Tag: facebook

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Sales & Marketing

Quiz: Which Social Networking Platform is Right for You? Part 2

Last week, I put together a simple quiz you can take to figure out which social networking platform is the place for you. If you want to see the quiz plus the explanation AROUND the quiz (yes, there is a reason other than the entertainment value — it not only helps you use each social networking platform more successfully, but it also helps you structure your time better, so you get the results you’re looking for), you’ll want to check out part 1 right here: http://bit.ly/1jakn6t

 

Let’s jump right in.

 

If you’re a 3: LinkedIn.

You prefer small intimate cocktail parties or dinner parties where you can engage in deep conversations with a few close friends.

 

You’ve got to hand it to LinkedIn. They were one of the first social networking sites, and unlike a lot of their peers (can you say MySpace?) they’re STILL considered one of THE top social networking sites.

 

In my experience, pretty much every entrepreneur I’ve run into is either in the Facebook camp or LinkedIn camp. They may have accounts set up on both, but they very clearly prefer one over the other (which means the one they don’t prefer usually gets the shaft).

 

And while I haven’t personally experienced it (since I tend to prefer the less button-down nature of Facebook), I know plenty of folks who have gotten leads and clients from LinkedIn. So it too seems to be a hot place to showcase your business. Plus, LinkedIn does do a decent job of sending you blog traffic.

 

In addition, the other thing LinkedIn has going for it is “staying ability.” Who knows if Facebook really will weather the storm of kids thinking it’s “not cool?” But LinkedIn has managed to carve out its own unique category that (at this moment) appears to have some serious staying power.

 

One of the things I want to do this year is learn how to use my LinkedIn account more effectively. And if this is something you too are interested in then stay tuned — I’m planning to interview a LinkedIn expert on PW Unplugged in the near future!

 

 

If you’re a 4: Pinterest.

 

You’re an artist at heart and love hanging out with your other creative friends, drinking coffee or taking art classes at the local community college.

 

Pinterest is really a different sort of animal. On one hand, of all the social networking platforms out there, the posts seem to have the most staying power. (Pins last forever apparently.) But in terms of really engaging people and getting to know them, not as much.

 

I’m still testing and playing around with Pinterest myself because I’ve heard it’s a pretty good place for blog traffic (who knew?). And if you sell an actual product — like jewelry or art — I think Pinterest would be hot. Food would be hot too — like if you are selling a cookbook, pictures of the food would go a long way.  Plus it works well with Facebook — if you go through the trouble of creating a graphic for Facebook, you might as well pin it on Pinterest too.

 

I’m intrigued by the whole blog traffic thing so if I test it and it works, I may very well invite a Pinterest expert to PW Unplugged. Let me know if that intrigues you too!

 

If you’re a 5: YouTube.

 

You’re the life of the party — doesn’t matter how big or small the party is. You love nothing better than being the center of attention as you entertain all your friends.

 

Ahh, even if you never wanted to be a movie star (and you really aren’t the life of the party) incorporating video into your marketing mix is really a smart move. The best part of uploading your videos into YouTube is how versatile it is. People can search directly in YouTube, plus your videos will show up in Google search results AND in your Google+ account. You can also incorporate the YouTube link in your Facebook page, in LinkedIn, on your blog, and probably in whatever the next hot new social networking platform is going to be.

 

YouTube is not much for actual connecting and networking, but as a way to send traffic to your site, there are few things that are as hot as video.

 

The problem with video is it’s not as easy as sending a quick tweet or posting a pic on Facebook. But it’s definitely worth the extra effort. And if you are thinking about using video, I would encourage you to batch your videos in one shoot — set aside a couple hours or an afternoon and blast through as many as you can possibly stand. That way, you only have to get all dolled up once in a while (not to mention all the work hiring a video crew or getting your own studio set up).

 

 

If you’re a 6: Google+.

 

You’re the one having a party as you wait in line for the latest high tech product. You definitely consider yourself one of the early adopters and having a party with other early adopters is definitely the way to go!

