(816) 616-2201 [email protected]
Business vs. Personal Profiles on Social Media

Business vs. Personal Profiles on Social Media

Business vs. Personal Profiles on Social Media Sites

Before you go much further, you are going to need to decide which profiles you are going to use for selling through social networking, and which ones are going to be private and personal. 

Some of you, who are more experience on social networks, already know what I am talking about here, so you might jump to the next section with the tips. If you don’t understand the privacy settings and primary purposes of the main social networks, keep reading. You definitely need to pay attention to who sees what!

For example, as a Business-To-Business consultant, I rarely add clients or networking partners to Facebook. Facebook has pictures of my young niece and nephew, other awkward family photos, and personal information about my wife and I, which I prefer not to be public. I focus my social networking for business on LinkedIn, so that is where I always request connections from clients and prospects. Twitter and Google+ are interesting because you don’t have to reciprocate, so others can follow you whether you add them back or not. To me this makes it very public since I can’t stop others from viewing and adding me. I tend to be very careful about what I post on these two and use them solely for business.

Google+ is the only social network to date that allows you to create “Circles” of contacts and only share certain information with certain circles. That means I can share business information with business circles, and family photos with my family circle. It is a very interesting tool, but use it wisely to avoid over-sharing.

The other choice you are going to need to make is whether or not you create a Business Page or add connections to your personal account. 

Business Pages on Social Media Sites

Facebook and Google+ allow you to create dedicated pages for your business that operate with different settings and tools than your personal account. Twitter accounts can be used for anything, just make sure you decide your strategy before you get in too deep. LinkedIn is very interesting here. You can create a business page, but they will create one for you, once you have multiple employees on LinkedIn. After that, you can claim your business and customize your page.

I recommend that owners build audiences on business pages for marketing purposes to make sure they stick around should an employee leave, change roles, or the business change hands. However, people buy from people and they network with people, not companies. So for the purposes of this book, it will be better if you have a face and name to the business for sales purposes. You can’t create meaningful conversations with a brand.

Think about it. You can’t be friends with Pet Smart. You can’t connect with 24 Hour Fitness. You can’t start a conversation with Home Depot. People buy from human beings who they like. They talk to Eric at Home Depot. They connect with Laura, the personal trainer at 24 Hour Fitness. They are friends with Kim, the groomer at Pet Smart. Because of this, you should to try to put a name and a face with your online social networking activities.

That being said, it is way more important that you choose whether you are going to build business or personal profiles, than which type you actually choose.

Decide now whether you are marketing on behalf of a company or selling as a professional salesperson at the organization.

EyeDirect Website – Before & After – Dallas, TX

EyeDirect.TV in Dallas, TX gets a new website and online shopping cart courtesy of MIMO Solutions!

I am proud to announce the launch of our latest website! EyeDirect is an amazing device that allows film-makers and photographers capture direct eye contact from their subjects. It even works with amateurs, kids and animals! It uses a series of mirrors to reflect the director’s face or teleprompter directly over the camera’s lens, so the subject remains focused in on the camera even when reading or responding in an interview.
Check out the videos at www.eyedirect.tv to see more about how it works or buy one for yourself!

Now more about that new website:

  • We used a WordPress platform to rebuild the entire site.
  • It has a responsive template that will automatically change to match the screen size for tablets and smart phones. There are actually 3 design layouts in one!
  • It has a complete shopping cart solution that includes Fedex shipping, sales tax, and inventory tracking, along with a bunch of cool display options.
  • We set up a brand new FAQ page since this invention is completely new and there is nothing like it on the market.
  • We added a full blog platform to showcase the EyeDirect being used across the world.
  • It has a new but simple look and a cool slide shows and videos that work without Flash to be compatible on any device or computer.
  • Of course we did some SEO, Internet marketing, and social media integration to take advantage of the new site and hopefully grow the demand for this new product.
Oh, and the best part is that is took us just over 20 hours to build! After being stalled for over 6 months and losing thousands of dollars with another web design company, Steve and EyeDirect have a new website and are up and running in less than 30 days!
New LinkedIn Profiles and Recommendations

New LinkedIn Profiles and Recommendations

Here are a few tips for how to update and maximize your new LinkedIn profile layout:

If you hadn’t noticed yet, LinkedIn got a face-lift this week. There are larger profile photos, new activity news feed, enhanced recommendations, and big changes in the applications. Here are a few quick tips on how to maximize the new layout and features.

