If you do one thing new this year, make “Learning New Things” a top marketing priority. With that learning, you’ll be in a better place to prioritize what really might work best for your business, and where you should spend your time, energy and dollars. Make sure that you are learning the most recent information, though. That means you’re looking for 2013 or later 2012 lessons and tips.

Where should you start?

Look closer at Google+ — and who better to learn from than Google? Below is an embedded webinar presented by Google Business that was just posted 3 weeks ago. It’s a good place to start. Let me know if you agree.

When it comes to growing the number of LIKES on your Facebook Page, nothing beats the power of asking people directly. Start with people you already know are on Facebook and who you think should be interested to join based on what you talk about on your Page, not just on how much they love you.

Yes — ask them directly rather than just posting the Facebook Icon everywhere and banking on hope. Does that feel a little uncomfortable? Sorry – get over it! You have a business. In today’s social blends with business world, we have to be willing to let our friends know what we do, particularly when you’re a local business whose success is driven more by referrals than search engine optimization efforts.

Even if you ask your best friend in the world, don’t take it personally is she doesn’t join. It may not be her thing.

Still – it’s worth the ask to try. Start today by asking any of your personal Facebook Friends you think will be interested using a feature already built into Facebook.

Here’s how:

1. Log into Facebook as YOU (not your Page)

2. Navigate to your Facebook Page (but still as YOU, not your Page)

3. Since Facebook knows you’re the Admin for your Facebook Page, you’ll see be able to see the dashboard but it’ll have an option under “Build Audience” that doesn’t exist when you are on the Page as Your Page. Click “Invite Friends”

4. A box pops up with your Friends on it that you can use to Search or simply scroll. Click to ask those who still haven’t joined your page to join it. (The ones that have will be grayed out.) Then click Submit. Those people will receive a request to join the page from you.

This is just one way to ask people you know to join your page, but it’s a good place to start. We’ll talk about other ways in future blog posts. In the meantime, share your secret sauce for getting more LIKES in a comment below — what works for you?

Meanwhile, here’s another quick way to ask… use Please:

Please join me on my Facebook Page –> http://facebook.com/TalkingShop