While you could set out to conquer all social networks, you will likely find yourself strapped for time.  There are just too many social circles to participate in and once you factor in the time you need to be a true participant on those networks, you will soon realize that it’s better to put your eggs in a few social baskets rather than trying to spread yourself too thin.  There are some networks that are just plain worth your time more than others.

Without a doubt you knew I was going to mention Facebook and Twitter.  These two social giants have had the market cornered for some time and their popularity has not wavered.  Facebook has over 850 million users and Twitter has over 200 million users.  For obvious reasons these are two great places to start building your social status.  Remember to be real, post often and answer comments and tweets promptly. 

Right behind Facebook and Twitter you’ll find two newer social networks.  These are Pinterest and Google+.  While Google+ may seem like an empty classroom it does play an important role in Google search results and maintaining a personal or business identity is definitely in your best interest.  Pinterest gained almost instant popularity because of its extremely simple usability.  In a short time it has gained close to 10 million users.  Be sure to pin helpful and informative information to attract followers in this network. 

The next sites that are of great importance to be a part of are LinkedIn, Ryze and Ecademy.  These are more of professional networking circles than the more casual encounters found on Facebook and Twitter.  LinkedIn reaches close to 150 million users and with LinkedIn you can participate in groups of people who share the same interests as yourself or your business.  Ecademy has close to 17 million users and allows you to start clubs and connect with like minded businesses.  And while Ryze is not booming with membership it is still a very effective social network to join.

The last suggested site to join is StumbleUpon.  This is a social network that is all about spreading the content love and distributing your content should be the ultimate goal of any social campaign.  There are around 20 million users on StumbleUpon and although it takes a pretty big time investment, the connections and ability to distribute your content are great for your website and your reputation.

As you can see this is not an exhaustive list of social networks.  Once you join these mainstream networks with the greatest reach potential, then you can start to look at smaller niche networks to join and become a part of.  The important thing to remember when going social is to not rush.  Developing quality relationships on social networks is the key to social success.  Wondering how people will know which social network to find you in? Get the free Social Follow button for your website.  You can link to all your social profiles from one nifty and clean button.

You are likely thinking, “What do you mean? Social media is all the rage and it is the BEST way to market my business” and yes, this is what we are usually telling you in our posts.  Honestly, that really hasn’t changed.  Facebook and Twitter are still your best avenues for reaching new and untapped potential customer resources, but just getting them to fan your page or connect on twitter isn’t going to get them thoroughly engaged.

Just consider for a moment the sheer volume of tweets daily on Twitter.  The possibility of that new subscriber to your tweets actually reading your tweets is a shot in the dark.  Sure you could send direct messages to all your peeps, but that will likely lead to a mass decrease in your followers thanks to your new found spammy nature.  Same lies true for Facebook who uses their infamous EdgeRank algorithm that can literally prevent your posts from ever appearing on your fan’s page.  With Facebook as well you have to consider the large portion of its user base that is still trying to figure out how to use their service and see more than just highlighted news or they are still trying to put their lives in a timeline. So, it is important to include another step in your social media endeavors that ensures a direct access point to your new found friends and that is through email marketing.

In order to connect your email marketing and social network marketing campaigns you’ll still need to attract more fans and followers.  As always we suggest developing some killer content that will blow people’s minds and get it out there as a Facebook ad to be liked to through a mass pass around of your existing Facebook fans.  For those who lives are devoid of quality content and meaningful relationships, you could fall back on the old standby of giving a coupon or something away for free.  Either way, continue to build your fan base on Facebook and Twitter.

Once people have liked your page or started to follow you on Twitter, offer a second out of this world piece of content or yes, another decent give away or discount, but ask them to sign up for your email list to receive it.  Add to this the additional rewards for email list referrals and before you know it you will have direct access to more people and still have an impressive social media circle as well.  You can also segment your email sign up lists to best target your email marketing efforts to different subscribers.

Building a huge social following is only part of the social media marketing strategy.  Finding new and better ways to engage your social audience is the real game winner.  One of the best ways to build your network of followers is to let them know where you can be found on the web.  Our free Social Follow Follow Me button does just that without leaving your website looking like a billboard for social networking sites.  Add one button for all your networks!

We talked in a previous post about the value of content in your social media marketing campaign and moving into the New Year the value of content has only grown more.  With search engine indexing changes the power of author authority and the credibility, share-ability and readability of the content you send out into the cyber world relates directly to your online success or failure.  For this reason, this year, you should add one more step to your social media marketing resolution for 2012 and resolve to plan out your Social Media Content for the whole year.

