Social media marketing is a booming trend, so it’s no wonder that it’s easier than ever to find all of your favorite brands on popular websites like Twitter and Facebook. Businesses of all sizes are relying on social media to improve customer communication since social networking is much more efficient and cost effective than communicating via the telephone or e-mail.

If you’re a customer that has a concern, question, or a comment, you can reach out to the majority of brands through social media in a matter of seconds. On top of that, since brands are relying on social media for marketing purposes, many top businesses are giving their customers rewards for following them on Twitter or liking them on Facebook.

Here are a few top benefits you can receive from following your favorite brands in social media:

1. You can be heard. Rather than sending an e-mail to a business or even participating in a survey, you can post your comment or tweet a response in just a few seconds. Since most businesses are new to the social media plunge, it’s likely that you’ll receive a response within a few hours or even a day to your question or concern.

On top of that, since Twitter is a public website, a business won’t want other customers to see a public customer concern that hasn’t been dealt with. If you’re posting on a public social media website, a business is much more likely to respond to you than if you just send an e-mail.

2. You can find out about special deals and contests. Brands are more excited than ever to use social media to promote specials, giveaways, and contests. Even mega brands like Verizon have leaned heavily on social media by using hashtags on Twitter to promote a series of giveaways to drum up sales from new customers.

If you have a favorite brand, it literally pays to stay in the know and use social media to take advantage of discount offers you can’t find anywhere else.

3. You can eliminate confusion. If you’re confused about a company’s new product or how to take advantage of a coupon, you can post a question on Facebook to receive a near immediate response. This is much more effective than visiting forums with answers from other Internet users.

Why rely on another customer’s speculation or perspective when you can go to the horse’s mouth and get your answer directly from the brand through social media? Even better, you won’t have to worry about staying on hold with a company for minutes on end to get the help you need.

4. You can become part of the bigger picture. Starbucks is one of the leading brands in social media, and they have taken the next step by introducing the forum My Starbucks Idea. The amazing thing about this forum is that customers are allowed to post their ideas and suggestions, and Starbucks actually listens.

This is a brilliant strategy on behalf of Starbucks. Customers everywhere are impressed that they are being heard by a large corporation, and Starbucks is getting great ideas for free that they can use for product development.

Guest Author:  Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

What started as a mere trend several years ago has now evolved into its own culture. Social commerce is gaining popularity by leaps and bounds in the virtual world and shows no signs of slowing down. Selling products online was once reserved for major retailers with massive inventories and the selling power to reach the masses. Now, thanks to sites like eBay, web stores, and applications for social media platforms such as Facebook, anyone can market and sell their products online.

Having a successful social commerce campaign hinges on a number of factors. It’s not something you should venture into blindly without having done at least some minimal research. Although once you get your ecommerce campaign up and running, it can run on autopilot to some extent. However, there are certain areas in which you always have to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to selling your products online.

Let’s take a look at the four most important ingredients in a successful social commerce campaign:

A Multifaceted Approach

Simply using one or two of the array of free social media tools available today won’t get you very far in your social commerce campaign. The key to making these tools work for your brand is not just using them, but using them in tandem with other avenues of marketing to gain maximum exposure. Add Facebook and Twitter widgets to your business website and blog. Add links to your website and blog to your Facebook Fan Page and Storefront and your Twitter account. Tweet about sales, promotions, new products and services. Blog about these events as well and announce the blog updates on your Fan Page. Let everything you do online reciprocate what you’ve already done, allowing the campaign to come full circle.

Get Personal

Customers want to feel like their opinions matter and achieving that strengthens the bond between the buyer and the seller. Try to involve your customers in your business as much as you can. Constantly ask for feedback about their experiences and take their suggestions. Ask them to vote on which products should be introduced next and which services they would like you to offer in the future. Asking for their opinion lets your customers know that you are listening to them, which works to establish brand loyalty. On the flipside of that, don’t forget to interact with your fans on a personal level. Respond to their comments and posts. Let them know you’re reading and listening.

Reward That Loyalty

Reward your loyal social media followers with exclusive discounts and specials that are not available to other customers. Not only does this show your appreciation for your loyal followers, it also provides the incentive for them to recommend your brand to others.

Don’t Oversell

Instead of always posting about products you have for sale, ask questions or create polls to get your customers involved. Share relevant industry news or even some candid insights into your personal life. If your company is involved in other events or causes, let your fans know it. Random trivia, current events and human interest stories are always good conversation starters. Yes, the point of social commerce is selling your products and services, but nobody likes high pressure tactics or feeling like they’re being “sold” to all the time.

Guest Author: Helen Fang is the social media expert at Vendio, an ecommerce software company that enables online businesses to sell on Facebook, eBay, Amazon, and Google from one platform.

What is the one thing I should do to my website that would improve my SEO?  This is a common question I am asked and I always have the same answer.

I tell people all they have to do is make their listing in the search engines the one that more people will want to click on. Simple!

Of course, there is a lot in just that simple statement.  First, for people to be able to click on your listing it needs to be seen and for them to actually click on your listing then it needs to offer the answer they are looking for.  Put simply, it needs to say “Here I am and I have exactly what you are looking for”.  Actually, it needs to shout it at you!

So how do you do this?  Well it’s all down to two very important fields on your webpage.  The Title tag and the Meta description tag.  If you are using a content management system to update your pages then the fields are probably called Page Title and Page Description.