 

Google+ is so massive, it’s really hard to get a handle on it. Google Hangouts, the whole +1 thing, profiles, pages, communities, circles, videos…

 

It feels like at the end of the day, G+ wants to have it all. You have the search engine capabilities with the +1 and everything that’s posted in G+ gets indexed in Google. You have videos and Google Hangouts that automatically show up on your profile plus get uploaded into YouTube. You have the communities and the networking, and maybe because G+ IS more complicated than some of the other social networking platforms, the people you DO find on G+ tend to be smart, sophisticated and passionate.

 

G+ is another one I’m playing around with more because I think there are some possibilities here, especially for traffic and SEO. I’m not sure about the leads yet — you have to be very careful about promoting yourself on this network, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because getting to know people is the first step to actually having them become your clients. But without being able to openly promote (and really no advertising options like you have on LinkedIn and Facebook — plus Twitter looking like they’re getting into the game too) this definitely falls into a long-term biz building strategy instead of “get clients now” strategy.

 

 

 

 

Categories
Entrepreneurs

Quiz: Which Social Networking Platform is Right for You? Part 1

Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Google+ — oh my! If all the different social networking platforms are making your head spin, this quick quiz should help you get a handle on which social networking platform is right for you.

 

Now while the quiz itself (including the personality types in the answers) are all in jest, there IS a method to my madness. Mainly, know that social networking platforms DO start to take on their own personality as they mature and become more popular. And this is important because it leads to some interesting results:

 

• There is a definite bias around the social networking platforms each person prefers — and personality types do seem to play into those preferences.

 

* BUT what’s also interesting is how people will also adjust their personalities depending on which platform they’re on. Just like in real life, we show a different side of us depending on if we’re at work, at a family function, out with friends, etc. We also show a different side depending on which social networking platform we’re currently on.

 

* AND because each social networking platform attracts a different personality type, what each type is EXPECTING from each platform is different. And why does that matter? Because depending on what YOU want to see happen as a result of your social networking activities, different platforms may make more sense for you to focus on. (I.e. some platforms are better for blog traffic, some are better for networking, and some platforms need you to tweak how you use it if you want to see more blog traffic and/or networking.)

 

Make sense? Great – now on to the questions!

 

1. You’re a professional athlete/celebrity/politician who is feeling a bit bored in your life and you want to spice things up a bit with some sort of scandal.

 

2. You’re over 25 and you love the idea of multi-tasking — a.k.a. keeping an eye on your kid’s social networking activities while promoting your biz.

 

3. You’re uncomfortable letting it “all hang out” when you’re marketing your biz (and you privately feel like sharing too much personal stuff is just plain wrong). You prefer your social networking platform to be as professional as you are.

 

4. You love letting your creative side come out and play — and the more visual the better!

 

5. Ever since you were a child, you knew you were destined to be a movie star, or at least have your own television show. You love nothing better than to ham it up in front of the camera.

 

6. You love being on the cutting edge of the next “hot” social media platform, because once it catches on, you’ll reap that many more benefits as one of the first to use it.

 

So today, we’re going to talk about the best social networking platforms for 1-2 above, and next week we’ll discuss the matches for 3-6.

 

On to the answers!

 

If you’re a 1: Twitter.

 

You love being in the middle of it all! On your bucket list is to be in Times Square when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve and, if you haven’t already, you’re definitely going to be a part of flash mob one of these days.

 

You know, Twitter is sort of the online equivalent of a flash mob. Something happens and everyone jumps to provide their feedback/commentary/opinion – and that leads to topic trending (or Twitter exploding).

 

And maybe THAT is why it’s also the sole social networking platform people use to get themselves in trouble! There is a flash mob mentality to Twitter; something rises up out of nowhere, and disappears almost as fast. You never hear about controversial quotes from something posted on Facebook or Linked In. But random tweets (or, worse yet, pictures of tweeted unmentionables) are always making the news. And it’s not like it’s any less work to post a tweet versus a post in any other social networking platform.

