Short Circuit Media

Automate your social media marketing

Shortcircuitmedia — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:22:57 +0000

One of the biggest time wasters for small business is social media marketing. Not that social media marketing is a time waster. But constantly feeding the beast can consume an awful lot of your time without ever showing much benefit.

Many small businesses attend seminars or read articles on the power of social media. You have to be on Linkedin. You have to be on Twitter. You have to be on Facebook. You have to make videos. You have to have a blog.

Yes, you do have to have most of these things to market yourself effectively online.

But what happens is that folks walk out of individual seminars or click away from a marketing article and create accounts for each social media site. They then start a blog and post a few articles.

Awesome.

Two weeks later, they discover that they are spending all their time writing content and posting it separately to all these accounts.

And nothing is happening.

The missing element is that you need to get all these different worlds working together. And the best way to do that is to automate a lot of the process, so the only real effort is creating your compelling content.

So how do you automate the process? Well creative use of RSS feeds is one way.

A few weeks back I wrote about the “Not-so-secret Google tool you should use” in regards to Feedburner.

Well each of the social media big three (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) can use your feeds to automatically update your status.

How much time would that save you?

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

For the purpose of this article, I’ll assume you already have an Facebook Business page – similar to this one from one Linkedin sales trainer, Kurt Shaver.

What we used to connect Kurt’s blog, Twitter and YouTube accounts to auto-update his Facebook page was an app called RSS Graffiti.

So now Kurt only has to concern himself with creating videos, writing new blog posts and keeping up with his tweeting – things he would be doing anyway.

And what happens is anyone who has “Liked” his page, will then see these updates on their Facebook newsfeed the next time they log in.

We also set Feedburner to auto update Twitter, which also auto updates his Linkedin status.

RSS Updates and LinkedIn

To update your personal LinkedIn profile with your latest blog posting you can install one of these two apps Wordress or Blog Link. Both do the same job. They take the RSS feed from your posts and connect them to your LinkedIn profile.

From your Linkedin company page you can also add your Feedburner feed to display and distribute your blog posts to folks who are following you.

So, if there is a lesson to be learned for everyone when it comes to setting up your social media, it’s that using the free tools all around you will save you time and move your business into the social media arena, without causing you to burn through hours of your day updating everything manually.

Fancy vs Functional Sites for Business

Shortcircuitmedia — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:39:50 +0000

A web designer and web marketer are two different jobs.

One job involves creating a unique branded experience that makes the client look great online. While the other is responsible for taking that wonderful looking site and making it work as a marketing tool.

I’ve seen some amazing looking sites that do absolutely nothing for the client.

That’s because the sizzle of a sexy site has an instant appeal to folks who don’t know any better.

An analogy I often make is that if you put a lawnmower engine in a Ferarri, it may look good, but it just won’t cut it – literally and metaphorically.

Let me be clear – a great web designer is an amazing resource, and everyone should be lucky enough to have access to at least one.

But problems arise when a business, assumes that a web designer is also a great marketing resource.

If you are looking to save money on your site by hiring a designer – without a marketing person to assist with the functionality – find out:

What they know about search engine optimization
Will they do keyword research to help you create quality content Google will love?
Do they take care of proper page title tags and descriptions?
Will they set up your Google Analytics?
Will they create a proper site map and make sure you have an webmasters account with Google and Bing?
Are they including privacy statements and copyrights?
Are they blocking your content with a flash/splash pages?
Will they create a mobile version that works with iOS, Blackberry and Android devices?
Will they help you connect your RSS feeds to automatically update your various social media accounts?

All of these are important factors in building a successful online brand. Don’t get suckered into fancy, when functional is what you really need to market yourself more effectively and drive sales.

It’s time to app-ify your content

Shortcircuitmedia — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:17:47 +0000

Imagine a world where there are less than a million websites, and the internet is easily categorized by the type of content each site covered.

That would put most of us in a pretty sweet spot.

Alas, the internet has billions of sites. So good luck with that.

But there is a world out there that most of us don’t dare go near it because the costs seem prohibative. Of course I’m talking about mobile apps.

Recently JoeMobi.com launched a service that turns any WordPress blog into an app for the Android, Blackberry and Playbook.

Combined these app stores have less than 500,000 apps.

That sounds like a lot. But imagine if there were only 500,000 websites to choose from. And a good chunk of them only made fart sounds.

There are currently 1.8 billion smartphones floating around, and by 2014 Pew Research predicts web traffic from mobile devices will overtake desktops.