Now before any purist SEO specialists chime in and say that the description field has no place in your SEO strategy let me tell you they are plainly wrong.  What they mean to say is that the search engines place no value on what you include in your description field.  However, it isn’t the search engines that click on your listing.  It’s people that do that and they read your page description.

You see as far as I am concerned SEO is not just about getting a high rank in the search engines.  Its real purpose is to get you traffic and for that you need people to click on your listing.  So for that reason alone I maintain that the description tag is a very important field.

So, first of all we need to get your page seen and that means it needs to be placed high in the search results.  This is where the page title comes in.  It is the most important place to include your keyword terms.  Google places a lot of importance on this tag and it expects the words you want to rank for to be in that field.

Don’t make the mistake of many websites and feel you have to put your company name into the page title.  It’s far more important to get your keywords in there and to also make sure the title reads like a proper sentence.  If you can, make it compelling to entice the click.  A good trick sometimes can be to turn your page titles into questions.  If it matches the question in the searchers head then your chances of a click are very good.

Now it’s time to look at the page description field.  As I’ve already said it doesn’t directly impact what the search engines think about your page so you don’t need to worry too much about getting keywords into the description.  What you want to do is make the description very compelling and include a call-to-action.

A powerful tool can be to use the page title to ask a keyword rich question and use the page description to clearly state that the answer to the question will be found if you click on the listing.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say you have a guitar shop in Birmingham that specializes in left handed guitars. So your keywords could be “left handed guitars birmingham”.  In this case your page title could be “Looking for Left Handed Guitars in Birmingham?” and your page description could be “You’ve come to the right place.  Take a look at our massive selection of left handers.  Many are on sale and they are sure to sell out today”.

Did you notice how the description field had a call-to-action and a sense or urgency also?  Click today or you might find all the guitars have gone.  This is a great tactic.

So if you only do one thing to your website I would suggest taking a good look at your page titles and page descriptions.  You’ll be amazed what difference polishing those up can make.

Want to know more about SEO? Why not try Mike’s Free SEO Training Course?

One of the reasons I like ecommerce SEO is that there is a tremendous amount of opportunities to increase the optimization quality of an online store. Unlike service businesses or online brochure websites which typically only have a few pages, a catalog of products creates a great opportunity to increase the amount of content and provide relevance for the search engines.

Here at Best Rank, we spend a lot of time educating clients about optimization and how they can use it to gain a competitive advantage in their marketplace.  Having a specialty in ecommerce, my conversations are often about tips and advice on what online store owners can do to improve their rankings and increase traffic. There are plenty of resources for learning SEO online, but not a lot specific to ecommerce.

For those interested in getting their hands dirty, I have created a list of 62 Ecommerce Search Engine Optimization Tips & Ideas. Of course there are tips here that apply to non-ecommerce sites as well, but ecommerce SEO does deserve its own list.

The list is in no particular order. If you have some tips or feedback you want to add, please feel free to comment .

1. Do a search in Google using site:www.yourdomain.com. This allows you to see what pages of your website are being indexed and how they look. The results should be keyword rich and have call to action for users to click.

2. Do a site: search in Google for your competitors. While you are looking at your own indexing, look at your competition. Are their search engine results better optimized or better written? Don’t let them win.

3. Use Google’s Keyword Tool to find keywords. If you have an Adwords account you are probably familiar with Google’s Keyword Tool. If not, you can use Google’s External Keyword Tool Be sure set the match type on [exact] so you are looking at the number of searches for that specific keyword.

4. Don’t forget text on your homepage. Graphics are attractive and are great for users. Be sure that there is some html text on the homepage as well. If you have to put it near the footer, fine. Just make sure it is somewhere.

5. Be sure your homepage title uses your 3 most important keywords. I prefer to limit any given page to focus on 3 keywords. Some people like 4 and some people 2. Your homepage optimization is really important to tell the engines what your site is going to focus on.

6. Choose 3 keyword phrases to focus on per category page. I use the similar 3 keyword rule for category pages as well.  I will sometimes use only 2 if it is focused. Of course you are then going to make sure these keywords are used in the title, content, etc. but we will get to that later.

7. Be sure the top keyword for the page is first in your Title tag for all category pages. The first word in your title tag is the most important.

8. Be sure to customize the product pages Title.
If your ecommerce software allows dynamic insertion, use it. For example, if you can tell the system to use specific elements of the product in the title, use it. You can use product names, manufacturer, and SKU. They are all valuable.  If you don’t have a lot of products and your software allows for custom title writing, be sure to write custom titles.

9. Format the Title For Relevance & Clicks.
This can apply to categories and products. The formatting of a Title I like to use is “Keyword Phrase 1 | Call To Action or Benefit Using Keyword Phrase 2 and 3 if possible”. For example: “Hospital Towels | Wholesale Medical Towels On Sale”

10. Use .html or .htm for page naming. If you are using a CMS system and prefer no extensions such as /keyword/ that is fine too. While using .html may be considered old school, it still works. We all know that everyone claims that search engines treat most pages extensions equally, but my experience has seen differently. It’s still a good practice.

Download Best Rank’s Free White Paper for the Remaining 52 Tips!

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Guest Author: Jason Kreidman is the Vice President of Business Development for Best Rank, Inc.  Jason has been building, managing, and marketing ecommerce businesses for over 14 years and now assists other merchants in getting results online.

When it comes to social media, psychology has a lot to do with the success or failure of a business. This greatly affects how business owners market their services. Social media communities are increasing in popularity, and there is no end in sight to this trend. Because social media is prevalent in marketing, there are ways to take advantage of the psychology connection.

