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.?

VAClassroom Summer Skill Camp 2010 - The Results Are In!

I want to share a few exciting details on our upcoming VAClassroom Summer Skill Camp this year! At VAClassroom, it has always been our commitment to create training programs within a Web 2.0 framework and I believe we have certainly done that with our new skill camp.

As some of you may know, we sent out a survey to our community regarding our upcoming Summer Skill Camp that included 32 skill-based topics that we had compiled through member feedback, VAClassroom faculty, and close business colleagues who do a LOT of outsourcing. We felt this was a very comprehensive list to build our survey from!

Well, our community has spoken and the results are in!

We received a ton of survey results and are now excited to unveil a "star-studded" selection of skill-based webinars for this year's event ranging from Facebook Pages and WordPress Design to Newsletter Creation and Social Network Management. We are very pleased that such a well-rounded and diverse base of topics have been selected for this year's camp. Based on this content,  I am quite confident this event will play a key role in boosting client and income opportunities heading into the last part of 2010!

Check out the survey results and we would love to get your feedback and comments on the ten skill-based topics that have been selected for this year's event!

Here are the ten topics:

1.   Quick Guide to Creating an "In-Demand" Facebook Page Service for Your Clients.

2.   Building a Successful Online Newsletter/Ezine.

3.   WordPress Design - Strategies for Designing a Winning WordPress Blog.

4.   WordPress Plug-In Central -  Making Sense of WP Plug-in to Ignite Traffic and Results.

5.   Answering the Big ROI Question - Success Strategies for Measuring Your Client's Results.

6.  Leveraging the Power of Free Information Products to Win New Clients.

7.  Crafting a Winning Social Media Presentation for your Clients and Community.

8.  Social Network Management Bliss - Discover Simple and Proven Strategies for Organizing your Social Networking Activities.

9.  Discover an Easy Formula for Writing Articles and Press Releases that Produces Results.

10. Develop a Winning Squeeze Page or Landing Page that Converts.

We would love to get your feedback on this line-up of topics! We have included a blog post link below - please share your comments and thoughts!

Mastering the Art of Email List Building.

In keeping with this week’s theme of “Continual Learning,” we wanted to touch on Email List Building, an important Internet Marketing skill that requires Virtual Assistants and Online Professionals to keep up to date and informed of the latest trends and skills.

Despite the fact that other marketing channels like Social Marketing and Video Marketing have gained prominence, Email Marketing is here to stay for the foreseeable future and will continue to thrive because it is still the top converting marketing activity and is very easy to deliver and test.

However, it’s important to take note of how this type of marketing has changed and evolved in 2010 so that you can form an appropriate strategy. It’s now a very different animal from the traditional brand of Email Marketing that was used in the past. Most importantly, the new Email Marketing 2.0 is about adding value and building relationships, loyalty and trust with a niche group of subscribers rather than direct selling and building a huge generalized list of subscribers.

In the blog post “Email Marketing 2.0 Explained,” Tyler Garns from Infusionsoft compares traditional Email Marketing 1.0 with the new Email Marketing 2.0 and says that Email Marketing 1.0 is like a bad sales rep:

“A bad sales rep will typically memorize the spiel and “data dump” on the prospect regardless of what the prospect says, regardless of the person’s body language and regardless of any buying signals. They are robotic and sell much less because of their rigidness and inability to adapt the message for different people.”

On the other hand, he says the new Email Marketing 2.0 is like a good sales rep:

“A good sales rep, on the other hand, will listen (a lot) and adapt the message to the prospect’s needs. Good sales reps sell significantly more because they are always able to share something relevant to the prospect. They listen, adapt, and share the right message for every individual prospect every time.”

So, given those differences, how do you master the art of Email List Building so that you can create a targeted list and start to build relationships and trust? Here are some simple tips to get you started:

•    Brainstorm the type of audience you want on your list.

•    Develop a free offer that would entice that audience to subscribe and make sure your landing page is optimized with the right keywords that are relevant to the offer.

•    Develop valuable follow-up content that would benefit the audience and help build relationships with them (i.e. emails with lists, tips or strategies they can use in their business).

•    Figure out where to promote or display your free offer and opt-in box (i.e. post in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blog posts, Squidoo Lenses, Hubpages, targeted forums and industry websites).

•    Promote a free web event using event tools in LinkedIn, Facebook or other Social Networks.

•   Publish relevant articles with a call to action and a link to your free offer in the author resource box.