So this if there was ever a right time to get into this space, it’s yesterday. But if you want to take advantage of this exploding opportunity you can still get in on the action.

Here are a few tips that I’ve come up with.

Choose a name for your app that is keyword rich and descriptive. Nobody cares about your company, they care about what your app will do for them. If you are an expert in management and team development – don’t have the same name for your app as your URL or company name. Give it something snappy like The Management Toolbox.

My app is called Web Marketing Tips (and it’s available on the Android store here). The description is about what the app will do – which is provide tips and articles like this one to help small businesses market themselves more effectively online.

If you’re a realtor in New York, call your app New York Real Estate. You can use the app to showcase articles or new listings in the market.
If you’re a retailer, use your app to focus on new products or discount coupons.
If you’re a recruiter in Edmonton, call your app the Edmonton Job Board and have all your positions pushing out.

For your description, use the Google Keyword Tool to find words folks might search for.

An unintended consequence of having an app like this, is the focus it brings to your writing. If somebody downloads an app they don’t want it to be overly promotional – which far too many blogs tend to be. This is your opportunity to break open a completely new channel to market your expertise by creating quality content for millions of people around the world.

Once you’ve created your apps, submit them to the Android Market and Blackberry App World.

The (not-so) secret Google tool you should use

Shortcircuitmedia — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:01:27 +0000

Of course there are no real secret Google tools. And if there are, I’m not running with the crowd who knows about them.

But over the last few weeks I’ve talked to a number of site owners – speakers, recruiters, SEO folks – and I’ve been really surprised by how few of them know anything about Feedburner.

Now Google’s wall-splattered with spaghetti approach to product launches makes it too easy for some of the great tools they have to fly under the radar.

Feedburner is one of them. If you are a site owner with a blog or podcast, stop reading this post right now and sign up for Feedburner.

What it does is take your raw feed – generally looking like this - and turn it into this.

Pretty slick.

But it does more than this. It will also create forms so folks can subscribe to receive your new blog posts via email, provide a metric showing how many folks are subscribed – along with their emails. Go ahead and subscribe to my feed using the form on this page.

It will also generate simple code for you to display your blog posts on virtually any page on any site you run.

It will also notify different services when your blog is updated – helping your SEO. And of course it will also automatically update your Twitter account.

With a couple of Facebook tweaks you can even connect your Feedburner feed to automatically send your new posts to your Facebook Fan Page.

So what are you waiting for. It’s a free service.

In order for Linkedin to work, you have to participate

Shortcircuitmedia — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:15:49 +0000

In order for social media to work, you have to participate

Over and over again, I hear it from clients and prospective clients. “I don’t see the value in Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter etc.”

“I’m on all of them and I’ve never got any business from them.”

Here’s the thing. The big difference between social media and advertising is that you have to be social and add value to the conversations if you want to build relationships and make some sales.

It’s not enough to build a Linkedin profile, create a Facebook Fan page or start a Twitter account. This isn’t a field of dreams. just because you build it doesn’t mean folks are going to beat down your door.

It requires a bit of work – not a lot – but some.

So if you only use Linkedin and all these other great tools to broadcast announcements about your amazing products or services, even the crickets will soon tune you out.

So here is a simple Linkedin strategy.

Set your account to get a daily digest from each of your groups where prospective clients hang out. And then each morning, browse the topics. If something is interesting or you can help someone out – do it.

The trick is to establish credibility and not come across like you’re always trying to sell something.

If you have something worth buying, and folks recognize that you can add some value to their business, then LinkedIn can actually become one of your biggest lead generators.

The best part is you can do this in as little as 5 minutes each day.

Do you know your own value?

Shortcircuitmedia — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:21:55 +0000

One of the biggest obstacles to success in any industry is not understanding your real value and undercharging for your services.

I was recently at the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers conference in Toronto. After a long day on the convention floor, I addled up to the hotel bar for a drink.

As often is the case, I met a few speakers.

None of us being shy we started chatting about our jobs. One fellow was just beginning in the industry. But his resume in education, politics and industry was so impressive that I was immediately able to pick out a niche, and could visualize specific companies that would be a great fit for his topic and expertise.

So what was he charging? $500.

No, I didn’t leave off any zeros.

After flushing out a quick business and marketing plan, I told him that he should be charging at least 10x that amount. And he’d get it too. Trust me. There was real value in his topic. And even the thickest manager would see it.

So why was he charging $500? Because he was a new speaker.

