My name is Natalie and I'm addicted to Social Media for all the right reasons.
Not only is it one of the best ways for me to keep in touch with my international friends and family in real time, it's also responsible, in large part, for me even having a business.
I use social media as my marketing, sales and customer service department and I'm one of the biggest advocates of using the top 5 social media tools for business - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and WordPress.
I run workshops in how to use it strategically to see great results in your business. I help people to understand all the ways in which they can streamline their online efforts to generate more leads, credibility, trust and sales.
In addition having this blog has offered me a veritable wealth of opportunities to blog for other great sites, pick up a ton of media, drive more traffic, attend conferences for free, receive products for free, meet incredible people and find strategic alliances to name a few.
I created my Online Social Media Bootcamp and I offer Social Media Personal Training for individuals and businesses. So you're only going to hear me wax lyrical about social media, my love for it and showing people all the beautiful reasons it will benefit their business.
What Not To Do On Social Media
That said it frustrates the heck out of me when people expect instant results, overnight success and are more focused on quantity then quality. Since when was it so important to get 1,000 followers versus 100 true fans?
And what's the deal with forgetting your manners and etiquette online. The language people use, what they disclose blatantly in status updates, the photos that get posted and tagged and the comments and opinions that permeate the social sphere blow my mind.
Want an example of what I'm talking about, look at a Twitter trend for the week like #imjustsayin and you'll know what I mean. There's a special breed of person out there that still needs to learn what's appropriate and how to communicate on these tools. In fact here are 10 Social Media Etiquette DOs and DONTs to get you started off on the right foot.
In this post I want to expand on the key ways you can use social media to build a thriving online business by being authentic, credible, generous, engaging and socially responsible. We will also take a look at a really great case study of how Guy Kawasaki uses social media for product launches.
The Proof Is In The Social Media Pudding
Let's get this out of the way right now. If your business is not using social media to get found, get leads, create a brand story, field questions, seek out customers, respond to criticism, or create a tribe of raving fans then you are definitely losing out.
In a recent study on Forbes marketers reported social media returns of investment of 100, 200 and even 1000 percent.
The 2011 Social Marketing Benchmark Report from MarketingSherpa found that the overall average social media ROI reported by CMOs who are measuring it is a whopping 95 percent. What's more, nearly one-third (30 percent) of those in the survey reported a ROI of at least 150 percent!
My biggest tip to you and all my clients I work with is don't try to be on every single site. Start off mastering just 1-2 and take it from there once you know what's working for you. Not every site will suit every business. That's why it's important to have real goals that you can measure and track your performance against. Otherwise you'll end up in a black hole of time sucking activities with no return on investment.
One of my favourite case studies is Guy Kawasaki's launch of his book Enchantment on Social Media and his breakdown on what he did, how much it cost and the results - I'd say priceless.
Making Friends and Fans Count On Facebook
Once deemed the perfect platform for poking and tagging your friends, Facebook with its reported 700 million users now accounts for over 1/3 of the population of people online. If it were a country, as I'm sure you've heard, it would be the third largest in the world.
If you don't have a business page set up on it, I'd liken that to dismissing doing business with the USA. Or Brazil- where the largest percentage of users of Facebook actually are. Think about that for a second as you consider where your target market is or could be and what you need to factor in to be seen and heard in the international arena.
In addition, the fact that you can set up a page within 5 minutes (really you can) for free is one heck of a reason why there's not excuses for getting started. But beyond being liked, the value of a Facebook like is worth way beyond a comment or share. In fact a Facebook Like has been valued at $8.
In addition to having access to a network infinitely greater than yours could ever be alone, all those likes and shares mean traffic for your website, blog, landing page, or products for sale directly on your page.
If you want the lowdown on what a Facebook Page is, why it acts as a mini website and how to set it up to attract the right kind of people to your world and use it as an ecommerce platform, then read How to Get Fabulously Fit on Facebook.
Don't discount groups either - both public and private. These are a fantastic way to build an engaged community or a close knit group of customers. Groups can be used to disseminate private information, coach, inform, educate or entertain. You could even set up a customer feedback group - the possibilities are endless. In addition you can message members of a group direct to their inbox which is very handy (but not to be abused).
