Posted by Jody Raines
When it comes internet strategy and social media marketing, one of
the most powerful tools in the tool kit for businesses is Linked in. Linked in is especially great for B 2 B marketing. Bottom line, I can tell you how valuable it is, but you actually have to invest the time to use it to see what I mean.
I have friends and contacts from many places, including companies where I've worked, groups that I network with, friends and acquaintances, relatives and social groups. Some of these connections were from long ago on a planet far far away, but Linkedin helps me stay in touch!
One of the coolest things about Linked in is that it is a "living breathing" directory. Even when someone changes companies, or positions, I find out as soon as they change their profile! In the old days I used to lose track of folks, now they keep me in touch so I don't have to.
Last week, I taught a program for Rutgers University, Family Business Institute, that focused on how to effectively use social media for business. The enthusiasm from the attendees as we discussed Linked in and how to use it was so rewarding. That prompted this blog post, since I figure the info is great to have, and once you start using it, you'll be asking for more... (And believe me, I do have more...)
For starters, I'm sharing some of the most effective "power tips" for Linkedin to get you started... Stay tuned for part II!
5 tips for using Linkedin for your business and lead generation:
1. Announce what you are up to:
Linked in has a great little place where you can post your latest accomplishments or links to your latest blog post. This is a wonderful way to get exposure if you are hosting an event, or speaking. Keep in mind that this message must be brief.
I did link this with my Twitter account, but I'd caution that I use Twitter and Linkedin VERY differently! It's not OK to post every tweet on Linkedin... in fact, that would be quite unprofessional. So use caution when linking different social media platforms together to observe the appropriate protocol.
2. Optimize your profile:
One of the simplest things you can do with the greatest return is to optimize your Linkedin profile. If you work with websites, you'll recognize the value of a keyword and of anchor text. So, take a hard look at your verbiage in your profile, and rewrite it using one or two powerful keywords that you want to be found for! Linkedin shows up in GOOGLE, so this is a powerful, yet simple change to make.
3. Make your anchor text count:
Another simple thing you can do is to change your company and blog from "My Company" and "My Blog" to something that can work as anchor text for your website. To do this, go into your profile and edit the settings. Where you currently have a link for your website, chose "other" then use anchor text to link to your site. Take a look at my profile on Linkedin (and connect with me!) to see what I mean.
4. Join Groups:
Groups are a terrific way to connect with people you don't have a connection to. What do I mean? Well, if you don't know someone yet you want to connect with them, you will be challenged for their email address. If you both belong to a group, you can identify that group and you don't need to have the email address! Also, it sounds more like a warm intro if you both share a group, doesn't it?
5. Ask for intros:
If you are connected by one or even two degrees, you can ask your connection for an introduction. Be sure to write a great letter to the person you targeted - which focuses on why they want to meet you and the value you offer. To simply create a sale-sy note will wind up shooting you in the foot - the person you asked to make the introduction will likely not forward the request, and if they blindly did forward it, they stand the chance of losing their credibility with the recipient of the request.
Drop me a note or post a comment here if you have other tips that you've found helpful and would like to share.
Sharing is a good thing!
Posted by Jody Raines
It's difficult, when you think of how large the world of social media 
has become, to determine an effective social media strategy. There are so many social media platforms and options, that it's easy to get frustrated, or lost, and after opening an account, simply give up.
Yet social media marketing is a large component of an Internet marketing strategy. As a web marketing consultant, I find the biggest drawback to social media programs is the amount of time it takes.
Social media does take a lot of time. On the positive side, when done effectively, social media marketing can be incredibly rewarding. The biggest advantage of social media is the power that it lends to the message. Unlike advertising, which is sent out to the masses and which has marginal credibility, social media takes our words and positions them from friends. We trust the recommendations of our friends, and therefore, the power of a simple social media message can have great impact on the bottom line.
I love the fact that a great tweet can be retweeted so many times, adding to your "influence".
Here are 5 tips to get started on an effective social media campaign. I welcome your input and thoughts and hope to add to this list over time.
