Archive for Social Networking
Building Your Business on Facebook
Posted by: | Comments
If you’ve been on any of my recent teleseminars or webinars, you’ll know that when used right, Facebook can be very profitable. The question most people ask is, “how do I network on Facebook effectively?”
Here are three tips to make it happen:
Get involved in groups
Many people think Facebook is an untargeted site, because of the wide range of users. However, there are many niche-specific groups you can join.
This enables you to target people who would be interested in your product or service. There is no sense in trying to network with people that would not benefit from the service or product you are selling. However, please keep in mind that you need to network with others and not always be a “walking” billboard for your business.
Get involved in the community
Once you’ve identified the groups you want to join, then you can engage in conversations with people. Developing trust is one of the most important things for effective Facebook networking.
If people believe you really want to help them, you are much more likely to “sell” them something. Most businesses make the mistake of ramming their sales message down others’ throats without asking what their customers want. This is a dead giveaway they are just in it for the profit and are the walking billboard I described before.
Instead, you want to get involved in community discussions and answer people’s questions. When you do this, they will come to view you as an expert, and therefore trust what you have to say more.
Don’t expect anything in return. You should look to benefit people even if they never buy your service or product. If you genuinely want to help people, profits will be an inevitable by-product.
Have a good profile
This is the golden rule. All that effort you put into answering questions is for nothing if your profile is not effective.
One very important part of your profile is having a blog that provides valuable content. Then you can add a link to your site at the bottom. Again, just focus on providing good free content. Don’t try to sell them anything here. Leave that for your site. You want your blog to benefit your readers even if they don’t buy what you are selling.
Developing trust is key. People can instantly tell the difference between somebody who wants to sell them something and one who wants to help them. So the key to making money on Facebook, like anywhere else, is providing good, free information.
Facebook offers plenty of income potential, so implement these three tips and you will see results soon.
Do you want to receive more social media tips, hints and tricks? If so, sign up for my weekly business tips, Biz Tips for Entrepreneurs and Solo Business Owners, which will be delivered to your inbox every Tuesday. As an added bonus, you will also receive my free ebook, Biz Tips The Book: Entrepreneur Edition as my way of saying thank you.
Please know that your information is safe with us. We will never rent or sell your information. Period.
Fall is coming! Time to Go Back to School!
Posted by: | CommentsDo you know all you need to know to be successful with social media marketing?
Social Media Examiner says that only 37% of businesses are gaining customers and sales from their social media efforts. …
Are you?
Social Media Made Easy is coming at just the right time to get you ready to grow and profit all through the fall. The next session of the 4 week webinar training starts on Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 4:00pm ET. And to celebrate the end of summer and back to school season, this session only is on sale at 20% off!
If you’ve been marketing on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and are not happy with your results, now’s the time to learn what you have been missing. This class will give you both strategies and tactics for success. Recent graduates have raved about the class and would tell you to get in and get going. Join us now – the next session isn’t on the schedule until at least November….. Get the details and register today!
Getting Potential Clients to Take the Next Step After Watching Your Video
Posted by: | Comments
You can produce the most compelling, interesting video online, but without a clear call to action, your video is just pure entertainment. Whether you want a viewer to buy your product, sign up for your list, or take another action, you have to tell them what you want them to do.
A call to action can take many different forms. Do you want the viewer to click on a link, click the “buy now” button, watch another video, or take some other step? Know what you want from your viewer before you even create your video so everything you do points to that desired end result.
Some people believe that if you push your message on your audience, they will resist any kind of “sell” and turn away. While you want to avoid the used car salesman approach, remember that when you have the solution to your audience’s problems, you’re doing them a favor by sharing it with them.
Your call to action can take many forms. Here are some examples:
- Click here to download your free copy of Biz Tips for Entrepreneurs.
- Click here to find out how to boost your business with Social Media!
- Schedule a consultation with me so we can work together to fulfill your business destiny.
- Click here to find out how you can build your business and brand using Facebook.
- Fill out the form below to sign up for our free teleseminar.
The logistics of creating a call to action within in a video will vary depending on the type of video you use, the location of the video and the rules of the site where you are hosting your video. Here are some ideas:
Mention in the Video – You can include a call to action within the video itself. Create the video to capture the attention of your audience, give them the information they need and then tell them what action to take next.
Text Within the Video – Another way to tell your viewers what move to make after the video is to add it across the screen of the video. This text can be a link to your website or an explanation of any other action you’d like them to take.
