Key attributes of a successful blog #30DSM – Day 20: 30 Days of Social Media

That statistics about how many blogs are started each day are staggering. But, regardless of what’s popular, is a blog a social media tool that is right for you and your business?

Today’s 30 Days of Social Media lesson comes from an article that business owner Bobbie Pecev contributed for a recent newsletter.

[Take a look at the end of this post for how your blog can replace your website.]

Key attributes of a successful blog, by Bobbie Pecev

There has been a lot of buzz on the “net” in relation to blogging, yet only a small number of businesses have effectively realised the benefit of this flexible and yet powerful marketing tool. Blogging offers a wide range of options and benefits for small and large business organisations alike.

Some of the benefits of establishing a blog include:

• Attracting prospects and developing new business opportunities
• Positioning yourself as an expert
• Positioning your business as a leader in the field
• Lead generation
• Brand awareness
• Search Engine marketing and visibility
• Business differentiation

Establishing a blog is not rocket science, though it does require appreciation of a few simple rules that anyone can follow:

1. Focus on your target

A blog needs to focus on a target and discuss topics related to that target. Know your audience.

2. Write catchy headlines

Headlines are like advertisements for your posts – if they’re not good, no one will read your posts.

3. Use a solid introductory paragraph

A successful introduction captures your readers’ attention and encourages them to continue reading.

4. Boost readability

Many blogs are hard to read. To ensure readability you must have an appropriate font size (larger than 10 pixels) and spacing between lines is a must.

Increase readability by making appropriate use of bullet points, bold text and italics to highlight key pieces of your article. Let your readers know where to focus.

5. Interact with readers

A blog is really a conversation. It starts with your post, but it continues with comments from readers. Encourage readers’ interaction by posting questions, polls and contests.

6. Provide more than just text

Where appropriate try to add a visual element (videos, podcast or photos) within your posts to elaborate the discussion. However, everything should be within reason – too many images can break your content flow and can be more damaging than useful.

7. References

Support your posts with links to other web pages that are relevant to your content.

8. Short and concise

Give the maximum amount of information with the least amount of words. Visitors like to easily find information and skim through your entries.

9. RSS feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds are very important as they provide an alternative way to read a blog without always actually visiting the blog.

10. Keep it fresh

Nothing is more discouraging to prospective readers than returning to a blog to find old or outdated material. Create a schedule and stick to it.

My three favourite blogs:

1. ProBlogger – one of the most popular and successful Australian blogs with extensive information on blogging.
2. Flying Solo - great resources for small businesses
3. WordPress - free to use and easy to set up blogging publishing platform. To learn about WordPress and how to use it, check Getting Started with WordPress.

How to measure your blog’s success

Once you start blogging it’s important to keep track of your blog’s success. You can measure the success of your blog by the number of comments (from your readers) and the number of trackbacks (from other bloggers).

Blogging success does not happen overnight. If you want a successful blog be prepared to work hard to promote your blog. Eventually, your hard work will pay off as your blog traffic increases and your business achieves significant growth and popularity. The key is not to give up!

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Bobbie Pecev is the owner of Skilled IT Consulting – an online company specialising in website design, development, eCommerce, CMS, online marketing and SEO. For more information:

Website: www.skilledit.com.au
Phone: 02 9477 4491
Email: info@skilledit.com.au

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BONUS: How your blog can replace your website

WordPress has made it simple to create a website using blog software and its extensive and adaptable web 2.0 functionality. You may have noticed that this Blog looks a lot like a website. That’s cause WordPress’s themes are fantastic and by adding a range of plugins (addons that can include your Twitter feed, analytics, widgets, SEO packs etc.) you can have a powerhouse of a website as either your main site or for a particular product or project. For more tune into next week’s Leverage Yourself with Online Buzz webinar.

TODAY’S TASK

Subscribe to Problogger’s daily posts via his website. I find that his daily tips not only add to my knowledge bank but also remind me to stay active and post regularly.

Also, pick up a copy of his book Problogger – Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure income (Darren Rowse is a Melbournian who’s made a big name for himself internationally.)

How to use video to promote your business (even if you’re terrified of the camera): #30DSM – Day 19: 30 Days of Social Media

Using video is a great way to demonstrate your products and services.  Having your content on popular sites like YouTube let’s you use social media to get site visits, and to spread your message. (YouTube is so popular that videos hosted there make up a lot of the top search results on many search terms.)

At the Australian Businesswomen’s Network we’ve started to play with video (both to-camera and also using alternative methods) at our own channel herBusiness. It’s early days but we’ll build a library of business how-to videos to share business tips with our women in business community.

