All Posts, Social Media
Search the Internet about social media, and you’ll find a host of results on how to use it, what mediums are out there, making money with it, and how to use it best. You’ve read all about Twitter, than Twitter makes updates and you don’t know where to begin. Same thing with Facebook. You hear all about how many millions of users are using it, yet you can’t seem to get your Fanpage past 50 fans. Let me tell you, they’re ever changing sometimes week to week, so if you’re not understanding them now, it could be harder to find the relevance to your bottom line.
Before I get into the return on your investment with social media, I’d like to first talk about the various mediums and some basic effectiveness. If you think that all it takes to be successful in social media is just a few minutes a day with thoughtful posts of inspirational quotes mixed with posts about your website, sales, and products; you’re seriously mistaken. Don’t get into social media with the intent on trying to sell. You’ll quickly become frustrated with the lack of interactions and see it as a one way conversation.
Twitter is great for short conversations throughout the day. You can jump in any active conversation, trending topic, or subject. Its real-time so the chances of hearing back from someone minutes after your replies are quite high.
Facebook Fan Pages are best with fewer posts each day. Another words, you may come up with a great post about a subject, then concentrate on following up with your fans as they post comments to your original post.
Linked In has so many avenues to engage with people, you can literally spend hours on that site and forego any actual productivity. From answering questions, to posting in groups, to connecting with old colleagues or new prospective clients; there’s plenty to keep you busy.
YouTube can almost be seen as one directional since you are mostly posting videos. However that’s just the beginning. Once posted, you’ll have the opportunity to follow along with the viewers feedback via the comments below your video. So post a great instructional video and you’re likely to get comments and questions for more information or encouraging words to post more videos.
Return on Investment. Well this is a hot button that seems to change often. At first I used to say that there was no money in social media. Whatever efforts you put in, you wouldn’t find the same in profits. I’m starting to change my stance on that because I’ve learned that you can’t use social media to sell. At least not blatantly. What I mean is, think of it as a networking meeting. You can’t just walk into a room full of people screaming to the top of your lungs about the sales and services you provide. Instead you walk in and court each person you make eye contact with. You meet people and ask who they are, what they do, where they’re from; then engage in light conversation. Maybe they sound interested (follow) in what you do, but not enough to be compelled to purchase something from you on the spot. However what you say about your industry and brand intrigues them to keep you in mind (comment/@reply) to tell other people about. You leave them with a great impression (post) and move on to meet someone else. The more people you meet, they more impressions you make. With the increase in impressions, the more traffic your website and business phone starts to get. You then start to become an authority on a subject matter. When that happens more people start to pay attention to what you say and post. And now because you’re respected, when you do offer a special or a sale (not often) they share your offer with others or purchase some for themselves. You couple all of that with analytics to gauge where you were most influential each day of the month and you replicate your best efforts the following month. All while keeping track of your lead performance, site traffic, and other metrics.
I know this sounds like a lot; and to be honest it’s all of this and more. Sure anyone can do this. Not everyone will be as effective or as diligent so choose your mediums and efforts wisely. The worse thing you can do is start and abruptly stop.
Have some other tips on social media and how to bank more for your buck? Please share in the comments below.
All Posts, Social Media
If you’re like me, you’re probably on the go with your business all throughout the day. Checking emails off your phone, responding to social media, and occasionally stopping by the local coffee shop for lunch while using your laptop to work. It’s very convenient but also should be used with caution.
These public wifi areas are they’re own enemies just by being public. Anyone can join on the network, and every device on that network is susceptible to attacks, key loggers, and more. I’m not trying to say the end of the world is near and only use your devices on your home network (ironically most home networks are even less secured than public ones), but you should be aware of some potential issues. I’ll type another post about them another time.
For the many of you using Twitter, this is a great new option that will keep you within HTTPS (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol). If you look at the top of your browser in the address bar, you should see http:// and a secured site/page would show https://. Prior to today you could login to Twitter via secured site if you manually typed it in your address bar. This new update from Twitter allows you to stay in that secured state though as you navigate around the site and your personal settings. In contrast, Facebook is still working on this, but whenever switching from say your Fan page to your Personal page, you’d fall out of HTTPS to HTTP. If you’re not paying attention you may barely even notice this.
