When the Internet evolved into a web 2.0 environment, many found the sheer influx of new social media sites to be overwhelming. When you’re using social networks to help brand and build your business, it’s vital that you have a system in place to organize and manage those tasks, and a social media manager can accomplish that for you.

As an online entrepreneur, you have many hats to wear in your business. You brainstorm ideas, create products, conduct tracking and testing to enhance conversion rates. But you also focus on advertising, and while most marketing costs money, social media is free to those who want to wield its power.

The problem occurs when you start signing up for social networks and realize you don’t have enough hours in the day to manage the operations of it all. So you start looking for someone to outsource the networking tasks to – a social media manager who will be the right fit for your business vision.

You want a social media manager who knows how to immerse himself (or herself) into multi media formats – from text to audio to video. They need to be able to handle blog posts, video presentations and communications with prospective customers on any and all Internet platforms like forums or chat rooms.

Social media managers take on the role of branding your business for you on the World Wide Web, so you want to ensure they don’t engage in black hat spamming and always present your business in its best light.

While you’re busy focusing on the product line and profits, your social media manager will seek out new networking opportunities, have a profile set up for you and begin releasing information to interested viewers about your offerings.

You may notice that most offline companies are now in the process of hiring online media managers to build a rapport with the public. This person will be able to identify your target audience on networking sites and then build a bridge between their needs and your solutions.

They’ll monitor the web to see what buzz is being created about your business and address it accordingly. They will encourage participation and find ways of engaging them in conversations.

Social media managers who are adept at their jobs will easily be able to channel targeted traffic to your website through many of the largest web 2.0 entities in existence – including LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Digg and more. Their job is to create a buzz and circulate information and you reap all of the rewards of those efforts.

Online Advertising for Your Small Business

When we are entering into the business world whether it is online or brick & Mortar, we struggle with finding the right approach to reach our customers or target audience. Learning new and innovative ways to improve our internet marketing or online advertising is a challenge to say the least. But there are several basic steps you can take to increase the traffic to your website which will assist with improving sales. Focusing on the conversion rate and improving the website will help get the order average up. Below are some internet marketing online advertising tips to help you get off to a good start:

Email Marketing- Learning how to complete an efficient email marketing campaign can save you both time and money. Using landing pages to capture email addresses of your potential prospects can help you build an email-marketing list. This frequently takes a bit of time. But is well worth it if it is done right.

Newsletter Campaigns- Newsletters are not only a good way to market but they are a great way to start your list building efforts. Newsletters can provide your customers with new product information and you can include ads for services that your company provides. Finding someone to design your newsletter can be relatively cheap and this single effort may bring in large amounts of revenue for your company. Customers love to read about services, provide relevant up to date business news and your list continue to grow.

Direct Mailing- While direct mailing seems a thing of the past sending out an occasional post card message may be a great way still to bring in new consumers. This method is targeted towards your local area but it can still bring in a good amount of revenue. In your cards be sure to let them know of current events, sales your planning or even send a coupon or two to peak your customers interest.

Social Networking- Now lets tie in the Social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. These platforms can be beneficial for internet marketing and online advertising for small businesses. The best part about running a social networking campaign is that its low cost and you can   generated a lot of traffic if it is done right.  This is a terrific way to build your brand!

When working on building your business/brand through internet marketing and online advertising you should always remember the more you give the customer the more it draws them in. A great way to WOW them is by providing free gifts that they receive with their order. This approach can generate lots of re-occurring business for your company. The internet is still growing and each year there are more and more ways for small businesses to become the expert in their niche.

LinkedIn is a great social media platform for business to business networking. If you want to establish yourself as an industry expert this is perhaps one of the most effective platforms for businesses. Do you want to market to other businesses, network with business leaders and executives? If so, then a presence on LinkedIn is a must! LinkedIn is substantially different than other social media sites because your profile is more like an online resume. As a result, with LinkedIn you really want to be professional.

