Virtually Yours!

Networking has proven to be a very effective way to promote one’s business. I joined my local Chamber of Commerce four years ago and attended every networking meeting I could and finally feel as if my networking is about where I want it to be. It takes time and commitment to build a strong network.

We all know that meeting people face-to-face is the best way to network. Nothing can replace being able to see another person’s face or hear inflections in someone’s voice. However, in addition to managing the day-to-day running of the business a small business owner has only so much time to market their business. There is a limit to the number of networking meetings you can attend in a week. Besides, how many people can you speak to at such meetings?

While it doesn’t replace face-to-face contact, social media offer a way to reach a much larger audience. Moreover, our social media presence works for us tirelessly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Check your web traffic and see just how many people read your blog or visit your Facebook page in a week. How many people retweeted your Tweets? Did you speak to that many people at your last networking meeting?

So when you are planning how much time to devote to networking and social media, don’t dismiss the power of your social media reach. A good balance between in-person networking and online networking may prove to be most effective.

What has been your experience balancing in-person versus online networking? Please post your comments below.

A new client approached me recently seeking help in boosting her LinkedIn profile. When I looked at it, her profile revealed very little about her professional experience or her business. Moreover, her key words (i.e., specific words that search engines such as Google and Yahoo will find) were inadequate in that there weren’t enough of them and they were poorly chosen: They would not show up in relevant searches.

I created a customized LinkedIn strategy to add substance to her profile and add appropriate key words. Then I gave her suggestions for finding new connections. Six weeks later, my client has implemented the strategy and has 50 new, quality connections as well as an enhanced profile that says a lot more about her business and her credentials.

But it’s not all about numbers. The quality of your connections is more important than the quantity. Building your connection base should be a deliberate process. Connect with people with whom you already have a good relationship or would like to build a stronger relationship. Some connections will be people with whom you do business, but equally worthy connections are others who are well-connected and in a position to refer business to you.

It doesn’t happen overnight. Building business relationships takes time. You have to earn trust and respect in order for someone to give you their business or refer you to others. LinkedIn recommendations help build your reputation. Ask your existing LinkedIn connections for recommendations, and in turn recommend people with whom you have done business.

I’ve been suffering from blogger’s block (aka writer’s block)! There are plenty of topics on which to write that will hopefully prove useful to my readers: from social media topics and tips to general business tips for my small business clients. I have no excuse. Finding one’s voice in blogging can involve a little trial and error, but it’s better to try than simply sit on the fence and procrastinate.

One lesson I’ve learned, however, while I’ve been trying to decide which topic to discuss, is that there appears to be a direct connection between the frequency of my blog posts and the number of visits to my website. Hurrah, someone is reading this!

At a recent networking meeting, social media was the topic of discussion. Some business owners asked why they should participate in social media. The simplest answer is that the main goal of social media is to drive traffic to your website. The reason it works is (a) the search engines find social media, whether it’s your blog, Twitter or Facebook posts; and (b) each blog post is an article setting you up as an expert in your field, and the library of articles grows with each blog entry you post. This means that you are found in more searches the more you write.

So while I’ve been dealing with life and not posting to my blog, I’ve missed some potential business leads.

Lots of different businesses use social media for a variety of reasons. Some have a blog, which they update regularly to provide helpful information to their clients and reader. Others have a store and use social media to advertise specific products. Still others provide a service and use social media to promote their services. Below are three case studies as examples of how some businesses are having success through social media.

Social Media Examiner

Social Media Examiner – a blog that uses guest bloggers to discuss social media and catchy titles to entice readers. The key to attracting a following is writing good blog content. The blog is promoted by Twitter and Facebook posts and gets lots of comments.

H.M. Yachts Ltd.

H.M. Yachts Ltd. – a yacht and powerboat broker which uses several social media channels to promote their business. Their YouTube channel hosts video tours of the various yachts they have for sale. These tours allow purchasers to view the yachts from the comfort of their home before contacting H.M. Yachts. The company’s Facebook page provides links to the YouTube videos as well as updates on new boats for sale. Since setting up the Facebook page in January this year, H.M. Yachts’ page has 116 fans. H.M. Yachts reinforces its Facebook presence by using Twitter to broadcast links to its YouTube channel.

Ziers Prime Meat

Ziers Prime Meats – not just your average butcher, Dave Zier draws customers to his gourmet retail meat market by notifying his followers when he is smoking hams or making fresh sausages. Dave does this by posting updates on Ziers’ Facebook fan page and on Twitter. His posts are written in an engaging manner. One great example was his post that he and his wife had watched the movie Julie and Julia and now he knew why he had been selling so much duck, short ribs, and stewing beef.  Occasionally Dave posts recipes on the fan page and announces upcoming television appearances. Since beginning their posts just a few months ago on Facebook, they now have over 200 fans.

What type of posts get the most response on your Facebook page? How do you engage your customers? I would love to hear what works for you.

Now that your social media strategy has been developed, it’s time to implement it, which means you might want to outsource that job to a third party. The best choice would obviously be the most qualified person you can find, namely, a social media specialist or a qualified consultant such as a trained virtual assistant. Whatever your choice, it is incumbent upon you to communicate your strategy to your consultant. Relying on someone else to develop your social media presence without input from you, the business owner, does both you and your customers a disservice.

Outsourcing your social media tasks, however, does not mean you can wash your hands of any involvement. It is fundamentally important to understand that social media provide a way to build relationships with your customers. You should provide clear guidance about how to handle communication with your public. After all, you want your customers to interact with you, not your social media consultant. Therefore, it is advisable to set up guidelines about what she or he can say on your behalf and exactly what you want to control.