Here’s how you can quickly update your Twitter settings. Log into Twitter, and then hit the Settings link and at the bottom of the “Account” tab, you’ll see the new “Always use HTTPS” check box. Select it and hit save and you’re done.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to just replace your current favorites or bookmarks to https://twitter.com on all your devices. Have you had any issues with public wifi and your sensative information? Let me know in the comments below.
All Posts, Social Media
While reading through my Twitter stream, I see a lot of posts about news, articles, stories, advice, and more. Sprinkled in there from time to time are questions the people I follow ask. Sometimes these questions are Re-Tweeted if others are unable to answer the question, and therefore amplifying the chance that someone may answer it. I’ve found a simple and quick way for you to engage people, provide answers to their questions or complaints, AND drive traffic to your site all at the same time.
If you provide a service in lets say plumbing, and someone asks a question about how to remove a clogged drain with common household goods because all the stores are closed and its after hours. Surely you could just answer the question within your reply tweet, but where’s the originality in that? Better yet, why not answer the question but also provide a link back to either your blog where you had a post that shows in detail how to unclog a drain with some everyday household items.
What happens is that person visits your site, reads your post, hopefully will comment too, but also is a appreciative of your content. In turn they’ll probably view more about you and your services, forward your site to friends, follow you on Twitter and Facebook, or better yet become a new client. Your blog is valuable content that can be helpful to just about anyone. Though it may be indexed in Google, chances are your blog isn’t ranked for page one, so why wait for someone to find you when you can engage them now.
Twitter has a really good search part to their site. You can test it out by clicking here.
Through Twitter Search you can type some keywords that someone may type in looking for something. For example “I hate Internet Explorer.” You’ll find plenty of tweets among users with their complaints. If you have a simple solution for them and you’ve got a post on what to do, and its free, reply back to them. It won’t be spam if you come across sincere, and if you want to wait for them to reply back to you to provide a link to your post then do it that way.
The point is that you have worthy content that can help someone through a situation. Maybe its academic studies or a simple how-to. Point of the matter is that you’re getting it right to someone who needs it at the time they’re looking for it. If you’ve tried this before or are currently practicing it, I’d like to hear your thoughts and comments below.
All Posts, Social Media
This past Saturday, I attended an all day “unconference” in Westfield, Massachusetts. I really didn’t know what to expect, and as a matter of fact I Google’d previous events to try and get an angle. The true definition: “A PodCamp is a usually free BarCamp-style community UnConference for new media enthusiasts and professionals including bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, social networkers, and anyone curious about new media. The first PodCamp was held September 8-10, 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts. PodCamps are now being held worldwide.”
Nothing really prepared me really and all the angst I felt was melted away once I met another attendee. Everyone that was there seemed to be so eager to meet everyone else who was in attendance. Once I checked and got some breakfast I met my friend Chris Adams (@CTChrisAdams) and we started discussing the possible sessions that would be held throughout the day. The sessions are lead by anyone who wants to create a topic of discussion, and anyone in attendance of that session is welcome to weigh in with their thoughts, ideas, and expertise.
I won’t go in about all the different sessions, though there were so many going on each hour it made it hard to decide which to take. There is a Rule of Two Feet is where if you’re in a session that you’re not getting enough from or would rather switch to another; you’re more than welcome to without an remorse. Most of the sessions were along the lines of social media, PR, podcasting, SEO, and the like.
There was a few minutes of time between sessions, and to see how everyone was swapping business cards and Twitter handles in the hallways was a trip. This was also the first networking meeting I’ve been to where people wrote their Twitter handles on their “my name is” chest stickers. I thought that was an evolution in networking. We were all mostly techies too. Regardless of industry or trade, from real estate agents to music producers; the smart phones, iPads, and laptops were in full effect.
The day flew by like an hour of recess, and my head was full of new ideas and new conviction for my business. The new connections I made with people I plan to take full advantage of in the coming days and weeks to continue to build relationships. If there’s one thing I’ve learned with networking meetings is that, just trading business cards isn’t enough. Following up and keeping in the front of someone’s mind is what creates opportunities. As for this Podcamp, I can easily say that it was well worth the time and small monetary investment. I encourage everyone to experience this same atmosphere of business, social media, and networking at least once a year.