  1. Make sure your profile photo is up to date and large enough for the new layout.
  2. Check out your profile strength on the right-hand side. If you are not an All-Star or not 100% complete, make sure you edit your profile and add the missing parts.
  3. Pull your recommendations to the top. Click “Edit Profile” and look for the up and down arrows to click and drag elements of your profile around.
  4. Choose your recommendation words and phrases carefully. I can see these having a big impact on search ranking and profile rankings in the near future. Make sure your network is referring you for the topics you want! (See image below.)
  5. Take advantage of the new tools and elements of the profile. (See below.) You can now add projects, languages, patents, test scores, and certification sections to your profile. There is even a place for volunteering and causes you support.
  6. LinkedIn recently add the ability to “Follow” popular topics, people, companies, and news stories, so you don’t have to connect with celebrities and prominent business people, you can just follow their updates. Note: These show up on your profile at the bottom by default. Pick 3 to 5 of the most interesting topics and stay up to date in your industry.
  7. I think the coolest new feature is the ability to add video, slideshows and documents right to your profile. If you click “Edit Profile” you should see those options. (See example below.)
  8. Don’t forget about the “Share” and “Export Profile” options. If you click the arrow in the blue box at the top of each person’s profile including your own. You can share this profile with others, and export it to a PDF as an instant resume, or background info on a prospect or client. Print it off and read it over before you next sales call.
(Click on the image to enlarge.)
   

The world of social media is always changing so this information may only be valid for 24 hours, but I hope it helps you sort out some of the new LinkedIn Changes.

Let me know if you have any trouble and I will try to help!
How to Prospect On LinkedIn

How to Prospect On LinkedIn

How to Prospect On LinkedIn

Whether you’re an experienced social networker or just a getting started, here are 10 steps to connecting with your target market on LinkedIn:

1. Create an up-to-date profile and/or fan page
Before you begin connection, be sure that your profile is up-to-date with an accurate description of what you do, your interests, and your contact info. Make sure you include your website addresses, a professional photo, and your skills list. If you have multiple businesses invite people in your appropriate target market to become fans of your niche-specific business page.

2. Follow the favorites
Connect with leaders in your field/industry, who have a lot of influence, connections and followers, and request a connection them. This includes popular products, TV shows, or other specific interests of your target market. Anytime you make a friend request, include a personal note, as that will improve the likelihood that they will accept your request. Say something like, “I’m a big fan and I’d love to have you in my network.” Once they have accepted your invitation, make comments about their status updates to help you get on the radar, and in front of their thousands of connections.

3. Friends of friends – 2nd Degree Connections
Take a look at the people in the network of your industry leaders, as they are probably part of your target market as well. Send friend requests to those of interest to you. When you friend someone that you only know by association, send a personal note as well, like “I discovered your profile in ‘s network and would like to get to know you better by adding you to my network.”

4. Use LinkedIn groups
Look for groups that may contain your target market. In your search for groups, use keywords that describe your niche, industry, geographic area, interests, or whatever other terms you might use to find members of your target market. Join and begin to participate in the group so that they begin to get to know you. Then pursue the member lists for good prospects, start with the members you’ve connected with or have commented on similar posts.

5. Invite your existing email lists and address books
You can use your existing email database to add people from your clients, prospects, and other current contacts if they fall within your target market definition. Add a note to the invitation and make sure you are clear and professional about your motivation. Make sure to give them the option to connect with your personally or just follow the business page.

6. People You May Know
LinkedIn will have a suggestion list for people you might know. These recommendations are pretty solid, because they are based on similar work history, mutual friends and interests. Take them up on their recommendation and add these to your network, only if you actually know the person and have an offline relationship of some kind.

7. Add by interest or industry
Do a people search by job title, industry, geographic location, or interest. People with those terms in their profile will show up in your search, and you can request to add them based on common interests. Even better, you can see which of your connections knows them and request an introduction.

