Social Media Marketing - Keeping it Real

Greetings my fellow social media gods and goddesses. Are you ready for yet another adventure into the world of social media??? So let's pack our bags and venture into this very REAL world and explore how to keep it real.

Social Media Marketing affords you the opportunity to express yourself and share your unique perspective. No matter what it is that you post, you, your personality and perspective shines through. You have the opportunity to express you through your marketing. Ask your self, what is my current social media marketing saying about me, my business, my product, my service?

You maybe reading and hearing of some technique or taking a free webinar that is offering all sorts of tips and ideas that you can be doing for your social media marketing. Have you ever really thought about whether what others may be suggesting is really good for your business??

You may hear that Twitter is great for offering a coupon...and you may hear what great results others are getting by doing this. So you create a coupon offer, place it on your website and tweet away..... you may get a lot of people looking at it or not....but no matter how many seem to have clicked through you do not get many or perhaps nobody at all using your coupon. In other words your measurable results were a far cry from what you heard you should be getting.... so you give up and say Twitter did nothing for you...Really???  If people do not know who you are or anything about your business then why would they use a coupon?

Now I am not saying don't use a coupon but I am saying do not expect the same results that larger and more nationally known companies are getting. You have build a name, a reputation so that when you do present an offer, people will already know who you are. People also have to be looking for what it is you offer and it is also possible that for whatever reason, not enough people were in need of your offer at the time you presented it.

Another scenario that sometimes occurs is that you do have a successful coupon offer and got very encouraged by the results. So several months later you present the same offer but the results were not the same. Less if any at all took advantage of your coupon.  So once again you become discouraged.

Social Media is fickle...and you have to find what works for you. Do not try to do everything all at once. A solid social media campaign involves building a following first. Your content needs to be fresh and engaging and not just promotional. A, what is called, "call to action" can be included. A "call to action" is a way of directing or asking your followers to do something.  You want to educate, promote, ask, engage so that your content is always fresh.


To keep all this real, you want to stay true to your business, your ethics and your vision.  You want to  put "you" into your content. Keeping it real will get you noticed more than a splashy offer and keep your followers engaged so that they keep coming back.

I hope you enjoyed your journey into this fast paced and ever changing world of social media.

Where would you like to journey to next? 

Making the Most of Social Media

Greetings my fellow gods and goddesses of the social media world. Are you enjoying your journey through the world of social media or are you getting frustrated?  Do you find it mind boggling and you just can't wrap your head around it all? Well go get your favorite beverage, adult or otherwise, and get ready for an inside peak into how you make social media work for you.

The first thing you really need to think about is why are you doing all of this...tweeting, posting, writing blog posts, articles and such. If you are doing it just because you heard you should be, you might want to rethink that approach. Social Media marketing is an investment of your time. It is something you have to grow right along with your business. In today's world it is a part of your overall marketing plan. It is as important as networking and advertising. It allows you to reach another segment of your market that the others may not reach.


To make the most of your social media marketing, you want it to do the work for you. That is the trick to using this form of marketing. The real power here is in the way this form helps you with your branding, being seen as the go to person. When people need your service, they will think of you.


Social media marketing allows you the opportunity to get your message out which brings us to the next important point...your content. Your content is the most powerful tool you have. It is your voice, your personality. It can work for you if you allow it to. People do business with those they know, like and trust. you can build this into your content. I do have a word of caution here though, you must be real. If you try to fake it through your postings, people will see right through that. When posting you want to talk to your audience and not at them. You want to engage them in a conversation. You want to provide useful information and educate them in a personable manner.

Not all content works the same. What you post on facebook may not work on twitter and vice versa. So, it does take practice and a little thought to learn what works for you. It is an opportunity for you to express your thoughts in relation to your business.

You can make social media work for you. Take is slow at first and do not try to do everything all at once. Build a following in one of the resources first before you add another one. Take some to read what other bloggers are saying on the topic. When you invest time in learning, you are investing in your business. Just as you keep up with trends in your industry, you do the same with social media marketing.


I hope you enjoyed your visit to the World of Social Media Marketing...and perhaps this trip got you thinking a bit differently about social media and how it can be of help to you. So enjoy your adventures in the world of social media....

Are Social Media Results Measurable?

