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As small business owners we often wear a lot of hats, play a lot of roles, especially when we are first starting our businesses. One of those key roles is Social Media Marketer; if it isn’t the core focus of the promotional side of your business, it may get lost on the ever expanding laundry list of things to do to build your business.  To help you with this, here are some short and powerful tips for using social media in your small business:

1. Blog: Often a blog is overlooked as a piece of the social media plan. Not only is a blog a great way to share information with prospective and current clients, it is a great way to increase Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts. Consistent posting is key; at least one post per week minimum to engage your following; but finding your blogging rhythm is key. For a new small business, the blog may be the only part of the website that will change.
2. Facebook: While the frequency of posts is debatable, there is no doubt having a Facebook presence for your business is important. As with blogs, the key is consistency. Building a following and then leaving them without new posts is just plain mean and they will leave you. Simple posts such as quotes, pictures, link to blog posts, articles and events are simple and effective options to maintain a connection with the audience.
3. Twitter: Twitter is a great way to share information about your areas of expertise, business focus and connect with clients and prospective clients. Twitter is a social media platform that a lot of people overthink and then talk themselves out of using – and it’s a simple, powerful tool that can grow your business.
4. Google+: Get a business listing on Google+. Google, for better or worse, is here to stay and sets the search-ability standard for websites. The Google algorithm (“math” of Google searches) is constantly changing. For now and the foreseeable future, Google is ranking businesses with Google+ profiles higher than others.
5. Website: Not only is SEO and content marketing important for your business, it is important to link all of the previously mentioned social media sites to the website. Your website is your hub, your home on the Internet. The social networks only work to bring traffic back your home, your website.

The biggest lesson is to create a loop of information for visitors between your website and social media by adding your website link to all social media profiles and social media links on your website.

Whatever your industry, social media is an important piece of the marketing plan. With the social media scene changing almost daily, your best option may be to outsource that function much the same as you would outsource accounting. You want the best results so why not hire experts in areas in which you are weak or don’t have time and watch your business grow!

McAuley Freelance Writing is based in Mesa, AZ and provides professional writing services to clients around the globe. Services include copywriting for websites, brochures and marketing collateral as well as blogging and Twitter account management. Contact info@mcauleyfreelancewriting.com for additional information.

Over to you…

What short, powerful tips can you share for using social media for beginner businesses? Other entrepreneurs are awaiting your fabulous feedback!

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If you haven’t heard by now, Pinterest is a visually stunning, cool image repository where you can create boards and “pin” images to your wall. It’s fun and, dare I say, addicting! 

Well, nowadays, with a small business, we have to use all tools necessary and available to us to grow and Pinterest is one of them.

At first, I held out on joining because I thought: who has time for another tool? Aren’t Facebook and Twitter enough?

Well, it depends on your business and who your audience is. However, I’ll venture to say that even if you don’t think it’s best for you yet, go ahead and get invited (if you need an invite, let me know!) and at least get your branded URL – even if you don’t start pinning much yet.

If you are new to Pinterest, just Google “beginner’s guide to using Pinterest” and you’ll find enough resources to get you started and finding a strategy that works for your business.

The Big Why

Pinterest is here to stay! Last I heard (May 2012), it has over 13 million active users and growing quickly. In addition, according to a traffic study by Mashable, Pinterest sends more traffic to external sites than YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+ COMBINED! Wow! Now that’s enough reason for me to jump in and play

For the more advanced user, here are 5 tools, mostly free, that can help you even more in the Pinterest game brought to you by Brianne.

5 Useful Tools you Can Use with Your Pinterest

If you are a keen Internet user, you may have heard of Pinterest recently. This social website used for sharing images made its appearance two years ago and has gained immense popularity over these two years. Pinterest makes it easy to collect images online and share it on different boards on the website for others with similar interests to see. Here is a list of 5 tools that can add to your experience of using Pinterest.

1. Spinpicks

Though Spinpicks is still in its beta version, many Pinterest users find it useful to find new pin boards and new people to follow. It also gives you the option to include other sites like Instagram and Twitpic in your search. There is also a feature to repin the Pinterest images directly through this application.

