like to receive. As your email list builds, these answers will help you see what will work best, and your email and web content strategies will come together a lot quicker.

Don't show all your cards
Consider replacing lengthy copy with a sentence or two and a "read more" link directing readers to your website. If you "geek out" on email stats, this strategy will also show you which stories are being read and by whom. 

Do be social
Make it ridiculously easy for your readers to share your email content. Popular email marketing websites, like MailChimp and Constant Contact, allow you to add social share and forward buttons (and they're trackable). You should also be sharing your campaigns. Spreading your email content through your social networks broadens its reach and adds more opportunities for people to find it and subscribe. (Tip: Break up your email content into several social media posts to get the most benefit from the content.)

Don't forget the simple stuff
This may seem obvious, but it has to be said. Don't forget to link your logo, header graphic or other relevant graphics to your homepage and be sure to include the full web address in your footer. Featuring a navigation menu of specific areas of your website adds even more click opportunities. Many times these are easily skipped over, but they are an easy opportunity for new web traffic. 

Interested in more email tips and tricks? Subscribe to our Balcom newsletter, The Letter B (GetLetterB.com), or message me directly(@LaurenAshleyTX).

Continue reading: 6 Ways Traditional Advertising Can Drive People to Your Website
View all: "Driving More Traffic to Your Website" blog series

If you've seen our Vicarious Vacations photos on Facebook, you know the B team likes to travel. This year we wanted to share that love of adventure with our friends through the B fly contest. We took entries on our Facebook page for a chance to win a $200 Virgin America flight voucher as a prize.

The lucky winner? Stephanie Arnold, right here in Fort Worth, TX.

“I was so excited to win the B fly contest! I had never flown on Virgin America before, and let me tell you, it was AWESOME! They really know how to treat people. I used my voucher to fly to San Francisco to visit my best friend, who moved there 2 months ago. I had never been there before, and I had a great trip! Thanks so much, Balcom, for giving me this opportunity!”

Connect with the Bs on Facebook, Twitter or sign up for our quarterly Letter B emails. Who knows, you might be our next winner.

Balcom takes the question "You know what happens when you assume?" to heart. In order to avoid that, we surveyed business owners and marketers about their agency needs and how their 2011 marketing strategy is evolving. B-teamers disbursed the survey through email, social media and good ol' fashioned word-of-mouth. After running our B Heard survey for almost three weeks, here's what we found.

The Numbers

Percentages below are based on 68 total survey participants.

How do you think your marketing and/or communications will evolve in the coming year?

What is the greatest obstacle preventing you from achieving your marketing or communications goals?

Which area is your business or organization struggling with most?

If you could attend a training session on one subject, which would it be?

If you were to supplement your staff, which position would you add?

The Trends

What are the big focuses for 2011?

• As you can see from the graphs above, this year will bring more online, more web and more digital initiatives. Everyone is moving forward with their online outreach.

• Social media will definitely be used as a marketing tactic. Are you still leery of social media? Don't worry, you aren't alone. We found many are still unsure how to maneuver in and use social media effectively.

What are the struggles for 2011?

• Money makes everyone fret and this year is no different. Cost and affordability are still primary obstacles for most.

• Seeing the big picture and plan integration are also leaving people scratching their heads.

-------------------------------------------------

We're using this research to better serve our clients in 2011. Have questions about the information or still scratching your head about your marketing strategy? Let us know.

What's on your radar?

A few weeks ago, B-teamers Chip, Brian, Holly and Steph headed down to Austin, Texas for SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive). Though they are still recovering from the social media and innovation education overload, they took a little time to sift through their notes/tweets and share a few highlights from their trip.

Top 5 sessions from Chip:

• The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk

• Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki

• Discussion with Dennis Crowley (Founder of Foursquare)

• Tim O'Reilly Interviewed by Jason Calacanis

• The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, oh wait, my alarm clock (@tenaciousb) didn't work for that one...