The Success of Social Media

Social media channels flourish because society needs them. They allow individuals to connect with others on personal levels. This provides a person with a sense of belonging. The concept of group membership is what social media is born from. Contributing to an important group discussion can make a person feel important and valued as a part of a community.

Creating interesting and enchanting content is the key to success in social media. The most effective content reaches people on emotional levels. An individual should feel a sense of connection to the product or service being presented. Marketing information should be engaging, relevant, and uncomplicated. It should also be displayed in a clear, simple, and logical manner.

Why People Need to Connect

It’s human nature for people to thrive on socially engaging with others. Interactions between individuals is the core of modern society. Most people want to establish relationships with others whether the contact is physical or virtual. A social forum is the best way for people to share passions and beliefs as well as share personal pieces of themselves.

People connect through social media because:

- it provides acknowledgement from a group or individual
- it gives a person a sense of belonging in an exclusive group
- a group member feels important in an open venue
- most people can be in the spotlight at some point
- it makes a person feel special, valued, and indispensable

Taking Advantage of Psychology in Social Media

Most marketing campaigns focus on large target audiences. An effective way to gain customers in social media marketing is to acknowledge the individual. Many people enjoy interactive social media communication because it gets them noticed. Internet or mobile-based businesses that employ social dialogue are effective because they recognize each contributor.

One way to benefit from the psychological effects of social media is to include each member in all communications. Allowing people to express opinions is a critical step in building a business. It creates the opportunity for discovering new ideas and strategies. If a person feels included in the marketing process, he or she will want to have share information with potential customers.

Elevate Emotion to Increase Marketing

Because psychology plays such an important part in social media marketing, the best way to succeed is to heighten emotions. This can be done in a number of ways. An effective method includes putting the customer in the spotlight. Many people delight in getting noticed in a group. A business owner who focuses on the opinions of each customer can find long-lasting success.

Spotlighting the customer includes:

- approving or acknowledging each person’s ideas
- sharing a person’s contributions with other community members
- expressing gratitude for a contributor’s opinions
- placing extra focus on new customers
- responding to individual concerns in a group discussion

The psychological components involved in social media marketing can make or break a campaign. A business owner who wants to promote a product or service can find great success by implementing a few emotion-based tactics. When a customer’s emotional needs are met, he or she is more likely to speak highly of a business. This is what creates future relationships and long-term success.

It’s that time again! My UC Irvine social media online classes will be starting at the end of June for the summer quarter. I had such a blast with my students last quarter! I had enrollees from large corporations all over the United States, and even a student all the way from Croatia in Central Europe. Who would’ve thought, right?

UCI Extension will be holding two complimentary webinars this month so you can get some hot tips from me, learn more about my social media courses as well as other courses in the specialized studies program.

Here is how you can sign up for the complimentary webinars and the courses:

Developing a Social Media Strategy

Complimentary Webinar – May 18, 2011, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm Pacific

To register for the webinar or learn more about other webinars, click here. Recording is now available and will only be up till June 30, so listen to it while you can! http://ht.ly/4Znx2

9-Week Online Course – June 29 to August 24, 2011 (Wednesdays), 6 to 8 pm Pacific

To enroll directly into the course, click here. (Update:  As of June 29, 2011, we have 5 seats left; not too late to register!)

For not-for-profits: “Using Social Media to Make a Difference”

Complimentary Webinar – May 31, 2011, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm Pacific

To register for the webinar or learn more about other webinars, click here. Recording is now available and will only be up till June 30, so listen to it while you can! http://ht.ly/57OJp

4-Week Online Course – June 30 to July 21, 2011 (Thursdays), 6 to 8 pm Pacific

To enroll directly into the course, click here. (Update:  Registration for this class is no longer available.)

All sessions will be live through WebEx and will be recorded.

I hope to have some of you in my classes, and please help spread the word to anyone who you think may benefit from these courses!

The recipe for spicy copy always includes salt – lots of it – fresh hot pepper such as a jalapeno or Serrano, and earthy-flavored herbs. Without spice, your copy is tasteless. It reads like every other piece of website content or advertisement or brochure.

At best, readers forget spice-less copy. At worst, they don’t read it at all.

Next time you sit down to write, bring the salt, hot pepper, and herbs with you to the keyboard. I’m about to show you how to add the spice your copy desperately needs.

Salt for Headlines and Imagery

We’re visual creatures. Readers need pictures for engagement. The good news is that it’s simple to find free stock photography or use your own photos in marketing materials. It’s also possible to suggest an image without any pictures at all.

The best headlines evoke an image.

The importance of headlines cannot be stressed enough. There are even books written on the topic. Headlines matter that much.

But for the purposes of this article, let’s make it simple and say that your headline should address a problem your reader has and that you’re able to solve. It should also reference a concept that’s easy to grasp and one that will cause the brain to automatically conjure images.

What if the article to this headline read: “How to Make Your Copy More Interesting”? What kind of pictures would you have automatically thought of? Nothing interesting comes to my mind.

“Wake Up Your Readers with Copywriting Spice” produces countless images for me…alarm clocks, people sitting in front of computer screens with wide eyes, salt, peppers, etc.

Hot Pepper for Facts, Anecdotes, and Quotes

What sound do you make when you bite into hot pepper? Chances are it’s something this: “Whoo!”

