What people do in their social spaces, their social relations has always fascinated me. That’s why I spent such a long time in school learning to be a sociologist. It’s also why I am a true believer in social media marketing, especially for small business.

What social media technology/software does so effectively is tap into a social phenomena called “strength of weak ties.” This article from Fast Company, Unexpected Way to Use Your Social Network Strategically, reminded me of it.

Here’s an excerpt:

If you use a straight-ahead business-development plan, you’ll develop a laundry list of leads and opportunities to be followed up. While this can be useful, the truth is that a great deal of such business comes in via the referral of others. And how can you increase your access to such referrals? You guessed it–by concentrating on your weak ties, rather than on your strong ties. By developing your own network of industry colleagues and blog or Twitter followers, for instance, you get access to their connections with others. And one of my favorite strategies for B2B competitors is to prepare PowerPoint decks about the benefits of the firm, and then make those decks freely available on your own Website for download and unlimited use. However, this isn’t a tool for persuading the people who come to your site to buy, but for helping them to persuade others within their firm. In effect, you are arming these weak-tie prospects with the tools necessary to appeal to their own networks.

If you are of the old “think linear” school, you are probably struggling to find the value of social media marketing for your business.  The new way of thinking about marketing your business must focus on sharing content, your expertise, your knowledge, your personality so your “strong ties” will share with your “weak ties” and you get your extended social network working for you. This is why LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook Insights (on your business page) boldly shows you what your “reach” is or how many people you are connected to through your direct connections.

How to think and act more social online? Start sharing. If you aren’t giving, you won’t get.

Like it (or not), here it comes …

If you have a Facebook business Page you need to start thinking about how you will use the new Timeline. Buzz has started among bloggers (social media advertising agencies) that we will be redesigning our business pages very soon.

One thought – pictures are worth a thousand words.

Join the club. Most of us are grappling with how to use our web site and social media to grow the business. It is a confusing time because social media marketing is in its infancy. And there is a lot of misinformation. Lots of  bad advice out there too. Especially from some tech/web companies invested in older software systems who want to sell you on the old ways, not the new social online world.

What are the signs that you may be wasting your time and money on social media marketing? Here are a couple:

#1 Your web site is just like a brochure.

Google hates static web sites. Google will punish you. You won’t be easy to find online. For now Google is king and if you don’t conform to their rules you won’t be playing online. Hint: Google loves blogs (see #2).

#2 You avoid making changes to your web site. It is cumbersome. You get lost trying to figure out how to make changes. So you don’t do it.

Then you are paying for an antiquated web site. You will be better off switching to Google Sites or WordPress. Both are free and easy to use. WordPress is an open-source platform. It can be used to build everything from a simple blog to a comprehensive e-commerce site. And thanks to thousands of plugins supported by really smart geeks, you can tweak your site to do exactly what you want. WordPress powers 14 percent of the internet. There’s a reason it is such a popular platform.

#3 You have a blog, a web site, two Facebook pages, and you think you may have a Twitter account somewhere.

And you may have different logos and colors on all of them. It’s a mess.

You can integrate your social media marketing so your brand identity is clear and consistent. But you have to take the time to set up the channels to work together. For example, you should use Facebook and Twitter to send people to your web site, where you can capture their email address, share an eBook or newsletter, or get them to buy. Each social media channel performs different functions to different audiences. If you know how your market niche uses each channel, you can maximize your efforts to get new customers.

#4 You have a Facebook Page. But you can’t seem to get any new likes.

Are you being social? You must give to get. In fact, Facebook only rewards Pages where there is regular activity among your community. Facebook won’t serve your Page up to those that “Like” you if you are not actively creating a community. Take a look at your Facebook Insights. That will show you what Facebook thinks of your activity.

#5 I have a good email list.

Good for you. Problem is email lists rarely get you new leads or new customers. Check your forwarding rate — your existing customers don’t share. You can use your social media channels to get customers to share your emails.

How can you get unstuck?

Take a class, get a coach, invest in learning about social media marketing.

If you are a motivated self-directed learner, there are many YouTube videos and great blogs that can teach you all about social media marketing. If you prefer a more coaching approach, I hold regular Coffee & Social Media Marketing classes for small business owners and professionals in Warrenton, VA. I also do webinars for those who prefer virtual learning. Sign up for my email newsletter (above) or like me on Facebook to keep posted about these classes. You can also follow me on Twitter @DaileyNudge.

Attend any local chamber or social function, meet somebody new, the first thing asked of you: what do you do?

