As a social media consultant, strategist & trainer I teach small businesses to keep an eye on what is happening in their industry. Staying current and informed is what helps you move progressively forward in your business.

Now, staying current is a big job as it requires your valuable time… not to mention the time it takes to find good blogs. Go to Technorati, click on the small business blogs and you will find over 1250 blogs in the small business category alone! That is a tremendous amount of information!

What happens when you finally find a few great blogs that give you great value and you want to know when they post new goodies? Do you go to their site every few days, checking for new information? Well, I suppose you could… but that would be extremely time consuming.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could get the most recent information from all of your favorite blogs sent to one convenient location?

Good news! Get a Google Reader and subscribe to your favorite blogs RSS feed!

Not sure what this is all about?

Here is a YouTube video that offers a very simple explanation…

Leave me a comment if you have any questions on how to set up your feed reader. If you want to learn more about Google Reader go watch this video !

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A few weeks ago I had a Business Consulting Firm ask me how online networking could help them market an offline business.

Before I address the “How”, I need to explain the “What” & “Why” of social networking as well as how it works in conjunction with other marketing methods. So, stay with me to the end and you will absolutely see how building an online audience can realistically grow your business.

I know of many businesses that conduct business offline but maintain an online presence for exposure and marketing purposes. I even know a few who maintain a site because they were told it was the thing to do.

Most business websites display the basic pages; About Us, Missions Statement, Contact Us, and features of their services or products that they provide.

Basically, they have created an expensive online brochure.

A lot of businesses either are not aware of or forget to talk about the benefits they provide to their customers or clients. This particular firm does have a website, which, by the way, says it serves customers worldwide. It also touches briefly on some benefits in a section labeled…

What you will experience with us/What you won’t experience with us

This section should be expanded upon if they are maintaining an online presence for the purpose of attracting more clients. This in itself is a whole other topic of conversation. I do need to first touch on some basics to demonstrate how online networking can aid in your marketing plan in a very powerful way.

If this firm wants to attract more clients, they should implement a couple of low cost methods right now. It would help them extend their reach and develop greater credibility.

Honestly, I do not know who these people are or how far their reach is, but I do know that what I am about to share will benefit any business that wants to use the internet to market & network their offline business and expand their reach beyond traditional marketing.

So, for you small businesses that want to grow, please consider …..

• … a  Blog.  A blog should be your main hub.  You should use it to demonstrate your expertise and engage in 2-way conversations with your market, customers/clients & potential customers/clients.  Unlike the other social platforms you communicate on, you actually own your blog.  This is not the case with Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites that could disappear tomorrow.  You don’t have any control of these platforms like you do your own blog.

• … an Ezine as an extremely useful marketing tool.  It gives you constant contact with your niche.  An Ezine can be as simple as offering a valuable tip of the week or revealing helpful resources to your readers.

When you blog and publish an online Ezine, this is your way of paying it forward. By providing valuable information you are helping your followers achieve a level of success. It is the quality of your content that will get you noticed so the key is to make it meaty information, not a bunch of fluff.

Blogs and Ezines are just 2 ways to drip on your subscribers and readers. These readers are your  existing and potential clients and customers.  They read your blog and sign up for your Ezine because they want help, and solutions to their problems and challenges.  Because you are communicating on a regular basis with them, you will be the first one that enters their mind when they are ready to take the first step  in solving their problem(s).  They will trust you and be more inclined to purchase from you because you have been supplying them with useful information for free. When you take the time to “pay it forward” you are showing them you care about there success.

When you share and communicate consistent meaty, valuable information on your blog and in your Ezines, you are building trust and credibility.  This is why it pays to take the time to respond to their needs, even if it was only in a small way.

You are building and should continue to build and nurture these valuable relationships. They are gold. I have heard it takes exposing your business or services to a potential customer or client 8- 9 times before they will even consider buying from you. This tells me that marketing is not an event, it is an ongoing process.

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social sites are simply tools to help you create awareness for your business, products and services.  You use these tools to direct your potential clients and customers to your main hub, which is your blog where your readers have the opportunity to sign up for your Ezine.  All of these tools combined allow you to spread your reach and visibility beyond traditional marketing methods.  It’s time to tap into the power combining social media marketing, blogs & Ezines!

Stay tuned for my next post where I will give you 7 Great Ways to Use Twitter to Boost Your Business!

Please share your thoughts…I’d love to answer your questions!

Above Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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My day is filled with a million and one things to do! One of those things to do involves commenting on other people’s blogs. A good social media plan mandates that I participate in other people’s business lives. When I write a comment on another blog, I like to leave a link to my blog and a picture, which is referred to as an avatar.

One way that I increase my visibility and reach across the Internet is to post the same photo wherever I comment. Now, I no longer have to waste time uploading my picture on several different platforms because I have discovered a resource that does it for me.  It’s called Gravatar.

Take a peek at this video to see how it works and how it can help you implement one piece of your social marketing plan more efficiently!

Take a moment right now to go to Gravatar.com and set up your universal avatar and make your life a little bit easier!

Please let me know what you struggle with! I just might have the answer….and if I don’t, I bet I can get it!

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You’re working hard to develop your brand and increase your business visibility.You’re developing relationships & gaining credibility. People are starting to talk….

• How are you keeping up with the buzz you are creating?

• Do you know who is talking about you?

• Do you know where your articles are being posted?

• Who’s saying positive things about you?

•  Who’s saying negative things about you or your products and services?
  

• Who’s linking to your online real estate?

As a solo business owner it’s critical that you manage your online reputation.

It is perfect social manners to thank anyone who gives kudos to you, your business or services. If anyone bashes you, it is important that you are on it by implementing damage control immediately!

Let me introduce you to one completely free “Reputation Management” tool.

Google Alerts: http://Google.com/alerts.

Google Alerts are delivered via email or RSS feed and contain the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

• Your Domain Keep an eye on your blog or website. Just type in your sitename.com leaving off the www or http. If you have a specific link from your blog posted someplace else that points back to your blog, Google should pick that up.

• Your Name, Business Name,  Products & Services These are critical alerts to implement into your social media reputation management system. Setting up an alert for your product names, your business name and your personal name will uncover additional buzz.  If you have a service that is listed as a named “system”  such as “How to Close Every 5 out of 6 Sales Blueprint System” you need to set up an alert for it as well.
  

• Your Articles If you write and distribute your own articles to various directories, you can set up an alert for each article title.

As a solo business owner you can set up this monitoring system to help you stay on top of the buzz you are creating as you strive to build long, healthy relationships by keeping the 2 way conversation going.

Sign up for my Free Step By Step Social Media Weekly Newsletter full of advice and tips on how to expand reach and visibility while eliminating overwhelm associated with social media marketing.  I focus on creating a simplified “Step By Step Social Media” plan that include automated, easy to manage processes & systems!

You’ll also receive my free Twitter 3 in 1 Bonus Report

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