Putting the "Social" back into "Social Media"

 I have been reflecting lately about just how important it is to understand what makes social media work for online businesses.

Social media may mean different things depending on which site you utilize.. For example, Twitter is  designed  basically for  “updates” with others. Facebook has a far broader program,  allowing news articles,  photos,  events organization and joining,  along with status updates.

One main strength of social media is that it supports SEO campaigns,  allowing your company name or profile to pop up when linked to activity on the web.

Dynamic Business has an article about how social media is thriving these days as a branding and marketing tool.

  Expanding the client base,  increasing sales,  and upping SEO power are what most online business owners have in mind when they decide to get into Facebook and Twitter accounts.

But exactly how and why does this work?

From their piece:

No one really knows whether getting Facebook likes or re-tweets equates to new customers.  Most presume that eventually it does, otherwise why bother participating? Whatever the end result, simply being part of the conversation is fundamentally important. Here are the simple facts why:

• All combined social media networks have in excess of a billion members.
• More people get their news online.
• Social media is increasingly integrating itself into our lives as a routine and not as an activity.

What this means is that more and more people are using, connecting and sharing information on social media and other online platforms. This is now a valid communication channel that is culturally shifting the way we connect and communicate, and businesses need to grasp this.

Here are three key points every business must consider:

Community management

It takes more than likes, followers or views to be successful on social media. To begin with, it takes development, planning, effort, and an engaging environment. Businesses must listen, create conversation and interaction while at the same time producing a valuable and interesting experience for customers and reinforcing the brand positioning and unique selling point of the business.

Content development

Content generation and a publisher mind set is no longer enough when it comes to content. A business must be able to create valid content in multiple, shareable formats. The aim is to build a connection between the brand and its community that is authentic, creative and motivating.

Burberry’s activity in 2011 made it a stand out brand for social media interaction. Its Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter shows were streamed live through a video feed. In addition to this, its fragrance ‘Body’ wasn’t unveiled on TV, but on Burberry.com and YouTuberewarding individuals who liked Burberry on Facebook.

Social media tools

Investing in social media applications is beneficial. It doesn’t require a huge financial outlay, often just paying a little extra will give you a raft of more features than you’d get with the free version. This means that you’re able to do more with the platform, such as monitor engagement, manage mailing lists and so on. It’s important you choose the right tools for your business, along with the appropriate strategies to ensure you stay on top of evolving technologies.

It’s essential SMEs embrace social media and see it as an opportunity to engage and encourage consumers. Social media is constantly changing, so being ready to change with it is vital. Those that don’t attempt to understand are choosing to ignore one of the most significant developments in technology, media and marketing.

Social Media Savvy and Marketing your Business

METRO MEDIA CONSULTING GROUP:  Strategic Social Media for the 21st Century

Excellent article from Mashable - one of my all-time favorite blogs  -  about how social media know-how can really give your business maximum exposure and search engine optimization for the 21st century.   Excerpt and link below: 

Here at Metro Media Consulting Group,  we have the savvy and the expertise to help put together strategic social media packages which include professional writing services.  

  It is easy enough to understand that social media venues such as Twitter,  Linked-In,  and Facebook can help with your online business profile and getting the word out,  but for a truly strategic social media campaign,  experts at MMCG are eager and willing to give you that extra  comprehensive and well-thought out package which will give your enterprise the advantage and edge.  

1. Facebook

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Facebook offers exceptional, low cost marketing opportunities for small business. Facebook now has over 300 million users, and while that seems like an outrageous number for small businesses to be targeting, Facebook offers a very powerful platform on which to build a presence. If you’re not already active on Facebook; you should get started right away.

Basic Strategy: If you haven’t signed up for Facebook yet, you absolutely should as soon as possible. Once you’ve signed up, you should also consider securing your company’s username. Be aware, however, that if you reserve your company name for your personal account, you won’t be able to use it for your Business Fan Page (more on those in the Advanced Strategy), so you may want to create a Page before registering your company’s name. Fan Pages have special rules regarding usernames, which you can read here.

You should do one other thing: search for your competitors and evaluate their Facebook presence. What types of Pages have they built? How many fans or “friends” do they have? Spend 15 minutes (per competitor) looking at their posts, photos and/or videos to understand how they’re using Facebook.

Advanced Strategy: You may already have a personal Facebook account, but how do you extend that presence for your business? You have several options. You can register a Business Account – which is designed for a very simple presence on Facebook. There are many limitations on such accounts (read the FAQ here), however, so you’ll most likely prefer to have a Business Fan Page. A Business Fan Page lets you create a page where customers or fans of your business can register as a “fan” — expanding the presence of your business (because your updates will also flow to their pages). You might also want to consider running hyper-local ads on Facebook.