1. Decide who you want to talk to
Just like any other kind of marketing effort, it's important to decide who your audience is. Then you can determine where the best place is to find them, as well as the best way to talk with them. I'm a proponent of developing a 'persona'... that's a profile of a person that describes your audience. By understanding "who", we can then figure out "what" and "where".
"What" is the message and "where" describes the places that your persona is likely to be conversing or posting.
2. Learn the correct protocol
Each social media platform has it's own jargon and protocol. For example, in Twitter, it's the RT. However, using RT in Facebook is not appropriate. Posting personal info is not appropriate in Linkedin, yet it's part of the appeal of Facebook.
It's important to understand what the expectation is for each of the platforms. Again, posting "tweets" on Linkedin is the fastest way to turn off your connections.
3. Be social, not salesy
The worst thing you can do is to use any of the Social Media platforms for bleating your sales message. It's not appropriate on any of the social media platforms to constantly push your product. For the most part, no one wants to communicate with someone who is selling them.
Make friends, learn how to help others. By helping others, you earn respect and others will want to help you.
My grandmother used to say you get more flies with sugar than with vinegar - share the love, help others and it will come back to you.
4. Use consistently
Plan some time each day to devote to the message. Not everyone can be in front of their computer or texting on their phone 24/7. It's part of the beauty of social media that your audience will check in at different times. If you are not consistent with your presence, your top-of-mind awareness will eventually fade.
5. Add value
Your audience is interested in something - what expertise can you share? What can you offer that is appealing or interesting? Make your content compelling - guides, how-to's, lists, insights. It can also be helpful content that was posted by others that you find notable.
My next post will share some time saving tips on how to handle your Social Media Marketing program.
Posted by Jody Raines
Finding new business can be difficult. If potential customers aren't knocking down your doors or calling you... then its likely you aren't practicing "Inbound Marketing".
Cold calling is one of the most dreaded processes in the sales world. It's time consuming and painful. To some, it feels like seeking a needle in a haystack. Yes, eventually it will bring in sales, and it's certainly better than doing nothing, but there is a more effective way to generate sales and leads. And that's by using your website and social media as a 'net' to capture leads. It's called inbound marketing.
What is inbound marketing? It's understanding how people make purchasing decisions and then using this information to position your company in a way that -
1. Your company is found
2. For the right reasons
3. And customers voluntarily reach out to you.
Is this magic? In a way it is... it's a science of search engine optimization (SEO) coupled with savvy marketing tactics including social media marketing (SMM).
Often my clients reach out to me because they think they want more traffic to their website. It's not traffic that they want... what they really want are conversions or sales.
Lead generation. Return on investment. Determining what your potential customer is seeking and then using an internet marketing strategy that uses the power of the internet to help clients find you and helps you to generate business.
So, if you think your web site is just fine, and you like doing cold calls, keep up the great work.
If you feel that there is a better way to position your business to generate leads, then join the inbound marketing generation!
As a Hubspot Certified Partner, we practice inbound marketing strategies and help position websites and social media including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, 4Square, Linkedin, Flikr, YouTube, UStream and other social media sites. That's why I'm sharing this video by Hubspot that shows outbound marketing versus inbound marketing...Made me chuckle, and hope it brings a smile for you too.
Yep... Cold Calling is for losers...
Posted by Jody Raines
Feeling a bit vulnerable these days? Are your "privates" exposed?
Whether you have a personal page or a business page on Facebook there are some critical things you need to
be aware of. Recent privacy changes have created the utter chaos and groundswell of discontent that is impacting Facebook.
Recent changes to the privacy settings DO affect you, especially when you think you are 'safe', or 'private'.
In a nutshell, you are not.
Consider, Facebook has a track record of 'adjusting' their privacy settings periodically. Every time the Facebook privacy settings change, your profile is at risk of being exposed.
By continuing to use Facebook, (per the terms of service) you are agreeing to the new terms of service.
Add to this: whatever pictures and content that you've shared, even if you decide to discontinue using facebook and 'deleting' your profile, the content and pictures are still part of the data base that Facebook has become.
