Dotty - Social Media Expert

Does your business need a twitter profile? If you have a marketing message you want delivered straight to your customers and potential customers, twitter is the way to go. Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media platforms. It meets your consumers right where they are – on their mobile phones. It does so in rapid, short message format.

But how do you set up a twitter profile? How do you make it look professional? How do you find people to interact with on twitter? How do you find your potential customers? How do you manage using Twitter so that it does not eat up all your time?

Come work with us in a hands-on workshop and let us teach you and show you how to get all this done, so that you can put Twitter marketing on your done list!

Rinatta ~ Social Media Strategy

Dotty Scott of Premium Websites and Rinatta Paries of Get Social Buzz are holding a 3-hour live hands-on Twitter workshop March 19th 2010, Downtown Vancouver, 2-5 pm ~ $89.95

Here’s what you will get done in the workshop:

• Set up your twitter profile with a unique background
• Connect twitter to Facebook, MySpace and your Blog/Website
• Find followers and potential customers
• Create a strategy for getting more of your customers on Twitter
• Understand Twitter technology; set up and activate tools that will help you get more valuable followers
• Leave with the knowledge to get more customers and make more sales through Twitter

Workshop is limited to 12 people

Pre Registration is required. Workshop is $89.95 Workshop is limited to 12 people!

Bring with you:

• Laptop
• Logo
• Images – Business Headshot, Photos of your business
• Text about your business
• Login information for other sites on the Internet where you have accounts: FaceBook, Blog, etc.

Come join us and hear about how using social media can make a difference in your bottom line.

Create a Twitter Business Page ~ will be held March 19th 2010 from 2:00 – 5:00 at

951 Officers Row

Vancouver, WA 98661

(Ronnie Noize’s Office)

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Facebook Marketing: Get It Done Next Thursday!

Dotty - Social Media Expert

Cross Facebook Marketing off Your Must Do List and get it On Your Done List!
Does your marketing plan include building a Facebook fan page and profile? If not, let me give you an interesting number.
Did you know that “365 Things To Do In Vancouver WA”, a Facebook Fan page has 7,720 fans? That means there are at least 7,720 people in Vancouver, WA who are on facebook. And there are many many more Facebook users in Portland, OR.
How would your business do if you had that many more potential customers?
Dotty Scott of Premium Websites and Rinatta Paries of Get Social Buzz are holding a 3-hour live hands-on Facebook Fan Page workshop.
March 18th 2010, Downtown Vancouver, 2-5 pm. $89.95

Rinatta ~ Social Media Strategy

3-hour hands on workshop. March 18th 2010, Downtown Vancouver, 2-5 pm. $89.95

Here’s what you will get done in the Facebook Fan Page:

• Set up an Effective and Functional Facebook Profile and Fan Page
• Learn how to and make changes to your profile and fan page
• Understand how to and dress the profile and fan page
• Understand and set up Privacy Settings
• Understand the technology and what you do with it, so that it become an effective tool for marketing your business
• Leave with a done profile, fan page and the knowledge to get more customers and make more sales through Facebook

Pre Registration is required. Workshop is $89.95  Workshop is limited to 12 people!

Bring with you:

• Laptop
• Logo
• Images – Business Headshot, Photos of your business
• Any Videos you want to use
• Text about your business
• Login information for other sites on the Internet where you have accounts: Twitter, Blog, etc.
• Any other information you want on your Fan Page

Come join us and hear about how using social media can make a difference in your bottom line.

Create a FaceBook Fan Page ~ will be held March 18th 2010 from 2:00 – 5:00 at

951 Officers Row

Vancouver, WA 98661

(Ronnie Noize’s Office)

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I took some time today to analyze my business for the past year.  I printed a report with all my customers then went through one by one and wrote down where that customer came from – yes I know each customer and how I earned their business.

I basically have 3 sources of business:

• In person Networking
• Online
• Tradia (an online Trade website)

I counted up everyone and came up with percentages that I would like to share publicly.

1. In person Networking won hands down at 80% – of that 32% were Word Of Mouth – referrals that people I have met while Networking gave me to follow up and convert to a client.
2. Online efforts was 16% – these are people that found my website  either by a search or through a Social Network of some kind.
3. Tradia came in at 4% – not really worth my efforts here since this is the most expensive form of advertising that I did all year.

