10 Tips for Effectively Using Social Media In Your Business

By Monika Baraket

By now you’ve heard about social media, it’s quickly becoming the most important trend in business today.  So what is social media and how can you effectively use it for your business?  With respect to the former, social media is an opportunity to connect with your customers, drive traffic to your website, and promote your business by having what the experts call “many-to-many” conversations.  It’s a mix of blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and many other tools.  With respect to the latter, below are 10 tips for effectively using social media in your business:

1.      Create a strategy

Many of us are so excited about using social media to grow our business that we forget key pieces to success: definition of business goals, objectives and overall process for execution.  To build a strong Social Media network, it is critical that you carefully choose key influencers in your industry and choose your activities strategically.  The number-one reason that people feel lost in social networking is that they don’t have a strategy. 

2.      Find your voice and your audience

Decide what you want to say and who you want to say it to.   You must understand your audience and build goals that are realistic and possible. Knowing what your audience is looking for is fundamental in reaching your goals.  It is also important to remember that others want to know you, not just what you sell.

3.      Market your expertise

Sharing knowledge you’ve gathered through your trade can go a long way toward boosting your brand.  Casual social media users will not receive the same respect as those that have made a commitment to contribute quality content over time. If you take the time to build up a reputation for expertise in your niche area, this will result in your gaining the confidence of other members of your respective community – this is the best form of marketing.

4.      Invite others to become part of your circle

Follow people on Twitter, invite colleagues into your LinkedIn network, and make friends on Facebook. 

5.      Start talking

Post content regularly and comment on other sites.  Treat it like any other conversation… join in once in a while.  How often?  Contribute at least once a day on Twitter, and at least twice a week on Facebook and LinkedIn. 

6.      Reward Customer Loyalty

Through Social Media, companies can not only run promotions more frequently than coupons in the mail will permit but also devise more whimsical and engaging campaigns.

7.      Boost your credibility by helping others

For service providers, establishing yourself as an expert in the field can bring in a steady stream of business. LinkedIn’s Answers feature enables business owners to do just that.

8.      Be a member, not a marketer

Putting up too many links to your company’s website can turn people off.  What you want to do is build relationships.  This is a concept of push marketing versus relationship marketing.

9.      Integrate Social Media into your overall marketing strategy

Let people know that you are out there.  Link your social networking pages to your website.  Add badges to your e-mail.  Promote your social networking pages on print collateral.

10. Contribute Content

Be the one to create quality content. Studies show that people are reading much online, but a much smaller group is contributing content. This can mean good opportunities for you. 

 

Top social media resources to get you started

Twitter

Facebook

YouTube

LinkedIn

For daily business tips, become a fan on Facebook.

[Via http://acceleratebr.wordpress.com]

Is New Media a Revolution or Evolution?

I believe is both, an Internet Evolution and a World Revolution… A little over 5 years ago people were using the Internet to get information, do some purchasing but it was moving a little bit slow.  Until sites like youtube, and myspace came out.  Soon Facebook follow and everything started to change, and with twitter suddenly without even noticing we have an INTERNET EVOLUTION… That’s right all of sudden the Internet is fun again, and it’s changing the way we do business, the way we communicate and its GIVING US POWER.  Yes for the first time, US the people have the power to make changes.  Thanks to the Internet and Social Media.   Therefore Social Media is also a REVOLUTION.

How do we have power you may ask? Well if you have a bad experience with a product or a service you can posted online and within minutes all your friends will know about it, without calling each one of the them to tell them your story. And as soon as your friends are aware the friends of your friends will also know about it and the friends of those friends and on and on. The same goes with a good experience, and opinion.

Well I don’t want to bore you with so much of my thoughts but check this YOUTUBE video of a BLOGGER… From http://socialnomics.net/ “Socialnomics”

Is your business ready to take advantage of this Internet Evolution and be part of the Revolution?

Ricardo O Villalba

for QueCreative Advertising and Printing…

New Media Specialist

202-367-5544

[Via http://latinoplanet.wordpress.com]

Wessed Up History: 3/15/2010

* March 8, 1978: First Hitchhiker’s Guide radio episode airs. Millions panic, buying towels and chanting Vogon poetry.

* March 9, 1862: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to draw in first battle between aquatic Transformers.

* March 10, 1606: Susenyos beats two armies at Battle of Gol to become Emperor of Ethiopia. Greater fame awaits with immortalization by Phil Collins.

* March 11, 1932: Violinist and World of Warcraft raid demoralizer Leroy Jenkins is born, aggroing the entire maternity ward.

* March 12, 1664: Lacking a decent toxic waste dumping ground in London, the British welcome New Jersey as a colony.

* March 13, 1930: Pluto’s discovery is telegraphed to Harvard College Observatory, but it takes another two decades to identify Goofy.

* March 14, 1879: Albert Einstein travels back from the 27th Century to stop 29th Century Albert Einstein from killing baby Albert Einstein.

[Via http://plattitudes.wordpress.com]

Facebook Tracking & Analyse

Gedanken zum Thema Tracking und Analyse von Social Media Apps und Facebook Fanpages bis hin zur ROI-Messung durch Social Media Kampagnen werden im Artikel Facebook Tracking im Online Solution Blog veröffentlicht.