Aim to give your readers that same reaction when they read pieces of your copy. Give the reader surprising facts, emotional anecdotes, and inspiring quotes. Here’s an example.

Version 1: The retail industry has grown significantly over the last year.

Version 2: By fourth quarter 2010, U.S. retail sales reached just over one trillion dollars, which is an 8% increase from the same quarter in 2009.

Which sentence are you more likely to care about?

Herbs for Subheads, Bullet Points, and Short Paragraphs

Herbs round out meals, because they add pleasing scents, flavors, appearance, and some even aid digestion. Herbs are used as a garnish for this reason.

If copy doesn’t look easy to read at a glance, then it might not be read at all. Think of herbs as the subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs of your copy. Herbs make your copy smell nice and make it easy to digest, too.

End with More Salt…and Maybe Lemon

Mirna recently posted about how important it is not to piss off your readers. In the post, it says you must not bore your readers and must give them what you promise. I agree.

At the end of your copy, pull it all together. Use salt (to taste) to achieve that perfect flavor. Be sure you answered any questions you asked in the piece, make sure your last paragraph coincides with your headline, and provide that oh-so-important call to action.

If after that the copy is still missing something, then add lemon, a notorious flavor enhancer. I think of lemon as “the main point.” Whatever you’re trying to say can be distilled in one sentence. And sometimes that one sentence at the end of your copy can be incredibly powerful.

Here’s an example: If you don’t add spice to your copy, no one will remember it.

Guest Author: Sara Lancaster writes spicy copy for businesses through her website content writing agency, No. 2 Pen. For fun, she writes the food blog, Saucy Dipper, which includes actual sauce and dip recipes. You can find Sara on Twitter as @SaraLancaster.

In October 2010, I was invited to speak in Mexico at Tweet to be Heard, the international social media marketing conference.  It was my first time in Puerto Vallarta, and what an experience it was.  Rightly, this is now my favorite spot in Mexico, and I still haven’t stopped raving about since my return.

Last year’s conference was an absolute blast and extremely worthwhile for all attendees who voiced that they wanted another conference.  I also walked away with some truly wonderful life-long friendships.

Well, the excitement continues! I am enormously flattered to be invited back for Tweet to be Heard 2 on May 12 – May 15, 2011 in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Again, I will be sharing the stage with some exceptional speakers:  Guillermo Perezbolde, Trey Pennington, Victor Garcia, Marco Ayuso, Richard Snyder, Jay Handler, and William Michael.

Like last year, I am treating it as another well-needed vacation.  If it’s time for you to take a break the routine and want to learn about social media, then this is “the” conference to attend.  I hope you consider joining us for a remarkable learning experience, fun in the sun, and some great adventure. And if you do decide to attend, please reach out to me for a VIP discount code that I can offer to special guests.

I interviewed conference originators and founders of Vallarta Escapes, Robert Dry and William Michael, to get the scoop on their thoughts of social media after gaining more knowledge from the first conference.   I also wanted to learn more about their plans for the upcoming conference.  Check out what they had to say below:

Despite Mexico being the 2^nd largest Internet country in Latin American after Brazil, its Internet penetration at 27.2% is lower than many other countries, but growing at a faster pace due to many early adopters.  What do you think the future of social media will be like in Mexico?

Social media is the largest adjunct to traditional marketing in wide use today.  Mexico, which lagged behind in the past regarding mail and telephone marketing has embraced Internet marketing and is soaring!  Not having the prejudices of older marketing ways allows Mexico to speed ahead of other countries still bound to archaic methods.  Social media will be the cutting-edge marketing tool for Mexico’s strength in the world economy.

Do you see many businesses in Mexico embracing social media?

Businesses in Mexico embrace youth and the young at heart; therefore, they are positioned to embrace social media.  Mexico is a hidden force that is ready to compete with the world on the Internet, regarding marketing and business.

Although you don’t work in the social media industry, you were one of the early adopters to launch a social media conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in October 2010.  What prompted your decision to hold an educational conference?

No, we do not work in the social media industry.  Vallarta Escapes as one of the leading agencies in Puerto Vallarta for vacation rentals and real estate sales.  After embracing social media and online marketing for our business and found success in them, we realized the lack of social media education in Mexico.  It made sense for us to bring qualified speakers to learn and share the knowledge with our friends in paradise.

What made you decide to launch Tweet To Be Heard 2 coming up in May 2011 and will only the residents of Mexico benefit from this conference?

At the end of the first conference, we asked the attendees if they would return the next year.  Not only did they say yes, but strongly encouraged us to do it in six months and have it as a continuous bi-annual conference.

We also conducted a survey after the conference that reinforced that we were doing the right thing.  Additionally, we learned how to improve the Tweet To Be Heard conference to make the upcoming event even more exciting, enlightening and well worth everyone’s time.

Since social media is on the World Wide Web, we naturally invite people from around the globe to join us in our tropical destination while learning from incredible international speakers.  This conference is structured to benefit everyone who uses a computer for business.

The first day, the speakers cover Facebook and Twitter for beginners; the second and third days are for attendees who know the basics of social media and want to graduate to a more advanced level, so they can truly leverage the power of social media in their business; the final day is designed for business and marketers that wish to walk away with a sustainable plan, which will help maximize business results.

What changes have you made with your online presence or social media efforts after the first conference, and what were the most important takeaways of the conference?

After the first conference, we created our long-term plan and applied search engine optimization with social networking tactics to increase our rankings in Google.  Our detailed marketing plan included integrating social media into the entire marketing mix.