 

Alas, you’d think by now people would have figured out that tweets (especially tweets you have no business tweeting) last forever.

 

Anyway, on to Twitter and your business. My personal experience with Twitter is while it does work, it’s not as good as some of the other social networking platforms out there. Maybe because people aren’t really looking to click on a link to leave Twitter; they’re there to be a part of the action! But even the clicks I do get from Twitter seem to be weaker (i.e. less likely to opt in or take action) than clicks from other social networking platforms.

 

However, there’s no question it does add to your promotional efforts, so I wonder if it’s a bit of a multiplier – if people see enough of your tweets and start to get comfortable with you, when they do finally click on a link (either in Twitter or a different social networking platform) they may be ready to take action.

 

The really nice thing about Twitter is it’s the easiest to add automation to in order to augment anything else you’re doing, so it really doesn’t take a lot of time to have it be a part of your promotions.

 

But if YOU have a different experience — like Twitter is THE place for you to get leads, I’d love to hear your story. Just comment on my blog LINK and let me know (especially if you think I’m just totally off base here).

 

If you’re a 2: Facebook.

 

You love a good party — not too big mind you (it at least needs to fit inside a house) but there’s nothing better than hanging out with 200 of your closest friends playing all the fun 80’s tunes you grew up with.

 

Yes indeed, Facebook has now become “your grandfather’s social networking platform.” That’s right, if Facebook is where you love to hang out, you are now officially old and square. (Oh wait, am I sounding even more dated now?? Does “so last year” work or is that just so “not cool” too?) Kids today between 16 and 25 prefer Twitter and think Facebook is for communicating with their mothers and any of their older friends who aren’t hip enough to be on Twitter. (I guess when your mom sends you a Facebook friend request, it dampens your enthusiasm.)

 

Of course what’s so ironic is Facebook started as a place for college kids to hook up! Ah, how times have changed.

 

Anyway, for the moment (and who knows how long THAT will last since the kids aren’t crazy about it) Facebook appears to be THE place to find clients and prospects via socializing and networking(unless of course your ideal clients are the 16-25 year olds – then you should definitely be tweeting up a storm).

 

Now, while there is no question you can get some decent blog traffic posting your blogs on Facebook, the real gold is the networking. (In fact, if you can fold your blog posting into your networking activities, that seems to work the best.) Facebook truly is the “party” social networking platform, so by augmenting anything you’re doing in Facebook with some personal connection and networking, you’ll definitely see better results.

 

And stay tuned for next week where I’ll talk about the best social networking platforms for you 3-6ers.

 

Categories
Entrepreneurs

4 Hot Ways To Market Yourself in 2014

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As you sit down to plan your 2014 marketing calendar, you may be wondering where you should be focusing your marketing efforts to get the biggest bang for your buck.

Well, let me share with you the (currently) 4 HOT “parties” you most definitely want to dress up in your sexiest little number and be seen at!

(Note — like a lot of “In” things, these parties could definitely change to “not-so-hot” overnight. However, even if that happens, you’ll still be able to reap the benefits now; plus, what you create to take advantage of these platforms could be tweaked and reused for the next new hot party.)

1. Facebook. Unless your business caters to teenagers (who now prefer Twitter) Facebook is the place to be. And Facebook ads are also quite hot right now, so it’s not only about having a presence on Facebook – it’s also about investing in Facebook ads. This could prove to be a very smart business decision.

If this intrigues you, the first thing you need to do is get a Facebook business page up and running. It’s a lot cheaper to send ads to your Facebook business page, and from your business page you send people to your opt in page or website.

But ads aren’t the only way to go. Make sure you’re also on Facebook and engaging with your ideal clients on a personal and professional level.

2. Amazon/Kindle. Kindle is really hot right now. Millions of people are on Kindle every day searching for information, but that’s not even the best part. These are actual BUYERS — they’re not searching for free things. They’re looking to purchase a Kindle book to solve what’s keeping them up at night.