I’ve put together a few links below of pictures, videos, and information from Podcamp Western Mass for you to see for yourself.
Official Podcamp Western Mass Website
Video Sample 1
Video Sample 2
Video Sample 3
Video Sample 4
Some People I met:
@mmpartee – Podcamp Leader
@TerranB – WordPress Guru
@yougottacall – Connection Engine for consumers and businesses.
@CTchrisadams – Online marketing and social media
@PSanchez – Music Producer
@iAM_Alfonso – Creator/Host of @getBusinews
@writerjax – Publicist and more
@BerkshireBeat – Arts and events coverage
@SteveHaase – Creative marketer
@FemmeFoto – Longtime creative photographer
@katiehoke – SEO extraordinaire
@writeloudly – writer, teacher, child advocate
To find more, check out the official Twitter hashtag: #PCWM
** Update**
Later ths year there will be another Podcamp in Connecticut. Visit these websites to get more details soon:
http://podcampct.org/
Facebook Page
Social Media, Web Design
I have some goals I set out for this year and one of them is meeting new people. Specifically business professionals and entrepreneurs. By now most of them have websites created which is great. If you’re in business you should have a website, period. Well I used to preach that and actually that’s not all of it. Your website needs a few more elements than just content and contact information.
By now you should have already heard the term Web 2.0 already. Basically it means a new way that websites use to communicate and interact with visitors. You’ll see this with short videos, social media, instant chat, blogs and comment options. These are great ways to mine information from your visitors but also create a more personal connection to them while keeping them engaged to stay longer on your website. Obviously the longer they stick around the higher the chance that they will use or purchase your services and products.
Lets start with Social Media. Depending on your business and service, you may want to use a few of the many social media services that are currently popular.
Facebook I would recommend starting with. Setting up a Fan Page isn’t difficult and may take up to an hour to do. Add some pictures and comments and anything else of interest to your page and profile. Once properly setup with all your profile and contact information, you then need to suggest this page to all of your friends on your personal side of Facebook. This is so that whenever you post from your Fan Page, they will see your post and hopefully comment on it – but also their friends will see it and hopefully become fans too.
Twitter is another great service that helps get your business to people who otherwise would never know you. So whenever you have a new blog post, or sale, or promotion, or event, you post that info in a Tweet. Now Twitter isn’t the place for only trying to make a sale, its a place to make new connections with people who are in all types of likes and industries. Most connections are with people you never met before, but engaging in brief conversations develops a relationship going forward which can lead to sales and referrals. Twitter is also a form of Micro-Blogging which then leads into Blogging. If you’re not a writer, you can train to be by using these means.
Blogging. If you’re not doing it yet, you’re missing out on creating wonderful and meaninful content about your industry. I make the analogy with blogs to how having a website years ago was like being ahead of the game; and now having a website is vital. Same thing with a blog. Your posts should be about tips and information about your industry and services. Things that would appeal to people who seek your services and people within your industry. These posts get indexed into search engines and when people are looking for such information your website may pop up. Create valuable content and build your reader base. In turn, they’ll pass along your posts via social media links and draw in more readers who could then be potential clients and customers of your trade. Are you seeing the pattern here?
Call to action. I have said it before in previous posts, but you have to give your readers something for free if you want their contact information. A website that receives 2,000 hits a day but gains no information about the visitors and converts none of them to leads is not a functioning website. Most sites with great call to actions have items like free e-zines, newsletters, image downloads, website analysis, and more. But everything they offer is free. The only string attached is a vistors email address and maybe their name on a simple form.
None of this should be done over night. Proper implementation does take a bit of time. I strongly suggest a web consultant if you’re not versed with the “lingo” to make these adjustments yourself. Or if you are you can always Google you way through it I suppose. Just know that these things are important to your bottom line if you want to see a greater ROI on your website. If you have any ideas to add to this short list please leave a comment below.
Search the Internet about social media, and you’ll find a host of results on how to use it, what mediums are out there, making money with it, and how to use it best. You’ve read all about Twitter, than Twitter makes updates and you don’t know where to begin. Same thing with Facebook. You hear all about how many millions of users are using it, yet you can’t seem to get your Fanpage past 50 fans. Let me tell you, they’re ever changing sometimes week to week, so if you’re not understanding them now, it could be harder to find the relevance to your bottom line.
