There has been a lot of buzz lately about the two newest social media channels — Google+ and Pinterest. Many of my clients have been asking me which one should I choose? The answer is the same as it was before G+ and Pinterest exploded on to the scene, go where your audience hangs out the most. As I go through the two platforms, you’ll learn which one would work best for your business.

Google+ — Land of the Geeks and the Guys

Google+ is a social network that allows individual users and businesses (brands) to share status updates, images, and videos. By clicking the +1 button you can support and share these interactions. The circles feature in google+ allows for extreme message targeting and customization and just having a +1 button can increase the traffic to your site. According to HubSpot, websites using the +1 button generate 3.5x the google+ visits than sites without the buttons.

Do you want to learn about the latest technology or attract men to your business – Google+ is your place. The biggest group of users are software developers. 63% of Google+ audience is male. The biggest topic of conversation on Google+ is (no big surprise here) – technology. If your business focuses on technology (or you just want to keep up on the news) or if search traffic is very important to you then Google+ maybe worth checking out.

The big downside of Google+ is that people don’t spend as much time there vs. Facebook or Pinterest. Google+ users tend to swoop in, get the information that interests them and then leave.

Pinterest — If Martha Stewart created a social network…

Pinterest exploded on to the scene in fall of 2011 and it is growing very quickly. As of February 2012, Pinterest had 10.4 million users spending on average 100 minutes on the site. The face that users spend so much time on Pinterest (believe me – this is all to easy to do) shows that the site is “sticky” and providing value to users. Pinterest is a visual social network for “pinning” images or videos to the users own or others “pinboards”. Pinterest reminds me of one gigantic virtual vision board.

In direct contrast to Google+, 83% of Pinterest users are women. The most pinned items on the site are home decor, fashion, design, recipes. If you are in one of these markets, Pinterest is a must. Even though Pinterest doesn’t have dedicated brand pages, I’ve noticed some very creative use of inboards by B to B businesses. I’ve seen client appreciation boards, info graphics, videos and more. The site is also *very good* at providing referral traffic.

When I suggest Pinterest to my coaching clients, I often get either “I am not very visual, how can I use Pinterest?” or just blank stares. I tell them to start by simply posting the picture they used in their blog post and linking to the post. Also, spend some time exploring – looking for new things to share. You’ll find that many businesses are using Pinterest very creatively from posting infographics, motivational quotes, pictures from live event locations and more.

The downsides of Pinterest is that there aren’t really “business” or “fan” pages – also that adding Pinterest to your marketing tool set might require additional time on your part to get involved and engaged.

Pinterest and Google+ are two very different platforms which attract very different audiences. Choose the one that fits your business the best.

Today’s guest post is from Shameca Tankerson.  Shameca is a wizard at helping entrepreneurs solve their money problems.  I’ll be interviewing her this Thursday  at 6pm Eastern, 5pm Central, 4pm Mountain, 3pm Pacific.  Here’s the link to sign up for the call.

Okay…I guess I’m a little indignant when it comes to the stories I here day in and day out regarding money.  And I’ll get even more undignified than this.  Every Where I go I hear the doom and gloom stories:  “The economy is bad”, “The banks aren’t lending”, “People don’t have money to spend”…..

Well, I’m calling everyone on the carpet!

You tell me…

It’s time to tell the truth!  Okay…I’ll start.

The truth:  There ARE banks lending.  There is Money available in more ways than you can imagine.  But the majority of us good old Amercians striving toward the Amercian Dream (the pursuit of happiness) need that story to explain why we under charge for our services, don’t invest in our business growth, or why our business isn’t successful .

Are you driven by a Mask that is keeping in the realm of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over agin expecting different results? Are you working in your business day in and day out to make enough money to take your vision to the next level….waiting on that next big deal or business model that will skyrocket your revenue?

Are you ready to wake up to and remove the mask  and conditioning that is holding you back so you can get the funding you need to have the business and life  you really want …No Excuses?

