Small business social media starts with making the decision to be part of the conversation. Not as easy or cut and dried a decision as one may think. What are the factors involved in this process? The pros and cons?

Pros:

Potential to raise website page rank
Potential to find new customers or clients
Potential to make new business connections
Potential to reach current customer base with new products or services
Potential to get customers talking about me or my company

Potential to find out what you are not offering to your customers that they want
Potential to have your own PR department consisting of your customers
Potential to get great reviews from happy customers
Potential to feel important because you have 15 followers! (Joking)

Cons:

Time consuming
Energy consuming
Resource consuming
Costly
Don’t know what to say
Don’t know where to start
Don’t have any customers or clients to help you get started

The current trend in search engines is to use tweets and status updates, shares and reviews about you or your website as a piece of how they rank your site. So for no other reason, because of this you need to have at least a minimal social media presence. Facebook Business Page, Twitter account, Linked In, Yelp, Google Places and a YouTube channel. There are over 400 social media sites out there, but these are the 6 you should start with. Privacy is a concern, but you control what is seen and accessed, not visitors. Google and Bing utilize the share button as a strong indicator that people view you or your site as an authoritative site. Sharing is the highest form of social media flattery followed closely by reviews and links.

Don’t get lost in the hype over how well social media helps big business. Big business throws hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars into their PR campaigns of which social media is a part. You don’t have that kind of budget and therefore all the great white papers on and case studies of big business success in social media just doesn’t apply to you. Focus instead on what you can do locally to effect a positive return on investment (ROI).

Local Social Media is a task that can consume time and energy of small business owners and be a drain on their budgets if not managed well. Just like any other small business task, managing is the key to success. So manage it, don’t let it manage you.

Start with picking someone in your company who will handle the day-to-day social media activities, who will spend 15 minutes every day to either tweet something on Twitter, or retweet something, post a status update on Facebook or check the insights and activity. It doesn’t have to be you, the business owner. I recommend to my clients that they have someone else do the basics and leave the relationship building to themselves. Once you have established who, decide when. Facebook marketers are notorious for posting multiple times a day and losing their audience. Twitter feeds can and often are more than once a day without being annoying, while Linked In may be once a week or even every two weeks. Here is how we set up our clients:

LinkedIn

- Business Owner ONLY! Once a week unless involved in an ongoing discussion that has benefits for your company.

Facebook

- Employee when posting general info, owner when discussing more detailed things. Remember if you aren’t the one posting let your followers and fans know that someone else is. Never let them think it is you if it isn’t. Once a week can be enough as long as your fans know what day and what time they can expect your update.

Twitter

- General Tweets for the company can be done by an employee on the Business Page, but we suggest that the Twitter page name be the company name with the profile picture and bio being that of the owner. And the owner should use Twitter to build relationships with other business people not so much as a customer relations tool. Twitter is very personal and should be handled like you are just standing around the office water cooler shooting the breeze, not as a sell, sell, sell site.

YouTube

- Videos about the product or service you offer. When appropriate the owner should at least narrate, but this can be delegated to an employee.

Yelp, Google and other “places” sites where people can review. Employee level work, mainly in setting up the site.

The next step once you have delegated who does what is to determine which accounts you need. We set up 6 main accounts for clients and let them choose which others might work for them with our thoughts on each.

Setting up each site can be a little cumbersome and time consuming but well worth it.

• Facebook – 5 – 10 minutes
• Twitter – 15 minutes
• LinkedIn – 30 minutes (this is your business card, don’t skimp)
• YouTube – 30 minutes
• Yelp – 20 minutes
• Google Places – 30 – 45 minutes

So the set up takes a little time. One person could get it all done in a morning or by the end of the week if they took on one a day. You can hire firms to set them all up, average cost is about $100- $150 per account depending on how elaborate you go. $500 – $1000 or in house depends on your budget. I believe in using professionals but have seen some great set ups done in house.

Set daily tasks for Twitter, Weekly for Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Set 30 day, 90 day and 120 day goals for what you want accomplished in those time frames. Don’t worry about ROI like you do with conventional marketing and advertising. ROI in small business social media is rarely a dollar for dollar return but more likely the building of solid long term relationships that turn into referrals.

A daily task goal for Twitter may be just following others in your field. Listening to their conversations and where appropriate, join in.

Weekly for Twitter may be to have added 25 new followers per week.

Monthly might be getting an equal number of followers to follow you back.

Facebook should be a planned out weekly, monthly and quarterly marketing campaign that includes your fans and customers thoughts and ideas.

LinkedIn starts with building on current connections and strengthening them. Who do you know and who do you want to know?

Small business social media should be treated like any other aspect of your business.

Manage it, review it but most of all be consistent. Don’t open an account and then forget about it. You didn’t open your store and then forget to reorder inventory. Stay on top of it and it will over time – 6 to 12 months – pay off.

About the Author: Christopher Bayes is the Co-Founder of Bayes Squared LLC, Colorado’s only performance based sales consulting company and co-creator of Meta Social Web a community of business owners dedicated to improving each others web popularity and prosperity. His blog and company information can be found at http://www.5StepSalesJumpStart.com where he invites you to join the conversation on how to increase sales for small and medium businesses using simple yet effective small business strategies that work.

