Ever considering enhancing your Face book page?  Have you seen some of the apps you can add to your Face book page?  It can be overwhelming at times to know which ones are great and how to add them to your page!  Doing this can create more functionality and engagement on your existing Facebook page.

Ever hear of NetworkedBlogs.com?  Try installing this app and when you publish the app, the blogs automatically set the publication of your blog posts to your fan page.  When you install the app and publish a blog post on your word press or type pad blog those automatically appear on your wall.  This goes out to the newsfeed, stream of your fans and it reminds the fans they are a friends of your fan page. It shows what your posts look like when they land on your wall as it pulls a paragraph from your blog post with an image.  They can see your new posts immediately.  Unlike the notepad, this can be more efficient.


Try adding a Video App to your Facebook page!  Here are two recommended video apps:

1.    Vpype.com uses a web cam on your computer to allow you to connect with your fans and potential clients. You can add a link that can be posted on your fan page, twitter or personal profile to let people know you will be going live.  This allows your fans to interact and watch you.  Try hosting a live customer appreciation party, launch a new product or just have a social gathering online live.

2.    Justin.tv and look for app called “Live Justin” and you can add the tab right on your face book page.  

Try adding a Live Chat App called Clobby.com.  This app lets you install a tab on your fan page but fans need to first “like” your fan page and after this happens they are automatically added into a live chat room with a personal chat id assigned to them.  You can chat with them or they can chat amongst each other and what a great way to address issues, announcements, etc. in your business!

Try connecting Foursquare to your Facebook Business page. Foursquare is a location-based service for people to use their mobile devices to check into a certain business.

First, go to Foursquare.com/businesses and claim your business.  Be sure Foursquare knows you own that business.  Then add the app to your fan page and go to apps.facebook.com/placewidget. This app installs a tab on your fan page that says foursquare and will provide a map of your exact location, your address and the number of check ins to your physical location.

How to run contests on your fan page with apps.

In November 2009, Facebook changed their guidelines how you can run contests, competitions, sweepstakes and drawings. The rules are you have to have prior written permission from Facebook and/or spend $10,000 a month in advertising dollars or process and role out your contest through a third party app. Many small businesses could not afford this so Facebook changed their minds and put in a new rule where you can administer a contest on your fan page and the only requirement is the visitor becomes a fan, clicks the like button and becomes a fan.  What about running a contest for a photo or video contest that is outside the rules. This is when you can use a third party app. One good one isWildfireapp.com. This app allows you to use a whole suite of different apps from coupons to competitions.  Some more to check out are Fanappz.com and Vitrue.com.  All three of these apps provide many different ways for you to administer a contest.

Added Bonus:

Every tab on your Facebook fan page has its own unique url, as well as every post that you make on your fan page.  Browse over the time stamp of a post and the urls can be republished to get more engaging.  Go over to twitter and tweet about a specific post and engage and interact with your twitter followers and the link you post in Twitter takes the followers directly to your discussion in Facebook. You can use the url of that specific tab and bring them back to your fan page to increase interaction and engagement.  This goes out to the stream of those friends and fans already in  your community.

Below are  the 5 Most Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid that Companies make with searches:

Mistake 1
Use Internal Jargon on your Website Rather Than Language Used by Your Reader Audience.
Many examples exist with companies that target terms such as “notebook computer” when the world is looking for “laptop computer,” or “senior living facility” when the world is looking for “nursing home.” Don’t fall prey to this common mistake. Instead, utilize your Web logs, as well as your site search logs, to identify the words your prospective customers are using to find your site. Use research from comScore, Hitwise, or even Google wonder wheel or the search engines themselves to identify keywords that are used most by searchers who are seeking your products or services.

Mistake 2 
Focus Your Search Engine Marketing Efforts on “BIG” Keywords and Ignore the “Long Tail” Keywords.
The Internet has been around for quite some time, and in most industries companies have been performing search engine marketing for a long time. As a result, those companies have a considerable head-start on their competitors. If you hope to rank high in the search results on “big” terms like “automobiles,” “insurance,” or “loans,”  you have about as much a chance of doing so as someone feeling they are a pro in search engine optimization when they are really just getting started. Instead, try considering the hundreds or thousands of keywords your research uncovers that offer you a more realistic chance of ranking highly, such as “used Dodge cars in Atlanta.” Such terms also reflect a more specific intent than the bigger, more ambiguous terms.

