Tag: social networking

Categories
Business Ideas

Do You Even Need a Website or Blog Anymore? A Simple Assessment

It’s official. Social networking is here to stay.

Forget using it just as a business tool. It’s everywhere. You can’t get away from it. (And we’re not even talking about, ahem, inappropriate uses of it such as sending nasty pictures of yourself over Twitter when you really ought to know better)

Anyway, I digress. The point is social networking is so prolific and so everywhere that websites and blogs are starting to look like something your grandpa used to market himself. After all, now you have gurus proclaiming Facebook fan pages are the absolute MUST HAVE little black dress and you are seriously behind the times without one. (Here’s an example of a fan page if you want to check it out: http://www.facebook.com/michelepwkaching — feel free to “like” it once you’re there too. J )

So are websites and blogs even worth it? Should we just throw all our chips in the social networking pile and not spend any more time or money on websites or blogs? And what if you don’t have a website yet — should you even bother?

Okay. Let’s all take a deep breath here. Feel better? Good — now let’s look at the facts.

Social networking is still in its infancy.  I know, I know. It feels like it’s a rebellious teenager. But honestly — this is still very, very new. It’s really only seriously caught on in the past few years. And let’s look at what happened during those few years:

* MySpace was THE place to be if you were an entrepreneur (Does anyone else even remember MySpace? Anyone?) Facebook was this weird, red-headed stepchild. In fact, when I first opened an account, when you sent out a friend request, you had to indicate how you knew the person and one of the options was (I kid you not) “hooked up.” Yeah. I think there was only one option, something like “know from a group or an association” that was safe for business purposes. Linked In was basically for “corporate only” or if you were looking for an actual job (I had an account and I really had no clue what to do with it.) Twitter was still being programmed in someone’s basement.

To put this into perspective — this was 4 years ago.

* Then came the huge “MySpace migration into Facebook” revolution. Everyone was on Facebook. MySpace was SO last year.

* Then Twitter exploded onto the scene. EVERYONE was on Twitter. And a bunch of other social networking platforms suddenly popped up out of nowhere — plurek, plaxo, etc. Suddenly there were HUNDREDS. Yee gads.

Fast forward to today. Twitter is declining in popularity as a tool to grow your business. (Although it remains tops on the list as the best tool to embarrass yourself.) Facebook is back on top. Linked In has rediscovered a new surge of popularity — thanks to never getting away from its roots (keeping it a more formal platform, which serves its core customers) but still adding new bells and whistles (like groups). Many of those other social networking platforms have fallen by the wayside.

And what will the future look like? Who knows? I certainly don’t. For all I know, Facebook fan pages could be as popular as yesterday’s newspaper — heck, Facebook could be as popular as yesterday’s newspaper. MySpace could be back on top and something called “Yowzer” could be the hottest thing.

Which is why those old-fashioned websites and blogs still have a place in your marketing.

You see, you control your websites and blogs. You’re not subject to whims of playing in “someone else’s sandbox.” You don’t have to worry if the rules change, if Twitter decides it doesn’t like your picture and shuts your profile down or whatever. You have your own online real estate that you can do what you want to with it.

So the question is — do you want to have control over your business, your message, your visibility? Do you want to have a hub for your online activities — your “online home” to invite your ideal clients to if they want to learn more about what you do?

Or not?

Categories
Online Business

4 Social Networking Pitfalls And How To Avoid Them

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Social networking sites originally became popular as a way for friends to stay in touch with one another and to keep up-to-date with what was happening in their lives, but they quickly became a place for business owners to grow their networks too. These days you can use these sites as a business building tool, but, more importantly, you can get to know your prospects, clients, and colleagues in a more relaxed and friendly environment.

This means that if you’re active on these sites and regularly contributing and seeking out new connections you can very quickly build your network and have a ready audience of contacts who are interested in what you have to say, your services, programs, and products.

However, I hear of many solopreneurs saying that they’re spending hours of time on their social networking activities, whether that’s on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or one of the other popular social networking sites, but are not seeing any benefits as a result of their time i.e. the amount of time they put into social networking is not comparable to the returns they are seeing. And so they lose interest and wonder what all the fuss is about.

As with any of the list building strategies that I teach, the real key to success is consistency. If you decide that social networking is one of the lead generation strategies that you want to implement then you need to be consistent in your approach to make it successful. You need to be spending time each week (several times a week) visiting each of your social networks, contributing, and building relationships.

Even though there are many, many advantages to this latest marketing strategy, there are several pitfalls that can easily be avoided if you’re aware of what they are.

Today I’d like to share with you my top four social networking pitfalls so that you can avoid making these mistakes and so utilize this strategy to grow your network:

1. Not updating regularly.

If you’re a beginner in this area, then you may believe that all you have to do is sign up for an account at one of the more popular sites, add your details, and you’re all set. In order for this strategy to be effective, you need to be a regular contributor to the network, actively seek out new connections, and participate and post regularly.

2. Your profile is lacking in information.

Add pictures; make yourself sound interesting and fun! People want to know about you, what your interests are, and see you. Always include a photo, and, the beauty with social networking is that because it’s informal, you don’t always need your photo to be a professional head shot – a more informal photo works just as well; let your contacts see the ‘real’ you.