Now don’t go into a tizzy.  This isn’t to say that you should plan out every word you intend to share right here and now.  We all know that world events, personal challenges and the unstop-ability of the ever changing world around us will always lead to spontaneously insightful content generation, but it is for those moments that are without spectacular elements that you should be prepared in advance to conquer. 

In actuality there are other reasons to plan out your social media content distributions in advance.  Besides providing for consistent posting, planning your content ahead also helps you maintain a cohesive tone and even keeps you in line with your social marketing message.  In effect, planning your content in advance helps to keep your campaign on track.  There is also the appeal of knowing that you’ll have a variety of engaging content planned out for the year. 

Now the content that you supply in your social media marketing should also have some variety and setting out your schedule will help to set the tone for this approach.  Making plans for when to include 3^rd party articles and links, when you will create a poll or trivia post, when you plan to add visuals like photos and videos and finally when you intend to share your own blogs, articles and company news will help to create the variety most of us seek in our social.  Another tip for keeping your posts and feeds fresh is to plan to repost items from previous months or years.  Not every post has to be news from today, especially when the things you post aren’t even relevant to your business, industry or neighborhood.

So planning ahead can save you from having a dull social existence this year and even next.  By planning out your social content and always choosing and writing content that is worth sharing you can meet all the goals of your social media marketing resolution and give your business the momentum to achieve social success this year.

No point in sharing your content when no one knows where to find you.  Make it part of your New Year plan to add the free Follow Me button from Social Follow so every visitor can find you on the social network that they hang out on.

If you haven’t already, you have at least one week left to seasonally brand your logo or online profile image.  That’s right people, break out the elf hats and fire up the menorah and get a holiday image out on the web that still allows your branding to shine, but keeps a hint of holiday cheer behind your imagery.   It is not just about your profile image either.  On Facebook, you can update your photo strip with pictures from the office holiday party or the decorations found in your neighborhood and you can change your twitter background to be one that adds just a bit more festivity to your visitor’s day.

One major gaffe of the holiday social media marketing season is the overly self-promotional posts.  This is a big problem with ecommerce stores.  You have to keep the good content rolling even during the holidays.  If all you are tweeting and posting are reminders and links to your sales and promotions people are going to get the feeling you are as greedy as Mr. Scrooge.  If you can’t think of something good to write, ponder some of the biggest challenges of the holiday season and how you can help your readers, fans and friends overcome them.  Tips on shopping on a budget and when a gift card is the best possible gift for the hard to gift person are great ways to show your loyal customers that you care more about them than about your bottom line.  It is the holiday season after all.

One really funny thing to note about the winter holidays is the weather.  Talking about the weather can be seem so cliché, but asking people to send your Florida business pictures of snow is a great way to branch out your social networking circles and getting to enjoy the wonders of a winter wonderland as well.  Or the opposite could be true, if you are trapped in snowy North Dakota for the winter season, perhaps you’d like to see some sandy beaches on first day of winter.  Either way, talking about the weather at a time when the weather everywhere is different, is a great way to expand your circles and reach out to your fan base and demonstrate that you care about what life is like in their world.

Whatever you celebrate and however you celebrate is as important as celebrating the season itself.  This doesn’t mean you have to promote your brand and jump on the corporate band wagon that ruins Charlie Brown’s Christmas more than once.  It just means that you have another opportunity to add a new layer of transparency to your business and share what’s important to your clients during the holiday season.

When it comes to connecting your holiday spirit with those of your fans, people need to know where to find you.  With the free SocialFollow button you can link to all your holiday online networks in one convenient button and visitors can find you on the network they like to share.  Happy Holidays-Eat, Drink and Be Social!

Let’s take examples from our Thanksgiving traditions and apply them to our everyday interactions with our online audience.  For starters, try putting your differences aside and remind yourself to be thankful for the ability to tap into the mind of those who may not always agree with you.  Social networking and social media has given everyone a voice.  It has given power back to the spoken and written word and it is the voice of the people that governs in the social world.  Be thankful each day for those that keep us in balance and challenge us to be more transparent, more engaged and more human. 