Wer sich darüberhinaus neben Facebook Apps auch noch für Shop Widgets interessiert, wird eher bei Visual (Shop) Widget . com fündig. Ob der Nutzer dabei Google Analytics oder ein anderes – evt. sogar eigenes – Tracking und Analyse/Statistik System einsetzen möchte, steht jedem frei. Die Standardlösungen gibt es kostenlos. Mit Caching und Preloading Funktionen für einen schnelleren Aufbau der Widget-Animation müssen sich die Shop-Betreiber momentan noch gedulden, da der Beta-Betrieb anhält.

[Via http://informators.wordpress.com]

Couture Organic Baby Blanket on Etsy

First organic baby item has arrived!

Couture Organic Baby Blanket

Visit the *Wildflowers by Paris* Etsy Shop

Become a fan on Facebook!

[Via http://wildflowersbyparis.wordpress.com]

#199. social networking poem (more ghosts of ny

subway

thou art

riding me to my homepage.

i am the electron

banging thru

the worldwide

with the ghosts

of new york.

see them now.

humble aware laughing

everyday informing

me thru the dark

underground surf.

speaking jostling crowds

of ghosts recognize

me as a trace

a shade in their life

a face in their book

as we connect

they fill in

my moments

in the Endless

subway ride pome.

[Via http://zevstar.wordpress.com]

The Gospel According to Your Facebook Profile

A couple weeks ago I started reading the book The Hopeful Skeptic by Nick Fiedler. I’m planning on posting a review of the book once I finish it up. For now, though, I want to point out something that makes this book unique from anything else I’ve read. This is the first theology/Christian life book I’ve ever read in which the author uses his Facebook profile religious views as the starting point for a whole book.

A couple years ago, Nick changed his “religion” in his Facebook profile from “Christian” to “hopeful skeptic.” Reading about this got me to thinking about how many people choose to enter something unique on the religion line in their profile, as opposed to choosing from one of Facebook’s preset, institutional options. I did a quick scan of 25 random Facebook friends (and by ‘random’, I mean the first 25 people to either show up on my news feed or comment on my status requesting help with this). Here are the ‘religions’ I saw listed:

“Pastafarian; Former Voodoohist”

“I’ve been relentlessly pursued and mercifully forgiven by the great Lover of souls, Jesus Christ. “

“Evangelical Liberal Charismatic Catholic Christian”

“On the path…”

“Pro-Jesus”

“yes. thank you. http://www.huronhills.org”

“anything in isolation cannot be God.”

“see the Nicene Creed.”

“and He said, Follow Me.”

“Yes.”

Among the more traditional choices…

“Christian” Was listed by 6 people.

“Christian – Presbyterian” was listed by 3 people.

“Christian – Reformed – Presbyterian” was listed by 1 person.

“Agnostic” was listed by 1 person.

“Deist” was listed by 1 person.

3 people had nothing listed.

Why do people choose to insert their own, unique title for their religion? I have to admit, when Facebook first added the religion to profiles, I opted not to list myself as “Presbyterian” or “Christian.” I decided to write in “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Honestly, I have no recollection as to why I thought it would be better to do that. I can think of a few reasons now, for Christians at least, but am also doubtful any of them are really satisfied by a Facebook profile.

Some people, it seems, have an evangelical motivation. We’re supposed to be witnesses for Christ and proclaim the gospel. We need to make the most of every opportunity. If Facebook is going to ask us about our religion, we’re going to make our answer count. So, if we put something unique and unexpected, people will take notice. I think the intention here is good enough, but there are also so many problems with this. For starters, it assumes that people actually take the time to read our profiles. My guess is most don’t, and of those who do, none of them are going to your profile asking “What must I do to be saved?”.

For others, there seems to be a fear of being misunderstood. Calling ourselves “Presbyterian” or any other denominational affiliation makes us look too institutional. The  term “Christian” carries too many negative connotations with which we don’t want to be associated. So, we’ll enter something unique that our friends won’t be able to misconstrue. Again, one of the false assumptions behind this fear is that people actually read our profiles, and even fewer care whether we’re “Christian” or a “Follower of Christ.” Even fewer will be scandalized by reading that we’re “Presbyterian” or “Episcopalian.”

I think even more problematic is the fear many of us have of being associated with other Christians of a different breed. Saying that we’re “Christian” may in fact  associate us with the Pat Robertsons of our time, or some of the great injustices committed by Christians throughout history. But, we also can’t write our own faith’s prior history, or choose who our brothers and sisters in Christ are. Perhaps we’re called to own up to that history and reputation, and proclaim it with a spirit of humility and confession.

On top of that, maybe Christians listing their religion as Christian will be more effective evangelically. Let’s face it, a bunch of unique religion preferences is pretty poor branding and p.r. Maybe it’s time the Christian community on Facebook took a more united front in their religious Facebook preference.

Then again, I doubt anyone would notice…

[Via http://mikegehrling.wordpress.com]