Some tips on how to use LinkedIn to your advantage:

1. Build a powerful and profile try to make your profile 100% complete by including your education, professional experience as well as an products or materials that you have produced. Your LinkedIn profile is essentially an online resume for you. Add both past and present experience, your full education, honors and awards, an avatar and pay special attention to the summary information.

2. There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn be sure to join several groups and get involved. LinkedIn’s groups feature is also a fantastic engine for networking with people in your professional circles. You can join groups who have similar businesses and services as you, network with college alumni as well as business or trade specific entities. The more networking you do, the more your business gets noticed.

3. This is one of the best features on LinkedIn the Ask and answer questions. You can rapidly establish yourself as an industry expert by routinely checking to see if there are any questions being asked in your area of expertise. If you provide meaningful and helpful answers is a very effective way this will help you build connections which in turn establishes you as an expert.

4. Give and ask for recommendations section is another unique feature on LinkedIn. The Recommendations area is similar to testimonials that you would post on your website.  LinkedIn has a section on your profile for recommendations from colleagues and business partners. Be sure to ask for recommendations but also be willing to give recommendations to others this will build good will.

5. Ask for introductions. Is there a business or a person who you would really like to joint venture with or network with? Ask someone in your circle of connections to introduce you. In general your connections are more than happy to facilitate an introduction this is standard practice on LinkedIn.

As with all social media platforms, the value of LinkedIn is in building targeted connections and networking. LinkedIn is especially valuable for business to business transactions and networking. Be sure to add value, compliment others and establish yourself as an expert in your field and your social media efforts will enhance your business.

Image via Wikipedia

You’ve been using Social Media tools for a while and you’re starting to run out of ideas. What will you post? Does anyone care that you’re heading out to eat dinner or going to walk the dog? Probably not, especially if you’re using these tools to promote your business brand.

Here are some ideas to keep your posts fresh and Tweets interesting and engaging:

• Quotes that relate to your business brand give you credibility. Posting quotes on topics of value to your target market will also be appreciated. One bonus with quotes is that they’re often picked up and Re-Tweeted (RT) by Peeps, so you get your name mentioned by someone else as well.

• When your on Twitter, RT interesting information by other people, but be sure to keep it to a reasonable level. If all you’re doing is RTing other people’s ideas it might start to look like you can’t come up with any of your own. It’s about maintaining the right balance.

• Subscribe to RSS Feeds and keep track of what’s new in the news on topics that would be of value to your followers, clients and potential clients. Post links on recent articles related to these topics.

• Have fun with your posting. Set up some tweets throughout the day. For example, a Tweet quiz something like this:

Which is more productive? a) focus on the task at hand, b) grab a cup of coffee. If you chose a) you’re on your way.

Then post another one an hour later, and so on, for the rest of that day. Some can be quirky, like the one above. Others can be more serious, if you prefer.

• Did you read an interesting blog today? Give your readers the link. If you refer readers to blogs you’ll often get referrals to your blog…which brings me to the next point…

• If you have your own blog, post the link to your newest blog posting. Do this several times throughout the week on all your social media networks. Switch it up and keep it fresh by quoting small segments from the blog followed by the link.

• Do you have some favorite books that other business people would find valuable? Post a list, and continue adding new books with each Tweet or LinkedIn or Facebook post throughout the day.

Bookmark & Share

Clichés should be avoided in writing at all costs. But some aptly apply to social networking. So I thought I’d take a minute to link some of these pearls of wisdom (pardon the cliché) to show you how you can apply them to social media.

• It is better to give than to receive. Whatever you post or Tweet should have value for your readers, and/or educate them about your business.

• Do onto others as you would have them do onto you. Most of us don’t like getting that telemarketing call during the dinner hour. Same thing applies to that post about the latest and greatest thing you’ve got to sell during someone else’s very busy day.

• A friend in need is a friend indeed. Do you belong to a LinkedIn group and someone has posted a question you can answer? The more questions you answer the more your profile goes up as an expert on LinkedIn. Does a Facebook friend or fan need assistance that you can provide? Post the information or offer a helping hand to show that you’re someone to be counted on, particularly if it’s advice regarding your area of business expertise.

