Social Media Advisor Blog

5 Tips on Social Media Marketing

2012-02-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

Managing online marketing can be rewarding and provide an increase of financial activity with your business, in addition to increase of communication to your customers and potential customers.

Many statistics have been published about activity of online users. One of the best videos about the potential curve I have found is listed in a previous post:
"Social Media Revoluion 2011"

With enhancements in technology, your customers are utilizing the "cloud" through online applications such as Google, eBay, CraigsList, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Applications can be run on a standard computer, smart phone, tablet and the like. With so much access to social information, the last thing you want is to assume your static website is driving business your way. There are many things that need to be done to enhance an active visibility to your customers, but starting with these 5 steps, you will be well on your way to establishing a solid business practice to online marketing.

1. Develop effective SEO

SEO is Search Engine Optimization. Simply put - the things your potential customers type into a search engine to find what they are looking for. These are specific keywords that drive traffic to your website and social pages. Your keywords need to be embedded into the code of your web page so people can find you.

► Come up with a list of 50+ important words that pertain to your business. Type in words you would assume your company should be found under and start there. As you receive contact from new customers, ask them the words they typed in and specifically find out what search engines they used to find you. This will help in developing the right set of words for your code.

► Search our your competitors websites. Determine the words they are using and be sure to include those in your keyword results as well. (View, Source in most browsers works well if the code isn't hidden from viewers)

2. Find out where your customers play

It doesn't make since to develop social profiles on sites that none of your customers use. It also doesn't make since for you to create 50+ pages of social sites if you only have the bandwidth to manage a few profiles.

► Pick your top 3 sites - most businesses who market through social media build profiles on Facebook Pages, Twitter and LinkedIn.

► Incorporate a blog into your social efforts to increase visibility and character behind your knowledge

► Ask your customers which sites they frequent and the best way they would like to be communicated with. Some may say they like email, others may frequent Twitter Timeline, LinkedIn or Facebook Status. You will be surprised to find out how many customers read Blog RSS feeds each day on their phones or imported into their Outlook RSS Readers.

► Ask your customers what kind of content they may be interested in receiving. Some may want to hear about promotions as you have them, while others may be interested in reading in industry related articles you recommend, charities you are involved in, events you are attending or educational information about your product or services.

3. Make your brand an extension of your website

It is unappealing and confusing to your audience if your brand doesn't match the look and feel of your website. Be consistent with use of logos, colors, content and choice of language in your posts.

4. Consistent Content is Key

We teach our clients that it is bad to have too much activity on your social profile, but not having enough is just as challenging. It is better to have an active stream of content than none at all. Think about your audience and tailor your activity to their needs. If you post something every day, that may be too much for your viewers. Try on a few different communication schedules and determine what is best. Here is a schedule that would be good to try on for these specific types of profiles:

► LinkedIn - Posting more than once a day can become overwhelming and distracting to your viewers

► Twitter - More than 1 post a day is appropriate pending that the same information isn't shared more than once.

► Facebook - consider a rotating schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday. Posting more than 2-3 times a week can be overwhelming for your viewers.

► Blog - Once a week to once a month is appropriate communication. Change the topics and provide active information - but be sure not to just "sell" your products and services on each post. Blogs are education and information tools that should be used for that purpose. (include back links and labels in each of your posts to drive traffic to your website & other social pages).

A good rule of thumb - For every 1 "business" post you should have 2-3 non "product" related posts. Examples could be reference to other articles, blogs or videos that explain a topic that you agree with, sharing in events or industry related news.

5. Use Applications and Tools Wisely

There are many applications that can be used on your social profiles to enhance your visitors experience.

There are also wonderful tools of the trade to allow for flexibility in scheduling your content / status posts on a continual basis. For LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, posts can be scheduled in advance via these popular tools. Become familiar with them & choose the one that works best for you.

► Hootsuite
► TweetDeck

Social Media Marketing is fun and rewarding. Be realistic with your goals and don't sell your self short. It takes time to build a following, maintain activity with your brand and build social relationships with your customers and viewers online. Be creative, have fun and don't get left behind!