If you’re comfortable in front of a camera then by all means go ahead and shoot clips (keep them short) with you looking straight to camera.

Alternatively there are some clever ways to use video without the need to get out of your pyjamas! ABN Member Kate Tribe is one example of a business owner using video – without having to stress about being ‘on film’.

USE SCREEN SHOTS WITH VOICEOVER

Kate Tribe of Tribe Research launched her new research tool “Tribal Tool Kit” using screen shots and voiceover.

” When I did my first public speaking appearances I was stressed by having to present in public. When I decided to use video, friends said I should really get in front of a camera — but thinking about doing a shoot to camera caused me a lot of stress. I wanted, however, to demonstrate my new product using visuals, not just words.

So, I created a video using screen shots and then recorded a voiceover. It took a few takes of the voice recording but in the end I got what I needed.

I’ve set up a channel on YouTube to host the videos. It’s free and it’s easy to embed the code from YouTube right into my website.

I then use my social networks to promote links to the Videos.

Customers have told us that they find the videos really useful.”

While Kate used imovie on her Mac and a separate voice recorder, she could also have used:

• Keynote – Mac – (allows you to record voice over the slides)
• Powerpoint (allows you to record voice over the slides)
• Quicktime Player
• SnapzPro

FOR THE BRAVE AND THE EXTROVERTS

Recording videos with you as the spokesperson is also fun and can work well to build your brand. It does, however, take a little more skill and (ideally) requires that you WANT to get good at presenting. (Remember you are representing your business so get honest feedback as to whether you videos help or hinder your branding. Some of us are better at visual mediums than others.)

I have found that having a basic script or bullet points and then working off the cuff is what works for me.

Tools like Video Cue allow you to cheat and use a Video Cue (that is cleverly positioned just below your eye level) so that you can read your presentation (it even allows you to speed up or slow down the recording) while filming.

If you want to avoid having to also become an editor (or hiring one) then you’ll need to practice getting a shot right in one recording, or live with less than perfect footage. (YouTube has made shaky-cam very acceptable if your content is good so I wouldn’t be too fussed if you are not a one-take wonder.)

Resources:

Kate Tribe – Tribal Research and the Tribal Took Kit

Tribal Tool-Kit is a platform to help you get to know your tribe with quick temperature checks that are easily to understand.

Contact Kate Tribe at:

• Twitter – @katetribe
• Kate’s YouTube channel
• Kate’s Tribe Research website

Get yourself a MinoHD. Still hard to find in Australia this mobile-phone size camera produces excellent quality video and suits the most novice of users.

A great resource for how to make the most of You Tube for your business is the YouTube for Dummies book. (I know… I’m a fan of the Dummies range of books!)

TODAY’S TASK

• Get onto YouTube and reserve your company channel. Whether you decide today or later that you want to use it, it’s worth reserving the name.
• If you’re ready to start using video then share the links with us here!

Until tomorrow,

Suzi

P.S. If you’re using video let us know. Post a comment with a link to your videos and we’ll take a look!

Using video is a big subject and much too big to cover off in one blog post. It is however worth considering as an extension of your social media activity. YouTube is not your only hosting option (by far) but is the most well known. I recommend you start studying the use of video. The Australian Businesswomen’s Network will also run a webinar soon on its use to get women in business started using this powerful too.

Social Networks – Which One is Right for You? #30DSM – Day 18: 30 Days of Social Media

What are your goals? Who is your audience? What is your Capacity? What is your commitment?

Tune in to Aliza Sherman (AKA The Digital Marketer) as she presents at the Blog World Expo in California.

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Some highlights from her presentation:

To keep your social media sites alive you need to post regularly. Popularity has nothing to do with quantity – it has more to do with quality. If you’re posting once a week and people love what you say, then people will wait for yoru posts. It’s about that more than about more regular posting. Blathering on constantly doesn’t mean success.

Social Media Overload  — There’s constantly something new by way of networks – but which ones are important to know about?  YouTube is hugely popular, but maybe Vimeo is more suitable (and less cluttered) and a great place to host your video.

• Ustream.tv – Live Streaming
• YouTube – you upload your video
• Seesmic Video – a Video microblog

Social media starting with blogging. Blogging turned a static website into an interactive environment – there was now a social aspect allowing people to comment on each others comments. As a marketer to have a loyal community of marketers is very powerful word of mouth.

A blog post can be your opinion, but doesn’t have to be meaningful opinions – it can be something you’ve read that you want to comment on, a link to another blogger’s post, a review, about your products or services, but more likely it’s an opinion piece that reveals who you are.