Working with a social media consultant benefits you in several ways. One, you save time (and the money your time represents) by not having to learn what your consultant knows already, i.e., how to use social media. Two, the time saved can be used to enhance your off-line marketing plan. And three, you have a new sort of marketing tool through your social media campaign.

To be more specific, let’s turn to the most popular social media outlets.

Facebook – If your strategy calls for a stronger presence on Facebook, your consultant can set up a fan page for your business that includes a custom landing page for first-time visitors (see example here). This is a good way to present more information about your services and what makes your business stand out from your competitors. You should also set up a schedule for regular status updates and fill out as much about your company on the Info tab as possible.

Twitter – If Twitter is part of your social media strategy, set up a schedule of “tweets” and create a custom Twitter background in which you can display information about your business (see example here).

LinkedIn – Your LinkedIn strategy will probably include participation in discussions and groups as well as regular status updates on your own profile. Again, set some time aside on a regular basis to engage in these conversations.

Blog – Set up a blog calendar so you have a plan as to topics to address in future blogs.

With all of these social media channels, you can set up your activity in advance with specific dates and times for the updates to post. Www.Ping.fm, www.HootSuite.com and www.socialoomph.com are two such tools.

What sort of results are you getting from your social media activity? Post a comment below and let us know what’s working for you … and what isn’t.

Next time we’ll discuss evaluating your progress.

Before you jump off the diving board, decide which pool you’re going to dive into. A social media strategy is the key to a successful Web presence. It helps you to define your primary purpose for participating in social media. It also helps you to organize your social media channels and activities. Goal setting, an action plan and measuring ROI (return on investment) round out your strategy. 

Your input during the strategy phase is important. Even if you don’t know much about social media, you know a lot about your business. Your social media strategy should be aligned with your overall marketing plan.

Assessment

Your social media specialist is like your swimming coach, who will guide you through the assessment phase of the strategy, helping you to identify your primary purpose for using social media. Some of these factors may be generating leads, building brand awareness, and increasing traffic to your Website and blog. You may want to use social media as a customer-service channel.  Maintaining a blog helps you set yourself up as an expert in your field, creating a permanent library for readers to search.

Brainstorming

The next phase is a brainstorming session to explore various social media channels and identify which ones are more likely to produce the best results for your particular business.  You may determine, for example, that your customers fit the demographics of Facebook more than Twitter. You may set a general goal to increase brand awareness through your blog. Or you may plan to draw 250 new customers to your Website in the next six months, and this can be tracked by your social media specialist.

Action Planning

The third phase is action-planning. Identify goals and the specific action required to achieve them. For example, in order to increase readership of your blog, one action may be to follow the top five blogs in your field. To be most effective, you should go beyond merely following the communication. You should actively participate by regularly commenting and engaging in the online conversation.  To draw customers to your Website, you may develop a profile on a couple of niche social media channels (social media channels specific to your field) in addition to establishing a Facebook Fan Page.

So, now you’re ready to get your feet wet.  Next week we’ll talk about implementing the strategy, and after that the final phase: is evaluating your progress.

Continuing on the topic of social media and social networking, this post discusses some elements to consider for your social-media profiles. Remember that you’re trying to create a relationship with your audience so you want your personality to shine through. Your profile should include the following:

1. A recent photo (a high school photo if you’re in your forties won’t do) that shows you in a professional manner. First impressions are important and made in seconds.  Seeing your picture also helps people connect with you and makes it easier for them to recognize you when they meet you in person at conferences or networking events. Make sure the photo is correctly exposed and neither too dark nor too light.
2. Your interests, both professional and personal. Explain how your expertise sets you apart from your competition. You want to be memorable.
3. Your “elevator speech” or something equivalent: your name and company name, some of your services or products, what makes you stand out, and finish with your tag line if you have one
4. Your keywords where relevant
5. Links to your Website, blog, and other social networks
6. Your full contact information: Website address, email address, mailing address, all relevant phone and fax numbers, other social media profiles
7. Names of groups or associations to which you belong

Make sure your profile is inviting and easy to read. Keep the paragraphs short and concise. Not all social-media channels require the same amount of detail in your profile, but always try to include as much as you can. The little details you list may be just the reason someone chooses you over your competition.

My philosophy about social media is that it should drive traffic to your website. If you have an effective Website, visitors will buy what you are selling, whether it is a service or a product. Since Twitter restricts your entries to 140 characters, consider blog posts as the highway to your Website and Twitter as an on-ramp. In other words, when you publish your blog post, Tweet a link to it so that your Twitter followers will read your blog entry and then visit your Website to find out more about you and your service or product.

Another reason to have a blog as well as Twitter is that the process of updating your blog increases your rankings with search engines, which like to see sites being updated frequently. Having your blog as a part of your Website helps achieve this. In addition, you are building a library of articles through your blog that establish you as an expert in your industry. Those articles work continually to market your business as they are found by the search engines in response to user searches.

Here are some tips for managing your blog:

1. Write down ideas for blog posts in a notebook as they occur to you. (In fact, the idea for this post occurred to me while driving and I made a mental note of it until I could write it down.) That way you’ll have a reservoir of subjects available to blog about, and you won’t find yourself scrambling at the last minute to come up with an idea.
2. Keep your blog posts fairly short: 250 to 400 words are plenty. (This one is 328)
3. Set a schedule that you can work with.  Once or twice a week is enough to keep your blog active.

In summary, if you prepare with ideas, it only takes a few minutes each week to publish a short blog post that will drive readers to your Website without it becoming an overwhelming burden.