Tag Archive for social media marketing

01 Mar 2012
blogging • business growth • facebook • google plus • linkedin • social media • twitter

Content Syndication with Social Media

What is content syndication, anyway?

 

keyboard

 

 

 

Let’s look at a couple of definitions:

The act of syndicating a news feature by publishing it in multiple newspapers etc simultaneously

Making information on a website available (preferably in digest form) for a wide range of uses, prime examples of which are RSS and Atom feeds. Syndication is a great way of making news updates, blog entries and podcasts immediately available to a Web audience.

Basically then, syndication is a way of sharing content across a number of platforms or publications simultaneously.  I’m sure you’ll agree that it would be beneficial to your business to be able to share your latest product news, forthcoming events etc with hundreds or even thousands of interested viewers.

How could this happen?  When you publish your blog post, or details of your event, you share it with various sites. These sites may then republish to other sites, and so the process becomes exponential.  From one piece of content you get multiple shares, therefore reaching a huge number of people.

Let’s say you have a business blog and you write a new post each week. Do you write, publish and walk away,  in the hope that visitors will mosey along to read it?  Sorry, but that just won’t happen!  You need to take a proactive approach and push that content out far and wide.

Get Started with Content Syndication

Here are 7 simple ways to get your content in front of more eyeballs than you ever thought possible……

  1.  If you haven’t already, set up a RSS (“really simple syndication”) feed for your blog.  WordPress blogs have RSS built in, and for additional benefits, use a service such as Feedburner.
  2.  Add a link to your latest blog posts on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.  Whether you also add them to your personal profiles on Facebook and Google+ is up to you (may not be appropriate for every post)
  3. Add Facebook Like & Share, Google +1, and Tweet buttons to all your posts,  newsletters, event listings and product pages.  If you’re using WordPress it’s simple to do this via plugins (there are scores that do this job, but that’s a topic for another post!)
  4. Use a service such as ping.fm to share your content to scores of online directories
  5. Share your updates to Facebook and LinkedIn groups that you’re a member of –  only if the content is appropriate for the group, of course.
  6.  Always encourage people to share, retweet, like, and +1 your content. This gets you in front of an increasingly wide audience.
  7.  Given the recent exponential growth of Pinterest, I’m also going to encourage you to “pin” your new content whenever appropriate.  (If you haven’t signed up for a Pinterest account yet, seriously consider doing so!)

Benefits of Content Syndication

Aside from what we’ve already covered (getting your content in front of thousands of potential clients/customers), what are the main benefits of content to you and your business?

  •  It’s a cheap way of reaching far more potentially interested people than you could ever hope to speak to individually or even collectively.
  •  You’re boosting your online visibility by making use of social media, thus gaining massive SEO benefits.  You’re already using Google+ aren’t you??
  • When people see you everywhere online,  they get the subconscious message that you are an expert in your field – as a result they’re more likely (a) to come to you as a client  and/or (b) to recommend you to others.

Do you use any other methods of content syndication and do they work well for you? Share below in the comments!

Need help with content syndication? Take the first step! Contact me on 01777 249075
or by email at info@naomijohnsonsocialmedia.co.uk

Naomi | No comments | Tags: , , , , , , ,
13 Feb 2012
business growth • digital marketing • google plus • marketing • SEO • social media

How To Set Up Your Google Plus Business Page

Get Started with G+

In my last post, I discussed some of the reasons why businesses need to establish a presence on G+ as soon as possible.  This time we’re going to go through the process of setting up your profile and Google Plus business page.   If you don’t already have a personal G+ profile, you will need to set one up.  If you already have a Google account (gmail, YouTube etc) then it’s easy – otherwise just go to http://plus.google.com

google plus setup

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like more detailed instructions, below is one of the best G+ profile setup videos I’ve come across – the process is explained slowly and clearly. It will be easy to go ahead and setup your own profile while watching/pausing the video.

Did you get your profile set up OK?  Now for the next step!

