25 Top Marketing Strategies for Reaching New Clients (Part 2: Online Activities)

As promised (close on the heels of our last post about offline marketing strategies), we will now share some great tips for online activities Virtual Assistants and online professionals can use to reach more clients. Did we say these are our favorite kinds of activities?  Well, without further ado, here they are, with a couple extra tips thrown in for good measure.

Online Activities:

1. Create a high quality, fully search engine optimized website or blog site – We can’t emphasize enough how important this strategy is. Through new blog posts and pages, it’s crucial to expand visibility by producing regular content that is optimized with the keywords you want to build your business around.

2. Build a strong, targeted presence in social networks – Many people are now using social networks to secure joint venture partnerships and post projects in status updates.

3. Build a targeted Twitter following and actively participate in the community – Virtual assistants can land clients through Twitter by responding to requests that have been posted by business owners looking for help.

4. Create a branded Facebook Page and offer valuable and relevant content to your audience – Given the huge growth of Facebook, this is a very important strategy to help build up visibility for your business and create SEO value as well.  If you already have a Facebook Page, see where it can be improved and be sure to regularly add new content to it.

5. Create a LinkedIn Profile – By adding recommendations, joining and contributing in targeted groups, and answering relevant questions one-on-one, you can use LinkedIn to specifically connect with business owners (60 or 70 million professionals are on LinkedIn) who could become the ideal clients for you.

6. Join niche social networks – If you’re targeting specific groups like writers groups or small business groups, etc., look for networks like Ning that are supporting those groups.

7. Set up locally optimized business profiles in Google Places, Bing and Yahoo local directories – Because these profiles also have good SEO value, be sure to optimize your profile, add videos and create branding value for your business in the local community.

8. Contact Google Internet Marketing Firms / Multi-VA Firms, PR Agencies and present your portfolio – Connect with the key decision makers in these firms and agencies to present your portfolio and offer your services.

9. Create a free information product and offer in order to build a targeted e-mail list – A golden way of building up your credibility is to offer some kind of ongoing publication that is targeted to people with your skill sets. It should be valuable content (a video series, monthly newsletter, e-book, white paper, report) that will segue to the services you offer.

10. Blog, but only if you have some relevant content to share – Corporate blogs that merely present product and service updates are becoming redundant. However, blogs that share meaningful content that’s valuable to your audience can build your credibility if that content is targeted, specialized and reaching the right people.

11. Create a YouTube Channel and regularly distribute keyword-targeted videos – Video is quickly becoming the most popular medium and can’t be ignored by marketers. A great way to build your brand is by sharing tips videos (talking head or demos) and integrating these videos into your website to add a personal connection with your audience.

12. Start a BlogTalk Radio Show, regular podcast or AudioBoos where you share your expertise – This type of audio content is easily transmitted and shared on networks like Facebook, so it’s very effective for building your brand and targeting your audience.
13. Distribute keyword targeted articles and press releases through EzineArticles.com and PRWeb.com – Keywords will help you get listed in the top 10, but be sure to focus on the quality of the content before the keywords and write to benefit the lives and businesses of your target audience.
14. Create Presentations and PDFs through Slideshare.net and Scribd.com – With the rise of Slideshare.net, this strategy is gaining popularity as it can feed PowerPoint presentations directly into your LinkedIn profile. With these tools, you can also send new clients a link to your portfolio.

15. Put on webinars for online groups and associations – With tools like GoToWebinar or Free Conference Calling, you can focus on a particular industry (e.g. “Using Social Media for Interior Design Businesses”) and put on an informative webinar or tele-event.

16. Test out some low-cost Facebook Social Ads or Pay Per Click ads for targeted keywords – Another great way of targeting new clients is to test out these ads on your “Like” base from your Facebook Page. It is possible to get a lot of interest, visitors and sales through these ads.

Miscellaneous Strategies:

17. Referral Marketing – This is also called “Duct Tape Marketing” and involves being proactive with your existing clients and asking them for referrals to other colleagues. It relies on the “Know, like, trust factor” and can lead to many new client leads.

18. Set up Joint Ventures – Finally, a great way to build your business is to partner up with colleagues either inside or outside your industry who offer complementary services. For example, a person who writes articles might partner with someone in the social media space, and they could cross-refer each other.

We hope you find these tips helpful. If you are interested in reaching new clients, we recommend going through the lists in Parts 1 and 2 of this blog post series and ticking off the strategies you are currently using, evaluating which activities have been successful for you, and considering which strategies you might want to add to your overall marketing strategy.

As a community of Virtual Assistants and online professionals, we here at VAClassroom are committed to helping equip you with the skills that will help you reach your ideal client base. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a note for us in the comment box below. Also, let us know of any additional strategies or ideas that have worked for you.

The Social Network: Truth or Fiction?

There’s a lot of talk going on about Facebook these days, from the massive outage on September 23 to the new movie, The Social Network, coming out on October 1, a story about the founders and origins of Facebook.

Biographies are intriguing, and for Virtual Assistants and Online Professionals involved in Social Media, this movie is particularly compelling. We’re advised to take it with a grain of salt, though, because there’s a bit of controversy brewing about whether or not the movie gets the facts straight.

According to a blog post on AllFacebook.com, most people don’t know the movie is based on a fictionalized and sensationalized story about the founding of Facebook as described by Eduardo Saverin, one of the initial co-founders. This story became Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires and then was adapted into a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Apparently Saverin presented co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in a bad light because he was bitter about being kicked out of the company, and AllFacebook.com says, “It’s pretty clear that the movie is an attack on Mark Zuckerberg’s character.”

In an interview called “Aaron Sorkin talks ‘The Social Network’“, however, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin asserts, “We were meticulous in The Social Network about sticking to facts,” and goes on to explain the type of online and first-person research they did.

Another point of interest is the fact that neither the screenwriter nor the director of this movie has a Facebook account, which makes you wonder what their perspective is towards Facebook.

But regardless of what people think of this movie or Facebook in general, this is a tool that has become firmly embedded in the fabric of our culture, and for that reason (as Virtual Assistants and business owners), we need to look at ALL the ways we can leverage this powerful tool for our business.  So whether the movie is true or not, Facebook Marketing is definitely a reality that has provided tangible results for businesses seeking to build their brand and customer base.

