Grow Your Business With Facebook

Image via CrunchBase

Don’t leave your business out in the cold. Look around you. Almost every major company website you visit or television show you watch has it’s own Facebook page.

Why? Because that’s where the people are.  Facebook has 655 million active daily users. 751 million users who use Facebook mobile products. What does all this mean to you? If you are a business owner you need to have your business listed on Facebook and it needs to be mobile friendly. Not sure where to even begin? Use my handy check list to get started.

Carol’s Handy Facebook Checklist:

• Create a profile page
• Create a Fan Page (This service is provided by Social Media Help 4 U if you simply don’t have the time to create it yourself)
• Complete your Fan Page profile. Include an attractive timeline cover, completely fill in your “about” section, add photos and custom tabs. Custom tabs could include but not limited to connecting your Twitter or Pinterest pages, newsletter sign up, a tab to purchase your book, events tab, music, Youtube channel, Instagram and more. If you are curious as to what tabs might be good for your company look at Facebook pages that are similar to your niche. Pay close attention to the pages that are active and see what tabs they added.
• Start posting updates. Regular updates are very important. There’s nothing worse than going to a companies page and seeing that is has been inactive for months. You know they don’t take their online presence seriously and worse yet, if you wanted to ask them a question about their product or service they’ll probably never respond.
• Use the Facebook scheduler for scheduling posts for times of the day you won’t be able to hop on in person. For instance if you live in the USA but you also have clients or fans in another country set updates to post at various times to cover different time zones.
• Engage – Say hello, visit other pages and engage with your audience. If someone leaves you a comment respond. Show you genuinely care.
• Keep your page professional. Don’t air your problems all over Facebook.
• If you sell products consider adding a “Shop Now” tab through a third party service such as Sort Price.
• Use Facebook ads. A combination of consistent posting, activity, engagement and Facebook ads can grow your page rapidly.
• Be authentic! Serve your customers with authenticity and integrity so they keep coming back for more and more!
• Test, test, test. Hop on and share at different times until you find the best time to engage with your audience.

Top Ten Writing Mistakes Bloggers Make

blogging (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

1. Not Proofreading

Everything you put out is a reflection of your professionalism. Don’t let a SINGLE thing go out without going over it thoroughly. Better yet, have a professional you can rely on proof all your posts before they go out. This is non-negotiable if you want you and your blog to be taken seriously.

2. Inconsistent Content

 People will read your blog because you are either writing about something that matters to them or writing in a style they enjoy. Find your voice and genre and stick to it.

3. Using a Hard to Read Font

I know it’s tempting with all the choices available to pick a cutesy or offbeat font. Don’t do it. No one wants to be distracted when they’re trying to read. Also, save the colors for images unless a particular color really ties into your brand.

4. Overly Wordy

 A blog is not a book. People want to be entertained or informed in a short format. Blogs are meant to be easy to digest pieces of information. If you feel there’s more to say on a topic, break it into two parts. This will also serve to entice people back and that’s a good thing!

5. Boring Title

A title is your hook. If it doesn’t describe what a reader can expect, or doesn’t invite curiosity, it isn’t a good title. Give your titles some thought; make sure they encourage further investigation.

6. Not Responding to Replies

Not only is this a chance to write, it gives people a reason to come back. Everyone likes being acknowledged. Ask questions and keep your readers engaged. Check your blog often enough that your readers never go more than a day without a response.

7. Hit or Miss Posting

Make a writing schedule for yourself and stick to it. Make sure you blog the same day (or days) every week. Your readers will be more likely to revisit if you’re predictable. Once a week is the minimum posting you can do and expect to get a following.

8. Not Crediting Quotes and Links

When the writing is not exclusively yours, make sure you give credit where credit is due. Not only will your readers appreciate being able to check out what you’re referencing, the person whose work you’re quoting or notating will be grateful too, and may just return the favor!

9. Using Vocabulary Unfamiliar to Your Intended Audience

 If people are reading your blog to learn more about something you know a lot about, assume they may be unfamiliar with technical or industry specific language. No one wants to read something they don’t understand. Rather than being impressive, it tends to make people feel that you’re either a show off or that they’re stupid, and neither of these are good for you.

10. Not Editing

 Did I already say this? Well, I’m saying it again; that’s how important it is. Poor grammar, misspellings, typos, and bad punctuation are the number one reason people won’t revisit your blog. Don’t trust your spellchecker; it doesn’t catch everything.

Happy Blogging!

Jo Spring

Spiritual Editor and Freelancer Coach

www.jospring.com

Building An Author Platform Info-Graphic

“Your Easy 3-Step Sales Funnel” (PART 1 of 3) by Ali Brown

If you’re like most solo-preneurs who offer a basic service in your business, you likely got started by just pounding the pavement to hustle up some clients. Then, you began to receive word-of-mouth referrals. And then, perhaps you put up a website and began using email and social media to promote your services.