Mistake 3
Limit the Amount of Shelf Space You Occupy on the Search Results Page.
Just because you’ve achieved a top ranking within the “organic” search results on a given keyword term doesn’t mean you should just use that method of search engine optimization and not buy that keyword in the paid search engine market on that particular search engine. Studies have shown that by occupying more shelf space on the search engine results page (-through multiple occurrences on your Website) you increase the performance of both of those occurrences (SEM and SEO) versus what they would achieve separately. 

Mistake 4
Ignore the Relationship Between Search and Offline Conversions.
Without tracking the extent your prospects perform research online, but then ultimately buy offline, you can dramatically under value the extent to which search engine marketing plays a role in generating a return on your investment. (For Example if your target audience purchases by phone, catalog, or in a physical store location).  Be sure to have mechanisms in place to track purchases that were researched online, such as coupons that can be printed and brought to the store.  Also ask customers at the checkout counter if they researched their purchase online.  Another tangible measurement would be  to invest in a call-tracking solution that ties phone calls to search engine use.

Mistake 5 
Manage Your Search Engine Marketing Campaigns in a Vacuum.
No marketing channel operates in a vacuum. Messaging seen via one marketing or advertising channel causes actions to be taken on another, and nowhere is this truer than with searches made on the internet. In a study conducted by Jupiter Research for iProspect, 67% of online searchers were driven to perform a search as a result of exposure to some form of offline marketing – print ad, direct mail, TV, outdoor, etc. That’s why it’s is even more important for companies to make sure the keywords and messaging they use in their offline channels (as well as other online channels) is the same messaging they target with their paid and organic search engine marketing campaigns. If done consistently, when someone sees your print ad, direct mail, TV ad, or outdoor ad, and then performs a search, he or s he will find your Website, and not your competitors.

By avoiding these search marketing mistakes, companies will be able to stay ahead of the competition and achieve success with these ever-evolving challenging discipline online strategies.

DJ Heckes, Author & CEO
EXHIB-IT! Tradeshow Marketing Experts
www.exhib-it.com
Full BRAIN Marketing
www.fullbrainmarketing.com

By: May Ellen Merrigan of the Merrigan Group

Overnight, fall arrived. The temperature dropped. Leaves began to turn. Suddenly, “finishing strong” seems like a great way to end the year. Putting forth the effort now to fast start the first quarter might feel overwhelming to some entrepreneurs. “It’s all I can do to think about the holidays,” you may gasp.

Take a deep breath and then “Take Ten.”  Pump up the results of your marketing efforts with these ten easy steps. 

Ten Ways to Finish Strong 

1.    Play with promotional strategies that pop. Strengthen your general plan (open house, special sale, gift ideas). Is there a story you can tell, a picture you might show, an alliance you could form? Develop a distinct theme for use throughout all communications this season.  As you create new ideas, a synergy will begin that will help you hone and expand your message.  

2.    Make your end-of-year appointments.  Call your graphics person, marketing strategist and web developer. Arrange for a general communication meeting to brainstorm promotional ideas. Be daring and different and include all of your vendor partners. 

3.    Plan your content strategy. List every piece of communication, including each advertisement, blog post, email and newsletter. How can you gain more visibility for materials you’ve already produced? 

4.    Invite two or three best customers to add input. Host a coffee or tea party for a few of your good customers and delve into their minds. Let them remind you of the things they love about your business. Write down the descriptive words and phrases they use and incorporate these into your plan.  

5.    Review social media and determine to use it effectively. The public hue and cry about social media serves to remind us to get social. If you’ve not stayed current, ask for help. Think outside the box. Incorporate one social media strategy into your plan. Find your customers online.

6.    Seek collaborative opportunities. Use creative partnering to extend your money, time and visibility. Brick and mortar businesses might organize a social event for stores in their strip center. Service businesses could produce a collective open house or preview party. Even better, team up with another business to offer a product with purchase. This is about getting the word out.