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2. Twitter

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Twitter has grown tremendously over the past year. For some small businesses, it offers an incredible marketing platform. BusinessWeek’s recent profile of 20 ways businesses use Twitter might give you some ideas about how you can leverage Twitter for your business.

Basic Strategy: If you haven’t signed up on Twitter yet, you should sign up today and reserve an account in the name of your business. While you might ultimately tweet in your own name, you’ll want to have the option to tweet from a business account. More importantly, you don’t want your competitors to register your business name. Twitter has put together a simple guide to help you understand what Twitter can do for business. You can also check out Mashable’s Twitter Guide.

Next, you should spend 15-30 minutes on Twitter’s homepage, doing basic searches to become familiar with the type of content available on the service. For example, if you are operating a small gift basket business, do some searches for various terms and phrases such as “gift basket,” “gifts,” “gift basket business,” etc. You should also search for the names of your competitors to see whether they’re on Twitter and if they are, how they’re using it. And don’t forget to search for your small business name – your customers may already be talking about you! Once you become comfortable with the content that’s already available and how your competitors are using Twitter, you can begin thinking about a strategy for how you’ll leverage Twitter for your business.

Advanced Strategy: To truly leverage Twitter, you’ll want to learn and use a few more advanced tools. This includes desktop and mobile Twitter clients like TweetDeck, Seesmic, and Tweetie. Desktop clients give you more flexibility and more control over your Twitter strategy than you’ll have on the Twitter website. Among other things, you’ll be able to pre-define searches (so that you can monitor certain keywords, including your business name) and group people you follow so that you can minimize the noise and focus on the real content. You might also consider using a web tool like Twitterfall, which will allow you to define (and color-code) various custom searches that you can review from time to time, and also to follow trending topics. For example, I use Twitterfall to identify helpful graphic design and industrial design resources to share with the crowdSPRING community.

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3. Company Blog

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Although there’s more attention focused today on social networks than on company blogs, blogs continue to offer great value for small businesses.

Basic Strategy: At a minimum, you should consider reserving a domain name for your blog – if you don’t already have a custom domain for your business. If you’re comfortable enough to set up your own blog, that’s generally the best way to proceed – although this requires a bit more technical knowledge (many hosting providers offer a 1 step easy setup for blogs that will automatically install WordPress for you). You can also setup a blog directly at WordPress.com (it’s easier to do, but you don’t have full control over everything that you would on your own site).

One easy alternative is to set up a simple blog at Posterous – a place to post stories, photos, videos, MP3s, and files. There are pluses and minuses to all of these options – you should take some time to compare them and do what makes sense for your business. I caution you only about spreading yourself too thin.

Advanced Strategy: Now that you’ve decided to start or improve your small business blog, how do you build an audience for it? It all starts with great content. Decide on a focus for your blog, and write awesome content that people will enjoy. For example, some months ago at my company, we decided that we wanted to write more about small business issues, so we’ve been writing original posts focusing on issues affecting small businesses. Think about your expertise and more importantly, think about the things that you’re interested in writing about. A blog requires a long term investment of time (and resources), and you don’t want to be stuck writing about things that bore you.

You’ll also want to consider how you can make it easier for your readers to help promote your content. For example, install helpful plug-ins, such as a TweetMeme button, which makes it easy for people to retweet your posts on Twitter. Don’t be afraid to experiment with plugins to add to the functionality of your blog, but keep it simple. You want to keep the blog focused, and easy for your readers to use.

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4. LinkedIn

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LinkedIn is a business oriented social network for professionals, and it’s huge, with nearly 50 million users from over 200 countries.

Basic Strategy: Once again, you’ll want to at least reserve your business name (or your personal name) so that others can’t use it. Similar to the way you might start exploring Facebook and Twitter, you should look around on LinkedIn to see how your competitors are using the service. You might also look up your customers and connect with them.

Advanced Strategy: LinkedIn has some powerful features that most people don’t use. For example, you can encourage your customers, clients or vendors to give you a “recommendation” on your profile. Recommendations are useful because they’ll make you and your business more credible with new customers. If you’re a roofer, for example, ask your customers to recommend you after a successful job. You’ll find such recommendations useful – particularly since your LinkedIn profile will come up high in search engine results. I recommend that you read Chris Brogan’s post from last year discussing the elements of a good LinkedIn recommendation.