When gathering with close family and friends for a Thanksgiving celebration, we let down our masks and we are real.  This should carry forward in your everyday interactions in social networks.  Be authentic.  Be who you are at the family dinner table every time your fingers hit the keypad to type a message.  I should picture you in your fluffy bunny slippers if that is what you like to wear when you are writing your blog or compiling your tweet.  Show who you really are and your audience will show you many thanks.

As kids return home from college and daughters wandering the globe find their way back to the smell of turkey and stuffing (or lobster and corn-whatever scent draws you home), parents and relatives shower them in words of praise and interest in what has been happening in the last months or years.  You can use this same approach with your online family by telling them just how awesome they are and how much they have done for you, their community and themselves.  Highlight each follower’s strengths.  Share those stories that inspire you.  Be thankful and praise each day the great worthy and inspiring activities that your online community achieve. 

One final way to bring Thanksgiving Day thanks into your every day social media marketing is to give of yourself without looking for thanks.  That’s right.  Give selflessly to your online community.  Whether you want to give away a service or product or offer an outstanding, unbelievable discount to your faithful followers with a special note that says clearly says Thanks.  Without your social following, you likely wouldn’t have as much to be thankful for yourself. 

Everyone at SocialFollow and Studio98 would like to say Happy Thanksgiving and Thank You to all of our readers, followers and especially our button subscribers who have helped us spread the word about our free Social Follow button and make it a huge success.  Wondering how to stay connected to everyone that visits your website or blog? Add the Social Follow button from Studio98.  With the FollowUs button you can maintain your brand without all the bling.  Your website should be a place for your business, not a banner for social networking circles, the SocialFollow button keeps all your social networks in one pretty little holiday package!

A lot of people start their Twitter and Facebook adventures by posting links to their products and services thinking that this is the best way to get people interested in their business.  Many even search the social networking platforms for people talking about their product, services and brand and contacting them directly with information and links back to their website.  But is this really what your customers are looking for? Were they asking for your feedback on your own brand or were they looking for the opinions of their connections on your business or brand?

In the end, a lot of businesses end up doing more spamming than promoting on social media networks and this is where many of those same businesses start to feel that their social media marketing plan isn’t living up to all the hype.  Where many people are misguided is when they are first told that they should be using social networking platforms to promote their content, but they don’t have a clear understanding of what content they should actually be promoting. 

Content is still the king of the web, but only the most engaging and interesting content rules the kingdom.  The first question you need to ask yourself about your content is if it is a worthwhile read.  Did you provide information that will help someone make a decision or provide them with much needed information or did you spend 500 words of content talking only about your great product or service and what makes it so great and why you priced it as you did? Have all of your posts followed this self-promotional and salesy/spammy trend?

When making a lasting impression and an impression that keeps on impressing for days as it makes it way around the web, you need to have content that goes beyond you and your business.  You need great content that is about your industry, not just your business.  You want to share content that is funny, catching, inspiring, something, anything, but not promotional ALL of the time.  Promotional content does have its place for new product and service announcements and even to share customer success stories or fun and crazy adventures within your business, but the content that will go the distance will be the words that have no promotional value at all.  A true good read. 

Before you invest in someone to manage your social media accounts, consider hiring a good copywriter to make your social media worth managing.  Another great way to build better connections on social networking platforms is to make it easy for your website visitors to find you on the network they are part of.  Show off your social accounts without losing your brand by using the Follow Us button from SocialFollow from Studio98; all your social network connections in one low-key button that doesn’t take away from your website branding.

The first question a lot of website owners ask is why would I want to shorten my urls? This is a totally legit question especially when you consider that your SEO Company probably just got you to switch to all SEF urls to help with organic search ranking and increase your site relevancy. So here is an example of why you might want to shorten a url:
I want to send a client direction to my Studio98 office in Clearwater, FL. Which would be better to send to them?

Example A: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&sugexp=kjrmc&cp=25&gs_id=u&xhr=t&q=studio+98+clearwater+florida&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS317US317&biw=1280&bih=479&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&ion=1&wrapid=tljp1318962472910018&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=N8WdTtHnCqPWiAK1nYiQCg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CBUQ_AUoAg
Example B:
http://bit.ly/mapstudio98

Most people that receive a link like example A in their inbox are going to hesitate before clicking on it that is if their email client even keeps the link intact. Those who are newbies to the Internet or live in a state of constant virus-phobia are likely going to think it goes to some malware or malicious identity theft site and delete the email all together. Hence Example B is the better option for delivering a big url in a short and sweet way.