8. Build the relationship
Once you connect with someone, you need to begin to get to know them and start building trust so that you become their top-of-mind expert in a particular area. Begin building the relationship by sending a quick “thank you” note through LinkedIn, as well as a comment about something on their profile that interests you or in which you have in common. Watch for their status updates, as well, and comment on these when appropriate. Note when people post announcements or change positions and congratulate them.

9. Integrate your marketing strategy
Once you have built a good online reputation and credibility on LinkedIn, you can begin mixing in your marketing messages. Social networking sites are designed to be casual and personal like a business networking event, so don’t just copy an advertisement or sales messages. All you want to do is keep what you do and who you are on the top of your prospects minds. You can casually mention what you’re working on in your status, announce events, and make comments offering to help people with your product or service. Remember, people can remove, hide or block you as easily as they added you in the first place.

10. No More Cold Calls – Start Actively Prospecting
Here’s where it gets fun and where it pays off. Let’s say you need to make 10 dials to set enough appointments to hit your numbers. You can research the best 10 prospects on LinkedIn and find the CEO’s name, get a little background, their email and phone information, see their secretary’s name, or even their up or down-line in the company’s organizational chart. You then shoot him an email through LinkedIn Mail with the subject line. “Question” and include your unique selling proposition, and ask if they would be open for a quick phone call the following week at a specific day and time to see if there is reason to work together.

If you repeat this process 10 times, you have now scheduled your 10 dials in your calendar, 10 CEOs are expecting your call, and you are fully armed to have a sales conversation with them next week. No more cold calls, and no more procrastination since you have scheduled appointments with connections.

Conclusion


No prospecting strategy works unless you consistently implement it over time. As a newbie to LinkedIn, you might want to spend as much as 60 minutes per day researching connections and participating in groups. As your network grows, you may spend only 15 minutes 3 times per week on LinkedIn. The key to success is to put this strategy on your calendar and make it a routine part of your ongoing prospecting behavior.

LinkedIn is strict and very particular about how its participants contact each other. Many sites, including LinkedIn limit the number of new invitations allowed in a given day or week. If you exceed this amount you can get penalized or removed for spamming. If you stick within the guidelines of people you know in person or at least you have their email addresses, you should stay within most limits. If you ever receive a warning, you should stop immediately for that day and reduce your efforts moving forward.

While social networking is an inexpensive marketing tool, it can be effective in helping you grow your business. You should maintain your other prospecting strategies, and simply add this strategy to your prospecting activity.

A well-rounded prospecting plan needs to include social networking, and it could mean that your prospect well will never run dry and you never have to make another cold call.

Mike MontagueSandler Training – Kansas City

Thank You Mr. Prospect

Thank You Mr. Prospect

Thank You Mr. Prospect for teaching me…

  • My time and energy is a valuable commodity, and I can’t give it away for free.
  • To be more organized and follow up in a timely manner.
  • To ask the tough questions and have the guts to get to the truth.
  • To have a plan and a system for my sale.
  • To stretch my comfort zone so I can call at the C-Level.
  • To listen more than I speak.
  • That lowest price doesn’t really matter if I do my job right.
  • I really don’t have to explain everything about my service, and that people will trust me to do my job.
  • Some people do have budgets and are willing to spend them on the right solution.
  • Prospects can make firm commitments and live up to them, and I can too.
  • Not all prospects are right for my product or service, and it is OK to get a no.
  • Prospecting will pay off, and nothing motivates me more than winning a sale.
  • Social calls in sales are a myth, and the bottom line of selling is going to the bank.
  • Sales is a skill that not everyone can master, and I am valuable to my company and family.
  • Before I can “have” or “be” I must first “do” and “become.”
And Most Importantly…

To get what you’ve never had, you must do what you’ve never done.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Mike Montague

40 Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Internet Marketing

40 Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Internet Marketing

1. Are you happy with the current design of your site or would you like a new one?

2. Do you have a blog or a place where you can post regular updates yourself?

3. Is all the content and information accurate on your site?

4. Where is the website hosted?

5. Have you set up business pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter & Google+?

6. How often do you update those and do you have them linked together?

7. How do you map listing look in Google, Yahoo & Bing? Are you happy with where they show up in the results and the information that is displayed?