A database? Not a social network? Yes, believe it or not, the information that you have voluntarily supplied is now part of a super database that catalogues your 'likes' and interests, your friends, their 'likes' and interests, your family and relations, activities, television shows, movies... the amount of personal information that is now being shared about you is very robust and available to be harvested.
So, how do you protect yourself and what should you look for?
1. Evaluate how you use Facebook. Keep in mind that EVERYTHING is not private and once you put your information on Facebook, it's no longer just "yours". Use this as a guide for what you should post.
2. Protect yourself from Facebook scams! Accept friends judiciously. Facebook is not a race to the person who has the most friends. Each friend brings a vulnerability. Due to new Facebook privacy settings, anything you enable your friends to post about you is public, regardless of whether you restricted that information to 'friends'.
3. Understand that you need to OPT for privacy. The default is now set to open sharing. The New York Times reports how to adjust your Facebook privacy setting to make sure that you have them set for privacy... for now...
4. Consider the value you get from Facebook and whether it's time to shut down the floodgates. Some of the most influential technorati are concerned about the 'amoral' use of private information and have begun to close their Facebook accounts.
5. Review your account privacy settings. If you haven't recently, you may want to review these ten common Facebook Privacy mistakes.
Facebook is still a huge opportunity to market your company and to connect with others... but be wise, use caution and arm yourself with knowledge.
If you use Facebook Business Pages to promote your business, as a Social Media Advocate and Social Media Marketing Consultant, I'd still advise you to continue to do so. This article is to caution regarding personal information. To the extent that the 'abuse' of information persists and the impact of the groundswell of closed accounts impacts the fashionability of Facebook to attract an audience, it may be in the near future that Facebook goes the way of MySpace...
In addition, you should listen to our latest podcast from "Addicted To Social Media" A2SM.com which is available either on iTunes, or by clicking the podcast to the right side of this blog.
Posted by Jody Raines
Much has been said about Twitter over the last four years since it was created. Whether you like it or not, use it or not, you have to admit, that Social Media and the micro blog changed the way we get information, share information and communicate.
In fact, a recent article published in Information Week states: "Twitter has evolved into a major distributor of timely information, as opposed to a social network, making the microblogging site an oracle on the future of news, a recent study shows."
For the record, I agree that Twitter can be compared to the media, and I've often used that analogy as well. It is more social, but nonetheless, it is similar to a broadcast media but more powerful due to the word-of-mouth transformation that re-tweeting conveys to the 140 character micro blog statements.
In other blog articles, I've shared my thoughts about inbound marketing and using social media as a tool. The purpose of this article is very specific. This is a how-to that shares some real insight into using Twitter for competitive intelligence.
Why would you use Social Media for competitive intelligence? If you subscribe to the philosophy that "Twitter is a waste of time" or "I don't want to know what you had for lunch today", then clearly you are missing the power of this amazing tool. The wealth of info is truly better than any broadcast or website. If the broadcast stations are not monitoring Twitter, they are missing the boat!
Here's why I feel Twitter has changed the information landscape:
- Real time information
- Breaking news before the traditional media has the info
- If Twitter is set up properly, the information comes right to you!
If you aren't sure how to use Twitter, follow these step by step instructions, and you will be amazed at how much real info you can dig up on an industry, a company, or a person... Sometimes the info is more than they would want you to know!
1. Set up a Twitter account. To do this, go to Twitter.com. My suggestion - use your name or use your company name. Also, be sure to set up your profile and use your picture. You can even get a free background using Twitbacks.
2. Use a Twitter Client to set up your monitoring. There are three that I recommend:
Seesmic is a great platform... It's easy to use and it has some features that make it much easier than the Twitter interface. Loic LeMeur has made some terrific advances that make Seesmic a "Social Media" platform and not just a Twitter client. The ability to interface with multiple social media programs in one place with plug and play capability add to the value and future value of Seesmic as more than just a Twitter client.
