You are here: Home / Archives for Social Media

How to Use Facebook to Grow Any Business

March 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I can’t tell you how many Facebook Friend and Fan Page Requests I receive from people I don’t know. They don’t tell me who they are or about their product or service. Assuming that everyone will automatically friend or follow your Facebook fan page is a misnomer.

Freelance writers utilize Facebook to market their work. However, before you begin to “friend” everyone on Facebook, tell them who you are and why you’re sending them a friend request. Perhaps you have similar backgrounds or a few friends in common. If they don’t know who you are, chances are they will not accept your friend request. The same applies to your fan page. Who are you and why would a person follow your fan page over another writer’s? What value does your fan page add? What are you doing that’s different from other writers? Knowing the answers to these questions can help your position on Facebook.

Tips and Tricks to Facebook

1. Tell people who you are. Sending out a multitude of friend requests and fan pages could backfire on you. People receive so much information today — they’re on sensory overload! They may discard your requests if they don’t know who you are or what you do.

2. Don’t assume everyone will follow you. This may sting for some people but that’s the way it is. People want to connect with you not feel like they’re being sold to all of the time. Make your request personal and you’ll probably receive a lot of new fans. Don’t assume all people will accept a request because their friends are on your fan page. Some will and some won’t. Combat this by telling them “why” it’s important they become a fan.

3. What value do you add? In order to get people to follow you, make sure you’re adding value to their lives. There are hundreds of thousands of businesses on Facebook. What do you do differently from another company?

4. Create an outstanding ad on Facebook. You’ll have to pay for ad space, but creating a well thought out ad can gain you followers and clients.

Many freelance writers and small businesses are now on Facebook, but they don’t know how to connect with people. Blasting out a ton of friend and fan page requests could work, but sometimes it will not. Personalize your friend or fan page request. Remember that most of the world is desensitized today because they receive too much information in their inbox. You have to capture their attention and interest in seconds! If not, you could be wasting precious time sending friend and fan page requests when you could have been attending a face-to-face networking event.

Remember, people are desensitized today because they receive an alarming amount of information each day. Do them a favor and let them know why it’s important they become of fan of your fan page. They’ll find your approach refreshing!

What approach do you use when connecting with people? Share your expertise.

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Networking, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , ,

Automate Twitter Promotion and Marketing with Tweet Adder

July 31, 2009 By 1 Comment

Blue Bird_Right_3

Small business owners who don’t want to spend a lot of time on social media sites such as Twitter, may be interested in purchasing Tweet Adder. It’s not the cheapest software on the market, but it could help you grow your business.

Getting web traffic to your website can be a daunting task if you don’t have a staff to help you out. Tweet Adder can help you gain ‘targeted’ Twitter followers and automate your Twitter posts.

Twitter has exploded and is not going away anytime soon. Oprah, CNN, and major celebrities ‘Tweet’ each day. If you’re a small business owner that would like to enter the social media market, Tweet Adder can assist you with your Twitter account.

Features of Tweet Adder

  • Find like-minded Twitter followers.
  • Increase Twitter traffic to your website to gain customers and increase profits.
  • Set and forget it because Tweet Adder runs daily.
  • Automate your scheduled direct messages.
  • Set-up multiple accounts and create unlimited Twitter profiles.

If you’re apprehensive about spending the money on Tweet Adder, try it before you buy it. Tweet Adder offers a ‘free demo’ that can be used on Mac OsX or Windows. Get to know the program and see if it’s for you and your small business.

The minimum to amount of hours to spend on social media is approximately 40 hours. Tweet Adder can free up some of the 40 hours. If you go on vacation you don’t have to worry about ‘Tweeting’ on your vacation. Your Twitter account will be updated daily!

Let’s face it, small business owners are focused on growing their business by getting in front of people NOT sitting in front of the computer. This is why they’ll outsource work to freelancers such as freelancer writers or SEO experts.

Small business owners who want to gain new customers via social media, consider purchasing Tweet Adder or at least download the demo version. Test the software and monitor your web traffic and sales. How did web traffic increase? How many new customers did you receive? What happened to your ‘bottom line’? Did it increase or decrease? Do some analysis so you can see how much value Tweet Adder added to your small business. If there’s a lot of value, purchase Tweet Adder. If not, find another software that will work for your business.

Savvy Writer Rebecca

How many Twitter applications do you use?

Filed Under: Overcoming Obstacles, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , ,

What Makes a Good Tweet

July 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Many small business owners have taken advantage of social media sites such as Twitter. The plan is to drive as much traffic to a website in order to fulfill goals such as gaining new customers, keeping new customers, and adding to the bottom line. However, not all “Tweets” are created equally. To effectively use Twitter, you must post Tweets that will entice people to follow you and visit your website.

Everyone who’s anyone has a Twitter account. People use Twitter for many reasons, but small businesses use Twitter in the hopes to gain as many customers as possible and to increase profits. It’s a great way to be “viral” on the internet. You can reach millions of people with the click of a button.

Blue Bird_TwitterBird1

What makes a good Tweet?