8. How many reviews and recommendations are you getting on the maps and social media accounts? Are the 90% positive?

9. Who are your two biggest competitors online?

10. Do you come up higher or lower in the search results?

11. Who has more fans, followers, and reviews?

12. Is anyone doing pay-per-click ads?

13. Do you currently sell anything online in a shopping cart on your website?

14. Would you like to?

15. If you do, how is it working? Is there anything that you want to improve?

16. Does it calculate shipping and accept payment?

17. How tough is the competition for your best keywords?

18. Do you sell locally, city-wide or nation-wide?

19. How many competitors would you say there are in that area?

20. Are you coming up on the first page for the keywords you want?

21. How often do you post new information on your website?

22. If you had a way to do that, could you handle it in-house or would you need someone else to do it?

23. Do you have access to helpful information for your clients that they need to know?

24. How many total pages does your website have?

25. Did you know blogging allows you to quickly create a large and powerful site for the search engines?

26. Do you currently send any regular email blasts to your clients and prospects?

27. Would you like to stay in touch with them more?

28. How professional do those emails look?

29. How is the response? Do you get feedback or comments about them?

30. Do your pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter & Google+ all look the same so people can recognize you?

31. Do you have a plan for how often you publish updates to social media?

32. Do those accounts give the impression you want your clients and prospects to have about you? Are you proud of them?

33. Are you currently doing any pay-per-click ads on Google, Bing, Facebook or LinkedIn?

34. How’s it going, or why not?

35. Would you be willing to pay for more traffic to your website?

36. How many visitors would you say that you get now on your website in a month?

37. Do you have Google Analytics installed to track your stats?

38. Have your visits been going up or have the plateaued or gone down this year?

39. Do you have a way to measure how many people actually buy from you from internet leads?

40. Is there anything else you have always wished you could do on the internet?

If you think you might need some help, shoot me an email…
[email protected]

Two Types of People You Want To Add To Your Social Network

Two Types of People You Want To Add To Your Social Network

People You Want To Add To Your Social Network
In Sales, there are only two…

I often see salespeople and marketers brag about how many people they have on their social networking sites… They have 500+ connections on LinkedIn, 1,000 Facebook friends, 5,000 Twitter followers, and no more sales than they had in 2005 with none of that.

If you are in business, sales specifically, there are only two types of people you want to add to your social network: Customers & Referral Partners

Think about it. 

  • If they can’t buy from you, or they can’t or don’t want to refer you, then why are you connected?
  • If you don’t know them, why would you add them?
  • If you can’t refer them or buy from them, why would they want to add you?
  • If you have never had a conversation in real life, what are they chances you will do business together in the future?
As a social media expert, I will add any personal friends I keep in touch with on Facebook. However, I am more concerned about my professional appearance and associations on LinkedIn. You are judged by the company you keep, so keep it classy on LinkedIn. On Twitter, you don’t have to be associated, so anyone can follow you, but watch who you follow back. I find it a lot easier to see important updates from clients and referral partners if they are not lost in a stream of who had what for lunch or what Justin Bieber did today.

Customer Connections

I highly recommend connecting with clients on LinkedIn. I would let them choose to follow you on a Facebook business page or Twitter account if they choose, though. LinkedIn allows you to see who else may be an ideal client for you that they know, plus you will typical see any important business updates or status changes. Don’t you want to know when that Purchasing Agent changes jobs?
The issue for most people comes in trying to add prospects. From my experience, very few of these potential clients convert, and a year later you wonder how that person got connected in the first place. I would accept invitation from prospects, but I would not request the connection. Wait until you get the first order or at least a working off-line relationship before you go initiating the connection. 
Two more things. You may want to request an introduction through a mutual friend on a social network to get the ball rolling if you don’t know someone, but I recommend calling the friend and asking for a personal introduction first. Also, you may want to leverage prospects early for referrals. If they don’t have their connection public, you will have to add them to see who they could introduce you too, but make sure you have at least a working relationship first.