Now we’d like to hear your opinion! Do you plan on seeing the movie, and would a shady past change your opinion of Facebook and the role it plays in your business?

Bananas and Branding in a Social Media World.

“I’m Chiquita Banana and I’ve come to say, Bananas have to ripen in a certain way…”

(lyrics from the original Chiquita Banana theme song)

Does your food talk to you?

Probably not.

Does it ask you to talk to it?

Maybe.

In this new social media driven world, even food has become interactive online, as you may have seen last week in a recent post on our VAClassroom Facebook Page. When Craig grabbed a banana as a quick snack, little did he know it would have a sticker on it that read “Chiquita – find us on Facebook to vote!” As he said, “This is a web 2.0 banana I am eating – banana branding at its best!”

So we checked out the Chiquita Banana Facebook Page, and this is what we found:

•    Facebook Page summary – “This is a page for all things banana. Pay a visit to our site and see just how bananas our bananas can get. Eatachiquita.com. Or follow us on Twitter @ChiquitaChatter.” (Chiquita Bananas are also on Twitter!)

•    Info tab – containing a link to the Chiquita Banana website, as well as a Company Overview and a list of Products.

•    “Organics” tab – promoting organic bananas and inviting people to vote. Chiquita will donate 10% of organic banana sales sold in September to the environmental non-profit organization with the most votes.

•    Photos tab – with photos from Chiquita as well as from fans. (Wow, a lot of people really like Chiquita Bananas!)

•    Page Terms tab – explaining the Chiquita Banana Community Guidelines. (This is a great idea!)

•    Several other tabs and an active Wall – with posts from both fans and Chiquita Banana itself.

Chiquita adds posts regularly to the wall and is great about interacting with fans by replying to any questions or comments.

Here are some examples of Chiquita’s wall posts:

•    Contests – e.g. “Chiquita Banana Sticker Design Contest” and “Chiquita Champion” (nominating an athlete or an athletic team who has accomplished something amazing)

•    Product Advertisements – e.g. “Exotic” varieties like red bananas and Manzano bananas

•    Fun Facts – e.g. September 21 is National Banana Day.

And if the response is any indication, people are “eating up” this Facebook Page! At this time, Chiquita Banana is “liked” by more than 20,000 people!

Moreover, the contests attract people to the Chiquita websites themselves as they are mostly held off of the Facebook Page. For example, in honor of National Organics Month, Chiquita is hosting an organic smoothie recipe contest on their blog. This is a great way of directing people to read the blog posts!

So what do you think of this banana branding and use of Social Media? Many of us had parents who told us, “Don’t play with your food,” and now here we are, entering Chiquita Banana contests and “talking to our food” on Facebook.

The great thing about this Web 2.0 world is that it can foster a sense of collaboration and trust between businesses and consumers. As companies use Social Media as a way of branding their products, consumers can interact, voicing their opinions and concerns.

A quote from the blog post “Social Media Case Study: Cindy Cieluch, Photographer Building a Brand” sums it up perfectly:

“… Whether you’re a small, medium, or large business there are small and simple things you can be doing with social media that will help with your brand building efforts while at the same time building those relationships and getting people what they truly want which is a relationship with the company before they make business and do business with them.”

So, as a Virtual Assistant or Online Business Owner, how would you use a Facebook Page or other Social Networks to build your brand in this New Media World? The possibilities are endless, so we’d love to hear your ideas!

Six Simple Tips for Creating Your Own Online Video Studio.

Places everybody. Ten Seconds Until We Go Live….. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…. Lights, Camera, Action!!

This is a funny routine that I sometimes go through to amuse myself as “director” of my own private video studio at home! Yes, this is a far cry from 20th Century Fox, but for myself and our team at VAClassroom, Online Video is one of the most important components to our web marketing strategy!

For us and many other businesses, Online Video has quickly become one of the most portable, practical, profitable and not to mention personable avenues for building your business brand and visibility here in 2010. Why?

Businesses recognize that waves of people online are regularly watching videos as their preferred medium of choice and see huge potential in connecting with the right audience using compelling and interesting videos. Check out these stats:

The Pew Research Center reports that “69% of adult internet users, or roughly half of all U.S. adults (52%), have used the internet to watch or download video”. That is a staggering number, and it is growing exponentially every day.

So, I can’t emphasize the importance of creating your own promotional marketing videos to build brand visibility with your prospective client audience.

But where do you start?

We all have heard the expression “A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words”. Well, this also really applies to video! If you put together a fuzzy, low-quality video right from your home office as a promotional tool for your business, it could reflect poorly on you and your brand! So, if you are interested in using video for your business marketing efforts, it is important to do it the right way.

Here are a few simple steps to get started:

1. Purchase a Digital Mini Camcorder and Tripod (if you don’t have one already) – Average price $150

My recommendations are the Kodak Zi8 or the Flip Mino.  Both offer the option to produce high-quality high-definition videos. Here is an example of an HD video we produced for our recent VAClassroom Summer Skill Camp.

Also, if you are going to purchase the Kodak Zi8, then I would recommend spending an extra 10 bucks and picking up the Kodak Zi8 Remote Control so you can manage the record and stop features independently.

2. Purchase a Lapel Microphone or standing microphone. (Average Price – $30)

While the Kodak Zi8 does have an external microphone, I would recommend picking up a lapel mic or a stationary mic that you can place close to where you are sitting or standing as it will significantly improve the audio quality and make your video that much more professional.

There are many options to choose from so I would suggest going to eBay, Best Buy or Amazon and picking up a quality mic for less than $30.

3. Purchase a Professional “Soft Box” Camera Lighting Kit (Average price – $199 on eBay)

Lighting is EVERYTHING to producing a high-quality video, so it is important to spend a few bucks to get the professional lighting that will display you in a positive light:-) I would recommend searching on eBay for a 2000 watt Soft Box lighting kit. You will be amazed at the difference between videos that have professional lighting and the ones that don’t – miles apart!

