June 2011 LinkedIn Poll: What Social Media or Social Networking site has performed best for you so far?

For June 2011, I chose this question for my LinkedIn Poll: What Social Media or Social Networking site has performed best for you so far?

For so many businesses figuring out the healthy balance of attention to which Social Media or Social Networking site is almost a roadblock in itself. For some Twitter is amazing lead generating tool. For some it’s a complete waste of time. Same thing goes for Facebook and LinkedIn and other networks. Each Social Media outlet has it’s own personality and followers there within. The culture and behavior between networks varies quite a bit.

The best advice would be to see how people communicate within a certain network. Once you have a better understanding of HOW others communicate in a particular network you can look at your business and figure out how you want to be perceived to each of these outlets. (Note: Just because you blast your information to somewhere doesn’t mean it’s going to be received in the desired way.)

Context and content are always king.

As a Social Media Consultant, it’s paramount for me to understand that balance of attention and performance. We all have finite time to work on something; might as well make it worth it, right?

Byte Back!

Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, linkedin poll, SMM, social, Social Media, social media marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter
Posted in: Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter |

Comments: 4 Comments

May 2011 LinkedIn Poll: How well do you really understand Social Media & Social Networking?

For May 2011, I chose this question for my LinkedIn Poll: How well do you really understand Social Media & Social Networking?

I ask this question to clients and non-clients all the time and the response tends to be, “I think I know what I am doing.” This is absolutely unacceptable. You could be doing more harm than good. I know I don’t have to explain this to you, but Social Media & Social Networking are incredibly powerful tools that can/should/could/will transform your business into something modern and adaptable to contemporary life. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc. when used in an organized way that is customized to your business can radically alter what you think success could look like.

Keeping up with what goes on in Social Media can make the difference between having a dated and/or inconsistent message online (which could lead to an exodus of your brand’s advertising effort) and having a contemporary and consistent online (which would increase the likelihood that your campaign could be successful). It might seem daunting of a task to keep up with everything on a daily or even weekly basis. Hell I read about 75 articles a day and I still don’t know everything. The important thing is to find a resource that consistently gives credible and useful information to save or refer back to. I can’t stress this point enough. Knowledge is power and there is always room for improvement, not matter how well you THINK you are doing.

I have a section on the lower right side of my blog called: Social Media News. There are some really great sites that I visit on a daily basis and I encourage you to check them out for yourselves. You’ll be glad you did. As a Social Media Consultant, I advise so many types of clients and businesses on resources and possibilities. Keep learning! Keep wondering! It’s ok if you don’t know it all. (little secret…no one does.) There is never a moment I would EVER call myself an expert or a guru. I’m an avid student that is constantly learning, just like you.

Byte Back!

Tags: linkedin poll, social, Social Media, social media consultant, social networking
Posted in: Facebook, Formspring, Foursquare, Internet Marketing Consulting, LinkedIn, Social Media Consulting, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter |

Comments: 4 Comments

January 2011 LinkedIn Poll: How often do you update your Social Media accounts and profiles?

For January 2011, I chose this question for my LinkedIn Poll: How often do you update your Social Media accounts and profiles?

With new advances coming out literally everyday, sometimes by the hour, it’s imperative to stay on top of your online presence. Knowing how to use the big 3 Social Media sites; Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn; is only the beginning. There is a whole world of amazing Social Media Networks out there that many business owners are unaware of.

Sites like Foursquare, Groupon, and Yelp are making some headway into the mainstream consciousness, but there are still even more amazing sites like: Instagram, a photo sharing Social Network. Formspring, a Q&A based Social Network. Goodreads, a Social Network to see what other people are reading in their leisure time.

No matter what network you are a part of, it’s so incredibly important that you actually participate in a discussion, or leave a comment, or start a conversation about something that means something to you. If you simply use Social Media to blast out stuff about your business, chances are most people will ignore it. The key is to talk honestly, freely, and respectful of others and you’ll be surprised how many people will begin to follow what you have to say.

Think of your Social Media presence as a long term project that will produce a different quality of result that you cannot compare to “normal” advertising. It’s all about what you say and how you say it. As a Social Media Consultant, I deal with these issues all the time and give sound guidance. Let me know how I can help you.

Byte Back!

