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.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to new articles via RSS Feed or Email . Thanks for visiting!

I recently started a separate niche blog for everything Facebook.  It will specifically cover How To Use Facebook For Business.  Check out my new blog where I’ll be posting lots of how-to tips and info on Facebook features, news, policies, privacy and everything else that will affect how you use Facebook for business.  I’ll also keep you up-to-date on any changes with the Facebook related products and services I provide.

Stay tuned to the Marketing That’s Easy Blog that you are on for all other posts that relate to internet marketing and using social networking sites for business.

Thank you for your continued readership and participation on my blogs!

Sincerely,

Kimberly Yow
Marketing That’s Easy.com

I frequently hear, “how do I advertise my business using social networking sites?”.  The short answer is, “you don’t!” (Unless you purchase pay-per-click or pay-per-impression ads from the site itself.)

Social networking sites are for networking and engaging your visitors, customers and prospects.  Your friends, fans, followers, connections, etc…do not want to see a constant stream of your “advertising” just like they don’t want telemarketers calling them.  Caller ID, screening phone calls and the National Do Not Call list all help you avoid telemarketers.

Did you know that all social networking sites have features that help you avoid people who are only there to “advertise” their business?  Well on Facebook people can delete you as a friend, hide your status updates from their news feed or remove themselves from being a fan of your Fan Page.  On Twitter, you will get unfollowed or blocked.   On LinkedIn, you will get deleted as a connection.  Each social networking site has tools in place to help people protect themselves from spammers and from “friends” who advertise their business too much!

Using social networking sites for business does NOT mean “advertising” your business.

Social networking sites should be used to:

• Build an awareness of your business by having a presence on social networking sites.
• Share useful, relevant information that positions you as an expert in your field.
• Interact with friends, fans, connections, followers and visitors to build or strength relationships.
• Answer questions that pertain to your industry or area of expertise so people start seeing you as a “go-to” resource.
• Provide others with information that you come across that relates to THEIR industry or providing them with referrals.  (You need to have a givers gain attitude.)
• Improve your Customer Service, Public Relations, Technical Support, Client Retention or Employee Recruiting efforts by expanding your reach and providing real-time answers or info.
• Gain industry knowledge that will keep you at the top of your game.
• Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing.
• Read what others are saying about your company and respond to their complaints, concerns, questions or compliments!
• Seek out people and resources that can help you grow your business.
• Make contact with potential joint venture partners.

What?  You also want to generate leads and increase your sales? You CAN if you approach “social networking for business” in the above manner.  If you approach it purely from an advertising or marketing stand-point, your presence on social networking sites will do more harm than good for your company!

Social networking for business is NOT advertising, it is NOT a monologue…it is a conversation. If you want to join this conversation, I invite you to leave a comment below.

Kimberly Yow
Marketing That’s Easy.com

Facebook Fan Page:  Social Networking 4 Biz

Facebook created the Fan Page feature so users could promote their businesses on Facebook while keeping their personal posts separate.

The ultimate goal of a Facebook Fan Page is to:

• provide exposure for your business, association or charitable organization
• create a dialogue with fans (answer questions that they post, etc…) thus showing your expertise
• generate leads & new customers (or members/donors) over time

Fan Pages are a great way to expose a company, business or group to the Facebook world of over 250 million active users.  Providing useful tips and info will help you position yourself as an industry expert and thought leader.  When readers like what you post and start looking to you as a resource they are in effect selling themselves on your product or service.  If you stay in front of them by posting on your Fan Page, they will think of you when they need your product/service or when they hear that someone else does.  By providing them with useful info you are pre-selling them…when they call or email you they already know they want YOU! They are typically not price shopping…they are ready to do business.

Do you have a Facebook Fan Page for your business yet?  Get started today and make your mark on Facebook.

Kimberly
MarketingThat’sEasy.com

Facebook EBOOK recently released: “How To Promote Your Business On Facebook…Without Alienating Your Friends”.

How To Promote Your Business on Facebook…Without Alienating Your Friends!

It’s finally here, after many weeks of work…my ebook has officially been released.  And it’s unlike any Facebook ebook you’ve ever seen. This 65+ page e-book covers not only how to use Facebook, but more importantly how to use it efficiently and productively so you don’t waste precious time!

In this 65+ page, Marketing Oriented e-book you will discover:

• Benefits of Using Facebook for Business Promotion
• 12 Ways to Increase Your Visibility & Promote Your Business on Facebook
• How To Keep Business Contacts From Seeing Personal Posts Made By You & Your Friends
• How The “Info” Tab Can Help You Get Business
• Whether or Not Your “Private” Messages Are Really Private
• How To Set-Up a Fan Page – An Awesome Tool for Business Promotion
• Applications That Will Help You Sell Your Products or Services
• How To Get More Traffic By Promoting Your Profile, Fan Page or Group
• A 3-1/2 Page Glossary Explaining Facebook Related Terminology
• How To Get Facebook Results In As Little As 10 Minutes A Day
• and a whole lot more!