Step 1.  Pull your own credit  and see what is really going on.  Know your score.  Don’t be Scurred!

Step 2. Find your financial baseline.  How much money do you need on a monthly basis to keep your business right where it is…..to sustain. Hint: Pull out bank statements

Step 3.  If you don’t have six months Cash cushion or a credit line equal to 6 months cash cushion.  You need funding.

Step 4. Get the skinny…the real…the truth on business funding.  Plug into my communityhttp://www.facebook.com/creditsavvyceo (ha ha…shameless plug) but really learn what your options are and make informed financial decisions….ask questions and get in the know.

Step 5.  Bonus: Charge what you are worth…Don’t look at other peoples business models to determine your pricing and don’t buy into the people aren’t spending money mentality.  Why:  It’s not true.  This is the quickest way to stimulate your own economy. Some of the funding options available are based on revenue…..don’t minimize your worth or your options.

Remember this: You have something of value to bring to the world.

Shameca Tankerson, is a Speaker, Trainer, Author, and Cash Flow Success Mentor to entrepreneurs and service professionals. Using a proven system, she opens a candid dialogue about money that teaches her clients how to breakthrough to their next income level and expand into a cash flowing business with a new collaborative business model that is liberating, Inspiring and Powerful.  To Get your F.R.E.E. “Spark Your Cash Flow Financial Success Kit”  - Making Room For Money: 5 Financial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Sabotage Their Cash Flow (And How To Avoid Them). Visit: http://www.MakingRoomForMoney.com

Yes, the blog challenge ended a week and a half ago.  The Extreme Income Explosion Summit was last weekend, so I’m just now catching up…

So… drum roll please…  as a result of the blog challenge:

• Unique visitors to my website went  up by 24%
• The number of visits up went by 36%
• Hits went up by 41% over last month.

My stats also improved on facebook and twitter (since I tweeted and posted each time).

Here are some lessons I learned from the blog challenge this time:

• Having an editorial calendar really helped.  At the beginning of the challenge, we planned out every post for the month.  We didn’t necessarily follow the plan – but it certainly helped to have an default topic for each day.

• It was also helpful to create a running theme of posts for the month.  This challenge my focus was on visibility.
• Finally,  I planned a certain number of social media posts each week.

Having the posts organized helped me stay on schedule throughout the blog challenge.   For those of you who finished, what were the strategies that worked for you?

Did you know that Facebook has created a new resource center with lots of great hints and tips for getting the most marketing oomph out of Facebook.  The Facebook Marketing Center is a treasure trove of information on getting the most from Facebook and has videos, white papers and articles, and social media blueprints covering how to maximize your reach on your timeline, how to use Facebook insights and other tracking features, and how to incorporate Facebook’s new premium features into your marketing plan.   I was very impressed with all the material and resources available to you.

To give you a sampling of the quality of information there – here are some of Facebook’s basic tips for getting the most out of your Facebook business timeline.  This information was in the section on using the new Result Generator — but the hints apply for any Facebook page.

Can you believe that the month of April (and the Ultimate Blog Challenge) is almost over. Crazy.  Here is the weekly wrap up for this week:

Google has been playing with their algorithm again.  In this blog post, Moonpreneur explains google’s latest thinking.  The answer seems to be (as it should be) to make sure your content is contextual and relevant and NOT to try to game the system.

Need a quick business motivation boost?.  Check out this post on the People Incubator about how you can get business motivation is less than one minute.

Want to learn more about fonts?  This fascinating font Friday from  Helz- Design was about serifs.  I know this seems super-geeky — but font choice can be important in your business.

Sometimes the best way to learn how to do “techie” stuff is by using a good old fashioned book.  Paul Taubman gives us a list of some of his favorites.