Tags: formspring, foursquare, goodreads, groupon, LinkedIn, linkedin poll, social, Social Media, social media consultant, social media consulting, social media network, Social Media Posts, social network, social networking, yelp
Posted in: LinkedIn, Organic Search, Social Media Consulting, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking |

Comments: 2 Comments

April 2010 Linkedin Poll: Has the use of Social Media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn increased sales for you?

For April 2010, I chose to create this Linkedin Poll as a way to remind you all that Social Media can be an incredibly powerful tool to all businesses, but at what cost? Many people take Social Media and Social Networking for granted. A huge misconception about Social Media is that it’s only for tweeting what you just ate or posting a cute photo of your kid’s first steps. Can it be used for these purposes? Of course. You can technically do whatever the heck you want…it’s your profile and your space. Here’s the real question, “Is anyone listening to you?”

If your Social Media campaign is not bringing in sales…you are doing something wrong. Keep in mind, this should be seen as a long term project…unless you have a brand name that people already know. It doesn’t matter if you sell high end jewelry, a live chat service, or whatever. If it’s not done properly or orchestrated to a certain degree, then all the time you spent was a complete waste of time. I have personally seen so many of my clients come to me and ask me what they are doing wrong and usually it’s as simple as; content creation, post frequency, and content relevance.

You can’t just post photos all the time. I’m sure they are nice to look at, but Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. just can’t read the context of a photo. They may say a picture is worth 1000 words, but not to search engines. (of course if you tag your photos correctly, then that is a different story…of which is for another article.) You need content and lots of it. Posting only once a year in not the way to gain followers or fans and posting every 5 seconds will most likely mark you as a Spammer. And no one likes a Spammer now do they? Most importantly in my opinion is relevance. Your content should be about your business and should use keywords or phrases that relate to what you do or sell. Using your Facebook business page to chatter about what you did last night is not going to get you more customers…unless that is what is relevant to your business and people follow you for your perspective on night clubs or something.

Basically, think of your profile as a unique website that you have to optimize so that other people who think like you will be able to connect to you. This is why so many companies are not getting the response they are looking for with Social Media. The most important thing to do when starting in Social Media is just listen. Read the tweets. View the profiles. Look for patterns in how people communicate. Your audience is out there and they are looking for you. Are you sending out the right message and is it effective? Is your time being spent wisely. If not, then you need to re-evaluate, revamp, and reconnect.

Take my poll and let me know what you think.

Tags: Facebook, facebook fan page, facebook page, internet marketing, internet marketing consultant, LinkedIn, linkedin poll, online marketing, search engine technology, social media consultant, social media marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter
Posted in: Facebook, Google, Internet Marketing Consulting, Keywords, Lead Conversion, LinkedIn, online customer service, Online Search, Organic Search, Social Media Posts, Twitter |

Comments: 3 Comments

New Linkedin Poll Post: What form of Internet Marketing is most conducive to your business model? (Paid Search vs. Organic Search)

I just posted a new poll over at my Linkedin account; Which form of Internet Marketing is most conducive to your business model? (Paid Search vs. Organic Search)

It’s important before starting any type of campaign to know where to focus your business’ attention to. There has always been a great debate as to whether or not a business should place significant emphasis to a paid search campaign or to an organic search campaign.

I have always said, that in the long run, a well thought out SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plan is much more cost effective and efficient. For many companies this really isn’t the perfect solution or even an option as quality SEO takes time (somtimes 1-3 months) to be indexed by many or most search engines. SEO is great in getting the main website indexed and organically ranked hirer.

Paid search is great for when time is short and every advertising dollar can be quantified to one degree or another. If a marketing campaign runs for a week or 1 month and the business wants to gauge the response…the best bet is paid search with the landing page being a unique microsite catered to that widget being advertised. The main focus would be either direct sales or lead generation for 3rd party sales.

Either way, the important thing is to know how and when use the proper keywords and content that are relevant to your website.

Take the poll and let me know what your opinion is.

Tags: internet marketing, internet marketing consultant, keyword, LinkedIn, linkedin poll, microsite, Microsites, Organic Search, Paid Search, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, SEM, SEO, Social Media Posts, social networking
Posted in: Google, Internet Marketing Consulting, Keywords, Lead Conversion, LinkedIn, Microsites, Online Search, Organic Search, Paid Search, SEO / SEM, Social Media Posts |