7.    Stay visible. The activities and bustle of the season may tempt you to go within, focusing exclusively on your own business. Resist. Find ways to network with other entrepreneurs. Listen to their ideas. In the process, you’ll boost your own creative output.

8.    Perform a self-evaluation. Rate the effectiveness of each strategy and its return on investment. Vow to find new ideas to replace those that are least effective. Then look for promotions you can adapt to use in your business. Note what works for others. Even better, ask them, “How’s that working for you?”

9.    Clean house! Review and archive files – paper and computer.

10.    Enjoy this time! Resolve to have fun each and every day. Celebrate your blessings. “Take ten” every day just to reconnect with all that is good.

Marketing and publicity consultant Mary Ellen Merrigan, Merrigan Group LLC, founded her blog, ProfitMeister, to provide DIY (Do It Yourself) marketing strategies for independent businesses. She is the author of The Six Week Marketing Plan, a content-packed e-book that simplifies marketing today.

Like most companies in the SEO (search engine optimization) com¬munity, I’m always looking for ways to improve content for my own company. Whether it’s a website, article, blog or a press release, there is always a way to make it rank better. Recently I began optimiz¬ing profiles on LinkedIn, the social networking site for business professionals. Using my own LinkedIn profile, I’ve discovered that the same principles can be used in as used for your own website SEO.

For the past few weeks, I have altered various fields in my profile and logged the effect on the number of searches that it appeared in according to LinkedIn analytics. While LinkedIn doesn’t offer an option for analytics, so I used my own primary method of measurement with my own in-house tracking system. The results I found were conclusive: It is possible to optimize your LinkedIn profile to rank better in search. 

Here are a few areas that I believe are key to achieving an optimized LinkedIn profile page.

Your Profile Headline
The most important field to optimize on your LinkedIn profile is the headline. The headline field can be looked as meta description in SEO terminology.  This is where you explain what you do, how you do it (in as few words as possible) to the online world without having to label what you do such as putting a “job title.”



For my headline, I opted to go with these keywords as my contact information:

1.    Small business marketing
2.    Trade Show exhibits
3.    Marketing consultant

For those of you who are not that familiar with LinkedIn, contacting a non-connection isn’t easy unless you are in the same group as a non-connection or you have a mutual friend.  Adding contact infor¬ma¬tion is helpful for new business development and growth. Like its SEO counterpart, the meta description is the first thing a searcher sees when searching on LinkedIn.

Your Profile Summary
A LinkedIn summary is your way to describe who you are, what you want to accomplish, and what you aspire to be. In SEO terms, I look at it as the first 100 words of the page. This is a great opportunity to add a ton of keywords, related terms, and longer, more descriptive strings.  Even though it is important to use your targeted phrase a few times throughout your summary, keep in mind this is a professional profile.  If you sound like a robot, you may turn off your readers.  Just like any effective website, a LinkedIn profile that is optimized with user experience in mind will get the sale long before a keyword-stuffed can of Spam.



Your Job Title and Description
This is another important field when looking to optimize your LinkedIn profile. The job description you provide doesn’t have to and most likely shouldn’t be word-for-word verbiage from your job offer letter. Be creative, yet truthful; descriptive, yet succinct. Remember, your target audience has even less time than you to spend reviewing company job titles or proposals so cut to the chase.




Your Group Memberships & Connections
Group memberships and the total number of first, second and third-degree connections also play a part in determining your ranking in LinkedIn search results. Group memberships and connections are a lot like inbound links– they serve as a “vote of confidence,” and the closer your connection is to the searcher, the higher up you will show if they use the one-click filter option to sort by relationship. Be sure to join as many (relevant) groups that you can and connect with a few LIONs (LinkedIn Open Networkers) from your industry. Note: Don’t connect with random strangers!




Building DoFollow Links
A small perk of having a LinkedIn profile is the strength of the domain and the presence of doFollow, customizable anchor links. Your profile allows three links for your website, blog, or Twitter with default anchor text like “My Website” or “Other.” The “Other” field, when selected, allows for customized anchor text. Instead of selecting “My Blog” or “My Website,” use the “Other” option and give yourself some link love from your trustworthy LinkedIn profile.