Let’s face it; many of us have jumped on the social networking bandwagon in some way.  Be it via Linked In, Twitter or Facebook many business people recognise there’s business potential in using social media – especially if their customers and clients are.  But many of us often struggle to turn that potential into reality – the major hurdle often being time.

Busy entrepreneurs and business people know they need to communicate with their network, but

a)        having time for the creative thought process to write a valuable update, and
b)       scheduling that time into busy days

…means social networking often gets tasked to the bottom of the ‘to do’ list.

And yet the best profiles (the ones that stimulate business opportunities) are those that are kept fresh.  They’re the ones where the content adds value to an individual’s network (not blatantly sells).  The people who win business or strengthen their social network relationships are those who interact regularly with the medium.

So here are some time efficient tips to help you keep your social media profile fresh.

Make your photo work for you

What’s your photo like in your chosen social media?  Nowadays email add-ons, such as Xobni, check out which email address is linked to a photo in a social network.  This means that people, when they receive an email from you, may well be looking at your image as it appears on LinkedIn or Facebook.  So perhaps think twice about linking your Facebook account to your business email address – especially if you want to post up personal pictures there?

Keep business email addresses and related images purely for professional purposes on your social networks.  Remember that your profile photo will be small when it appears in social media and email.  Opt for a close up of you with a blurred or neutral background.  That way it’s clear it is you and the focus is on you, not your surroundings.

Scheduling in updates

When put on the spot, few of us can think of an interesting profile update.  There are, however, free technologies that help us preset updates and say when we want them to appear.  This means we can brainstorm a number of updates in one go and preset them to appear at different dates and times.  Check out Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and other such applications.  Simple to use, they enable you to be proactive about your profile updates and tweets so you can fit them more easily into a busy schedule.

Linking your different social media profiles

I’m often asked if you should link Twitter with LinkedIn. Personally my preference is not to because I think in the UK, we want to use LinkedIn in a slightly differently way to Twitter.  With LinkedIn, we want to keep up with the people in our business network and find out about developments in their professional life.  Realistically, we probably don’t have time to read about their daily thoughts and activities.  Ideally a LinkedIn update should:

• broaden our view of what a contact does (so we don’t pigeon hole them for offering just one  service/expertise)
• increase their credibility in our mind
• prompt us to get in touch to comment on or discuss the update they’ve posted
• alert us to changes in their situation, ones which may present opportunities for us too

If your updates are full of tweets and retweets and you’re signposting the minutiae of your day, your contacts may switch off.  Also, do remember how your updates appear to them in LinkedIn, Facebook etc.  When they go into their social network they’ll be looking to get a quick overview of news from all their contacts, not just you.  Avoid swamping their network update page.  Have an entry, make it interesting but don’t repeatedly hog the space. That way they’ll want to read your update and value your involvement as a connection.

Have something interesting to say

And if you’re saying the same old thing in your updates, consider your news from the perspective of your contacts. What would be interesting or valuable to them?  What would make you stand out?  Try some of these suggestions to keep your social media updates fresh and interesting:

• Pass on information either from yourself or someone else in your network, which would be useful to others contacts
• Warn them of a forthcoming issue if it’s relevant
• Invite them to something if they’d be interested in its content
• Communicate progress
• Share market news/ intelligence or useful business tips if it will help them
• Ask their opinion
• Update them on changes to your role/interest

Keep an eye on your contact’s developments

And just as you want people to note your network updates, you should aim to keep up with theirs.  This means keeping an eye on changes.  If you can’t get to your network overview on a regular basis, then make sure you sign up to receive a weekly LinkedIn (or similar) update email.  It’ll alert you to changes and developments in your network and give you the chance to post comment.  Do make positive comment on specific updates if relevant – your contact will value the interaction and who knows, it could lead on to a business opportunity.

Maintain a sensible number of groups

In LinkedIn you can opt to join as many business groups as you like and receive alerts from them with the latest discussions.  My advice is to keep the number of groups manageable so these discussion alerts don’t swamp your inbox and eat up valuable time.  Blend a sensible mix of groups that relate to your profession (so you keep up with latest practices) and those which your customers/clients would have an interest in.  Do interact with the groups by either posting answers to questions or posing questions yourself.

The social network’s suggestions

From time to time LinkedIn and Facebook will send you suggestions of people to expand your network and it’s worth checking out who they recommend, as it can save you some time having to trawl through.  It’s sensible to go for those you know and who will enhance your existing network (not cause conflict).  At the beginning of the year LinkedIn did a brilliant email alerting people to the contacts in their network who had switched jobs in the last few months.  This was a great prompt to help people reinvigorate contact and see how contacts were doing in their new role. If LinkedIn does it again, do use the excuse to keep in touch.

Any time, any place any where

And if you’re using a smart phone such as a blackberry or i-phone, download the free apps so you can interact with your social network wherever you are.  It’ll mean when you do have a spare 5minutes on the train, or in between meetings, you can check out how your network’s doing and update your status if needs be.