4. Purchase a Green Screen and Stand. (Average Price – $149)

A Green Screen is an essential component of your video studio as you will want be able to do Chroma key and mix up your backgrounds. With the green screen and the right software or outsourced professional (i.e. Elance), you can put yourself in literally any background, from a cafe in Paris to a U2 concert – cool stuff! I would recommend checking out eBay or TubeTape.

5. Pick up some cool props.

Now, each video studio will vary in look and feel, but some general props will typically apply. I would look at picking up a couple bar tools and a circular bar table. If you are NOT using a Green Screen, then you might choose a nice plant, pictures and a light colored wall for your studio.

6. Purchase a teleprompter software. (Average Price – $59)

If you are not interested in memorizing your script, you might place a laptop strategically below your camcorder and use a teleprompter tool like PromptDog.com. This will help you stay on track with your script!

So, for approximately $600, you could fully outfit your own at-home video studio and be ready to start producing some top-notch video content for your business.

But, the next question you may have is…. How do I create some quality videos? What do they look like? Well, we are actually running a Live Online Video Skills Clinic that will provide a simple system for creating, editing, producing and distributing online videos for you and your clients.

I hope this has been helpful in giving you a starting point for creating your own online video studio. As they say in the movie biz….

That’s a Wrap!

The Power of Article Writing in a Web 2.0 World

Does article writing still have a place in this new interactive Web 2.0 world? It’s a question many Virtual Professionals and online business owners may be asking themselves as Social Media Marketing and Video Marketing gain prominence.

Well, we would argue that article writing does have a place and that it is still a prolific marketing channel in this Social Media Arena. Here are some of the key reasons why:

• Increases brand visibility and interest.

• Establishes authority and thought leadership.

• Ignites SEO potency (Tons of backlinks).

• Creates opportunity for your content to go viral.

• Generates targeted website traffic and sales.

As an illustration, check out this case study described in “Article Marketing – An Hour A Week To Web 2.0 Success!”

Here the author reports how spending 45 minutes writing three articles (targeted to his sites and online products) yielded the following results one week after being uploaded to a professional online article submission service:

• 55 pages indexed and live in Google showing his resell rights article

• 43 pages indexed and live in Google showing his Article Marketing article

• 51 pages indexed and live in Google showing his Affiliate Marketing article
He summarizes the results this way:

“That’s 149 more places for people to run into my name and solid info from me online, 149 more links back to my sites, each capable of attracting tightly-targeted traffic to my salespages and affiliate marketing pre-sell pages. For one hour’s work, total. That’s the immediate benefit to article marketing – almost instant spidering by the search engines, and a number of new profit conduits set up aimed at your payment button or affiliate links.”

In addition to uploading your articles to online submission sites like EzineArticles.com, you can use Social Media channels to further maximize the exposure of your content. Here are some common ways of doing that:

• Use the EzineArticles.com Bookmarking feature.

• Schedule article tweets in HootSuite. (Send it out 2-3 times.)

• Share your article in targeted social network groups and forums. (Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning)

• Include the article link in a relevant blog post.

• Submit your article to other general and niche social bookmarking sites. (Digg, Delicious)
We cover this in more detail in our Internet Marketing Specialist 2010 course since it is such a crucial step in harnessing the power of Social Media to mass-distribute your articles.

And when you’re writing, always remember the Golden Rule of Article Marketing: CONTENT IS KING! The credibility and influence of your Virtual Business will grow if you consistently provide valuable content that is directed towards your target audience.

Now we’d like to hear your thoughts! Have you used articles to promote your Virtual Business? Do you feel Article Marketing is still an effective marketing channel in the Web 2.0 world?

Facebook for Business – a Love / Hate Relationship

We love Facebook, don’t we? Yes, we do… most of the time.

As Virtual Assistants and online business owners in general, many of us have come to love Facebook Pages as an effective Social Marketing channel to build brand awareness and community. With such features as Static FBML, we have devoted a lot of time to customizing our Pages and adding unique features that make them stand out from the rest.

For example, on our VAClassroom Facebook Page, we have added featured members photos, banners and navigation bars to the left-hand side. Now some sweeping changes due to take effect the week of August 23 will have a profound impact on our Page and many others.

Here’s a summary of the changes according to the Facebook Profile and Page Roadmap Update:

•    The “Boxes” tab, boxes on profiles and Pages, and application info sections will be removed.

•    Beginning the week of August 23, all profile and Page tabs will be resized automatically to a new width of 520 pixels.

According to a blog post by AllFacebook.com, “the removal of the boxes tab is a sweeping change that will see the disappearance of all profile boxes on the left-hand side of Facebook Pages.” A Facebook spokeswoman advised AllFacebook.com that the removal of those boxes will require page owners to move that information to the info page or a custom tab. Page owners also need to be aware of the fact that the new narrower tab width may affect the appearance of their Pages.

So how can page owners best prepare for these changes leading up to August 23?

A HubSpot blog post entitled “3 Ways Facebook’s Pending Page Changes Affect Marketers” has some good advice:

•    If you’ve created any custom tabs for your Facebook page, click on these tabs to make sure the look and feel of each page hasn’t been distorted. Because pages will now be narrower, it’s possible that images or banners you’ve added or formats you’ve used previously will now need to be resized or reformatted.

•    Be sure to take a look at the boxes on your page’s sidebar and in your Boxes Tab ahead of time so you can decide what you will need to create custom tabs for once the boxes disappear.

So, it seems that Facebook consistently makes changes that can present headaches. And yet, the upside is that is an amazing channel to connect with the right audience and has so many cool apps and tools that enhance the business pages.

For now, this newest change will create a lot of work for Virtual Assistants who serve as their clients’ Social Media Specialists. In the long run, will it have a positive impact on Facebook for business?

We’d love to hear your thoughts. How are Facebook’s changes affecting you and your business page? Please share your comments below.?

Social Media Outsourcing: A Wise Choice

They say that timing is everything, and often success comes from recognizing the right opportunity at the right time. This is especially true in the ever changing Internet landscape. A recent Industry Report released by Michael A. Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com, reveals some untapped potential that bodes well for those with Social Media Marketing skills. We’d highly recommend downloading and reading the full report from the website, but for now check out this quick video summary:

When we read the report, we were struck by the following statistic:

“Social media outsourcing underemployed: Only 14% of businesses are outsourcing any aspect of their social media marketing.”