3. Not thinking relationships first!

Social networking is all about building relationships with those people in your network – it’s not about getting new clients. Although you’ve probably heard of colleagues getting new clients via social networking, it really is about creating and building relationships with those people in your network. Remember… relationships first!

4. It’s not about sell, sell, sell!

If all you’re doing when you visit the various sites and post your updates is pitch your latest program, product or service then it’s no wonder you’re not seeing results. Share information with your network, whether that’s your own information or you’re passing along information from clients and colleagues. The more you share, the greater your results will be.

Whichever social networking arena you’re active in (and it may be more than one) remember the “social” in social networking – it’s to build relationships, make new contacts, and socialize. Inform your network, not sell to them.

Categories
Online Business

How to Screw Yourself Up on Social Networking in No Time Flat

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Have you heard any of these?

* A guy who works part time for the Eagles Football team updates his status report by saying something to the effect that the Eagles suck due to a trade they made. The Eagles fire him.

* A woman gets a job offer from Cisco. She tweets “Got a job offer from Cisco. Now have to decide between a fatty paycheck versus a long commute and hating my job.” One of Cisco channel partners sees it on Twitter and comments. I didn’t hear how it turned out but I’m fairly certain Cisco rescinded the job offer. (And chances are she’s going to have a heck of a time finding another job since this story was all over the place to such an extent it will take awhile to get it out of Google.)

* A guy who I think is the agency owner travels to the headquarters of one of his biggest customers for a presentation (ironically on social networking). He tweets an unflattering tweet about the city where his client is headquartered. The employees spot it, call him on it and he ultimately loses the account.

I’m sure there are more of these stories, but you get my point. Social networking can give you credibility, visibility, leads and can help grow your business. It can also lose you jobs and customers.

So what do these stories have in common? Simple — the person forgot social networking was public.

And that’s the point of today’s article. What you do on social networking is public.

Now, I know that sounds obvious but, like most obvious things, it gets overlooked. And it’s easy to see why. I mean, half the time (or even more) you get no response to things you do on Twitter or Facebook. So it’s easy to start thinking no one’s watching.

And the moment you slip and think no one is watching, no one cares, that’s when it bites you. You think you can say whatever you want, and you do. Only to discover much to your dismay that people really ARE paying attention.

The same thing that makes social networking such a powerful networking tool is the same thing that can ruin you.

Remember, your biggest strength is your biggest weakness. And that’s true here as well. The power social networking has to get your name out there in a big way can also replicate your unfortunate choice of tweets or posts in a big way and ruin your reputation faster than you can say “to tweet or not to tweet.”

Now, I’m not saying you should run scared of social networking. This isn’t about you agonizing over every comment, tweet, post, etc. you put out there. This is about being smart. It’s about never forgetting you’re dealing in a public arena and people are paying attention, even if there are days where you wonder where all that social networking love went.

And if you DO screw up and say something you shouldn’t? Well, depending on what exactly it was, you might have to do some damage control, and/or just come to grips you’ve put a black mark on your reputation and have to do some cleaning up. You CAN come back, it might not be easy or fun, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world either.

Categories
Entrepreneurs Online Business

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

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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 Sales & Marketing

Article Marketing: Repurpose Your ONE Article in 3 Easy Steps!

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So, you’ve written your ezine article and published it in your ezine – now what? Do you just let it sit there, never to see the light of day again, or do you repurpose it and let it really work for you to grow your list?

I say the latter – repurpose your article and let it build your list!

You know I’m a huge fan of repurposing your material and really leveraging your time, and using your articles in this way is one of the most effective strategies you can implement to build your business and grow your online community, a.k.a. your list.

Today I’d like to share with you 3 easy steps as to how you can take your ONE newsletter article and use it in a variety of different formats to reach more of your ideal clients and customers.

Step 1 – Post it to your blog

After you’ve published your article in your ezine (hint: let your subscribers be the first to read your brand-new articles – one of the perks of signing up to your list!) take your article and post it to your blog. This is a great way to reach a whole new audience to let them know about your ezine, and to reach those people who are subscribed to your RSS feed.

If you also include your Author’s Resource Bio at the end of your blog post you will provide an additional way for your blog readers to sign up to your ezine.

Tip: If you use a blogging platform such as WordPress, this is hosted on your website. Each time you post to your blog you are creating fresh content for your website, which the search engines love!

Step 2 – Link your article to your Social Networking Profile(s)

If you’re active on Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites, create a link to your newly posted blog article and let your social networks read your article too. Encourage them to also post comments so that you can engage with them on your blog.

If you’re using Facebook, you can set up your profile so that it automatically pulls all blogs posts into your Facebook account each time. This is done via the Notes feature.

And, because you are also driving traffic to your blog via your social networks, this is going to help improve your search engine rankings.

Step 3 – Create a Podcast

Reach those people who prefer to listen rather than to read, and create a podcast episode out of your article. A podcast is simply a digital recording that is made available on the Internet so that people can listen and download the files to their iPod or Mp3 player.
And if you’re using the services of a streaming media company such as BYOAudio creating your podcast becomes a cinch!

The three simple steps that I’ve outlined for you above all work very well on their own to help you repurpose your articles, but if you put them all together into a system then you have the foundations for your online marketing system and these strategies, if implemented regularly, will drive traffic to your website and build your list.