I often get people asking me if I think going to leads groups is worth the time investment for the business gained.  I can say for sure that my business would have not made it through the year if I had lost 80% of my income.

Some might also say that if only 16% of my clients came from online efforts then is that a good use of my time – it takes time to have a quality presence online.  What these numbers do not tell is how many of the 80% looked me up online before actually deciding to use my services.  How many compared me to another designer, how many got to know me better through Social Media?

These are questions that I can’t answer, but I do know that the combination of In Person Networking, Online Networking, and having a quality website that actually reflects my business gave me 96% of my total business last year.

Where do you think I will be this year?  Out meeting people and carrying the relationship Online ~ I have another year of experience under my belt and I expect to get better results than last year.  Stay tuned…I will let you know in another year!

Dotty

Web Designer

Social Media ~ Local Profit~ Come and Learn

Rinatta ~ Social Media Strategy

Do you keep hearing “Twitter is great for your business” or “You need to be on Facebook” or “Get More Customers from Social Media” but you have no idea how your business can benefit from these things? Do all these social networking things seem like a giant waste of time? Or do you already have profiles on many social networking sites but have no idea how to optimize them or use them effectively?

Dotty - Social Media Expert

Join Dotty Scott of Premium Websites and Rinatta Paries the Social Media Marketing Coach for an introductory talk on social media and why you must use it now to attract more local customers. We will cover the following topics:

• What social media is and why it’s important for your business
• Viral effect of social media and how this virus is good for you
• Whether social networking is a giant waste of time or good for business
• How to keep social media marketing from eating your life
• How to measure your return on social media
• And of course your questions!

Come join us and hear about how using social media can make a difference in your bottom line.

Social Media ~ Local Profit will be held Feb. 19th 2010 from 5:30 – 7:00 at

951 Officers Row

Vancouver, WA 98661

(Ronnie Noize’s Office)

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Positive News - SEO Your Name

Now that is on odd statement!  Let me explain what I mean.  As a small business owner it is essential that people trust me online – if I ever plan to actually sell online.  People buy from people they trust ~ any “negative press” can kill the deal ~ even if the press is not actually about you, but about someone else with your name!  It is hard to tell when researching online if you are reading something about the right person.  Have you ever researched someone and read something bad about that person just to find out that it was the wrong person ~ with the same name?  Something like that can absolutely kill the sell if it happens when someone is researching YOU!

Let me share what I have done to dominate the search engines for my name ~ feel free to use these tactics to help with your name as well.

• Get a BizNik account ~ BizNik is a highly optimized and trusted site.  BizNik profiles get ranked in Google ~ my BizNik profile is the first listing for my name.  BizNik is only for traditional businesses – if you are in network marketing do not do this strategy.
• Get a Facebook account and have your profile URL be your name ~ mine is facebook.com/dotty.scott
• Make a video and get a YouTube account in your name.  These can be educational videos, video testimonials, or something entertaining.  YouTube ranks well in Google (it is owned by Google)
• Be a guest blogger for someone elses blog, and sign your name that links to your blog/website.
• Create a LinkedIn profile and fill it out completely.
• Create a MySpace profile
• Post articles on BetterNetworker ~ even if you are not in Network Marketing.  This site gets ranked in Search Engines.
• Fill out your Google Profile completely so that it will be displayed on Google when someone searches for your name.
• If you provide trainings, seminars, or any online event have it posted Online at several different sites.
• Set up profiles at places like Naymz.com, fastpitch.com, Ning.com sites, and any other social media site.
• Put your videos out on other video sharing sites like yahoo, vidler, howcast ect.  I use TubeMogul.com to upload videos.
• Create testimonials for other people with websites, and link your name to your website.
• Make sure your name in on your website as text, not in an image.
• Post articles at article repositories like amazines.com, ezine.com, and others.
• Twitter reTweets with your name in them will get ranked in the search engines.
• Get a written interview posted online – this can be a transcript of an audio ~ my example: http://renegadeproactive.com/
• Your videos and other content can be picked up by other blogs – very common for video interviews.
• Comment at different places and be sure to include your name.
• Forum posts can get ranked by search engines.