This was fascinating because on the other hand, it’s clear that an increase in benefits is directly proportional to the amount of time spent on Social Media Marketing. Here are some of the benefits that were reported:

•    Helped close business
•    Generated exposure for business
•    Resulted in new business partnerships
•    Generated qualified leads
•    Reduced overall marketing expenses
•    Helped business rise in the search rankings
•    Increased traffic/subscribers/opt-in list

However, since the concept of Social Media outsourcing is still relatively new, and many marketers are still new to Social Media Marketing itself, the report predicts it may be another year before businesses embrace the idea of seeking outside assistance.

But with at least 67% of marketers planning to increase their use of blogs, Facebook, video/YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn, the tide is definitely going to turn. How else will business owners juggle everything they need to do and still devote enough time to Social Media Marketing?

So what kinds of things will businesses need help with as they ramp up their Social Media activities?

Here are some of the important roles an outsourced Social Marketing Specialist can fill:

•    Social Media Coach (very important)
•    Social Media Community Manager (set up and optimize system)
•    Company Representative (manage customer relations)
•    Social Media Eyes & Ears for Your Clients (SM Monitoring)

Most importantly, businesses need a proper Social Media Strategy, and there will be amazing client opportunities coming available for Virtual Assistants who can perform the following tasks:

•    Create a clear and measurable social media strategy (#1 priority)
•    Research & identify the right social networks
•    Build social networking presence
•    Manage & optimize social networking presence
•    Measure results of social networking activities

So if you have Social Media Marketing skills like these, get ready to catch the next wave in this very popular and profitable niche! Keep your skills current and up to date, and you’ll be in the ideal position when more and more businesses quickly realize they need to outsource their Social Media activities! In our newly updated Social Marketing 2010 course, we provide cutting-edge training to equip Virtual Assistants to deliver the key services clients desperately need and will be asking for in the near future.

Niche Social Networks: Catch the Next Wave in Business Networking

For the past few years, Social Networking has become increasingly important for businesses. So many valuable connections can be made online that would be more difficult to forge in the real world, making these social networks a great place to collaborate and share ideas and feedback between clients, customers and colleagues.

However, as Seth Godin explains in the below video, this social networking needs to be authentic to be effective:

One way to foster a greater sense of community and authenticity is through the creation of Private or Niche Social Networks. Such networks can be moderated with privacy controls that can lead to greater transparency and communication between members, while at the same time keeping sensitive information confidential and off the more public networks like Facebook and MySpace.

There are many different platforms that can be used to create Niche Social Networks, but one of the most popular is Ning.com. According to the article “Ning now supports 2 million social networks, touches up branding”,
Ning now has 41 million members across its two million networks and has added one million new communities since April of last year. These communities, populated by likeminded individuals discussing particular interests, are great for developing a company’s personal brand. The interaction and communication that happens there can have a huge impact on the success of online businesses.

In particular, Ning’s features make it a great platform for VA’s to design Private Social Networks for their clients. Below are some of the features that enhance networks designed for business:

•    Freedom to use your own branding and visual design
•    Unique profiles for each member
•    Ability to moderate members before they join and moderate photos, videos, groups, chat and events before they’re posted
•    Real-time chat between members
•    Discussion forum where forum topic creation can either be limited by you or opened up to all members
•    Ning apps like WordPress, Yelp Map and Ustream.tv to further customize your network

Given the tremendous popularity of Facebook and Twitter, it’s evident that social networking has gone mainstream. Now with the emergence of Private Social Networks, VAs and their clients have even more opportunities to leverage this trend and develop a custom network with a vibrant focused community centered around their brand.

In this way, you can create a boardroom that stretches from one corner of the world to the other, and there’s no limit to what this meeting of the minds can accomplish!

Golden Goals and Bad Bands: Social Media Chronicles the Olympics

February 28, 2010 – final day of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver…

Gold medal semifinal in men’s hockey between Team Canada and Team USA…

Seven minutes into overtime, Jarome Iginla is knocked down in the corner. On his knees, he passes the puck to Sidney Crosby, who deftly, with Gretzky-like instincts, shoots the puck from an angle, past Team USA’s goalie and into the net.

The Golden Goal…

And with that, Team Canada wins its 14th gold medal in these 2010 Olympic games and its first gold medal in hockey since the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.

Throughout the streets of Vancouver, a loud roar went up as crowds cheered and celebrated. Car horns honked, ship horns blared and, according to one Vancouver resident, the noise continued for hours.

The cheering also continued on Social Networks like Twitter and Facebook. Within minutes of the Golden Goal, jubilant Tweets and Facebook status updates appeared. Within two hours, the newly created “Crosby’s Olympic Goal <3” Facebook Fan Page had 95,000 fans.

After the Closing Ceremonies, a Facebook Fan Page called “2010 Olympic Closing Ceremonies were REALLY BAD” was also created, but it wasn’t nearly as popular. As of this writing, only 23 fans have joined this page and embraced the description: “Bad bands, and awful floating beavers.”

Actually, throughout the Olympics, Social Media played a huge role in recording people’s reactions to events and athletes. The athletes themselves even participated.

According to the blog post “So long to 2010 Olympics, we’ll tweet ya later,” American short track speed skater @ApoloOhno “shared his ever infectious and magnetic positivity to stand tall and be proud of who you are and your accomplishments.”

Alternatively, @JuliaMancuso, alpine ski racer for Team USA, fueled the fire of an alleged rivalry with lifelong competitor @LindseyVonn by posting and quickly removing comments after her first run on the giant slalom.

The Sysomos blog reports that the Vancouver Olympics attracted four million tweets and 300,000 blog posts and had a 91% positive sentiment rating according to Sysomos MAP.

That’s great news for Olympic organizers, who may have been concerned about how this unprecedented Social Media activity would affect their personal branding and online reputation.

This is a new age, where Social Media activity will continue to grow, even as the roar of the crowd fades and the streets of Vancouver return to normal. Online Reputation Management for Virtual Assistants and their clients will be key in the years to come, and certified Social Marketing Specialists are the ones who will be armed and ready to face the challenges of this new Social Media landscape.