Referral Partners

Referral Partners are ideal for social networking. Really, the basis for social networking is to give and get referrals to businesses, people, and things that your networking recommends.
Again for business purposes, LinkedIn is the best network for leveraging referral relationships. Most strategic alliances and referral partners don’t want to see the family pics on Facebook, but they are interested in your new product announcement, new hire, or press release. 
Referrals are the reason, I am extremely picky about who I connect with on LinkedIn. If you ever get the chance to peek at my connections. I will gladly refer you to anyone in that list. I am also careful to only add people that I know, like and trust in real life. This means that if you want a referral, I usually have their cell phone and email and they will take my call.
For those of you still blindly adding everyone that will have you on LinkedIn, can you say the same about your list of connections. If you really have 500+ clients and referral partners, you should be selling at record paces and dominating your market…

Now assuming you actively seek out and build more relationships in 2013, why couldn’t you do just that?

Superior Door Service, Inc.

Superior Door Service, Inc.

superior-door-bna

http://www.superiordoorserviceinc.com/

Congratulations to Superior Door Service, a garage and overhead door company in Kansas City on the launch of their new website!

While the change might not look dramatic, the results are… I took them from a “law firm” template on Yahoo’s Sitebuilder tool to a custom designed website.

Here are some of the site enhancements we added during the redesign process:

  • Add social media tools and contact information to the top left
  • Created a slide show gallery with an animated GIF so it can be seen on Apple products and mobile devices
  • Increased the photo, text and video sizes
  • Changes from a vertical left menu to a horizontal top menu
  • Changed headers and sub-headers to red to make them stand out
  • Made the logo and contact information more prominent
  • Added new product photos and videos
  • Made search engine enhancements to the code, file names and photos
  • Added vendor logos in a creative and organized way to the footer
  • Matched the blog layout to the website layout
  • Fixed and enhanced the contact page and added the Google Maps links and map
Already, in the first week they have gotten more activity on their social media accounts, and are seeing an improvement in traffic, search rankings and most importantly sales!

Oh, and I almost forgot the best part… I also tweaked their pay-per-click ads on Google.

Mike’s Adwords PPC Campaign

Campaign Budget – Clicks – Impressions – Cost-Per-Click – Cost – Avg. Position
$5.00/day – 350 – 403,807 – $0.38 – $133.55 – 3.2

Original Places PPC Campaign

Campaign Budget – Clicks – Impr. – CPC – Cost – Avg. Pos.
$7.90/day – 44 – 6,855 – $4.13 – $181.84 – 5.3

If you think you might like 10 times the visitors for 25% less cost, shoot me an email…

Are your emails getting rejected or worse going unnoticed?

Are your emails getting rejected or worse going unnoticed?

Are your emails getting rejected or worse going unnoticed?
Are your emails getting rejected…

 

Email is tough way to communicate:

Email is actually a fairly reliable means of delivering communication. As long as you didn’t get a bounce back notice in your email that you had the wrong email address, the chances are that it was delivered to the person intended. The problem is that it is really difficult to get a response.

There are several reasons for this:

  • You went to junk mail.
  • You were collected in a spam filter until tomorrow.
  • You were 1 of 200 emails in their inbox.
  • They didn’t want to respond.
  • They didn’t read the email.
  • They didn’t check their email.
  • They were too busy…
The list goes on and on… but one thing is for sure. Email is a pretty unreliable way to get a response.

Are your emails getting rejected or worse going unnoticed?
or worse, going unnoticed?

Here are some tips to get your email opened and read by your prospect:

First, you have to get into their inbox. If you have not previously emailed each other, there is not much you can do, but I do have a few tips. 
  • Use your domain name email address. 
  • Avoid mass emails
  • Don’t use spammy language.
  • Make it plain text or limit pictures and links.
Have you noticed the state of your junk mail folder lately? It is probably full of fake accounts created on gmail, yahoo, or hotmail. Most of them also mention prescription drugs, dating sites, or “adult” content. And chances are they have some kind of special, sale, discount, free offer, or promotion. Many of them have just a picture or link.
Once you are in the inbox, you have another second set of problems. You are going to need to get noticed, opened and read. Your email is only 1 event in hundreds or thousands in your prospect’s day, so it is going to need to be quick, memorable, and easy to deal with. Here are some tips:
  • It’s all about the Subject line.
  • Give them a context about how they know you or why they should.
  • Make it short. 3-5 sentences should be good.
  • Make it a simple message with one theme.
  • Make it super easy to respond, and don’t rely on it.
KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. The longer, more complicated, harder to read, harder to respond, and harder to relate to, the worse your chances of getting read and replied to. People are busy, distracted, and generally not interested in you. They are interested in themselves and the 157 other things on their plate. Keep it simple and don’t require a lot of work to respond. In fact, don’t require a response at all, if possible.