About the author: Michelle Daniels,  Managing Director – Extended Thinking

An experienced and effective business development and marketing strategist, Michelle has built a successful career increasing top line growth for service businesses and organisations. She helps her clients turn their marketing, business development and thought leadership plans into reality with her ‘hands on’ support and practical advice.    A prolific writer, Michelle also combines creative flair with business nous to produce highly effective results.  She has written (and ghost-written) for many professional and business publications and is a chartered marketer and member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Extended Thinking

Extended Thinking is a hands-on marketing and business development consultancy.  Bringing together great minds and great ‘doers’, we help our clients devise and implement plans that achieve real business growth.  Our clients come from a wide variety of backgrounds and sectors, but invariably are those who are too busy or lack the resources to action their marketing and business development plans.  We roll our sleeves up and muck in to free them up to do what they really want to do and are good at doing.

www.extendedthinking.com

“Don’t criticise what you can’t understand….For the times they are a-changing” The words of Bob Dylan will always be relevant, and will never date, for times are always changing. It seems to some that the change in technology and communication, particularly in the last 10 years are changing so fast it’s almost impossible to imagine what will be our new normal in the next 10-15 years.

Change, we all understand then, is inevitable and is happening all around us in every way. Change of seasons, change of family situations, changes at work, changes in government, and yet the one thing that usually remains static within each one of us, is the way in which we cope with change.

Routine

I spent several years working in an office with a guy who brought in his flask each morning and put it in the same place on the same shelf. Not unusual but the company we worked for provided a kitchen and free tea, coffee and milk to make drinks at your leisure. I asked him why he therefore brought in a flask every day (effort, washing up, not so fresh or hot) and he answered “Because I always have”. This guy also handwrote so much of the payroll paperwork he worked on each month, when typing it once into an Excel spreadsheet would have saved him huge amounts of time. It was clear though that here was a person who did not feel at all comfortable with change. He would resist it wherever he could and suffer when things changed that were out of his control.

Innovation

At the other end of the scale you get the people who lead change. These are the innovators who are always looking for a quicker, better, cheaper way of doing something, and who thrive on challenge, refusing to believe that something’s impossible. They spend hours figuring out new ways to travel, communicate and live. They develop tools and techniques to aid us in what we do, and they have a voracious appetite for learning and leading.

Going with the flow

There’s always a middle ground and here are the people who are not resistant to change, in fact they rather like it, but there’s no drive to lead this change. They watch and listen and see what everyone else is doing and they follow where the masses go, enjoying the fruits of labour of those who pushed ahead, and never suffering the fear of this change as they are taking an already trodden path.

Social Media

I come across all extremes of people in my work with Social Media. The innovators are the ones at the head of technology, exploring new avenues to exploit people’s growing hunger for social communication. Close behind them are those who are scouring the internet for mention of the latest network and then jumping on there to blaze a trail. Often these new networks are a flash in the pan and don’t take off but occasionally they do and the rest of the masses will gradually follow suit knowing that the initial problems will have been ironed out and they can enjoy the fruits of this labour!

But what about those who are turning their backs on it, not interested in involving themselves in Social Media and resolutely standing fast against this new wave of communication? Well let me tell you this, it’s one thing to not get involved and want to post and converse online, but quite another to turn a completely blind eye to it. I attended a networking event recently where 2 people were dismissing Social Media as trivial nonsense and a passing fad. They had no wish to get involved now or ever and were quite proud of this. Sadly though, what they didn’t know was that I’d seen several mentions of one of the businesses that week on Twitter and it wasn’t flattering. Monitoring what’s being said and being aware of what people are saying about your brand, product and service is a vital part of Social Media and the part it’s not always a good idea to ignore.

Who wouldn’t want to know what’s being said about them by existing customers to potential customers? If it’s great, how fabulous! You can thank that advocate, win them over further and take those positive comments and broadcast them. If it’s not so good then what a fabulous opportunity to listen, learn and react. How you handle criticism and deal with it in public gives you great credibility when done right, yet neglected comments can build and get out of control, and so with it goes your carefully honed reputation, and chances are you won’t even know.

Are you ready for change?

Take a few moments to have a think. Do you thrive on change or struggle with it? Personally I love change but I’m risk adverse! I like to watch carefully what’s happening and how things are developing and yet I’m in the second wave of changers as I like to make sure others don’t crash and burn before I leap on board! Which ‘change’ camp are you in? Are you striving, following or standing still? And if it’s the latter, is it time you maybe made the very hardest change of all, changing your approach to change?

About the Author: Paula White.  I’m a self-employed Social Media Mentor & Trainer.  I help businesses to make sense of the array of Social Media options, and find the right blend of networks and activity to suit their personality, business goals and time. It gives me great pleasure to share new skills and watch people put them into action to make their businesses grow and flourish. When I’m not working, I spend as much time as I can enjoying the great outdoors. There’s nothing I like better than the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.  For more info visit me at: www.whitesocialmedia.co.uk or join me on Twitter: @paulawhite_uk

What is the value of Facebook over Twitter? Is there a difference? When do you use one or the other or both? The ultimate decision about which social network to use lies with your company culture, goals and target customer. Nonetheless, it’s important to recognize that you cannot choose “none of the above” if you want to survive the new digital economy. Therefore, the question is which do we choose and how do we begin?

Facebook began as a social networking tool for college students. Launched in 2004 in response to MySpace (which linked young people together throughout their high school years), Facebook targeted the student entering a college campus. In the early days, it was a highly social network, similar to MySpace.

Twitter, on the other hand, began as a way for people to communicate fast and in short bites. The founders had no idea that the platform would take off the way it did. Begun as a way to simply say to fellow workers, friends and colleagues what was on your mind at any given moment, Twitter soon became a powerful communication tool.