In this new digital world, it’s getting harder to answer that question because you’re probably doing more than one thing. That’s where your brand, how you package yourself/your business, especially online, becomes important. What do you need to create a personal brand? How do you make the invisible visible?

Create an Audio logo

This is your verbal tagline. Rather than answer the question “what do you do?” with a noun like “I’m an artist” or “I’m a teacher,” you answer with a descriptive statement. For example, with my business, my audio logo is “I am your Geek BFF (best friend forever).” Short, descriptive statement that almost always gets the person who asked you “what do you do?” to explore more about you. And, that’s the point. The more you can share about yourself, about your business, the more opportunity for leads and new customers.

Google yourself

First thing anyone (if they are thinking of doing business with you) is going to do is Google you. Your web presence really matters. What you find or don’t find may surprise you. If you don’t show up on page 1 of the Google search, you need to start taking action to move up the search pages. And only people who know you will search for your name or business name.  New customers will search keywords relevant to them. What page do you show up on if potential customers type in keywords?

Get your domain name (as a small biz owner, your personal name and brand matter too)

If you want control over your personal brand, you need to buy the domain name of your own name. For example, I own www.drnancydailey.com and I own www.nancydailey.com. In 1998, I bought the domain names for my husband and all three of my kids. It may be harder today to get your name but you never know. You can check at WHOIS Search and see what domains are available.

Check Yourself

Ask yourself questions like “how am I different?” “how do I want to package myself?” “is my audio logo lame or does it really represent me?” “Is my web site getting me leads or is it just a brochure with no call to actions?”

Are you treating your social media outlets as brand builders? Don’t use them as a “I gotta do something” dump. You only come off as boring. And boring is a death sentence in the social media world. Remember, your social media is your social space where conversations happen.

Get started – take a class

Baby Boomers make up the largest group of new entrepreneurs today. And, social media, digital thinking is new to us. But you gotta use social media and online marketing. So, invest in learning about it. If you are a motivated self-directed learner, there are many YouTube videos and great blogs that can teach you all about social media marketing. If you prefer a more coaching approach, I hold regular Coffee & Social Media Marketing classes for small business owners and professionals in Warrenton, VA.  I also do webinars for those who prefer virtual learning.  Sign up for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to keep posted about these classes.

I’m happy to announce I am re-starting my Coffee & Social Media classes at Panera. In 2012, you will need to use social media to market your business more than ever. Get the results you want by focusing on the right things to do with social media.

What we’re going to do on Tuesday, January 17th, 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

The first 20 minutes I will present “Your 2012 Social Media Primer (and Reminders)”
Here are some questions that will be answered:

• Is a blog right for my business?
• Should I use Twitter? Does it work in my market niche?
• Maybe all I need is a Facebook page?
• Should I bother with Google+

The remaining 40 minutes will be your questions and how-to technical stuff.

Details

We will meet at Panera in Warrenton from 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 17th.

You don’t have to make a long term commitment. Each workshop will cost $25. You can come once a month, twice a month, skip a month. But you need to be prepared with a laptop or mobile device so you can actually build and grow your social media marketing for your business. You can pay online via PayPal, with a check or cash on the morning of the session.

My classes are hands-on, “how-to” work groups. You will walk away with specific action steps, homework to do. Then we can review your results at the next meeting. It’ll be fun and productive!

Email me or just show up Tuesday, January 17th 8:30 – 9:30 am Panera Bread, Warrenton. Please share with other business owners or professionals you think could benefit from the classes.

The next group workshop will be held next Tuesday, October 11th at Panera in Warrenton from 8:30 – 9:30 am.

We are going to focus on Facebook since there are so many new changes these days. Please bring your laptop.

Group Workshop details:

Given everyone’s very busy schedule AND the need to learn how to use social media marketing to grow the business, I have decided to hold group sessions. These group sessions will be for small business owners and professionals who want to learn to use social media to market their business. We will cover: Facebook, Google, Twitter, Blogging, YouTube, LinkedIn, Email marketing, WordPress.

1. These will be small groups, 4-5 people max. We will meet at Panera in Warrenton every two weeks.
2. You don’t have to make a long term commitment. Each workshop will cost $25. You can come once a month, twice a month, skip a month. But you need to be prepared with a laptop or mobile device so you can actually build and grow your social media marketing for your business. You can pay on the morning of the session.
3. I will select a topic for the session and we will spend 30 minutes on that topic. The remaining 30 minutes will be open to your questions. This will be a very hands-on, “how-to” work group. You will walk away with specific action steps to initiate over the two weeks. Then we can review your results at the next meeting. It’ll be fun and productive!

