After attending many webinars and participating in Forums in January and February of this year, I noticed many new and existing business owners are at the stage of seeking information about how Social Media works and were actually surprised when many experienced marketers stressed how important it was to develop a strategy “before” they start setting up accounts and participating.  I have also gained many new clients recently and encountered the same issue – they want “into Social Media” but haven’t any idea what they want to accomplish.

6 Reasons to have success in Social Media with a Strategy:

1. To have a plan with realistic goals and how to reach them.
2. To use consistent branding.
3. To know your competition.
4. To clarify how much time you have to participate.
5. To set a budget.
6. To track your Return on Investment.

I insist on sending my Social Media Assessment Form to them to be filled out before we begin.  This helps them think through a Plan of Action.  Here are just some of the questions I ask them to complete.

•   Who is your target market?

•   Clarify whether you are targeting local, national or international market?

•   What are your products and/or services?

•   What goals do you want to accomplish in Social Media and in what timeframe?

•   What forms of Branding do you want to utilize in Social Media?

•   What are your keywords for your Business?

•   What is your competition doing in Social Media?

•   What amount of time are you scheduling to participate in Social Media and what role do you want your Social Media Specialist to fill – consultant, trainer and/or implementation?

•   What is your monthly budget?

•   What is your level of experience with Social Media – beginner, intermediate or experienced?

•   How will you track your Return on Investment (both your time and the Social Media Specialists)?

A well thought out Plan of Action will lead to a higher rate of success!  Please feel free to share any other information you think pertinent to add to the above list of questions.

Last week, the SOPA/PITA Acts were bound for approval in the United States.  In the largest online protest in history on January 18

What is SOPA?

Establishes a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be “dedicated to infringing activities.” The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against the alleged infringer and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. In some cases, action could be taken to block sites without first allowing the alleged infringer to defend themselves in court.

The link to read more is here:  http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show

What is PIPA?

PIPA, if passed, will give U.S. corporations and the government the right to seek affirmative legal action with any website that they see as enabling copyright infringement whether of U.S. origin or not.

The link to read more is here:     http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/how-sopa-pipa-can-affect-you/

These bills were initially created to prevent piracy of content like videos, music and software on the internet that robs the entertainment and computer  industry of their royalties but since the criteria for these bills was unfocused and unclear, they “could” be used to pull a website like Google or Wikipedia or WordPress.org off the internet for copywright infringement for their content like articles, blog posts, videos, audios and so on….

What does this mean for Small Business?

Most small businesses nowadays know that if they don’t have an internet presence they are definitely going to lose a huge amount of business.  Why?  Because with the age of computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones about 80% of the population research online to find products and services that they are looking to buy.  The days of the old Yellow Pages for research is almost gone.  Most people never think to use that old method of finding businesses.  And if they research online and a company doesn’t have a website, they will never know about it or worse still, if they want to research a specific company before they buy and a website is not there, they move on to businesses that are on the internet for the information they seek.

Small businesses who have a website have to create their own content, and although some take illegal shortcuts by copy and paste from similar sites offering similar products and services, most take the time and money to create their own individual message to their website visitors.  But what if the content they create is similar to some other website.  It is inevitable.  There are only so many ways you can describe or illustrate your products and services.  SOPA/PIPA if passed, can pull your website off the internet and you have no recourse to recover from a loss like that.

And what about Social Media?

Among the thought leaders, Content Marketing is going to be huge in 2012.  Everyone can find anything “information” on the internet and individuals automatically do their research there.   With the prominence of Social Media and content sharing sites, people in my industry – Inbound Marketers, Internet Marketers, Social Media Marketers, Video Marketing Specialists, Article Marketers, Blog Marketers – we all urge our business clients to create lots of fresh content and to proactively share the content of the people we are connected to.   Is this copywright infringement?  With the SOPA/PIPA Bills, with it’s “fuzzy” definitions we, as small business owners, could be misconstrued as stealing content.

That is why huge sites like Google, Wikipedia and WordPress.org took a stand.

And, Go Daddy, one of the biggest webhosts and domain sellers, changed their minds about supporting these bills when they lost more than 10,000 customers in a week!