Clickable Video – By using ‘Flash’ software or YouTube’s video tools, you can create video that, when clicked on, can link the viewer to the desired page.
Make Use of Video Descriptions – You can add a call to action within your video descriptions. If you have uploaded a video to a hosting site, check the rules as to how you can link to your site and how promotional your videos and descriptions can be.
The most important part of your call to action is ensuring it fits with what your audience needs. When the call to action matches the exact needs of your audience, taking your recommended next step will be a natural next step for your viewers.
Facebook As An SEO Tool
Posted by: | Comments
Facebook SEO is very important. If your profile gets ranked for highly searched terms, you will dramatically increase the number of people following you.
You don’t want to promote this page at the expense of your main moneymaking site. However, if your site is ranking, than why don’t you try to get ranking for your profile or page.
However, don’t just focus on SEO for Google. Facebook has many internal searches itself. It’s basically a massive search engine, although most people don’t think of it that way. Therefore, you want to get ranked within Facebook as well as Google.
Fortunately, the same tips that work for ranking in Google also are effective for Facebook. Here are five of the best:
Use your keywords in your title
Make sure to include your target keywords in your title. Many people don’t think about this.
Also, many users just include as many keywords as they possibly can. This is known as “keyword spamming” and it will probably hurt your chances of getting ranked.
Make sure you have a title that is interesting to human readers. If it’s not, people will view you as a spammer and avoid your page.
Use the keywords in the vanity URL
The URL you choose makes a big difference. This is known as a “username” on the site. The URL will change to reflect the username you pick, in the format http://facebook.com/yourusername. You want to go after the same keywords here that you did in the title.
Use the keywords in the “about” box
The “about” page is going to include most of the content on your Facebook profile. Therefore, it’s very important you get your primary keywords listed here, as you won’t have a chance to put them in other places.
Try to include the main keywords towards the beginning. You want the search engines to see them as soon as possible.
Get inbound links
Doing a traditional link-building campaign is a good idea. In other words, get links from directories, blogs and forums. However, another great strategy is to get more “likes” for your business page. This works because Facebook automatically puts links to your profile from your business profile page. So the more people “like” your page, the more links you will have.
Stay up to date
One thing you might want to do is continually read updates on the algorithm Facebook and Google use. This lets you know what they are placing the most weight on, and will help you focus on that for your page.
The bottom line is, Facebook SEO is very similar to traditional search engine optimization. Use these five tips, and you will see an increase in your rankings in both Facebook and Google.
Marketing Monday: How to Sell With Social Media
Posted by: | Comments
Social media is many things. It’s a fantastic business building tool. It’s a great networking and learning tool. And when used correctly it can be a good selling tool. Here’s how to sell with social media.
Use social media to build a brand. Social media is an excellent brand building tool. Brands are important because they help a prospect create an identity for you. When you have a strong brand identity your prospects will think of you first when they have a need. Building a brand with social media takes time. It takes creating a plan, a message, and a brand image.
Decide what image or brand you want to communicate and then create a plan to make it happen. This plan will likely include interacting online. In addition to posting messages on social media sites, and creating a profile that represents your brand, you will interact in a manner that is consistent with your message.
Use social media to enhance likeability. For many businesses their brand is their personality and this is easy to communicate via social media. We buy from people we like and from people we connect with. Social media is a fantastic way to express who you are and what you’re about so you can effectively communicate your personality. Be friendly, be funny, be informative, be who you are and your audience will connect with you and ultimately buy from you.
Use social media to quietly, subtly promote your products or services. You have to be careful with social media. People join social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to interact, not to shop. They do not like nor do they respond to blatant sales messages.
You can occasionally post a promotion or a new product on social media sites. The best results tend to come from promotions that are specific to your connections on that site. For example, “Facebook Friends 20% off Promotion.” However, it’s also important to test and track promotion tactics to determine what your audience responds to. Take great care when using social media to provide valuable information and interaction or you’ll turn off prospects.
Advertise. Many social media sites now offer highly targeted advertising options. Like any marketing tactic, it pays to invest wisely, test and track for optimal return on investment. However, business owners are finding success using social media advertising options.
Integrate your social media interactions into your business website. It’s about creating a community. Once you have a group of people who follow you, trust your authority and credibility, and like you, then selling via social media is easy.
The key to using social media to sell is to use it as a tool to build your relationship with your prospect. Using it as a medium to deliver a sales message generally doesn’t work. Fit the message to the medium and use social media to build awareness, traffic, liking, brand, and your community. Selling will come naturally and the potential for profit is huge.
