Ten Tips for Getting Started in Social Media

Social Media is here to stay and should be an important component of your overall marketing strategy. I recently ran across some of these tips on a blog I follow called www.simplemarketingnow.com and wanted to share it. I know a lot of business owners feel overwhelmed and have no idea where to start, so here is a simple guide that anyone can benefit from:

1. Start small and steady. Commit to 15 minutes per day exploring, learning and getting engaged with social media.
2. Pick a topic you care and know something about. It can be work-related or not.
3. Explore that topic on Google Blog Search, Alltop and Technorati. Check out as many blogs as you can and experience firsthand several valuable resources for discovering blogs.
4. Experience what makes each blog that intrigues you unique. Is it the tone of the article? Is it the images used? What do you notice in the sidebar? Are there interesting links to other resources? What kinds of comments do you notice?
5. Pick five blogs and subscribe to them. You can do so via e-mail updates or RSS (or Really Simple Syndication) in a feed reader, such as Google Reader.
6. Leave a comment. When you receive your updates, click on the title link that takes you back to the source blog and leave a comment. Ideally, your comment should add insight to the blog post (often referred to as the conversation).
7. Explore your topic on YouTube. What do you find? Pay attention to the titles and the descriptions of the videos that come up in search results.
8. Explore your topic on Twitter using http://search.twitter.com. What do you find? Click on the links to evaluate their worth. Click on the pictures to learn more about the person “tweeting.” Which words generate useful results?
9. If you have an account on LinkedIn, see if your topic comes up in LinkedIn Answers and LinkedIn Groups. What do you observe?
10. If you have an account on Facebook, see if your topic comes up in Facebook search. What do you observe?

Rinse and repeat until you feel comfortable.

Are “Nice Customers” Ruining Your Business?

I’m visiting my parents for Christmas and ran across on old book of mine called “How To Win Customers and Keep Them For Life” published in 1989. It’s one of those timeless classics.  Below is an excerpt that I thought was especially relevant:

“I’m a nice customer. You all know me. I’m the one who never complains, no matter what kind of service I get.

I’ll go into a restarurant and sit quietly while the waiters gossip and never bother to ask if anyone has taken my order. Sometimes a party that came in after I did gets my order, but I don’t complain. I just wait.

And when I go into a store to buy something, I don’t throw my weight around. I try to be thoughtful of the other person. If a snooty salesperson gets upset because I want to look at several things before making up my mind, I’m just as polite as can be. I don’t believe rudeness in return is the answer.

The other day I stopped at a full service gas station and waited for almost five minutes before the attendant took care of me. And when he did, he spilled gas and wiped the windshield with an oily rag. But did I complain about the service? Of course not.

I never kick. I never nag. I never criticize. And I wouldn’t dream of making a scene, as I’ve seen some people do in public places. I think that’s uncalled for. No, I’m the nice customer. And I’ll tell you who else I am.

I’m the customer who never comes back!”

The difference today is that “nice customer” can and will easily share his or her experiences with 100′s or even 1000′s of friends/fans/followers with a click of a button by posting it on Facebook, Yelp or Trip Advisor amongst countless others.  This can and will ruin a business overnight.  Exceptional customer service is still one of the most important competitive advantages a company can provide.   Yes technology has changed the way some of that delivery is provided but it has not changed our expectations. 

I’m a big believer that if you take great care of your employees they will take exceptional care of your customers.  Easy to say not always easy to do unless you have a strategy that is focused on this.  So beware of those “nice employees” or “nice customers” that may be ruining your business!

How to win Customers and Keep Them For Life by Michael LeBoeuf, Ph.D.

Demystifying Social Media – What it isn’t and what it is!

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make when it comes to social media is convincing themselves that it’s not for them and not educating themselves on how these new tools can play a valuable role in their overall business and marketing strategy.  Here is a quick guide to help you understand what it isn’t and what it is. 

What social media is NOT about?

• It’s NOT about selling
• It’s NOT about generating the most fans or followers
• It’s NOT about posting/sharing anything that crosses your mind

 What social media IS about?

Listening – Social media is an excellent and easy platform for your customers to write what they think about you, comment about a recent experience with your product or service, or express praise or criticism.  Here’s the thing – they can share with or without your participation.  They can go to Yelp, Facebook, Twitter and dozens of other sites and write whatever they want.  They don’t need your permission.  Why wouldn’t you want to LISTEN to what they are saying and have systems in place to monitor and more importantly respond to their comments?  An easy way to do this is set up a Google Alert account which notifies you anytime your company name gets mentioned.  This leads to my next point.  

Interacting – Social media is a great place to interact with your customers and prospects.  You can ask questions, get feedback, handle a complaint, express appreciation for a praise and much more.  You can also learn about your fans and follower and get involved in things important to them which help strengthen your relationships. 

Sharing – Social media is a great vehicle to create and share remarkable content about your company, your industry, and the problems you solve for your customers.  Different from selling, sharing is an unselfish act where you are delivering something of value without wanting anything in return except to delight your fans and followers.  This could range from providing the secret recipe for a favorite dish at your restaurant (for all you restaurateurs), sharing recommendations for best dental products out there (hint to dentists), providing end of year tax or financial planning tips (wake up accountants, financial planners, insurance agents).  Get the picture?  Every business has valuable, unique knowledge that there is an interested audience for. 

Social media is here to stay so my recommendation is embrace it and start carving out 10 – 15 minutes a day listening, interacting and sharing with your community and within no time you will start seeing the benefits. 

If you would like to receive a FREE Social Media Audit with specific recommendations on how your business can use social media to connect with your customers and prospects email me at   wendy@athena-marketing.comor post a comment below.  

 Wendy Lieber is the president of Athena Marketing, a trusted marketing advisor and resource to companies interested in the growth and success of their business.