The most important takeaway of the conference was the social media marketing plan as well as the incredible life-long friendships we garnered.  We are looking forward to seeing last year’s attendees again as well as meeting many new ones.

Image courtesy of http://younghoteliers.blogspot.com/

Because social media is so huge today, more and more businesses are using it. Even hotels are getting involved with marketing on social media sites because they see the value in finding customers that way. If you own or manage a hotel, work for one, you’re thinking of starting one, or you’re thinking about studying hospitality management, you may want to consider the top 10 ways hotels should be using social media.

1. Twitter questions and answers

Create a Twitter page and let people ask questions about the hotel. They can get quick answers that way, without needing to call and talk to an employee.

2. Set yourself as an expert

Set yourself apart as an expert on something or as a specific kind of destination — like a wedding hotel, etc. Use social media to market your niche.

3. Write content

Write good content about your industry and offer it for others to use/purchase. This really helps get your name out there.

4. Blog

You don’t want to get left behind when it comes to a presence on the Internet. A website is great, but a blog can help ensure that you connect with your customers and keep them up to date.

5. Respond to bad press

If you get bad press or comments on social media sites, respond to them — appropriately. Don’t just fight back or argue, because that won’t help you keep or redeem your reputation. Instead, be respectful, polite, and clear about the issue.

6. Provide information

Make sure you keep people informed. Your customers are going to want to know what’s going on with your company and if you’re offering any special deals.

7. Promote positive reviews

Make sure your positive reviews make it onto your Twitter page, Facebook page, and website. Let people know that others like the quality and service that you provide.

8. Be aware of competition

Pay attention to the competition by listening online. A lot of people ignore this because they don’t see the value in it. You really need to know what competitors are doing. If you don’t have a clue what they’re up to, how can you be expected to compete with them?

9. Make it personal

Get permission from your guests to take some pictures or videos at wedding and parties. Feature them on your social media sites so that others can see what you’re offering and how much fun people are having at your hotel. That will make people want to stay with you, too.

10. Hire through social media

Do your hiring through social media connections. It can be a great way to find people who would be a good fit when you need to hire workers.

It’s clear that hotels could be doing more to get their name and information out to the public. If they spend more time working with the people they want to see as customers — and interacting with them through social media — they’ll likely find that they can increase their business.

Guest Author: Amy Silver is a Public Health student. She loves her dogs and finding a good deal. She’s recently started blogging, and you can follow her at twitter.com/amyjsilver.

Are you coming to the point, where you say to yourself – “Oh sh%t, I have to write my article or blog post?” Does the though of writing drain you? And, even though you know you need to write articles to get more website traffic, build your list, nourish relationships and increase your profits – are you procrastinating writing your articles?

Then this new article is for you.

Learn from Marshall Goldsmith (the man who is ranked one of the most influential business thinkers in the world by The London Times and Forbes) and see how you can apply his secrets for getting unstuck to your own article writing and marketing efforts.

Why You End Up in a Writing Rut!

As Marshall says, “Our default reaction in life is to experience inertia. We all tend to go where we have been going, do what we have been doing and say what we have been saying.” If you say the same story time after time after time, and repeat the same advice – it gets boring! And, it’s not only boring for the reading, but it’s boring for you the writer.

Marshall’s Solutions for Getting Unstuck

1. You need to challenge yourself to create new content — content that is not found anywhere else online.

2. Change your approach to article writing. You have to ask yourself, “If I have to spend this time writing articles, how can I make it more meaningful to my readers and myself? Part of the answer is to find your passion and let it shine through in your articles.

3. Stop saying later. The time is now. How many times have you said this to yourself, “You know, I am incredibly busy right now. And, given the pressures of work and home, I feel too over-committed. I simply don’t have the time and energy. I’ll write my articles later in maybe 2 to 3 weeks when things calm down.” The reality is that there will not be two or three weeks. It is always going to be crazy.  If you are not taking the time to build your business now with articles, it’s never going to happen. As Marshall says, “To get unstuck, you have to look in the mirror day after day, and remind yourself of the actions that you will take today.” It requires discipline – but once you get writing and get out of this rut, you will get more profits and it will be worth it.

4. Get a peer coach – In a SUCCESS magazine article, Marshall mentions that he has a peer coach which asks him every day – “On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy were you yesterday? On a scale of 1 to 10, how meaningful was yesterday? How many minutes did you write? How many push-ups did you do?” This peer coach holds Marshall accountable. How do you hold yourself accountable to make sure you write and submit articles online and do the other marketing activities that will build your business?

Follow these tips and you’ll be writing articles on a daily basis – just like me “your article writing and marketing expert!” You see, I write articles on a daily basis for my ezine, blog, article submission and for my social media efforts.  And, I never get bored.

Guest Author: Instant Article Writing Template Creator Eric Gruber helps internet marketers and small business owners overcome writer’s block and end their writing rut fast so they can get more publicity, prospects and profits. Now, you can get 3 of Eric’s article templates for free – so you can write your articles in 30 minutes or less. Get it now at http://www.TryMyFreeArticleTemplates.com

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Question: There are so many pseudo social media experts out there, each with his or her “solution,” that it’s become overwhelming to identify the real McCoys. What criteria do you suggest people use? – Jim Taggart, LeadershipWorldConnect

Answer: Thank you for asking a very important question, and for trusting me to answer it for you. I am asked this same question at least once a week.  Unfortunately, the real social media experts are buried under all the hype of the fake experts because the real ones don’t have time to go calling themselves experts so they can pitch you on why you should have 100K Twitter followers, and why you should hire them to do the job. The true authorities in any industry are not hard-selling 24/7. They are too busy strategizing, sharing, learning, educating, creating, experimenting, executing, testing, growing, and helping others thrive.