This is something Olympic organizers might also want to think about as they look towards the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Are You Ready to Tell Google Buzz to Buzz off?

There’s a new kid on the block in the world of Social Networks, and if you use Gmail, he’s already living on your street! Google recently unveiled Google Buzz, a Social Network that’s built right into Gmail. If you have a Gmail account, you might have noticed a colorful balloon that showed up on the left-hand side of the page – that’s Buzz!

Google had some great ideas when they unveiled Buzz. Check out this YouTube video posted on the Official Google Blog to introduce Buzz:

Unfortunately, despite these good intentions, Buzz has caused some frustration among loyal Gmail users. For example, the blog post “Buzz off, Google: Social networks should always be opt-in, not opt-out” highlights the fact that all Gmail users were enrolled in Buzz without being asked first. Furthermore, Google automatically made a social graph of your most-emailed people and made sharing of that graph opt-out instead of opt-in. As this article explains, “it’s super easy to miss the check box, and the default should always be the safest choice.”

In Google’s defense, they listened to users’ feedback and have introduced some improvements. The Official Gmail Blog reports that the following changes have been made to Buzz:

1. There is a more visible option to not show followers/people you follow on your public profile.

2. You have the ability to block anyone who starts following you.

3. There is more clarity on which of your followers/people you follow can appear on your public profile.

Given Google’s popularity and history of creating quality products, there is definitely the possibility that Google Buzz could someday rival Facebook and Twitter.

What do you think? Are you ready to tell Google Buzz to buzz off, or do you think Google can rise to the challenge of making Buzz the best Social Network around?

Virtual Events and Social Media – A Match Made in Web Heaven!

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and we’re going to talk about marriage… no, not that kind of marriage – the marriage of Virtual Events and Social Media.

Virtual Events are already very popular because of their inherent benefits – they’re cost-effective, attract a wider global audience, generate increased exposure and save time – but Social Media enhances the power of Virtual Events by providing an effective channel to promote, create buzz and facilitate interaction for these online events.

Consider Twitter Hashtags. They are an extremely powerful medium to use for promoting and creating buzz around a Virtual Event, and the best way to explain them is to show them in action. Check out this excellent video by Krishna De:

Another way of pairing Social Media and Virtual Events is to make use of interactive chat alongside an online event. For example, Facebook tested a new feature during the 2009 Presidential Inauguration that allowed people to post status updates and comments beside live streaming video on CNN’s website. According to the Facebook Developers blog post “Posting the Stream in Real Time with the Live Stream Box,”

“It was a significant moment for Facebook Platform. We realized how powerful it was to see what your friends were saying, not just on Facebook, but right in context on CNN.com.”

Following that event, Facebook launched the Facebook Live Stream Box, a feature that website owners or developers can install on their website so Facebook users can share updates and content about a live event through Facebook Connect. With this tool, any updates posted will appear in the Live Stream Box, as well as on the Facebook user’s profile and friends’ News Feeds.

Additionally, Ustream, a website that supports live streaming presentations, includes a Social Stream that can be used to chat with people over Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and AIM while an online event is taking place. Ustream also allows you to incorporate the Live Stream Box within your Facebook Fan Page. According to the Ustream.tv website, this feature adds a new tab to the Fan Page, developed and customized by Ustream, with the live player residing both on Ustream.com and the Facebook Profile. Here, Facebook users can chat with the host and with each other through the Live Stream Box as well as through chat and Social Stream on the Ustream.com Show Page.

This combination of Social Media and Virtual Events contains untapped potential for businesses, Virtual Events Specialists and Social Media Specialists. Businesses are in desperate need of people with the skills necessary to set up events, promote them and facilitate interaction between attendees. Virtual Assistants can be the matchmakers that bring Virtual Events and Social Media together, creating a union that will most certainly generate more visibility for your clients’ businesses and take the Virtual Events niche to new heights!

Customer Service 2.0 – Local Business Raises the Bar Using Social Media.

You may remember a post we published a couple days ago entitled “Social Media Goes Local in 2010,” where we described the innovative way restaurant owner Joe Sorge is using Social Media to promote AJ Bombers and other restaurants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Well, the interesting conversation on our VAClassroom Fan Page generated by this post revealed that one of our VAClassroom members, Janet Janowiak, a resident of Waterford, Wisconsin, also featured Chris Brogan’s Kitchen Table Talks video in her post “Local Business Success Built by Twitter.”

Shortly after she published her post, Joe commented on her blog and emailed her an invitation to dinner.  “Joe’s comment came in moments after my post was published,” Janet explained. “This really proves how connected the social media world is. I don’t know what tool Joe uses to monitor his brand, but I was praising him and look how quickly he replied. Imagine if someone made a comment that was negative. I’m sure that Joe would do everything in his power to make the customer happy.”

What a gracious response and a perfect example of customer service reaching new heights through Social Media! Joe’s personal touch goes a long way to building positive brand recognition and exposure for his restaurants via social networking – an excellent case study to encourage local businesses to adopt a Social Media strategy ASAP!

Social Media Goes Local in 2010!

If you enter AJ Bombers restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and slide into one of the booths, you’ll notice interesting graffiti written on the heavy varnished wood. As you look closer, you’ll find out that people have written Twitter user names all over the place.

Now why on earth would people be thinking about Twitter at a restaurant?

Well, believe it or not, Social Media is going local, and brick and mortar businesses are capitalizing on the power of Social Media to help generate more traffic to their business and to keep their current customers coming back.

Check out this fascinating Kitchen Table Talks video with Chris Brogan and Joe Sorge, owner of AJ Bombers and other restaurants in Milwaukee:

As Joe explains, “AJ Bombers was built by Twitter.”  Imagine business owners being able to monitor customers’ experiences from a distance, making adjustments and responding to complaints on the fly from their Twitter account.  Imagine loyal customers being offered daily specials through tweets from their favorite restaurant. That’s the power of Social Media.

