There are several factors you should consider when selecting a social media channel. Target audience, product/service characteristics, amount of internal staffing/resources, time and technology savvy are just a few. Another one to consider is simply the volume of traffic and use of a social media channel.
Good place to get solid data is Hitwise. The latest data tracks everything from top 20 Websites (ranked by visits), top search engines by volume/visits to top 20 social networking websites. No suprise on the results, Facebook (for the week of 9/26/09) was the number one most visited social networking site at 41%. MySpace, YouTube, Tagged and Twitter round out the top five.
If you want to know where to focus your Internet marketing efforts this data can help! Enjoy!
Today I am teaching a lunch-and-learn for the Law Offices of Hoyt and Bryan, LLC on the Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media. With the sudden onslaught of social media in the workplace, some folks are left overwhelmed with what to do and what not to do when it comes to marketing your business online. Feel free to download the powerpoint and enjoy!
There are many do’s and dont’s and lots of experts are writing on this topic. Some of the best articles/blogs I’ve read are:
I’m going to record portions of the seminar today with my handy Flip and will upload for your viewing pleasure later today. Stay tuned. I’ll also explain more on each one right here on the blog. But for now gotta go! Don’t want to be late!
What I got was a fantastic brainstorm on how they use social media to build their professional speaking, coaching and training business.
Incredibly generous with their insights, you can learn a lot by hearing how they market on a shoestring budget using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blog, Podcasts and Email Newsletters.
There’s a lot of chatter about marketing and advertising, social media and seo programs… but what about PR? I just got off the phone with Carol Flammer, who is a Public Relations extraordinaire and Social Media smartypants! Carol is president of Flammer Relations, Inc., and managing partner of mRELEVANCE, LLC, an Internet Marketing, Social Media and Public Relations firm with offices in Atlanta and Chicago. She had so much great information to offer for all our “DIY-ers” out there, and I couldn’t wait to share it with you!
“PR is how you tell your company’s story. It could, and should be, the basis of your entire marketing program.”
So why is PR important to your company? PR is your on-going brand message. If you think about your social media efforts – like blogging – it can’t exist without stories! Your editorial calendar originates with your PR, and content is key! You don’t have to have a PR agency to start some simple PR efforts on your own, but there are some places where having an experienced PR agency or writer will make a big difference, and we’ll give you some of those pros and cons in just a bit. The key to having a successful PR campaign – either on your own, or with an agency – is that you have to be committed to it, just as much as you would be committed to your advertising campaign.
Carol shared with me that she gets approached by potential clients saying that they’d like to give it “one month to try it out”. Having a successful PR effort won’t happen in a month. To garner real results from PR efforts, you need to be open to using PR for 4-6 months. Public relations is an on-going effort.
Oh, the forgotten about “written word”. Carol says, “you can’t forget the power of the press release!” Print PR is much more measurable now because of the online community. You can easily measure results and tracking by having your releases turn up in online venues. Read more »
Hello there, it’s Kristen Weaver, your Roving Reporter back on duty!
School is back in session, and I was fired up for this morning’s Social Media seminar “Flip over the Flip and YouTube”, presented by Meredith and sponsored by WOAMTEC.
We started off the morning just getting everyone logged in and fed (because what’s a good day at school without a hearty breakfast?). I grabbed a blueberry bagel, banana and Orange Joice. Breakfast of champions, no?
Meredith begins our session talking about all the ways that using YouTube will help with your organic search optimization. So fascinating to me. I’ve used YouTube before, but only for videos of my cat (who wobbles). I was very excited to get it started for my photography business and open a new “channel” – but I had no idea how much it can help your ranking! Basically, Google owns YouTube, which means that when you tag your videos, Google will start to search and rank them as part of your business. We also got to hear a great testimonial of how this worked for a local company! I’m sooo on this!
This has been blasting the internet lately, and a perfect tie-in to my social media bootcamps, going on now. Incredible video with amazing statistics that you have to digest!
I can’t tell you the last time I was actually awake at 6am…. but this morning I woke up bright and early to get ready for Meredith Oliver’s new seminar as part of the WOAMTEC Social Media Bootcamp! Today’s session is on LinkedIn, and I’m looking forward to learning more about this powerful business networking tool.
My drive across town was an eclectic mix of old school Janet Jackson (Miss Jackson, if you’re nasty), The Ting Tings and Iron Maiden. Fashionably arriving about 40 minutes early (in true Kristen Weaver style), grabbed a blueberry bagel (from Via Panera), a banana and some orange juice – I’m set up, logged in and ready to learn about LinkedIn!
Meredith’s boot camps are really great because she does so much hands-on training. We all were able to bring our personal laptops to plug in and follow along. Because honestly, hands-on is one of the best ways to learn and become familiar with these new tools.