Her Tips:

• Become a resource – connect people to items of interest
• Microblog – it’s easier than blogging and faster
• Only commit to the networks you can actively participate in

TODAY’S POST
Take a look at this presentation by Aliza Sherman. I think she’s great.

Facebook for Business – The Webinar – #30DSM – Day 17: 30 Days of Social Media

This week 1,000 business owners joined the Facebook for Business webinar presented by Citrix GoTo Webinar as part of their Lunch and Learn series.

Nett Magazine editor Josh Mehlman moderated and The Australian Businesswomen’s Network was featured as the case study while Brian Giesen of Ogilvy presented compelling evidence and raised critical strategic questions that anyone serious about using Facebook for business ought to consider.

With over 300 million users world wide (and over 8 million of those in Australia) it seems that if you’re not on Facebook then you ought to be.

In today’s instalment of 30 Days of Social Media I invite you to watch the webinar (or review it if you were online with us this week during the live session) and also to take a look at a new resource to enhance your Facebook Page.

Facebook for Business – Your Free Access to the Webinar

• Here is a link to the Facebook for Business webinar. It’s free, it’s an hour long and I know you’ll get great value from it.
• Here also is a link to the slides should you also need to reference them.

(Note to Mac Users: If you’re using Mac viewing the webinar can be a little tricky. I know, I know! See notes at bottom of this post for viewing tips.)

Bonus Resource – From The Digital Marketer

This week I listened to this great podcast from The Digital Marketer. Titled ‘How to enhance your Facebook Page’, the information provided really complements what’s covered in the webinar.

TODAY’S TASK

Find a couple of hours over the weekend to work on your Facebook page. A couple of key things to do:

• Get your vanity URL (A vanity URL is a domain name, created to point to something to which it is related and indicated in the name of the URL)
• Build the basic elements of your page
• Add promotion of your page to your website, email footer, newsletter or blog or Twitter!

Additional Resources:

Citrix Online

The Digital Marketer

Nett Magazine

*Note, Mac users may have trouble seeing this webinar. Citrix is trying to fix this issue but for now there is no solution. It is recommended that Mac users download the VLC Media Player, which is a free download, (www.download.com) to play the webinar without issue.

TWEET IDEAS – 5 Creative ways to tweet for business – #30DSM – Day 16: 30 Days of Social Media

Welcome to day 16 of 30 Days of Social Media.

You’re on Twitter, you’re following some interesting folks but you’re stuck for what to say!

If you’ve ever suffered from (as today’s guest contributor calls is) “Tweeter’s Block” you’ll love Sarah Prout’s 5 creative ways to tweet for business.

[Take note of today's action... and I look forward to hearing you and seeing you in the Twitterverse.]

Have you ever suffered from ‘Tweeter’s Block’? I know I have. Sometimes there are days when you’re just not sure what to tweet about or how to engage people.

It’s important to maintain your presence on Twitter every single day so that people know you’re open for business. This is very essential if you’re an online-based enterprise.

The great thing about Twitter is that so many amazing little applications and services are available for you to mix up your content and have a break from just tweeting out text based links or 140 character rambles.

Here are 5 Creative ways to tweet for business

1. Share photos via Twitpic.com – Upload pictures of your office and give people a snapshot into your work environment.
2. Tweet out your favorite songs on Blip.fm – This nifty service allows you to become a DJ and send out links to your favorite songs.
3. Participate in #followfriday – List only five people in small niche groups and recommend why people should follow them. Flattery will get you everywhere!
4. Retweet interesting quotes/links – A huge part of Twitter is helping to support others. If you don’t want to tweet out your own stuff try then help other people and proliferate their content.
5. Tweet a 12 second message – Use 12seconds.tv – The easiest way to share video moments with your friends on the web. This is a great way to add another dimension to your Teitter presence. Or alternatively link to your YouTube videos.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to the adventures you can have on Twitter. The most important thing is to not be self-conscious and realize that the more authentic and personable you are, then the more interest you will generate for yourself and your business.

TODAY’S TASK:

Pick on of Sarah’s 5 Tips and implement that action today. Me, I’m gonna share a song on blip.fm as well as post a Twit pic!

Use the #30DSM hashtag to let the rest of us share your post.

Relevant links:

How Follow Friday helps build Twitter Followers

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Sarah Prout is the founder of SPROUT PUBLISHING, award-winning entrepreneur, author, publisher, business coach, online socialite and mother of 2 little darlings.