While these methods can surely work, there are probably nights you wake up at 2 a.m. worrying, “Where are my next clients/customers coming from?”

Putting together a sales funnel will not only solve this problem, but it can add thousands of dollars to your business (and for many of my clients, hundreds of thousands). It’s a valuable system I’ve shared with my clients for years, and it’s also one of the gems we teach step-by-step in my Elevate online training program. Today my goal is to give you an easy overview, so you can get started on your own.

Before we start, picture a funnel. You know a funnel is wide and open at the top, and tiny and narrow at the bottom. Our sales funnel has three distinct parts, from top to bottom, which I’ll list in steps:

Step 1: Your prospects (the discovery)

Step 2: Your leads (the invitation)

Step 3: Your sales (the conversion)

STEP 1: Your prospects (the discovery)

The top of the sales funnel is the widest part, and it’s made up of your prospects. These are people who are strangers to you now, but who fit your ideal market. They don’t know yet that you exist, but if they did know they would likely be interested in what you have to offer. So, your objective is to make yourself known, so you can get these prospects INTO your funnel.

For example, let’s say Jane is a prenatal yoga teacher who mostly relies on referrals to get new business. There are thousands of moms-to-be in Jane’s community who could use her services, but 95% of them have no idea that Jane and her services even exist. So how can she get them into her funnel?

First, let’s look at OFFLINE strategies — Jane could start by attending workshops, events, and clinics specifically for expectant mothers. She could rent a booth or offer to lead a free yoga workshop, so women could get turned on to her services. Jane could also book speaking gigs at these and other events, to showcase her expertise. She could also go for appearances on local TV and radio shows that cater to her target market. See how many people who didn’t know Jane before would suddenly know about her? Your main offline goals in this step are visibility and connections.

Then let’s look at ONLINE strategies — To help prospects discover you online, you need a two-pronged strategy:

• Get in front of your prospects where they already are. Figure out where your prospects already are online in large numbers. For Jane’s example, she could look for websites, online communities, and Facebook pages that are geared toward expectant mothers. Once she identifies them, she should be active in their discussions, contact the hosts to see about guest blogging or moderating opportunities, and also any paid advertising options.And don’t forget about Facebook ads, which I love because they can be so highly targeted, affordable, and often an ideal way to get in front of the type of person you’re looking for. (For Jane’s example, she can have her ad show for all women in her area who “like” pages for The Bump, Fit Pregnancy, the Boppy Company etc.)
• Be in front of your prospects when they are looking for you. Now, you want to make sure people who are actually searching for your type of service or solution will find YOU just your competitors. Make sure you are listed in appropriate sections of your local yellow pages (if applicable.) Make sure your website shows up for people searching online for your products or services (either organically or with paid Google Ads). If you have products, also consider adding Amazon.com to your marketing plan, as many people are using it now almost as a search engine to find what they want quickly.

There’s so much more we could go into here, but I hope this got your wheels turning on how you can more easily find your ideal prospects, and help your ideal prospects find you!

Next, in Step 2, we’ll turn many of these prospects into leads.

(continued in Part 2)

QUESTION: Who is your ideal prospect, and what methods are you using to reach them… or help them find you? Please join in the conversation below!

“Entrepreneur mentor Ali Brown teaches women around the world how to start and grow a profitable business that make a positive impact. Get her FREE CD “Top 10 Secrets for Entrepreneurial Women” at www.AliBrown.com“

Order Your Social Media Assessment Today

Social Media Assessment: Full assessment of all your social sites, blog & website. Up to 7 sites for $100.00.

Assessment includes:

• • Understanding the social environment
  • B2B or B2C
  • Posting times best suited for your audience
  • Age group and target area of your audience
  • Ideas for growth and tools you can use to help manage your social activity more smoothly
  • Ideas for alternate revenue streams
  • Content update ideas
  • How to let your passion show through to your clients
  • Best social sites for your company
  • Keywords
  • Identifying Influencers
  • An over view of what you are missing on your sites.

Order you assessment today! Provide your email and web address and upon payment I will contact you for all your website url’s and begin your assessment. Assessment can take 1-3 days depending on how many orders are in Que. 

You will receive a full assessment of each site and valuable information on growing your fan base and increasing engagement curtailed specifically for you. Bonuses included:  How you can monitor your own online reputation and 25 Twitter Tips For Growing Your Business.

Order your social media assessment today for only $100.00

Hiring a Social Media Manager or Virtual Assistant

You’ve reached the point in your business where you begin to realize time is valuable and time is money. Very valuable! Being able to run your business with more of a balanced approach will not only free up more of your time but will increase productivity. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know the importance of social media. You also know the importance of building a team of support.