When I do live workshops, it takes TWO Separate Workshops to cover all of this info and the workshop series is just under $100. With this ebook, you essentially get the same information which you can review at your own pace, in your own home, as often as you want…

And it’s only $15.95!

Here is what others are saying:

“Setting up my Facebook account was a pleasure having your ebook right there next to me. I felt as though I was working with a friend. Thanks Kimberly!” – Terri E.

From a “Very Experienced” Facebook User: “I finally got a chance to sit down with your eBook, and I must say I am impressed. It’s very well put together and, most importantly, the information is useful and presented in an understandable and logical way. I even learned a few things, myself.” – Namasté, Burnell

From a Self-Proclaimed “Newbie”: “You’re E-Book was very informative and to the point. As a “newbie” to Facebook it helped me get set up and running very easily. The “how to’s” along with the screen shots made it easy to understand and put into use. Thank You very much!” – Don E.

“I’ve read marketing books before but none of them combined the importance of doing online marketing, and most of all how to properly do it. What I loved about your book was how easy it was to read and follow the instructions. If you’re just starting to do online “business” networking, after reading this ebook you won’t feel lost anymore. It showed me the do’s and don’ts of Facebook, and how to integrate the Online Networking as part of my marketing strategy. Great book!” – Perla H.

If you are looking for Facebook instruction that combines “how to” with “why” and provides lots of “marketing tips”, then this e-book is right for you.  And it’s only $15.95.  I’m sure the profit you get from just one new customer, will cover the cost of this ebook many times over.  So don’t delay, get ahead of your competition and learn to use Facebook to promote your business!

Available for Immediate Download!

I know you’ll be pleased!
Kimberly
Marketing That’s Easy

I’ve seen numerous Fan Pages on Facebook that have no meat…no content.  Nothing on the Fan Page Wall, virtually nothing on the Info Tab, no photos, no videos, no imported blog…nothing! Well then, why would someone become a Fan of your page? The only reason I can think of is because they already know you as a friend, co-worker or family member and they became a Fan as a favor to you.

If you want to get additional Fans…real Fans, you need to have content on your Fan Page that is inspiring, humorous or informative.  And at least some content that is related to your business or industry.  Facebook developed Fan Pages so people could promote their business without using their Personal Profile.  In order to successfully promote your business with a Fan Page, your Fan Page needs to answer the following questions:

• What type of business are you in?
• What do you specialize in (what makes you different than your competitors)?
• Who is your ideal customer?
• What is your website address?
• What other ways can I get a hold of you?
• Where are you located?
• What areas/towns do you service?  (Applies if you are a local business.)
• Do you know what you are talking about?  Are you an expert in your field?  (This can only be answered by providing people with useful, informative content about your industry.  If the content is relevant and something your Fans can use or forward to others, then they will begin to see you as an expert and look to you when they need info or better yet, when they need your product or service.)

Did you know that?:

• More than 850 million photos are uploaded to Facebook each month
• More than 10 million videos are uploaded each month
• More than 1 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc…) are shared on Facebook each week
• More than 2.5 million events are created on Facebook each month

Are you participating in this communication revolution?  Are you attracting some of the “6 million users that become Fans of Pages every day”?  If not, then I suggest you take a close look at your Fan Page to see if it answers the above questions.

Facebook Fan Pages can be a great avenue for generating leads for a business…IF…the Fan Page stands-out as a valuable resource.

Here’s to providing VALUE that ATTRACTS loyal FANS!

Kimberly Yow
Marketing That’s Easy

P.S. – Visit my Facebook Fan Page for an example.  OBTW, this particular page was started only 3 months ago.

Web content is anything on the web whether it be on your blog, your website, on social networking sites or anywhere else you add or post information.  It can include text, photos, videos, slide shows, audio files, polls, links, etc…

Providing useful, informative, interesting or inspiring content is critical to successfully promoting your small business on the internet.  People do not want to constantly see your advertisements, coupons, special offers and promotional text.  Many people use the web to:

• look for market or industry information
• research products or services
• solve a problem
• find information on marketing or running their business
• discover resources or tools that will increase their efficiency and save them time or money
• stay current with industry trends

These are just a few of the many reasons that people use the internet.  One of the best ways to promote your business on the internet, is to give people what THEY are looking for by providing great content.  That means your content must be useful, informative, interesting or inspiring.  If it is, you stand a greater chance of having that person contact you for more information, bookmark and frequent your website, subscribe to your blog posts, sign up for your newsletter, invite you to connect with them on a social network, etc…   And this is what YOU want!

