Social Media

Social media is best way 2 promote you and your business – just like traditional networking build relationships. You can become a celebrity in your industry with social media. You must make commitment to social media to succeed. Engage with people. Start and participate in conversations. Don’t use it to sell. People will block you. Build trust. Provide helpful information. Become the go to person for advice in your business via social media. There are many success stories. How do I get on track to become a #milliondollar business? Most small biz fail because think too small. Think big & decide what you want your business to be. What’s your vision ? With vision in mind, think about the building blocks you’ll need to get there. Then start to build. Like a blue print. There is a big difference between a self-employed job with income stream and a business. Business has value without you. Think first about your exit strategy. Start with big vision and build your legacy. How can I position myself as an expert in my marketplace? You can become a celebrity – a 3rd party expert brand. Create a blog, fan page, etc. Also define your value so you stand out from competition. Leverage the media. use http://www.helpareporter.com and respond to reporter queries. Don’t sell – be expert. If you blog, make sure you commit to regular posts. Build your following and people with see you as the expert. And in some cases podcasts and blog talk radio shows can be a good marketing tool too. Watch for another blog with more great...

Email Marketing for Your Small Business As a small business owner you are always looking at ways to reach your target market without breaking the bank. One way to do that is by investing in email marketing software. By doing your research and choosing the best option for your requirements, you can become the thought leader in your field and build relationships with your clients. Email marketing is just that: marketing by way of an email. Your email can contain anything you want. You can write articles that will be beneficial to your audience. You can let your clients know of great specials or new products. You can introduce new employees. The possibilities are endless. One thing to keep in mind is the reason why you are doing this. You want to let your clients know that you are the best in your field. You want to be the thought leader that they turn to when they need your type of service. Make sure you are providing a service to your clients and not just rambling on. Keep your newsletters informative so you don’t bore your audience. You want them to look forward to hearing from you. As they continue to read your newsletters, you will be building a relationship with them. This is imperative for repeat business. If your clients don’t have a positive reaction to you and your business, they will go elsewhere. When choosing email marketing software, Aweber is just one example, look at all the features offered, not just the price. There are some services that are free, but they may not do what you want them to do. Make sure you know what you want and compare services to make sure you are getting the best one for your requirements. You don’t want to jeopardize your relationship with your clients by choosing a company that will not do what you want it to do. Your business is too important. This post is one in a series where we will talk about email marketing software services: their offerings, their pros and cons, and their best...

Small Business Social Media Best Practices   There are a myriad of things you can do, but one small business social media best practice stands out above the rest.  In the midst of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + and everything else you feel you must be doing, your website is your best marketing strategy.  Don’t get caught up in a fad that may be gone as soon as you figure out how to use it.  Keep your website up-to-date for everyone who wants to visit it.   Think about it!  You spent a lot of time and money getting your website up and running.  Then you found Facebook and Twitter.  They were free.  Why not use them.  You have heard all about building relationships on social media.  You have heard that you should post articles on your sites.  But in the meantime, you have been forgetting to update your website.   There is nothing worse than going to someone’s website to check on an event only to find out the event took place two weeks ago.  Or maybe someone saw something you posted on Facebook about an event you are having and they went to your website to find more information.  But you haven’t had the time yet to post that information on your website.  How does that make you look?   A website is where most people look first for information.  Make sure yours is current.  Take the time to update it regularly.  Your clients will appreciate knowing they are getting the most up-to-date...

You have a Google+ account, but are you using it? The new kid on the block in social media made a rather large debut over the past year. With Twitter, Facebook, blogging, and other platforms already chewing up your online marketing time, the idea of introducing another platform can be a bit overwhelming. That said, there is no need to abandon the online communities you have built on other platforms, but here are a few tips on what you should be doing now to make your presence known on  the newest one.   Make sure your profile is up to date: –     Add a tagline: This feature reminds people who you are and what you do. From the tagline others can decide what circle  to include you in. A vague headline that doesn’t state what your page is about may lead to confused visitors – so use your creativity to catch some new eyes. –     Add photos: This gives you a chance to give your audience an inside look at your company. Most post product images and there’s nothing wrong with this, but along with product images, be personal and show your company behind the scenes – as research suggests that people like pictures of, well, people. –     Recommended links: In the ‘About’ tab you’ll see Recommended Links near the bottom. Add links to your blog and your company homepage for users to visit and to drive traffic to your e-commerce points of sale or prospective clients to your contact info. Take time to understand the +1 feature: +1 has an indirect effect on your site’s search rank. This does not mean the more +1’s a link has, the higher rank it achieves in traditional search results. A Google +1 can indirectly lead to a better page rank. The bottom line is, the SEO effects of a +1 are very indirect, which means traditional SEO practices should not be ignored, but that a +1 may positively affect your results for people connected to those in your circles. Join hangouts and add to Circles: The Circles feature allows you to segment your followers and the people you follow. This means that businesses can send out select messages to select people – such as partners, customers or community members. Hangouts can be useful for brands because they gives users a chance to engage with the people in your company through video chat. These tips will keep you on the social media bandwagon and help to improve your business’ web presence.  Utilizing platforms such as Google+ can improve the way we communicate our brand to others because of its unique feature set. As with any social media channel, it is important to have an integrated plan, be patient and focus on using the platform to reach new customers, create engagement and ultimately drive your sales or client...