Another strategy involves the many subject matter groups on LinkedIn. Find some groups that have a connection to your small business and become involved in the conversations. Answer questions when you can, and help to establish yourself as knowledgeable about specific topics related to your business. There are many small business and general marketing groups that will be very useful resources for you, and if there isn’t a group that interests you, consider starting one.  READ MORE @ http://mashable.com/2009/10/28/small-business-marketing/

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Newest study released by Portfolio.com examines under-40 set and social media

Image via Wikipedia

The Business Journal  :  Newest Study Released by Portfolio.com Examines Mindsets and Online Social Media Practices Among Young Entrepreneurs

A Press release sent out today says that small business owners under 40 are using social media and the internet as their key marketing tools:  

Portfolio.com, the national business news site for small and mid-sized business (SMB) executives and entrepreneurs, today unveiled a new study revealing the mindsets and business practices of SMB owners under the age of 40, most of whom could be labeled as entrepreneurs. The findings of the proprietary study conducted by The Business Journals illustrate how young business owners are leveraging new technology, social media and the Internet to increase productivity and stay connected to their businesses and critical business information.

"Over the next 10-15 years, we're going to see these young entrepreneurs become the leaders and influencers of the SMB market, making it critical for brands to better understand this growing group's business needs," said J. Jennings Moss, Portfolio.com's editor. "It's clear from this study that business owners under 40 want products and services that allow them to be connected 24/7 to stay on top of their companies, not to mention the rest of their lives, at all times."

According to the study titled SMB Insights 2011: Young Entrepreneurs Under 40, half a million SMB executives under the age of 40 in the United States. Top of mind for these young business owners are the future prospects for their companies and how to best use technology for business and personal use. Those entrepreneurs and SMB executives under 40 have been exposed to technology throughout their entire lives and use an array of technology products and services like Wi-Fi, VoIP, cloud computing and apps, to a greater extent than their 40+ peers.

The study also found that those under 40 have adopted social networks in both their personal and business lives, with 88 percent currently using social networking sites, and 70 percent using a social network as part of their business marketing programs, compared to 68 percent and 47 percent respectively among executives over 40. Additionally, young entrepreneurs prefer Facebook and LinkedIn over Twitter for both business and personal use.http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/entrepreneurs-under-40-rely-heavily-on-the-internet-and-social-networks-to-stay-connected-in-todays-business-world-123214893.html

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Press Release - Launch of Innovative Social Media Firm: Metro Media Consulting Group

Press Release - Launch of Innovative Social Media Firm: Metro Media Consulting Group

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How to engage prospective online clients

Image via CrunchBase

Establish a schedule to keep your portfolio updated.


Notice this piece of advice isn’t just to “make an online portfolio” or “update your portfolio”. The secret to maintaining an impressive online portfolio is to make a plan on how and when you’ll update your content.  


Whether you decide to update every week, every month, or every time your finish a project, you absolutely need to get into a routine.  That way, when clients come to view your work, they always see the latest and the greatest content.


 This is an important thing because you always want to be displaying your current projects.  Maintain a level of professionalism in ALL your social networks.  There’s no problem with having a private face book page where you can rant about your in-laws or coworkers.  But NEVER use foul language, complain about clients or projects, or act annoying or irritable via your online networks.  Remember, your potential clients could be (and probably are) reading what you tweet.  For all they know, you are what you tweet. 


  Keep it professional and clean.Make your profiles and web site very personalHave you ever wondered why social media has grown to such great heights of popularity? It’s because people like connecting with real people.  


Make your twitter profile, face book page, website and more very personal by adding well-written, friendly bios, and including an image of your face.   The more people feel like they will be connecting with a real person when they contact you for design work, the more likely they are to call.


  Remember, your website is a direct reflection of who you are as a business person.  Include positive reviews.  A great way to give a good first impression online is to offer reviews from previous clients. You can work this out however you’d like.  Include a form on your website, ask past clients to make comments, or mark unexpected positive tweets about your work as favorites and then link to your favorite page from your web site.

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Avoiding SEO/Social Media Errors and Pitfalls

Image via WikipediaIn the internet age,  social media has become the powerhouse of brand recognition and marketing.  However,  if you want to avoid some of the common pitfalls and errors of social media,  having a team of SEO professionals behind you is key.

At Metro Media Consulting Group,  we know how to help you avoid these errors, and steer you into the waters of smooth social media sailing.

Here are some of the errors which may be encountered, and the ways to avoid and resolve them,  as set forth in this excellent and astute piece by Rick Itzkowich,  of Rick Itzkowich Consulting:

Mistake # 1: Not having the right mindset.
If you go into SN with a sales mentality, you will fail. Sales is about closing transactions. Networking is about building relationships. There's a time where selling is appropriate in a relationship. However nothing damages a relationship faster than selling without first building a relationship.