I agree that these Bills may eventually pass, but before they do, the “powers that be” must be educated on how the internet works, how Social Media and all the other online marketing strategies work, and then edit and modify these Bills to much more defined guidelines.

How do you feel about SOPA/PIPA?

If you want to keep abreast on developments on these bills, you can find updates here:  http://sopastrike.com/

OR, in Canada:

http://openmedia.ca/SOPA

Foursquare entered the Social Media world in 2009 and although it seemed to have a slow start it has now become mainstream for users of smartphones and boosting local traffic in businesses.

As of June 2011, the company reported it had 10 million registered users and expected to pass 750 million check-ins before the end of June 2011, with an average of about 3 million check-ins per day. 50 percent of users come from outside US.

What is Foursquare?

It is a free application on smartphones.  For instance, perhaps I have just discovered a great establishment in my area, a local office furniture store that offers new and used office furniture which they buy/sell/lease/trade.  I have found they have great customer service following the sale.  And when in the store, I found they also offer services to renovate existing office space and equipment to make it more efficient and look updated and fresh.  Wow!  That is a great place to share with my business associates and friends locally.

 I use the Foursquare app to “check-in” there – Foursquare actually does a local search for places in th area you are locted and this office furniture place may be already listed in which case I just check-in and there is a place I can leave tips like “great customer service”, “huge selection of items”, “having a great 30% sale today”, etc.

I have already personally registered in Foursquare and I can connect with anybody locally or around the world and when I “check-in”, they all receive notification that I am at that establishment.   As well, I have enabled Foursquare to post my “check-in” on my Facebook page and my Twitter account.  If this great business is not listed, I can automatically “add” them in the Foursquare app.  Now they are listed for anyone else who wants to “check-in” with Foursquare.

What if someone reads my check-in and wants more information about this business I’ve discovered?  The business can create their own account online when they go to Foursquare.  They add their name, contact information, special deals and discounts and more information on their products or services.

The Benefits of Putting Your Business on Foursquare?

·        A place you can list your business and where people locally can find you

·        You can add specific information you want your potential customers to know

·        You can offer rewards for visitors who come often

·        You can post specials and deals

·        You can not only reach local buyers but anyone who visits your city, town, etc. when they are in the area or travelling and are searching on their smartphones

·        It gives your customers a chance to “spread the word” about you and give you great recommendations.

The Benefits of Joining Foursquare yourself?

·        You find the specific products/services you need locally or when you are travelling

·        You can see recommendations about the establishments

·        You can win “rewards” the business has set up – a free product or service, a discount for being a regular customer, etc.

Foursquare for business just makes sense….and it is free!

www.foursquare.com

What success stories can you share about Foursquare?

Recently there have been more and more alarming stories about scams, spams, frauds and hacks through the internet.  As business owners who do a large part of our marketing through our websites with internet marketing and social media marketing, it is our responsibility to try to be aware of what is happening on the internet and how to protect ourselves.

This can be overwhelming, daunting and time consuming.  There are multiple sites that list scams and where scams can be reported.  There are also Forums where you can share your experiences.

http://www.hotscams.com/

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/latest-information.html

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/index-eng.htm

http://www.scambusters.org/

These are 3 scams I know of that have been circulating around and can cause huge problems for businesses.

1.   The Microsoft/Windows Scam:

“Someone” from Windows/Microsoft calls to say they have detected suspicious activity and virus’s on your computer.  They provide a URL that you are to type into your browser.  When you do, they remotely access your computer and upload a “virus software” that is actually a spybot that starts busily gathering all your information off your hard drive.  And it arbitrarily removes your own virus software to make your computer vulnerable.  As well, they offer their “repairs” for free until they install the offending software which mucks up your computer so bad that you can’t operate it and then they offer to remove the problem for a fee!

This happened a few months ago to my friend.  Thankfully, I had been doing “remote” stuff with her on her computer and as soon as she saw them take control of her mouse she knew what was happening and quickly shut down her computer until I got there to go into “Safe” mode on her computer and remove the offending upload so they couldn’t grab all her information.

