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.
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.
In my seminars and workshops, I frequently talk about the dramatic plunge in consumer confidence and how that impacts their willinging to buy your goods and services. I cite a study conducted by PR firm Edelman which studied “informed publics” between the ages of 25 to 64 and explored this group’s level of trust in four institutions: business, government, media and NGOs. Results reveal the lowest across-the-board levels of trust since the survey began ten years ago. What does this mean to you? Your consumers don’t trust you!
The solution I am proposing is to use social media to reestablish trust by allowing your raving fans to do the selling for you! Who do consumers trust? Each other! We naturally trust our neighbor’s referral over any type of formal advertising. Traditionally this has been called “word-of -mouth” marketing.
Here is the GREAT news. Social media is word-of-mouth networking on steriods. And, this is no longer just my supposition. Today eMarketer.com published a study that confirms online advertising trust is on the rise worldwide. “According to the “Global Online Consumer Survey” by Nielsen, 41% of worldwide Internet users trusted online advertising.” In fact, the study reveals the number one advertising tactic trusted by consumers is “recommendations from people I know”. You should definitely check out this fantastic article by eMarketer.com.
This strategy will require risk on your part. What if the reverse happens? What if someone says something negative? Can negative comments destroy all the trust you’ve worked to build up? Yes, if you don’t have a service recovery plan in place. You need a step by step plan in place to handle any negative posts. The plan should answer the following questions:
How fast will you respond?
What will your message be?
How will reassure your other online followers?
With a plan a place you can effectively handle negative posts. AND, get this….you can actually earn MORE trust by allowing an honest dialogue to take place, showing that you have a plan in place and that you take your customer’s concerns seriously. This is the mark of a trustworthy company.
But, let me quell your concerns about negative posts. I monitor a lot of “business” social media sites. I don’t see a lot of negative posts EXCEPT for the big “corporation” type companies. Why? No one wants to fire the first shot across the bow. I believe we are all thinking “If I start the negative avalanche it will eventually catch up to me!” We are afraid to say something negative about another business in fear someone else will do it to our business. Make sense? In fact, I mostly find social media pages for small businesses to be a sickening love fest of unrealistic proportions!
Start allowing your past, current and future customers to talk to each. They can sell you better than you ever will. Open up the dialogue and reap the rewards.
We practice what we preach! Please post a comment below and we invite you to disagree! And, we invite you to become a fan of the Internet Marketing Hotline on Facebook!
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.
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!
In my seminars and workshops, I frequently talk about the dramatic plunge in consumer confidence and how that impacts their willinging to buy your goods and services. I cite a study conducted by 