Hollie Clere, The Social Media Advisor is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world. Click here for her Social Media Links

Ready . . . Set . . . Google+

2012-01-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

In the last few days, Google announced to users that on March 1, 2012, they are "getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read." It is good for each google account user to take a look at the privacy changes. If you didn't get the email from them to your google account - here is the link they provided:
http://www.google.com/policies

So you have taken the plunge, ready to play on Google+. Much like other social sites, Google+ is designed for you to be able to share more information in a easy format. You set up your "Circles" of friends, and you are on your way. Not so fast . . .

You will want to take a look at your privacy settings on your Google+ account. The default settings might not provide much security for you.

This summer when I "tried on" Google+ for the first time, there weren't many settings to keep privacy secure. I liked that I could select which sections to share information, but I found that I was still getting added to other peoples "Circles" that I didn't know, and got tagged to photos and posts that I was not aware of. Honestly, having the Google+ account has been fun to play with and explore, but I don't plan to use it for much - if any - communications with people I know at this time. Things may change down the road, but I feel there are still many things that need to be adjusted and would rather keep up with my friends on Facebook, LinkedIn connections and Twitter contacts than try to take on yet another social "connections" site. This is partially the reason for the inactivity on MySpace. I imagine a lot of you are dealing with the same issues.

So, in case you decide to play in Google+, be sure to modify the settings I have highlighted for you below. Understand your privacy & don't just let anyone connect to you or your kids - monitor them appropriately.

FIRST - Decide how you want to be connected. Under options, you can modify all of your settings or find links to privacy sections. Look for the wheel at the top right hand side next to your picture:

SECOND - You can select how your notifications, posts , pictures, video and communications are listed on your Google+ profile.

THIRD - Customize "Your circles" by choosing who you want to "share" information with.

FOURTH - Customize your Photo and Video options. I highly recommend you unselect "Show photo geo location information in newly uploaded albums and photos. Your geo location will provide the longitude and latitude for the location the picture was taken. This not only is a violation of privacy, but bascially provides information about frequently places you may go to potential online abusers.

Google also announced you could "Circle" a series of celebs and and teen-friendly brands. This is in effort to promote the social site to teens & young adults.

Again, be aware of what your kids are looking at and monitor the content to ensure they are safe. Here is the link for that if you are interested:

https://plus.google.com/getstarted/follow?hl=en-US#getstarted/follow

Hollie Clere, The Social Media Advisor is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world. Click here for her Social Media Links

"Social Media Revolution 2011"

2011-12-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen this, it is really good. It provides a realistic picture of where social media has taken business in 2011.

http://youtu.be/3SuNx0UrnEo

Using Newsletters in Email Marketing

2011-09-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

September 15, 2011

Posted in Articles, Business Development/Planning, Sales & Marketing, E-mail Marketing Print By Hollie Clere

If you have a website, maybe a social media presence and the need to reach a large base of vendors, partners and customers, email marketing — and specifically email newsletters — are a great way to nurture those relationships. Sharing company blogs, links to company social media sites, company announcements and surveys are ideal for email distribution plus the cost for newsletter subscription services are low and the reach can be substantial.

So, where do you start?

Content. It all starts with content, including blogs, promotional pricing, links to specific sites and topics that could be of interest to the reader and are relevant to your company’s products/services. Remember to include only original information; do not plagiarize other sources. However, you may be able to secure permission from an author or publisher to use their work.

When developing your own content, think about every word as a driver for a specific goal. For example, if you are promoting a 10-day discount on widgets, you will want to specifically mention the widget, describe the details behind the discount, provide information on why the widget is a “hot" commodity, why the viewer should choose your widget and provide a link for the viewer to get more information about the widget.

It is also a good idea to embed images relative to your topic. Like articles, you need to have permission to use these images, so you should consider using your own photos/charts or subscribe to a stock photo service where you can purchase the rights to use the photos.

Length. The goal of the newsletter is to encourage the viewer to click through to a desired Web page with further information. Here is an example:

DISCOUNT ON SUPER FAST PINK WIDGETS
10% discount on our Super Fast Pink Widgets through October 21, 2011. Click here to receive your discount code.

or

5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS MAINTAIN YOUR WIDGET
It is a good idea to maintain your widget by cleaning the parts monthly. (Insert the URL LINK to the page that talks in more detail about this topic.)

What are your thoughts on Google+?

2011-07-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Curious on your thoughts of Google+ . Have you checked it out? Do you like the features it offers? Do you think it will last? Do you will sign up for it? Open feedback is welcome.