This can have a catastrophic effect on any person who uses their computer for business – not only does all their information get hacked but it makes the computer unuseable until a “techie” can come in to fix it which costs huge or they fall for this whole scheme and have to pay the hacker to fix the problems.

2.     The Online Product Purchase Scam:

A Virtual Assistant I know who operates out of Australia reported that she was very pleased that one of her information products had sold bulk copies to someone who went to her website for the purchase.  She processed the payment – it was approved – and she promptly shipped out the items.  Then the credit card company came back to her with the news that the credit card had been stolen and, therefore, the purchase had been reversed.  She received no money, incurred the cost of shipping the products out (which weren’t returned) and she had no recourse to recoup her financial loss.

3.     The Phishing for Cell Numbers Scam:

I have a cell phone like most do.  At the time this incident happened my cell only had a number, a 250 minute plan, no texting and no internet.  There are many pop-ups that come to you on the internet where they offer “free” stuff or contests BUT you have to enter your cell number.  I ran into one of these several years ago and suddenly started receiving multiple text messages that they charged for and which Rogers (my provider) passed on to me.  I had Rogers reverse all after a long and lengthy fight so I never entered my cell number again.

HOWEVER, recently I started receiving all these text messages again when I had entered my cell number in NO WINDOW or POP-UP  I couldn’t figure out how they got my cell number until I thought it through.  There must be “data miners” out there who go to websites where we, as businesses, post all our contact information including cell numbers for our clients.  These “data miners” are going out into the internet and collecting these numbers and SELLING THEM to third party text messaging companies.  I had messages coming from 3 such third party messaging companies.  The cost to me for not even sharing my cell number:  $120 in 2 months.  Rogers must collect those fees and pass them on to those disgusting 3^rd party companies.  When I called Rogers they tried to block text messages to my phone (I didn’t have texting anyway) but that didn’t work.  They looked in their records on my account and found the names of these 3^rd Party providers and gave me their phone numbers whereby I contacted them and demanded they remove my number from their records.  It was a very long, time consuming fight and I had to call more than once but eventually when I pushed hard enough and asked to be escalated through many managers, I got a refund mailed to me by cheque.

What do you do if you have been scammed or “suspect” it may be a scam?

Here are a few suggestions offered from some of my alliances:

Courtesy of Karen Braschuk of Office Support 911:  www.OfficeSupport911.ca

There are  great places to report these calls/scams – special websites set up for exactly this purpose. If you Google a phone number from an annoying or suspicious caller, it’s likely there will a ton of others who have reported it as well.My two most trusted websites are:

www.800notes.com

http://www.800notes.com/

www.WhoCallsMe.com

http://www.whocallsme.com/

Every time I receive a call from an unknown caller, I check that number in
both of these places first. Sure enough, I usually find a slew of
information, in particular, “This is Microsoft just calling to make sure
your computer is secure” scam.

Be safe. An unsolicited call from anyone requires great care in how you
respond.

Never:

- Confirm your mailing/physical address

- Confirm your phone number

- Confirm your name

- Confirm your email address

- Confirm your password

- Confirm that you are a user of a particular service

Always:

- Ask them to identify themselves

- Ask why they are calling

- Ask for a call-back number

- Ask how they got your number

- Ask for their website or yellow pages listing

From Sandra Fénelon, Project Manager & Consultant at Sole Mia Concepts:  www.solemiaconcepts.com
If you have some facts that you can provide to the Canadian Anti-Fraud
Centre (CAFC), they can investigate the situation. However, I am not sure
what happens to the cases that have been reported. Here¹s their phone number
and email address:

Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC)
1 (888) 495-8501
E-mail: info@antifraudcentre.ca

Be alert, be aware and share your experiences with others.

You’re a B2B firm, do you use FaceBook?

I can hardly believe businesses don’t get the value of Social Media Marketing  for Business and having a Facebook Business Page whether their target market is B2B or B2C, but from the comments under that question, it appears many businesses consider Facebook only for B2C!

