Social Marketing Sites: How they increase your bottom line
Social Marketing Sites: How they increase your bottom line
Online Marketing Really Works
The average business owner is very confused when it comes to Online Marketing. Many see no purpose for Social Sites as they relate to business. I am here to dispel several myths about Social Networking. Here is a list of what people have told me –
What is the purpose?
They are too hard to set up
They are overwhelming
Social Sites waste my time and fill up my email
I am an avid believer in Networking – both in person and Online. Networking (and sales) is about building relationships with potential clients or power partners. Online networking aims to build trust and become the authority in your area of expertise. It also builds links pointing back to your website (if you don’t have a website, you need to get one). People buy from people they know and trust. How would anybody who finds your website on the Internet ever know and trust you? By participating in Social Sites, people get to know you and understand your business philosophy.
Social Sites are not hard to set up or maintain. Here is how I do it. Create a Word document with your biographical information – everything from your name to a bio on yourself and a paragraph or two about your business. Have a current photo of yourself (or your logo) stored in an easily accessible file on your computer. When you set up a new profile, just copy and paste it from the Word document and upload your photo. It is that easy! All correspondence will go to your Social Networking email address, and you can check on YOUR schedule – once a day, once a week, or once a month – it is up to you. By managing your activity through a different email, there is no “wasting” time or weeding through emails to get to your business email. These steps will take away the feeling of being overwhelmed.
There are a few Social Sites that I recommend every business owner uses. They are:
FaceBook.com
Every industry will have a Social Site that is unique to them. These sites are important to use to keep up to date on all the changes in your industry. The ones listed above are important for every industry. I will give a brief overview of each of these sites.
1. LinkedIn – This is a Networking site for Professionals. It is like an online resume (if you fill out the entire profile). They also have applications you can add to your profile that will turn LinkedIn into an interactive site. You can post PowerPoint presentations, share files with your network or training group. By activating the different applications you can turn your profile into a training area, an online portfolio, or an up-to-date place to find stocks, current news, etc.
2. FaceBook is a great place to start special interest groups in your niche market. FaceBook also allows you to pull other content you might have on the Internet into one place. For example if you have videos posted on YouTube you can embed them into your FaceBook account. PowerPoint presentations, HubPages, Squidoo Lens, and just about any other content that is in your business market can be added to your FaceBook account. This truly can be a one-stop shop for your business if you set it up correctly.
3. Twitter can be used to draw people to your website. It can also be interactive with your Blog and FaceBook account. By updating your Twitter status you can update your Blog and FaceBook status at the same time – a great time saver. I use Twitter to post links to new Blog posts or new content I have put up on the Internet. I also use it to pass along positive messages or business related messages to anyone “following” me or in my other Social Networks.
What Good things have come from my Social Networking efforts?
I have gained new clients, gained Power Partners, and I know people that have landed a dream job from participating in Social Sites. I get traffic to my main website from all my Social Marketing efforts. Just this week I received a phone call from someone in California that wanted to talk with me about my business after reading a response I posted to a forum topic he was interested in. This person gave me the opportunity to help him with a problem he had with his business and I gained a new client. It took me 3 min to post the comment and I gained $500.00 profit. This is a client that I would have never met if I did not participate in BetterNetworker.com.
If you are already participating in an Online community then congratulations and keep up the good work. If you are not then you need to start. More and more of my business is coming to me from Internet Marketing – every business owner needs to move into the 21st century and get Online – it is the future of marketing.
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