Category Archives: Search Engine Marketing

Gearing up for 2012: Own Your Marketing Strategy

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Small business owners often overlook their own marketing strategy, planning and implementation because they are overwhelmed with the process, don’t know where to begin, and think it’s going to incur a high cost, so they push it to the way side and wing their business development and marketing, only to see that there are no new business or increased revenue.  Business owners should take their marketing serious if they want to grow their business, become known as an expert in their field, and attract new clients, and it will take an investment of time and money in order to learn how to leverage social media and online marketing tactics to attract and retain new clients, share your expertise across multiple channels, and get the search engines to index your website.

Don’t worry if you feel intimidated by all the verbiage around social media marketing, and SEO, but you and your business need to get the ball rolling in the right direction.

Here are a few things you need to assess immediately:

  • Website
    • branding
      • Is it time for an overhaul? when was the last time you updated your website? Consider new fonts, color, header and logo
      • What is your value proposition, is it time to reframe your positioning, strengths?
      • Is the language targeting your ideal customers? does it resonate with them, draw them in, and help them know,like, and trust you?
    • message
      • Does your website address your ideal customer’s pain points?
      • Does every page (tab) offer insightful tips, resources, (to enable the “know like and trust” factor)
      • are people (visitors) clear about who you are, what you offer and how you can help them?
    • Call to action (what do you want your visitor to do once they are on your site: sign up for newsletter? Download a giveaway that gives them a taste of who you are and your expertise? Sign up for a free 30 minute consultation?
    • List building tactics: (using text or newsletter to stay in touch with visitors) Your visitors are your potential clients. You want to continue to “touch” them on a regular basis by offering timely, relevant information they can use immediately. The more often they “see” you, the more chances they are getting to know you, and will eventually do business with you. There are tactics to employ if you are using a newsletter to educate, inform and add value to your prospects – that will drive them back to your website and social sites.  That is why having a strong website, a newsletter or text messaging system, and social media all offer ways to connect and foster relationships with people who end up becoming a raving fan,endorser, a referral partner, and client!
  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – this is where it can get tricky.  You don’t really want to do this yourself unless you have been aptly trained and understand how you can optimize your website on the back end (for the search engines) as well as applying tactics on the front end (website content, blogging, newsletter, utilizing videos and social media)
    • Keyword searches help you know what people are looking for online, this can give you ideas on what content to write about, adding appropriate headlines and keywords within your blog post
    • Keyword searches also tell you what words are highly searched for, and depending on saturation, what words are better to use and what words won’t work so well.

These are some of the things you should do first if you want to grow your business, attract ideal customers and be seen as an expert in your field.  Sometimes having a fresh pair of eyes to look over your website, offer recommendations, will save you a ton of time, even money, because there are alternatives and viable options that can get you up to speed fairly quickly and taking your game up a notch.

You don’t have to wait to get your self all together to attract your ideal customers and build up your business; having a smart social media strategy and making it easy for people to connect with you such as “seeing and hearing you” via tweets, Facebook posts, blog commenting and engaging within LinkedIn groups and Quora will definitely show your value and expertise to others (even if your website isn’t perfect) but you want to make a way to capture your visitors, stay connected to them via text messaging or newsletters, and cross-pollinating all your online activities so your website gets indexed by the search engines, so people can share your information within their network via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, there by growing your network, creating a buzz around you and your business, and growing your list.  It all counts and it will all pay off, just start with getting your website up and running with the right tools in place, then get a strategy in place, know what platforms to be on, tools to use to manage and measure, and have fun!

2012 is going to be a great year, commit to that thought and make it happen.

Hire a business marketing consultant who can help you plan your steps and keep you on track so that 2012 will be prosperous for you.

After Christmas Special: 50%-off sale: Small Biz Success Summit

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Good news! Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner is running a 50%-off sale on tickets to Small Biz Success Summit 2012–the online conference for small businesses that want to master social media marketing, brought to you by Social Media Examiner!

This online conference is all about using social media to gain more exposure, increase traffic, better engage customers (and prospects) and increase your sales. And it’s just for small businesses…

Already 600 of your peers have signed up! Click here to save 50%.