Ahh, Allen has arrived and decided to harass me about my upcoming housewarming party. If you don’t know Allen, he’s Meredith’s husband (aka Partner in Crime) and super-dad to Brady and Molly Oliver (Molly is the fabulous facebooking dog and infamous, in her own right).
8:30 am – Meredith just kicked off the lesson! Everyone is so attentive! She’s opening by asking everyone what new ideas they took with them following last week’s Facebook session and how they’ve used them. Lots of great accomplishments! Everyone’s been working on their Fan pages, linking and “being wild” – ok, well some of them got the message Read more »
Every day we have important business decisions to make, from how to deal with a demanding boss, tough clients and what to pick up for lunch. Being online is no different (well, maybe not the lunch part). Everyone will tell you what to do right in social media, but what about all the mistakes that are so simple to make? Let’s discuss ways that you can lose fans – and how to avoid them.
First of all, everyone likes an expert, but no one like a know-it-all. Remember to be humble, thank the people that have supported you and give credit where it’s due. Remember that being online isn’t always about YOU. Even in industries where your main objective is to market yourself – sounding like you’re a know-it-all can really turn people off from you, and that’s certainly not your goal.
So for instance, your blog should showcase the ways that you plan to service your customers, instead of only having photos of you and all of your accomplishments. Save that for the “About Me” section, where it’s perfectly acceptable to brag about all of your uber-cool awards. There’s a definite way to reach your customers, without putting them off and making you seem like your head is too big to fit through the door. Remember to make yourself seem approachable – even online. It’s important to balance your business sense with your common sense.Read more »
Social media can be tedious, long and sometimes overwhelming. But let’s talk about ways to fix that on days when time is money – and you’re short on both! There are 86,400 seconds in a day. If you can spare 300 of them, we’ll be in good shape.
First – using a web client that specifically targets your needs is critical. I prefer to use Mozilla Firefox because of their new improved speed features. Browsing has never been faster, bookmarking has never been simpler, and finding things in a crunch has never been better. Consider it your own “PIA” (Personal Internet Assistant). Firefox has this cool “Awesome Bar” (you may know it as the address bar) that will use your words to find things you’re looking for quickly and easily. Over time, it actually adapts to your preferences to find your favorite websites faster!
Facebook started out as a socially-friendly, business no-no. But with the new developments and technology of the “Fan” page, now you, and your business, can be happy! Facebook Fan pages aren’t merely for generating popularity by the number of fans, but it actually tracks the quality of fans you have! What other platform can do that, while still giving you the amount of control and Do-It-Yourself simplicity that we love here at the Internet Marketing Hotline!
I’m going to bypass some basics, like how to set up your own fan page, to talk a little more about the best ways to use Fan pages, so you’re getting the most from your efforts! Once you set up a fan page, you should “Suggest to Friends” – since it’s likely you already have a good network set up from your personal page, suggesting your new fan page is a great way to get some fans right off the bat, as well as letting their friends know you exist. As soon as they “fan” your page, it sends a news feed to their friends letting them know that they’re a friend, and that you should be, too!
So what to do now that you have your fan page, and first fans, set up?
I actually found this wonderfully insightful article written on Mashable that helps detail some of the best ways to nurture consumer engagement through the use of Facebook Fan Pages that I wanted to share. I couldn’t have said it better myself (so I won’t)! The key takeaway items are staples for anyone wanting to have a fantastic Fan page full of interactivity, response and growth.
There are several factors you should consider when selecting a social media channel. Target audience, product/service characteristics, amount of internal staffing/resources, time and technology savvy are just a few. Another one to consider is simply the volume of traffic and use of a social media channel.
There’s a lot of chatter about marketing and advertising, social media and seo programs… but what about PR? I just got off the phone with Carol Flammer, who is a Public Relations extraordinaire and Social Media smartypants! Carol is president of Flammer Relations, Inc., and managing partner of 
Every day we have important business decisions to make, from how to deal with a demanding boss, tough clients and what to pick up for lunch. Being online is no different (well, maybe not the lunch part). Everyone will tell you what to do right in social media, but what about all the mistakes that are so simple to make? Let’s discuss ways that you can lose fans – and how to avoid them.
On a time crunch? Let’s talk shop… quickly.
Facebook started out as a socially-friendly, business no-no. But with the new developments and technology of the “Fan” page, now you, and your business, can be happy! Facebook Fan pages aren’t merely for generating popularity by the number of fans, but it actually tracks the quality of fans you have! What other platform can do that, while still giving you the amount of control and Do-It-Yourself simplicity that we love here at the Internet Marketing Hotline!