Another fact is people who buy and read books are also more likely to buy higher-priced products and programs. While it’s true if you publish a book, it’s a great deal of work to sell it (especially when you consider the very small profit margins) if you have a strong back end of higher-priced products, programs and services, taking the time to write and promote your book can be a huge win-win for you.

3. iTunes. Long time ago, podcasts were hot. Then they weren’t anymore. But even when the “podcasts are dead” belief was at its highest, I kept running into folks who loved their podcasts and listened to them religiously, so I thought maybe it depended on the market. But now we’re full circle and podcasts are hot again.

Podcasts are hot because iTunes is hot. Supposedly, there are a billion accounts on iTunes that have a credit card attached to them. And the reason iTunes has a whole bunch of accounts is because they give people what they want — the ability to buy one song at a time, the ability to download podcasts so you can listen to them when you’re driving, when you’re exercising, etc.

Even though only a small portion of the population are true auditory learners (15 percent) people love the convenience of audio. You can listen and do other things, and that’s what people love about it.

You can also use iTunes to promote videos and digital content (and who knows, Amazon may follow suit and offer podcasts as well one of these days). Plus, both iTunes and Amazon have programs to help promote your books and podcasts.

4. Video. Video hasn’t lost its sex appeal yet! I think a big part is people feel like they know you faster when they see you on video (and your ideal prospects need to feel like they know, like and trust you before they become your buyers). Listening to you on audio also speeds up the getting to know you vibe (again, another reason to consider podcasts — especially since you don’t have to worry about hair and makeup!)

Video is also versatile — you can use video on Facebook, in blogs, to help people find you on the search engines, on your site, as part of your sales funnel, etc. And if you do a Google Hangout, that turns into a video.

Now, before you decide you need to do ALL of these in 2014 (especially if you don’t have a team to support you) — take a deep breath. The point of this article isn’t to make you spin around in circles or feel guilty you can’t be at all 4 hot parties at once, but instead, it’s to give you choices.

I want you to decide which one — and I do mean ONE — feels the best to you. Which one appeals to you more? Do you love the social networking aspect of Facebook? Getting on a mic and gabbing for an hour? Writing short Kindle books? Getting all gussied up and connecting on camera?

Whichever one it is, start with that one. THEN you can move to mastering the others. The only exception is videos (and maybe Facebook ads), where you may want to use videos to support any of the other 3 platforms (but this isn’t about you mastering video, it’s about you using a few videos to support what you’re doing first.)

Categories
Entrepreneurs Online Business

Social Networking — How Your Social Networking Habits Determines Your Business Success or Failure

facebook-vs-twitter.jpg

The first time I heard the saying “How you do one thing is how you do everything” I didn’t get it. (Actually I think my exact response was: “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”)

However, as I continued to work on myself and my business over the years, this statement has finally sunk in. And now I see how it relates to pretty much everything in my life. (After all, the state of your business is just a representative of what’s going on in your head at any given moment.)

So, what does any of this have to do with social networking? Well, it occurred to me as I look around at what people are and aren’t doing with their social networking that this is a microcosm of your entire business.

Let me explain. How do you approach your social networking?

* Are you someone who set up a bunch of social networking accounts months ago and haven’t touched it since? Where else has this shown up in your business? Are you someone who has a bunch of half-finished information products or books sitting on your desk?

Or maybe you finished them but you haven’t put up the sales letter or did any other marketing so you’re not actually making any money off of them.

Needless to say, with this habit, you’ve simply wasted a bunch of time without anything to show for it. You’re not making any money with your social networking nor are you making any money selling products.

* Are you someone who does your social networking in bursts? You ignore it for weeks, then for a couple of days you’re on it in a frenzy, only to go back to ignoring it. (Or you only jump on and do anything on it when you’re feeling stressed about cash flow and lack of clients.)

So where else does this show up in your business? Are you someone who sends out an email newsletter once in a blue moon? Or you only pick up the phone to follow up when you’re desperate for new clients?