The highly anticipated eCourse is soon to be released called SPROUT BUZZ. It’s a PUBLISHING BOOTCAMP with step-by-step tasks to flaunt your business, raise your profile and boost your brand in just 30 days!

www.sproutpublishing.com

Using Social Networks to Find Networking Groups- #30DSM – Day 15: 30 Days of Social Media

Social networks are a great place to find groups with whom to network face-to-face, as well as online. But, how do you find networks and networkers relevant to your needs?

Today’s lesson is from Brooke Simmons, Managing Director of Pursuit Communications.

Pursuit Communications is a public relations agency based on the Central Coast of NSW. We service clients of varying size and in many locations. The majority of these clients have been secured, largely, through networking.

We believe that location shouldn’t be a boundary as to how far your network and networking capabilities extend; in fact we encourage our clients to network outside of their regular circles because we’ve seen the results for ourselves – it works! With this in mind we thought it was timely to blog about the importance of networking and some great examples of networks that we’ve come across.

Twitter is a great place to start networking. Simply search using tools such as: Who Should I Follow,  Just Tweet It and Who’s Talkin for terms that are relevant to your industry, much as you would with a Google search.

Search for Networks and Networkers
Terms such as “Networking”, “Sydney” [or your own location] or “Businesswomen” will all start you off in the right direction. Look at who follows these Twitter users and whom they’re following and follow suit. Before you know it you’ll have the base of a great network foundation.

Introduce Yourself
Introduce yourself when you start following someone and tell them why you’re following them – something along the lines of “Hi I found you through networking women site I’m looking to network with like minded people. Hope to share some great tweets with you soon.” – which is exactly 140 characters will start you off on the right foot.

Remember, networking should never be about $$$. You shouldn’t try and flog your product or business too heavily. A slowly-slowly approach is often best with Twitter. Just as in real-life networking on Twitter should be a place where ideas are encouraged, shared and embraced.

Examples of good online groups
One example of a networking group with its foundations firmly in Twitter-sphere is Central Coast Biz. Based on the NSW Central Coast, a majority of its members can be found on Twitter. CC Biz – “is run by small businesses for small businesses.” Their aim is to encourage business on the NSW Central Coast to support one another and help grow the local economy. They encourage people to come “offline” and meet at regular intervals at various locations around the NSW Central Coast.

CC Biz appreciates that some people may not be comfortable with large groups or meeting a group of “unknowns” which is why their functions are designed to provide guests with the opportunity to network in an informal setting.

TweetupMellers is a Melbourne based networking group which is supported by its followers on Twitter and is a great example of  an “offline” event which builds its base “online”. Based in Melbourne the group claims they are “Just another place to connect yet over a few vinos, nibbles and a belly full of laughs – in real time-physical time! We all know the power of twitter in lead gen, personal branding and networking so combine this with tweetupmellers and shaaazam – add another power marketing strategy to the business model!”

Further afield, another Twitter-based networking group, PRinks is a new addition to the networking circle. Aimed at anyone who works within the communications industry this networking group seems to have found a niche with Gen Y who is ever embracing social media.

I first heard about PRinks was via @GemCrowley,  a fellow PR practitioner and 1/2 of the power-source behind PRinks – @rogerchristie is the other 1/2! The idea was simple use the “online” world to create an “offline” world activity.

The idea behind PRinks is simple, “Come join us for a great chance to catch up with friends, meet new people, have a good chat, share ideas and enjoy a drink or two. ”  The first two PRinks were a great success with PRinks number three later this month.

PRinks has maximised the social networking space and created a fan page on Facebook. This is another great place to look for networking groups. Start by heading to the “groups” page on Facebook and looking for industry related groups that are relevant to you.

Start your own group
If you do find the results are lacklustre, why not take the initiative and start your own group. That’s what it’s all about. Right?

Setting up a group on Facebook is ‘easy as pie’. Remember though to limit invitations to those who you think will benefit from an invitation. Try and put yourself in the receivers’ shoes. Would they appreciate an invitation to join this group?

So, what happens when you’re ready to take your networking “offline”?

A lot of groups will allow you to attend the first meeting at no cost and if you’re interested in attending further meetings, they may ask for a small membership fee – which will be well worth the networking and information you’ll receive.

If you are a bit nervous in attending a function alone, why not ask a fellow colleague or Twitter friend to attend with you or if you’re a sole operator – try and find other members prior to the meeting and arrange to meet with them so you’ll at least know someone before you enter the room. You’d be surprised at how many others are nervous and you may just strike a common cord with someone – and potentially some great business or a new friend.

Don’t be limited by your own industry, ask clients to join them at a networking function they go to or if your partner has an opportunity to attend a networking function, ask if you can tag -along – the more you get out the more you’ll get back – ultimately the possibilities are endless!