Knowing how the two platforms began helps you understand the strengths of each and how you might best capitalize on those strengths.

Both Facebook and Twitter effectively target the population of 35 and younger. Facebook, however, currently boosts a significant rise in the number of boomers using the platform. As far as consumer use goes, however, for business to consumer (B2C) purchases, the demographics are similar. Both attract mid-to-older players, with higher education and income.

The value of Facebook:

• Primarily a social site

On Facebook, you can share as much or as little personal information as you’d like. You can post photos of yourself and your family or of your company and employees. Facebook gives you an opportunity to create a personal as well as professional profile of who you are. People learn more about you as a person. In sales we talk about the know, like, and trust factor before a sale is made. Businesses that focus on other businesses (B2B) as clients understand this factor. Facebook gives you a great opportunity to let down some barriers and help your business customer learn more about you.

• Versatility

Facebook allows you to set up a personal profile, a professional profile, a business page or a fan page. You have all kinds of choices for putting yourself and your business in front of your customers. People like to feel part of a business. You can enable that by setting up a fan page for your business or for a unique product that you offer.

• Facebook ads

For business, Facebook gives you the opportunity to purchase a pay-for-click ad to target a unique niche.

The value of Twitter:

• Speed and real time

Twitter’s biggest strength is its speed. When you Tweet something, it goes out to masses of people immediately and in the moment. That is why it has become the world’s roving reporter. When things happen around the world, Tweets start pouring in. To get a message out quickly to lots of people, Twitter reigns king.

• Information and Research

On Twitter, you get fast information and links to blogs all the time. If you are curious about what is happening in your industry, Twitter will keep you up-to-date quickly. If you’re curious about what people are saying about your industry or your business, Twitter will tell you.

• Versatility of response

Both Facebook and Twitter give you a versatility of response. You can respond to the entire population in Twitterville when you post a Tweet. On Facebook, your status updates go to all your friends. People can see what you are up to or what is going on in your life all at once. Both Twitter and Facebook give you the option to send a private message that goes directly to that person. On Twitter, however, messages are more public than they are on Facebook. Wall posts on Facebook go to all your friends and all the friends whose wall you posted on.

There are many more value differences between Twitter, Facebook and the other social networks. Ultimately, you must look at each platform and decide how you can create a social media strategy for your business.

About the Author: Dr. Joan Curtis is a nationally known communications coach, certified by the International Coaches Federation. She has over 20 years experience as a trainer and educator. She has taught communication skills and presentation skills to leadership groups throughout the country.  She is the author of two books: Managing Sticky Situations at Work: Communication Secrets for Success in the Workplace, and Strategic Interviewing: Skills and Tactics for Savvy Executives. Her web sites include: http://www.TotalCommunicationscoach.com and http://www.ManagingStickySituationsatWork.com

Leveraging Facebook to generate leads, increase site traffic, and even make a little money is every small business owner’s goal. But in most cases, it’s not as simple as getting on once a week for an hour, posting a bunch of ‘interesting’ information, and getting on with your life hoping that the leads will start flowing in. Facebook is a remarkable tool for creating a ‘buzz’ about your small business and inviting new friends to check out your services, but done in the wrong way Facebook can also hurt your overall brand image.

Facebook reaches millions upon millions of people: 500 million to be exact. And 200 million Facebook users are mobile, getting their Facebook fix from their Android, iPhone, and Windows devices. According to the Facebook Press Room, in 2010 the average Facebook user was connected to 80 community pages, groups, and events; created 90 pieces of content each month; and shared more than 30 billion links, news stories, blog posts, and pictures.

Marketing your business on Facebook is no longer a ‘maybe we’ll do it this year.’ It’s nearly a requirement to establish your brand as credible, available, and trending. We’ve put together the top three things you must do on Facebook to be successful, as well as the top three things you absolutely should not do on Facebook. Let’s start with the bad news first and end with the good news.

Top 3 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make on Facebook

1. Over-Posting

I see this mistake made over and over again. In most cases it happens because small business owners have great intentions and want to be active on the social networks, but they either don’t have time throughout the week or they just plain forget. When they do remember, or do have some marketing time, they jump on Facebook, don’t join any conversations or start new ones, but post about five status updates, links and news information in a 15 minute time frame.

2. Not Enough Time

Maybe 15 minutes is all the time that you have for Facebook, and if that’s the case then you might want to consider adding some help to your marketing team. By over-posting, you’re not giving followers a reason to be interested in your company, you’re giving them a reason to “unfriend” you. Take your time with posts. If you do only have 15 minutes on Friday evening to get your Facebook marketing done, put up your most interesting status update in the first minute, spend 12 minutes seeking out new friends and conversations, and in the 15th minute post your second most interesting status update.

3. Unbranding Your Business

Facebook is a great resource for keeping up your small business brand. It’s important to ’stay in character’ and to ’stay in business mode’ while spreading information about your business brand. Playing games, talking about personal issues, or posting inappropriate pictures will kill your brand. Spending time on Cityville and Farmville from your Facebook business pages will only show that you’re not professional and not concerned with how your business brand appears to others.