Even if that person is not ready to buy what you provide right now, you want them to “opt-in” to receiving information from you.  This allows you to “drip” information to them periodically and create “top of mind awareness” with them.  When they are ready to buy, you are at the top of their mind…they think of you.  If you continually provide great content, you will eventually win over some of these “opt-in subscribers” and they will become customers.  This is because you will have gained their trust by providing them with great content and NOT pushing your product/service down their throat.  They will see you as an expert in your field and as a resource.  When this type of person contacts you, they are ready to buy what you have to offer.

Always strive for great content.  It will win you customers in the long run!

Kimberly Yow
MarketingThatsEasy.com

P.S. – Have you subscribed to our blog posts yet?  You can receive our new blog posts via RSS Feed or Email.  (See right column of blog to subscribe.)

P.S.S. – Posting great content that uses your keywords is one of many search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.

I am frequently asked, “what is a blog?” and “why should I have one?”

A blog is basically a journal on the internet where you share thoughts, ideas, information, videos, photos, etc…  What you are reading right now is a single blog post that is on my blog.  Blogs are extremely important for a business because they allow you to share “useful” information about your:

• industry
• products & services
• events
• specials or sales
• rate changes
• & more

Maintaining a business blog gives you the following benefits:

• greater visibility in search engines
• increased traffic to your website
• a place where you can receive & respond to customer’s comments or questions
• a way to humanize your company by having employees post blogs & respond to customers
• a forum for sharing your expertise and helping others

The key to having a successful business blog is sharing information that is timely, interesting, relevant to your industry and helpful to your customers.  If the information you share does not help them or educate them in some way, they will stop reading your blog.  One thing you can do in your blog, is answer a Frequently Asked Question…like I’ve done in this post.

Before you start blogging, you should read my blog post titled “10 Questions to Answer Before You Start a Blog“.

Do you have a friend that has been talking about starting a blog?  If so, please click “Share” at the bottom of this blog post to send it to them.

Kimberly Yow
MarketingThatsEasy.com

Here is a question I was just asked on LinkedIn after posting a notice about my upcoming San Diego workshop on How To Use Facebook For Business Promotion:

“Hi Kimberly,
I was discussing this subject with a friend of mine….  As a mom of two teens, I think of Facebook as more of a social network. My friend says this is not necessarily true.  Could you elaborate on how you feel about this issue?  Thanks!
Carol”

And here is my reply:

“Hi Carol – Facebook, Twitter and many of the other “social” networking (or social media) sites can easily be used for business.  Online social networking is really no different than face-to-face networking.  The key is that you must develop relationships with people and they must get to know and trust you before they will do business with you.  One of the easiest ways to help people know and trust you, is to provide them with “free, useful” information that pertains to your industry.  Social networking sites make this very easy to do, while at the same time, allowing you to develop and maintain business relationships on a more personal level.

According to a 2008 Business In Social Media Study, 60% of Americans use social media sites and tools.  Of these individuals, 59% of them also interact with “companies” via social media sites.  Americans who use social media feel better about companies and their brands when they can interact with them through social media.

Take care,
Kimberly”

Click link to learn more about my upcoming San Diego workshop on How To Use Facebook For Business Promotion.

Other comments and questions are certainly welcome…

Happy Business Networking,

Kimberly Yow
MarketingThatsEasy.com

There is an ever increasing number of blogs that are started and then abandoned within a very short time frame.  This is typically because the company or person that started the blog didn’t have a blogging plan and/or they didn’t have a passion for the blog’s main focus.

Before you start a business blog, you need to have a corporate blogging plan.  It should include answers to the following:

1. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?
2. Who in your company likes to write and would enjoy blogging?
3. Will multiple employees produce blog posts?
4. How many times per week will you post a blog?
5. How long will your blog posts be?
6. Will you always write original content or will you also post links to useful information?
7. What topics will you write about?  (Get a notepad and actually brainstorm a list of blog topics that you can always draw upon.)
8. Will you place advertising on your blog once it is established?
9. Are you committed to maintaining a blog on a weekly basis?
10. Do you have the resources in-house to maintain your blog or do you need to outsource it?

Business blogs are pure content.  And that content needs to attract your target market, get and keep them interested, inspire or inform them and keep them coming back for more.  Ultimately, you want your readers to subscribe to your blog’s RSS Feed so they are automatically fed your latest blog posts.  (No relying on them to bookmark your blog and remember to return to it.)

A successful blog can increase your visibility on the internet, establish you as an expert in your field, drive traffic to your website, increase your sales leads and provide you with an additional means of promoting your products or services.  Increase your chances of a great pay-off by developing your blogging plan BEFORE you start your blog.  Once you have your blogging plan, all you need to do is produce great content on a consistent basis and your blog will be off and running.

Happy Blogging,

Kimberly
MarketingThatsEasy.com