•    Identify the right email program for your campaign, one that will allow you to adapt autoresponders to suit your subscribers’ needs and responses.

We cover this topic in more detail in our Internet Marketing Specialist 2010 training program because it is such an important skill for Virtual Assistants to know. Remember that the important thing is to speak to the needs of your target audience and share high-quality content so that they benefit from your email communications and become part of a valued community of subscribers.

Developing that trust and relationship will help you build a niche audience that will stay tuned in to your communications and remain loyal customers as time goes by – a mutually beneficial relationship for you both!! In the new Email Marketing 2.0 world, you can even say that Email List Building becomes social too!!

Is Your Website or Blog Perfectly Optimized?

Do you ever watch those home renovation shows on TV, the ones where someone is having trouble selling their home and needs some help? Often there’s nothing wrong with the house itself, just an important design element missing. A team of experts is called in and, voila, the house gets noticed and sells! The home owners are amazed and anxious to learn the skills those experts used to make such a difference.

In your work, do you wish you could optimize your website or blog so that it attracts more attention? Are your clients anxious to optimize theirs too? The initial SEO work begins in the HTML, and consequently clients are now, more than ever, requiring their Virtual Assistants to have some level of HTML knowledge and skills. For some, that’s exciting… for others, worrisome. ;-)

SEOmoz has put together an excellent blog post that summarizes best practices for “Perfecting Keyword Targeting & On-Page Optimization.” They provide a diagram of the “perfectly” optimized page and list all the elements that contribute to its ranking. Many of these elements are quite technical and require a good knowledge of HTML.

Below is a list of the important elements to optimize in on your webpage:

•    Keyword Targeted URL
•    Page Title
•    Meta Description
•    H1 Headline
•   Image File Name
•    Webpage Body Content
•    Internal links

Now, if you’re starting to break into a cold sweat at the thought of tackling such technical aspects, you’re not alone. HTML is a very important task and one that requires specialized training in order to do it well. For that reason, we recently offered a special 3-hour HTML Training for Internet Marketing Success Clinic. The Clinic was taught by our very own VAClassroom Faculty Member, Christina Greenway, who helped demystify HTML and unpacked the important skills you need for your business and your clients.

So there’s no need to call in a team of experts to optimize your website or blog! With some HTML training, you can make Google stand up and take notice, and that’s as good as a “Sold “ sign on the front lawn!

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.

Choosing the Right Venue for Your Virtual Events.

Often times we’ve discussed the growing importance of Virtual Events and the undeniable fact that they’re quickly replacing offline meetings as a more economical and environmentally friendly option. But how do you choose the right Virtual Venue for your big event?

Just as you would investigate conference rooms, hotels or restaurants before booking an offline meeting, it’s important to investigate different types of Virtual Venues so that you can choose the one that’s most appropriate for the type of event you’re hosting.

One of our VAClassroom graduates, Carlana Charles, recently published a blog post entitled “Virtual Events – Why They are Hit” and featured a video that explains the different options that are available:

Let’s look more closely at the four options discussed here and see which types of events are best suited to them:

•    Webinars –Since these are typically one-way, from the speaker to the audience with little audience interaction, they work best for online teaching sessions or workshops. We’ve used Yugma or GoToWebinar in the past, which also offer the option of connecting participants via a phone line, VoIP or an online chat box.

•    Internet Live TV – This venue works great for presenting dynamic talk shows, presentations or interviews, the types of shows you would normally broadcast on television. In this case, Ustream or Livestream is used, and the presenter has a webcam on themselves and a camera on other presenters.

•   Internet Live Radio – This is a good option for events that require or invite audience participation, as people can call in live and interact with the presenter via a tool like Blog Talk Radio. Another advantage is that they are syndicated and can be listened to and subscribed to long after the event has taken place.

•    Teleseminars – Since these involve mainly audio, they work best for conference calls or group coaching sessions. Usually there is a certain period of time devoted to a presentation, followed by a question and answer session. Often online handouts will be given out for participants to refer to during the presentation. In this case, tools like GoToMeeting or Skype can be used to facilitate the event.

So there you have it – four popular Virtual Event venues to choose from! There are many factors to consider, but as the tools become more streamlined, the choices are becoming easier to make, and the emergence of Virtual Event Specialists has provided business owners with a valuable resource to draw on when planning their big events.

What Virtual Venues have worked for you or your clients in the past? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

Likeology 101 – Using Facebook’s LIKE to Grow Your Business!