Now then, overall length is just one of the reasons, but it is for more than just emails. Consider your posts to social networks. Twitter gives you a limited amount of space so wouldn’t it be better to fill it with a great call to action or interesting traffic driver than to hog it up with a giant http code? Facebook and the other social media platforms without message size restrictions give you plenty of room, but what about the look of those long urls and, even more importantly, what about the branding value and recall of your longer url?

If you are running a contest on Facebook or any social networking site and you have your contest registration set for a particular url, but it is a lengthy url, wouldn’t the word of mouth about your contest be easier to pass if the url was easily recognizable, easy to share and easy to recall? Wouldn’t it be foolish not to use a short url that adds to your branding efforts rather than a long url that could be mistyped and visitors lost? And don’t forget about all the mobile devices being used for social networking today. There is no accounting for speed typing on those tiny keypads and keeping your urls short means less typos and faster accessing for your valuable information.

What about SEO and doesn’t having a short url mess with my organic search ranking? Surprisingly not; if you use Google’s url shortener it actually works as a permanent 301 redirect and Google announced that they would pass the link juice right through on those tiny urls. Google isn’t the only service that you can use to make your big urls short, TinyUrl is the original url shortener and often the most popular because it was the first service picked up and used by most social networking sites. Bit.ly is also a contender of special note as they actually keep analytics on their short urls and are expected to release their own search engine based on the click popularity of short urls. This search engine will be much like Social Media Engine Topsy, but Bit.ly will have a far more detailed algorithm delivering even more accurate and focused search results as well as reputation management for shortened links.

Should you shorten your urls everywhere? Nope. Definitely not. A lot of people still don’t trust short urls. Save tiny urls for when you need to do something about a really big url, otherwise, if it fits, keep it. Well there is no need to worry about the long and short of your urls if they are only on your website. Break out of the long url chain and get on the social bandwagon using short urls to deliver your content to social media sites across the Web. The best way to connect with your followers is with the free Follow Me button from SocialFollow and Studio98-all the network buttons without all the bling; keeping your site about your brand.

We talk all the time about how customer centric social media marketing is an essential for businesses of every size, but should social media really be a job delegated to the marketing department? Are you making sure customer service or the customer experience is the center of your social media plan? Or are you just watching conversions? And is this the fine line between marketing, sales and customer service?
Marketers know marketing. Historically a marketer’s job has been to attract the average Joe to products, services and other opportunities that will help the profit margins grow. Marketers, including Internet marketers, are masterminds at devising winning strategies and measuring the results of campaigns. They gather data and plan out ideas for more ways of enticing new and returning customers back to the conversion pool. While there is a place for social media marketing in ads and contests run on these platforms, should your marketing department be handling the day to day interactions and engaging customer centric ways of your social networking?
Now, consider the job of your average customer service representative. When you call customer service, it is to get or give feedback and to have a problem resolved in the best possible way. Most customer service representatives have been fully trained in dealing with customers and how to deliver on a company’s promises to its consumers. Customer service reps are pros at matching products and services to a client’s needs and most importantly, customer care representatives have one goal and that is to make the customer happy and satisfied with their experience with your brand. When it comes to interacting on social networks, customer service representatives may be the best fit for the job.
Finally there is the sales team. This team is like a morph between the marketer and the customer service representative. They know how to connect people to products and to promote products effectively and at the same time, most sales persons are driven by numbers and making a sale. Note, I did not say ALL sales persons are driven by sales, but traditionally, sales are tied to commissions, while customer service is paid hourly and marketers earn a salary. The typical sales person knows how to interact with people of all shapes and sizes and is well versed in positively promoting a particular brand. Could it be that social sales team is what your business needs?
So, you are going to go social with your business, which new department will you create? The goal of many businesses on social platforms is to connect with current clients or customers and then sort of wiggle their way into other media users lives by offering incentives for connections and eventually building real relations and gradually developing loyal business relationships with all of their connections.
How to make that happen and which department to use? Customer centric social media interactions will require a companywide revolution. Marketing will work with sales who will work with customer service and together on the social platform, all of these departments will represent your business. Develop a funnel for interaction and assign the right social liaison for each incoming situation and keep the doors of communication open on social media strategies.
Social media and social networking are a prime example of how this one endeavor can have literally thousands of customer access points. A dream come true for marketers and sales people everywhere; customer service still does their thing regardless of the platform. With new platforms and social networks appearing daily, you need to spread your social wings wisely and with the right people within your organization. When you are on multiple social networks, use the professional and clean Follow Us button from SocialFollow and Studio98.