We know two things about social media – that it is here to stay, and that it is always changing. Whether it is the presence of new technical tools or a strategy swing from your key competitors, what is proven effective and what is possible via social media marketing today will surely be different tomorrow. As a result, creating a plan can be challenging, but these timeless five steps should help you stay connected with your core audience and generate a solid return on your investment, regardless of your organization’s size and budget. Identify and Focus on Your Audience’s Core Channels – Marketing to moms? You may want to focus on Pinterest. Focused on college students? Twitter is where it’s at. Regardless of who your audience is, there is probably a channel you will want to identify as your key area of focus. Of course, that is not to say you should only invest your time in one of the channels, but rather find your audience’s favorites and start to target them there – without ignoring other platforms. Whether it’s Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, Yelp!, Foursquare or Instagram, find the channels that fit your organization best and use them to stay visible with your audience. Initiate Engagement – Remember, remember, remember – it’s safe to assume that no one wakes up in the morning seeking to connect with your organization. Make an active effort to get your name out there by targeting the people and organizations that can get you noticed on social media platforms. You can do this by asking for support, but a better strategy is to start a conversation with these publics. Set a goal to target a set number of these publics per week or month and get a return on a certain percentage. If you can get these influencers on your team, you’ll find those they influence coming through your digital doors. Use Your Time Wisely – In the abyss that is the Web, it is easy to spend your entire day scrounging content. Resist this urge! Find the people that can benefit you the most, locate the best sources of information and dictate how much of your content will be conversational, shared and promotional and formulate a path to follow within a set window of time. We start with promotional, partner and conversational posts at the beginning of each week – schedule the content to go out at specific times when our audience is the most active and then go from there. Use an in-depth analytics website, such as crowdbooster.com to track analytics for individual posts or tweets and discover when your audience is the most active. If someone engages you, pick a time that works each day to prepare a response – or set your mobile device to alert you and then respond, if you have a flexible schedule. Repurpose Your Content – A Facebook Post and a Tweet are apples and oranges in appearance, but that doesn’t mean the message can’t be similar. Find a way to minimize your time spent by taking your content and shaping it for each platform. This is a great way to cross platforms without changing your entire messaging strategy and content. Have a new product or a great link to share? Adapt it to the technical differences and get it out there across all of your key platforms. Don’t Let Your Other Marketing Suffer – Social is here to stay, but that doesn’t mean traditional PR and advertising are gone. In fact, with so many organizations investing more effort into social, you may find this is a good opportunity to use those old-school platforms like radio ads and press releases to stand out and also drive that audience directly to your social presence. If you’re a commerce business, marketing to traditional audiences can drive them to social and then to your website, where your digital point-of-sale awaits. The biggest thing to remember is that a social media plan is subject to change. If your numbers start to suffer – adapt! You also want to make sure that your plan has you walking down a two-way street – engaging your audience as they pass. A good plan can turn those social residents around and get them chatting with you the whole way up the street – and before you know it – your dedicated efforts can lead to a dedicated discussion about...

You’ve had your Facebook brand page for months, invited your friends and received some initial Likes, filled in your About section and started posting here and there – but after that first couple months when your total Likes and overall reach started to taper, you began to wonder – What is this doing for my business? The truth is – if you aren’t doing anything with Facebook, it probably won’t do anything for you. A hammer purchased and then left in the tool box won’t drive any nails, after all. But rest easy – these three simple tips can help you boost your online image, spur your Facebook growth, manage your relationships, heighten your visibility and – ultimately – drive your sales. Reward Your Audience – Whether you offer a coupon or simply just mention your audience members, a little reward can go a long way. Try creating a ‘Fan of the Week’ or ‘Fan of the Day’ to create interpersonal engagement that drives Likes to your page. If people see their friends are getting rewarded, odds are they’ll want a free slice of pie too! You’ll also want to make sure you’re providing your audience with a mix of information they can use in their daily lives, in addition to promotions for your business. If you make it about THEM, they’ll make it about YOU. Keep Your Content Fresh – If you don’t update your content regularly, your page will fall by the wayside and people will have no reason to check on it, aside from never being reminded about your presence on their newsfeed. How often you post a photo, status, link or event may depend on how busy things are for you, but don’t forget that the social space is all about sharing. Ask your audience how they are, share industry news, and talk about current events with a spin that ties your business into the equation. The Web is near infinite, so you should never really have an excuse not to have something to say. At the very least, post 2-3 times a week – but not more than 2-3 times a day (people don’t like to be bombarded either). Be Proactive – Many argue that the social media space is a new public relations function – and PR is all about establishing and maintaining relationships. Keep in mind that it’s highly likely that no one is looking for your page, which means you have to invite them in. Ask your friends to give you a Like and connect with other local non-competing businesses and non-profit organizations by Liking their page and sharing their content. Facebook is all about taking the initiative to start a conversation and then making the effort to keep it going! These three tips should help you get your Likes up, improve your reach and boost traffic to your page – but it’s important to have realistic expectations and to be patient. If you keep yourself focused and have a daily or weekly social media plan that utilizes all of these ideas, keeps you focused, and efficiently maximizes your gains by minimizing your time spent, you can expect realistic growth in your numbers and carry that over to your...