Why are companies not found on LinkedIn or Facebook?

2011-07-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

We have been working with multiple companies developing social media profiles lately. In the efforts of building a branding and consistent character basis for companies, we have seen more and more that there are too many companies without a presence on LinkedIn. Not talking about an individual profile - which is very concerning that over 3.5 million users are on the site, but yet millions more haven't ventured into building a profile is overwhelming. To start there, if you don't have a presence on this site as an individual, you are telling the world that either you don't want to be connected to, you aren't savvy with the Internet, or you would rather spamming sites publish information about you instead. One of the most beautiful things about LinkedIn is the searchability factor through google. 4 out of 5 customers will search LinkedIn for their potential vendor representative (or potential new hire) to gain character perspective and knowledge about this person. If you don't choose to put information about your history that you want people to see, they will find out information about you on sites that pay a lot of money to Google to post personal things such as pictures of your home, family members & so on (an example of this is 123people & there are many other sites out there who "phish" for your information & post it freely online). Should you ever find something like this - you can contact the publisher for it to be removed. Know that the most important piece of us mentioning this - is the fact that THE INFORMATION YOU WANT POSTED ON THE INTERNET - SHOULD BE THE INFORMATION THAT YOU CHOOSE TO BE POSTED - NOT WHAT SOMEONE ELSE DECIDES FOR YOU!

This holds true about information for your company. If you don't have a website - how will your customers know what you offer & if you are a real business person? Same with social media. If you are not "out there" and "current" how will people know how to do business with you, connect with you, follow you and want to maintain relationship with you????

With that being said, as a business owner you have thought about a few things:

(1) what is my logo?
(2) what is my brand?
(3) where will I market?
(4) how will I market?
(5) who will I market to?
(6) build a website

Will all of these things in place, there is still a laundry list of things that need to happen as well.

FACTS:
(1) If you have a website, it will have either detailed - or not as detailed - information about your products/services
(2) You may be choosing some print marketing or mailers for your potential or existing customers

These are important - but what should go in hand with this?

***SOCIAL MEDIA***

If you have a personal presence on Facebook, you should NOT be marketing your company on your "personal" page, rather you should have a business page where people can "like" your company and follow your updates.

If you have a personal profile on LinkedIn, you need to be sure your company profile is established as well so people can easily find you through your company or your personal profile. Individuals can also "like" your company page for updates. You should also have recommendations of your work that your customers, vendors or staff can post about you - this is a great character building piece and can also encourage a history of your experience.

A newer feature of LinkedIn is posting products & services. The great thing about this is you can get recommendations for these products or services right on the company page - a great marketing tool.

My challenge for you - If you have a personal presence on FaceBook or LinkedIn - then create a company profile for them both. It will increase visibility, credibility & ownership of your brand.

Gotta Share - Video

2011-05-20T18:13:00.000-07:00

Really enjoyed this video & had to "Share" it with you.

Time Management Tools: Social Media Series - Part 5

2011-03-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Tools are the most important key to help you manage all of your most important social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Utilizing tools like HootSuite, TweetDeck, Radian 6, UberSocial, etc., will change how you interact with your connections online. . . .

Check out my post on the topic here:

http://www.integratedalliances.com/social-media/twitter/management-tools-for-managing-your-time-in-social-media-part-5

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world.

Time Management for LinkedIn: Social Media Series - Part 4

2011-03-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

LinkedIn is a great tool to connect with friends, coworkers, and professional acquaintances; but, most importantly it is most used to build your network to access resources for business. It is very important to maximize your time in this professional social site due to your visibility online. Your new LinkedIn connections find opportunities to connect with you on a business level because of your activity on the site. Somewhat like Facebook, but in a professional environment, you can post a status update (“Share an update”), send internal messages, communicate through Groups, create or answer polls and also embed applications in your profile to share in your travel, presentations, video, books you are reading and other applications to boost your presence in a creative way. . . .

Check out my post on the topic here:

http://www.integratedalliances.com/social-media/linkedin/time-management-for-linkedin-social-media-series-part-4

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world.

Time Management for Twitter: Social Media Series Part 3

2011-03-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

In the world of posting whatever, when ever, there is a lot to be said about quality time with Twitter. Twitter can be utilized in a multitude of ways. Any user can post updates about news, links, promotions, events, topics of interest, engage in customer support and participate in online discussions. As an individual or business, you need to decide how you will engage in this forum.