If you’re a regular Facebook user, you’ve probably noticed that Facebook recently changed their “Fan a Page” to “Like a Page.”  For avid sports fans, this may have come as a bit of a disappointment, as their passionate loyalty was suddenly downgraded to a mere preference. For business owners, however, this subtle change provides huge implications for growing a bigger fan base as well as enabling deeper connection and collaboration for their Facebook audience even outside the social network.

But how? It appears that both linguistics and new functionality within the site contribute to this phenomenon.

Linguistic Differences:

•    “Become a Fan” – First of all, think for a moment about the connotations of “Fan a Page” vs. “Like a Page.” The word “fan” implies, as mentioned above, a fierce loyalty, a passion and dedication to something, a strong emotion. People think twice before they hit the “Become a Fan” button because doing so gives them a certain identity and commitment.

•   “Like” – On the other hand, it’s easy to “like” something. The word “like” connotes a slight emotional response, a preference, a fondness, or even just the immediate sensation of finding something enjoyable, agreeable or satisfactory. People are less likely to do a lot of soul-searching before hitting the “like” button.

New Facebook Functionality:

In a recent blog post by Krishna De, she tells how Facebook gave prior warning of the change to ad agencies and stated that users have been clicking the current “Like” feature almost twice as often as the “Become a Fan” button. In their memo, Facebook went on to propose that in offering this simpler, more consistent way of connecting with things, “the goal is to get the most user connections so that you can have ongoing conversations in the news feeds of as many users as possible.”

Furthermore, Facebook has now introduced functionality that allows you to link your profile to Pages. In their blog post “Connecting to Everything You Care About,” Facebook explains that while some people voluntarily wrote information on their profile about their likes, interests and activities, more than three times as many connected to Facebook Pages as a way of expressing themselves. Consequently, they decided to improve Facebook profiles to make it easier for people to display their affiliations:

"Now, certain parts of your profile, including your current city, hometown, education and work, and likes and interests, will contain 'connections.' Instead of just boring text, these connections are actually Pages, so your profile will become immediately more connected to the places, things and experiences that matter to you."

Here are the main ways users can connect Pages to their profile:

•    Opt in to new connections – A box may appear when they log in, recommending certain Pages based on the interests and affiliations they previously added to their profile. They can then choose to connect to any of these Pages and link them to their profile.

•    Add connections – If they click “Like” on a Page, that connection will be automatically added to the related area of their profile’s Info section.

So if you think about it, these innovations could have a huge impact on the visibility and growth of your business and personal brand. As people start to “like” your Page, it will be added to their profile, and the activity will be seen on their friends’ news feeds, spreading awareness and prompting further engagement.

So now’s the time to embrace the power of “Liking.” And don’t worry, Sports Fans. Your teams will still know you care.

A Podcasting Lesson from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Remember the scene in the movie Star Wars IV: A New Hope where Obi-Wan Kenobi views a holographic recording that was downloaded into a droid named R2-D2?

Princess Leia had used the droid’s recording and downloading software to hide plans for the Galactic Empire’s Death Star (a space station capable of destroying an entire planet) and to create a message begging Obi-Wan to help her by taking the plans to her father so he could analyze them.

This scene seems like the stuff of science fiction, but is it really that far off from what we’re capable of today? With the advent of smartphones and iPods, we too can download and transmit important information at the touch of a button.

Although as a Virtual Assistant you may not be on a mission to save a whole planet from annihilation at the hands of Darth Vader, you might still be looking for new channels to communicate important information to the world about your clients’ businesses. One effective option is podcasting.

Check out this great video, “Podcasting in Plain English,” explaining the convenience and power of this new communication tool:

The implications for marketing are powerful and undeniable. For a low cost, businesses can build their brand and gain more visibility with podcasting than they had before using traditional media and email marketing. With more and more people buying iPhones and iPods, there is great potential to reach a large target audience of customers downloading and subscribing to their favorite podcasts.

To help you gain skills in this area and leverage podcasting as a successful marketing tool, we are offering a brand new mini-course – Podcast Marketing Success Strategies, taught by Andrea Kalli, one of our talented VAClassroom Faculty Members, who specializes in podcasting and video marketing. Grads of this innovative program will be equipped with the most up-to-date skills and tools needed to effectively set up, produce and promote podcasts for businesses.

Move over, George Lucas. You don’t need R2-D2 to get your messages across in this exciting new world of Mobile Media… The right skills and tools are right at your fingertips!

