Virtually Yours!

Everywhere I turn, people are tweeting, posting updates on Facebook or text messaging. This makes me wonder if the compulsion to stay in touch with their online contacts means they miss out on face-to-face encounters.

If I’m at a networking meeting (and I attend quite a few of these in the course of a month), I like to feel as if I’m connecting with the people around me. The trouble is – because their attention is diverted by the latest text message they received or something they are tweeting – I don’t feel that they’re giving 100% of their attention to the meeting at hand, maybe not even 25%. Why bother coming to a face-to-face event if they’re going to sit at their laptop or send a stream of messages via their phone? Are they missing out on making a physical connection? I think so.

It’s not that I’m against these forms of communication. Quite the contrary. As a social media specialist I always advocate the benefits of using social media to attract new followers (who may ultimately become clients) and maintain contact with current followers. However, I think there’s a time and a place for these communications. Is anything so critical that you have to respond immediately, regardless of what is going on around you?

And don’t get me started on the subject of people texting while driving. I recently watched an AT&T video about texting and driving that was enough to scare anyone from doing that again.

What’s the solution? I encourage my clients to use an editorial calendar. Plan what you want to broadcast and when. If you’re going to be at a meeting at the scheduled time, use Hootsuite to set up your message to be posted at the appointed time. Hootsuite is one of several online tools you can use to schedule your social media updates. If you are at a conference and want to tweet about the content, consider sending the tweets during breaks between sessions.

Tweeting or texting in meetings can be distracting to others around you and disrespectful of the meeting organizers, whether it’s a local networking meeting or a national conference of your peers.

Social media has made the world smaller, and it’s a great tool for staying in touch with more people on a daily basis than ever before, but I don’t think it should get in the way of face-to-face activities.

What are your views on this subject? Do you prefer to separate your online networking from face-to-face networking and give each the attention it deserves?

A well-fed blog, as part of your social media strategy, will help increase traffic to your website and broaden your exposure on the Web. A blog is like an online library of articles written by you about your product or service. It works 24 hours a day, bringing up your articles in response to searches on the Internet.

A matter of fundamental importance when writing blog posts is to use your keywords in both the titles and the content of your posts. This will help your posts to show up higher in the search engine results.

Blog posts don’t need to be lengthy – 250-400 words are plenty. Be sure to include links to other sites mentioned in your posts, as well as to your own website where appropriate.

WordPress is one of the most widely used platforms for blogs. It comes in two versions: WordPress.com and WordPress.org, and both versions are free. The difference is that WordPress.com is hosted by WordPress and doesn’t offer control over the website or layout. It is also subject to advertising.

WordPress.org is, on the other hand, self-hosted, which means you can host it on the same server which hosts your website, so there are no additional hosting fees, there is no advertising, and, importantly, you have a lot of control over the design and layout.

Your social media specialist can advise you about the best platform for your blog and will set it up for you. I recommend having a navigation menu on your blog that matches the navigation menu on your website so that readers can visit your website directly from your blog. Finally, add your blog to the navigation menu on your website. This makes it very easy for people to visit your blog.

How is your blog performing for you? Please share your experience.

LinkedIn is a powerful social media site that provides a great way to expand your networking potential. You could think of LinkedIn as a business version of Facebook that allows you to connect with colleagues and friends you know or have known at work.

One of the main features of LinkedIn is your Profile, which resembles a resume. By listing all the places you’ve worked, you make it simple for former colleagues to connect with you. Just think how this feature can help if you decide to look for another job and want to alert old friends and other business contacts.

The Recommendations feature also helps build your credibility. It provides the means for you to acknowledge others by giving them your recommendation. They are more than likely happy to return the favor by recommending you and/or your business. This is a good way to build relationships. It’s a good idea to think about how you want to increase the number of your connections. For example, do you want to limit your connections to only those you know well enough to be able to recommend in good faith, or will you include those you have met only once or twice?

LinkedIn has some applications you can add to your Profile. SlideShare allows you to show a PowerPoint presentation or slideshow. BlogLink adds a link to your blog so that your current post shows on your profile automatically.

Make sure your Specialties Area is complete and accurate. Use the same keywords you use elsewhere so the search engines can find you.

LinkedIn Groups area great way to share your expertise with other people who have similar interests. I recommend participating in discussions regularly.