 

Here is an example of a good prospecting email:

Subject: Question
Body:

Hi Steve, 

Have you ever had anyone talk to your sales staff about how to use social media and email correctly?  

I got your name from Tom Jones at the Chamber event, and he said you were concerned about your teams internet behavior. 

If you think it makes sense, we can talk it out. I am available on Wed at 10am, and I will call you then. If that doesn’t work, shoot me back a better time or have your secretary reschedule with me. 

Thanks, 

Mike Montague
From Click To Close
[email protected]
(816) 505-2500

Would you open it, and would you respond? It’s not perfect, and makes a couple of assumptions, but overall it should get read and responded to. First, who doesn’t want to know what the question is? Plus, it may be from a client or prospect of theirs  Second, it is personal and shows that I know the person by name and was referred. It is only 4 sentences so they can read it in a few seconds. I connected with his business concerns and not what I wanted to sell, and I didn’t ask him to respond unless it was a negative.
Finally, I set it up so that I can follow up by phone. I don’t want to get into a long back and forth with email, talk about price, or have the sales conversation over months of emails. Also, I don’t want to put the responsibility on the prospect to be required to take action. Right now, Steve is only obligated to take my call on Wednesday or reschedule. That is pretty easy.
Bonus: You save yourself a lot of time and energy too! You can plan out your whole week’s prospecting calls by sending these emails a week early or on Monday, and you have effectively booked yourself solid with productive calls.
If you have any other tips that you think might work better, or any concerns about this approach, please leave them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
Social Networking Sales Goals

Social Networking Sales Goals

Social Networking Sales Goals
Social Networking Goals for Salespeople

In recent survey, networking was ranked as “important” by 90% of business people. It is clear that most salespeople see business networking events and social networking as valuable skill. Chances are however, showing any kind of legitimate return on investment for your time spent on social networking sites is going to be fairly difficult. That is, unless you have some SMART goals and a plan of attack to reap the rewards.

How to set sales goals for your social networking activity:

You are going to need a few types of goals for social networking and for sales to find and prove your success:
  • Daily goals
  • Short-term goals
  • Long-term goals

Setting Daily, Short-Term, and Long-Term Goals

As in any area of life, there are some things you can just flip the switch and do, some things that take special timing or longer effort, and then there are long-term, stretch goals that may take years or a life-time to attain. It is important to break these activities up into manageable groups so that you can focus day-to-day, but not loose site of the big picture.
Daily goals are the small steps that you can complete every day that lead you towards your ultimate goals. These easy tasks are just like flipping a switch, when you decide to do it. For example, you can send and email to a client, post a status update, or send invites to a special event. A great daily goal is to call or meet at least one person in real life that you are connected to online.
Short-term goals are the intermediate steps that take weeks or months to complete, or require special timing. These goals require extra planning or effort, or are not feasible to do in a day or every day. For example, you may want to 50 new leads per month to hit your quota, give referrals to your top strategic alliances, or host a meet-up at your office. These goals are not typically not feasibly done everyday and require some time-frame between 7 and 90 days to complete. A great short-term goal for social networking is to add enough new leads to your pipeline to hit your sales goals each month.
Long-term goals are typically those BHAG goals. That’s right the Big Hairy Audacious Goals that will make your year and signify your ultimate success. These goals typically take 90 days to a year or more to check off the list. This is your ultimate yearly sales quota, the income you want to make, the public praise or private pat on the back that drives you in your career. Most people have these goals in the back of the heads, but again, studies show that very few have them down on paper, or a plan to attain them. A great long-term goal for social networking is to develop the relationships and personal networking strong enough to provide a steady stream of qualified referrals, so you never have to prospect or cold call again.

How to set sales goals for social networkingSuccess Challenge: 

You have spent some time reading this. Spend a few more minutes and write down your top 3-5 goals for each category.

People with written goals and a plan to achieve them are over 10 times more likely to achieve the levels of success they want in their business and their life.