Email me, sign up on my Facebook event or call me to let me know if you can join us at Panera. I’ll be there!

Google Alerts – a MUST do for small business – to follow what people are seeing and saying about you and your business online. It’s really simple and painless, a great service from Google.

First, go to the Google Alerts page  and sign in to your Google account. If you want to manage your alerts, you need a Google account.

Once you’re logged in,  type your name into the box. Then hit “Preview Results.” You’ll see Google immediately (watch video) shows the current results for your name or business name.

Next, choose the type of content you want. I recommend “everything.”  You want to manage your reputation, your brand’s reputation so you need to know who’s talking about you and what they are saying.
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Next choose how often you want to be alerted. I suggest once a day. You’ll get an email from Google Alerts but only if there are search results with your name(s).

Finally, you need to decide what filter you want on results. When you first sign up, I would go with “all results.” If you find you are getting way too many non-relevant results you can always change it to “best results.”

Put in your email address and VOILA, you’re done. It’s that simple. But remember click on the link in the email verification.

You can create as many alerts as you want. At a minimum, make sure you create alerts for your name and your business name.

Now, you can use Google Alerts to help you manage your public relations, your reputation online. You can also follow your competitors using Google Alerts. You can follow your clients too.

Here’s how I use it … if I don’t get alerts about my business, at least once a week, that’s a signal to me that I’m not doing enough with my social media to market my business. Remember: Google is a HUNGRY BEAST that needs to be fed regularly. People need to be talking about you AND you need to be sharing, blogging, posting videos, updating your web site, tweeting about your business.

For example, this video will show up in my alerts a day or so after I post it. YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google. Actually, videos are an SEO* shortcut. That’s why I started Fanblastic with my son, Tristan Shields. Short, high-quality but low-cost videos have great SEO value to keep you feeding Google’s appetite for great content.

*SEO = Search engine optimization

Given everyone’s very busy schedule AND the need to learn how to use social media marketing to grow the business, I have decided to hold group sessions. These group sessions will be for small business owners and professionals who want to learn to use social media to market their business. We will cover: Facebook, Google, Twitter, Blogging, YouTube, LinkedIn, Email marketing, WordPress.

Group Workshop details:

1) For now, I anticipate a small group, the most, 5-6 people. So we will meet at Panera in Warrenton from 8:30-9:30 a.m. beginning on September 13th and commencing every two weeks afterwards (September 27th, October 11th, October 25th, etc.)

2) You don’t have to make a long term commitment. Each workshop will cost $25.  You can come once a month, twice a month, skip a month. But you need to be prepared with a laptop or mobile device so you can actually build and grow your social media marketing for your business. You can pay online via PayPal (see below), with a check or cash on the morning of the session.

3) I will select a topic for the session and we will spend 30 minutes on that topic. The remaining 30 minutes will be open to your questions.  This will be a very hands-on, “how-to” work group. You will walk away with specific action steps to initiate over the two weeks. Then we can review your results at the next meeting. It’ll be fun and productive!

Email me,  sign up or call me to let me know if you can join us on Tuesday, September 13th, 8:30 a.m. at Panera. I’ll be there!

SIGN UP for the next workshop HERE

Click on the “add to cart” button. Your shopping cart will appear. Then click on the PayPal button.
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In this video, I talk about how push and pull technologies need to work together in your social media marketing efforts. Many of the business folks I work with are just learning how different the mindset needs to be when using push methods and pull methods. Take a look.

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Social media … you can use it to grow your business, get a job, establish a web presence, or just have fun with friends. Aside from the invention of the Internet itself, it may be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

What is all the brouhaha about social media, especially for small-medium businesses? What makes it so compelling that more than 250 million people log on to Facebook every day?

Well the answer lies in the word “social.” People like to share, to be social, to have community, to feel part of something. This technology deeply touches and exposes how humans interact. It has been able to tap into how social relations work.

What social media brilliantly displays is how trust can be built online. It goes like this…

The more helpful relationships are, the more information is shared.
The more information is shared, the more people feel connected.
The more people feel connected, the more they trust the relationship.
The more trust people feel, the faster they will engage with you.

This is a very compelling message for business. If you are perceived as helpful, your clients will share information with you (and vice versa). This will make your potential and current clients feel more connected with you. When they feel that connection, trust grows. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, are vehicles for you to share information that your clients need or want and this keeps you connected. So when you ask them to sign up for a new webinar, to refer a friend, to buy your new product, they will hear what you have to say.