Status Updates posted on LinkedIn let your professional network know about your business, new products or services. By updating frequently, you keep your name in front of your connections so that when they are looking for a resource for themselves or for a contact, your name will come to mind.

For more information or a detailed discussion of how LinkedIn can contribute to the development of your business, contact your social media specialist or call me at 847…380..1446.

How has LinkedIn helped your business? What’s your favorite application for LinkedIn? Please share your comments here to help others take advantage of this powerful platform.

Now it’s time to start building your web presence. I will assume that you have chosen to have a Twitter account, Facebook business page, and a LinkedIn account.

Let’s tackle Twitter first.

When you fill out your profile, don’t forget to put either a photo of yourself or your company logo in the picture tab.

Decide whether to use one of the stock Twitter backgrounds (see the options on the Design page) or upload your own custom background. This allows for extra branding of your business. A graphic designer or social media specialist can help you design a background if you don’t have the time or skills to create your own.

Search for leaders in your industry to follow. Chances are they’ll follow you back, and over time, other followers will follow you just because of who you are following. Twitter users tend to be like sheep; they follow the leaders.

Remember that it’s the quality rather than the quantity of followers that’s important. A follower who reads your Tweets and comments or retweets them is important because when they comment or retweet your post, their followers will see your message.

Remember your keywords when you write your post and use them.

Next time, we’ll look at Facebook…

When creating a social media strategy I consider the following elements:

• Social media goals (discussed in an earlier blog post)
• What your top three competitors are doing online

Based upon these results, I make recommendations as to which social media channel best fits the needs of my client.

By using programs such as www.socialoomph.com or www.hootsuite.com, you could schedule your posts ahead of time for increased efficiency and even send the same message to multiple channels. However, since it is likely that some of your audience is following you on more than one channel, I suggest that you don’t send exactly the same message to each channel

Currently, the three most popular social media channels are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Other sites can be used to supplement these three but, based on the number of people using them, these are by far the most important.

To begin with, you want to create accounts in the channels you choose and take some time to see what other people in your industry are doing online, including your top competitors. Take some time to follow a few people to get a sense of their posts before jumping in and joining the conversations. Start making notes of topics which you would like to write about.

Have some photographs taken of yourself to use on your profiles. This helps other to recognize you when they meet you in-person at networking events or conferences, and it helps in building relationships. The photos don’t have to be taken by a professional photographer, but they should be of good quality and preferably of your head and shoulders. A photo of you at a party with a glass in your hand doesn’t present the most desirable image.

Next time we’ll begin to implement your strategy.

This is the beginning of a series of blog posts to help small business owners create a web presence through social media.

When I meet with clients who want to create or enhance a web presence through social media, there are some important points to consider before jumping into Tweeting, Liking, LinkingIn and blogging.

Here are five things to consider in assessing your social media goals:

1. What is your primary business objective? The obvious answer is to drive traffic to your website, but perhaps you want to promote a particular service or product. Maybe you plan to use social media as a means to improve customer service.
2. Describe your target audience. Your target customers are those most likely to buy from you. If you are selling to consumers (business-to-consumers or B-to-C), some questions to ask yourself are:  Is your customer male or female? How old are they? Where do they live? What do they do for a living? Then think of other lifestyle points that would impact their decision to buy your product or service. B-to-C marketing is primarily based on needs, such as: I need a pair of shoes, I like this store/price/shoe.If you are selling to businesses (business-to-business or B-to-B) you have some different elements to contemplate. B-to-B purchasing is based more on relationships. Some basic considerations to consider are the size of the company, the type of industry, and the number of employees they have.
3. Analyze the needs and interests of your target audience. Who needs your product or service?
4. What specific results for your business do you expect from your social marketing? This can be as simple as providing an easy method of communicating with your customers or increasing your blog readership to establish yourself as an expert in your field.
5. How much time and money are you prepared to invest in your social media activities? Building relationships, whether in person or on-line, takes time. The results of a well-executed strategy will pay off if you are consistent and patient.

Set realistic goals. Remember, if you have nothing to say, it’s better to remain silent, so don’t broadcast a promise to send a weekly newsletter if you only have enough material for a quarterly one.

Come back next week to use your goals to create a social media strategy.