2. Pinreach

Pinreach, as the name indicates is a tool to measure your influence through Pinterest. You just need to sign up on this website using your Pinterest username and you can get access to Pinterest specific analytic data. Pinreach can be compared to the popular website Klout. It gives you a score and tells you the top influencers in your group of followers. Of course, it has the basic analytic features like number of likes, repins, total number of followers etc. It also shows you other popular pins on the website.

3. Share As Image (formerly Pin A Quote)

Quotes never go out of style. We love them, we need them and we share them. Other tools like Pinstamatic also allow you to do so. What makes Share As Image special is that it helps you highlight any text from anywhere on the web and pin it. We just need to select the text that we want to pin from any website and click on the Share As Image bookmarklet to fill a short form and submit.

The free version of Share As Image will let you post without color and using only a single font. The PRO version is $2.99 and allows unlimited color options, tons of font options and LIVE previewing!

4. Pin Search

This tool is a Google chrome extension that helps you in finding relevant images from across the world on Pinterest. This extension will display a search button next to the repin, like and comment buttons on any Pinterest image. Clicking on this button will lead you to Google search results page related to this image. The Google search results may surprise you. Get ready for a whole new level of discovery.

5. Recent Activity Expander

If you are one of those people who want to keep a track of Pinterest activity, this is an excellent tool for you. This is a great tool for businesses  who want to keep an eye on Pinterest activity. You can add a column on the left displaying all the recent activity related to you. It shows all repins, likes and comments since the time of your last login. This is also a Chrome extension so you need the Google Chrome browser to use this tool.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more free and paid Pinterest tools in the market and more are being introduced every day. Pinterest looked like just another image sharing site but it has gained immense popularity in a very small time. And using these tools adds more value to the entire experience.

Brianne is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of gadgets. Recently an article on Samsung Galaxy R attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on Etios Liva price.

More Pinterest Goodies

Pinterest Video – Great video from Matthew Loop about using Pinterest in marketing your business.

Kesha’s on Pinterest

But of course I am! Click the button below to follow me!

eBook – Pinterest For Business

Finally, here’s an awesomely created ebook resource from Kim Castleberry entitled Pinterest For Business Made Easy (affiliate link). 

Over to you…

So now you have lots of resources to market your business using Pinterest! How are you using Pinterest? Don’t forget to connect with me

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When was the last time you backed up your data? World Backup Day is today, 3/31, and although it is not an official holiday it is one that should be taken seriously. Who knew that we’d need a day to dedicate to backing up our most precious and important items!

Scary Stats

Some scary stats for those who don’t backup their files (provided by Hostgator):

• All hard drives will crash during their lifetime
• More than 1 in 10 laptops will be stolen in their lifetime
• A laptop is stolen every 53 seconds
• Every year 46% of computer users lose their music, photos, and documents
• 50% of all hard drives will crash within 5 years
• 89.1% of PC users don’t perform regular backups
• A recent study from Gartner, Inc., found that 90 percent of companies that experience data loss go out of business within two years.
• 70 percent of companies go out of business after a major data loss

Most of us have learned the hard way that backing up our data is important and hard drive failures are an unavoidable reality.  Here is an infographic that highlights the importance of regular backups.

Click picture to view full image

My Backup Strategy

Now there are tons of ways to backup your files and I won’t dictate how you do so but I’ll share with you my strategy.

Website

I backup this entire website on a monthly basis and the database files on a weekly basis using WordPress backup plugins. (I don’t post on this blog but maybe a couple times a month so I will never be more than a post or two lost if anything happens.)

On another blog though – UncommonChick.com, I backup the entire site monthly because I post there 3-4 times a week and make changes frequently. If I’m making substantial changes, I’ll backup the entire website with each change!

Computer files

Because the files on my computer are my life blood, so to speak, I backup them up frequently. I backup the entire hard drive on a monthly basis to an external hard drive with Terabytes of data. I backup my “My Documents” folder weekly to that same hard drive (and a second hard drive when I remember) as well as a cloud service. I feel MUCH better knowing my data can be restored from multiple places at least.

Cell Phone

I’m sure these days, if you’re anything like me, you take pictures and videos and store music with your phone. Well, what happens if your phone is stolen or it crashes (like mine did last year)? I currently have Verizon and they have a cloud backup solution that I use so even if I change phones, all contacts, photos, videos, music etc. are saved in the clouds! Can’t beat that! Check with your cell phone provider to see what options they have for you. Of course you can even backup to your computer on a regular basis as well.

