The constant "market research" I do with my clients, blog readers and newsletter subscribers points to one major theme: it feels like there's just not enough time in the day to devote to social media.  Business owners and professionals logically know that it can benefit them, but they freeze up or freak out when they see all of the tools and options available out there.

I have written blog posts and articles in the past about this topic, but I thought it would be useful to give a few specific bite-size strategies you can implement daily--and in a quick and painless way.  Assuming you have a profile set up on at least one of the major social sites--LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook--here are some simple tactics for "socializing" without stress:

*Drop in to Facebook and check out who among your friends is having a birthday and wish them a happy one on their wall. 

*Update your status on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook all at once by using Ping.fm.  Ping.fm is a free service which allows users to post to multiple social sites simultaneously.

*Scan the news feed on your Facebook Home page and comment on or "like" interesting tidbits posted by your friends.

*Comment on high-traffic blogs in your niche.

*Check out the activity in any groups you belong to on LinkedIn or Facebook and ask or answer a few questions there.

*Head over to Twitter and post a helpful link, return new follows, share a picture by using TwitPic or poll your followers.

*If you blog, set up the BlogLink and NetworkedBlogs applications on LinkedIn and Facebook to import your posts.

*Request or write a recommendation on LinkedIn.

*Send an update to your Facebook Fans or post an event to your profile.

The key is not to expect overnight results nor feel you need to spend hours a day on social sites in order to make any headway.  Choosing a handful of strategies and implementing them on a regular basis won't take a ton of time or energy.  What it will do is build momentum gradually but steadily. This is what leads to relationships, word of mouth, traffic, subscribers and ultimately, more sales.

Pick one or two networks and focus on those--you don't need to be everywhere!  Once you have your profiles up and running, it only takes a small investment of time per day to interact and leave your mark.  Remember, the more someone feels like they know and trust you, the more likely they are to buy.  In the meantime, take small steps everyday to build and strengthen those relationships with your friends, followers and contacts.

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

Business owners are used to tracking their results when it comes to marketing, whether online or off.  There are certain methods for calculating your return on investment which are usually rather straightforward.

Along comes social media marketing and suddenly measuring your ROI is not so cut and dry.  I am often asked how you can tell whether the time you've spent on social media activities is really making a difference.  Here are some easy (and free) ways to help determine whether your social media efforts are sizzling--or fizzling.

Profile engagement: In other words, are people in your target market commenting on your Facebook wall, inviting you to join groups on LinkedIn, replying to you on Twitter, and so on?
Blog comments:  This will tell you not only that your content is fresh, interesting and worthy of reading--but that readers are willing to stick around and take the time to engage you.

Blog subscribers:  If readers like what they see and want to be kept informed of each time you post, you can be sure you've struck a chord with them--and increased the possibility that they will respond positively to offers you make in the future.

E-zine subscribers: If the visitors being driven to your site by social media are being converted into newsletter subscribers, you know that you have appealed to them enough to further the relationship with you.  Getting their permission to communicate with them on a regular basis will only strengthen the "KLT" (know, like and trust) factor.

Website metrics: A free tool like Google Analytics makes it easy to see your unique visitors, time spent on the site, page views per visitor, frequency of visits, conversions and more.
Social bookmarking/social news: Are your blog posts being bookmarked or voted up on sites like Delicious, Digg and StumbleUpon?

Followers and friends: I will be the first person to say that quantity doesn't always mean quality--but it is one indication of whether you're being seen, heard and offering something of value.
Links from other blogs: Are other relevant sites linking to yours?  This means you are providing valuable content as well as posting with consistency.

Products/services sold: The ultimate goal, of course.  All of the indicators above help give you a clearer picture of whether it's likely this goal will be reached.

So, it comes down to: Are you find-able?  Are you being seen as an expert?  Do people want to find out more about what it is you do?
You may not be able to equate your interactions to dollars now, but you are planting seeds which can have big payoffs later on.  And that makes social media well worth most small business owners' time.

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com

With social media fever running at an all-time high, it's easy for people to lose sight of the fact that these tools are only one part of an overall online marketing strategy.

While Tweeting, Facebooking and the like are fantastic methods, they are not the only game in town.  For best results, you will want to have a varied mix of marketing tools in play all at once.

However, it is worth mentioning that before you even start implementing any marketing strategies, you'll want to be crystal clear about whom it is you are trying to reach.  What is your niche?  Who is your target market and what is it that they want?  What is your message to them?  This is a point of "stuckness" for many clients and it does take work to discover.  But once you have that, reaching them becomes a whole lot easier.