Tweetdeck is a platform that is downloaded and which is resident on your computer. It's efficient, but its a memory hog, so if you are someone who typically opens a ton of windows and taxes the computers RAM, it may not be the best choice. That being said, Tweetdeck is still a favorite of many Tweeps because it has a reliable interface and it's easy to use.
Hootsuite has made some great changes and it enables multiple people to manage a Twitter account. I recommend Hootsuite for my corporate clients who want to have an account that can be accessed from multiple laptops and which can be manage by mulitple associates. It also has the advantage of interfacing with Facebook, MySpace and Linkedin in addition to Twitter.
All three platforms can handle multiple Twitter accounts and multiple columns. It's the column feature that you want to be sure to have available.
3. Create lists of people or companies that you want to follow. By dividing your Twitter stream into lists, you can easily follow and identify what is being discussed and seperate the relevant discussions from the 'noise'.
4. Create columns to follow your lists or to follow specific relevant keywords - whether you are interested in a brand or company or product - you'll learn what's happening with your targeted keyword or companies before the information hits the general public.
5. Use tools like Tweetscan to monitor what the conversation for relevent data or keywords, and have the information RSS fed to your inbox.
Keep your eyes open for new and improved Twitter and social media monitoring clients - case in point, Microsoft will introduce Spindex, a late entry into the market, but with the Microsoft name, this could be an important contender.
Overall, Twitter is one of the most powerful tools today for real time reporting and status updates. The strength of the collective input by the user community coupled with increases in popularity as well as improved search techniques make Twitter an invaluable ally in the competitive intelligence and business intelligence arsenal.
Posted by Jody Raines
Search Engine Optimization is important for every website. It's the art and science of positioning a web site to be found in the search engines for specific keywords. Everything else being equal, the authority that your site builds through incoming links will differentiate and elevate your site in the ranking race.
So, what is the best way to build links? According to Matt Cutts of Google, there are ten ways you can effectively build links. He doesn't recommend all of these, but they all work:
1. Original Research. This can be as simple as keeping a diary of how effective your outbound email is, and what seems to get more opens or click throughs.
2. Newsletter. Information that you share in the newsletter is a great source for inbound links.
3. Social Media. Participating in the conversation in Twitter, Friendfeed and Facebook (among others) is excellent for link building. Get to know your customer and spend time where your customer is.
4. Get a blog. Establish yourself as an authority. Build up your blog to become a resource of information. Post great content or things that you find interesting or humorous.
5. How to's or Tutorials. Share information on how to do something and others will link to your info.
6. Build a resource or service. Open source applications that are posted have many inbound links and traffic. Do the work once, and they will come.
7. Good site architecture. Make sure your site can be crawled and indexed. Make it easy to get to your pages and be bookmarked.
8. Make a few videos. These can be simple as talking, but they are effective for generating inbound leads.
9. Controversial posts. This is not recommended, but it can be effective. Posting something controversial can get a conversation started.
10. Lists. Building lists of resources is also not recommended but can be an effective way to build incoming links.
To hear more about effective link building, here is Matt Cutts of Google explaining his thought on how to be effective:
Posted by Jody Raines
So, youve been eyeing social media, have you? It's sexy, hot and young, I don't blame you. What a seductive approach to communicate...
Yes, its fast. But not neccessarily cheap or easy. 
Fast - you can reach an audience within moments which, through retweets can become viral quickly.
Cheap - it doesnt cost more than your time. But that's where the cost starts and the easy part ends...
Easy - It's easy to open an account, but maintaining the relationship and building trust is where the effort pays off...
There is a protocol with social media that makes courtship more than mere stolen moments.
Social media demands your attention.
But does all that attention mean giving up your current relationship with traditional media? Not neccessarily. Although to some extent, that relationship has us putting out and putting out, and just not getting a lot back. Not like it used to be when that relationship was new.
Slowly but surely the flirtation with Social Media becomes a full-fledged relationship... first, we 'stumbled upon' a social conversation, then more than a few titillating tweets, and suddenly its a rendezvous with Facebook, a LinkedIn linking... Social media, well it was 'delicious'! And the attention, well, we could 'digg' it.
