Posts tagged as:

social media

Stay Informed the Quick & Easy Way

by Shelly Lodes on July 13, 2010

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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What is Your Social Reputation?

by Shelly Lodes on February 3, 2010

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

  • How to use Twitter for Business The Right Way: A guide to creating, implementing & maintaining a business presence on Twitter
  • 3 Mistakes Newbies Make on Twitter
  • 17 Business Boosting Twitter Tips

  I’d love to hear how you are monitoring your social reputation or using Google Alerts.  Leave a comment!


 


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Facebook Tagging Done Right

by Shelly Lodes on December 2, 2009

If you mention a friend in one of your status updates, you might want to consider “tagging” them.

As solo and small business owners we need to expose ourselves often.  To do this we use using various social media platforms.  This is how we  increase our visibility.  Increased visibly helps our audience get to know us, connect with us and remember who we are and what we do.

Tagging is another way to get a little more oomph from our efforts and a creative way to interact with our friends.

How does tagging help your business?

  • Tagging in Facebook provides your businesses with a way to stay in the forefront of your friends and fans minds.
  • When you tag someone they will receive a notification that they have been “tagged” and more than likely will want to check out what you “tagged” them in.
  • Your tagged status update will show up on their wall as well.  There is not an option to comment on their wall so if they want to comment they have to click on the link under the post where it says “View Post” This will link back to your original update where they can leave a comment on your profile or page!

So how do you “tag” someone?

  • Type in the @ symbol plus the first letter or so of the name, group or page that you want to tag in your status updates.
  • This will activate a pop up box that displays the names that start with the letters you typed.
  • When you select one of the names, the @ symbol disappears and the name shows up as a hyperlink in your update.
  • If you click on their name in your update, it will take you to their wall.
  • This works in the “Notes” section as well.

There are some limitations…

  • It does NOT work in comments.
  • You can’t tag someone if they are only a fan.  They must be a friend on your profile page too.

DO NOT abuse tagging!

  • Only tag a friend if they are relevant to the post.
  • Don’t randomly tag a big influencer in your industry just for extra exposure to their friends.  Not cool!
  • Be sure that you have a relationship with the person you tag.  Don’t randomly tag a person who you have not communicated with or have some form of connection.

Tagging is great for…

  • Complimenting, congratulating or thanking a friend personally in a public way.
  • It is also a wonderful way to bring exposure to your friends fan pages.

So………..tag, you’re it!  Go give it a try!


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5 Ways Your Business Will Twinkle on Twitter

by Shelly Lodes on November 25, 2009

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Twitter this, Twitter that, everyone is talking about Twitter!

Solo entrepreneurs, small business owners and network marketers are flocking to Twitter in droves trying to expose their products & services.

Twitter is a valuable branding, marketing & social media networking tool business owners use to connect with customers, prospects and fellow associates.  But, if you want to successfully leverage Twitter you MUST learn  how to use it effectively.

If you would rather listen to this post….

Your Business will Twinkle on Twitter if you give these 5 factors serious thought….

  • Create An Attractive Bio When creating your Twitterland Bio you are limited to 160 characters. In those 160 characters you need to display your professionalism and your authentic human side. But that isn’t enough. In addition, you need to be informative and interesting. Take the time to think about this and get creative.
  • Include Your Picture Building trust and credibility means being transparent. Social Networking requires that you let people know who you really are. Being real and authentic means you will have to show your face, preferably a close up. You can use your business logo but personally I do not recommend it.  If your logo is where you get the most brand recognition then go ahead and use it, just be sure to use your real name so people are aware of who you are.
  • Create a Presence With a Custom Background Design Your Twitter background is your billboard and a piece of your virtual real estate. Go surf around to some Twitter pages and you’ll see that business owners use their backgrounds to display various credentials and services. Don’t waste this valuable  marketing space. Use this space to tie it into the existing look of your brand. Be consistent with the look of your website or blog or any other internet presence you may have. If you possess Photoshop skills, you could easily whip up a personalized background otherwise a decent background will cost you between $50.00 and $75.00.
  • Gain The Right Followers If you’re a dog trainer and you have 4000 followers interested in trading stocks, building houses or wind surfing, then Twitter will not do anything for your business. The object here is to get targeted followers. In the case of the dog trainer that would be followers who own dogs, especially disobedient dogs! Connecting with pet store owners and veterinarians could also qualify as a dog trainer’s target market. Attracting a targeted market is what will drive your bottom line.
  • Don’t Sell! Share Information Instead If you think you’re going to sign up for a Twitter account and immediately start to rave about your products, services or business opportunity you might as well take up Tiddlywinks. The idea is to engage in conversation and get to know your followers as if you were at a BBQ or some other casual social gathering. Mix and mingle and share who you are. Offer to help them with their problems, suggest solutions. Share your expertise freely. Pay it forward….. :)

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