Pulling it all together
Optimizing content and leaving it alone simply isn’t an option. You now need to track and measure! The fields that I changed over the past few weeks were headline, summary, and work description – each of which were explained in detail above. Some other notable variables included building more recommendations for increasing awareness and credibility.
Changing the headline, summary, and work experience to be more optimized allows more searchers to find me under my targeted key words.  I hope the shared information that I have done in my own profile will also help you in optimizing your own LinkedIn Profiles.

DJ Heckes, Author & CEO
EXHIB-IT! Tradeshow Marketing Experts
www.exhib-it.com
Full BRAIN Marketing
www.fullbrainmarketing.com

The term "Social Media" can mean different things to different people. To some it refers only to  social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Digg.  Really, social media refers to anything that allows social interaction online including not only sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, but also article comments, blogs, forums, groups, etc.

It is important to note that not all types of social media are right for all companies. Pursuing the wrong strategy can waste a lot of time without getting much return on your invested time. But having the right strategy can quickly turn into your most valuable marketing channel.  

Social media can be an excellent tool to establish yourself or your business as an "expert" in your industry. A good way is to start by making thoughtful comments on popular articles, blogs, forums or groups. When posting a comment, be sure that you compliment or acknowledge the writer and add to what the writer is saying.

No matter how important you think your work is, your organization needs to be notable, according to Wikipedia’s guidelines.


To build this criteria, whenever possible, ask to be a guest blogger for a relevant blog or publication. The idea is to build your credibility as a knowledgeable source whenever a potential customer or client is researching a particular topic.

If you have your own blog, be sure to include that website address when prompted by the commenting software to create a link so that readers can learn more about you from your blog. Many people are afraid to comment before they have built a reputable blog or professional site. Don't let this hold you back from making comments online! You can also link to your twitter account such as http://twitter.com/DJHeckes] if you feel that you don't have enough on your site to link to it yet. Another option is to link to your LinkedIn profile instead.  See examples below. The important thing is to start getting your name out there and then to provide a way to let interested readers find out more about you.






In addition to commenting in various communities online, be sure that you are a member of relevant groups in Facebook and in LinkedIn. Try to be an active member by listening and providing knowledgeable answers to questions asked by other members and on LinkedIn Answers.

Establishing expertise can be beneficial for businesses with one or more of the following characteristics:
•    sell large-ticket products or services
•    sell to relatively small, knowledgeable, and close-knit customer base 
•    sell to a broad geographic area

It's less helpful for companies that have one or more of the following charateristics:
•    Sell inexpensive, high-volume products 
•    Operate in a small geographic area
•    Don't need to demonstrate a high level of expertise

DJ Heckes, Author & CEO
EXHIB-IT! Tradeshow Marketing Experts
www.exhib-it.com
Full BRAIN Marketing
www.fullbrainmarketing.com

When you give away something for free, you often get a lot in return from fans or customers. One of the benefits of becoming a business guest blogger is that it establishes trust and thought-leadership. For example, even though EXHIB-IT! Tradeshow Marketing Experts is a trade show exhibit business, we share lots of free advice on marketing for the small business. 

Contributing a post to a blog other than your own is another way of giving away something small for free, but also getting more in return. In this blog, I'll share some useful practical tips on how to approach guest blogging and how to get the most out of it.

Benefits of Guest Blogging

Reaching New Audiences
A company blog post will go out to all your subscribers. Those subscribers may even share it with their friends through social media, and you may gain some more interest or additional subscribers. However, being publishing on someone else's blog lets you reach out to a wider and newer audience. A guest post is an opportunity to let a new group of people find out about your blog and your expertise.

Branding & Public Relations
Guest blogging should be a win-win situation for both you and the site you appear as a guest blogger. It should also benefit both you and the blog to which you are contributing. This is how public relations works.  Guest blogging is just another offering to help establish connections. It also puts these connections on public display, which can build your company brand's authority.
By both giving to and connecting with your industry's blogging community, this allows you to also get people to help fill your blog with content. The rule of reciprocity says that if you do something for someone else, they are more likely to do something for you.