• Put it on the back burner. Take note of any postings, links or information that may not be timely but you feel will be of value later on. File it away for the right time to use it or share it with others.

• Success begets success. If you are successful with what you do in social networking it will create more success for you. As well, the more successful you are, the more successful others will be who follow your advice.

• Hit the ground running. Get involved with social networking. Open that LinkedIn or Twitter, or whatever account, and start posting those pearls of wisdom.

Image via CrunchBase

Tools that integrate your social media networks

So, now you have a Facebook account, a LinkedIn Account and a Twitter account. And maybe you have a blog now too? So every day you log into these individual accounts to post updates, several times a day; as if life wasn’t busy already.

Have you ever wondered why some people can post more often? Do they have more time to do this than you do? And what’s that little note in their post saying posted from Seesmic or Tweetdeck, or Hootsuite?

These are just a few of the tools that now make it possible for you to cross post to multiple social networking groups, and most even let you monitor them all in one place. Now that’s easy. Here are some examples.*

Seesmic – Seesmic has multiple tools including Desktop, Web, Blackberry and the new Windows version. It’s a great tool for multiple Twitter account users and keeping you on top of multiple Twitter lists. Seesmic Desktop gives you access to you Facebook account as well. Read and post from the app to one or both accounts from your desktop, browser or Blackberry.

Tweetdeck – The desktop version links you to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace accounts. You can define the columns (one for each social media tool or all for different Twitter tools – DMs, Groups, Lists, etc.). Read and post directly from the deck. Tweetdeck is available for the IPhone and IPad.

Hootsuite – The dashboard uses a tab format to access Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with similar capabilities to Seesmic and Tweetdeck. Hootsuite has an IPhone app too.

Pluggio – (formerly Tweetminer) integrates Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Newer on the scene Pluggio has short help videos build right into the program to get you up and running quickly. Pluggio’s two great features are its ability to set up scheduled updates and/or rolling posts (timed repeated posts).

Ping.fm dashboard – Pluggio and Seesmic both work in conjunction with Ping.fm. This smaller dashboard is accessed via web browser. Set it up to post to one account or multiple social media accounts (well beyond Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn). You can even “micro post” blogs on Blogger and Wordpress. Word has it that Seesmic and Ping.fm will soon be offering scheduled updates.

*NOTE: application tools change frequently and will change after I’ve posted this blog. Always check for updates.

In my last blog I talked about some of the things to consider when setting up your LinkedIn profile. Now, I’d like to share some tips for building your connections and presenting the right image on LinkedIn

Netiquette (Internet Netiquette) in a nutshell
Everything you do on LinkedIn must be professional – yes, that’s a word I use a lot when I refer to LinkedIn, but I can’t stress it enough. If you’re a small- to medium-sized business owner, your reputation is important. And because LinkedIn is a marketing tool for your business, you want to exude that professional image. That means every time you update your status, or connect with someone, or comment on their status, you need to choose your words carefully, because whatever you say is a direct reflection on your business.

Making Contact and Connecting
Like Facebook and Twitter, you want people to join your social network. But, with LinkedIn, you want to be more discerning about who you allow into your network because this is a business networking tool.

LinkedIn believes that connections on their site are important as well. You can see this when you approach someone to connect with them. It’s not just about saying “Hi, I want to be your friend.” Before you can connect, you have to answer some questions. If you don’t have a direct connection with the person, you may need to ask someone you know who’s connected with this person to give you an introduction.

Seeing your connections and their connections, and so on…
LinkedIn uses a hierarchy for sharing your connections with you. You will see this at various places on LinkedIn. One example is when you are looking through your direct connections’ contact lists.

If you are directly connected to someone they are in your 1st tier. If your 1st tier connection is connected to someone else then you’ll see 2nd next to that person’s name wherever they show up. LinkedIn may even tell you that the 2nd tier person is connected to 10 (or whatever number) of your 1st connections.