Here’s the thing, professional speaking is a meritocracy. It’s not a seniority-based business. It’s not how long you’ve done it, it’s how much value you bring to clients.

This guy could easily save a company millions of dollars, so charging $500 only demonstrated that he didn’t have confidence in his own skills.

I don’t know about you, but I prefer to have a few high value clients, so I’m not constantly looking for folks who will only pay bare minimum for what I do.

So if you value what you offer – don’t be afraid to charge for it. Trust me, you’ll feel better getting rejected 19 times at $10000, and getting a single great gig, than working your ass off for 20 cheapskates.

Using online videos as search engine marketing promos

Shortcircuitmedia — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:47:19 +0000

Videos. Videos. Videos. If the internet was a town, videos would be the talk of it.

I’ll confess, I don’t spend a lot of time on YouTube – except for when I need to get a quick walk through on some gadget I can’t figure out *cough* *cough* BlackBerry Playbook.

But I am always telling my clients that they need more videos.

Of course the question I get back is “why?”

The simple reason – and the reason for most of the things I recommend – is search engine success.

Increasingly if you type a search phrase into Google, you’ll get videos on the results page.

If you’re a professional speaker, actor, pilates instructor etc., it’s a great way to get yourself onto the first page.

Of course just making a video won’t automatically bring you to the top of the results page. You also need to optimize the title, description and tags to fight your way to the top.

Do do this, Google gives you a neat little keyword tool.

Use this to find keywords that have low competition and high search rates.

Let’s say you’re a professional speaker.

That’s a very specific phrase with some very high competition. But Google gives you suggestions around that term, along with how often they are searched and how competitive they are. By doing a simple search by competiviness, you’ll quickly find some words and phrases for your video titles, descriptions and tags.

From that list I pulled:

an inspirational speech
motivational speeches
national speakers
find a speaker
motivational leaders

Title: An inspirational Speech for America

Description: http://www.shortcircuitmedia.com Aidan Crawford is one of the most sought after national speakers. His speeches are both motivational and inspirational . If you are looking to find a speaker, Aidan Crawford is one of the most sought after leaders in the business.

Tags: motivational speeches, inspirational speech, nationals speakers, find a speaker, motivational leaders

You can use this same formula for any business video.

Bonus tip: While you’re logged into your YouTube account, go to Settings>>Sharing and connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts. This will then send out your YouTube videos automatically to these social media outlets as they are posted.

Extra bonus tip: Connect your Youtube feed to Linkedin.

To create an RSS feed from your YouTube channel, it’s pretty straight forward. just take the following URL:

http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/yourchannelname/uploads

and replace the ”yourchannelname” with your YouTube channel name.

Very simple stuff. Good luck!

Extreme Makeover: Web Marketing Edition

Shortcircuitmedia — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:44:27 +0000

Just about everybody understands that having a completely integrated web and social media strategy is important. But for some reason there’s a perception among small business that it costs an arm and a leg to get everything up and running.

It’s true that just a few years back, a website could cost upwards of $10,000. But today you should be able to get something far superior for a lot less.

Great free web tools from WordPress, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter make it easier and more economical than ever to update your web presence.

Just recently I rebranded and relaunched Kurt Shaver’s site The Sales Foundry. Kurt is a professional speaker, I met at the National Speakers Association’s annual convention this past summer in Anaheim.

At the time he had a site that folks generally describe as brochure-ware. Very little interactivity, and no social media integration.

If I were a smarter man, I’d have a screen grab of the “before” to really bring home the improvements in the “after.”

But alas, all I can do is provide a list of some of the new features to demonstrate how you can improve your own online marketing.

First of all, the new site is built using WordPress. It’s a great little content management system that is very easy to customize and is practically designed to feed content to search engines.

The first thing you’ll see on the home page is a set of rotating banners that promote all of Kurt’s services. You’ll also note how prominent the signup is for his monthly newsletter along with the icons for each one of Kurt’s social media pages.

Above each piece of content on every page we have icons to help people share individual pages across various social media – LinkedIn, Facebook, Google.

As I’ve stated before – LinkedIn is the most important social media site for business.

And on Kurt’s blog, we’ve replaced the default WordPress comments with Facebook comments to reduce spam and provide another opportunity for people to bring the conversation into the social sphere.

Staying with the blog for a second, we’ve connected the pipes so that whenever Kurt creates a new blog entry, that content is fed out Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn automatically. We used Feedburner for this.

But if someone is interested they can sign up to receive blog postings via email or install a native Android or Blackberry app.

Social media a a great way to let folks share content. But it’s important to have something worth sharing. Here you will see a quiz that allows folks to do a self assessment for the LinkedIn effectiveness.

Again this is a simple WordPress plugin. But it works great.

Other items a lot of folks seem to miss when building a site, that we’ve included:

Proper XML sitemap
Privacy statement
Feedburner RSS feed
Copyright
Physical address
Videos

If you’re in the market for a new site, make sure your coder/marketing person reads this article. You can also fill in this form and l’ll take a look at your site for free and give you some tips over the phone or via Skype. And of course, you can contact me and we can talk about building a site that includes all these features – in just over a month and for much less than you think.

Are you using Facebook ads to promote your business?

Shortcircuitmedia — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:22:02 +0000

Are you going broke using pay per click ads through Google?

From experience, I can tell you that it’s very easy to burn through $500 to a $1000 and not see any real return on your investment.

The main issue for me has always been the inability to narrow the audience enough to reach exactly who I’m looking for.

Over the last couple of years I’ve become a great advocate for Facebook Ads.

I’ve used them for clients and I’ve used them for myself.

In one instance I used them to help sell my own house – by targeting folks who lived within 50 miles of Toronto, between the ages of 25 and 35, who were married and “liked” Toronto.

Yes, I was able to get THAT specific. Better still, I was paying $.40 per 1000 views. So over the course of 5 days, I was able to drive 100 clicks through to my virtual tour page for less than $20.

So how can you use Facebook ads for your business?

There are few ways to do this. The first is to advertise your products and services to a specific region and demographic or you can use it to build your brand or target a specific company.

If you are a speaker, ask yourself who it is that you need to reach? The audience? Sure. But does the audience do the bookings or sign the cheques? Nope. You need to reach corporate planners, event planners, and anyone else who is likely to pick up the phone or send you an email.

So lets try a little experiment by creating an ad:

This ad is targeting folks in Canada, United States and the United Kingdom, who are older than 27, and like: event planner, corporate events, event planning or conference organizer

This ad is targeting 22860 people and it costs $.41 per thousand views.

So for $10 a day, this ad may be viewed well over 24000 times!

Building your brand and targeting specific companies

Facebook ads are also great if you want to work for a specific client or you want to reach people at a specific company.

As an example I randomly chose Research in Motion as a company someone might want to target. Using the same geographic regions of Canada, US and UK, I was given 4500 folks who work for RIM and are currently using Facebook. The cost for that ad? $.20 per 1000 views.

This can work for any company. You can also use Facebook ads to target current clients with new promotions!

So go ahead and experiment a bit. Facebook ads are an inexpensive way to get acquainted with online advertising.

Quick Tweets from the CAPS Conference

Shortcircuitmedia — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:26:12 +0000

This past weekend I was at the annual CAPS Conference (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers). This year it was in Toronto – which would be awesome if I didn’t live in Toronto.

I love travelling to NSA and CAPS events. And when I have to go home at the end of the day, I know I’m missing a huge part of the experience.

As an exhibitor, it was a great opportunity to put faces to names and meet some really interesting characters.

But there was also a lot of time, when I was left at my booth for hours at a time.

My options were to see how many levels of Angry Birds I could conquer or engage with folks as they participated in sessions.

I chose the latter. And I did so with a series of tweets that I sent out over two days. Some of these I’ve talked about before. But some of them are new.

So without any further delay, here are some useful tips, doled out 164 characters at a time:

Turn your book into an ebook for iPad & kindle. Check out Smashwords.com #caps11
Try using feedburner.com to push out your blog to the world. #caps11
Get your book distributed internationally as POD. Look into lightningsource.com #caps11
Grow your Facebook fan page by exporting your contacts from LinkedIn. #caps11
Don’t be afraid to outsource your web development. Look into scriptlance.com #caps11
Connect your YouTube account to automatically update your Facebook fan page. #caps11
My mom doesn’t care how good of a speaker you are so I’m not going to Like your site. The most important share button for business is LinkedIn. #caps11
Google+ might be a pain in the ass, but it actually counts for SEO. Just build the business page and complain like the rest of us #caps11
If you’re using a personal Facebook page for business, you’re missing a lot of opportunities to connect with clients. Move them to a business page. #caps11
How does your site measure up? Get a quick and dirty snapshot @ websitegrader.com #caps11
Sign up for a Google Webmasters account and submit your site map. #caps11
Chop up all those videos you’ve got in a box beside your desk and create a YouTube channel.