Set Up Your G+ Business Page

In your personal profile,  look on the right hand side of the page and you will find a button to “create a google+ page”.

google+ page setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After clicking this, you are taken to the next screen where you need to choose the appropriate category for your page:

Create a Google+ Page

Choose a category for your page

 

As you can see, there are 5 categories:

  1.  Local Business or Place – includes any local business, e.g. restaurant, dentist, accountant, solicitor, hair salon etc.  If your business already has a Google Places listing, the details from that will be used, otherwise you’ll need to enter the business phone number and address.
  2.  Product or Brand – according to Google, this would include cars, financial services, clothing, electronics – food and drink brands would also come under this category.
  3.  Company, Institution or Organisation – also including charities and non-profit organisations
  4.  Arts, Entertainment or Sports –  pretty self-explanatory (books, films, musicians, bands, athletes etc)
  5.  Other – to be used when your business doesn’t fit into any of the above categories.

For all categories,  users will need to choose age ranges for which their page content will be appropriate, and there is a specific choice of “alcohol related” too.  Finally, you’ll need to tick the box agreeing to the G+ Page terms, before clicking the “Create” button Make sure you read these terms before creating your page – there are similar guidelines regarding competitions and promotions as there are with Facebook, so don’t fall foul of these!

Personalise Your Page

Congratulations, you have set up your Google Plus business page!  Now it’s time to personalise and customise the settings for your  page.  Firstly, you can give yourself a tagline (“10 words that describe your page best”, according to Google), and upload a profile photo. This would ideally be your business logo, but you can of course use any photo that represents your business.  Once you’ve created your tagline and uploaded a photo, click “Continue”.

You are then asked if you want to share this Google Plus business page with your G+ circles –  you probably won’t want to do this yet, as there’s no information on your page, so click “Finish”  (you can go back later and share your page)

Edit Your Profile

Click the profile icon (top of page to the left of the google search box)

g+ profile button

On the next screen, click the blue “Edit Profile” button and fill in as much information as you can –  remember to use the “Recommended Links” section to put in details of your social media profiles, and other websites/blogs you own or are associated with.  Don’t forget to use keywords throughout your profile!

Customise your Photostrip

You will see on the profile editing screen, below your page title, the words “add some photos here”.   You can add up to 5 photos and they do not change  on each page load as with Facebook.  You could even get creative and split one photo into 5……   Just to get you thinking, here are a few examples.

Start Posting!

Woohoo – your Google Plus business page is ready to share with the world!  Once you’ve posted a few updates,  use “Spread the Word” (in the right sidebar of your page) to share your page with your contacts.

Just as with your personal G+ profile, you are able to add contacts to “Circles” – the default Circles for a Google Plus business page are Following, VIPs, Customers and Team Members, but you can of course create new circles at any time. On G+ (unlike Facebook), you are able to follow your fans back, and add them to your page’s Circles.  It’s a powerful way of connecting with current and potential customers!  Your followers can +1 your posts and you can  do the same for their comments –  all of this adds to your visibility in Google search.

So what are you waiting for? I hope this has inspired you to get your business   established on Google Plus –  please share in the comments how you’re getting on, or if you’ve encountered any issues.

Need help setting up your G+ page? Take the first step! Contact me on 01777 249075
or by email at info@naomijohnsonsocialmedia.co.uk

Naomi | One comment | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
26 Jan 2012
blogging • social media • social networking • twitter

Interview – Lilach Bullock, Social Networking Pioneer

Lilach – Mumpreneur Extraordinaire!

 

Lilach Bullock

 

Lilach Bullock is a social networking pioneer, business consultant, mentor and personal brand expert.  One of the most dynamic personalities in the world of UK social media, she is frequently credited with the accolade of being the first in the industry to actively leverage networking.

 

She launched and then sold her first business within three years of becoming a mother. Even now, she juggles a demanding home life with commercial commitments. Lilach’s contribution was recognised nationally, when she became a finalist at the Best MumPreneur of the Year Award, presented at Downing Street, where she was praised for her entrepreneurial efforts.