So, the next time you’re thinking about networking don’t forget about the importance of social networking in real-life networking. Don’t under-estimate the power of an e-mail, blog, Facebook message or Twitter – tweet. As seen through the success of the groups mentioned here– social networking can build a real network of people who could potentially turn a simple meeting into business success.

Related posts:
How to organise a networking TweetUp

TODAY’S TASK

• Search and find a networking group or networkers in your location or industry.
• Do you belong to an online network? Tell us about it?

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Brooke Simmons – Pursuit Communications

Brooke Simmons has over four years experience within the public relations arena and over ten years experience in the media, most recently she has worked on the following clients – Events by Olivia, Gosford City Council, Talk’N Tours, I Hate Cinderella, Wet Ones, Sassi Sam,  SBNG – Small Business Networking Group Central Coast NSW, Sam’s Beer, Blumin’ & Tonia Todman Roses, Brands on Sale Campbelltown, United Airlines, Lenovo Australian Olympic Torch Relay, Radisson Resort Fiji, Lufthansa Airlines, REED Constructions Australia, Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Autodesk – Australia, Glass Onion Website Design and OZtion Online Auction Site.

In addition to her public relations capabilities Brooke has held the title of Managing Editor for Manchester Unity’s member magazine U Magazine from December 2006 –April 2008.

Prior to her foray in the public relations arena, Brooke has held other roles within the media industry. Previously working at; Silverspan Marketing, Nova 969 FM and Regional Radio Bureau – now known as Regional Radio Works.  As a result Brooke is well versed on the many facets of the media and also holds a great number of media contacts.

She is contactable at the following email address and phone number;
E: brooke@pursuitcommunications.com.au, P: +61 (0) 407 780 710

Taking on the hype: Online Networks and their Relevance to your Business – #30DSM – Day 14: 30 Days of Social Media

How relevant are online networks to your business?  And, how do you know if social media use is right for your business?

Today’s guest contributor Denise Tung tackles these questions and provides some solutions. And, she introduces us to a fantastic tool that allows you to hear what people are saying about your business.

How relevant are online networks to your business? Deriving value from online networks requires entering this space with a level of awareness of what online networks entail and setting clear intentions on why you want to become involved, as well as articulation of potential benefits that might come out of your investment.

These steps should not be radically new to any entrepreneur; in fact they correlate perfectly with questions that you would ask when pursuing a business idea or opportunity.

There is a mountain full of literature online (see here for results of a Google search on ‘social media business’) that you can definitely sink your teeth into. Another good reference site for small businesses is Flying Solo.

Some bite-sized facts on what the hype is about (since less is more!):

• Online networks are made up of communities of people who could potentially benefit from using your product/service – a customer waiting in the midst!
• Social networks store vast amounts of conversation that might help you shape your business – Doing a search on Twitter is now easier done than said.
• Unlike traditional media or communication channels, you can connect to and converse with people in your area of interest, directly. Your insights come in real time, helping you make timely decisions for your business.
• There’s possibly a of talk about your business, product or service already happening. Irrespective of whether you’re in Marketing, Sales, Customer Service or Product Development, these conversations give you invaluable insights into a multitude of opinions, interests and personalities within these communities.

Here are some steps that you can take to determine whether there is any value in social media for your business:

Establish what Keywords best describe your business.
Revisit the crux of your business, looking at the products/services you offer, aspirational statements of benefits that your product or service may provide, the industry that you’re in and names of key competitors. Jot down words that would typically describe these areas (e.g. Woolworth’s keywords could include fresh food, affordable, Coles, value for money, supermarket).

Search the cyberspace with these keywords.
These same keywords can be used to search conversations on the web.  Aside from Google, the best in breed search tool is Social Mention. This site searches across blogs, social networks such as Twitter as well as forums and comments on all social media related sites. The results from your search also give you very handy summary of the sentiment (positive or negative references to your keyword/s), reach (the number of unique authors referring to the keyword in question) and sources (a tally of where most of these conversations were sourced from). Here’s an example of the results from search on ‘Woolworths’ and ‘supermarket’.

Formulate trends and findings.
The findings from such activity are invaluable across any discipline. Listening is one thing, but taking action on these insights is where the difference is made. With these insights you can start thinking through:

PR activities that may help manage brand reputation.
•    Working with the Woolworths example, the following insight from Twitter user @zanita, ‘Now off to Harris farm to buy vegetables for lunch. I hate Coles and Woolworths – evil monopoly! And lesser quality,’ signifies a need to consider a potential campaign that would help address the ‘quality’ perception in the market.