Social Networking Balance for Business

Social Networking Balance for Business

Social Networking Balance For Business
Social Networking Balance For Business

Usually on this blog, I try to talk about the “ideal” way to engage in social networking, but it occurred to me that a lot of small business owners and sales people don’t necessarily want to or have the time to invest in being the best at social networking. Some people just want to know what the minimum level of acceptable activity is so they don’t look bad or hurt their business, or at least a way to keep up with the competition.

I am sure most people are too busy running their business or doing their actual job to be fully engaged in social networking all day, so I want to try to explain a way to find some balance.

Social Media Balance for BusinessSocial Networking Balance for Business

Marketing your business online can be a little tricky. You can literally spend millions of dollars or you do nothing, and still have a successful business. You can have outdated websites and social media profiles that give very bad impressions, like you are out of business or out of touch, or you can overwhelm people with thousands of marketing messages per day.

So how do you find your sweet spot?

 

Here are a couple of general rules to help guide you:

  • Keep your profiles and contact information correct, consistent and current 100% of the time.
  • Keep dates, timelines, copyrights, and other time sensitive elements up to date to current to the month or year.
  • Set some kind of calendar, to-do list, or email reminder to make updates on a regular basis.
  • Keep a password book or spreadsheet with all the links, log-ins, and profile pages you create for your business.
  • Set a Google Alert or create a reminder to check your business’s online reviews, ratings and comments so you can manage your reputation.
  • Post on your blog and social media accounts as much as you can manage or as much as your followers want to hear from you, whichever is least.
  • Don’t forget that social networking is a two-way street. You will want to comment, post on customers or business partners walls, and engage with other people too, so don’t spend all your time on yourself.
  • Make it a priority for your team, friends, family, business partners, clients and other close “real world” relationships to help promote and share your content.

Bottom line: Make managing your online reputation a priority.

 
You wouldn’t walk around with business cards with the wrong phone number, or pass our coupons with expired dates from 5 years ago on them, so don’t let it happen online. Also, if you take pride in your business and reputation in the real world, then you should make sure that your online reviews and comments reflect that same image and professionalism.

Minimum Social Networking Activities for Small Businesses

  1. You must claim your local map listings immediately on Google+ Places, Bing and Yahoo.
  2. Send a mass email with events, news and articles at least once per month. 
  3. Your list should be at least the size of your client base for the last 3 years.
  4. Post a new blog or news article on your website at least once per month.
  5. Post on your Google+ page for your business once per day.
  6. Post a status update on your Facebook business page at least once per week.
  7. Post a tweet or retweet someone else’s every day.
  8. Update your personal LinkedIn profile and your Company Page at least once per week.
  9. Request reviews from every satisfied customer on your Google+ places map listing.
  10. Encourage employees, referral partners, and close connections to share your most important message or offer of the month with their connections.

Bonus Points:

  • Run a small pay-per-click Google Adwords campaign for your business name and other common searches that identify for your business.
  • Use Facebooks promoted posts or “Like” pay-per-click campaigns to grow your page’s fans.
 

Ideal Social Networking Activities

  1. You must claim your local map listings immediately on Google+ Places, Bing and Yahoo, and any other prominent review sites.
  2. Send a mass email with events, news and articles once per week. 
  3. Your list should be at least 3 times of your client base for the last 3 years.
  4. Post a new blog or news article on your website at least once per day.
  5. Post on your Google+ page for your business 3 times per day.
  6. Post a status update on your Facebook business page at 3 times per day.
  7. Post a tweet or retweet someone else’s 5 times per day.
  8. Update your personal LinkedIn profile and your Company Page at least once per day.
  9. Request reviews from every satisfied customer on your Google+ places map listing, and rotate the other sites in so you can have dozens of reviews on all major listings.
  10. Encourage employees, referral partners, and close connections to share your most important message or offer of the week with their connections.
  11. Run a pay-per-click Google Adwords campaign of about 1% of your total sales each month, for your business name and other common searches that identify for your business, and more keywords and phrases.
  12. Use Facebooks promoted posts for each blog article, coupon or offer, and continuously run a “Like” pay-per-click campaign to grow your page’s fans until you reach 3 times your client base.
I hope that give you a baseline to work from and a goal to shoot for in your social networking activity for your business. If you have any comments or questions, please share them below.