However, according to a recent article in Social Media Examiner, “3 New Studies Show Value of Social Media and Businesses Slow Response,” only 47% of companies are experimenting with Social Media, and of those that do, many are failing to effectively build online community and provide a favorable platform for interaction and feedback.

This finding shows that there’s a definite need for Virtual Assistants with Social Media skills to fill that niche and educate businesses on best practices for using Social Media. For VAClassroom grads, the possibilities are endless, and brick and mortar businesses would surely benefit from your expertise in Social Media Marketing.

So survey the brick and mortar businesses around you and just imagine how a Twitter Account or a Facebook Fan Page could build their clientele and keep people coming in the door. The sky’s the limit with a little imagination and a passion for engaging people with the tools available in this exciting new Web 2.0 world!

Ignite Your Business Visibility with Facebook Connect.

Have you ever wished you lived in a shopping mall? It sounds funny, but it would make life a lot easier, especially if you lived in a huge mall like West Edmonton Mall or the Mall of America.

You could park the car, enter the building, and everything you needed would be laid out in front of you without ever having to leave home. Stores in that mall would probably get a lot more business than stores outside the mall because it would be easier to access them, and residents of the mall would recommend certain shops and services to each other by word of mouth.

Now imagine you had a place to live on the Internet and were able to visit different websites without having to give up the comfort of that home. The Facebook Connect feature was unveiled in 2008 to create easy, one-stop access to websites from your Facebook profile. It’s an API that enables people to use their Facebook identity and connections to authenticate themselves on any third-party site, community or blog. In essence, it makes your Facebook profile the “home base” and eliminates the need for new sign-ups on other websites.

In Powered, Inc.’s e-book “Marketing Predictions for 2010,” Aaron Strout, Chief Marketing Officer, predicts that Facebook Connect will play an increasingly important role in the ways brands connect with their customers and other constituents on Facebook in 2010.

It’s already showing an incredible ability to help businesses draw more Traffic, thereby increasing their Return on Influence and ultimately their Return on Investment.

Here are some examples:

Increased Traffic:

The Official Facebook Connect News Page reports that since implementing Facebook Connect, the CBS Insider has gained a significant increase in traffic on theinsider.com, with over 85% of new registered users using Facebook Connect.

Increased Return on Influence

According to Facebook’s latest statistics from Citysearch,”Since implementing Facebook Connect, daily registrations have tripled, and connected users are twice as engaged as users not using Facebook Connect. 94% of users who write reviews share those reviews back on Facebook, where 70% of their friends who see the review click on it, and travel back to Citysearch.com.”
This points to the viral nature of Facebook Connect, the ability of users to bring content, activity and conversations from third-party sites back into their Facebook newsfeed, thereby creating more social engagement.

Increased Return on Investment

Lauren Miller in her article “5 Services Using Facebook Connect Effectively” reports that although the Tap Tap Revenge 3 App on the iPhone may be one of the simplest implementations of Facebook Connect on the iPhone, it’s become one of the biggest selling apps of all time on the app store.  It works great because it gives you rewards when you tell your friends about the game and posts updates on your friends’ newsfeeds about your activity and scores.

All this being said, Facebook Connect has great potential to open up a very profitable niche for you and your clients’ businesses. This is good news for our VAClassroom graduates who are already providing Facebook services for their clients or are planning to add that service in the near future.

As Ken Burbury says in his article “Five Reasons Companies should be Integrating Social Media with Facebook Connect,” “At the end of the day, companies need to fish where the fish are. And right now the fish are spending their time on Facebook.com.”

What are your thoughts on Facebook Connect? We’d love to hear your comments!

Facebook Fan Pages Go To the Movies!

The lights go down, the curtains part, and now it’s time to see the “Coming Attractions” at your favorite movie theater. Until recently, the best place to find the latest movie trailers was at the theater itself or on TV if you happened to be watching during the right commercial break.

Then along came movie websites. These were great because if you missed seeing the movie trailer elsewhere, you could find it on a dedicated web page and watch it at your leisure. For awhile, these static sites were the most common way to promote films online and were popular because of their cool graphics and Flash effects.

Not anymore! There is a new trend with movie companies using Facebook Fan Pages instead of static websites to promote their new movies. One example is the Facebook Fan Page for the romantic comedy When in Rome just released in January. This is a highly interactive Fan Page where fans can view the movie trailer, participate in a Fan Board and Discussion Board, and respond to Wall Posts offering contests and surveys – a far cry from passively watching the movie previews flash by on the theater screen. The static website for When in Rome even provides links to its Social Media sites, encouraging visitors to join the conversation.

The power of this Social Media Marketing trend is not an illusion. In her blog post “Four Reasons You Should Setup a Facebook Fan Page” , Tomeeka Farrington relates how the small-budget movie Paranormal Activity became highly successful as a result of its Facebook Fan Page, where fans were able to purchase tickets, compare their reactions with each other and recommend the movie to their own social networks. According to Farrington, “following 2-weeks of nationwide midnight only sellouts and fan frenzy over the limited release hit thriller, Paranormal Activity earned Paramount $7.1 million in its opening weekend, showing in just 200 theaters.”

Radio stations are also beginning to recognize the powerful exposure they receive through Social Networking.  The Message, a Sirius XM radio station, has created a Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/hearthemessage) where fans can post comments on the Wall, see photos, participate in discussions and be notified of upcoming events hosted by the radio station itself.

This trend towards this type of Social Media promotion has created a fast-growing client base for those with Fan Page skills. In fact, many VAClassroom students who have taken our Facebook Fan Pages Program have seen rapid opportunities open up for their businesses after adding this new service to their businesses. It seems there is no end to the type of clients that will need Facebook Fanpage implementation services in 2010: hotels, local businesses, celebrities, non-profits, big events… the list goes on!

So the next time you want to see the Coming Attractions, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home. Just log on to Facebook and pull up your desk chair… but you’ll have to make your own popcorn.

The Many Voices of Social Media

Social Media is a wonderful thing isn’t it? It is literally turning the way we communicate upside down! Social Media allows ANYONE to have a voice and be heard, which is both liberating and scary.  While Social Media promotes the Freedom of Speech and the opportunity for anyone to share their views and opinions, where do we draw the line on commentary that is hateful and even harmful? Are there clear ethics or even a “moral compass” to Social Media or is that not even possible?