If you have over 100 people you are following, it can be difficult to keep track of the latest updates as twitter is an active stream of personal opinion, back and forth discussions and buzz about thoughts or activities. . . .

Check out my post on the topic here:

http://www.integratedalliances.com/social-media/twitter/time-management-for-twitter-social-media-series-part-3

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world.

Attending Channel Partners Expo 2011 in Las Vegas? Schedule a Meeting with a Social Media Specialist!

2011-03-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

5 Sites where you should have presence:

LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Slideshare
Youtube

For consulting, support or ramp up into these spaces with optimized SEO, SMO and key placement, our team has developed a process to quickly get you up to date, active and searchable on these major sites. Build your client portfolio, grow your business and stay in touch with your customers on a weekly basis using customizable tools to manage your spaces. Just having a business card or website isn't enough anymore to manage an effective retention base.

Call us today to learn how we can help you grow your Agency Business.

Our availability during Channel Partners is as follows:

Monday 03/14/2011
8:30a-9:30a breakfast meeting
10:00a-11:00a
11:30a-12:30p
1:00p-2:00p lunch meeting
2:30p-3:30p

Tuesday 03/15/2011
9:00a-10:00a
10:00a-11:00a breakfast meeting
11:00a-12:00p

Please let me know which 3 times may work best for you. We can allocate 30 or 60 minute meetings.

Direct: 303-927-7398
Email: hclere@clerecomm.com

Time Management for Facebook: Social Media Series Part 2

2011-02-28T10:05:00.001-08:00

When exploring the world of social media you will find that it is easy for the social sites to claim time you have allocated to work. It is best to put into practice time allocation to optimize your online schedule. With Facebook, you have probably connected to family, friends, coworkers, business partners and a myriad of other individuals that you find yourself “living life” with online. The ability to visit their pages to view pictures, post comments on their status updates, read notes and view videos; you can quickly become inundated with the absence of time. . . .

Check out my post on the topic here:

http://www.integratedalliances.com/social-media/facebook/time-allocation-in-social-media-series-part-2-facebook

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world.

Time Management for Social Media – Part 1

2011-02-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

You have created your social media presence, your branding is consistent and you find yourself spending hours each day on any given social media site scrolling, searching, reading and posting for hours on end. But the question begs to be asked, is this how the social media world was intended or is there a better way to coordinate your time in these spaces?

Check out my post on the topic here:

http://www.integratedalliances.com/social-media/winning-with-social-media/time-management-for-social-media-part-1

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world.

"Real Life Twitter" video via collegehumor.com

2011-01-25T15:22:00.001-08:00

For those of us who have a personal Twitter - you can relate to this cute video. "Real Life Twitter". View directly on the collegehumor.com site:

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1909386

"Facebook in Real Life" Video on Youtube

2011-01-25T15:09:00.000-08:00

This video of Facebook in Real Life never gets old! Enjoy the laughter!

Social Media: The Challenge, the Reward, the Victory!

2011-01-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

When considering branding & building of social media presence, the thoughts behind it can be daunting for business owners. After talking with multiple businesses over the last few months about the best social media solutions for them, the theme remains the same. Business owners want a presence, the edge of this type of retention for their customers, but don’t know the first place to begin.

The Challenge is taking the plunge in developing a full social media profile, managing, maintaining it and building your corporate character presence.

The Reward is retention for your customers, industry recognition, the opportunity for online prospecting, growth and a solid network of followers interested in what your company has to offer.

The Victory is an industry edge, your visibility will increase far beyond your competitors, successful growth, a network awareness of your brand and services.

The question we ask, are you willing to make a plan, stick to it and watch it bear fruit for your company? Paper marketing is becoming less of a standard and a thing of the past. The possibilities are endless and having “just” a website isn’t enough to get your name out there any longer. What costs are you willing to sacrifice in order to retain relationships with your customers, agents, partners and vendors? Consider the time you have, experience in the social media industry and the bandwidth to maintain your presence successfully.