Using social media the right way can “amplify” your business by increasing your visibility online, increase your website traffic, generate sales leads by putting your company in front of the right audience, increase sales leads and sales.

If you are an entrepreneur, author or a small business owner who works from a mobile office hiring virtual assistants is the perfect solution to adding much-needed help to your team. If you are a small business who has run out of office space, has an increasing workload but you do not want to hire an additional employee, VA’s are a viable solution to your problem.

By building a “virtual” team you can save money. When hiring a virtual assistant who is registered as an independent contractor or business owner they are responsible for their own taxes. They work from their own home office so you do not need to provide them office space, equipment, pay health insurance, or find fill in work to fill an 8 hour work day. From my personal experience virtual workers are more happy, balanced and have deep reasons for choosing the work from home life style. Maybe they are a stay at home mom who needs to work around their child’s schedule for extra money, a person who who tired of the long commute or a person who turned a passion into a business.  

You can hire your new assistant by the hour, the project or contracted work. For example, as a social media manager i work under an agreed upon contract between myself and my client. After our first initial consultation i draw up a proposal/contract and after all the details are agreed upon work begins. 

When looking for a social media manager and a virtual assistant to help make your business run more smoothly there are a few things to consider.

Do you want someone who represents your core values? Are you  branding yourself or your company? Can you handle working by email and phone? 

You need to hire someone you can trust. They will be representing your company. Your social media manager has your reputation in his/her hands and will have access to all your social media accounts, sign in information and passwords. Look for recommendations and check references. When you find a reliable assistant hang onto them. Having a person you can trust with your reputation and rely on to get the job done is priceless. Acknowledge your appreciation for their work and pay them well.

Some things to avoid:

I cringe when I see these ads where a company is looking for an assistant to work for $3.00 an hour. Would you work for $3.00 an hour? No you would not. Would you put your heart and soul into a project for $3.00 an hour? You want productivity, reliability, integrity and honesty. Treat your assistants like you do your customers.  

Avoid running an ad asking someone to get you 200,000 followers for $20.00. Be realistic. Set your goals, write your mission statement and hire a team that represents what matters to you. You want real followers not computer generated followers or followers who signed up to win a prize but never plan on returning to your website again.

If your ready to hire a social media manager send me an email and let’s talk. 

Any company who wants to get anywhere needs and online presence. Being a social media manager is not about sitting around the computer having useless conversations and watching endless funny animal videos. Serious social media mangers know the importance of helping you grow your company, expanding your reach and helping you provide top-notch customer service.

Here are some examples of what a social media manager can do for your company.

1. Increase your visibility by managing and updating several social media sites.

2. They can help you choose the best sites for your business.

3. Creating and scheduling tweets For Twitter. Responding to @mentions, direct messages and retweeting relative content to your audience.

4. Grow your audience by pinning relative content on Pinterest. Filling in your Pinterest boards with complete descriptions with keywords and hashtags in mind.

5. Engage and dialogue directly with customers, provide the prompt attention they desire and inform you when you have activity you need to tend to.

6. They can monitor your reputation for anything coming through the blogosphere related to your company so you can respond appropriately. They know the importance of having you be connected with your online presence.

7. When looking for a social media manager, check out their online presence. Are they on Facebook? Twitter? Pinterest? Do they have a blog? Do they have experience? Some projects can be left of to interns but your social media presence should be directed by a pro, who possibly directs the interns on the smaller projects.

8. Create a social media strategy.

9. Run Facebook ads and sponsored posts.

10. Search for news, articles and appropriate content to post.

These are just a few of the projects a social media manager does.

Here are some examples of what a virtual assistant can do for your company.

1. Schedule phone calls

2. Check your emails, filter them and flag the really important ones.

3. Create logos, photo memes, banners and other content that can be used online to expand your expertise.

4. Return calls, texts, emails.

5. Editing and proofreading

6. Project management and reporting

7. Calendar and schedule management

8. Meeting preparation and notes

9. Expense reports

10. Online file management

Some social media managers and virtual assistants cross over into both realms. Some are more generalized and pick exactly what they want to excel in.

If you are interested into becoming a virtual assistant sign up for my newsletter to be the first to hear about my newest ebook coming soon, Working From Home As A Virtual Assistant. I map out the steps you need to get started and where to go for VA training.

Carol Lawrence is a mom, social media manager, author, blogger and assistant editor of the All Things Healing family and parenting community.

Social Media Help 4 U  and Intentional Conscious Parenting

A complete overview about Social Media Marketing Measurement

5 Ways To Connect Your Social Media Marketing And Email Marketing (Photo credit: Kris Olin)

Businesses all over the world have understood the importance of social media as part and parcel of a marketing strategy. But they are still not sure how to be sure that a social media strategy is actually working for them. Now experts believe that that there are 4 factors to be considered if you want to determine whether a social media campaign was successful or not.