Customer Service activities that engage and influences customer opinions and preferences.
•    In the same example above, Woolworths may choose to converse with @zanita and tap into reasons as to why @zanita feels so strongly about the lack of quality. This is a form of market research as well with timely benefits, provided that social media etiquette is adhered to.

TODAY’S TASK
Use Social Mention to learn what is being said about you, your industry, your competitors. Make a decision, a step that you’ll take as a result of what you’ve learned.

Until tomorrow,

Suzi

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Denise works at Media Monitors as head of Product Development and has a new love for everything social media. Prior to this she worked in the telecommunications industry for over 8 years where she designed and launched 2 ‘Australia’ first’ services: Voice over IP for business at Singtel Optus and 3G mobile based Broadband product for residential customers at Virgin Mobile. She has also presented at mobile communications based conferences, including the 2007 IMS Asia and the 2007 Fixed Mobile Convergence Alliance funded by British Telecom.  She’s a self confessed workaholic who loves her 2 year old daughter (a lot), prefers to microblog than blog and occasionally teaches Cycle and BodyAttack at the gym.

Contact Denise here:

• Twitter:  twitter.com/schmediachick
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/denisetung
• Blog: schmediachick.wordpress.com

5 Ways to Help Build a List #30DSM – Day 13: 30 Days of Social Media

In today’s lesson Wendy Moore of Savvy Web Women offers five ways for you to build your list of potential clients as well as tips after each point so that you can implement the key ideas. I have also added some resources and links to the bottom of today’s lesson.  Suzi.

There are many, low or no cost ways you can easily use to help build a list of loyal customers for your website or blog.  Start with just one and build from there.

1. Offer a free newsletter.

The newsletter method is very effective in building your list especially if it contains valuable information that people can use in their business. Sharing topics, useful tips and strategies on your area of expertise will make your newsletter attractive to people.  Your aim is to get your newsletter opened – make it interesting!

Social Media tip:  Automate! Use a system to send out your newsletter, such as www.savvywebmail.com, that automatically posts your newsletter to your Twitter profile.

2. Include a subscription form.

You can add visitors to your website to your list through getting them to subscribe.  This is done by providing a form on your website or blog where visitors can register their name and email address in exchange for receiving your newsletter for free. Include a short description of what your newsletter is about and the benefit of signing up.

Social Media tip:  On some sites, such as Facebook, you can add your website form right onto your social media profile.

3. Write an eBook, record a video or audio.

Everyone loves free stuff.  So why not offer a special bonus as a free gift to anyone that subscribes to your newsletter?

An eBook need not be very detailed or even professionally written. You can just include a compilation of some of your best articles or interviews you may have given.  Perhaps you’ve recorded a teleseminar about your topic – these make a great audio download.  Get the call transcribed and you have an instant eBook to offer.  A free gift is a great way to reward loyal subscribers and also to attract new ones.

Social Media tip: Upload your videos to YouTube first, then share them by embedding the link or code in your website or blog.

4. Ensure quality content.

Quality is what most visitors look for in the information (articles, blog posts, etc.) that they read.  Many people are time poor, so make sure you offer quality content – information that is useful, interesting to read or that solves a particular problem for the visitor.  Your aim is to encourage people to return to your website so keep your content fresh and updated.

Social Media tip: Don’t have a blog yet? Create a Fans page in Facebook or Group in LinkedIn and share your content online.

5. Post engaging articles.

Providing well written and interesting articles is one surefire way of attracting people. You can post articles to your own site, but make sure you take advantage of the many free article directories around the globe and also social media sites, such as Facebook.  Not only will this expose your articles to a far bigger audience, you provide other people with the opportunity to syndicate your articles on their blog or website, which helps drive valuable traffic back to you and your business, all for free.

Social Media tip: Make it easy to follow you! Add a link to your blog or website so people can syndicate your articles with a simple mouse click.  Great content for them, great exposure for you.

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Wendy Moore is founder of www.savvywebwomen.com and committed to showing women everywhere how to be internet savvy.  Wendy made it to the very top of the corporate IT world, managing multi-million dollar budgets, before gut-wrenching stress demanded she reappraise her life and follow her true passion.

With over 14 years experience in the Information Technology industry, Wendy now educates, empowers and inspires others and says, “It’s all about education and gaining from other’s experiences. I’m passionate about helping women in small business better understand and utilise the amazing power of the internet.  If you could make money without seeing a single client, how would getting your time back change your life?”

 You can learn more about Wendy and her programs and products at her website,  www.savvywebwomen.com.