Are you following our corporate company sites on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook? Click here for our full portfolio: Click Here

Christmas video - Digital Nativity Story

2010-12-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

"The Digital Story of the Nativity"

Social network Christmas video

2010-12-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

"A Social Network Christmas"

Tis the Season! 25 Days to Save

2010-12-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

As we are celebrating the holiday season, our book host is offering a discount on our printed books through 12/25/10 via the online store at: http://stores.lulu.com/clerecomm . Be sure to also check the site for the daily December promotions as well – a different promotion each day at: http://www.lulu.com/holiday_coupons/

$5 off
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"The Social Network" Movie

2010-10-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Have you gotten the chance to see "The Social Network" movie? I must say that I really enjoyed it. It was a well put together film with a great story. There is controversay about the facts portrayed in the movie. Realistically, only the developers of Facebook will know the truth behind it.

I have been very excited to see this film and feel it was well worth the money and the time to dive into it. I personally feel Mark Zuckerberg is brilliant. As a person who learned code in college, I can't begin to think about the skills that he & his team has. Well done.

Here is the link to the movie website: http://www.thesocialnetwork-movie.com/

What did you think about the movie?

Facebook on Southpark vs Social Media for Business

2010-08-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

Being from Colorado - a hand full of us have found Southpark funny - but the language is a bit much. I will warn you - on this video - there is language I don't condone. With that - I felt the need to share this video clip only as a comparison to how some of our clients are feeling about us through social media. You have been warned.

My challenge for you -

(1) Do you feel overwhelmed by social media?
(2) Are the reasons described in this video why you feel overwhelmed?
(3) How can these barriers be broken & how can your target client be found in a mess of confusion?

There are 5 questions I ask you . . .

(1) Are your customers searching for information about you - and cannot find you in these places?
(2) Are you present in these places but are having difficulty on how to realistically connect on a more personal level with you clients?
(3) Do you feel that presence on these sites wile loose or gain credibility?
(4) Do you feel you just have nothing to share & having a presence is more important than not sharing at all?
(5) Do you not have time to maintain or even communicate with those who would want to connect with you?

Think about the character in this video. The overwhelming obstacle he faces with others wanting to be a part of his connection & him not ever having dove into it. Do you feel that your customers could say the same about you?

For me - as an individual - I use Google too search for any information I could learn about a company or individual. I want to know - before I work with them - what their life is about. Even more important - if they have a similar interest. Do we have a common ground, common interest, or is this a person who hasn't shared anything about them & just created a page with minimal content to sell their product?

Think about what this looks like for you. Are you Stan?

15 % Discount on our book - expires 08/15/10

2010-07-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Purchase "Social Media for the Business Professional" with 15% off with coupon code BEACHREAD305 offer ends 08/15/10! Click here to purchase.

Xeesm Social Media CRM enhances business practices

2010-07-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Xeesm is a great “relationship” tool that lets you compile a public list of all of your social media profiles. It also allows you to follow others and build your network. The tool ultimately can be used for CRM; allowing contact communications, discussions and networking in a single platform. That functionality requires a monthly fee or you can utilize the (currently) free version available as your social media profiles database.

The tool gives you the capability to track when people view your contact card, how many visits you get a week, see how many people you have “favorite” or how many have “favorite” you. In the manage section it shows the top 10 people you visit most and which links off of your contact card people are clicking to follow you further.

The developers are constantly adding new applications, providing training, testing and open forums to enhance the usage and visibility of the program.

XeeURL is a function that lets you select your own Xeesm URL you can distribute to your connections.

Engage! Is an application within the tool which allows you to join multiple Xeesm groups, post your own lists featuring your blog or website to share with your customers and contacts.

Flights are groups of people engaged on projects, events, engagements or plans with contacts where you can generate leads, assign tasks, arrange appointments and add “onboarding” contacts.

Onboarding is when you add contacts in Xeesm, to an application or opportunity. You select from your full list of Xeesm contacts.

Partner Collaboration is a partner management system.

Vendor Relations is a vendor management system.

The newest launch is the Edge!; the social CRM tool. The tool is designed for cutting edge networkers to establish and track sales engagement opportunities, forecasting, and easy messaging to all contacts, reporting and unlimited contact groups. You can then invite others to participate in the opportunity, add products and then connect with your contacts. The system allows you to make personal notes about the client or contact. It has buttons that let you check off where your relationship is with this contact i.e.: connect, explore, open, support, advocate. You can select the progress of the opportunity, view history and once the opportunity is “won” it moves the deal to your customer list. The concept is a “people based CRM” which focuses on contact “relationship strength instead of account based CRM”.