Using Twitter To Find Your Ideal Tweeples
The connections I have made on Twitter continue to blow me away. New friendships, amazing people and opportunistic business alliances can be found in 140 characters or less. That in itself is very special. Even more exciting is the number of business transactions going down in real-time via @handles.
Media opportunities, jobs, freelance work, new joint ventures, critical introductions, timely meetups, location based Twestivals. It's a whole new world and watering hole. Are you drinking from it?
For the skeptical here's some hard facts. I found all my interns on Twitter @adelinapwong @cheryltan @renaom and my first two hires @lesleychange @redheadjessica
I gained two new coaching clients thanks to @mentions from others and have increased the number of signups to my 2011 webinars by at least 60%. I've sold products on Twitter, launched programs, run contests, got testimonials, answered questions, had questions answered, made money from tweeting sponsored tweets (back in the old days) and found out real time information when I needed it most on my travels or moments of crisis.
Read more on how to get Terrifically Toned On Twitter.
LinkedIn Influence And 6 Degrees of Separation
At last count I had over 1165 connections on LinkedIn. That gives me first level access and relationships to 10,501,112 professional in my wider network!
Not just any people. The average person on LinkedIn is at management level and earning over $100,000 per year. It's a veritable hunting ground for intelligent, smart and talented people to either hire you, work for you or join forces with you.
Alternatively it's a power network there to help promote you, refer you, find the right people for you to talk to, work with, align with or contact to get the answers, introductions and results you need. In return you can do all that for others and guess who they will turn to next time and refer people to? The answer is you!
LinkedIn is the third largest source of traffic to my site right now too thanks to the many groups I'm a member of who share and read my content. I've also asked and answered a number of questions on LinkedIn and there's always valuable information being shared when you need it on all things business.
To learn more on how to spruce up your profile in order to be found and how to work your contacts and spread your message read Lusciously Limber on LinkedIn.
You Too Should Be On YouTube
Ahhh video, the second largest source of search engine traffic and rising. 60 hours of video uploaded every minute and quite possibly one of the best ways to allow people to see and hear your message and buy into the real you.
Think you're not great on camera? Shyness can be overcome and `on camera' skills can be worked on to make sure you're vivacious in no time. As a side note there are many types of videos you can use where you don't even have to be on camera don't you know, such as:
- Product demos
- Promotional footage
- Voiceovers
- Montages
- Tutorials (screen sharing with voiceovers)
- Music videos
- Using actors to promote your stuff
- On location shoots where you're behind the camera
- Interviews
I could go on but you get the gist. The trick with video is to know when you start out, getting the hang of not only what your video story board and plot will be (beginning, middle, end) but also editing tricks and compilation can take time. Once you've found your style though there's really nothing getting in the way of you creating some killer videos that people will look forward to watching.
If you want to see smart take a look at the recent Smart Water campaign with Jennifer Anniston. Yes it's a high production budget with a mega-star (who is the soul investor in this company and one smart lady) but could you replicate this for your own business on a budget using the same elements that made this so successful?
I bet you can. One of my own favourite videos was me at my most natural and done on the first take. Check it out on my Start Here page.
For more details learn why you should Make Movies with Muscle.
Where for art thou WordPress Blog?
As a blogger I've tried various platforms. In fact just the other day my Dad wrote to me saying he'd found my first ever blog site Global Buff on Blogger and mentioned it was out of date. I smiled and gently nudged him towards this one as the key place to find my latest posts.
When I was starting out Blogger (run by Google) was just perfect. Easy to update, ugly to the eye but good for search rankings (of course Google would promote its own platform...). I dabbled with Tumblr too - clean, great interface, super easy to use and set up, and then I fell head over heels for WordPress.
Not just a blogging platform, this has gone on to become the software of choice of building out fully fledged websites that look hot. Built with the end user in mind anyone can set up a blog on WordPress within minutes and add pages like `About me' plus a decent looking design thanks to their library of free themes.
Trust me - I've witnessed during my Social Media Bootcamps when attendees, young and old, savvy and technically challenged all managed to do it. I was so proud!
I've written copious amounts of times on why I think blogging is so important for your business and you personally regardless of your writing ability - once again there are video, photo and music blogs- you do not need to able to write. You do need to be able to commit to providing useful and valuable content to your audience. Read how to Build a Better Blog or How to becomea Problogger in 3 Days or Less.
What do you think about using Social Media for your business now?