Top 3 Things A Small Business Owner Must Do On Facebook

1. Brand Your Business

Send a clear message with every status update, photo upload, and conversation piece about your brand. For example, a client of Linwright Design happens to be in the field of pain management, and a lot of patients are living with things like RA and fibromyalgia. So we seek to join conversations around these topics, spreading our overall brand message by suggesting information from our website and our branded blogs on these conditions. As a small business owner, your profile picture can be your logo with information about your business, or if you are proud of your team and want to make your brand a bit more personal, it can be a “family” photo of your employees.

2. Seek Out Conversations

Don’t be over-active in ‘friend requesting’ strangers. For one thing, you will get penalized and possibly even blacklisted from Facebook all together, which is the last thing you want. Seek out conversations in your industry by doing searches with keywords. For example, for our pain management client mentioned above we search keywords ‘fibromyalgia’ (and more) to listen to and join conversations that people are already having about this condition.

(Tip: Go to the search box at the top of your Facebook Page. Enter the keywords that you are searching for. Go to the bottom of the search results where it says “see more results.” Look to the left and click on “posts by everyone.” This will take you to the world and all conversations on Facebook regarding your industry. Listen to what people are talking about, get ideas for blogs, and join conversations.)

3. Be Consistent

Facebook, as with any other social media platform, is all about consistency. So you only have an hour a week to spend on Facebook? Spread that hour out throughout the entire week. Even 15 minutes every day will help more than one hour in one day. You have to be available to your Facebook friends and you have to be able to monitor your brand. If someone leaves a comment or asks a question, you need to be able to answer those or respond. Even 15 minutes, at the end of your day, every day, will make a small but crucial difference over time.

About the Author: Kandie Day is founder of Linwright Design, specializing in digital development and distribution. Mainly Arizona SEO www.linwrightdesign.com, social media marketing, branded content development, and in-depth analytics.

When starting a business it is difficult to put aside an amount for marketing and it’s hard to justify how much should be spent.

When I started my business Rentabuggy.co.uk in 2008 I spent a couple of thousand in marketing within the first 6 months but was surprised to find that I didn’t get many results from it. Here are my top 5 tips for advertising on a low budget.

1. network

Networking is free and many businesses are becoming more involved. Networking is a great way to work with like minded businesses on a like for like basis. Shortly, after setting up my own company, I set up another company with my business partner called Networking Mummies Dorset (www.networkingmummies.com) and we now have over 700 businesses involved across 3 Franchised areas. We share knowledge, advice and advertising and I now use this as my main stream for advertising my own business.

2. press release

If you have a newsworthy piece of information that’s happening in your business then write a Press Release. Press Releases are a great way to showcase some exciting information you may have with the Media. Make a list of local newspapers, radio stations and magazines within your sector and email them. Always write the Press Release in the body of the email as well as attaching it as a document.

3. reciprocal links

Research businesses on the internet that are in the same sector as you and email them to ask if they would like to do a ‘reciprocal’ link. This means you add a link to your website with their information and vice versa. This is a good way to try and increase traffic to your website.

4. facebook

Facebook was originally launched as a social media portal for friends to stay in touch but has since been notified as a great way to advertise your business. Set up a fan page and invite all your friends. Hopefully, they will then request their friends to join and so on.

5. blog

Blogging is a great way to keep your customers updated with news, offers and more. You don’t have to be a great writer to write a blog and this can be kept simple. Linking with other companies will help your engine search results too. Try www.wordpress.com for more information.

About the Author: Laura Morris

As I personally work with a lot of businesses on a 1:1 basis, I am always telling them to embrace Social Media and its uses to gain as much as possible for their business; and best of all these portals are FREE to use, so why aren’t we using them?!

Most people are unsure how they work, or what content should be written within and therefore I came up with the following ‘Step by Step’ Guide for Creating a Facebook Page.

Did you know that there are 400 millions active users on Facebook and that includes more than 1 million developers and entrepreneurs. The average user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events which makes Facebook one of the biggest portals for advertising.

it wont cost you a penny

Facebook do have an option of paid advertising but all you need are the free pages. There are two options for free advertising on Facebook. One is a ‘group’ and one is a ‘fan’ page. Personally what I, and a lot of businesses, opt for is a ‘fan’ page as there are more features and it is easier to manage. It is a lot like your own personal profile, which means you can update your status, people can write on your wall and you can add photos and lots of other content.

Step by Step Guide

1. create a page

Firstly, from any fan page if you scroll down to the bottom and on the left hand side you will see a button that says ‘Create a Page for my Business’ click on this. Or if you are not a member of any fan pages, go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php.

You will then come to a page that say ‘Create a Page’ at the top. Click on the icon that says ‘local business’ then type in your Page/Business name and address. Check the box to say you agree to the terms and press button ‘Create Official Page’

2. add your content

You have now successfully started a page and can now get started in adding content. Facebook will automatically run you through the first few steps which includes adding an image, adding basic information, updating a status, connecting your page to a mobile device and linking it with Twitter.

You will see tabs at the top where you can easily click between your wall, info etc.

Under information you can add address, opening times, website address etc. You can also add ‘photos’ and create an album which is good for products or picture uploads of any press etc you might have appeared in.

On the left hand side is an option to ‘edit page’ if you need to make any changes once your page is complete

3. start making connections

When you have finished creating your page, it is a good idea to share it with your friends. This then means that hopefully they will share with their friends and you will create a domino effect of people ‘liking’ your page. Another good tip is to try and connect with like minded or other local businesses. You can do a search for businesses using their names under the ‘search’ tab at the top of any Facebook page under the bar.