The summit includes 28 well-known small business social media pros, including John Jantsch (author, Duct Tape Marketing), Anita Campbell (founder, Small Business Trends), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner and author, Launch), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Jesse Stay (author, Google+ for Dummies), Hollis Thomases (author, Twitter Marketing), David Siteman Garland (founder, “The Rise to the Top” and author, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper), Joe Pulizzi (founder, Content Marketing Institute and co-author, Get Content, Get Customers), Brian Clark (founder, Copyblogger Media), Lee Odden (founder, TopRank Online Marketing), Ramon Ray (founder, Small Biz Technology and author, Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses) and Lewis Howes (co-author, LinkedWorking)–just to mention a few. There’s really never been a better cast of experts coming together on this topic. Register now for Small Biz Success Summit 2012 .

Click here to save 50%.

All the presenters are actual small business owners. They’ll share extensive case studies and how-to sessions, including how they use Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and video to beat the competition.

Here’s a sampling of the topics the summit will cover:

* From Social to Sales: 4 Steps for Growing Your Small Business Revenue
* How Small Businesses Are Growing With Facebook (Case Studies)
* 10 Google+ Tips for Every Small Business Owner
* Mastering LinkedIn for Small Business Success
* 7 Unique Blogging Strategies to Explode Your Company’s Traffic, Trust Factor and Brand

Go here to see all the sessions.

This is more than just an online conference. It’s also a way for people just like you to come together, share their experiences, meet the experts and network.

At our summer summit, 99 percent of attendees said they’d attend again! That’s some endorsement.

FAST ACTION HAS ITS ADVANTAGES

We added 18 great bonuses worth more than $900 for early registrants. These are high-value video courses. When you sign up for the event, you get all of these included at no extra cost!

Here’s a sample of the valuable bonuses we’re giving away:

* 7 Proven Strategies to Grow and Engage Your Facebook Fans
* 20 Actionable Techniques to Enhance Your Blog’s Content
* Becoming a Dominant Force With Video Blogging
* 10 Ways to Bring the Power of Facebook to Your Website

Go here now to learn more.

Here’s to your success!

Ana Lucia Novak
Founder, Social Media Strategist, Trainer and fellow small business owner

P.S. This event does not require any travel. You simply attend sessions, meet the experts and network with peers from the comfort of your home or office. To see how this works, go here.

P.P.S. FYI, grab your 50% off ticket now!

Business Owners With a little or no marketing budget

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This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Local Marketing for Small Businesses

As I strolled thru Burlingame Avenue, an upscale quaint neighborhood filled with shops, restaurants, grocers, and spa’s, in the heart of Silicon Valley , and a few miles from SFO International Airport, I realized that local businesses are too busy running their restaurants and local businesses without much thought into how they intend to market their business.  Reading the local free paper (which is by the way a popular paper) reflects ads upon ads of service offerings, with some utilizing Twitter or Facebook page, but not utilizing other marketing platforms that are free and easy to use.

I am an avid shopper on Burlingame Avenue: Lucy, JCrew, Burlingame Produce, Cafe La Scala, and a few boutiques on the avenue.  When ever I stop in and chat (while shopping) they give me a blank stare when I ask them if they have a Facebook Page, Foursquare or if they know anything about local marketing tactics.  Some of them tell me that they just “don’t have time”, others will say they don’t have the money.

You know if you run a business, you do have the money, but you’re just choosing not to invest into applying a new strategy and tactic because you think it’s so time consuming.  When I explain in short order what they need to do, they get it, but say they don’t have time.  Sharp savvy business owners will look at me and say “How much?” and then say  ”Just do it” when I tell them it’s pretty affordable, and how they will get that money back in a matter of days.

So if you’re a small business owner, and you are afraid to spend any money, I am willing to offer you suggestions that cost money to me. These are tips that will help give your business visibility online and get found by local customers conducting searches from their mobile phones.  It breaks my heart that you spend so much on direct mailing pieces, local advertisement in the free paper (and I know how much it is, too), and not get the right response.  It is far less expensive if you implement these simple steps.