It is difficult for me to answer this question without being too controversial or self-promotional.  However, my intent is to always educate and create awareness. Thus, the answer is not only based on my opinion, but also years of business experience and thousands of hours of research and execution to back it up.

So, how do you weed out the pundits from the fakes?

First, let’s define expert.  Here is how Wikipedia defines the word:

“An expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain.”

Having extensive knowledge about a topic beyond the average person makes you an expert.  Your skills training and credentials make you an expert.  Your years of experience and education make you an expert.  However, given the above definition, the word expert should not be a self-proclaimed title. This title should be earned and given by peers after a person has logged tens of thousands of hours, and the results should speak for themselves.

Hence, your social media expert is NOT:

• Someone who shows you how to use the latest feature on Facebook
• An individual who tells you to just create pages on the major social networks
• Your web designer or programmer
• Your previous mortgage broker who has moved on to social media because it is the next hot industry
• Your virtual assistant
• Someone who is simply online
• Someone who has five different types of businesses going at once to see which one makes the fastest buck

Am I an expert in social media because I live and breathe the Web every day? It’s possible. However, I wouldn’t use that term.  I am a student of my work. I am constantly learning, experimenting, and educating.  My expertise and knowledge are put to the test every time I have a new challenge, a client, or a new project. If I can’t prove that I have some expertise when the situation calls, it doesn’t matter what I call or describe myself.

The criteria on how to select a social media expert will depend on the individual business and its goals.  However, below are a few other things to consider when selecting a professional to help you with your social media or online efforts.  Please note, these are not listed in any particular order, and this is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but only a guideline to be used along with some common sense.

• Successfully using the Internet for business a minimum of three to five years. Social media for business has not been around long; however, the Web has been around long enough for some people to have a decent amount of knowledge and visibility.  For example, I started placing banner advertising for brands online in 1997-98. While consulting and completing my master’s degree in 2005, I started doing extensive research on the search industry and social media, then started my own business in 2007. There are many people who have been online just as long, if not longer.  You just have to do your homework and find them. Remember, it is not possible for someone to know everything about the Internet.

• Strong online presence. I don’t mean the number of followers they have on Twitter or likers on Facebook.  Google their name and see where they show up.  Where are they mentioned online?  Who is talking about them?  Are they published anywhere?  Who are they engaging with? How are they engaging?  How are they showcasing their expertise and sharing their knowledge? Are others praising them and referring to them as experts? Do they walk the talk?  Their online visibility does not have to be perfect, but it has to be strong. If someone’s online presence is virtually non-existent, do you think they can help you accomplish your online goals?

• Does not preach social media. An expert does not preach or shove social media down your throat right off the bat.  Instead, they give sound business advice based on what they have learned about your business. An expert will explain how social media can complement or enhance current efforts, not replace it.  A true expert may even talk you out of using social media.  I have done this with many clients because I simply felt they were not ready.  So my role at that point was not to convince them to jump on the bandwagon, but to help make changes in their business that would prepare them for the online world so they leverage it properly.  Social media may not make sense for every single business out there.  In addition, not every tool is for every business.  If your so-called expert starts the conversation telling you that you need to be on Facebook before evaluating your business, then there is your first sign to look for someone else because the tools should not even be discussed up front.

• Solid business background. It is not enough to just have online knowledge.  Being able to give someone effective advice about their business requires some form of business leadership.  An expert may have led a business and knows how every aspect of a business comes together.  That person should be able to walk into any business, analyze the current situation, learn about the products/service, research competition, understand the culture, review business objectives, and make a recommendation based on the needs and objectives of that business.

• Understands strategy. It is essential for a social media expert to have an understanding of strategy.  Do they know the difference between goals vs. objectives or strategy vs. tactics?  Can they pinpoint the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a business? Do they explain a long-term program? Are they able to develop or recommend a sustainable and scalable plan? Can they answer your ROI and measurement questions?  All these questions and more are very essential.

• Recognizes social media is not a campaign. It upsets me to still hear people call social media a campaign.  I come from the advertising world, and a campaign was something that had a start and an end date.  Guess what?  Social media does have a start date, but not an end date.  An expert identifies that social media is a process, a program, an ongoing never-ending conversation.  Although, you may be creating short campaigns within your entire strategy, an expert should help you brainstorm ideas that have sustainability and fluidity.

• Explains integration. Social media is not meant to be used as a stand-alone.  As I mentioned above, social media should be integrated into the entire business strategy.  Is your expert able to discuss and integrate every aspect or department of a business, including the culture, marketing, advertising, public relations, customer service, business development, internal communications, etc.? An expert should be able to explain the how and why to any business. If the goal is marketing, they should be able to help you integrate social media with all your offline marketing efforts as well as explain how it impacts search engine optimization and other online techniques.

• Marketing or corporate communications expertise. Although I don’t think it is an absolute requirement, I believe it is a major benefit to select an expert who has a marketing, corporate communications, or public relations background.  Experts from these industries have the knowledge about selected the right target audience, conducting surveys, understanding consumer behavior, creating effective messages as well as responding to a crisis situation.  I have seen many people succeed online without these skills; however, it is extremely helpful to hire a person with some knowledge or has the willingness to do the research.  If you do look at this as one of the criteria, please make sure they are open-minded and are aware of the communication shift.  It is not wise to choose someone that is still stuck on the traditional way of doing things.

I hope this helps you and others to identify the real McCoys from the fakes.  Of course, when hiring any professional, asking for results and references are always a must.  I can tell you upfront that consultants cannot always share who all their clients are or publicly share case study information.  For example, my work is all based on a client’s business strategy, and this information is generally kept confidential. Thus, don’t be surprised if others tell you the same thing.

The most important thing is to do your research and take your time before selecting the right person for the job.  It is only a matter of time before the fakes drop off.

As you may recall, at the beginning of the year I wrote the “7 Signs Your Social Media Consultant is Really an Expert” blog post, which was very popular. This was meant to be a fun and light post covering the basics, and all seven signs I listed are good basics to consider as well.

Was this helpful? What other criteria have you used to identify if someone is a true social media expert?

Are you experiencing writer’s block?

Whether you are a new writer or an article writing and marketing expert like me, there comes a time when you just stare at the blank white screen with your hands ready at the keyboard – but they’re not typing. The dreadful writer’s block is stopping the words from flowing as they should.

It is frustrating to be stuck especially when you know when you write and submit articles online you will get more website traffic, prospects and profits. So, you start pulling your hair out and grinding your teeth.

See, I know exactly how you feel. There were many times that I wanted to throw my laptop and my desktop right out the window. I know what it is like to try to force yourself to “work through it”, and when you sit down to write you are numb and feel like your brain is composed of concrete.

I also know that the longer you stay in this state the more discouraged you get, which makes it even harder to write. That’s why I am going to help you get out of that dark, cold, gloomy corner and see the light so you can start writing articles faster.

7 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block and Banish It Forever

1. Use instant article writing templates – You want to use article templates that literally guide you through the article writing process. For example, my 40+ Instant Article Writing Templates Kit, is filled with worksheets and ideas. All you have to do is enter the information that the template asks for – where it asks for it. Not only will you generate article ideas, but you’ll be able to organize your ideas in a way that gets your prospects to read your articles from top to bottom.

2. Host a teleseminar –- Greg Ivers of Church Loan Services, an article marketing coaching client of mine, has the hardest time putting the information inside his head into words. No matter how much time I spent with him – he just wasn’t getting it like many small business owners. However, he has no problem speaking about his expertise. So, using Instant Teleseminars, I’m having him do a teleseminar recording that he can use as a lead generation device. He’s then going to use the recording to create a number of articles to promote his free audio program.

3. Keep a digital or analog notebook with you 24/7 – They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Coming up with compelling ideas to write about is sometimes the hardest challenge of all. But, if you have an “idea pad” with you at all times, you can build a reserve of good topics to draw upon as you need them. You’re working proactively to prevent writer’s block.

4. Start writing without constraints — Consider this: Have you ever been blocked while playing Frisbee? Eating doughnuts? Dancing naked in your living room? Those are joyful things and there’s nothing at stake. If you fail, who cares? Nobody. If there are no rules, and no judgment, psychological blocks are impossible. So, start writing without constraints. Deliberately write badly, but write.

5. Write about how it feels not to be able to write – It’s sneaky, but, it works. The voices in our heads are always saying something, so get it down. Imagine yourself as a recording device, writing down the radio broadcast of some other person who happens to live in your head. Eventually your mind will hit thoughts on the topic itself and, presto, you’re on your way.

6. Make Lists – List making is never as threatening as “writing”, so go there first! As far as I know, there is no shopping list block, is there? For example, when I created this list article, I kicked my list around for awhile. I made changes. I did lots of moving and shuffling. Then once it reached critical mass, I put in a document and created my article.

7. Keep writer’s block away by writing daily — Just like someone who is out of shape could not run a mile in a respectable amount of time, someone who doesn’t write frequently will not be able to write high quality articles fast. You have to train your body to run, just like you must train your brain to write. And, you become a faster runner and writer through repeated practice and perseverance.

Guest Author: Article marketing expert Eric Gruber created online marketplace opportunities for authors, small business owners, speakers and internet marketers who want more website traffic, prospects and profits. Now you can get started with writing and marketing your business with articles, by getting 3 free article templates that will help you write articles faster. Get it now at: http://www.trymyfreearticletemplates.com

Residents of Mexico are calling it a “Social Marketing Tsunami,” and I am calling it a well-deserved vacation, haha!  Tweet to be Heard, the international social marketing conference of the season will be held in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico from October 21 to October 24, 2010.

If you want to learn everything you need to know about social media and you want to have a little fun doing it, then this is the conference to attend.  I will be sharing the stage with some great speakers:  Trey Pennington, Richard Snyder, William Michael, Victor Garcia and Lynne Barstow.

I am extremely honored to be speaking at this spectacular event.  When I was invited through a direct message on Twitter a couple months ago, my reaction was purely selfish because I just thought about ocean, sand, sun – a mini-vacation in the tropics, yeah .  I mean come on, have you ever heard of a conference that plans for a siesta (a nap break) in the middle of the day, and all kinds of outdoor and evening activities planned through midnight?  Admit it, you would be a little selfish too if you were invited.  Right?  And, who says you can’t mix business with pleasure?

Event director, Robert Dry is planning an amazing schedule that is attracting people from around the globe.  He hand-selected each speaker based on their knowledge and expertise in social media.  “I solicited input from my group of influencers by asking them who they considered to be gurus of social marketing and they came back to me with a small group of about eight well-known presenters that they would want to hear speak.  I did online research of each possible speaker’s Twitter posts, websites and other related accounts to further fine tune the list of speakers to just those that had an ÏT factor and extreme knowledge of the online world,” mentions Dry.

I don’t want to give too much away.  If you are really tempted to join the fun, let the schedule help you make the decision: http://www.tweettobeheard.com.

And by the way, if I wasn’t so transparent online, this amazing opportunity would not have come my way.  This is why it so essential for every business owner to make time for their online marketing.  You never know when the next tropical vacation, media coverage, or new customer opportunity is going to come along!

Arriba! Arriba!

It’s easy to take the idea of search engine optimization for granted. Yeah, the marketing landscape is abuzz with all things SEO today, but did you even know what the term “search engine optimization” meant ten years ago? The term has no doubt covered a lot of ground in a short period of time.

But let’s forget about SEO for a brief moment (gasp!). Trust me, it’ll be OK.

We spend a lot of time and money trying to make our businesses look good to Google. Maybe it’s time we listen to what Google already likes about our business and do something about that.

“What the hell does that mean?” Let me explain via a personal experience.

Shortly after I started blogging a few years ago, I experienced a less-than-optimal situation at my local gym. With one post, I ranted about it. Soon thereafter, I decided to try to be a small part of the solution instead, so I wrote a post filled with my own gym marketing tips. It was a short-lived and somewhat related departure from my normal topics (namely, marketing leadership), so I immediately returned to my regularly scheduled programs.

Here’s the deal: I’m not a gym marketing expert. I have expertise in certain areas of marketing, and I have frequented lots of gyms over the years, but I’ve never really combined the two. I was simply just giving my unsolicited advice on how gym owners could make things work a little better.

However, Google doesn’t quite see it this way. In Google’s eyes, I’m an authority on just about any phrase related to gym marketing. I get a minimum of 20 visits a day from people looking specifically for gym marketing tips. It wasn’t my plan, and it wasn’t on purpose. I’m not sure if the post is constructed well or if it’s simply a void niche, but Google has decided what I have to say on this topic matters.

Which got me thinking ….

How to Leverage Surprising Inbound Keyword Phrases

Let’s face it: expertise is in the eye of the beholder. If Google thinks I know what I’m talking about, and comments and emails and other analytics confirm that I know what I’m talking about, then maybe I know what I’m talking about. But how do I take advantage of such an unexpected gift?

I don’t know the answer to this question, but my pondering has led me to these six options, and I’d love to hear more.

1. Accept advertising for the specific post. Any niche is going to have its major players. If Google’s looking to you when it comes to certain keywords, then these top dogs probably should, too. If you’re entire site isn’t dedicated to the topic, then run-of-site advertising probably doesn’t make sense to them. But an ad per post probably would. Email them and make them aware of the traffic you’re pulling for specific keyword phrases, and then give them a price. You could do banners or simple text links. This is probably the easiest and most immediate way to leverage this traffic. In my example, I could go find software programs for gyms or even authors who write on the topic of gym marketing.
2. Build your list. Forget cash, at least directly. Build your email list or subscriber level with a special, targeted call to action within the post. Or set up an autoresponder that expands on the specific topic. Then, hopefully, your delivery of valuable content over time will build trust, which in turn could lead to business.
3. Create an information product. eBooks, white papers, videos, automated presentations, video, podcast, whatever. If your ideas on the niche have legs, let ‘em loose by creating a more robust information product. You could give it away and leverage the list-building and linking to your site as your form of currency, or you could sell these items at a reasonable price. Just be sure to link the title of the product to the keywords that are most often bringing people to the site. Might as well give them exactly what they’re looking for.
4. Use affiliate links that make sense. Whether you’re keeping it easy with a simple Amazon.com affiliate program or something a little more robust with a service like Commission Junction, affiliates oftentimes take a lot of the grunt work out of selling. Find some products that fit your niche and just post them. Or you could find creators of products that would make sense for you to peddle and offer to set up an affiliate program for them. Then everybody’s winning.
5. Manufacture your own hard good. Go ahead and go old school. Make an actual, tangible product, be it a book, a widget or whatever. No need to feel confined to the online space if an offline product is what people are looking for.
6. Build a company around it. If you’re really feeling ballsy, and if the niche is really ripe for the picking, and if you’re passionate about the niche, then maybe there’s a business waiting for you here. Just be careful: opportunities like this are great at taking your focus off of what you’re really good at it. Make sure you enjoy centering your business around this new niche, or else you’ll be miserable.

Remember to harness and harvest the gifts that Google gives you every single day. Google will let you know where you really stick out. If you can figure out a way to leverage it, you’re a step ahead.

I have no idea which of the above ideas I’ll move forward with, if any. If you were me, what would you do? What other ideas do you have for ways to leverage surprising niche keyword traffic?

Guest Author: Brett Duncan offers common sense for marketing leaders at his blog, MarketingInProgress.com. He spends his days as Senior Director of Global Online Solutions for Mannatech, and his nights chasing a crazy little boy around the house in between brief moments of cheering on the Texas Rangers. He lives in Irving, Texas. Sign up for his free newsletter now if you like practical, thought-provoking marketing tips.