Gain Inbound Links
Gaining external links from authoritative and relevant websites is a powerful way to improve your search engine ranking. With your guest blog posts, you should have your bio with a link back to your blog and/or website. If appropriate, you can also add links to other blog posts or resources that your company offers in a guest blog post.

While inbound links are a benefit, this is not the only way to add value or a benefit to your guest blogging.  Becoming a guest on someone else's blog is like being a guest in their home.  You should respect their goals, which may not be to promote your company.

How to Guest Blog
This is not a difficult thing to do. Many blogs have a contact form, and some blog posts may even have an 'invitation to blog' form. You can also join My Blog Guest, an online community that helps you find guest blogging opportunities.



Before deciding to approach a blog for a guest post, be sure the blog satisfies the following criteria:

Relevance
If you are a current blogger already, you should know your own audience. Read a few of the articles and blogs from other sites you wish to become a guest blogger to get a feel for the audience. Your guest posts should never compromise your own goals. Target blogs where there is an overlap between your audience and their audience.

Blog Quality
Gain more credibility when blogging a guest post on a more influential blog. This can be a mainstream blog, or a prominent niche blog in your industry. Either way, you can run a blog through Blog Grader and better understand its influence.



Guest blogging offers an opportunity that many bloggers neglect. Of course, you do not want to lose your focus on regularly producing great content on your own blog first. At the same time, if you follow the guidelines above, guest blogging can become an effective way to improve your brand, search engine optimization, and grow your audience.

DJ Heckes, Author & CEO
EXHIB-IT! Tradeshow Marketing Experts
www.exhib-it.com
Full BRAIN Marketing
www.fullbrainmarketing.com

It is so easy to set up a Blog on any of the multitude of blogging platforms.  While there are many blog platforms, WordPress.org is one of the most popular. To make your blog work for you, it is a good idea to install some key plugins.  This is pretty basic, depending on the theme you choose.

Plugins expand and extend the functionality of your Wordpress Blog. There are so many Plugins available to add to your site to optimize it, customize it. And make it easy for your readers to navigate through your blog so much easier.
So you may ask – which Plug in should you use?  Some of the most popular plugins fall into a couple of categories – those that help you with blog management and optimization behind the scenes and those that enhance your readers’ experience.
To install a plugin, log into your WordPress admin dashboard and click on Plugins and search by name.  See below. 

See below for 22 of the WordPress Plugins you should consider.




1.    Audio Player. This is a simple mp3 player for all your audio needs. It can be customized by color scheme to match your blog theme and you can have it automatically track information from the encoded ID3 tags and more.
Some features include:
•    Configurable color scheme to match your blog theme
•    Volume control
•    Right to left layout switch for other language sites
•    Many options such as auto start and loop
•    ID3 tag support with custom tracking information also available

2.    Photo Dropper. This plugin allows you to easily find and add creative licensed photos to your pots from Flickr.  Once you upload and activate your plugin, you will see the panel below your “Write Post” panel.  Whenever you need a photo for your post, all you do is click and place the cursor inside the post where you want the photo to appear. You can add as many photos as you want in your post.



3.    Viper’s Video Quicktags.  This is a quick and easy way to add videos from your YouTube Account and other video sharing platforms to your posts.




4.    Sexy Bookmarks.  You can place visual graphics to encourage your readers to share your posts and you can select from dozens of social sites.  Try keeping it to 5 – 7 popular sites so you do not overwhelm your readers.




5.    Facebook Like Button. This new feature allows you to configure and display the Facebook like button before and/or after each post and/or page.  This allows you to increase your visibility on Facebook and is a required 





6.     Tweetmeme Retweet Button. This button is the de facto standard in retweeting and is used by some of the biggest websites in the world.  This allows you to increase your reach across the web.




7.    CommentLuv. This is a very poplar commenting plugin.  When installed, it allows you to visit the site of the comment author while they type their comment and retrieves a section of their last blog posts, tweets or Dig submissions they choose from to include at the bottom of their comment when they click Submit.  This has been proven to increase click-through traffic and is a great tool for increasing community engagement.




8.    Disqus Comment System. This is a service tool for web comments and discussions. This platform makes commenting easier and more interactive, while connecting websites and people who comment on the website create a great discussion community.