I outlined these steps in my video “Local Marketing Tips for the Local Business Owner on a Budget” which is under 3 minutes.  Here are some additional tips to consider:

Adding photos/videos will help your listing rise above other listings and for local presence, your listing will be placed above Organic listings.

I suggest verifying ownership with the phone method vs. the post card method.  Phone verification will make your listing go Live instantly while the post card will take up to 2 weeks or more.  You can’t afford to wait 2 weeks.

Take advantage of every space on these listings. If they ask for your Twitter and/or Faceobook URL, add them.  Add coupons or specials.  You can also integrate your QR code and upload as a photo!  The QR code can be a way to direct people to your website, facebook page, or a special you’re running.  When people scan in your QR code, the information is on their phone!

Why do I tell you to do this?  Everyone is on their phones conducting searches, they’re tweeting with their friends, or “checking in” via the Facebook Places.  You want them to find you, get to know, like and trust you.  This is a free service.

If you’re still feeling like you don’t have the time, contact me for a 15 minute consultation – I’d be happy to help set your local listings.  You can contact me at 650.918.6077

Social Media Assessment: The Who, What,When, Where and How

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Social Media Landscape

In today’s blogtalkradioshow, I shared my insight about  first understanding your reasons for utilizing social media tools and harnessing the power of social media by asking yourselves a list of  the questions.  Your answers will determine the course of action and help you come up with content designed specifically for your clients and prospects.  Understanding your own objectives will help you define your goals for using social media to enhance your online presence.  We all want to enhance our presence, grow our business, form our partnerships  and get new clients.  It’s a good idea to have a plan, then create your social media infrastructure, connect them to appropriate tools and organize your editorial calendar.  When your infrastructure is in place, along with tools, it is so much easier to plan and execute your marketing plans, while creating new connections and fostering relationships.

Most people think that Social Media is an instant fix, it is not.  Social Media offers us ways to connect with more people across multiple channels in a short amount of time, and I say “Make the Most of Your Time” by being a person of value, honor, and resources.  Use these platforms to enable people to know you and form lasting partnerships.  Granted, we want the sale, but don’t make it about the sale.

I can’t tell you countless of times, when I show up whether in person or online, sharing content that helped me, offering advice, tips, and resources, how rewarding it felt to me to leave people off better than I found them, but to learn later that they had referred me to a friend or acquaintance.

Approaching  social media sites with the mindset of “how can I help people know, like and trust me” , will provide you  fodder for blog posts, tweets, creating your own personalized questions and quotes.

- use WordTracker and Google keyword tool :  when you type in a specific key word or  a long tail keyword, results will appear that will indicate popularity, density and what people are actually looking for. This has helped me decide how to frame my blog posts – this is a good tactic to “add value, educate and inform” your audience.  It’s extremely helpful to know and understand what people actually need and want, so you can beat them to the punch.

- using the Google Search box, typing in a key word or long tail keyword will show you who’s in that space, what their angle is, and you can write your own version while linking to that specific article (great for link backs)

- check out niche forum sites, Facebook groups, and learn what people need and want.  You can write a blog post addressing their issues, then comment on the walls or in the forums adding that you just finished writing the blog post.  With this tactic, I would exercise judgment because you don’t want to self promote, but position yourself as the solution – if they want to read your blog they will either click on your profile to learn more about you or ask for that link.  I’d share your blog post within relevant Linkedin groups, bookmark it on Delicious, Reddit, Digg and Stumbleupon (and depending on the nature of the blog, several other sites (check out OnlyWire.com)

It is in the “overwhelm” that paralyzes us and makes up stuck, but if we break it down step by step from setting up your foundation to answering your own questions pertaining to the What, When, Where, How and Who, you will be able to design a successful social media plan and be able to execute it seamlessly.

 

Social Networking: How to allow people to know, like, and trust you

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Social Media Landscape

After watching the video on Social Media Marketing and Hubs, I felt compelled to write to you about how easy it is to allow people to know, like and trust you by using various social media platforms.