When you look at the analytics side to social media marketing what do you find? NUMBERS! DIGITS! INTEGERS! Number of impressions.  Number of clicks through visits.  Number of conversions.  Sadly, the number of exits.  When it comes to social media marketing, the numbers matter which is why we love numbers and why we love groups like Nielsen who are always giving us more ways to strengthen our sweet love for the digits and the data they provide about the potential success and failure of our marketing endeavors. 

Just last week Nielsen published its Social Media Report for Q3 2011 and the numbers for social media are looking great for marketing success with social networking resting nicely as the number two way we (number lovers and non-number lovers alike) spend time online.  That’s right folks; social networking is the fun, fascinating past time of 4 out of 5 active Internet users in the United States.  What do these numbers mean to you? Well, you shouldn’t need to bust out the calculator to figure this one out, but just in case, we’ll give you the answer: 

You should probably decide if there is a place for your business identity in social media circles and take advantage of this opportunity to reach 80% of the country’s Internet Users.

If you are not sure that social media marketing is right for you, we posted some tips in a previous blog, Social Media Peer Pressure, about deciding if social media is really the right approach for your business.  Now, back to some more numbers.  The recent Nielsen Social Media Report also noted that 53% of active adult social networking users follow a brand (or several brands) as part of their social experience.  Also of note is that the over 55 generation have doubled their intake of social media content and 70% of adult social network users also shop online.  Oh the numbers couldn’t be better!

The numbers never lie! Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but the truth is that more people are finding mobile ways to stay connected with their social networks, which means more people are being social all the time and if you like to watch your numbers change, you should consider a social media marketing campaign and be where the people are…being.  Or perhaps it is time to crunch the numbers on your existing campaign to make improvements. 

A great step for going social is to get your free Follow Us button from SocialFollow.  Even better for the number lovers, the SocialFollow button comes with its own numbers and analytics allowing you to watch your button impressions as they happen.  Take a moment to look at your numbers and then take a moment to read over Nielsen’s report and start looking for better customer centric ways to build your numbers today!

Is social media marketing right for every business? Should all companies jump on the social networking bandwagon and air all their company ways with the millions of people online? The answers to these questions are mixed and the truth for some businesses may be that the well beaten path isn’t the right path for delivering their message, while others will find exactly the outlet they’ve been looking for to expand their business and their connections in online social communities.

There is definitely no denying that social networking is fun and might we even call it hip. Everybody is online and a huge percentage of that everybody can be found on one social network or another giving credit of course to the big 4 (notice no longer a big 3) Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Literally, everybody IS doing it from old desktops, new laptops and mobile devices, getting too numerous to mention; people are online. So how can it not be beneficial for a business to get out there and gain a bit more exposure?

Well, if you are uncertain about giving into social marketing peer pressure the best first step for you would be to Google yourself. See what is showing up where and why. The next step would be to offer some kind of opt in to existing customers whether it is a piece of notebook paper on the wall of your shop or if it is an option available online. You need to see if your audience is spending time online. You need to figure out if your target audience, meaning your customer base, is using social networking platforms themselves and if your presence in the same arena would be of benefit to them and you.

While it may be hard to believe, largely because most social media marketing is free (all be it time consuming), there may also be the chance that your business has a great system in place already that offers a high return on investment and really takes priority over a new marketing avenue. If you feel this is the case, it would still be worth your while to get at least a Facebook fan page started as it is rather simple to maintain and can build as slowly or quickly as see fit with little interference in an existing system.

You have to be honest with yourself and ask if social media marketing will really help you achieve your business goals. Part of the sure to fail scenario in social networking is a lack of time investment. While it may be largely free to go social, you have to spend a lot of time making connections and establishing a good reputation. Social media marketing is like skinny jeans and if you have to do a major workout and eat like a bird to look good in your skinny jeans…well, then, skinny jeans may not be for you. If you don’t have the time and effort to invest in social networking, then stay out of the game until you do. There are lots of web2.0 listings ((Manta, YellowPages and more) you can use to your search marketing advantage without going into the social circles.

When it comes to keeping social media marketing sexy, the free SocialFollow button from Studio98 has got your look covered. If you should decide to give into peer pressure and hop on the very powerful social media marketing train, make sure you have the FollowMe button from SocialFollow on your website, blog and social profiles so your visitors can find you on in the social circle that they frequent most.