The Referral Institute teaches the VCP model. VCP stands for Visibility - Credibility - Profitability. In simple terms, this means that people need to first know who you are. Then they need to trust you. It's only when they both know and trust you that they comfortably buy from you. Trying to move from visibility to profitability without earning credibility doesn't work.

To correct Mistake #1 shift your focus from selling to building relationships.

Mistake #2: Not having a strategy.

Going into the SN arena without having a strategy is like going to the grocery store without a list, and to make matters even worse, going when you're starving. Odds are you will forget to buy some of the items you truly needed, and you will bring home some junk instead.

Using the VCP model, you must have a strategy to increase both your visibility and your credibility. When you accomplish this, generating business will be much easier. So what would be an example of a strategy to build your visibility? At Biznik.com you can easily do this by writing articles, hosting events, posting comments, answering questions, welcoming people and more. It means getting involved in the SN community. The more involved you are, the more visibility you gain.

One easy way to build credibility is to have people who already trust you give you a testimonial or third party endorsement. Look for people you know who are already members on the site and ask them for a testimonial. Better yet, offer a testimonial for them first. If you don't have anyone you know on the network, invite them to join. Once you start building your relationships with others on the network, they too will be able to give you testimonials.

To correct Mistake #2 come up with a strategic plan to gain visibility and credibility.

Mistake #3: Not having patience.
We live in a fast-paced society--one with very little patience. We eat fast food. We drive fast cars. We multitask. We all have been conditioned to expect immediate results. So we usually give our social networking a few weeks or months. If we don't get any sales, we quit.

Steven Covey tells a story about what it takes for the bamboo plant to grow. He states that there are certain types of bamboo plants that take up to four years before they come out of the ground. Prior to them coming out of the ground, the plants are growing by spreading their roots underground. If you didn't know this, it looks like nothing is happening. On the other hand, once they break ground, they surge upward from 12-36 inches in a 24-hour period!

Networking is very similar to this. I'm not saying that it will take four years before you see results, but it certainly won't be immediate. So building your visibility and your credibility takes time. It is like the bamboo plant spreading its roots. Eventually you will start generating business. You just have to be patient.

To correct Mistake #3 give yourself twice as much time as you think you will need before you evaluate whether your efforts are paying off.

Mistake #4: Not having any free products to give away.
My wife is from Sweden. In her country it's very common for people who visit other people's homes to always bring a gift. It's not about bringing a gift on a special occasion. It's about the principle of gratitude. If someone is inviting you to their home, you express your gratitude by bringing a gift.

In networking this principle is very powerful as well. Showing someone gratitude and appreciation is a great way to build the relationship. However, nowadays free does not carry the punch that it once did. This is because very seldom is "free" truly free. My dad jokes that "free" is the most expensive word in the dictionary. So offering a free gift is often viewed with suspicion - especially when the gift is connected with the product or service you are selling.

On the other hand, if the intent behind the gift is to truly express appreciation for connecting, it brings you closer to the other person. When it takes on a "pay it forward" approach, the results can be remarkable.

One of the best tactics you can use in your SN strategy is to find or develop a gift you can offer to prospects for free-one that's not directly related to what you sell.  After trying different things myself, I finally created a product that accomplished the above goal. Since I've incorporated this product, I've been generating 8-10 new qualified prospects every week.

To correct Mistake #4 develop a product or service that has value in the eyes of your prospects. Make sure that it's not related to your core offering and give it away for free. If you can't come up with a product of your own,  I'll be glad to share some ideas.

Mistake #5: Focusing on numbers vs. relationships.
Joining many sites and adding lots of friends or people to your network is not a strategy. It may be good for your ego, but it will not result in you doing business. Remember networking is about relationships--not about numbers.

You're better off building a smaller network of people with whom you have a relationship, than a larger group of people you don't know or interact with. Remember in order to gain visibility, you will have to get involved and participate in the community.

To correct mistake #5 limit the number of sites you belong to.  Ideally choose no more than three or four -- depending on the amount of time that you are willing to devote to your overall strategy.  Deeper is better than wider. Try a site, get involved and see how you like it. Most networking sites give you access to a free version so that you can try it out before you commit money and start paying for additional features. New Social Networking sites are being added every week. Don't go chasing for the "latest, greatest" or the one that your friend invited you to. Stick to a few and work them. If one doesn't work, then go ahead and add a new one.

Conclusion

Social Networking can be a very effective tool to build one's business but it can also be a huge drain of energy and resources. It takes a long time to build both Visibility and Credibility online. Being aware of the above-mentioned mistakes will keep you from losing one or both of them. Source http://www.focus.com/briefs/small-business/5-deadly-mistakes-you-cant-afford-make-while-social/

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