If you are a Facebook user, check out the feeds on your wall,  Many of your friends have no doubt “liked” business pages that interest them – I know many of the big corporations my friends have liked such as Dell, Tim Hortons, Best Buy, Staples – Business Depot, CBC, Presidents Choice, Toyota, Home Depot, Rogers Wireless, Telus and Avon,  to name a very few have recognized the value of Facebook to connect.

As well, industry specific companies like Real Estate Agents (both commercial and residental), Lawyers (both Family and Corporate), Software Companies (for personal or business), IT Companies and also any other companies in different industries have jumped into Facebook.  Did you know that non-Profits include Facebook very highly in their marketing efforts?

I certainly have highly recommended to my local clients, both established and new businesses, that to build their presence in their communities, Facebook is a MUST!  My clients are about a 50/50 split between B2B and B2C.

An example:  a local business who sells Business Furniture.  By joining local people in his community, no doubt many of them are business owners or work in local businesses.  He not only can target local people who live in the community but find other businesses in the community through them and by interacting with both his personal profile and his business page, he will be able to establish a strong presence for himself and his business and reach his target market or ideal clients.

Another example:  an account rep for wireless services whose target market is small businesses – she “found” me through Facebook and offered me a great deal for my business – I was a happy new customer and eagerly referred alliances and clients alike to contact her if they weren’t happy with their wireless providers, mostly through Facebook as I have many connections with small businesses in my community.

Of course, depending on the size of your Company, what your products or services are  and where your market “hangs out” on the internet, I can guarantee that some of your best clients/customers can be found on Social Media sites and Facebook specifically.

Larger corporations just have to define where their target market can be found and create a strategy for their marketing efforts that will effectively build on their connections in order to build their brand, communicate with their customers, share information, make new product or service announcements and create deals to entice their followers.

Let’s face it – almost everyone is now a Facebook user whether they use it for just connecting with friends and family or whether they are also using it for business purposes, purchasing decisions, information or whatever.  Personally, I have noticed recently that family and friends of mine who shied away from being a Facebook user in the past have finally decided to join and are learning fast that it is a source of all sorts of information beyond just communicating with those people they already know.  They are starting to take part in contests, liking pages of businesses they know and trust, seek information on new ventures and interests, etc.

So far in my experience, there hasn’t been a business out there that I couldn’t develop a Facebook marketing strategy for…can you think of any?

One of the first strategies I suggested was to get his business listed in Google Places.  He asked what was the use of getting in Google Places?

So I asked him a series of questions…

Where do you go to find businesses – the Yellow Pages or the internet?

His answer:  the internet.  Not surprising because about 90% of people search on the Internet now.  Approximately 1 in 10 people still refer to the Yellow Pages.  Most Yellow Pages books reside in people’s closets getting dusty with no use.  And even if they do refer to the Yellow Pages, their next step is usually to search the internet for the business’s site to get more information.  It is ironic that if people can’t find a website associated with the business, it is perceived that the business is very new, very small, very old or not very successful or professional if they don’t have a website.

How many people do you know who use Smartphones?

His answer:  almost everyone I know has a smartphone now.  Again, not surprising!

Recent statistics on Smartphones:

1. 4.1 billion mobile phones worldwide
2. 87% of US Cellphone Users have Smartphones
3. Smartphones will eclipse PC sales in 2012

And where does Google Places fit in?  Approximately 90% of the population will find you through an internet search (whether it be on a PC or smartphone).  If your site and Google Places listing are search engine optimized correctly, people will find you whether they are looking for your company name or by your keyword terms in Google.

Some other advantages to your Google Places Listing:

You can customize your listing to not only include your contact information but your hours, the addition of a Google Map to show your location, how you take payment, your hours of operation, highlighting your specialties, you can add videos to your listing or pictures of your products and most importantly it can be optimized for the search engines including location, e.g. cupcakes in Barrie Ontario Canada.  An additional benefit, is that your customers can write reviews of your services and recommend you.  And, you can post updates to your Places page such as specials, new products and services, events, etc.

And my last question to the client:

What is the cost for a Yellow Pages ad you want?  His answer did not match the cost of a Google Places ad – IT IS FREE!

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Why should you add Google + to your social media presence?

