Getting Personal with Social Media

October 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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I have been using social media for a while now – both personally and for my business.  I also spend quite a bit of time researching social media, observing, and learning about the tools and technology.  And what I have learned is the more personal you are in social media, the more human you are, the more you you are – the better the results.

People are looking to connect and build a relationship – with a person.  And this especially applies if you are a small business or solopreneur.  People want to get to know you, not just what you do for a living.  This is how they build trust in you.  Because there are a lot of business coaches out there – your clients choose you because of that something extra.  That part of your personality they connect with and relate to.

You don’t have to share private information or anything that makes you uncomfortable.  But, if you can find a way to share some of your personality, some of what makes you unique, you will see better results.  I realize this is often easier said than done.  I struggle with it myself.  Finding that balance between the “business you” and the “personal you” can be difficult. Start with integrating a few non-business related posts.  Maybe it is sharing about the music you listen to, your favorite sports team, your hobbies, your favorite food, or the book you just finished.  It is the little personal tidbits that help your customers relate to you.  Keep trying and you will find the right mix.  Once you do, you will start to really see the value of social media.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/himmelskratzer/3252564869/
Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: ,

How in the World Do You Find Time for Social Media?

October 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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There just never seems to be enough time. Believe me, I know.  I am a mom and a business owner.  I have a to-do list a mile long – client work, marketing my business, spending time with my family,  learning new skills, cleaning the house, laundry, meal planning, clipping coupons, making dinner…and the list goes on!  I am sure you can relate.  And now you are supposed to do this social media stuff?  You have to find time to think of something interesting to say, respond back, grow your presence.  Seems overwhelming, right?

Social media can be time consuming.  But it can also be an incredible tool for your business.  Social media can help you build your brand, get to know your target market, build credibility and ultimately grow your business. So the investment of time is worth it!  What do you do when you know you want to use social media, but can’t seem to find the time?  Scheduling, Planning and Tools!

The first time saving tip I use for managing my own social media is to create a schedule. I am big on schedules!  Because my life is divided between work time and family time, I have to plan in advance what I need to accomplish during my work time.  I schedule in time a few days a week to find interesting articles and create new updates to post – and then I schedule them out.  I also plan for a little time each day to check in to my accounts,  follow up and respond.  You can even go so far as to decide what type of update you want to post each day – Maybe a quote on Monday, Tip Tuesday, Article Wednesday, Tip Thursday, & something fun for Friday!

In addition, I take advantage of the tools available,  to make it quicker and easier to keep my accounts up to date.  Tools such as Hootsuite.com allow me to pre-schedule posts out in advance.  I can also post to multiple sites at one time.  I also use tools within my WordPress blog to automatically post my blog updates to my Twitter and Facebook accounts.  When I am catching up on my RSS feeds or reading an article that I find interesting, I use the Tweet This & Facebook Like buttons to post that article to my social media profiles.  I also use Foursquare as a way to quickly share where I am & what I am doing – such as attending a networking meeting or enjoying a new restaurant in town.

Now, even with all of this scheduling and planning, you will still get the best results from social media by being personal.  Make sure within your planning that you have time to respond and interact.  This is the most valuable part of social media. Take advantage of the time saving tools to keep your accounts up to date and to free up precious time to interact and get personal!

Filed Under: Social Media, Time Management Tagged With: , ,

Claim your Business on Google

September 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
google places

If you have a local business, make sure you claim your Google Business Listing. This is the listing that shows up in Google next to the map when you are searching for a local business.

See the example below :

google places

As you can see, the businesses are listed above the regular organic listings.  Often, the links listed here are clicked on first. Since this is a free tool, it is imperative that you take advantage of the listing.

It is very simple to claim your listing. You will need a Google account, but that is free – and if you already have a Gmail account, you can log in with that. It is quick to sign up for a Google account if you don’t have one. Go to www.google.com/places, sign in and then begin to fill out your information.

The more information you include, the better! So make sure to put you address, phone number, website, and email. You can also upload pictures and video. Be sure to choose your categories carefully and take a look at the categories suggested by Google as well!

And you are done! Now when someone is searching for your business category in your local area, they can find all the up to date information for your business – and find you! Your Google business listing is an often overlooked, but very useful tool for customers to find your business online!

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: ,

The 5 Step Social Media Process

June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

social media planImplementing a social media plan for your business has many benefits, from expanding your reach online, to building credibility to drawing new clients and customers.  The social media tools available make connecting and sharing your expertise that much easier!  It is important to remember when implementing a social media plan that it  is a process.  To make it simpler to understand, I have broken it down into 5 steps:

Step One – Strategy – This is an important one.  You need to think about who you want to reach and what your goals are before you start to implement anything.  This will help you narrow your focus and use your time wisely.

Step Two – Set-Up – Before you can engage with anyone, you need to have your profiles and accounts created and maximized.  After completing step one, you should know what communities to participate in, and now is the technical job of setting everything up, making sure it is easy for people to find and connect with you – and do business with you.

Step Three – Listening – Now that your accounts are created, it is time to start listening.  Pay close attention to how the community works.  And spend some time searching and observing it all.  You will learn a lot about the community, and by listening first you can create content that is specifically for that community.  Again saving you time in the long run.

Step Four – Reaching Out – You need to make a conscious effort to reach out.  People will not always come to you – you need to find them.  This is where your strategy and listening come in handy.  Find targeted people on your networks and begin to connect and engage with them.

Step Five – Continued Maintenance – you can’t just set up a social media presence and forget it.  It has to be consistently nurtured and grown to benefit you.  So, you must update your accounts and continue to connect with others.  Also continue to search for new connections and build those relationships.

As you can see, social media is an on going process.  So try not to expect results overnight.  But, if you are consistent and continue to work on your social media presence, you will see some incredible results.  And if you need help implementing any of the steps listed above, contact me :)

Filed Under: Business, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Tools for Social Media Listening

June 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

One of the most valuable benefits that social media offers is the ability to listen.  There are many tools available to allow you to keep track of who is talking about your business, as well as any keywords relating to your business.

There is so much knowledge to be gained just from listening and paying attention to what your customers are saying about you and your industry.

Here are some cool tools to help you listen and learn:

  • search.twitter.com ~ This allows you to search twitter for specific phrases or keywords and see real time results.  You can also use the advanced search to narrow down the results by location or time period.
  • Kurrently.com ~ this website allows you to put in keywords or phrases and will search both Facebook and Twitter, as well as the major search engines
  • Google Alerts ~ You can set up alerts based on your company name or specific keywords and Google will email you daily with the latest results that include those terms.  You see articles and blog posts.
  • LinkedIn Answers ~ You can research the types of questions that are being asked related to your industry.  As well as answer the questions and build your expertise.
  • Board Tracker ~ allows you to search discussion forums for specific terms.

By taking some time to follow specific searches, you can gain really valuable information about your industry and customers.  All of the above are great tools to help you!

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: ,
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