  • Keep it simple, be yourself, and share value (thoughts, insights, and sources). Give people a reason to follow you and your business on Twitter. What value can you add to their life? Share insights into your industry and provide a link so people can read about your industry and or product/services;
  • Don’t overwhelm followers with “consciousness” updates. Yes, the majority of us would like to save the planet and improve our lives, but this can be overkill;
  • Pretend that you’re meeting your friends in a cafe or pub; keep short, sweet, to the point, and light.

Some small business owners don’t spend enough time on Twitter. You could set aside one hour each day to post your tweets. Twitter is so easy to use so there’s no excuse not to do it. If you must hire someone to do your social media for you, do it.

Small business owners, follow those who you believe are interested in the same thing you are or the business you’re in. There’s no need to follow everyone. Don’t just follow anyone, but don’t ignore them as well. Use your discretion.

Social media has become main stream and it’s not going away anytime soon. Take advantage of Twitter and start driving traffic to your website by Tweeting! You’d be surprised how many small business owners have benefited from social media endeavors such as Twitter. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen if you keep at it!

~ Savvy Writer Rebecca ~

What do you Tweet about on Twitter?

Filed Under: Overcoming Obstacles, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Win Web Traffic on Facebook with a Contest

July 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Many small business owners are utilizing Facebook to drive web traffic to their websites. Some see a huge increase in traffic; some only see a trickle of traffic. Maybe it’s time to be a little creative in order to draw people to your site. Instead of doing the “same old” thing such as post the link to your new blog or service, entice customers with a contest. It’s a win-win situation!

Small business owners will benefit from thinking outside the normal realms of social media, marketing, and advertising. Having a contest is a great way to drive traffic to your website and gain new customers. It’s outside the normal realms of how small businesses use Facebook. Who doesn’t love a contest?

I must admit that this idea was brought up from someone in one of my networking groups. We met for lunch and she was telling me how she uses Facebook mostly to keep in touch with family and friends. She and her husband have not been doing much in terms of driving web traffic.

Online winning

Many small business owners may not know what to do for a contest. Let’s say your small business is wedding vendors, here are some ideas for a contest.

  • Name that tune! Have an instrumental song and have people guess what it is;
  • Post a picture of a flower and have people guess what kind of flower it is. You can really make it interesting by asking for its scientific name and give a bonus in addition to the original winnings;
  • Have people plan a bachelor or bachelorette party and choose the most creative one;
  • Post a picture of a designer wedding dress and have people guess the designer;
  • Give people a “wedding theme” and have them come up with ideas for favors.

Having a contest is such as great advertising and marketing tool. You could give away gift cards, money, free services, or anything else. People love to win stuff! Your small business is sure to gain web traffic after visitors read that you’re holding a contest.

Small business owners must think broader and wider. Having a monthly newsletter is great, but spicing up your marketing endeavors can do wonders for your business. You’d be surprised how many NEW customers you can gain by giving away something. Remember, people like to receive free stuff!

If you’re small business could use a boost in web traffic, consider holding a contest and announcing it on your Facebook page. Make it intriguing — don’t give away all of the details. Build it up so people will want to know more about the contest.

There’s no reason that you can’t be creative when you use Facebook. Many small business owners struggle with driving traffic to their website. Hold a contest and you’ll hit the jackpot in more ways than one!

Savvy Writer Rebecca

What type of contest can you promote on Facebook to gain web traffic?

Filed Under: Overcoming Obstacles, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , ,

It Pays to Create a Monthly Newsletter

July 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Small business owners take advantage of sending out a monthly newsletter. However, don’t BOMBARD customers with information. The fastest way to lose a customer base is to send a ton of information to their inbox at once!

Take advantage of sending out a newsletter. You can send one out on a monthly or quarterly basis. This is a great way to keep your customers informed and to gain and retain new customers.

Newsletters Tips & Tricks

  • Include links to your website and social media sites at the bottom of your newsletter.
  • Incorporate photos into your newsletter.
  • Include your contact information at the bottom of your newsletter, i.e., address, contact person, phone number, and email address.

news_1

Make sure to “test” your newsletter before you send it out to customers. Some newsletters will not format correctly when you send them via email. The alternative is just to send a link along with a paragraph or two explaining what can be found within the newsletter (don’t give too much away). This way when customers click on the link, the newsletter will be correctly formatted.

If you’re a small business owner, a newsletter can generate traffic to your website. You can include links to various pages on your website, special offers, videos, and much more!

It’s really easy to create a news letter. You could use a service such as Aweber to send out your newsletter. Aweber was founded in 1998. Their email marketing software was made especially to “help small businesses automate email follow up and email newsletter delivery.”

Remember that it’s important to have a combination of sales, promotion, marketing, and public relations to BOOST your small business. For example, if you own a restaurant a newsletter can help you fill your tables and keep them filled. This means you need to make sure your current customers return to your restaurant. You also want to entice new customers to dine at your restaurant. By sending out newsletter you can fill your tables. Entice customers to dine at your restaurant by offering quality food, great service, and value for their money!

Small business owners create and send out a newsletter today and tomorrow watch as your business soars to new heights. It’s a cinch to create a newsletter. If you need assistance, hire a freelance writer. If you find one that does graphic design as well, that’s a bonus!

~ Savvy Writer Rebecca ~

What information do you include in your newsletter?

Filed Under: Overcoming Obstacles, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »