It is now time for me to step into the new forms of social media & technology that are out there. I currently  do not TEXT, FACEBOOK, TWITTER , use a i-pod or even know how to take pictures (on purpose) with my cell phone. I tried to set up a personal page and business page. Will you be my friend or fan?

I responded with some baby steps.

1. Include the link to your Facebook page and profile when you send newsletters. Your email below forces me to go to Facebook and look for you. Most people will not take that extra step.
2. Get a custom Facebook username. This is the link to your Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Marietta-GA/Marietta-Wine-Market/129897743722015?ref=ts Not exactly what you want to see in your newsletter, is it?

   When you reach the magic number of 25 people liking your page, login to Facebook and go to Facebook.com/username

   • Look beneath the peach colored box for ‘Set a username for your pages’ and click the blue link.
   • Search availability for MariettaWineMarket as your username. You can’t use spaces and you can’t change the name, even if you spell something wrong.
   • When you go through this process you can easily tell people your Facebook page is Facebook.com/MariettaWineMarket instead of the original ugly link.
3. Look for people you know on Facebook and invite them to be your friend. People who know and love you and your business will gladly Like your page. So, go to your page. Look under your picture for ‘Suggest to Friends’ and click. All your friends will pop-up in a box. Click the ones you want to Like your page and submit. Facebook sends a note to all those people to let them know you have a page. Yay!
4. Write on your Facebook page. These updates will appear when people who Like the page login to their accounts. Be social, not sales oriented. Write tips, news, events, discounts that will be valuable to your readers.
5. Come over to my page at Facebook.com/SweetTea.StraightTalk and connect for more tips.

How would you help them get started?

Baby Steps to Facebook Pages
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My Twitter stream is full of people who write and share about social media branding and R.O.I. (return on investment) and content strategy. Staying on the leading edge of using new media for business is important to me, personally and professionally.

And yet…

Most Business Folks Aren’t Social

Every day I talk with small business owners who have yet to dip their toe into social media. Heck, they aren’t even using basic technology to the fullest functionality:

• Computers are running outdated programs that move at a snail’s pace.
• Cell phones are used solely for phone calls even when the phones are “smart.”
• “Copy and paste” is a foreign language.

Take a look at this email I received today.

It is now time for me to step into the new forms of social media & technology that are out there. I currently  do not TEXT, FACEBOOK, TWITTER , use a i-pod or even know how to take pictures (on purpose) with my cell phone. I tried to set up a personal page and business page. Will you be my friend or fan?

It’s Not About the Tools…

We hear the refrain at least once a day.

It IS about the tools in the beginning. Or the font size. Or the color of the background. Or the placement of widgets. Or how many words are required for a post. Or not using a personal image on Facebook. Or speaking in first-person vs. third-person. Or being fearful of comments. Everyone starts the social media journey based on where they are today.

These business owners are smart. They run a successful business and are reaching out to learn. Are we taking the time to meet them at their point of need?

Do we invite them to social media events and leave them drenched by a fire-hose? When you see the deer-in-headlights glaze, what do you do?

How are you reaching out to beginners?

Photo Credit: Katie Tegtmeyer via Flickr

Beginnings of a Social Media Business Strategy
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Let’s flip the statement. What if we want the buyers to find you? How would that impact your content strategy?

For the next two hours we explored the differences among their buyers: motivation, budget, lifestyle, demographics.

Conversation shifted from a push/sell mindset to pull/buy; from it’s all about me and my need for business to service and problem resolution.

The clients were frustrated and disillusioned when they scheduled the consultation. They left with passion, excitement and a plan of action.

What’s your goal? How would shifting words around change your point of view? Will it make a difference in your content?

Photo Credit: Gibson Regester

Looking For Buyers
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It’s my firm belief that strategy is critical to business success

Many small business owners approach their online business development the same way we name our pets. We buy them, live with them a while, and then decide on a name that fits the personality.

Contrast that approach to the way we name our children. We learn we are pregnant, then deliberate over family names, popular names, boy names, girl names, trendy names, names in books and come to a decision that makes sense for us.

No matter which “naming” approach we take to online business growth, a strategy that makes sense for our business must be developed and implemented to succeed. A well organized approach helps us:

• Deliver on time
• Stay in budget
• Give users what they need
• Please our clients (and ourselves)
• Rally everyone around a vision
• Build a cohesive experience
• Minimize revisions

What naming model do you follow?

Photo Credit: Alex Osterwalder
The pet/baby naming analogy deserves credit, and yet I failed to save the original post. If you know the author, please comment.

Strategy is Critical to Social Business Success
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via directmarketingobservations.com

Posted via web from Bits of Orange

Web 3.0 Infograph via Marc Meyer
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A well crafted social business model builds readership over time with a well developed strategy.

A web strategy includes five critical components that are inter-connected:

• Technology – hardware, web hosting, web applications, blog software
• Information – web analytics, URL tracking, keyword research, reputation management
• Content – blogs, Facebook Pages, Twitter, multi-media (images, video, audio)
• Community – commenting, interaction, Facebook, Twitter
• Internet Marketing – search engine marketing, landing page optimization, traffic, conversion, testing

The David Armano info-graphic is one of the best representations of “inter-connectedness” I’ve seen.

Crafting a Social Business Strategy
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Image by Hobo! via Flickr

1. Find keywords.  Pick a list of words relevant to your business. Think about which words are most likely to get people to do what you want them to do (convert into leads) and focus on those words.




2. Put keywords in Page Title. The Page Title is one of the most important things that Google and other search engines evaluate to determine what is on a web page.  Put your keyword or phrase in the title, keep it short.




3. Put keywords in Page URL.  Google and other search engines also use the text of the URL of the page to determine the content of the web page.  You should use your keyword or phrase in the URL of the web page.




4. Put keywords in Meta Data.  While the page Meta Data (Page Description and Keywords) are not nearly as important as they used to be, they still count.  Take advantage of them by putting your keyword or phrase there.




5. Put keywords in your H1 text. The H1 to H6 tags are used to define HTML headings. H1 defines the largest heading and H6 defines the smallest heading. There should only be one H1 tag on your site – the name of your business or the name of the page or the name of the article. The following tags are secondary; much like the outline for a class term paper.




6. Use keywords in the page content.  Putting keyword phrases in your page content also signals to search engines that the page is actually about the keyword and should show up in search results.




7. Monitor your rank. Give the search engines some time to do their thing (couple days) and then keep checking your rank to see what happened and track your progress.

7 Simple Steps to Improve SEO
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I’m talking about the Real Estate BarCamp in Nashville which was attended by some of the best and brightest agents across the country. Everyone was an active participant and eager to share their experience with others.

Social community business marketing in action.

Take time to find an upcoming social media event near you and mark it on your calendar today!

Sharing What We Know
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With scarce time resources, users must find a way to find the most pertinent, useful, and perhaps even the most hilarious information they are seeking.

Rohit Barhgava seems to believe a “content curator” is a solution.

A Content Curator is someone who continually finds, groups, organizes and shares the best and most relevant content on a specific issue online.”

Google may have another idea.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlpTjP6h6Ms

h/t Steven Moore

How to Find Your Way in a Sea of Information
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LOOK BACK TO THE FUTURE!

Life has been described as a path, a direction in which we travel over time – rather than a single event. Each of us gets to choose the direction our path will take us. By making those choices, we also clear the way to achieving the objectives we’ve set for ourselves.

When we fail to choose the path we will travel, that is also a choice. In that case, the path we travel becomes less distinct with more twists and turns than we would have liked. Each side path we encounter tempts us to change direction. Lacking any roadmap of objectives we might have chosen, we often end up somewhere – else.

Regardless of the quality of our choices, we can get a clear understanding of where we are likely to end up – just by turning around. By simply looking back at the path we have been following, much can be learned. For example, is the path behind us straight, or filled with curves and detours taken? Is it paved with solid, masterfully laid stepping-stones, or filled with muddy ruts that zig-zag around every obstacle?

Chances are that, as teenagers, most of our paths seemed to have had many twists and turns. As we matured and learned from our mistakes, however, it is also likely that we began improving the direction and quality of the path we traveled. The more attention we paid to the path, the more enjoyable the journey became.

Want life to be a most pleasant journey? Build your own roadmap – then start paving!

Make this a great week!

Look Back to the Future to Build Your Roadmap
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