Beware shiny objects

Social media0 comments

I was at a networking event the other week, and a couple of people were talking about Pinterest and how they’ve found it useful in their business. One was an interior designer and the other person designed clothes. Now I could see that it would be a really good tool for people like that but personally I haven’t actually been on the site yet.

I know that everyone is talking about Pinterest at the moment and it’s very easy to feel that you need to be part of the “in crowd” and don’t want to feel left out. However, as far as I’m concerned, it’s not something that I think will be relevant to the services that I provide.

I have a clear idea of my marketing activities this year and the tools that I’m going to use to promote my business. And Pinterest isn’t on it! That’s not to say that plans are inflexible and can’t be changed; they obviously need to adapt with changing circumstances and demands. But it’s easy to get distracted by the latest shiny object that everyone is talking about without thinking about whether it’s right for your business.

So before you start using any kind of social media, whether that’s the traditional tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, or the newer kids on the block such as Google+ and Pinterest, do some research on which ones your target market is more likely to use. In fact, I’ve told clients to think hard before deciding to set up a page on Facebook or profile on Twitter. It may have lost me business but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a waste of the client’s time and money to use these tools if their prospective clients aren’t on there.

So beware shiny objects – stay focused on those tools that will bring in the leads you need to grow your business.
 

If you need help with setting up and managing your social media activities, then check out our social media marketing services. We can advise you of the best platform for your business, create profiles and pages on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and post status updates as directed by you. Click the arrow button to find out more about our social media marketing support.
 

Are Your Facebook Fans Not Seeing Your Posts?

Online marketing, Social media0 comments

If you’re like me and are running a business by yourself then you know how important it is to streamline as many processes as possible to save you time.  One way of doing this is to manage your social media activities from one place using tools such as HootSuite and TweetDeck.

However, apart from the fact that you shouldn’t post the same content to all your social media accounts (that’s another blog in itself!), it could mean that your Facebook fans are not seeing your posts.

Now I’m someone who had set up their blogs so they were automatically posted on to my Facebook Page when published and used HootSuite to update my Page with other information.  However, I’ve read several articles recently that this is not the best way to add content to your Page as it can affect how it appears in your Fans’ newsfeeds.  How does this happen?

Well as you may or may not know, Facebook prioritises what appears in newsfeeds and this is dictated by something called Edge Rank.  This is an algorithm that uses certain factors such as the numbers of comments or likes, or age of a particular update which affects how likely it will appear.

The Edge Rank of a particular update will also be affected by whether or not it has been posted via a third party application such as Networked Blogs or HootSuite because Facebook will sometimes display these differently to updates posted in Facebook itself.  This is because Facebook will often  group updates from various Pages that have been posted via third party apps, rather than show them individually.

For example, Twitter feeds from various sources will be shown together in a Fan’s newsfeed, as will blogs posted via Networked Blogs.  This means that those updates posted via third party apps will have poorer visibility, or lower Facebook Edge Rank.

So although many small business owners use third party applications to manage the scheduling and management of their social media activities; if you do have the time then I would advise that you try to create status updates in Facebook itself so that you can get the most visibility for your content in your Fans’ newsfeeds.

So what do you think?  Leave a comment below!
 
If you want a Facebook page that will promote your business professionally and effectively to your online contacts, then we can help you. We can design a page to match your company branding, create and add welcome tabs etc, and post updates to your page. Click on the arrow to find out more about our social media marketing services.
 

How a Virtual Assistant Can Help With Local Marketing

Marketing, Online marketing, Virtual Assistant0 comments

As someone who runs their own virtual assistant business, I know how essential it is to have an online presence.  However, it can sometimes be very difficult to make yourself heard above all the other marketing messages being broadcast whether it’s via Twitter, Facebook or blogs.

So if you’re a business owner like me who wants to reach out to people in your area, how can you do this?  Well this is where the power of local marketing comes in.  By targeting your marketing to people within a specific area, you are able to become more effective in communicating your message.

So if you want to make yourself heard, here is how a virtual assistant can help with local marketing.

Google places. This free local listing service is the quickest and easiest way to get on the first page of Google.  A virtual assistant can set up your profile with all your company details, including information on your services, location and opening hours.  They can also upload any images or videos, and will include specific search terms within your profile so that your place appears when people are looking for your services or products within your area.

Facebook Places.  A VA can create a Facebook Places account for you where they will set up or claim your “place”, ie your business address and then complete your profile with details of your location, services and products.  Once this is set up, then people can “check in” when they visit your business and by doing this, they tell their Facebook friends about you.

Facebook advertising is like Google Adwords where you set a budget and then pay every time someone clicks on your ad.  A virtual assistant can create an ad with images and text and then specify who sees the ad by selecting criteria such as age, gender, interests and location as specified by you.  They can monitor the performance of your ads and manage your budget.

Foursquare is very similar to Facebook Places, and again a VA can create or claim your place, and set up your profile with any exclusive discounts or special offers for people who check in to your location.  When people check in, they share their location via social media which spreads the word about your business.

Google Adwords works in the same way as Facebook advertising where you set a daily budget and then pay every time someone clicks on your ad.  A virtual assistant can create an account on Adwords with criteria specified by you.  This includes where your ads are displayed, eg in a particular country or city, your cost per click budget, and which keywords you want to use – you can use location-based keywords so that your ad appears when people are searching for your services or products within that area.

Now you know how a virtual assistant can help with local marketing.