Greetings my fellow social media gods and goddesses. Are you ready to explore the world of measure-ability? This is an area where debates and discussions are currently going on and if you read a lot about social media it just may you leaving scratching your head.

Most traditional forms of marketing one can measure the rate of return on investment easily. Place an ad, the phone rings you get clients...maybe yes maybe no but either way you can determine easily the results of placing that ad in a short period of time.

In the world of social media it is not quite so easy. Most social media resources are free so the monetary costs are relatively low especially if you are doing your own marketing. You are however investing your time  Ahh that precious commodity of time where we ask ourselves how much is our time worth. Each individual will have their own answer to that question.The question is not really how much time to put into social media but to make sure that in the time you do put into it that you are working smart. That you are doing quality social media and not quantity and that you are consistent. It is not enough for people to just see your name but it is about how they are perceiving you. You want to be seen as an expert in your field, that you are giving value so that those who do not know you will use you as a resource when the time comes that they do need you. This is the power that is in social media.

There are some things to bear in mind when trying to measure your social media marketing results.

1. Do not read too much into things like click through numbers, readers of posts on a blog, email addresses you are capturing and such. These numbers are useful in showing growth and the impact your social media campaign is having.You are looking for growth and increased impact. If in the beginning you are getting only a few people clicking through and such do not worry about it. You want to look for increases and not at the actual raw data.

2. Another important factor is if your get an increase response to a certain post, that does not mean the next time you try something similar that you will get the same results. The world of social media is very fickle and every changing. You can however determine what your followers are generally interested in and from there you will need to provide even more information to hold their interest, not the same information just said differently.

3. Social Media users are very savvy these days. You need to respect their intelligence and educate them on who you are and what it is you offer and not try to sell them or trick them into something. Many will not share their email etc as they do not want to get a mailbox full of your product offerings, webinars etc. You do want to make it easy for them to contact you should they be interested. Empower them to choose you by providing good content that will peek their interest. Talk to them and not at them.

4. There is no substitute for good content. If you are not getting the results you desire, step up your content. Provide them with the information they are looking for. Social Media is about informing and educating your followers in a personable and interactive manner so that they will feel they know, like and trust you.

5. Results take time and you are looking to grow your influence and impact. Numbers alone will not tell you this. You need to determine how you want to be seen, what you want to be known for and gear your content in the direction. Your content needs to be a reflection of this in a consistent, personable and relate-able.

So my fellow social media gods and goddesses don't stress over all of this....the world of social media is so new that even the guru's don't have it figured out but they are sure trying and are having a real struggle in doing so. You can make social media marketing work for you and you can get the results you desire. Just remember to keep everything in perspective and be yourself. After all is it not you that they want to do business with?

Facebook "Poke" Ponderings

Greetings my fellow social media god and goddesses.Today we are going to explore the Facebook Poke? Have you ever been poked on facebook and wonder why? What is the point? Yet you find yourself "poking" people back???  To poke or not to poke that is the question!!!!   

Would you believe that there is a group page on facebook devoted to divulging the meaning of the poke?? It has 115 members...serious! Facebook Poke Group is where you can this group.

So here is the thing about the "poke".  It means whatever you want it to mean. Some of the more common meanings people give it are: saying hello, to get someone's attention or to flirt.

So poke who want to, poke when you want to and poke for whatever reason and above all....do not take it so seriously...it is just a fun thing to do!

Some Facebook Tips

Recently Facebook made changes to what is seen in our news feeds. The default setting is to show only posts by friends you have most recently interacted with. Perhaps that is why it seems you are seeing only posts from a certain group and others seem to have gone silent...

To correct this just go to "Most Recent" click on it. You will then see a small arrow, click on that then select "Edit Options" Click on "show posts from" and change the option to "All of your friends and pages"

To read more on this please read this post from another blog on this topic Read More Here

Another recent change is in the security area.   Take a look up in the address bar..look for the URL address.
You will see either http:// or https://.  If you do not see https:// then you are not on a secured session. This can make it easier to be hacked.

You can change this by going to Account, then Account Settings, then Account Security, Click Change, Check the box that says Secure Browsing, Click Save.  This will allow you to have secure browsing whenever possible is what it states.  Some features such as games, networkedblogs etc will ask you to switch to an unsecured setting to use the application but it does revert back on your next session. So one you sign out and then sign back in you will be on a secured session again.



