It’s one thing to be actively posting on the different social media venues; it’s another thing to use them to their fullest potential.  Posting alone will not build your reputation or your business.  You need to interact with the people you are connected to.  Engage in conversations, even if it seems like fluff; commenting on a post about someone’s bad day will build that relationship and you will benefit by being recognizable and memorable to the contact.

Yes, it takes time to build these relationships but patience and diligence will prove fruitful.  Is there someone that you would like to add to your circle of influence?  Talk to them.  Most people, if they are using social media correctly, will respond and engage in conversation.  Before you know it, you will have a new digital friend.

On Twitter, use the #FollowFriday hashtag to promote the people that you follow to your followers.  This is a big complement in the Twitterverse.  If you have a Fan Page, try to post something beneficial at least every week that pertains to the interest of your Fans.  Make sure that you reply to any comments you receive here.

Do you have a blog that accepts comments?  Make sure you accept and post the comments in a timely basis and always reply to them, right there on the blog.

Future posts:

· Share your knowledge
· Twitter – spread your message and drive traffic
· Tools to measure
· How long does it take to see a return on your investment/influence
· Follow the right people on Twitter
· Inspire someone in your LinkedIn network
· Become the go-to person in your field
· Gain media attention

Please note: The above list may be added to or subtracted from as I feel necessary.

I found this Chris Brogan Kitchen Table Talk this morning and was surprised to find that Chris was in my hometown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The interview is with Joe Sorge, owner of three Milwaukee restaurants, including AJ Bombers whose success was built completely with Twitter.  This success story reinforces my belief that social media does work for local businesses if you have a plan and follow through with it.

As a Virtual Assistant, I have been using social media for quite a while now and recently have found myself disturbed by other’s ideas of how to handle it.  This is the first part in a series of blog posts regarding social networking and my beliefs on proper methods of success.

Start with a Plan

A well written social media networking plan is necessary to help guide you to success with minimal effort.  You will be able to see on paper, (or the computer screen), what your needs are in order to reach your goals.  A great plan should include: (more…)

Are you struggling to find clients, customers or collaborative partners?  This was a problem that I was able to overcome as soon as I discovered two things.  One is the networking site meetup.com and the second is the value of volunteering.

Meetup.com is a website that, after you sign up, (free), and indicate your preferences, will notify you of meetings in your area that are of interest to you.  There are so many different categories for meetings here, it will blow your mind.  You can find any type of business topic or group here as well as hobby type groups that range from scrapbooking to the occult!  Let’s think about this for a minute.  Are you starting a new business and are struggling with your advertising or marketing budget.  Meetup.com is the answer.  You don’t even need to attend meet-ups that pertain to your specific business.  Try joining a meet-up that revolves around a hobby you are interested in.  This way, you will be meeting new people and, during casual conversation,  be able to spread your marketing message.  Just be sure not to come on too strong.  This isn’t a platform for a live infomercial!

Most meet-ups are reasonably priced; I haven’t spent any more than $20 per meeting and this included a wonderful educational presentation and lunch.  You may be able to find some meetings that are free.

I made a great connection at a recent meetup.  I met my collaborative partner here.  We work perfectly together!  He is a web designer and SEO master; I compliment his services with my social media skills.  We go together like milk and cookies and are able to offer our clients full Internet marketing packages with slammin’ results!  My partner brings in the mid to large sized companies from the area and I have my ear to the ground worldwide because of my virtual partnering with VAnetworking and IVAA.

The second secret to spread my message is by joining the local Chamber of Commerce.  I live in a rural area where each nearby community has its own Chamber.  I joined my two nearest ones and am very active in both.  Yes, it takes some time to volunteer, but it doesn’t cost me anything but the registration fee for a whole year!  I have met many friendly, smart local business people, some of whom, I’ve needed their services.  In turn, I have been gaining a few clients from the membership and have received a number of leads from them also.  There really is nothing better than word-0f-mouth marketing – live and in person – it’s just as viral as Twitter, Facebook and blogging!

If you read and respond to blogs on the Internet, you should make your life easier by signing up for a free account at gravatar.com. This site allows you to create a profile including an avatar that will follow you on all the blogs where you post comments. This is another tool to use to keep your marketing message consistent.

Remember, it is important to keep your online profile as consistent as possible in order to create and maintain your brand recognition. If you use different user names and avatar pictures all over the Internet, you are doing yourself a disservice. You need to maintain a constant presence thus, promoting your personal brand.

Press Release: Virtual Assistant wins award for commitment to excellence and business growth

After being an active member of many different social networking platforms, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, I have decided that it is time to broaden my scope of the whole thing.  I am enrolled in VAClassrooms Social Marketing Specialist Training Program by Craig Cannings, (follow him on Twitter).  After the second module only, I have decided it was money well spent.

The thing that scares people about social networking on the Internet is the usual fear of the unknown.  “What can it do to help me?”  “I don’t want to be in contact with people that have naked pictures on their profile.” “It’s a waste of time, it won’t benefit my business.”

All of these fears are baseless if you go about your networking in a planned and consistant fashion.  You need to figure out what you want to tell certain people in the world, how you want to tell it and what you expect in return.  After a well-thought out plan, social networking can be a boon to your pocket book as well as your contact database and brand recognition.

Starr Hall wrote an interesting article titled 5 Reasons Your Fear of Social Networking is Misplaced in Entrepreneur.com.  In her article, she dispels five reasons that others gave her for not participating in the Web 2.0 social networking phenomenon.  All of the reasons that Starr lists can also be quelled with a sound and reasonable social marketing plan.  It really isn’t as hard as it sounds although, like any other thing, it’s best to leave the basic structure to someone who is trained in this field.  Do an Internet search for the term social marketing services and check out a few.  They will be able to cull information from you and put it in a comprehensive social media marketing plan.  You can start very slowly if you like and see what happens; you will be adding more avenues before you know it.  A social marketing specialist not only will help you draw up your plan of action, they can also set up your profile on all platforms, post your tweets and messages and monitor the sites to let you know when and to whom you need to reply.

So stop making excuses about how traditional marketing is getting more expensive and harder to do.  The best way to reach your particular niche market is on the Internet. Get involved with social networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, just to name the Big Three.