In future blogs we’ll explore some of the ways you can meet LinkedIn members, including joining groups.

If you have any questions about getting LinkedIn, please post them here and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Image via CrunchBase

Tips for setting up you LinkedIn account

If you’re a business owner, or work for a business, or if you’re a job seeker, or are seeking someone to fill a job, then LinkedIn is a valuable tool for you. In other words, LinkedIn is for anyone looking to create a professional social media presence with the emphasis on “professional.”

From its inception, LinkedIn was strategically set up for business use. You’ll see this from the minute you go into the program and start to create your profile. But before you do, let’s talk about some of the ways to set up the right – meaning professional – image for your LinkedIn profile.

Build a strong profile
When you set up your profile you’ll see that the information is business related. There’s also a scale in the profile editing page that shows your “profile completeness” percentage. As you add more information under the Edit My Profile section, you’ll see the percentage increase. Your goal is to get 100% complete.

This isn’t a difficult percentage to achieve. And there’s no need to talk about your personal information (e.g. relationship status or birth date). But there are some key things you need to fill in.

• Jobs – present and past
• Education
• Links to your:  Website, Blog, Twitter account

• Referrals also move your profile completeness scale up. So, as you build your contact group, offer to give referrals to your contacts and ask for referrals. Ideally, these would be from people who know you well – former employers, working colleagues, members of a board you sat on, or other work- or volunteer-related associates.

In my next blog I’ll talk more about LinkedIn and growing your connections. Have any questions? Please post them here. Thanks!

I had such a great response with my previous blog post – Adding the Twitter Button to your Profile Page – I thought many of you may want to add the LinkedIn Button to your Profile page. If you want your friends to be able to find you easily on LinkedIn add this button to the left side of your Facebook Profile Page. If you’d like to see the button you can view my page at: http://facebook.com/KarriannGraf.

Here are some easy to follow directions to set this up.

Step 1: Go to the bottom left corner of your Profile Page and click on the Applications Button —>  Select the Browse More Applications.

Step 2: Go to top left corner in box it says Search Apps —> Type My LinkedIn Profile press Return –> Select the My LinkedIn Profile.

Step 3: Click on Go To Application –> Click on Allow.

Step 4:  Type in your LinkedIn Profile http://Linkedin.com/in/Your Name –> Then pick the size of the badge that you want displayed –> Click on Save.

Step 5: Be sure you have chosen the Add To Profile Button –>Press Add —> You should be taken to your profile picture. You’ll be asked whether you want to Keep it or Remove it –> Click on Keep (Note: You can move it later if you don’t like the location).

How aboutthat magic? Please ReTweet if you found this information valuable.

If you have Social Media questions please post them here in the comments section, or on my Fan Page at http://facebook.com/SocialMediaSuccess.

Looking to build a good reputation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Follow these practical tips and you’ll be a top user in no time.

Be consistent — Social networks are like any other social environment; the people who show up the most often tend to be the most popular. Pick a time every day to devote to the social network(s) of your choice. It doesn’t need to be a lot of time; 15 minutes a day will suffice, but it’s important to show up on a regular basis. That way, people will know your account is active and be more likely to engage with you.

See what the top users are doing — 
Every social network has “super users”– users who are the most active and popular on the network. You can usually use third party applications to find these users. For instance, http://www.wefollow.com ranks Twitter users by follower counts within each category. Locate these users and take note of what they are doing differently from the less popular or effective users. For instance, on Twitter you often find top users posting links to interesting articles and websites. By replicating that behavior, you are likely to develop a good reputation on Twitter.

Provide value — If you really want to be loved on a social network, help people solve their problems. For instance, if one of your Facebook friends posts a status update about losing their job, you could provide that person with a couple of contacts who may have job opportunities for him or her, or, at the very least, you can offer some words of encouragement. And then just some general things that might be useful to many readers. For example, if you try a new restaurant or see a new movie, you might post your review. In short, find creative ways to provide your friends with fun and useful information and you will see your following increase.