Lilach blogs over at http://www.socialable.co.uk

  1. How did you get into the social media industry, did you have previous experience or work your way up?
    I fell in love with social media in 2008 when I had my first business which I sold just over 2½ years ago. I immediately saw the potential of how social media can help businesses and offered social media marketing to my then clients. Whilst I didn’t have any prior experience I did (and still do) spend a lot of time researching how to use the various different social networking channels, and different tools available

  2. What challenges have you found in the workplace?
    That more and more people are jumping on the band wagon and are providing social media marketing services with very little experience/knowledge in the industry. A challenge which I’m finding increasing is people stealing my content and passing it off as their own.

  3. How have you overcome those challenges?
    I try and provide great content and always give value. I’m a great believer in practising what you preach and have a large network across all the social media channels. I think in any business it’s important to stand out and be different and work hard at building my brand and being as creative as I can be. I also spend a lot of time researching the latest trends and news and try and stay one step ahead of my competition.
    Whilst I find it frustrating people copying me I’m learning to see it as flattery!

  4. Who is your ideal customer?
    I work with solo entrepreneurs, coaches, online businesses and some of my very best work has been with charities looking to boost their social media presence. Some of them are start up’s and therefore don’t have a social media presence whilst others have been in business a while and need to be leveraging social media.

  5. How do you find them? What marketing tips do you have?
    All my clients find me and are a mixture of referrals/recommendation as well as finding me online via many of my social networks together with my blog.
    I spend a huge amount of time online and haven’t been to a network event since I sold my business. I find that I can get better results with my time online.
    I also think that by having a good social media presence attracts people to me as they often ask me to create the same results for them!
    In terms of marketing tips I recommend you don’t just do one method and test/measure which marketing methods give you the best results. You should never “put all your eggs in one basket” and that applies to your product/offerings, i.e. think about having multiple income streams and also your marketing methods. You never know what is going to happen and in business things change very quickly.
    Remember that whilst social media is free it’s very time consuming to get effective results from and your time is essentially money.
    If you’re new in business network like crazy but make sure it’s targeted, know your ideal client and how to reach them. Always do your competitive research and try and be different. Stand out, don’t be shy and don’t be afraid to be controversial.
    My biggest tip of all is to give value and heaps of it. I get so much positive feedback from my blog for sharing loads of tips and that’s made a huge difference in terms of my content going viral, increasing traffic and ultimately getting sales.
    Don’t be afraid to try new things and don’t be afraid to do “old school marketing” For example, writing letters (as oppose to sending emails) can often have better results.

  6. What advice would you give to women starting out in business right now?
    Set yourself goals of what you want to achieve within 6 months/a year. Find yourself a mentor who can help you, keep you focused, support and motivate you.Be prepared for things to go wrong, they inevitably do! Try and have a backup plan and set yourself realistic goals so that they’re achievable.Understand that a new business takes time, don’t believe and get lost in the hype of how easy it is to run a business. If it was that easy everyone would be doing it. Be prepared for lots of hard work.

    Make sure you know your numbers and your business model works.

    Take action! So many people attend webinars/buy products/events on how to run a business etc. but ultimately no amount of courses will make you money. You have to do this yourself, there is no magic wand. I see many people buy product after product, attend courses and before they know it, 6 months down the line they’ve spent a lot of money and haven’t achieved anything and all they have left is a case of information overload. So if you go on a course/buy a product take the time to follow up and apply it in your business before buying another one!

  7. Do you have any hobbies?
    Social Media?! Spending time with my family, I have a beautiful 7 year old daughter Emily. I love zumba when I have the time. Eating out is always a favourite, going to the Theatre and pre-Emily I used to love going to comedy clubs and have seen pretty much every UK comedian before they “made it”!
Many thanks to Lilach for this interview – I’m sure you’ll agree that she’s shared lots of invaluable advice – I shall certainly be referring back to it frequently! Don’t forget to head over to Lilach’s blog where you will find plenty more great tips and tricks :)

Naomi | No comments | Tags: , , , , ,
30 Dec 2011
blogging • business growth • digital marketing • facebook • facebook pages • small business • social media • twitter

Ready for 2012?

New Year Initiatives For Your Business

 

New Year 2012 I have spent the last few days going over my successes and failures of the last year, and deciding what direction I will take with my business in 2012.