At that point, much of your job centers on driving traffic to your website or blog so that prospective clients or customers can find out more. (You DO have a site, don't you?)  One of the best ways to increase the chances that someone will eventually buy from you is to build an email list.  Essentially, you want to have a way to capture people's email address and first name so that you may keep in touch with them, build trust, and make offers in the future.  It's a good idea to entice people to provide their information by offering something in exchange, such as a free report or email course.  Then, keep yourself on their radar by sending them a weekly or bi-weekly email newsletter.

Social media is an awesome way to drive traffic and build your list, but it is only one way.  Consider these other techniques as well (just a few of many):

*Writing and submitting articles to article directories like Ezinearticles.com
*Commenting on high traffic blogs and forums
*Guest blogging
*Offering free teleseminars
*Being a podcast or internet radio guest
*Utilizing your email signature
*Pay Per Click (Google Adwords)
*Implementing basic Search Engine Optimization on your site

It's beyond the scope of this article, but you should be sure you are using some form of a launch strategy when you are ready to begin selling a new service or product.  Unfortunately, "if you build it they will come" does not apply to online businesses.  You need to create an increasing buzz and sense of excitement about your upcoming offer in order to increase the chances that people will buy.  This is known as the "pre-launch," and it can make a huge difference in the number of sales that you make. 

One final area I'll mention is copy.  Copywriting is a great skill to learn in order to make your sales pages really effective.  Your words matter and they can have a tremendous effect on a person who is considering purchasing from you.  There are plenty of resources available to learn about this, and you don't have to become a master of it.  Knowing and using a few key techniques can go a long way. 

So, be a well-rounded marketer.  Use sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube along with the other strategies I've suggested and the results you are looking for--more traffic, more subscribers, more clients, more sales and more money--will certainly follow.

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

Video is one of the hottest things right now on the web.  How hot?  In March 2009, web information provider comScore released their data regarding the consumption of online video. Their report showed that Internet users in the U.S. watched 14.5 billion online videos during the month--an increase of 11% over February's numbers.  Their report also indicated for March that 78% of the U.S. web audience viewed video online, averaging 97 videos per viewer during the month.

With these staggering numbers many more people are exploring how they can add online video to their marketing mix.  Why use video for marketing?  Because it's the next best thing to communicating face to face with potential clients and customers and building up trust.  It's also fantastic for driving traffic and can be done for virtually no cost.  Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Get a Flip camcorder. A Flip is a pocket-size digital video recorder that's both easy to use and very affordable.  You simply point, record and then upload the video right to your computer via USB.  If you are just looking to get going with video, this is a great way to do it.  They even have HD versions of their cameras and the ability to personalize them with colors and designs.

2. Check out free screencasting software.  Not ready to put yourself in front of the camera yet?  You can still create videos starring your voice and your computer screen with these free services online.  Two I recommend and use are Screentoaster and Jing.  These are perfect for creating short tutorials for e-learning purposes that you can then upload to your blog or video sharing sites.  All you need is a microphone--I use the headset I have for Skype.

3. Get an account on YouTube, Viddler or Vimeo. These are video services where you can upload, enhance and share your videos for free.  YouTube is nice for creating your own channel on a page you design yourself.  Just grab the code they supply to embed video on your own webpage. Vimeo has a really attractive and streamlined player, and Viddler offers in-video tagging and commenting.  There are many other choices for video hosting, including Facebook.  Check out the different options and decide which one works best for you.

4. Direct viewers to your site. Don't forget to mention your website in the actual video at the beginning and end or add text displaying the URL.  You will also want to add your website in your profile as well as any place you are able to type in a description of the particular video.

Video can be a very extensive topic as well as intimidating for a lot of people.  I'm only recently beginning to experiment with it beyond the basics myself.  Start with these steps and don't think you need to create lengthy or fancy clips.  In fact, short, content-rich videos are your best bet. 

To start out, aim for 90 seconds to two minutes in length where you offer a few tips or teach people how to do something.  Minimize any background noise and make sure you have sufficient lighting in the room and you'll be ready to go!

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelm of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

One of the most basic but most important pieces of your social networking presence is having an effective profile.  Not only is it a snapshot into who you are and what it is you do, it's usually the first impression others will have of you.  Here are some ways to make your profile work for you and get you noticed--without boring people to tears. :)

Use a real photo of yourself.  On certain sites you occasionally see people using their brand logo as their picture or avatar but I advise against this.  You want others to relate to you as a real person, especially if they are thinking of hiring or buying from you!  In most cases, that is something you just can't convey through a graphic. (Unless maybe you are Coca-Cola!)

