I recently found myself in a situation where I no longer had time to continue social media marketing activities for my own business.  All I had time for was keeping up with the needs of my clients.

My number one priority shifted to helping take care of my mom who recently had heart surgery.  Fortunately, my sister and I both have home-based businesses so our schedules were the most flexible.  Other family members who pitched in had to take time off from work.

What I found is that it was all I could do to help with my mom and take care of my client’s needs.  There was no time left for social media marketing for my own business.  I had no time to monitor my social media profiles, write blogs, post resource links or use any of the other online marketing channels that I typically use.  I was the one saying, “I don’t have time to do social networking”.  That is a statement I hear from people all the time.  Well, now I’ve been there…said that!

What I learned is that it was possible to find, write and schedule content for client’s that had a social media strategy and content plan.  Well, then why couldn’t I handle my own social media marketing?  Because I’ve never created a formal content plan for myself.  I’ve always kind of flown by the seat of my pants; writing blogs, posting links, commenting, etc…when I “felt” like it.  I stayed on top of breaking news on viruses and new social media features, etc…and I would post about those as they happened.

Could I have continued my own social media marketing if I had had a formal content plan?  Quite possibly!

So, what am I going to do now?

• Rethink the type of content I want to publish.
• Try not to feel like I have to stay in touch with breaking news as it happens.  (After all, I can’t be everywhere all the time.)
• Create a formal content plan that spells out the type of content I will post (videos, blog posts, resource links, etc…) and which days of the week each type of content will be posted.
• Use Hootsuite or a similar tool that will allow me to schedule my posts in advance.

If I had had the type of content plan I just described, I believe I would’ve…at least in part…been able to continue my own social media marketing even during a time of greater family need.  By the way, my mom is now progressing nicely and hopefully very soon she will be feeling better than she has in years!

Do you have a social media strategy and a content plan?

Have you ever been in a similar situation?  If so, how did it work out for you?  I’d love to read your comments…

Kimberly

P.S. - I consult & train businesses on how to promote their business on the internet and get found! Subscribe to this blog via RSS Feed or Email so you don't miss any Free Tips! @KimberlyYow

There’s a lot of buzz about social media marketing and how it can help you build your network, generate leads and strengthen your personal and business relationships. Now Google has taken another step toward integrating social media in their search results via “Social Search”!

Social Search enables Google account users (who are signed in to their account) to search on a keyword or phrase and see relevant results from their social circle of Tweeps, Facebook friends, etc…

You can use this new beta feature to your advantage in your career.  If you consistently post high quality content on your social media profiles, that is relevant to your industry or area of expertise, your content will show up in the Social Search area when people you are connected with on Facebook, Twitter, etc… search on applicable keywords.

Here is a video from Peter Kolat that explains how Social Search works:

Social media marketing is a great tool for building and maintaining your business network. And, Google’s Social Search is just one more reason why you should consistently post quality articles on your social media profiles.

Pepsi has purchased t.v. advertising spots during the super bowl for 23 straight years!  So why skip the super bowl lime light now?

According to Sean Gregory’s article in Yahoo! News:

Instead of pouring millions of dollars into a Super Bowl commercial, Pepsi has started a social-media campaign to promote its “Pepsi Refresh” initiative. Pepsi plans to give away $20 million in grant money to fund projects in six categories: health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education. People can go to the Pepsi website refresheverything.com – which can also be accessed through Facebook and Twitter – to both submit ideas and vote on others they find appealing.

You can bet that Pepsi’s decision to skip super bowl advertising this year was not a quick and easy decision.  If a company like Pepsi is willing to take the risk of launching a very large social media campaign, in lieu of super bowl advertising, you can imagine that they’ve conducted research, looked at the ROI from every direction and are convinced of social media’s value.

What about you?  Are you using social media to market your business?  Are you convinced of its value?  Do you think Pepsi’s social media campaign will be successful?  Sound off below…

Kimberly
MarketingThatsEasy.com

Did you notice that you can now rearrange your profile modules on LinkedIn?  Look at your profile in edit mode.  You can rearrange, by dragging and dropping, any section that you see a plus sign next to including Summary, Applications & Experience.

Kimberly Yow
MarketingThatsEasy.com

Seeking marketing pros for a collaborative online marketing campaign. I am specifically looking for people who are willing to participate in a joint venture of guest blogging and posting on social media sites (a.k.a. Tribe Syndication).  If you specialize in any of the following, please express your interest in the comments section or use the “Contact” button above to get in touch with me.

Pros needed in the following areas:

• branding
• email marketing
• PPC & banner advertising
• video
• podcasts
• PR
• graphic design
• promotional items
• mobile social media
• article marketing

Thank you in advance for your interest.

Kimberly

In my opinion, you need a business blog.  Below are a few reasons why they are valuable and worth the investment, as well as my recommended blogging platform.

1)  Blogs are a way to gain extra visibility on the internet and to share industry information that positions you as an expert.  Each blog post is a page on the internet that will potentially be found by prospects when they search on keywords (again, that apply to your industry).  Think of it like this, if you write 10 blog posts…you have 10 extra “searchable/findable” pages on the internet and each page is linked to your bio & contact info.  Wow!  But what happens once you’ve written 50 or 100 or 500 blogs?  Let your mind soar my friend!

2)  People typically use the internet to find information.   My opinion is, give them what they are looking for.  Present them with useful, inspiring, educational or entertaining blog posts.  Do it repeatedly and they will look to you as a trusted resource and potential provider.

3)  From a long-term prospective, I recommend having a Wordpress “self-hosted” blog.  This means YOU own the blog and control whether or not it remains on the internet.  You can move your blog to a different internet provider any time you want.