So, does that mean we have to divorce our advertising campaign in order to begin a love affair with... (dare I whisper this?) Social Media?
But how to keep it HOT and vibrant? To this end, a list of 5 tips for a steamy relationship with social media marketing:
1. Be easy, not sleazy. You know you want it shared, so add share-to-social buttons on your website, your email campaign. You want your brand message to be passed among your brand advocates.
2. Stimulate and make it entertaining. Unless your message is fun, compelling or informative, don't expect it to be shared. Social content must be entertaining in order to stimulate viral sharing.
3. Shamelessly seduce your customer's testimonials. Let them be part of the conversation. Reward their positive reviews.
4. Embrace your brand's identity on social platforms. Understand you can't control what's being said, but you can share in the conversation and participate.
5. Be social, be real, be transparent and raw. Let your audience know who you are. Transparency is critical. Then, relax and enjoy the notoriety and spice that a young, fresh powerful digital marketing program can bring to your older more traditional relationship.
Posted by Jody Raines
Hub
spot, the award winning software that enables small and mid sized businesses to compete with large corporations on the Internet had a webinar today for partners and prospective partners. Brian Halligan, co-founder and Pete Caputa, Partner Relations Director shared their vision of how marketing is evolving and suggested that today's marketer's must evolve as well.
Partially based upon personal observations that traditional promotional methods and advertising were not working, and partially based upon the experience of an Internet program that was working, Halligan and his to-be partner, Dharmesh Shah put together the foundation of a strategy that would become the prototype for Hubspot. Halligan and Shah met while attending MIT.
According to the website "The founders of HubSpot® met at MIT in 2004. Both were interested in the transformative impacts of the internet on small businesses and were early students of web2.0 concepts. The discussions and early work were on-going for two years and in June of 2006 the company was officially founded and funded."
So, although Hubspot was founded just three years ago, the company has experienced geometric growth to it's present level of 2,300 subscribers. Part of the success of the program is based the (killer software) "marketing application and great advice Hubspot offers to small businesses enabling them to leverage the disruptive effects of the internet to "get found" by more prospects shopping in their niche and to convert a higher percentage of prospects into customers.
Most small businesses have a website that behaves like their old paper-based brochures, but just sitting online. It is rarely updated, is not given significant visibility by the search engines, has low traffic levels, does not encourage return visits, does not enable/track conversions, etc. What HubSpot does is transform that relatively static website into a modern marketing machine that produces the right leads and helps convert a higher percentage of them into qualified opportunities."
During today's presentation, Halligan described his experience with media and his observations of how much it's changed; In the mid 1970's, he shared how his family would gather around to watch television together. When a commercial came on, they would watch it, and perhaps even comment to each other about the commercial. Companies like Procter and Gamble and McDonald's built their brand and were very successful with broadcast advertising.
However, fast forward fifteen years later, there was his father, 'clicker' in hand, and when a commercial came on, the channel surfing began. No longer was the commercial king of the airwaves.
Today's marketers, must adopt an inbound marketing approach. Inbound marketing is a combination of search engine optimization, careful keyword rich content creation, link building, ongoing evaluation of performance and massaging the content, blogging, social media including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, YouTube, Flikr, Digg, press releases, pod casts, landing pages and compelling call-to-action offers. Content that is found and which appeals to the target audience, so much so, that they volunteer their contact information in order to be added to mailing lists and rss feeds.
A lead nurturing program is also incorporated into the software, which makes it a system that has a provable ROI.
The focus of the announcement today is for a special section where Hubspot Certified Partners can share their expertise with businesses who want the power of the Hubspot platform, yet don't have the expertise or the time to devote. Programs are offered, such as "Do Hubspot For Me", with pricing and metrics for customers to select a marketing partner to work with.
Disclosure: WebMarCom is a Certified Hubspot Partner and we are excited to be associated with such a professional organization. As an independent Marketing Agency, we can elect to work on any platform. We are honored to be one of 30 Hubspot Certified Partners, and to offer our services to clients and potential clients who would like to experience the power of the Internet through a trial. WebMarCom is the only Hubspot Certified Partner in Voorhees or Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and in the Philadelphia Metro Area.
