Social media can be time consuming. When a new task consumes precious resources, you write it off as too much trouble.
Social media is an enormous marketing tool. It is essential you find a realistic solution to getting it done. Here are 3 social media automation tools I use to keep my profile streams flowing. (more…)
We’re talking social media marketing and rather than assume you’ve heard of LinkedIn (though I just can’t imagine that you haven’t) let me remind you. LinkedIn is “the” website for professional networking. So unlike Facebook which has a more friends and family type of feel to it, or Twitter with its fast paced micro blogging atmosphere, LinkedIn is where business people network in the virtual world.
One of the many uses of LinkedIn is a job search. That’s for both people looking to become employed as well as those wanting to change jobs. You know somewhere in the vicinity of 88 out of the Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn for recruitment. (more…)
Though it’s social media, Google Plus for business is actually Google’s 4th attempt at a social media platform, and boy did they get it right this time, for so many reasons. Many of which have to do with The Google’s other services like being the number one search engine for example. They’ve also created other programs both before Google Plus and after Google Plus that have been rolled into and connected to this platform. All of which basically would have made it indispensible anyway. But people are really learning how to use Google Plus for business marketing and they are enjoying it as a social media site in it’s own right.
Last Friday I watched not just one but TWO Google hangouts; a hangout is part of the Google Plus system. Google Plus or G+ as you may see it called is the fourth attempt by Google to create a viable social media platform. And this time, I believe they’ve done it. In fact, Google has done several things over the past year that CONTINUES to make them a force to be reckoned with online and not just as a search engine either.
You may not be aware that Google has always been more than just a search engine. They have forever made available various tools, some very powerful tools that help web developers, marketers and general business owners get more out of the Internet. And these tools have always been free to use. So many, if not ALL of those most recent things were created to revolve around Google Plus.
Oy, enough already with the social media management, the pinning, the liking, the following…
Sometimes it feels like this is all anybody talks about, all I’m training on, all my audiences want to know more about when I’m sharing with novices in the online world.
And therein lies the key factor. Novices in the online world. There are your early adopters and then there are those that come late to the party. Now I’ve often been an early adopter much to my own detriment [the Saturn automobile, Gateway desktop computer and iPad one to name a few] but in business, early adoption can be really stupid or a one-way ticket to SUCCESS.
The problem for small business marketing, is knowing when to pull that trigger. And sadly, most small and medium sized business owners take the wait and see approach, which as a fiscal conservative, I can’t blame them for.
However…
Marketing With Social MediaAs with anything, it’s best to have a plan before you get started and that’s equally true of marketing with social media for small or local businesses. Otherwise you will find yourself overwhelmed and wondering if you’re just wasting your time.
1. Define your objectives or goals
Why are you getting involved in social media? There are plenty of good reasons, just make sure you define them. Are you looking to build a following nationally, regionally, locally? Is this social media strategy a way to bring visitors to your website? Do you have a movement that you’re trying to perpetuate? Or are you seeking sponsors for your cause or business? Define a handful of goals first. (more…)