On the left hand side there’s also an option to ‘suggest to friends’ so you can send the link to your page to your friends.  At the bottom of the page is the ‘Share’ button which means that your page would be posted to your own personal profile – allowing you to share with all of your facebook friends.

4. get a personalised URL

When you have reached 25 followers you can have your own vanity URL. Once you have reached that number go to www.facebook.com/username to set your URL.

5. keep it up to date

It is very easy and manageable and I would recommend that you update your Facebook Fan Page daily if possible. You can update your status or put special offers on etc and it keeps customers up to date with what you are doing. Also adding photo’s of new products is a great idea.

6. feedback

On the left hand side, you will also see a box that say ‘Insights’ this will show you post quality and how many interactions there are each week.

Finally, for this page you will see a ‘like’ button at the top with a thumbs up picture. This means that people can ‘like’ your page and you can ‘like’ other pages too.

7. keep promoting

To promote your Facebook Fan Page to your wider audience on your website you can download and add a ‘Find us on Facebook’ badge. If you click back on ‘edit’ page and you will see what your badge will look like and then you can copy and paste the HTML coding to add in onto your website.

About the Author: Laura Morris is a business owner, networker and a writer, the Founder of www.rentabuggy.co.uk and also Co-Founder to www.networkingmummies.com. For more information on Laura visit her blog and mentoring site at www.mumtomumpreneur.co.uk

So, you’re thinking of joining the Twitterverse.

Wikipedia defines Twitter as: A website, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., which offers a social networking and microblogging service, enabling its users to send and read other users’ messages called tweets.

Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the user’s profile page.
Tweets are publicly visible by default, however senders can restrict message delivery to their friends list.
Users may subscribe to other users’ tweets-this is known as following and subscribers are known as followers.

Now that the formalities are taken care of, let’s dive into the Twitterverse and find out how to Twitter!

What is Twitter?

Beyond the text book definitions of a micro-blogging social networking phenomenon, Twitter is used and thought of differently by many different people. Twitter is a way to connect with friends and family, a source of news, trends and gossip but most of all Twitter is THE most influential and important marketing tools of the 21st century. It doesn’t matter what you are marketing, whether it’s a multibillion dollar corporation, a local flower shop, start up band or yourself, Twitter will get your voice and opinions heard.

Why is it called a micro-blog?

Blogs are places to voice opinions, thoughts and share ideas. This is exactly what twitter does, yet it does it in short bursts of 140 characters called Tweets.

First time using Twitter

I won’t waste your time explaining the basics of setting up a twitter account. I will assume you can find your way to Twitter.com and follow the simple step by step process to set up your own account (if you don’t already have an @ccount).

That being said, setting up a Twitter account is a little different in the sense that you have to be real concise and short with your words. Take a look through these helpful videos if you are having trouble with the Twitter sign up process.

First time users can learn how to use twitter in a very short time. The best way to learn how to Twitter is to spend some time looking around the site. Spend a little time looking around before you worry about gaining any followers or filling out your full bio. This way there is no pressure. Check out peoples tweet and what they do, not so much what they say. Don’t worry about their message, just what they are doing with it, since it will most likely not be relevant to you but it will be relevant to someone else. Click on their links, pay attention to how they are using twitter and after a few mins each day looking around, it will all make sense.

Most first time Twits have the same thought pattern…. “What is twitter and why is this pointless site so popular?”

That is a great question.

8 Reasons Why is Twitter so popular:

1. Simplicity -

Twitter is simple. Simple as that.

2. Get your opinions heard -

Acceptance. Everyone wants to feel part of something bigger and greater. Getting your opinions heard by others makes people feel part of the online blogging phenomenon. It is also a great place to pitch your favourite ideas or post comments about products or services.

3. Communication -

It’s frowned upon in our culture to call someone up just to let them know we are having a shower, or just drank the most amazing cup of coffee, yet Twitter makes this acceptable.

4. Connect -

Not only can you connect, talk and share ideas with anyone in the world (who uses Twitter) you can also connect to twitter almost anywhere. With the latest smart phones and app worlds, there are more and more places you can log onto Twitter and check the latest trends.

5. Voyeurism -

People love to ease drop on conversations and know what is going on in the community. With twitter, a whole new world of gossip has opened up. Find out what the latest celebrities or even your neighbours are up to.

6. Popularity -

Want more friends? Now it is easier than ever! Sit in your chair, start following some people and chances are they will follow you back! All of a sudden you have turned from Joe Nobody, to being friends with top A-Lister like Barrack Obama and Justin Bieber! Now all you have to do is sit back and bask in the glory of popularity.

7. Marketing -

As I mentioned before, Twitter is one of the greatest marketing tools. Used correctly you can increase brand recognition, sell products or gain additional followers on your blog. Also known as backdoor marketing.

8. Slang -

Since there is a 140 character limit, people get away with bad grammar, spelling and sentence structure. PRT Thx 4 that, just fab, now ever1 is going 2b even worse spellers than we woz b4. cr8tivity at its finest. BFN

How To Gain More Followers

1. Write short, provocative, creative tweets with big impact.

Write about your passions. It will show. Questions work great to make people think and perhaps even click on a link. Share useful info and links that you yourself find interesting and you think others might as well.