Ever gotten lost taking public transit?  I think we all have.   If you have, you can relate to Michelle Shaeffer’s post on her bus misadventures trying to go downtown to Starbucks.  Michelle’s post has a great moral for your business…  (but I’ll let you go over and read that for yourself)

Two more days of the blog challenge.  It has been very fun reading the variety of posts presented. so far.  What are your plans to continue with your blogging.

Were you on my free “get unstuck” call on Thursday?  I had a record number of people sign up.  That really excited me because the topic is something that is so dear to my heart (and that I don’t ever talk about).

My talk was about how to get unstuck in your business.  If you missed the sign up – -you can still get the recording here.  I am thrilled to say that the feedback on the call has been very positive — so I’ll be delving deeper into this important topic in the future.

One of the key things that I shared in my talk was my process for making decisions.  I admit that when I started putting together the talk I wasn’t sure I had a process (decision making comes very naturally to me).  But, as I was getting on the plane – it occurred to me that I *did* in fact have a process — and I’m going to share it with you in today’s blog post.

Step One:  Gather Information

Before you make any decision, you need to get the information you need to decide.  In the case of choosing a seat on my Southwest flight – I needed to know whether the flight was full or not so I could decide whether to take a seat where I might be stuck in the middle — or take a seat on the aisle.  The best strategy depended on how many people would eventually get on the plane.  So, I asked the stewardess — she said the plane would be pretty full.  In your business, this fact finding stage can take days (or weeks) or just minutes… The key here is to gather the information and then move on to the next step…

Step Two: Interpret the Facts Now that you have the facts you need – it is time to interpret them so you can make your decision. In the case of the airline seat, the interpretation was easy – I couldn’t count on having the seat next to me empty – so I chose my seat accordingly.  The pitfall with business decisions is that sometimes we let our decision making be clouded by doubt and fear.  Don’t let those emotions in.  Make your decision based on the facts as you see them.

Step Three: Look at the Opportunity/Options and Decide.  You’ve looked at the options – now it is time to stretch your imagination and see what choices you really have.  Now is the time to make a decision.  If you’ve done steps 1 and 2 – you should know the right choice.  Make it and start implementing.

The speakers at next week’s Extreme Income Explosion Summit are going to be focusing on topics that will help you with all three phases of this decision making process.  We’ve opened up simulcast registration so you can attend from home.   You’ll be able to watch every session live (you’ll also have access to recordings for 30 days), ask questions of the speakers (we’ll have someone on hand to voice your questions to the speakers who will answer you live), and network with other attendees.  Click here for more information

One of the quickest ways to gain credibility is to get out there and speak in front of audiences.  Usually, I get one of three reactions when I tell clients this.  The first (and preferred) reaction — is “sounds great” how do I get started”.  The second reaction is yikes – I couldn’t ever get out in front of people and speak (if this is you — go out and find a Toastmasters club to join) – the final reaction is that sounds great — but how can I find people to get me to speak.  If you fall into that third category – this post is for you.

Here are three great ways to find speaking gigs (even if you are just starting out – and even if you are aiming for webinars and not live events).

1. Start a Video Blog  Event planners (even for virtual events) want to see how you present “live”.  You can’t quite get that across in a written blog post.  Once a week take the time to do a video posting (and.. no cheating and doing powerpoints with voice over).  Choose topics that are part of the speeches you offer on your speaking sheet. At the end of the post, make a link that says something like … click here to find out how you can have me speak to your audience about this topic.

That brings me to hint number 2…

2. Have a speaker sheet.  Every “serious” speaker has a sheet with their picture, speeches and bio on it.  It is just expected that if you want to speak, you’ll have this.  It goes without saying that you need to have  tab on your website that says “ask me to speak” — otherwise nobody will know that speaking is something offer.  Here is the link to my speaker sheet so you can see what can be included.

3. Interview other people.  The easiest way to be the most popular person at the party is to invite the most people… This holds very true in the Internet marketing world too.  Over and over again, I’ve seen people rocket to the top of their business by holding a telesummit, hosting  radio show or just offering teleseminars for their audience.  I do this with the Decisive Minds Success Series.  Speakers are always looking for gigs… so offering them a chance to get in front of your audience (no matter how small) makes you a hero — and makes it likely they will book you in return.