I’m a huge fan of “casting a wide net”, if you are a blogger, author, writer, and have alot to share online via blogging, podcasting or video, you would benefit from having optimized profiles on social bookmarking sites (Digg, Delicious, Stumbleupon,  Streetmavens, Multiply) and Video directories (think TubeMogel).  There are news hungry people on those sites just waiting to know you!

When I learn that a client has a ton of content (blogs,video,podcasts,ebooks,articles) I use Ping.fm, Posterous and OnlyWire to share the content and cast a wide net online.

I don’t use all three at the same time, otherwise you’d be dispensing duplicate content.  I do however have a method to my madness.

Ping.fm

I use Ping.fm for specific reasons – sharing press releases, event announcements, a book launch (virtual tour), etc. which need to go out more than once – so I change the headlines and set up automated tweets to feed out 3-4 times a day for a specific amount of time. You can link Ping.fm to Socialoomph, or Hootsuite, Tweetdeck,or Twaitter. Some are free or offer paid subscription for added benefits. I do want to note that in order to use Ping.fm, you must first have profiles created on selected sites, then you add them to Ping.fm.

You then add Ping.fm to a tool of your choice: Socialoomph, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck or Twaitter. These are great tools for you to set up tweets in advance (post date and time for your feeds to go out). Ping.fm then will auto-submit to various sites in addition to Twitter, Facebook (Facebook Page),and Linkedin.

When I suggest to share announcements and press releases 3-4 times per day, this all depends on how many followers you have on Twitter and how many friends you have in Facebook profile or page.  The more followers/fans, the more times you should share the announcement – I’m talking about one at 8;30am, 10:45am, 12noon, 2pm so that your network gets a chance to see it. However, if you have about 500 followers on Twitter, then I suggest to post one in the morning, one at noon, and one at 3pm.  Make sure your tweets have a call to action.

I recommend adding BizNik, BizSugar, and Fastpitchnetworking.com to the list where you can share your information and create new connections.

Posterous.com

Posterous is one of my favorite sites. I think this is a great site you can use to compliment your current website.  Posterous offers a way for you to share multiple types of content in forms of video, podcasting, blogs, and photos.  You can share your information directly from within your email and iPhone or directly on the site. You can also submit content in advance and post date and time when you want it to go out. I use Posterous to repurpose content by changing the headlines, adding tags and categories. I also add social profiles (Twitter, Facebook or Facebook Page, Linkedin, Friendfeed, Blip.tv,Viddler, Vimeo, YouTube, Tumblr, Plurk , Picassa, and more) so all content then goes out on the selected date and time, and Posteorus will auto-submit to all your social sites.  Posterous knows whether you’re posting a video, podcasts or photos and will submit to appropriate sites.  However, if you manually add content to this site, then you have an option to select the appropriate accounts to autopost your content.

Postereous is very much like a webpage, you can add pages,links, and customize header and side bars.  You can add google analytics and feedburner if you’re interested in learning how people are getting to your site.

How do I use Posterous? I add a new headline, a few lines of the post with a link to read more at (the url).  Sometimes I just add the headline and the url of the post, so it is a good method to drive traffic back to your website.  The best part is that it “casts a wide net” bookmarking your site, sharing your content across multiple platforms and exposing you to potential fans, followers, and clients.

OnlyWire

OnlyWire is optional – it basically combines almost every social bookmarking site, news site, even Posterous, so you can manually add your headline, tags, and description and post the link or you can add the WordPress plug-in and remember to select the little box “Post this to OnlyWire” so you simultaneously bookmark your new blog to all the sites.

I am a firm believer to cast a wide net, because people are loyal to specific sites, not just on Twitter or Facebook, but on Delicious, Stumbleupon and Digg.  Bookmarking your posts consistently will encourage followers and fans, set you apart as an influencer for your community, spark speaking engagements, and offer opportunities for training and coaching new clients.

Utilizing various methods to share your message will help people know, like and trust you, convert them from acquaintance to customer, but remember that social media marketing is not a quick fix. Be patient, persistent, consistent and strategic and you will be sure to achieve results beyond your expectations.