By all means, use a professional photo if possible.  If not, you should choose one that is of you alone--with all due respect to your family and pets.  If you are using social sites to even remotely drum up business, you need to appear professional as far your main photo goes.

Location, location, location.  Include at the very least your state, province or town.  Even though it is the world wide web, you never know when local opportunities will pop up.  Make it easy for others to seek you out.

Have a well thought-out bio.  Your bio is what people will be looking to in order to get the essence of what you are all about.  You can include a succinct version of your "elevator pitch" here as long as you avoid sounding too sales-y.  When you read it back to yourself you should be able to get a feel for how it comes off.  Adjust accordingly.  Write it with an emphasis on how you provide value to others.  

Include all of your relevant links.  You want to give people an easy way to find out more about you.  Plus, there's no one who doesn't want more web traffic, right?  The amount of space you are allotted for this varies from site to site, but definitely include your website and/or blog as well as the profile URLs of any other social networking sites you are active on.

Use your full name if possible. Depending on the site, you may or may not have room to fit your whole name.  Also, if your name is common, it may have already been taken, such as on a site like Twitter.  In the case of my full name, I went with my first name and last initial on Twitter because they don't allow enough characters for both words to fit.   I am satisfied with that, however, because people are still able to associate it closely with my full name.

Personal tidbits are not a bad thing.  Don't be shy, there is a reason it's called social networking!  Some people are reticent about exposing anything about themselves outside of their business persona.  However, part of what draws others to you is your authentic self.  You may have a snazzy professional profile photo, but posting pictures here and there of your latest vacation won't do any harm.  In fact, it could be great for business.

Fill out your background completely.  Part of what helps others find you is the information that you fill out about your education, interests, past employment and groups and associations you belong to.  This is especially true on a site like Linked-In.  Keep your information up to date so that opportunities can easily find you.

The most important takeaway?   Ensure your presence is consistent across all networks.  This not only strengthens your personal brand, but helps to establish credibility as well.  Plus, to make it even easier on yourself, you can keep a document on your computer with all of your profile information.  That way you can just copy and paste it when needed. 

Now get out there and network! :)

 © 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching solopreneurs and small business owners how to use online marketing and social media to communicate effectively and authentically and attract more business. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

By now, you know that being active on social media sites is a great way to drive traffic to your website or blog.  But what happens once those people have arrived at your site?  

You need to have a way to capture those prospects before they click away forever.  Having good content for them to enjoy once they land there is only one part of the equation.  You want to offer them a way to provide their email address so that you have permission to keep in touch and build an ongoing relationship with them.

Once you've captured their information, you then have a way to present any future events, offerings or opportunities to them.  But first you've got to hook them in!  Here are the keys to accomplishing that.

Have a sign-up form for them to input at least their first name and primary email address.  If you are using an email marketing service such as AWeber, Constant Contact or any other which provides autoresponders, you can easily create what is known as an "opt-in box" form and copy the code directly onto your website.  I personally use AWeber, and they provide instructions for creating the form as well as the HTML code.

Place the sign-up box in a prominent place.  Studies have shown that one of the most effective places to put the box is in the upper right-hand corner of the page "above the fold."  This simply means that you don't want to make the person have to scroll down to see your form.  When they visit your site you want their eyes to be drawn immediately to it.  A good idea is to have the box stand alone without any distracting images or text around it.

Make it very clear what visitors need to do.  In this case, simpler is better.  The less choices people are given, the more likely they are to sign up.  Describe what it is they get for giving you their information, have a place for their name and email address, a blurb on your privacy policy and a submit button.  

Give an incentive for signing up with you.  These days, people are bombarded with information and offers online.  You need to have a compelling reason for people to hand over their information.  In exchange for doing so, give them some type of freebie--a special report, an e-course, an audio file or something else that will appeal to them.  Keep in mind that this offering does not have to be incredibly comprehensive.  You can still put together something of value without it taking you more than a couple of hours to create.

Offer the ability to sign up on every page of your site.  Because you never know from which page people will enter your website or blog, be sure to place your form not only on the home page, but each page that makes up your site.

Now, when you drive all of that social media traffic that's hungry for more of what you offer, you have a way to continually keep in contact with them.  They've decided to come and check you out--don't leave them without a clear next step!

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelm of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.