I think many people who are just entering Social Media or have been there for a few years now and have built up a community are reluctant to jump into yet another new Social Media forum – after all, it takes time to learn how each works and build your brand and connections.  This would just add more time to your busy schedule – right?   And many people are sitting on the fence to see if Google + actually is worth the effort.

I joined Google Plus within the first couple of weeks so I could test it out and judge for myself.  There are many knowledgeable thought leaders I am connected to who have spent more time than I have and so far the feedback has been very positive and I have to say that so far, I am impressed with it as well.

I love the “circles” feature that allows me to categorize my connections and target messages to specific circles.

I like the “Sparks” feature that allows me to indicate my interests and what feeds are going through that are displayed for me without searching for them.

Although, I am not a heavy Googe user, I do use Gmail, Alerts, Reader, Docs, Analytics, etc. and when I log into my Google Gmail I can find my Google + account on the very first tab at the top of the page.  I anticipate and have heard that Google users are finding it much easier to share content in Google + by using all the various Google tools available.

It is easy to search and find other Google Profiles of people I know and those I would like to know.  And an added benefit has been that new connections have found me and added me to their circles, giving me the opportunity to meet and learn to know them.

In the Social Media world I live in, due to the fact that I am, among other things, a Social Media Marketing Specialist, I find all the thought leaders are already in Google +.   One of the  strategies I follow and recommend to my clients, is to spread their social media presence in all the top sites and besides finding new connections, they should strengthen their presence, visibillity and recognition by connecting to the same people in all the forums. For example, I have found that connections I have made in other sites are already familiar with me and what I do and they automatically have been finding me in Google + and connecting with me there too.

And in these early stages of Google +, it is easy to check out new and familiar people I know and trust and I can find who is in their circles very easily connect with them as well.

Recently Google + has added games to their offerings and Google Business Pages will be coming soon.

And Google is “all about” SEO.  Think of the possibilities of how important a presence in Google + will mean to building SEO.

Since I have been aggregating content on Google + to keep abreast of all the new and upcoming developments, I have included some top content the thought leaders have provided with the links below.  Have a look to help you form your own opinions.

Do I think Google + will surpass Facebook?  Down the road, they may depending on how many features they add and how many new and innovative ways they improve it.  I agree with one of the articles below where someone mentioned that it will certainly keep Facebook on their toes.  They are certainly well on their way to impressing me and many others with what they have done in a very short period of time.

From Social Media Examiner:  How to Get Started with Google + – Your Complete Guide:  http://bit.ly/juQiS8

From Mari Smith:  What’s so Exciting About Google + – An Overview:  http://bit.ly/r8bDso

From Mashable:  Google + – the Complete Guide:  http://bit.ly/qeLHjh

From Mashable:  Google + Tips and Tricks:  10 More Ways to Make the Most of Your Account:  http://on.mash.to/oJsdop

From PC World:  Google + Posts will appear on Google Social Search Results:  http://bit.ly/oXeunI

From Social Media Today:  Why Goole + Is Great for SEO:  http://bit.ly/qeLHjh

From Social Media Today:  How Your Business Should be Preparing for Google +:  http://bit.ly/p30BGw

Slideshare is a great place to upload your powerpoint presentations and Slideshare integrates with Facebook, LinkedIn and on Twitter.  And Scribd is a great place to share your powerpoint content as well.

But did you know that if you have considered adding video content but held back because you think the cost of video is beyond your budget, powerpoints are the perfect solution to get started with video marketing when you are on a tight budget.

Here is how to do it:

Create a good powerpoint presentation:

• Choose a template and customize it to reflect your branding.
• Condense your content to focus on the points you want to highlight.
• Use bullet points where appropriate and 12 pt. minimum for fonts - they make it easier to read.
• Add images like pictures and/or graphs to back-up  the information you are providing.
• Save your powerpoint as a presentation first and then save as a jpg.  Powerpoint will ask you if you want to save each indiidual page as a jpg and click Yes.