My achievements so far are modest, but I’m confident that I am heading in the right direction. I’m not foolish enough to expect instant results – to establish a well respected and trusted business takes years.

What I’ve achieved in 2011:

  1.  I made the decision in April to set up a business as a social media consultant.
  2.  I launched this website having had little experience of WordPress, and have learnt so much more about the software during the year.
  3.  I took advantage of free resources – Business Link, ebusiness club, Angle, and HMRC workshops, thus educating myself on many aspects of business and marketing
  4.  I attended a number of paid seminars and workshops
  5.  I have realised that social media is just one marketing technique and it must combined with a range of tools for an integrated approach - hence I have educated myself on various other marketing techniques.
  6.  I set up a Twitter account and a Facebook Page and worked very hard to build up an engaged community of followers.  This has begun to generate interest and enquiries.
  7.  I have added training/coaching to my range of social media services
  8. I have joined a business mentoring group which I feel sure will add value to my future development.
  9. I’ve taken on the role of Operations Assistant at my local 4Networking group. This will consolidate my networking activities and help me to become better known in the area.
  10.  I’ve established closer relations with a few business colleagues and have scheduled collaborative projects for next year.

My Plans for 2012:

  1.  Consolidate my networking activities and concentrate on building trust with a range of local businesses.
  2.  Continue and develop an initiative (in collaboration with others) to help business mums with young children who want to network but are hindered by lack of childcare / inconvenient timing of meetings.
  3.  Deliver social/digital media training workshops at venues in the local area.
  4.  Gain experience in public speaking (hopefully no. 3 will help with this)
  5.  Target specific business niches to market my social/digital media services.
  6.  Establish a client base for social media management programmes.
  7.  Get involved with live-tweeting/blogging events
  8.  Further develop my WordPress skills so that I can offer website/blog setup as an additional service.
  9.  Establish additional collaborative partners in order to broaden my range of services.
  10.  Last but not least – I will not allow those who have set themselves up as my enemies (in my personal life) to get in the way of my business aspirations!
I’d love to hear your plans for 2012 and what you’ve learned from this year – please share in the comments :) And a VERY Happy New Year to my readers!

Need digital media marketing advice? Take action now – contact me on 01777 249075
or by email at info@naomijohnsonsocialmedia.co.uk

Naomi | No comments | Tags: , , , , , , ,
01 Dec 2011
digital marketing • facebook • google • google plus • linkedin • marketing • mobile marketing • social media • twitter • youtube

Digital Marketing – An Integrated Approach

Wordle: Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing – Why You Need An Integrated Approach

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the need for an integrated approach to the whole digital marketing thing.  Social media is of course a vital component in any business marketing toolkit,  but it can’t stand on its own.  Traditional marketing also plays an important part,  as do the newer innovations as described below.

We already know that tweets, Facebook updates and Google Plus posts are indexed by google, (are you using keywords in your social media updates?)  and of course YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine.  So you should be establishing a presence on all of these networks and building your communities.

But how many businesses (thinking particularly of the UK here) are aware of the huge growth in mobile technology?  I’ve talked about this issue in a previous post on Mobile Marketing, and another where I discuss an infographic on Mobile Marketing Statistics.   I also suggested actions that business owners could take immediately to respond to this new revolution in digital marketing.  There’s no doubt that a high percentage of web browsing, search, and online shopping will take place via mobile devices in the very near future and businesses need to be ready.

Meanwhile, I would like to share this presentation.  It shows how to take an integrated approach to your social media activities.  Feel free to download if it will be helpful :)

Are you finding it easy to integrate traditional and newer marketing strategies?  Is your website optimised for mobile devices?   Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Need help with digital marketing? Take the first step! Contact me on 01777 249075
or by email at info@naomijohnsonsocialmedia.co.uk

you can also TEXT

INF SOCIALMEDIA or INF SOCIALMEDIA + your email address  to 60777

to receive your free copy of my booklet “10 Reasons Why You Need to Get Up To Speed With Social Media”.