In this post, you are going to get a few random thoughts that have been percolating in my head for sometime, so bear with me…. I have a point to make.

Over the past few days, I am sure you have all watched the events unfold in Iran following the tainted election results.  We have seen a Twitter Revolution emerge as many Iranians tweet their concerns and disgust over the political corruption in their country. One university student in Tehran actually had his website shut down and was attacked, but was able to still let his voice be heard through Twitter.

Social Network sites like Twitter and Facebook are giving a global voice to people who would typically not even have a voice in their own country – truly amazing!

Social Networks have given a voice to great organizations like the Salvation Army to bring awareness and increase their donation base during a down economy.

A Facebook group helped to raise awareness and build support for an  American Father (David Goldman) seeking to regain custody of his son who was taken to Brazil.

Social Media has provided amazing opportunities for people to have a voice and share their plight and situation.

Now, if I was to stop there, we would all say… WOW, Social Media is having such a powerful and positive impact on our world (which it is), but let’s look at the other voices emerging as well.

A couple weeks back, an interesting post emerged on Tech Crunch titled, “Holocaust Museum Death Won’t Change Facebook’s Mind on Hate, But Advertisers May be Able To.“  A great dialogue ensued on the ethics of allowing Anti-semetic Hate groups to set-up Facebook groups to collectively voice their harmful views. There are Facebook groups promoting the idea that the Jewish Holocaust which saw 6 millions Jews murdered was just a myth.

These groups are given the opportunity to share their hateful and discriminative opinions on Facebook and other Social Networks. Is that right? Should we give a voice to those that promote hate against certain races? Are we able to draw a moral line in the sand where certain voices are accepted and others are not? Is that possible?

Take for instance this story…. A few months ago, a Facebook  group emerged called “National Kick a Ginger Day“, in which they encouraged their members to “get them steel toe boots ready” and kick a red-head at school. Well, even though the founder of the group said it was just a big joke, many acts of violence occured that day as a result of this nasty Facebook campaign.

So, I ask the question again….Where do we draw the line on WHO should have a voice in Social Media?

Some say that censorship on Social Networks will only hinder freedom of speech and ruin the original intent of Social Media. That is one perspective.

Here is my thought…. While I love the freedoms of Social Media and the voice it gives to the average person, I believe that a moral line DOES need to be drawn in the sand. I believe that Facebook should monitor, screen and ban groups that promote hate or harm to another human being. You might say that everyone is entitled to their opinion, even those with hateful sentiments towards another race. I would say that in our history, we have seen these types of groups act out their hateful views through violent means (Such as the recent shooting at the Holocaust museum in Washington), so why give a voice to group with a capacity for harm?

I believe that sites like Facebook and Twitter need to have a screening criteria in place that flags those posts or groups that are promoting hatred or harm to others. Isn’t that the right thing to do?

These thoughts have been floating around in my head for a while and I just needed to get them out! Again, I truly believe Social Media is a great thing, but I still think there are some guidelines or measures that need to be put in place to prevent these kind of  groups and commentary from easily finding a voice in the Social Networks.

Okay, I am finished….. I need to hear others perspectives on this? What do you think? Where do you stand on this?

Five Ways To Put The Wind Back Into Your Blogging Sails

Have you ever found yourself in a blogging rut, completely void of creativity, inspiration, and a passion to write? I would have to say that I recently was in a “Blogging Black Hole” with no real motivation to write anything.  It was a real chore to come up with any worthwhile ideas and it just seemed harder and harder to squeeze out the time to blog.

You know how baseball players get into batting slumps where they literally couldn’t hit the ball if their life depended on it…..Well, I have to confess…. I was in a blogging slump!

As I tried to assess the many reasons why I lost that “love n feeling” for blogging, I started to recognize some of the ways that I could put the wind back into my “blogging” sails.  As I have started to implement these different strategies, I have experienced a renewed energy and passion for blogging.

Here are five ways for reigniting a passion for blogging (This is what worked for me anyways….)

1. Take  a Blogging Sabbatical (Vacation) – If you find yourself in a blogging rut, then I recommend taking a short and temporary break from blogging. Some bloggers would disagree and say that you should not stop writing and just blog your way out of a rut.  I personally think this is not the best choice especially if you are writing uninspired, “blah” blog posts that are only hurting your blog readership. I believe that a short break (maybe 1-2 weeks) is a good time to “recharge your batteries” and reflect on why you began blogging for your business in the first place? This time will help you to re-define the overall purpose your blog has in your business objectives. Essentially, it is important to get “back to the roots”  and figure out what this blog means to you and your business!

2. Read Other Blogs – During your “blogging vacation”, I would recommend replacing the usual time you take to write your posts and just read more industry-related or relevant blog posts. Read blogs that inspire you and cause you to think critically about your work and life.  As you read these blogs, make a list of the types of topics they are blogging about and try to determine those areas that seem to peak your interest. Also, read bloggers that are clearly passionate about what they are writing as they just might “rub off on you”. They did for me!

3. Talk to Other Bloggers – In addition to just reading the posts, it is helpful to also talk to other bloggers about why they do what they do, what inspires them and how they continually inject new, creative ideas into their posts. These conversations might give you some helpful hints for breaking out of your own blogging slump.

Also, I love to listen to other bloggers’ success stories – that fires me up as well. Just last week, one Virtual Assistant who has done some work for us in the past shared how she had landed this great new client via one of her blog posts. She had actually been listening to our “Product Launch Success Strategies” event at VAClassroom and decided to write a blog commentary on it. Well, her blog post was indexed by Google and this new client found her post and VA business by searching for “Online Product Launches”. This one blog commentary ultimately resulted in a great new client – isn’t that cool?

It is that kind of inspiration that I am refering to here…. blogger testimonies that help you to remember why you started blogging in the first place!

4.  Change Up Your Blogging Schedule – I am not sure what kind of regular blogging schedule you keep, but I would recommend switching your current schedule and try something new and fresh. If you regularly write blog posts at three or four different times during the week,  then maybe switch it up to pick a set time per week where you write all three or four posts in one sitting…. Or vise versa. Try a different approach that will help to revitalize your blogging efforts!