So if you want to communicate to potential clients within your local area then these tools will help you do this and keep you one step ahead of the competition.  By using a virtual assistant to set these up and monitor them for you, you can focus on following up the leads that have been generated from these marketing activities.

If you want to have a more effective presence online, then we can help you. By having a visible presence online, you can raise your profile and credibility as well as market your business to people who are interested in what you do. Click on the arrow button to find out more about our online marketing services.
 

7 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Manage Your Social Media

Social media, Virtual Assistant0 comments

I find that when I go out to networking events, I meet a lot of people who want to use social media to promote their business, but they feel that it’s a total waste of time.

Now as a business owner myself, I do know how precious time is!  But I also know how effective social media can be for small businesses.  The only thing you need is commitment and sometimes people just don’t want to take that step.  Because as we all know, once you get started with any kind of online marketing, you can’t just stop.  An out of date Twitter or Facebook account looks worse than not having one at all.

So if  you’ve been thinking about dipping your toe into social media but have seen it as another drain on your time, here are 7 ways that a virtual assistant can manage your social media activities for you.

Set up your Twitter and Facebook accounts. A virtual assistant can set up your profiles correctly so that  you are projecting a professional image to your contacts.  This includes designing a Facebook page with a profile image that matches your company branding.  As well as creating custom tabs to attract people to like your page which can include a sign up box or a video as appropriate.

Manage your LinkedIn profile. If you’re a B2B business then LinkedIn is an essential part of your social media marketing.  A virtual assistant can ensure that your LinkedIn profile looks professional and can add SEO so that it appears in search results.  They can also make your profile stand out by adding applications such as video, blogs, presentations etc, as well as search for any contacts you want to be introduced to and manage invitation requests.

Promote offers and events. If you have a workshop or special offer that you want to promote, then a virtual assistant can schedule details about these to your Twitter and Facebook accounts.  They can also set up a hashtag to track and handle any comments or enquiries from your followers related to the event or promotion.

Manage your followers. It’s not a good idea to follow everyone who follows you on Twitter as you could end up following spammers.  However, it can be very time consuming to check every time someone follows you to see if you want to follow them back.  A virtual assistant can do this for you and decide on whether to follow them based on criteria given by you.

Track keywords and conversations. A great way to raise your profile and build relationships on social media is to track discussions around subjects that are related to your business so you can respond to any comments or questions with tips and advice.  A virtual assistant can research keywords for you and set up search streams for these keywords on either HootSuite or TweetDeck.

Manage your blog. Blogging is a great way to share your knowledge and promote your authority. A virtual assistant can design a blog on WordPress, research content online based on relevant keywords or topics, and publish the blog so it automatically posts on your social media profiles.

Video marketing. This is becoming an increasingly popular way of promoting your business online.  A virtual assistant can upload your videos on to YouTube, add appropriate keywords and promote via your social media accounts or video sharing sites such as TubeMogul.

So now you know how a virtual assistant can manage your social media activities, you can focus on raising your profile, promoting your authority and building relationships with your online contacts, which over time will start to generate leads for your business.

If you are not marketing your business with social media already, you could be losing out to your competitors. Our social media marketing service will help you to promote your business to contacts who are interested in what you do. Click on the arrow button to find out more about how we can help you with social media marketing.
 

7 Steps to Social Media Heaven!

How to, Online marketing, Social media0 comments

As business owners, we’ve all heard that social media is a great way of promoting our products and services.  However, many people still aren’t using it – writing it off as too time consuming and unable to see the benefits it can bring to their business.

When I set up my own business, I had never used social media before.  However, once I’d got going, I soon realised that it was actually a great way to get my name out there to potential customers, and now I really enjoy using it and have made some great connections.

So if you are struggling with social media, here are 7 steps to social media heaven!

• Social media is another part of your marketing strategy so you need to know what you want to achieve with it.  Do you just want to use it to get your name out there; find potential partners and suppliers; or to generate business from it?  So before you get stuck in, start off by setting some actions and goals.
• Remember that each social media application is different so don’t try to use them all in the same way.  How you use and interact on Twitter will be very different from how you do so on Facebook, and the same goes for LinkedIn.
• Once you have signed up, ensure that you fully complete your profile, with your bio of what you do, a link to your website, and a picture – ideally one of you if you’re running your business by yourself.
• You can save time managing your social media accounts by using third party applications such as TweetDeck and HootSuite.  You can use these to schedule updates, as well as track click throughs on links, and manage followers.  It can be tempting to post one update to all your accounts at once, but remember that all social media is not the same.  That funny remark you make on Twitter may not go down so well on LinkedIn!
• Use the search features to look for relevant followers, fans and connections who could potentially be interested in your business.  You can also use the search in Twitter and Facebook to find hot topics relating to what you do.

• Think like your customer.  As with all your marketing activities, when using social media you need to think about what your potential customers might be looking for.  Obviously use it to share personal stuff about yourself, but when it comes to the business side of your updates, keep in mind what your contacts would find useful.
• It’s not all about you!  Don’t spend all your time broadcasting messages about you and your business though.  Engage with others by asking and answering questions, retweeting people’s posts on Twitter, or commenting on someone’s wall on Facebook.  People love it when others share their content and engage with them, and this helps build up a relationship with your contacts.

 
If you need help with setting up and managing your social media activities, then check out our social media marketing services. We can advise you of the best platform for your business, create profiles and pages on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and post status updates as directed by you. Click the arrow button to find out more about our social media marketing support.