With this habit, while it’s good you’re doing something, you’re only going to see consistent results when you’re consistently doing your marketing tasks. Communicating with people once in a while and/or only when you’re looking for something (i.e. for them to give you money) is an excellent way to have a feast-or-famine business model.

* Are you someone who is pretty good on one social networking platform but doesn’t do anything on any other one? For instance, you love Facebook but your Twitter account sits there unloved and you pretty much never update your blog, never mind anything else.

So where else does this show up in your business? Are you someone who’s really good at going to live networking events and collecting business cards but doesn’t follow up? Or maybe you send out an email newsletter fairly regularly but you don’t do anything else with the articles you write for your newsletter (although you keep meaning to). And you don’t use any other methods to touch your prospects (i.e. direct mail or teleclasses.) You’re getting part of it right but if you followed an entire system you would see far more results. (And, in many cases, it’s not about YOU doing more but simply having a system and a team in place to support you so you get the biggest bang for your marketing time.)

Now, this isn’t about making you feel bad about what you are or aren’t doing. This is about looking at one piece of your business and using what you see there to make your whole business more successful.

Categories
Online Business

Leverage your time and visibility with Online Video

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“I see you everywhere!” Yup, I get that a lot! Colleagues and clients tell me all the time that I seem to be “everywhere.” They see me on YouTube, Facebook, on blogs and on Twitter. I am definitely visible! But my online visibility is no accident. My visibility strategy is simple: I leverage the power of video to increase my exposure – and you can, too!
Online video is the perfect tool to maximize your web presence because it’s highly visible and viral. You can create one video and have it spread from YouTube to Facebook to your own website and beyond. It’s the ultimate leverage resource, because you create it once and use it in many different ways, and in many different places.
Best of all, creating a video to enhance your visibility is quick, easy and inexpensive. Armed with only a webcam or an affordable Flip Video camera, you can shoot a simple video message and upload it to YouTube in minutes. All you need is a (high-speed) Internet connection and a free account on YouTube.com.
Once your video is posted on YouTube, you can send it to Facebook and MySpace with one click! Other free video hosting sites like Blip.tv give you easy sharing and cross-posting functions to add your video to your own website, or to social sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon. To really leverage your time and energy, use another free service, TubeMogul.com, to blast your video out to over a dozen sites with one click! You get the idea: One video to many sites means leverage and visibility across the web!
Keep in mind that even just posting your video to Facebook is going to give you video some mileage. As others comment on your video on Facebook, the video then appears on their Facebook page in addition to your own. That’s the “viral” in viral video!
And let’s not leave Twitter out of the video party… While you can’t post the video itself on Twitter, you can certainly promote the link to your video on Twitter. Better yet, there are several free services, such as Tweetube and Twiddeo, that will notify Twitter for you whenever you put your video on their sites.
Finally, if you want the ultimate, maxed-out, super-charged version of video visibility, be sure to get in touch with me about a free trial of Veeple.com. Veeple is the video hosting platform that I use to make my videos clickable (with live links) and interactive. Veeple’s new deal with TubeMogul means you can even blast your video from Veeple.com to a boatload of popular video sites. It’s one-stop shopping for massive video visibility! You can find more info on Veeple here: http://tinyurl.com/ltdjgv.
If you’d like more information or a quick crash course on video visibility, please feel free to visit my “Video Traffic Blast” website. There you can find out more about my step-by-step viral video process. Be sure to get your video online now! Start sharing your video on the web and soon, you too can be seen “everywhere!”
LouBortonePhoto.jpgLou Bortone is an award-winning writer and video producer with over 20 years experience in marketing, branding and promotion. As an online video expert, Lou helps entrepreneurs create video for the web at www.TheOnlineVideoGuy.com. In addition, Lou works as a freelance writer and professional ghostwriter, with a ghostwriting site at www.GhostwriteForYou.com and a blog at www.GhostwriteGuru.com.