2. Start following people you are interested in.

There is a good chance they will then be interested in what you have to say and follow back. If you start following multiple random people, this is a great way to get a large amount of followers at one time yet the quality of the followers will be very low. They may not care about what you have to say or what you stand for. The followers at that point are just for show and not to “sell” them on anything, be it your product or opinion.

3. Create a Bio.

Your bio is what people first read when they check out your profile. You have limited space here so make sure it is to the point, explains who you are and what you will be tweeting about.

4. Get a background.

People have been known to start following someone just because they like the background they used or preferably made. This can be a difficult step since Twitter has recently changed it background format. How much of your background people see depends on the size and quality of each individuals monitor. Free Twitter Background Designer

5. Money.

Money can buy you anything, including more followers. There are sites that will (for a nominal fee) add followers to your account. I do not recommend this since it is a sleaze copout and can be easily done free of charge. It just might take a little bit more effort.

6. Retweet.

7. Be active.

Be part of the conversation. Talk to people following you and more importantly, people who aren’t following you.

8. Add your twitter URL and @ccount name everywhere you can.

Email signatures, business cards, websites, car window, anywhere your tweets collide with the real world. The more links to your profile, the more chances of gaining additional followers.

9. Don’t over tweet.

I can’t tell you the number of people I have added only seconds later to realize it was a horrible mistake. My Twitter stream was blanketed with one person’s tweets. It becomes hard to read the tweets you care about if you can’t find them in a cluster of annoying Twitterrhea.

About the Author: Dave R F is an expert in Internet and Business online.  To read more on What Is A Retweet, Twitter Tips and Tricks, How To Use Twitter Like A Pro, 8 Twitterquette Tips and Twitter definitions, Please visit http://www.squidoo.com/howtotwitter.

This article has been put together from the Women Unlimited community on Linked In.  Several weeks ago Julie put a call out to all the ladies in the group (over 1200 of them!) and asked them to share their best marketing advice.

We had a such a fabulous response there were too many tips to fit into just one article, so we decided to break it down into smaller pieces where we share your marketing savvy with the rest of the Women Unlimited community.  This is the 5^th article we’ve posted with your tips so far, and we still have plenty more to share with you!

Let us know which piece of advice you think is the most valuable in the comments section below. If you would like to contribute please add your marketing advice by commenting on our Linked In Group discussion.  You can also let us know your best marketing thoughts in 140 characters or less by sending us an @reply on twitter or comment on our facebook page (and don’t forget to like us while you are there!)

Get social

manickavalli arumugam • I would recommend you guys to start registering with online free directories, use free SEO tools and email marketing for online marketing. You can also use social networking sites like twitter and facebook to promote your business. The posts from the other ladies here are so interesting and informative. Thanks.

Joanne Burford • This is a fantastic guide Julie – almost worth printing off and putting into a book! I think marketing in this challenging time is very exciting as there are so many great tools like blogging etc to reach your audience without much cost, however, I would say not to underestimate how much time it takes to put a social media strategy into place to bolster your campaigns.

www.everywoman/national

Market online as well as offline

Lani Kwon Meilgaard • Aloha from Honolulu! I’m happy to be a new member of this group.

The best marketing advice I have, based on five years of doing my own PR and marketing, is to advertise not only in print media, but also on web-based (social media like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter), free sites (e.g. bulletin boards) and at events (expos, conferences, etc…).

However, I have also found that word-of-mouth truly delivers the most loyal, interested and steady stream of clients. So ask your current clients to spread the word about your business and make it easy for them to do by preparing materials (business cards, flyers, brochures, post cards, posters, etc…) for them to pass along to potential clients.

Lani Kwon Meilgaard
Transitions and Transformations Coach
Creating Co-Powerment® Center LLC
http://www.creatingcopowerment.com

Give them what they want

Jenna Cox • Too often, businesses concentrate solely on telling people what they want them to know when, in reality, they should always be giving potential customers what they want to hear…and see!

Folake Balogun •
We always advise our clients to sell their benefits not what they do (the features). Customers buy into the benefits (the end results) of the product not the actual service that you are providing.

http://twitter.com/folakeb
WDF Productions: Video Communications for Business
http://www.wdfproductions.co.ukhttp://twitter.com/WDFProductions

Susan Heaton-Wright • Research the market and see if you can focus on ‘targeted’ marketing. For example: we focus on particular types of hotels for our music business and have built up a database based on a number of criteria. Like many small businesses we only have a limited amount of time and money for marketing and know that we will be wasting valuable time and funds on hotels that don’t have live music.
Also, work out which ‘showcase’ opportunities are marketing opportunities and those that are less likely to bring in custom. We have partnered with other businesses to showcase our services, which has led to some very good leads because we’ve had access to the guest lists, but we no longer do events where the marketing is more general and not directed at our target markets.

Susan Heaton Wright
http://www.vivalivemusic.co.uk

Oriane Chausiaux • Having a product or service that naturally creates evangelists – solve a real problem in your customer’s life, and they will tell everyone about it.

Dr Oriane Chausiaux
www.DuoFertility.com
Cambridge Temperature Concepts Ltd.

Don’t give up!

STELLA BLAIZE • It is not an overnight growth. Persist, persist, persist.

Evelyn Silver • Hang in, hang in, hang in, and keep believing in yourself, whatever is thrown at you!
Make a point of keeping in touch with old customers as well as trying out new ways to attract new ones.