If you use a blogging platform that is not self-hosted, the blogging platform provider can…at any time…decide that you are not abiding by their terms & conditions and they can shut down your blog without warning.  Ouch!

4)  A self-hosted blog is like “owning” a house and it is your central “hub” for all of your online activity.

Posting content to a blog that is not self-hosted or to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc… is like “renting” a house.  You never know when you & your content may get evicted.

5)    Oh, and did I mention that Google and other search engines love blogs?  They do.  Since blogs are typically updated regularly, blogs give search engines fresh, new content to index and they love that! Static websites eventually move further and further down the search engine results because the search engines have no way of knowing if anyone is home or if a company is still in business.  Regularly updated blogs say “I’m here, I’m in business, I provide useful info to internet visitors”.

Why do you think blogs are valuable for businesses?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Kimberly
MarketingThatsEasy.com

A good Social Media Strategy has 4-steps which I call C.I.M.A. Many individuals and companies skip Step 1 because they don’t understand the importance of it.  Having and following a Social Media Action Plan (SMAP) can mean the difference between success and failure with social media marketing.  To maximize your Social Media Marketing results, you need to complete all four of the following steps:

1. Create social media action plan
2. Implement social media action plan
3. Measure goals outlined in social media action plan
4. Adjust social media action plan to meet desired goals

During implementation (step 2) you should:

• set-up & link social media sites
• set-up productivity & streamlining tools
• import blog where applicable
• get training on social media sites as needed
• generate content
• interact
• listen
• prospect

Unfortunately many people fly through the implementation stage and plug along but fail to Measure against their social media goals and Adjust their plan.  Without these two steps it is fairly easy to get discouraged with social media marketing and to abandon it or not give it the attention it deserves!

If you need help creating a Social Media Action Plan or following my recommended 4-Step C.I.MA. Strategy, feel free to contact me at Marketing That’s Easy.

Kimberly

I just read something on the internet called a Marketing Bullet.  A short, fast & powerful marketing tip.  Marketing Bullet #14 is Six Little Words That Boost Your Sales by Gary Bencivenga.

The Six Little Words That Boost Your Sales or the “5W1H Formula” is:

1. WHO are you advertising to?
2. WHAT does your product do for them?
3. WHY is it superior to alternative products?
4. HOW can you prove your case?
5. WHERE should you advertise to reach prime prospects?
6. WHEN is the best time to reach them?

Read the rest of Marketing Bullet #14 on Gary’s website for examples on how to use the 5W1H Formula to uncover precious nuggets of information that will make your marketing copy compelling and boost your sales.

Thanks to Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net for sharing the link to Gary’s Marketing Bullets website.

Kimberly Yow
MarketingThatsEasy.com

I just spoke to a prospect who was referred to me and wanted to compare my internet marketing, web design and search engine optimization services with that of another company.  The prospect mentioned that they would get a keyword domain name as part of their “package”.  This immediately got me to thinking!  And here is why:

I have a client who used to pay several hundred dollars a month to a lead-generation company that provided him with a keyword domain name, website and 800 number.  He became unsatisfied with the number of leads and cancelled his service.  What he didn’t realize was that by canceling his monthly service, he was loosing his domain name, website and 800 number!  They hadn’t truly belonged to him…they were only provided to him as long as he continued his monthly payments!

So, a few words of caution:

1. If you pay for “set-up” of a website, domain name, lead capture page, directory listing or anything else, make sure you are the owner of that item.
2. If you pay for “keyword research”, get a copy of the results of the research and the recommended keywords.
3. Before you pay a monthly fee for internet marketing, lead generation or search engine optimization…find out what you are truly paying for.  If you cancel your monthly service, will what you paid for still be in place and have positive impact on your internet presence?  OR, will you loose everything you’ve already invested in?
4. AND, last but definitely not least, get all logins and passwords from any company that you contract with so that you can access your own accounts in the future if you change service providers!

There are a lot of internet marketing/lead generation/web design companies out there that charge a monthly fee and in my opinion “hold their clients hostage” by not giving them access to their own accounts.  Be sure this doesn’t happen to you or your friends!

If you have any questions, please let me know…

Kimberly
MarketingThatsEasy.com

There are currently 50 million LinkedIn account holders. How do you determine which of those 50 million you should connect with?

I recommend that you use LinkedIn to maintain current business & networking relationships and build new ones.  Great people to connect with are:

• customers
• suppliers
• co-workers
• referral partners
• people you meet at chamber mixers and networking events
• anyone that has inquired about your product/service or that you’ve done a proposal for
• people you may want to collaborate with
• influential people in your industry
• people that have taken the time to comment on your blog or other online content
• people who have asked you for advice
• etc…

I would not connect with people just so you can market to them.  Only connect with people if you have a sincere interest in building or maintaining a relationship, collaborating, staying in touch or following them via their status updates, etc…

When you send someone an invitation to connect on LinkedIn, do not send the LinkedIn default message shown below:





Instead send them a personalized message that states at least one of the following:  why you want to connect, who your mutual connections are, which groups you both belong to, how you heard about them, what intrigued you about their profile, what common interests you have, etc…  (See example.)





Reaching out to someone with a personalized invitation shows that you value them or something about them and it is the first step in building a business relationship.  I personally don’t accept invitations from people I don’t know unless they are personalized.

If you strive for quality in your LinkedIn invitations and connections rather than quantity, you will build stronger relationships and have greater success networking on Linkedin.

Please share your LinkedIn networking tips in the comments below…

Kimberly Yow
MarketingThatsEasy.com