4. Bonus Tip – Google Alerts  A quick way to get a heads up on speaking opportunities is to set up a google alert – http://www.google.com/alerts for your topic and call for proposals, call for speakers, telesummit, conference, etc.  Even if you don’t get on the roster for this year… a quick e-mail to the conference organizer can get you on the short list for next year.

What is your biggest frustrating in finding speaking gigs?

In today’s marketplace, any potential client can go online, type two or three keywords into a search engine and immediately review a lifetime supply of vendors anxious to fill their requests. So how do you standout in a crowded marketplace? Stand out by using writing, speaking, video and other ways of getting your message out there. Let’s focus here on how to get content for writing articles to grow your business.

Write Your Way to More Success

Writing about your area of expertise is a highly effectively way to draw new clients and opportunities to you. All you have to do is sit down and write. Writing is a valuable marketing tool because people keep information. You may be called by potential clients weeks, months or even years after an article sees print because they kept the article you wrote. Write about the topics and issues that answer the challenges your potential clients have and watch your phone begin to ring. Here are a few tips for using writing effectively to build your business.

• Pay attention to your clients. Listen to questions your clients ask and identify the issues they want addressed. What challenges are your clients having? What challenges are plaguing the industry? What innovations are you hearing about? These are all great things to write about. Keep a list, and when you are ready to write, review it for ideas.
• Start with quick tips. Start by writing a helpful list of something that you know about but your clients might not. I call these “quick tip sheets.” A couple of examples are “Twenty Quick Tips to Organize Your Office” or “Ten Ways to Feel Better in five Days.”
• Turn It into an article. To turn a quick tip sheet into an article, write an explanation or an example beneath each quick tip. Add an opening paragraph that states what problem your article solves, then add a paragraph at the bottom that tells the reader to apply what they have read—and you have a completed article.
• Add a benefit-focused title. Do not try to be too clever with your titles. Just tell the reader what to expect from reading your article. Secrets, strategies, or solutions are all good words to include in a title. For example, “Seven Secrets to Looking ten Years Younger” or “Ten Often Overlooked Solutions for Saving Money.”

Remember the resource box. The most important part of the article is the resource box at the bottom where you say who you are, what you do and how people can contact you. Include a compelling reason for them to connect with you. For example, have them go to your website to download your free copy of an e-book or listen to your podcast with more tips.

Caterina Rando is a GSMMA Expert – you can learn more about her at http://caterinarando.com

I just did a Google search for “Social Media Engagement” and there were 2.1 Million results.  This has become one of the hot topics for social media trainers and professionals everywhere and it seems to be a thorn in the side of all the entrepreneurs who are trying to figure out exactly how to engage their social media audience.

Well I can promise you this is going to ruffle a few feathers because I am going to share with you why I think social media engagement is really B.S. or at least it isn’t as big a deal as everyone seems to think it is.

OK before you start disagreeing with me, let’s agree that engagement might help in S.E.O. and it helps in how often you show up in the Facebook newsfeed but I want to talk about engagement and relationship marketing.

Can you build a relationship with your ideal client with minimal to no engagement?

I have had multiple experiences lately that are leading me to believe this to be true.  1st let’s look at the definition of engage, which means to occupy the attention of someone.  I would take it a step further for social media because when social media professionals are talking about engagement they are talking about how do you get people to comment, share, retweet etc.

Don’t get me wrong – I think those things are great and important (I have written many blog posts to that effect).  What I want you to think about is how people might be moving themselves through the relationship marketing model without ever actually engaging (commenting, sharing, retweeting) with you.