Naomi | One comment | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16 Nov 2011
business growth • social media • social networking

Book Review – “The Real Truth about Social Media”

Social Media Book Review

A quick post today just to mention a great book that I’ve recently finished reading.

The Real Truth about Social Media

“The Real Truth about Social Media- Confessions of a Social Media CEO” by Eric Harr is an easy-to-read work that defuses many myths surrounding social media and gets right down to the nitty-gritty.   As social media books go, I’d strongly recommend this one to anyone in business who has been “dabbling” in social media because they know they should be using it, but hasn’t really understood why or what they are doing.  Or if you haven’t even dabbled yet,  this book is also for you.

Eric Harr is the founder and CEO of Resonate Social Media  , an exclusive agency in San Francisco.  He is also a CBS TV host and Founding Editor of VIV magazine.   He writes in an honest and straightforward style and unlike other social media books, this provides genuine case studies of social media “done right”, with web links so you can go and see for yourself.

Each chapter starts with a “Monumental Myth” and a “Timeless Truth” about social media or business in general, and ends with “Actionable Insights” for both personal and business use.  The consistent thread running through the book is that “good business is good for business” – who could deny that?

Incidentally, the author is also a triathlete, and an international ambassador for the humanitarian organisation CARE (to which funds from the sale of the book will be given)

Read the introduction to “The Real Truth about Social Media”, and the book is now available to purchase from Amazon.

Have you read this book?  What did you think?  Please feel free to comment below :)

Need help with social media? Start by contacting me on 01777 249075
or by email at info@naomijohnsonsocialmedia.co.uk

you can also TEXT

INF SOCIALMEDIA or INF SOCIALMEDIA + your email address to 60777

to receive your free copy of my booklet “10 Reasons Why You Need to Get Up To Speed With Social Media”.

Naomi | No comments | Tags: , , , ,
01 Nov 2011
business growth • facebook • marketing • relationship marketing • social media

What Is Relationship Marketing?

Relationship Marketing

This is a blatant and unashamed piece of publicity for a widely respected lady who knows what she’s talking about when it comes to social media and relationship marketing……

The New Relationship Marketing

I’d like to share with you a brand new book that is a must-read. It’s “The New Relationship Marketing”, by my colleague, Mari Smith. If you don’t know Mari, she’s one of the foremost leaders in the social media arena – with particular expertise in Facebook marketing.

Mari wrote this book specifically for those business owners and entrepreneurs who have so far just dabbled with social media marketing, or have reached a plateau with their online marketing efforts, and wish to propel their business to the next level and beyond.

What is relationship marketing? It’s a term for all the actions you take online and offline to nurture the connections you have with your prospects, customers, alliances and partners… and yes, even with your so called competitors.You’ve heard of B2B and B2C (business to business, and business to consumer). Mari talks about how it all comes down to P2P; People to People.

Many businesses have not fully embraced the power of today’s social technologies for a number of reasons, including fear of exposure, fear of negative comments and fear of wasting time and resources. In her new book, Mari skilfully walks you through her proven nine-step program for building a large, loyal and profitable network using the social web.

You can pick up a copy now at this link: 

Mari’s Book

And, as if that’s not enough, Mari is including a special FREE 4-part webinar series to dive deep into the principles she teaches in her book. When you get a copy of “The New Relationship Marketing”, you then simply sign up here to reserve your place: 

Sign up for Mari’s Webinars

Now that’s value!

I’ve already signed up as I know from previous experience just how much value Mari puts into her webinars :)

P.S. In true Mari-style, you get to register for the free four-part webinar series on the “honour system!” That is, you do not need to scan/fax/email/snail mail any proof of purchase before you get access to the online classes. Once you order your book, just register here

Register for the webinars

and that’s it!

Need help with social media? Start by contacting me on 01777 249075
or by email at info@naomijohnsonsocialmedia.co.uk

you can also TEXT

INF SOCIALMEDIA or INF SOCIALMEDIA + your email address to 60777

to receive your free copy of my booklet “10 Reasons Why You Need to Get Up To Speed With Social Media”.

Naomi | No comments | Tags: , , , ,
« Older Entries  

Switch to our mobile site