Posted by Jody Raines
Wow. One more inch and we'll have a new record! After 27 inches of snow on Saturday, why is Mother Nature adding another snow/rain mix for us?
So, what's a snowed in business owner to do? Bemoan the weather or be proactive? Here's a list of 5 things you can do to promote your business while snowed in!
1. Sign up for Twitter. Connect with people you've not had a chance to connect with. Yes, it's frightful out side, but you are not the only person who is snowed in! Plus there is a whole part of our nation where the weather may be sunny and warm. If you haven't started, try downloading my podcast- How To Tweet Like A Master. It's full of ideas for managing your Twitter account as well as how to develop a Twitter following, how to connect with others, what to say on Twitter, how to say it, and how to create a custom background for your Twitter profile.
2. Create a Facebook Page for your Business. It's not a difficult thing to do, but it can be confusing. Today is the day that you can take the time to work through your Facebook Page setup. If you already have one - post some comments. Your Facebook page should be informative and helpful.
3. Use YouTube. It's the 2nd most popular search engine. Take a video of your snowfall and post it on YouTube. It's not difficult. If you have a video record function on your mobile phone, you can take the video on the go... Today's a great day to learn how to use it! For a fun exercise, try uploading pictures to animoto.com and select from their music to create a custom thirty second video. Then upload the video to YouTube. Here's an example of one that I did.
4. Explore Live Streaming video. I love UStream and it has some neat functionality. One of the best users of this technology is Adam Sokoloff and the team at Sunrise Signs. They took live streaming video of a vehicle wrap, and they are adding new content on an ongoing basis. Check their stream out: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sunrise-signs-live
5. Set up your blog. A blog is a great way to add new content to your website. As a Hubspot Certified Partner, we are always looking for methods to improve conversion and generate leads. A recent Hubspot study shared the following:
"A study of 2,168 HubSpot customers shows that businesses that published at least 5 blog articles in the last 7 days draw 6.9 times more organic search traffic and 1.12 times more referral traffic than those who don't blog at all."
So after you've done your first round of shoveling, take a few moments and enjoy exploring Social Media Marketing and Inbound Marketing with some of these neat programs. As always, please add comments or thoughts, and start today, while you are snowed in, to take your business to the next level...
Posted by Jody Raines
Congratulations to Jody Raines, President of WebMarCom.net and newest certified partner for Hubspot. "There are approximately thirty partners across the US, said Raines, and it's truly an honor to be among this elite group". The Partner Certification means that Ms. Raines has passed a rigorous test that measures knowledge of Search Engine Optimization, Internet strategy, website design, social media marketing, blogging, public relations on the Internet, creating effective websites, generating leads through online marketing and the components of an "Inbound Marketing" program.
"My frustration with doing the things the old way was the catalyst for starting WebMarCom.net. Many of the 'Old School' web companies are still just building pretty sites. A website has to be an effective tool for the company, otherwise, why invest in fixing it?"
Raines started WebMarCom.net in November, and it has already rising in Alexa rank to one of the top nine percent in the United States. This means that it's outranked over 91% of the websites that are out there. "I use the same techniques for my clients that I use on my site" Raines stated. "They are effective and they work."
The goal for a website is to become a "lead generation magnet". It's first important for the site to be found, by practicing great search engine marketing. This is an ongoing process - if you can imagine, with all the blogs and new websites and updates every day, nothing is static. A website should continue to change and adapt to maintain ranking. In addition, it's not enough just to be found - once the site is sound, the content has to be excellent. Plus there has to be a call-to-action or reason for a potential client to ask for you to contact them.
'I'm gratified and excited", Jody shared, "and I'm ready to work with businesses, not just in Philadelphia, Cherry Hill and Voorhees, but in the entire south Jersey region as well as Philly metro who recognize that their website is not working and they want to make it into a 'lead generation magnet'."