I was recently at a large event.  I had several people walk up to me and start talking to me like they knew me.  Like really knew me!  You have probably experienced this where you start trying to figure out where you met them.  But in these cases they had been on my mailing list and they are watching me through social media and they felt like they knew me.  One of them went so far as to tell me that when she saw I was sponsoring the event she decided to come so she could meet me.  I had never had a conversation with any of these women but through the fact that I blog, post regularly on social media and send out a weekly newsletter they had moved themselves through the like and trust stages of relationship marketing and were ready to buy from me. (By the way, one of them just scheduled an appointment to talk to me about my coaching program.)

I am not saying give up on engagement completely (you do need to pay some attention to what your ideal client wants to learn about)  -  I am just saying quit spending all your time trying to figure out the secret formula.  It isn’t all it is cracked up to be.  What if you looked at social media more as your reality show.  Think about how you fall in love with TV actors.  We mourn when they pass because we feel like they are part of our family.  I can tell you from my own experience that I love, love, love the Golden Girls.  I have watched the Golden Girls every single day for 25 years.  When Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur passed away it was like my grandmother had passed.

I think it is time you stepped up and were the star of your own online reality show.  Blog, share your thoughts, engage when it happens naturally but most of all be consistent, build an audience, share great content and they will move themselves through the stages of relationship marketing and start to hand you money!

OK,  I admit it… I am not a guy and not a geek, so it has taken me a while to truly embrace Google Plus .  I know that using Google+ is great for search engine juice and that there are some very interesting people to meet there who don’t hang out as much on Facebook and Twitter – but Google Plus isn’t quite as engaging as Pinterest (or even Facebook).  I did have a chance to “hangout”with the Buzzboosters once in Google+, and I see the potential – but I’m just not there yet.

To help me get over my Google+ issues, I recently read Guy Kawasaki’s new book What the Plus! which explains Google + step by step in a way that got me excited.

Here are five hits from the book for getting more from Google+:

1. Spend some time on your profile  This is your Google+ welcome mat.  Once of the most important things is to make sure that you have an engaging tagline (that contains your keywords).  This will help you out in Google too. Make sure that you avatar picture is focused in on your face (since it isn’t that large).  If you can get a picture where your personality shines through – all the better. Also, like Facebook, Google+ has a scrapbook area — use this to your advantage.  Unlike Facebook, the pictures don’t randomly display – so you can split one large picture into 5 pieces.

2.  Use the Right Kind of Comments In Google+  Guy mentions two types of Google+ comments, drive by comments and long form comments.  The drive by comments — are quick +1 (this is the same as like in Facebook), sharing the post, giving someone a mention (this is like using the @ in Facebook).  There is nothing wrong with these quick bites – especially when you are just getting started.  The difference between Google+ and Facebook comments, is that Google+ allows to do LONG comments (which are almost blog posts themselves).  The key to getting this right is to make sure that you are adding value to the original content.

3.  Optimize Your Posts for Google Social Search  Have you noticed that when you search google – you are getting more results from people you know?  Sometimes, the results come with little pictures next to them?  That is called google social search — and is a big bonus for using Google+.  The way to optimize those results is to look on Google+ and see which circles people have put you into (for example, I am in a lot of social media and business coaching circles).  If I post and share items in those areas, it is likely that I will show up in the social search results for those areas.

4. Host Your Own Private Hangout Party  I think that Google+ hangouts are one of the best kept secrets… they are very easy to use — and have great potential for coaches and people who want to meet in small groups.  If you want a step by step on how to set one up check out Meredith Eisenberg’s post on how to set up a google hangout.

5. How to Attract More Followers  This was my favorite chapter of the e-book.  Guy gives some great hints on how to get more followers — much of what he recommends goes for Facebook and Twitter too (share interesting things, be helpful, take part in conversations).  The hint that is uniquely Google+ is to create specific circles — i.e. social media, knitting, etc and add people to them.

If you are interested in learning Google+, I recommend that you check out Guy’s book - What the Plus!.  In addition to having some excellent strategy hints, the book has screenshots to lead you step by step through what you need to do to get set up and productive on Google+