Top 5 quotes from Brian:

• "Work for 90 minutes with no interruptions. Take a small break to refresh then start again. Repeat."
  by Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz)

• "Do what you can for the other person, not for yourself."
  by Guy Kawasaki

• "If content is king, context is God."
  by Gary Vaynerchuk

• "In terms of content, shoot with a sniper rifle not a shotgun."
  by Felicia Day

• "Reimagine content. Don't recycle it. Make it more awesome and rebroadcast."
  from the book "CONTENT RULES"

Top 5 takaways from Holly:

• Not every sketch ends with a great design. But almost every great design starts with a sketch.
  The key is to generate ideas quickly and at very low cost. Pen and paper is still the best way.
  Ordering Disorder: Grid Design for the New World

• Design for goals and behaviors, aptitude and attitude, not generation
  Your Mom Has an iPad: Designing for Boomers

• Making ideas happen = creativity & ideas + organization & execution + communal forces + leadership capacity
  Stop Dreaming, Start Doing: Tips For Execution

• When you incorporate giving into your business model, you attract better customers AND better employees.
  Keynote: Blake Mycoskie

• Brand is not a logo, stationery or product. It is a gut feeling.
  Designing Ideas, Not Objects

Top 5 insights from Steph:

• Business is becoming more human.
  With the advent of social media, businesses are being forced to engage consumers in dialogue and build positive lasting relationships, as opposed to broadcasting canned messages to the masses. Founder of TOMS Shoes Blake Mycoskie and author of "The Thank You Economy" Gary Vaynerchuk, both presenters at SXSWi, understand that being human — that is to say, being compassionate and caring — is good for business.

• Social networks are evolving to fit our real-life connections.
  Facebook has acknowledged and attempted to resolve the confusion of overlapping real-life networks online through customized status updates and Facebook Groups. However, Facebook users have been reticent to take advantage of these features to form online groups that more closely mimic their real-life networks. Enter group messaging: Startups like GroupMe, Beluga, Fast Society, Kik and GroupedIn are attempting to create true-to-life communication tools whereby people in a specific social group can communicate privately. These more intimate social networks may be the next big thing in social media.

• Social networks are the new customer service line.
  Whether we like it or not, social media is providing consumers unprecedented access to the businesses that offer them products and services. In lieu of the customer service department, consumers are heading first to Facebook and Twitter to offer complaints, questions and outright rants. Companies must adapt to "social CRM," where consumer concerns are addressed via social networks. If they don't, they can expect social media crises the likes of "United Breaks Guitars" and "Chipotle Cat."

• Humans are important. We can't rely on algorithms to create digital media.
  Algorithms have placed ads for food blogs (See Slide 80) next to news stories of devastating poverty. They recommend you friend your ex on Facebook, after you've just defriended. Human beings are essential to creating a conscientious digital experience.

• Time is a limited resource. Energy is not. We must maximize our energy to succeed.
  During his keynote address at SXSW, Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project and author of "The Way We're Working Isn't Working," asked members of the crowd to raise their hands if they felt demands on them had increased over the past year. All hands went up. He then asked who expected demands to continue to increase. All hands went up. Tony stressed the importance of rest and recovery in excelling in our fast-paced, technology-driven world.

I would not consider myself a forward girl when it comes to matters of the heart, but this Valentine's Day that will all change. I'm officially professing my love for MailChimp.

As the primary email service provider we use for our clients, MailChimp has been courting me for a while. He just stands out from the rest and has proven himself worthy to be my Valentine.

Just a few characteristics that make MailChimp so special:

• Ambitious - MailChimp looks toward the future and is always trying to better himself. He's constantly updating and evolving to make himself a forward-thinker in his career and the email marketing industry.
• Intelligent - MailChimp is smart. He stays in the know of the newest email trends and topics. Thankfully, he is clever enough to keep me educated as well through all of his online resources and guides. 
• Great to my Family and Friends - MailChimp makes it easy for my family and friends to love him too. Every encounter is a breeze with simple email subscriptions, updates, and unsubscribes.
• Listener - MailChimp always listens to my relationship concerns and along with his customer service team tries his best to solve my problems quickly and efficiently.
• Sense of Humor - MailChimp makes me laugh. His light and clever tone makes talking with him the highlight of my day. He also shows me he cares by sharing funny comments or videos he came across. Just a little something to make me smile during those busy work days.
• Caring - MailChimp cares about making our relationship the best it can be. What girl doesn't love to analyze a relationship? He is open and offers up reports to let me know what is and isn't working for us. 
• Attractive - Simply put, MailChimp is good looking. Just take a look at his website: www.mailchimp.com.

I love you, MailChimp! I know we will continue to grow our relationship to make it the best it can be.