TODAY’S TIP
Can you make use of any one of these five ways to start to increase the number of potential customers you are adding to your prospects list? Which one?

A word about lists – By Suzi Dafnis
As someone who has had hundreds of thousands of names and details on the databases of various companies I’ve owned I am very big on protecting the privacy of those who entrust me with their details.

While some people freely exchange details with others in joint venture arrangements, depending on why, and under what circumstances, someone has given you permission to use their name, I suggest you consider how you use their details.

Permission to email them a newsletter is not blanket permission to send them information about unrelated items.

Always treat their details with the privacy and respect they deserve.

If you haven’t read it, get a copy of Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing book. While now a few years old, it’s still very relevant and a must for marketers.

ADDITONAL TIPS AND RESOURCES:

Offer a free newsletter
Facebook: Include a link (see this sample on the Sydney Writer’s Centre Facebook page) to have people join your newsletter.
Twitter: Include a link in a Twitter post directing people to a form to complete to sign up.
Blog: Include a widget (powered by an email list management company like aWeber). This widget on the main page of this blog was installed this way too.

Include a Subscription Form
Post a link to your website on any of the social networks to drive people to your site. Offer a reason to exchange their name for a bonus. This example here of the ‘free report’ from Social Media Myth is a good example.

Write an eBook, add video or audio
Wendy makes it sounds easy (and it is…), but if you’ve never done it before writing an eBook is a whole subject in itself, and beyond the scope of 30 Days of Social Media. However, here are some tools for implementation if you want to ‘have a go’.

An ebook can be as simple as a PDF version of a document created (and well laid out) in Microsoft Word. Or, you can look at tools like blurb.com to create ebooks from blog posts as well as other written docs. I also recommend: How to Write and Publish your own eBook in 7 Days.

Some easy tools for recording video or audio. A few of my Mac favourites are:

• iPhone apps Audioboo and Voice Memos
• Garage band, or using the camera right in your laptop and loading to YouTube
• Quicktime player

Google and find apps to suit your needs.

Offer Quality Content
Quality content is what makes or breaks you when it comes to having people know, like and trust you. Ensure your content is relevant to your audience and provides what they are looking for i.e. is it bite-size chunks and tips, links to resources, editorial pieces that are indepth and comprehensive?

I highly recommend if you’re creating your own written content taking a course on how to write for the web. Checkout Sydney Writer’s Centre for some of their courses.

Be Yourself – How to find your online voice #30DSM – Day 12: 30 Days of Social Media

How personal should you be online? Do we care what you had for lunch? It depends. In today’s 30 Days of Social Media lesson guest contributor Valerie Khoo gives us an insight into the right balance of personal and professional and why what you share matters to how you are perceived online.

The old adage says: “Be yourself”. And it’s no different when you are online. If you want to make connections in the online world, your best bet is to “be yourself”. That’s because if you want to make real connections and build authentic relationships, you need to be true to who you are, your values and what you represent. It’s all about the “know, like and trust” factor.

In the online world, people may follow your Tweets or read your blog for months – maybe even longer – before they reach out to talk/Tweet/email/phone you directly. And during that time, they either either get to “know, like and trust” you – or not.

Are you all business?

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to create an online voice that’s all business. They only blog about industry-related news, they only Tweet links to business articles or they write in corporate-speak. While it’s important to show people that you are serious about your business, it’s a mistake to bang on about it all the time. Frankly, it just gets boring. And it doesn’t give people an insight into the person behind the brand/organisation.

Get personal

So don’t be afraid to get personal. I’m not suggesting that you upload photos of yourself in your bikini onto your Facebook site or reveal your deepest, darkest secrets in a confessional blog. But let people know a little bit about what you’re doing. Just be smart about it. Don’t broadcast your address, your mother’s maiden name or the names of your young children. And just remember that you should censor yourself. Don’t broadcast anything you wouldn’t be comfortable with being on the internet forever.

Some people hear that and feel that staying mute online is the best option. It’s not. If you are mute – and don’t bother creating your own voice or conversations through social media – you may as well be invisible. And no business person wants that. Contributing to the discussion online means you have a chance to shape your brand and how you’re perceived. If your online voices is true to yourself and your values – that’s only a good thing.

Author and Wired editor Chris Anderson famously said: “Your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what Google says it is.” And that’s absolutely true. When people want to know more about you or your business, they’ll Google you. Guaranteed.

So what are your options?

1. You can be invisible
2. You can let others shape how people will perceive you
3. You can create an online persona that’s all work and no personality.
4. Or you can directly impact your brand and reputation by developing an online voice that people know, like and trust.