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?

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!

15 Internet Marketing Predictions for 2010 of a Different Kind.

At this time of year, I find myself reading more blog posts than anytime of the year. I must confess, I am a bit of a "Predictions" junkie and love to read the experts posts as they weigh in on the forecasts and potential trends for the New Year. I recently put on a Internet Marketing predictions event for our members at VAClassroom, but with a bit of a different spin. I unpacked the top predictions for this year, but from a "Virtual Assistant's or Service Provider's view point. There is one thing to passively watch the trends and another thing to proactively anticipate how you can tap into new and profitable niches over the next year.

The below presentation reviews 15 predictions and 15 potential opportunities for your Virtual Assistance business. Enjoy!

NearbyTweets.com - Connecting with the Right Local Audience

Check out this scenario....

Sally owns a Wedding shop in Everett, Washington. In the current economy, she had been forced to reduce her marketing budget and needs to think more creatively about how to build her customer base...

Her brother is a Internet Geek and tells her that the best low cost/no cost marketing channel on the planet resides in Social Media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. After much research, she decides to set-up a Twitter account even though she thinks the tool is trivial and ridiculous. She struggles with making any sense of Twitter for her local business for about a month.

Then, her Internet Geek brother tells her about this Twitter tool called, NearbyTweets.com. This tools is supposed to link you up with local twitterers and you can actually follow particular keywords in their tweets.

So, for the next week, she tracks words related to Weddings such as "Bride", "Wedding Dress", "Engaged" etc...

Much to her surprise, she starts to connect with people in her area that are planning their upcoming wedding and some that are still trying to find the right dress. BINGO!

Sally starts to connect with these individuals on Twitter and to make a long story short, two of the "brides to be" visit her shop and purchase dresses and accessories totalling $2600 US.

So, what was her advertising cost for this $2600 US - NOTHING!!. Just some time connecting with a highly targeted, local audience thanks to her geeky brother and NearbyTweets.com.

So, this gives you a practical snapshot of the potential for your local clients to strategically use twitter to creatively connect with their target audience - cool stuff!

I would highly recommend incorporating NearbyTweets.com into your regular Twitter regime!

ANNOUNCING...THE GREAT FACEBOOK FAN PAGE MAKEOVER CONTEST!

As you may already know, the official launch of our “Fantastic Facebook Fan Pages” course is officially underway. There has been an overwhelming response to this program, and we’re excited about the next two weeks of learning that are about to begin. As an opportunity to apply some of the skills learned in the course, we will be running a contest – “The Great Facebook Fan Page Makeover Contest,” open to all “fans” of our VAClassroom Facebook Fan Page.

If you would like some practice applying the content learned in VAClassroom’s live Fan Page Course PLUS an opportunity to win a full makeover of your own Fan Page, here’s your chance! All you need to do is submit either a video or audio clip explaining “why a Fantastic Facebook Fan Page would impact your business.” The winner will receive a full makeover of his or her Fan Page, including custom landing page, page formatting, applications and some tips on how to better engage his or her audience. The winner will also receive either a free one-year VAClassroom membership or a one-year credit towards his or her current membership.

Deadline for submission is November 7^th, 2009.

Please post your entry on our VAClassroom Facebook Fan Page wall.
(You must first add yourself as a fan.)

http://www.facebook.com/VAClassroom

For more information, check out our Contest Kickoff video:

Best of luck in the contest!

View our current submissions Fan Page Video Submissions

5 Reasons Virtual Events Services are the Ideal Niche for Virtual Assistants in 2009!

My oldest daughter is a PLANNER through and through. When we go on family trips or out to run errands, she likes to know the exact plan of what are are going to do, how many stops we're going to make, who we are going see - she wants all the details! I often tell her that she will make a fabulous Event Planner when she gets older!

As I look at the massive growth in Virtual Events and declining participation in offline events and conferences (in part due to the current economic situation), I think I will be directing her to pursue a career as a "Virtual Event Planner or Specialist" instead!

The Virtual Events field is one of those industries that has grown in leaps and bounds despite the economic slowdown we are experiencing! Here are five reasons why Virtual Events are becoming so popular (and why now is the best time for Virtual Assistants to tap into this profitable niche):

1. Virtual Events are VERY Cost Effective.

A few years ago, there was a time where webinar solutions were super expensive and really only designed for big business. Well, times have changed. Take GoToWebinar for example... you can run an unlimited number of web events and have up to 1000 participants for just $99/month. For this reason alone, businesses are naturally shifting to virtual events over the more expensive route of offline events and conferences.