Over to you…

So today of all days (or whatever day you’re reading this ), I encourage you to backup ALL of your cherished photos, videos, and important documents. If you’ve ever had a hard disk fail or stolen computer, you’ll know that it’s a bit like losing a piece of your soul – trust me!!

What’s your backup strategy? How often do you backup your files? What software/hardware do you use? Please weigh in below!

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And voila!

After Google and some of the social media sites I promote my posts on like Facebook, Twitter, and Stumbleupon, I found that there were several sites that sent me good traffic!

See the images below regarding what I found in my Referrals section.

(Here is how you access Referrals in Google Analytics) 

(CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW FOR FULL SIZE)

Why Should You Know Who’s Referring Visitors to Your Site?

Sites that send you traffic are friends indeed. Think about it like this: with an online business, traffic is lifeblood – and the referring sites are your veins. They pump life into your business and allow you to make more money or just get more eyes on your content. Don’t underestimate the power of your referring sites and the inbound links they use to send traffic your way. As you’ll see below, you should adjust regularly to optimize the opportunities already in front of you.

Tips for How to Use The Referring Site Report 

• Visit the Sites – Go visit the site and make sure you are using the traffic and exposure you are currently getting to your maximum advantage. If the site is a blog, comment to further solidify your presence there. If the site published an article of yours, contact the owner to see if you can post more or become a regular contributor. If the site is an article directory, add more articles.
• Look for Patterns – Is there a certain type of site that you get more traffic from? Are you getting a lot of people coming from your social media marketing? Look at what efforts you’re currently making to see if they’re paying off. For example, if you contribute weekly to a blog in your niche but you’re getting little or no traffic, then it may be time to trim non-productive activities.
• Look for Additional Opportunities – While you’re visiting referring sites, take note of any opportunities for additional traffic from related sites. See who else they’re linking to and check them out. You never know when you’ll find another great source of traffic.
• Contact the Site Owners – If you have not yet been in contact with the owners of the sites that are sending you traffic, send an introductory message. Introduce yourself and let them know they’re a top referrer for you. Say thank you and leave the discussion open. Ask what you can do to help them achieve their site goals; by extending a helping hand, you’re making contact and opening up for a business relationship.

There are sites on the Internet with tons of traffic. Why not take advantage of a win-win situation by getting yourself found on these sites? Tracking with Google Analytics will help you successfully do so!

Your turn…

Do you know who’s referring visitors to your site? If not, it’s fine time to get into your Analytics and thank those who have been so good to you!

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Here’s the lowdown: George Bailey, played by Stewart, is on the verge of collapse. His small building and load company is on the verge of bankruptcy, the mean rich man in town is poised to swoop in, and though he has a house full of adorable kids and a gorgeous wife (Reed), there’s never enough money to go around. George decides his family and business would be better off without him. On the brink of suicide, he’s saved by a fledgling angel, Clarence.

Clarence goes on to show George what his life would be like if he’d never existed, and the sight ain’t pretty. By seeing all the people he’s touched, George realizes that he has created a strong network of love and support – he’s created a tribe. And it’s this tribe that pulls together at the end of the movie to give back to George, helping him out of his current difficulties.

The lesson to you should be obvious: Your tribe can, quite literally, save your life. You should be building not only a viable business, but a community – one that supports and cares for each other. If you’re just out to make a buck, don’t be surprised if no one leaps to defend you or lend you a helping hand when things go bad. And they will go bad.

You can get “slapped” by Google. You can get your PayPal account frozen. You can get brought up on charges by the FTC. You can get hacked, robbed, or plagiarized. It happens.

But if you have friends like George’s, you’ll have a whole team of folks on your side. But one thing to remember: George had friends he’d created just by being a good guy, doing the right thing at the right time, not worrying about what was in it for him. He stood up for what was right and shook hand after hand, even when it cost him personally.

He didn’t build this community by selling junk or automating his Twitter feed or spamming everyone. He did it the old fashioned way: By caring.

Some business techniques never go out of style. 

Your turn…

What’s your thought on tribes? Please share this article and leave your feedback below!

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