So for now those are the only changes I have been to find in surfing the blogosphere on facebook changes and updates.

Facebooks Land of Interaction

Greetings fellow social media gods and goddesses. Are you ready for yet another adventure as we explore the World of Facebook? Today’s tour takes us to the important Land of Interaction. This is a wild and truly unexplored land. Like so many adventurers before us, this is where you get to carve out your own path…charting your own waters so to speak. 

Facebook is designed with communication in mind. This is where you get to apply your conversational skills. Ahh the art of conversation! The most important factor here is listening. When someone is speaking are you just hearing them or are you listening to them? The same idea can be applied to facebook. Just hearing someone is when you scroll through your feeds, casually liking everything you see or commenting with posts that do not invite further conversation. You are just hearing when you share someone else’s video, picture, event or link without adding your own comment. When you do those things you are just going through the motions because someone told you should be doing those things.

When you are really listening then you can add value to the conversation. Even if you only have time to use the “like” button, then only “like” those posts you really do like. People do place value on this and take it to mean you really do like it. If you just go through and like everything it is not adding value and decreases your creditability. Better yet though add a comment if you can. Your comments should be conversational. Write what you would say if that person was sitting across the table from you. 

The other important part here is talking…..Do you converse with people you know or do you reach out to those you do not know? If someone you do not know very well or at all why not comment on their posts? What a great way to get to know somebody. Why not send a private message and start a conversation if you want to get to know them better or know more about their business.
When you post something are you talking to people or at them? Who are you talking to, just the people you know well? Your personal friends may get a kick out of a picture of some dish you are enjoying at a local eatery but why not add a comment that invites others to respond? 

These ideas are just some food for thought so to speak. The more you use facebook the better the feel for it you will get and the better you will be at expressing yourself and what your business offers. Facebook is an opportunity to foster relationships and can be very effective in allowing people to know you, like you and trust you. So have fun and enjoy the conversations!

Our next adventure will take us to the land of Business Pages. Where the rules are slightly different or are they?

The Land of Facebook:Tips on the Do’s and Dont's

Greetings my fellow social media gods and goddesses. I hope you are enjoying your stay in the World of Facebook…. Before we embark into the Land of Interaction I would like to take you on a wee bit of a side tour to explore the fascinating land of do's and don'ts
                                                 

There are no real rules as to what is guaranteed to work but there are some things you want to be sure to do and some things you want to step away from….

1. Be sure to: complete your profile and be sure to include what your profession or business is, a brief description of what you do, contact information, your website and some of your interests: not all of them but some of them so others have a way of relating to you. Be sure if you have a brick and mortar business you include your address. You want people to be able to find you.
2. Be sure to: share your content of information related to your business, promotions, specials, newsletters, pictures,videos etc
3. Be sure to: share your content in a warm, inviting, creative and authentic manner.
4. Be sure to: be consistent.
5. Be sure to: build your friends through people you know, have met or may want to establish a relationship with.
6. Be sure to: thank those who asked you to be friends and who accept your friend requests.
7. Be sure to: use applications that link your facebook , twitter, blog, newsletter etc.
8. Be sure to: use programs that allow you to schedule your posts.
9. Be sure to: comment on posts that you authentically can even if you do not know that person, it is a great conversation starter.
10. Be sure to: read the profiles of new friends so you can get to know them better.
11. Be sure to: share posts of others that you think your friends/followers would be interested in.
12. Step away from: games, poking, cute little requests applications.
13. Step away from: posting too frequently, space them out throughout the day.
14. Step away from: creating posts geared for those you are familiar with and already know you.
15. Step away from: the newest and latest applications until you check it out to see what value it has for you.
16. Step away from using a fan page: When you first get started, don’t start a fan page until you have built a following for you and what you do.
17. Step away from: liking everything under the sun. This does not give you creditability.
18. Step away from: posting information that is too personal. Ask yourself if this is adding value before you post.
19. Step away from: posting your dramas. This is too personal and detracts from your credibility.
20. Step away from: the selling mindset. Facebook is about relationships and interactions. 


Our next adventure will be to explore the Land of Interactions in the World of Facebook. So enjoy your visit to this fascinating and uncharted world!