2. Virtual Events Reach a Global Audience.

It is evident that only so many people can fly in to attend an offline conference, but with virtual events, there is a much greater capacity to reach a larger, worldwide audience! This can lead to increased exposure and potentially a greater return on investment for the virtual events.

3. Virtual Events Increase Exposure.

The cool thing about Virtual Events is that they enable you to increase exposure for you and/or your client's business on a consistent basis. Virtual Events are recorded and can be re-listened to by a whole new audience who is accessing your event at a later date. I know I am still receiving feedback from webinars I did almost two years ago - gotta like the long-term exposure of virtual events!

4. Virtual Events Save Time and Maximize Productivity.

By avoiding the travel time required for offline conferences, virtual events can significantly reduce the time commitment involved and allow you to keep on top of your priority tasks. Think of Event Organizers... Can you imagine the time they would save by running events virtually? I am not suggesting there is not a good place for offline events as I certainly like attending some when I can, but the reality is that more businesses are gravitating towards using virtual events as a means to better connect with a larger target audience on a more consistent basis.

5. Virtual Events Can Be Highly Interactive.

Thanks to Social Media and interactive web technology, event participants can socialize and interact with one another in a cool web environment. You gotta love Twitter Hashtags as a great way to join the conversation during a virtual event (as well as an offline event). With the interactive nature of virtual event technology (such as UStream, BlogTalkRadio and GoToWebinar), participants still receive the offline benefit of connecting with others and sharing ideas.

It is evident that more businesses would like to set-up virtual events, but either lack the expertise or time to pull it off. This is where a great opportunity exists for those Virtual Assistants and Online Professionals who would like to position themselves as a "Virtual Event Specialist" - the timing couldn't be better!

Check out this free upcoming event we have going on at VAClassroom with myself and Virtual Event Specialist, Michelle Schoen titled,

"Building a Profitable Niche as a Virtual Event Specialist (Even in a Down Economy)."

Also, please share your comments on this new virtual event niche? What have you heard from your clients? Do you see this as a great opportunity for Virtual Professionals?Also, what types of virtual events do you most enjoy? I would love to get feedback on this!

Twestival - Go Offline for a Great Cause

I must admit that the proliferation of movements and crowd sourcing through Social Media never ceases to amaze me! A "Tribe" as Seth Godin calls it can be formed quickly with Social Network tools like Twitter! Take for example, Twestival. I am not sure if you have heard of this innovative new movement in which Twitter users are going "offline" to participate in local events to support great causes.

Let me give you a bit of history (well less than 12 months to be exact).....

Twestival originally got it's start in London, UK in September of 2008, when a group of London Twitter users hosted an event called Harvest Twestival. The purpose of the event was to connect local twitter users for a good cause and some fun and networking. They collected donations and canned food for a local non-profit organization that addresses the needs of the homeless in London. The event was put together (via Twitter) in less than 2 weeks. They initially expected about 30-40 people to attend, but ended up with over 250 and a waiting list!

After the great success of this event, the group planned the first Twestival Global, which was tweeted about in early January 2009. In just under a month, there were 202 cities around the world committed to hosting a local event to benefit an organization called "CharityWater". Check out the stats for this first global event:

• 1000 volunteers (recruited via Twitter)
• 10,000 participants globally in 202 cities
• $250,000 raised in one day with 100% of proceeds going to support the creation of 55 wells in Uganda, Ethiopia and India..

Isn't that cool?

So Twestival has become a hit and the next global event is taking place sometime between September 10-13th! Just go to the Twestival main site to see if a local event is happening in your city.

As an aside, not only is this a great opportunity to raise money for humantarian efforts, but also an opportunity to connect with others on Twitter and possibly some new clients in need of your services!

So, what do you think about this new phenomenon? Will you be attending? Please share your comments!

Should Virtual Assistants (Who are WAHMS) Market Themselves as WAHMS?

Last night I was watching a very thought provoking (and potentially controversial) video from the WAHM blog site, YummyMummy! Scott Stratten from un-marketing.com offered a interesting tip and challenge for Work at Home Moms.

He shared that WAHMS should NOT market themselves to their clients as a WAHM, but rather as a skilled and savvy business owner! He felt that promoting your WAHM status on your site would not serve any real purpose in building your business, unless of course your target audience is WAHMS! From a Virtual Assistant perspective, he felt it might not look favorable to a new client to think of kids hanging off of you while you complete his/her pertinent project!!