Growth of visitors

A web analytics tool can easily track the source of the website visitors. The social media should be used to promote a new blog post or a new promotion page or just a new page of content. If the tool shows that there is a steady stream of visitors from the social media sites then there is no doubt that you are using the social media in a correct way.

Conversions

If there is a social media campaign then it would result in an increase in sales. There will be related appreciation in the number of leads and phone calls too. You may follow the customers and the clients whether they are following you in social media. If they are following you on social media then there is a high chance that the social media efforts have resulted in the conversion. When a client or customer ‘converts’ then the social media gets involved in the ‘retention’ process.

Interaction

You need to inquire whether people are actually interacting with your brand page on the social media. Just check whether they are leaving comments, liking them and sharing your content. An interaction is absolutely necessary on social media if you plan to increase the fans and followers. But to ensure that you may have to resort to prompting. You can ask a question or share a link to some good content that will promptly respond to any inquiries. If the brand page is not interactive then it is pretty useless.

New fans and followers

The goal of any business should not be to indiscriminately increase the fans and followers. The concept is to gain in fans and followers who are actually interested in the products and services that you offer and those will eventually become a prospect. If with the passage of time your fan and follower base keeps on increasing then it is a very good sign that you are increasing your brand presence in the social media in the correct way to get noticed. If you just keep on adding fans and followers then your products and services will never get advertised in the proper way and there will less leads and conversions.

What needs to be remembered all time is that social media marketing is not concerned about the immediate sales. The focus should be on building a brand and then establishing relationships over a passage of time. However, in some industries the sales cycle should be kept in mind too. In matters of B2B it can take a long time, months and even years, to convince a client or a customer. The social media works tirelessly to keep the brand on top of mind throughout the decision making process.

About the author: Brianne Walter is a writer. She loves writing, traveling and playing games. She contributes for seomprpheus.com

Richard Branson Shares Several Lessons He Learns From His Mother.

Richard Branson (Photo credit: D@LY3D)

There’s an excellent interview on Entreprenuer.com with Richard Branson. I always enjoy reading what he has to say. Even though I never strive to have the kind of wealth he has I do strive to create a comfortable life style. To be able to create my own foundation and give freely is a goal of mine! The more we make the more we can share.

I purposely surround myself with intuitive and savvy business owners. I’m always consuming their updates and latest information through the web via Facebook, G+, Twitter, Blogs, Podcasts and more. I make note of important tips or advice they provide that resonates with me.

Do you have a favorite business owner or CEO you follow?

Here’s my favorite part from this interview with Richard Branson.

“Above all, you should work on building a business you’re proud of. This has always been a motivator for me, from my Student magazine days, through to our latest startups today. I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If money is your only motive, then I believe you shouldn’t launch the business at all.” ~ Richard Branson

I’d love to hear your thoughts about Richard’s interview. Before you go sign up for my newsletter on the right &  follow me on Facebook.  Don’t worry Facebook will open in a new window. 

 

Take Your Business To The Next Level With Video In 2013!

Did you know that VIDEO is the fastest-growing digital content category? It’s true! I’ve used video to promote my Social Media Business and my Intentional Conscious Parenting blog but i still have so much to learn.

My friend, social media expert, Mari Smith, has declared 2013 the YEAR OF THE VIDEO. And, the good news is you can create excellent video content anywhere. Come find out how on Mari’s mega FREE webinar all about video marketing:

2013: THE YEAR OF THE VIDEO – free live webinar
Date: Thursday, January 24, 2013
Time: 11:00am Pacific | 1:00pm Central | 2:00pm Eastern | 7:00pm UK
Duration: 75 minutes
Go here to register

During this webinar, you’ll learn about a whole range of equipment from cameras to lighting, from simple and effective to more complex, and from super inexpensive to higher end. Read the rest of this entry »

Where Do I Find Music For My Podcasts And Creative Projects?

Music Note Bokeh (Photo credit: all that improbable blue)

I love surrounding myself with information that helps me build my business mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  I received a newsletter from Social Media Examiner sharing a podcast with Ekaterina Walter about how having a purpose can help drive the success of your business. She talks about how Mark Zuckerburg has grown his empire. One of the cool tips interviewer Mike Stelzner gives you at the beginning of the show is how you can get cool background music for your creative projects.

Check out The Music Bakery to find music you can use on your podcasts. Prices start as low as $29.00. Royalty free sound effects are as low as $1.98 each. I have no affiliate connection with The Music Bakery i just wanted to share this really cool tip with you. Read the rest of this entry »