Check out the functionality & let me know your thoughts.

Be aware of who is presenting information about your company online

2010-07-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

Buyer beware translates into owners beware in social media. Hiring someone to fill the shoes of your social media manager can make since in regard to time, but unless the individual is personally invested in your company goals, priorities and vision, you will need to invest in a lot of clean up later on.

Management consists of the following items:

• maintain branding
• management of profiles
• response and management of direct messages
• management and increase of followers
• management of product release campaigns
• active viewer response & interaction
• effectively enhancing SEO, SMO (keyword optimization)
• correctly creating profiles to maximize visibility on social media sites
• reporting traffic, communication and hits effectively

If you aren't getting these things from your social media support team, then you aren't correctly using your profiles or getting ROI on your time or investment.

These service can be outsourced or handled internally, but you need to have a clearly defined scope of work and milestone meetings to constantly revise or add to your marketing plan. Your social media solution should ebb & flow with times and market changes.

Contact us today to see how we can help you achieve these goals.

Car Magnet Advertisement or Facebook Page?

2010-07-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

This is kind of a strange comparison, but depending on your business advertising initiatives, you may consider either option. Here is the disadvantages to Social Media sites including Facebook vs putting a magnet, window decal or painting your car with a mobile advertisement.

Ads on automobiles - things to consider:

(1) Effective visual appearance and targeted branding for your market area (where you drive - you will have visibility)

(2) Your presence is as effective as your driving - people will not only judge you by your car ad, but the quality of your driving

(3) Does your target customer have the ability to write down your phone number or website address while driving?

(4) If you have a fish on your bumper or any other bumper sticker - will this distract or attract your ideal customer?

(5) Are you targeting customers that don't fit your model or services? Anyone & everyone can have the capacity to see your ad - but is your service offering tailored for any person or a specific market sector?

Ads through Social Media - such as Facebook:

(1) The page you develop is easily marketable and can reach to those within and outside of your market area

(2) You can tailor postings, visibility and networks to those you choose to market to

(3) You can invest in pay per click ads by specific topic or keyword searches

(4) The "Like" button is easy to select & your followers can have visibility to your promotions and contact information real time

(5) Your page can be "Suggested" to others without passing out your personal business card or flyer

Both initiatives may be appealing to your business, if you happen to select both, be sure to list your website for quick visibility to your social media sites.

What is your strategy with Social Media?

2010-07-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of ways to promote awareness of topic you are interested in.

Have you heard of the Rabbi who delivered the passover message via twitter? Great way to spread the word about your message. Tweets are timeless & posts never get removed from the database. I think this was a brilliant campaign. http://tinyurl.com/3323cch

Have you heard about @OldSpice promoting through youtube & twitter?
"The Old Spice Guy Now Making Custom Videos for Fans via Social Media"

View the article here: http://mashable.com/2010/07/13/old-spice-gu/?utm_source=TweetMeme&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=retweetbutton
Well done @OldSpice !

How will you spread your message to the masses?

Discover what social media sites your customers have presence

2010-07-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

So let's take time to build our profiles on all of the popular Social Media sites & then find our customers? Hmmmm, this actually isn't the way it should be.

Let me ask you the following questions & you let me know if you agree with the answers?

• Should your customer have to build a profile on a site where they have no common interest? No.

• Should you take time to build your profile on a site that your customers don't exist - just because it is popular? No.

• Should you find your customers first, then develop your profile on those particular sites? Yes.

This post is straight forward. The purpose of networking online is to connect with others of like business, like interest & like industry.

Don't waste your time doing something that isn't worth doing because you will be harder to find & connect to.

Importance of "Find Us on Facebook"

2010-07-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Why are businesses updating their website, blog, commercials and printed material with "Find Us on Facebook"? Is it possible they know something you don't know? Facebook has created a visibility section to their website which allows businesses to gain a following, promote special events, coupons, launch new products and share information about their company in a centralized place where their "Fans" can "Like" their page and get up to date information about their company real time. Sure - it is great in theory, but what can you do to make this work for you?

It makes since to take some time to setup a profile, post a few pictures and a few catchy sales pitches on occasion, but how do these businesses get their followers? What are they doing that can spread the word? Or have you seen businesses have created a page, with a follower base, but you never see anything from them?

It is worse to create a page & never manage it - than it is to not have a page at all. I would suggest if you have a website, create a space on a medium where you know your customers can reach you. It doesn't stop there. It takes time & thought into accurately promoting your company, your services and gaining a follower base. I have seen too many times the aggressive vs. passive way of marketing online & neither is beneficial. Here are a few ideas that may help you.

(1) Schedule your posts - determine if once a day or once a week makes the most since for your company. These time frames are drastically different, but if you are posting an add, coupon or new service, you don't want to offer those posts more than once a week. The daily posts should focus on something of like interest & not force a sale on your customers.
***Example for a park or zoo:
* It is a beautiful day to be at the park - don't forget your sunscreen!
* The squirrels are finding ways to fill their bellies at the park, try to clean up before you leave.

* Today we are offering 50% off admission to the first 30 people upon opening! - Here is your pitch
* What is your favorite thing about playing outdoors?
* Today we found columbines growing in the garden by the oak tree, they are beautiful this time of year.

***Example for a technology person:
* Read today that Google is launching their own Internet
* RT: @aaaaaaa Great article about computer optimization click: (shortened URL)
* Off to a lunch meeting with a BNI consultant, let me know if you would like to connect.
* Check out our new service offering: 30% off of computer clean up and virus scans (shortened URL to website) - Here is your pitch
* Excited to have climbed my first 14er this past weekend in Buena Vista (shortened URL to a picture or website)

You see how your customers can become familiar with your interests, getting to know the personality of the one posting & yet you are inviting them to follow what your posts may be.

(2) If you aren't connecting, sharing and showing others that you also take interest in them, then you aren't reaching anyone.
* If you visit a website or blog, post a comment letting them know you were there.
* If you see someone has re-tweeted or commented on your posting, be sure to respond with acknowledgement.
* Give your viewers something of interest to keep bringing them back to your page.
* Contests are great ways to draw in new visitors.

(3) If you post an announcement to multiple contacts, don't post it in a message format where those receiving can reply to all. These replies will cause a lot of unnecessary emails to your followers & they will lose interest in you quickly.

To summarize - if you aren't out there, no one will find you. If you are out there & aren't posting regularly, then no one will have interest in what you have to offer. Be careful with how you post & be aware of what you post as to spark interest, rather than lose interest.

"Never bash a competitor, vendor, partner or individual"

2010-07-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

When it comes to competition - some may think that spreading a negative message about a competitor may boost their edge, but in fact it encourages a more negative insight on the one "bashing". As more companies are figuring out how to prospect and sell to their markets online, you want to main the highest level of respect from your clients. By mentioning a competitors name in a post or ad, you are giving visibility to their brand and in turn inviting your customers to ask the question, "Why are they so focused on that company instead of their own?" Think about this as you watch commercials on TV. A simple commercial about a burger combo from a fast food restaurant vs a ridiculously small burger combo from a competitive restaurant may seem innocent as they don't post the name of the competitor or the logo, but if you have ever eaten at their competitors restaurant, then you know exactly who they are marketing about. They are saying that their food is better. It may be - but now they are making the buyer consider why they ate at the other place - still keeping that other place fresh in their mind.

If you are promoting your own product or service, don't cross compare. State the facts such as: Here is our menu, here are the calories for each item, here is how we prepare our food, here is our great rate, here is why you would enjoy eating with us. Don't state: we are better then Joe Bob because our burgers are bigger than theirs, our prices are lower than theirs, our servers smile more . . . you get the picture.

This goes hand in hand with "bashing" an individual, personal or through business. Never say to a prospect, "you would like me better because I don't wear blue like Sally Sue" or "I like to drive on the left side of the street which makes my driving safer than Jackie Joe". These are ridiculous statements, but again you understand that presenting yourself in a different way, instead of comparing & competing in a way that promotes a negative outlook on you or another, let your offering do the talking. You are good at what you do because that is what you know best. Stand firm in that. People will choose you because of your integrity & your quality offering; not because you picked out why you are better than someone else.

Food for thought.

Welcome to the new blog!

2010-07-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

After providing my Social Media Support Services through my company, Clere Communications, I had wanted to launch a separate division just for me to equip and enable business people in social media. It is something I have enjoyed very much over the last few years for Clerecomm and now I want to share it with you independent of the support of my other company.

So with that said, Welcome! Please feel free to provide feed back to my posts, tweets, etc.