9.    Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.   This plugin gives you a list of posts and/or pages related to the current entry. This also encourages reader to go deeper into the content on your site.



10.    Contact Form 7
11.    CformsII
Both these plugins allow you to have readers contact you about something on your site for support, to post questions or even to request information about your services, etc.  The basic WordPress contact form may not be flexible enough for you and you may want to consider these plugins.  Both of these have features that allow you to create and manage multiple forms on your site.  This is simple to customize and you can direct that the responses be sent to any email address for easy management.







12.    WordPress Editorial Calendar.  This editorial calendar makes it possible for all to see your posts and drag and drop them to manage your blog.  It is a great tool for planning and organizing blog posts.




13.    Widget Context
14.    Widget Logic
 Both of these plugins give you flexibility and control to choose which pages your sidebar widgets show up.  This is helpful if you create sales and/or landing pages on your site and do not want sidebar content distracting visitors on your site.








15.    WPtouch iPhone Theme.  This automatically transforms your WordPress Blog into an iPhone app-style theme when viewed from an iPhone, iPod touch, Android, Opera Mini, Palm Pre and Blackberry Storm mobile devices.








16.    WordPress Mobile Edition.  This shows an interface designed for mobile devices when visitors come to your site on a mobile device.  Mobile browsers are automatically detected and a list of mobile browsers can be customized on the settings page.

17.    WordPress Database Backup. This is an on-demand back up of your WordPress database. It is important to back up your blogs on a regular basis or you risk losing all that research and writing! Do it monthly at a minimum, more frequently if you post a lot of information.

18.    Twitter Tools.  This allows a complete integration between your WordPress Blog and Twitter. Bring your tweets into your blog and pass your blog posts to your Twitter followers. Show your tweets in your sidebar and post tweets from your WordPress admin.







19.    SEO Scribe. (Not a free Service) This tool has been mentioned several times in Facebook.  It is the brainchild of Brian Clark (Copyblogger). As he states, “Scribe is a search engine optimization software service that analyzes the content of web pages, blog posts, online press releases, or any other web content… then reports back and tells you how to tweak  your content to get better search engaging rankings and more traffic, all while maintaining quality reader-focused copy.”



 
20.    All in One SEO.  SEO is important to everyone and see here for out-of-the-box SEO for your WordPress Blog.





1.    Google Analytics. Having analytics for your blog is a critical SEO factor to use. You need to know what is happening on your blog to include information about how many visitors, page views, referral sources, exist pages, etc. 
Some great features include:
1.    Installation made simple through integration with Google Analytics for you to select the site you want to track.
2.    This plugin uses an asynchronous tracking code which is the fastest and most reliable tracking code Google Analytics offers.
3.    An option to manually place the tracking code in another location.
4.    Create an outbound link & downloads tracking to- 
•    Configure options to track outbound links either as page views or to track downloads as page views.
5.    Usage of custom variables to track meta data on pages to support for the following custom variables: 
•    Author
•    Single category and/or multiple categories
•    Post type (especially useful if you use custom post types)
•    Logged in users
•    Publication Year
•    Tags

6.    Connect your Analytics and AdSense accounts.
7.    Option to tag links with campaign tracking, with an option to use hashes (#).
8.    Full debug mode, including such platforms as ga_debug.js and Firebug lite for debugging analytic issues.
9.    Track non default search engines
10.    Track login and registration forms.

2.    Subscription.  Try adding an email subscription widget to your blog. The top three that I read to be useful are (1) Feedblitz (fee); (2) Feedburner (free) and AWeber (fee).
Each of these subscriptions  offer a variety of features from basic (Feedburner) to a complete customized newsletter-style delivery system for your blog (Feedblitz). Even though these are not technically plugins, WordPress defines widget as “independent sections of content that can be placed into any widgetized area provided by your theme (commonly called sidebars).”  Each of these email delivery options require you to have an account and configure subscription form HTML to paste in the sidebar of your blog.  This is an easy tool to use.

EXHIB-IT! Tradeshow Marketing Experts
www.exhib-it.com
Full BRAIN Marketing
www.fullbrainmarketing.com

People are chatting online about YOUR brand in social media channels and you should have a strategy to engage in these conversations. Ignoring the conversations – or delving in without a plan – is a missed opportunity.  You should engage in conversations and add value in conversations. I would also recommend creating and sharing your company’s social media policy publicly. Learn how to use social media to shift brand perceptions and increase online sales. Consider these strategies as you develop you own social media strategy. 

1.   Listen Before You Speak
Listening in social media channels and researching your market are well-known prerequisites to entering into social media marketing channels. However, you should keep your ears open.   Listening, more than you speak is a great way to hear what is really being said about your brand or product.

2.   Don’t Be Intrusive 
Knowing when to refrain from joining in on a conversation is just as important as knowing when to add input in a conversation.  When dealing with one-on-one conversations (a conversation between two people) - such as on Facebook- is not necessarily a good place to add your company’s point of view. Doing so would be intrusive and could upset the consumers chatting online. Places such as public forums and blog posts are much more appropriate to add your comments.   

Avoid pitching promotions in social media at random because barging in on conversations with offers does not fit with a strategy of listening and adding value and can be perceived as pushy and hard selling.

3.   When Joining in on Conversations – Add Value
Look for opportunities to add your input to relevant conversations online. It is relevant to discuss related topics to your brand, especially when participating in group discussions. When you find a group of people online discussing a related topic, add your point of view and share a link to your online resources.  People often compare products in blogs and forums, or discuss in social channels which product they should buy. In these cases, respond with third-party reviews and sample videos or photos about your products. The key is to provide information to help the consumer decide – not to barge in and offer a discount. 

If you hear complaints about your brand, respond with a link to potential solutions. For example, if you hear a person complaining about your product, try sending a link to the manual of that product along with customer service contact information.  Some of the most powerful words you can say in social media are “How can I answer your questions?”  or “How can I help you?”

When you hear misinformation being discussed online about your company brand or product, be quick to dispel myths. When you find this misinformation, respond as quickly as possible. Using tools such as Google alerts, Twitter alerts and many others available help you monitor real-time conversations for a quick response. 

4.   Put Real People Behind Your Brand 
Strike a balance between having social media participants speak about your brand and having them show their personality.  Establishing and showing real people behind your brand is important since no one really wants to talk to a logo icon. They want to speak with a real person.  Also, if someone is angry, they’re more likely to tone down their language when dealing with a real person versus an online presence. 

5.   Treat Business Customers and Consumers Differently 
Have a different message that goes out to your business customers that is different than the generic message that goes out to consumers. Interact differently with business customers. Strive to raise awareness and establish thought leadership by creating relevant content, such as blog posts, frequently asked questions or whitepapers that contribute to relevant conversations online.  Refer commentators to educational content, as it provides a deeper engagement in terms of the types of information you share.  Remember, it is not about a generic Facebook wall post that speaks to everyone in your community.

6.  Transparency is Paramount 
When engaging in social media; make it easy for others to identify who is speaking. This transparency establishes trust for people to know and like you on line.  Try creating a formal social media policy for all employees to follow if you have them speak on behalf of your company.  This takes transparency a step further by publicly releasing a social media tips book which contains your social media policy. Some of your guidelines may include  (1) uphold your company’s values;(2) be transparent and be yourself; (3) protect confidential information; (4) avoid unsubstantiated product claims; (5) be aware that linking to another site may imply endorsement of its content.  Publishing this information shows consumers that you have nothing to hide in the social media space. 

EXHIB-IT! Tradeshow Marketing Experts
www.exhib-it.com
Full BRAIN Marketing
www.fullbrainmarketing.com

By F. Leroy Pacheco, Executive Director, The Loan Fund 

The credit crunch is a new nightmare for some borrowers, but entrepreneurs and start-ups of modest means were only too familiar with being turned down for traditional financing even before the economy went sour. 

Private alternative lenders such as The Loan Fund have helped such borrowers build self-sufficient businesses for years. Since the Wall Street meltdown, we’ve been getting more referrals from loan officers at local banks who know we have more flexibility than they do and can make a loan or authorize a line of credit of up to $1 million. 

Bankers aren’t bad people; our board of directors includes several of them. They want to help business owners, but their hands are often tied by federal regulations and mandates from above — and those restrictions have only increased recently. One banker told me applicants must now have a minimum credit score of 650 and three years of profitable financial reports before the bank even considers making a loan. 

Because we’re a private group that balances social benefits and fiscal responsibility, The Loan Fund has more flexibility when it comes to helping our clients get (and keep) going. One such client, Carley Preusch of Silver City, was turned down by four banks that considered her profit margin “too low.” We loaned her $125,000 in July to expand her assisted-living center. 

The Loan Fund isn’t the only game in town, but we’re here to help people who come to us with a business plan, reasonable credit history, realistic cash-flow projections and some evidence that their business provides a benefit to the community. 

What’s the plan? A business plan is necessary no matter where you turn for a loan, but one of our experienced loan officers can explain how to create one if you haven’t already done it. Credit where credit is due: The Loan Fund tallies your credit score when deciding whether to lend money, but we also consider how well you’ve paid your bills in the past. 

We’re looking at commitment to pay, not just ability to pay. If you’ve fallen on hard times but are working to meet your obligations, we’ll take that into consideration. Reality check: I recently sat down with a hard-working entrepreneur who has struggled for financing. He had plenty of optimism, which is critical for success, but he hadn’t balanced the enthusiasm with a realistic assessment of all the potential pitfalls his business could encounter. Revenues aren’t the same as profit, and every business owner must know what he or she will do if the cost of supplies or rent increases, the owner gets sick or a key employee leaves. 

That’s why we ask potential clients for a business plan and cash-flow projections; we have to start somewhere to ensure they’re not getting in over their heads. Paying it forward: There’s more to business success than dollars. One of The Loan Fund’s core values is community development, which includes helping people help themselves and their communities. 

Examples of positive social benefits include creating and preserving jobs that pay sustainable wages and benefits; providing basic services and affordable housing in disadvantaged communities; preserving and advancing traditional communities, cultures and ways of life; and contributing to the revitalization of urban and rural communities. Lenders are conservative — for their good and yours — but we can help you weigh all the “what ifs” in managing your revenues and put together a finance package you can live with. 

The Loan Fund’s loan officers have many years of experience and can quickly see what’s possible and what will or won’t work for you. We have “patient money,” so we can lend you what you need for as long as you need it. There’s always money out there to back good ideas, so don’t let the doom and gloom stop you before you even start. You can find The Loan Fund at www.loanfund.org.

1. Boost your SEO 

There are three areas to add web site links to your LinkedIn profile. Instead of displaying “My Blog” and “My Website” click on Edit link and click on other. Type in a keyword phrase that describes how people can search to find your business. Example: See what I did below to change “My Blog” to say Small Business Marketing with the link going to my book Website page www.fullbrainmarketng.com. I used the keywords versus putting in the Website Link. 




 2. Promoting your Blog Feed 

It is possible to import your Wordpress blog feed into your profile by searching for the WordPress application This is quick for others to scan your blog content at a glance. There is another blog app on LinkedIn-Blog Link – that supports TypePad, Movable Type, Vox, Wordpress.com, Wordpress.org, Blogger, LiveJournal and many more.




3. Create LinkedIn Ad Campaigns 

I had no clue that Linked In has its own Direct Ads Campaign targeted to professionals. This is a hidden treasurer at the bottom of a huge sea! Linked in is a professional site and there is less likelihood of views from random people. This is something I will be using in the near future.


4. Utilize Events to Engage Clients 

Use LinkedIn’s Event Features to plan an event. An event can be created if you have an interest in going to an event or will be an attendee. Invitations can be sent to your LinkedIn Network and give you an opportunity to meet face to face if they decide to attend. Best feature: View at a glance feature to promote your network’s upcoming events. At our annual EXHIB-IT! B2B Event held the first Thursday of June each year, we use this feature for advertisement and invitations. We actually had over 419 RSVPs using this feature last year!


5. Using Groups to connect with people 

Most people join groups and never come back to participate in them. Starting a group is a way to have access to email and stay in touch with your group as it grows.




6. Getting Recommendations to attract more clients. 

Recommendations are a unique feature of LinkedIn that sets it apart from other social media networks. What better way to market your business than by having your colleagues and clients share your expertise.