This is a list of how strategies I am using to control my name.  The last thing I want is for someone looking for a Web Designer, find my site then research my name and find anything negative.  I don’t care if it is something talking about a different Dotty ~ people will think it as me and go elsewhere for their business ~ something I just can’t afford.

If you have more ideas for people feel free to add them in the comments section!

Twitter listened – and Twitter Lists are now in Beta.  It is currently a limited release but will become open to everyone very soon.  It became active in my profile tonight and I must say I am impressed.  This is going to be a huge marketing tool.

Let’s look at this from a Small Business point of view.  Some of the complaints that local small business owners have mentioned to me are:

• There is no easy way to follow people on Twitter
• Twitter is overwhelming
• Twitter is a waste of time
• I don’t sell to the world
• I need local customers

Twitter Lists will address all of these concerns in one fell swoop.  This is how it works – Twitter allows you to create any list or way to sort your connections.  You can have as many lists as you want to create.  Let’s think about this for a minute.  I went into my account tonight and created 3 lists -

• Vancouver Wa (Where I live)
• Portland OR (Very close to where I live)
• Renegade ( Online Marketing Teachers)

I will be going back and creating lists for potential clients, potential power partners, current clients, and new ideas or gadgets in the Internet world.

After creating these lists I went through my people I am following and sorted them into respective lists.  They will get notified in their accounts that they have been put into a list.  They then have the option to follow the entire list of people if it is a list that interests them.  For people marketing locally this is HUGE!  For a new person or business in the Vancouver area coming into Twitter they now have a way to find and follow many of the Vancouver Twitter users instantly.

This also lets me read and follow just the people locally, or just my potential clients, just my clients, just my power partners – you get the idea.  It will make using Twitter way easier and way more focused.  I see this as a huge advancement for businesses that market locally on the Internet.

Dotty

I will be speaking 3 times this week on Social Networking and getting more clients from the Internet.  If you:

• Have no idea why to use Social Media
• Are using a few Social Media Sites but do not know what to do with them
• Feel Social Media is a waste of time
• Just want to learn more about using the Internet to gain clients

Come and hear me explain how and why to use Social Media in your business – in easy layman’s terms.  Even if you are a complete Technophobe – you will understand the importance of Social Media if you come.

I will be speaking at:

Sunrise Bagels – October 6th from noon to 1:00pm

808 Harney St, Vancouver WA

Round Table Pizza – October 7th from noon to 1:00pm

16550 SE McLoughlin in Milwaukie Oregon

IHOP – October 8th from 7:30 am to 8:30 am

7951 NE Vancouver Plaza Dr
Vancouver WA 98662

Hope to see you this week!

Dotty

I attended WordCamp (#wcpdx) for the first time this weekend.  I have never attended any event in the past where Bloggers, Designers, Coders, and SEO Experts were all together in one place.  It was way more than I expected.  I expected to learn:

• Tips and Tricks about WordPress
• More Plugin information
• How to get the most from your WP install
• Pushing the limits of WP
• SEO Tips and Tricks

I did learn all of these things, but the best lessons were more intangible.  I learned that in Portland there is a very close nit community of Bloggers and Tech people in general – and they all get along, talk to each other, and help each other out.  There was people of all learning levels – from beginner to very advanced (Matt Mullenweg) and nobody felt “talked down to”.  I am so used to tech people making the average person feel like an idiot – it was very refreshing to see the professionalism with all the attendees.  I think everyone walked away form the WordCamp with new information and a desire to make WP better and get more out of their blogs.  I left the conference knowing there are more people out there like me.

One of my favorite parts of Wordcamp was meeting some of my Twitter friends in person.  Until this weekend these people were just online friends, now I can put the face to a personality and a real individual.  Some of the people I met are:

• Brandi Kajino
• Lorelle
• Dale Chumbley
• Matt Mullenweg (never thought I would ever meet the creator of WP)
• Ed Bejarana
• Cami Kaos and Dr. Normal
• Numerous other local Bloggers

This weekend was a great learning opportunity for improving my WordPress skills as well as my business skills.  I will definitely be attending more of these events.

Dotty