Evelyn Silver
www.evelynsilver.co.uk
www.etsy.com/shop/evelynsilver

Seek feedback

Alison Bell-Roberts • I agree with all of the comments made. In particular,
1. listen to your clients,
2. look at your branding,
3. a marketing strategy that has a drip feed approach.
4. seek feedback from clients – as a very new business (only launched in August and with no sales and marketing background) I have found that many of the customers that I have been working with are the greatest asset with regards to feedback. People genuinely want to help you to succeed so I always make a point of asking their thoughts and the advice I have been given has really helped me to move forward. Listening is in fact one of our core programmes

to find out more visit our website www.cliff-edge-communication.com (which is still under construction – but then we only launched in August!)

Be consistent

Annie Brooks • Clarity and consistency. Be clear about what you are offering so that your customers know what they are buying. Be consistent in your communications. EVERYTHING your business produces should look as if it’s come from the same organisation. As someone else has said ‘you don’t have a second chance to make a first impression’. So true!
Know who you are and define your brand beliefs:
Vision : What do you see?
Mission : Where are you going?
Position : Where do you sit in the marketplace?
Proposition : What are you promising?
Description : Who are you and what do you do?

http://www.socialsnog.com/

Sheena D Whyatt MCT, MCASI, MIITT • Be consistent.
Keep your message simple.
Be proactive when you need to be.
Remember that your marketing should happen all the time, holistically, not just in one big monthly hit.
And be reactive when someone asks to ‘unsubscribe’!

Sheena Whyatt
http://www.lightningtraining.com

Kath Roberts CEO/ H Business coach • Know your niche inside out like one of your best friends and be clear on what your brand represents and how you differentiate your services. Who are your detractors and who can be your key influencers ?
Time spent on understanding the essence of your brand and thus who you truly want to connect with is investment well-made saving marketing effort and wasted cash.
Tailor your marketing to speak emotionally to them. People buy on emotion and back up with logic. Focus on solving their problems not overtly selling. It’s about them and not about you!
Be authentic and be consistent with your brand.

Kath Roberts
CEO/Home business Coach
www.alchemy4thesoul.com

Were these tips useful?   Retweet them on Twitter, Share them with your friends and Like them on Facebook.

If you want to see more, the first 4 of the series can be found here, here, here and here

When businesses first started going online and creating websites to promote themselves, it seemed appropriate to replicate exactly what they did offline – create online versions of the brochures they sent out by mail or gave directly to clients.

But what worked in the 90’s and early part of this decade just doesn’t cut it in today’s web world.

Today’s web world is driven by the consumer. It’s no longer ruled by the corporates. Today, every consumer, no matter how influential, is able to have their say and control over what content they want to consume on the Internet.

And when you, as a business entity, start embracing social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, you start to lose control over how and where potential clients come to click through to your website.

Coming in through the Back Door

Your website home page used to be THE page to get right on your website. It was the entrance, the grand opening, the doorway to how your business was portrayed on the web.

I know I have advised many clients over the years about how to create a home page that converts, engages and turns website visitors into potential customers.

But how many of your website visitors now come via this front door?

Two years ago, before I started using sites such as Twitter and Facebook as engagement tools, more than 55% of visitors came via my home page. Over the past few months, that figure has dropped to 32%.

My blog became incorporated into my main site in Spring 2009. Over the past year, Twitter and Facebook have been fuelling my blog articles. 31 different landing pages (the first page a website visitor is logged as visiting) in one month last autumn have now become 134 in the past month this year.

Now, I know that some of you reading this will have not started a blog yet. You may have only just started to dip your toe in the social media waters. So, yes – your home page may well still be that main front door where people find you.

But you’ve found this article to learn more about this stuff haven’t you? When you start to embrace and turn up the volume of your online marketing, you will have to start thinking about the many doors to your website. And every page on your website needs to be prepared for your new visitors.

You need to get your house in order before you start laying out the welcome mats.

Here’s what you need to do to ensure every page on your website is a home page:

Opt-in offer in your static margin

by having your navigation across the top of your website, you can make room for a static left or hand margin to offer your newsletter, opt-in report or what ever it is you use to build your subscriber list.  This static margin is automatically added to all new pages which means you don’t have to worry about remembering to add it.  Consistency and constant placement of your offerings will encourage familiarity with your website visitor and increase your opt-in conversions.

Quality copy writing on every page

don’t loss steam and write throw away copy.  Your about page is a great example of this.  Often left to the end and put together in a hurry because you want your site to go live and you’ve had enough of all the tooing and froing, but if your name is mentioned on this page, then it’s probably this page that will come up on a Google search for your name.

Make every page count

don’t create pages for the sake of creating content.  The same goes for your blog articles.  Post throw-away “cheap” articles just to keep the search engines happy because you think that’s what’s needed to get your website high up on the search listing, is a waste of time.  You will soon be the loser when the potential clients who find this content, click away because the content is dross.

Contact details less than one click away

If you make it difficult for potential clients to speak to a human being, you are going to lose business.  One of the easiest ways of ensuring your contact details are easy to find is to make it part of your website banner design.

About the Author: Karen Skidmore helps small business owners work smarter and use the right marketing tools so they can attract more of the right clients to their business. To subscribe to her free email newsletter and get access to practical advice and marketing ideas that will move your business forward, visit www.CanDoCanBe.co