The choice is yours.

TODAY’S TASK

This task is not one that you’ll complete in one day – it’s an invitation to look at how you communicate online so that people know, like and trust you.

Until tomorrow,

Suzi

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Valerie Khoo is director of the Sydney Writers’ Centre (www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au) and host of the Online Business Booster Bootcamp (www.businessboosterbootcamp.com) . You can also subscribe the personal newsletter on life as an entrepreneur at www.valeriekhoo.com.

Follow Valerie on Twitter

Visit her website

Get Your Business Face on Facebook — #30DSM – Day 11: 30 Days of Social Media

If your business is not using Facebook you may be missing out on one of the best available tools for generating website traffic, engaging with your customers, leveraging SEO opportunities and disseminating information to potential customers.

At the Australian Businesswomen’s Network we have (over 20 years) employed all types of ways to communicate with clients including direct mail, face-to-face meetings, telemarketing, website and via email and eNewsletters.

Since discovering the power of using Facebook Pages for business we’ve been able to leverage our marketing in ways that are cost effective, far reaching and effective.

Here are details on:

• How we use Facebook for business, and how you can too
• Facebook Pages vs Facebook Groups
• Resources – to help you implement Facebook for your business

Facebook – A Powerful Tool for Business

Our Facebook Page allows us to:

• list and promote our events
• add photos from our member face-to-face gatherings
• add video training for members on how to better use our products and services
• conduct polls and surveys
• have discussions on relevant business subjects
• stream our Blog posts and Tweets
• communicate with our members

And we can do all this for FREE, and on one the most world’s most popular websites.

Facebook is currently the third highest referrer of website traffic to the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website (after direct traffic and google results). And, that’s because Google loves Facebook and social media… it does the SEO work for us.

Pages vs Groups – Which is best for you?

You may have heard about Facebook Groups. How are they different to pages?

When we first started using Facebook we formed a Group for ABN members. This worked well (we could control group membership and send communications to this group) but had some disadvantages.

The down side was that (because it was a closed group) it required us to administer the group and because memberships to the ABN start and lapse at different times, we were giving ourselves an administrative nightmare having to manage who was entitled to be a part of the group at any point in time.

After some research we started a Facebook Page (open to anyone to be a fan of and to see) and it was the right vehicle for us. (There are many more differences between Pages and Groups – so look at the Facebook website for details and determine what will best suit your needs.)

How we use Facebook to do Business (and how you can too)

Real Time Communication to Community Members

We use Facebook to disseminate timely news relevant to women and business. Anything added to our Facebook Page is immediately part of the Facebook stream and can be viewed by fans (those who have subscribed to the page). Our ability to communicate with members is therefore more ‘real time’ than an email, a website update and a blog post.

Connect with Community

Women from all over Australia have connect to us on Facebook. We advertise our Facebook page on our website, and in our email communications. Every time we send out a newsletter we get more an more people subscribing to our Facebook page.

Engage Community

We’ve posted links to surveys on our page and had community respond to those surveys. ANything posted to our Facebook page can be seen by those that subscribe to that page. (We are yet to use it for Discussions but that’s coming next for us and we’ll likely stop using our exiting Forum software and instead uses Facebook’s facilities.)

Repurpose Valuable Content from Newsletters

By adding to Facebook links to articles in our newsletters or on our website we are able to extend the life span of a newsletter and to get additional exposure for our authors and newsletter contributors. The articles live on our website so we drive additional traffic to our site by posting links on our Facebook page. We advertise our Facebook presence through online and offline media – which costs us nothing and gives people more ways to be in contact with us.

Foster a Community Feeling

Members meet face to face at our Member MeetUp events. The photos that they send to us we post on Flickr and feed the images through to our Facebook page. This gives our page a human face and allows extra promotion of our member businesses (each photo is tagged with a link to their member profile on our Member Directory as well as their website details

Remember – Facebook Pages will only work if your audience is on Facebook.

We have made deliberate efforts to introduce the benefits of Facebook to our clients and prospects and have helped them understand the benefits for their own businesses by hosting webinars about Facebook and posting articles on our website.

And, you must allow time and resources to keep the page updated and current if you are to engage your community and attract new fans.

TODAY’S TASKs

• Start a Facebook Page for your business. (You’ll need to have a Facebook profile to create a page.)
• Get a good ‘how-to’ book like Facebook for Dummies to learn the ins and outs of using Facebook.
• Register for the Facebook for Business – free webinar, presented by Citrix on 14 October.

Resources

Facebook for Dummies

10 Reasons to use the #1Social Network for Business

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