5. Focus on your passion! When you are going through these “lulls”, it is important to write posts that matter to you or areas that you are passionate about. These are NOT the times to be writing posts that you think your audience wants to hear. Write posts on topics that really “charge your batteries”! If you are super passionate about Social Networking, then gear your current posts to that topic. If you love shopping cart technology, then write some posts on tips for setting up shopping carts for clients. The key here is to identify those topics that you are truly passionate about it and just blog! This just might get you out of the slump:)

So, there you have it…. Five ways that have helped me to really climb out of my blogging rut. One last thing…. I truly believe that blogging is one of the most powerful tools for connecting with your target client audience. It can truly have an awesome impact on your business. So, the key is to not give up, but implement some of these strategies and others that will help you re-gain your focus, purpose and love  for blogging.

Now, I would love to hear any ideas you have for staying inspired and passionate about blogging – Please share!

Beyond Facebook and Twitter – Harnessing Niche Social Networks

You’ve established your client’s presence on the major general Social Networks, and have successfully utilized the tools and features that have helped grow their business and brand authority.  Well done!  Effective marketing with the big networks such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn is a “must” for today’s business, and maintaining regular activity and reputation monitoring are part of your ongoing tasks as a Social Media Marketing Specialist.

But is that all there is?  Why not venture out and take a look around to see what else is going on?

Far from being the only networking options, (and at the risk of suffering what’s being coined “Facebook Fatigue”), it’s worth considering joining one or two niche Social Networks in your client’s industry, for yet more additional exposure, brand recognition, and as a valuable market research strategy outside the realms of the giant networks.

Remember, 75% of Internet Users were involved in Social Networking in 2008, and they weren’t all on Facebook or Twitter!  It’s predicted 2009 will continue to see the rise of niche Social Networks, as people want to be a part of an online community where they can contribute and gain something back in a meaningful way.

New niche Social Networks are cropping up everywhere and online community forums are the new way people of like-mind gather and share ideas, information, link exchanges, and forge new joint venture collaborations.  Whatever your client’s industry, be it health supplements or a fitness product, insurance, natural products, or a non-profit organization, you can bet there’s a niche Social Network where not only potential clients are hanging out, but other businesses competitors are tapping into!

As part of the overall Social Media Marketing action plan and strategy, researching and joining a select few niche Social Networks can only be beneficial in many ways, with your client’s active engagement, adding relevant value and gaining information on the current trends in their industry.

How do you find targeted, niche networks for your client to join?  Chances are you’ll easily stumble upon them while surfing Web 2.0 with other activities anyway.  But for a targeted search with your relevant industry key words, you can utilize such research tools as:

• findasocialnetwork.com (doesn’t get any easier than that)

• Zuula (Blog Search Engine)

• BlogPulse

• Google Blog Search

• PRWeb (for recent Press Releases)

• Ning (allowing you to create your own social network or join an existing one.)

There are many options for bringing your client to where their audience is online.  Branch out!

Don’t Just Shorten Your URL: Understand Your Social Media Traffic Too!

Creating a shorter URL link, made increasingly popular by the micro-blogging giant Twitter, has now evolved into the next generation.   You knew it was only a matter of time, right?

The new kid on the block is Cligs, which is growing at a rapid rate, providing not just shorter URLS, but the additional features of providing you the stats of your submitted links, with analytics, social media monitoring and geotargeting capability.

The driver behind Cligs is to help you understand your traffic.  By tracking the traffic going thru your links, your online activity and the buzz it creates, whether for business or otherwise, is made transparent to you.

Why use Cligs?  Besides being FREE and user-friendly, it provides:

-    An informative Blog, regularly updated with news features and tips;

-    Real-time analytics, who’s sharing your link and who’s linking to you;

-    Geo-targeted destination URLs, to target your marketing and promotions on a per-country basis;

-    Referral statistics, to show which links sent you traffic;

-    Tools, gadgets and widgets, such as WordPress plugins;

-    Various Twitter applications, such as a short a URL partnership with “Twitblogs”, the blogging service with Twitter which automatically gets tweeted with a link to the full post;

-    Ability to create an unlimited number of cligs, pointing to the same destination from different sites for traffic tracking purposes;

-    100% search engine friendly.

Has anyone tested out Cligs yet? I would love to hear your feedback!

Social Media and Copywriting: A Potent Combination for your Business

Copywriting and Social Media are two of the “hottest” areas in marketing for very good reason. It seems that you really can’t have one without the other. You may have great Social Media savvy, but your limited copywriting skills are preventing you from producing winning content. Or, you might be an engaging copywriter, but are still trying to get your head around the whole Social Media Marketing thing. One thing is for sure… When put together, Social Media and Copywriting are a potent combination for your business!

Check out this blog excerpt from Yelena McManaman, a VA (Virtual Assistant) who was participated in our live Copywriting Kingdom webinar last week:

“During the webinar Allison talked about turning an article into a few blog posts, several tweet tips, a newsletter feature, possibly some autoresponders and, for the most daring – into an info product. What’s more, according to her, most entrepreneurs already have at least one info product done, they just don’t realize it. It exists as a bunch of unconnected content – e-mail responses, contributions to forum discussions, blog posts, articles, even FAQ pages. All one has to do is to bring it together by copying, pasting and editing.

So I sent a quick e-mail…to a fellow VA. And then it just occurred to me that, darn, this is just what Allison and Craig were talking about – content from one channel fit to be used in another channel. So I quickly turned my e-mail into a blog post. And, of course followed that up with a couple of tweets.”

WOW, Copywriting and Social Media are SO connected!

My colleague and partner in CopywritingKingdom.com, Allison Nazarian and myself see the vital relationship between great copy and Social Media Marketing savvy. In the upcoming live training program we are starting on March 17th, 2009, we have designed a step-by-step blueprint to help VAs and business owners like yourself create and implement a Content Development Machine that will automate and generate the kind of response, traffic and client leads you need to grow your business in 2009 – and beyond.

We still have a few seat left in this program – check it out all the details at CopywritingKingdom.com.