From my perspective, while I don't think you need to hide the fact that you are a WAHM with your clients, I don't believe it needs to be emphasized on your site or blog. Now your role as a WAHM might come more into play in your interactions with your peers and those moms who aspire to work from home in Twitter and other Social Networks.

Again, this is coming from a WAHD's perspective who understands the freedom and flexbiility of working from home. I can also talk more about it at VAClassroom since a good percentage of my target audience is in fact WAHMs!

The many Virtual Assistants and Online Professionals I know definitely market their skills and experience first and not necessarily their role as a WAHM (or WAHD for that matter).

So, take a watch of this video at the YummyMommy site - I would love to get your thoughts and feedback on this interesting topic!

The Fast Growing Business of Blogging!

Just the other day, I was reading some stats on the WordPress site and was blown away by the massive growth of  WordPress Blogs over the last 24 months!

Here are some 2008 stats shared by the WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg:

• Page Views grew from 1.5 million to 6.5 million per month
• 2 million new blogs created for the year
• 35 million new blog posts in 2008

In January 2009 alone there were 372,519 WP blogs created!

It is clear that not only is blogging growing at a rapid rate, but it is also evolving in some new and exciting ways.  This excerpt from WordPress.com puts it best:

Blogging is growing both in the US and especially internationally. Tens of thousands of new WordPress blogs are created every day – by regular bloggers, companies, large media publishers, and many others. In addition, we seeing a trend that’s potentially even bigger than blogging: Publishers are starting to use WordPress as a platform to create all kinds of sites beyond blogs – large and small company sites, online magazines, social networks, travel sites, scrapbooking sites, contact managers, startups, multimedia archives, video sites, sports sites.

Isn't this cool? Ten of thousands of blogs being created DAILY! Businesses are using blogging technology to create company websites, social networks, video sites, membership sites and so much more.

The sad reality is that a good portion of these blog sites won't last more than a year as they are lacking some key success strategies and tools for optimizing and marketing their blogs.

This is ONE of the key reasons we have created our newest mini-course called, Blog Marketing Tips, Tools & Tactics.  We want to provide blogsite owners as well as Virtual Assistants (who operate and manage blog sites) with some advanced marketing and optimization strategies for increasing blog traffic and visibility.

There are excellent opportunities right now for Virtual Assistants and Online Professionals to offer "in-demand" blog marketing services to this fast growing base of blogsite owners.

Our newest blog marketing training program starts on August 10th. Check it out!

Outsourcing Social Media - Unethical or Business Savvy?

There has been a hot debate brewing in the blogosphere on the ethics of outsourcing Social Networking activities to a Virtual Professional. Many graduates from our Social Media Marketing Specialist Program have recently found some of their clients requesting that they "Tweet" on their behalf on Twitter, or regularly update their Status Updates on Facebook. In other words, these clients are looking for a "stunt-double" who will be "them" in the most popular Social Network sites.

Businesses are "Gung-Ho" about Social Media right now and some are hoping to yield serious business-building results by outsourcing all their Social Media Marketing activities (including the whole "relationship" piece) to a consultant or VA.  Unfortunately, some of these businesses have jumped into a hot new marketing channel without fully understanding the heart of Web 2.0 and the obvious "relational" nature that drives Social Media.

My friend and collegue, Leesa Barnes really got the ball rolling in this debate with her very thoughtful post,

Why You Should Never Outsource Your Social Media Tasks and What You Should Delegate Instead

In being a BIG proponent (myself) of  Outsourcing "certain" Social Media Tasks  to a specialist, I quickly wrote a lengthy comment on some of the Social Media tasks that could be potentially delegated  in order to expand the reach and business potential using Social Media.

Leesa and I connected after this post and agreed that there was so much interest on this topic, that we have joined forces to put on a 75 minute tele-event on Thursday, May 28th to offer a "fresh" perspective. I think Leesa  and I make a great team for this call as she is a Social Media Trainer and consultant for businesses wanting to tap into this powerful new channel and I represent the service providers (VAs and Specialists) who are seeking to offer "in-demand" Social Media Marketing services for their clients. So, I think we have both angles covered:)

I believe this going to be one of the most captivating events I have been apart of in quite sometime. Here are the event details:

Title: Five Social Media Tasks to Outsource (And Still Be Authentic)

Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009

Time: 5pm EST (2pm PST)

Sign-up here for this important event .