 

Transfer your presentation to video:

• In Windows 7, Windows Live Moviemaker comes standard with your operating system.  If you have an earlier version, such as XP, the program you use is called just Windows Movie Maker.  There are also other software programs you can obtain.  Some are free downloads, some shareware and some paid.  A quick Google Search will help you choose the best one for you
• You will use your Powerpoint JPGs to import into your movie program and you can add an audio music file to play as it moves through the slides or create a voice-over  audio from a free program such as Audacity.
• These movie programs also allow you to time your presentation as it moves through the slides and has features where you can specify individual visual effects on each slide.

Now you have your finished video, so how can you distribute it multiple times as a part of Content Marketing?

• Post it on You Tube, Vimeo, Flickr, Photobucket and countless other video sites.
• Download it onto your website.
• Add your video to your Profiles in Social Media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn and don’t forget to add it to your Google Places account.
• Add videos to your blog posts or do a “video blog post” as a change from the standard text or audio blog post.
• Create tutorial or learning videos and package them to sell to your clients.

Video Marketing is a popular and very successful addition to your Marketing Strategies.

I invite you to add your ideas for video distribution.

I hit a milestone this week.  I discovered my company name listed 2 times on the first page of Google for my keywords.

After I did the “happy dance”, I acknowledged  my success in diligently having implemented all that I had learned in the training courses I have taken in the last few years – Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Link Building,  Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Video Marketing, Website Creation or re-Creation and having all the right components necessary to make my website work for me.

I paid no-one to magically take my website to the first page of Google with any of the claims of software or secret “get to 1st place in Google in a day” claims.  I did it all “organically” and over a period of a few months.  And blogging was a large part of my success, because the 2 links appearing on the 1st page are links to blogs I have recently posted.

The results of my diligence and work are the “proof”…..not only have I succeeded but I can provide the same level of success for my clients.

Why do Businesses want to reach the first page in Google or any other search engine?

§  Statistics show that the average person who searches in Google never goes beyond the first page of Google (or any other search engine).   The statistics for those who move to the 2nd page of listings drops dramatically and for 3^rd page, 4^th page and so on.

§  Statistics say that “organic” links are favoured 90/% over the usual top 3 “paid” listings (30%).

§  Statistics show that 85% of individuals use Search Engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, You Tube, Twitter and Facebook) to find what they are looking for.

When the search engine crawlers evaluate websites, they highly rate:

1.  Quality of the Link:

• Domain Age
• Relevancy of the content
• How current the content is
• Traffic Levels
• Page Rank

2.  Relevant content:

Based on the keywords/phrases embedded on the sites

3.  Link Popularity:

The number of quality one way links to the site from other relevant sites

And paramount is the Keyword Research that must be done FIRST to select the best keywords/phrases that accurately describe the business products and/or services and make sure that they are populated into the Page Title, Meta Description, Alt Images and Content.  The search engine crawlers will find and identify those keywords/phrases on the site and match them to what search terms will be used by individuals to find the relevant information they are seeking.

Where do you rank on the Search Engines?  Once you have found your listing, a good tip I can give you is to monitor it – every week or month – to see how you get ranked – what is working in your strategy and what is not.

Ask yourself this question…..where do you go to to find out about available products and services you require?  Do you search through your Yellow Pages or do you automatically turn to the internet to do your research?   I can’t remember the last time I accessed my Yellow Pages Directory and I can count maybe 10 people of everyone I know that actually uses their local directories.

I have experienced many new clients who actually did put up a website for their businesses 4 or 5 years ago and long since realized that they are not happy with the amount of visitors to their site.  But the expense they incurred with their first website prevents them from wanting to invest the same expense again in updating their website and then facing it again a few months or years down the road whenever they need to change their branding, add products or services, change contact information, add new content…..

There is a cost effective and vastly more efficient option…..Wordpress!  Originally WordPress was devoted to bloggers – they offered their WordPress.com site where you could get a free space on their site to set-up your new blog.  But WordPress.org was created years later.  On that site, you can download their platform for free onto your domain and start creating your site yourself using any of the thousands of free or paid templates to produce almost any type of site you want.  It is clear why many businesses are choosing WordPress as a cost-effective option for their website.

Here are some of the benefits of choosing to create OR recreate your site in WordPress: