Do I REALLY Need a Google + Account?

I get this question daily.  Google+ is NOT a social Media site – it is not going to replace Facebook.  That is not the goal with this part of Google.  Check out this article: Google + is not a social Network, but it’s not a Graveyard either

That article does a great job of explaining Google’s goals for Google+.

I feel that every business owner will need a Google+ account.  The ability to tie all the Google tools together will be a great advancement for us.  Imagine going to one place to get your email (are you still using Outlook?), get website analytics, access YouTube, Google Docs, and all the upcoming great tools they will offer.  Social Search excites me – why not make it easy for yourself.

Get your own Google+ account – then link up to me!  Dotty’s Google +

I love a Good Read on LinkedIn!

Susan Johnston wrote an ebook called LinkedIn and Lovin’ It, and I had an opportunity to contribute to her book.  This ebook is for anyone that has questions on LinkedIn. It covers topics like:

• How to create a great Profile
• How to build your Network
• How to Maximize your LinkedIn presence
• How to use Linkedin for research
• How to use LinkedIn Companies

It is a great overview, and look for my tips on creating a great LinkedIn profile.  You can find it on Pages 19 and 20.

Get the ebook: LinkedIn and Lovin’ It then return here and leave your comments or questions.  I would love to get them answered for you!

More Facebook changes to come: 2 very good ones!

There have been 2 changes this week in Facebook that I am really loving.

1. Facebook Lists ~ I have been using lists for a very long time.  I find it frustrating when others do not.  It is so easy to do and it allows people to invite specific people to events, or to post updates for specific lists.  It really cuts down on spam.  Now Facebook has Smart Lists – ones it creates for you and automatically puts your friends into based upon profile information.  Facebook created a Vancouver list, and Acquaintance list, and more.  Now I hope people start to use this feature!
2. The second enhancement that I  like is the ability to unsubscribe someone from my News Feed.  I found something in my News Feed tonight that I thought was inappropriate and when I hid the photo it asked me if I wanted to unsubscribe the person form my wall.  This seems similar to the old Hide feature but it takes it one step further – I will never see anything from that person again (no loss) and he will not see anything from me.  Not to be used lightly.  It is also possible to unsubscribe from just photos, or just videos from a specific person.

I have heard many complaints this week about all the changes Facebook is making – I would like to say I think the changes are for the better.  They are making it easier to use, easier to target updates (like Google +) and easier to filter my News Feed over time.

Get your Facebook Questions answered

When: Feb 23rd from 2:30 – 3:30 PM (Pacific Time)

Where: My FanPage!

There is an Event on my FanPage where you can ask your question before the event.  There will also be an opportunity to ask a question on the Live Webinar as well.  Get your question in early to be sure there will be enough time.

You can also ask your question in the comment stream below!

Video Marketing

You have heard that video marketing is the wave of the future ~ you will be left behind without using video marketing. Small business owners ask me this question often: Is video marketing really that important? Then; How do I use video to market my small business?

There are so many crappy videos on YouTube – yet they still get views and bring traffic.  This is a great time to start learning Video Marketing – not very many people are doing it effectively.

As of May 2010 YouTube gets over 2 billion views per day.  Customers usually ask me how to make a viral video that gets millions of views.  I ask – why do you need millions of views?  What if you get 100 views form people that are ready to use your services or buy your products?  Would you be happy?

Most small business owners do not need videos that get millions of views – they just need targeted traffic.  Here are a few things you can do to optimize your video efforts to get that targeted traffic:

• Put your main keyword in the title of the video
• Have contact information (phone and website) in the first part of your description
• Include keywords in your description
• Make use of the tagging system that YouTube offers
• Make use of the Annotations that YouTube offers

Business Videos

YouTube is a great place to host all your business videos.  Just remember to optimize them with the tips above and you will start to get traffic from YouTube to your site.  Don’t look for the millions of useless visitors – go after the few that are ready to buy and your ROI will soar!

What is the difference between a FanPage and a Personal Account in Facebook?

I get this question on a daily basis.  Business owners are very confused about using Facebook for Business.

Facebook For Business

Here are 3 huge reasons why a business would want to use a FanPage instead of a Personal Profile for business marketing on Facebook.

• Facebook Fan Pages are public – they get indexed in the search engines ~ Personal Profiles do not.
• Facebook Fan Pages can have an unlimited amount of “Likers” ~ Personal Profiles are limited to 5000.
• Facebook Fan Pages can have numerous Admins that contribute to the page ~ Personal Profiles just have you.

Marketing On Facebook

The second question I get daily is how can I market my business on Facebook?  Facebook is one of the most used social networking sites on the Internet today.  Currently there are over 500 million active users.  I personally only need a very small percentage of those people to get a positive ROI for using Facebook as a marketing tool.  Here are a few ideas for marketing your business on Facebook.

• Educate potential customers on the benefits of your product or service
• Provide specials or coupons for your business through Facebook
• Create contests on your Fan Page to get people interacting and returning to your FanPage
• Promote your clients on your Fan page
• Promote other local businesses on your FanPage
• Use your page for Videos and Photos
• Use your Review Tab
• Use the Discussions Tab
• Create a custom Welcome Tab
• Use Facebook Events

Benefits of a FaceBook Fan Page

What has Facebook done for my business?

I have gained clients for my workshops through the Facebook Events feature.  When people commit to coming to an event then my event gets put into their news stream.  I have gained attendees that I did not actually know by using the Events tab on Facebook.  Often times when a business owner attends one of my classes they will attend more, and some have also become website clients.

I get referrals to friends of fans because I use my page for education.  This keeps me top of mind and when someone needs a website or help on their website ~ I am the person they think about speaking to for their project.

I also give referrals to my circle of trusted business owners through Facebook.  Others know I am a great resourse ~ which always comes back around to benefit me sometime in the future.  Pay it forward!

Easy Video Marketing

We all know that YouTube is a marketing phenomenon, but very few of us know how to actually tap into that stream of traffic.  Did you know:

• YouTube exceeds 2 billion views a day
• 24  hours of Video is uploaded every minute
• More video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than all 3 major US Networks created in 60 years
• Hundreds of Millions of videos are watched every month on mobile devices
• Over 3 million people are connected and auto-sharing to at least one social network

Many of us business  owners know that we need to be creating video for advertising our businesses online – but we are uncomfortable with video, do not like the way we look on camera, don’t know what to say or how to say it, and really just do not have the faith that spending the $500.00 ~ $2000.00 dollars to create the video is going to pay off.

Premium Websites, LLC has created a solution just for you (and me).  Dotty will create a promotional video that uses text, images, and music to get your message across the viewer.  These videos are around 1 min in length and are great to feature on your website, add to your YouTube account, and post all over the Internet.  They are even great for adding to your Google Places listings which will get you higher placement in the Search Results Map.

Samples:

and…Who Are You?

Social Media Profiles are very useful

People buy from people they know and trust.  How can someone gain or earn trust online?

Remember the saying – Actions speak louder than words?

Online you are judged by your actions (or lack of) AND your words.  Both of these SCREAM online – the questions is what are you screaming to people?

Does your profile say ~

1. I have something to hide so I am using someone elses photo, a logo, or no photo at all?
2. I don’t want to talk to you so I will not leave any contact information?
3. Not sure I want to meet you ~ I will leave my real name off the profile?
4. I really do not want you to know more or do any business with me so I wont include my website information.

None of these actions builds trust.  If you are online utilizing Social Media FOR YOUR BUSINESS then allow people to get to know you, and allow people to have options for reaching you.  Everything you do online needs to support your main business goal ~ whatever that is.

• Make sure your profile is complete with your photo (recent and business like).
• Add a business logo if allowed.
• Fill in the contact information completely – people need multiple ways to connect with you.  Some people prefer email, others prefer to call, and others just want ot see your website and learn more about you and your business.
• Complete the Bio without making a sales pitch.
• Fill in all the information allowed.
• Link the profile to your website

The more transparent you can be online the more likely people are to trust you.  Until you gain that trust you will not make sales online (especially for people offering services).

Do not give people a reason to doubt who or what you are – fill in your profile completely and honestly.

HUGE mistake #2 ~ Following and Friending everyone.

What would be better ~ Standing in the middle of this crows and shouting your message or being in a more private room and talking with a few interested people?

What would be better?  Having a really large number of people in your friend/fan base that do not care about your business, or having a small number of targeted people that want your services, like your products, or are genuinely a fan of yours?  The smaller number of people are going to be way more responsive to your message than the large number that simply do not care.

How do you find targeted followers and friends online?

The trick is to look for people that are looking for your services or products.  For example, I have a client that created a product that all Acupuncturists need to be using in their practices.  The most responsive people he could have following him are Acupuncturists.  Finding them is easy if you use the tools provided.

Most Social Media sites have a built in search feature.  Use the search for your keywords that would target people that you need following you.  Twitter not only has its own search, but there are many other sites that will help you to find the exact people you are looking for.  My favorite site for this is Twellow.  Twellow allows you to search by any keyword, or location.  It even allows you to follow someone right from the application instead of going to Twitter.  It is easy to use and a time saver.

In the beginning you need to be actively looking for the right people and strike up a conversation with them.  Follow or friend them and they will likely return the favor.  Post information that your target audience wants to read or learn.  Provide the content they are looking for and build up your relationship and trust with them.  When they are ready to buy they will come to you.

I meet people all the time that tell me that it seems like they already know me form my online social media accounts.  They already know what I do, things I like, and that I will provide them with the answer they need.  Trust is no longer an issue with these people ~ now it is simple ~ do I have the product or service they are looking for?

This one is HUGE!

Not Having A  Strategy or Plan

I have talked with so many business owners that have “tried” Social Media and decided that it does not work.  When I ask them what their strategy was and how it was to be measured they have no answer.

Would you create a marketing campaign off line without a plan?

Online advertising, branding,and marketing needs to have a plan and strategy just like the offline counter parts.

Without a plan Social Media is a HUGE WASTE OF TIME!

A Social Media Plan has many parts.

First of all Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) profiles need to link back to a blog.  Social media is social relationship building – it is not sales.  Do not link a profile to a sales page.  Building solid relationships online means providing valuable content.

Here is one (of many) Social Media Strategies:

• Create a BLOG for branding you or your company
• Get several Social Media accounts that link back to your blog
• Build a following of targeted people (people that have the same interests as your brand)
• Provide valuable content
• Create a special offer for your followers (make them feel special)
• Grow your list from your blog and the new traffic that is coming from your Social Media Campaign

In this example the goal of the social media strategy is to grow a list of responsive, targeted people that are interested in your brand and what you have to offer.  The measurement of your efforts can be in how quickly and large your list grows.  It is a concrete measurement – there is no guessing.  If the plan is followed ther result can be measured

If your list grows then is Social Media a waste of time?  Only if you do not  capitalize on your new responsive list!

Stay tuned for the 2nd biggest mistake in Social Media!

If you would like to share your strategy please do so in the comments below.