Tweet

Sometimes things in this digital world still surprise you. For the longest time I had been suspicious that social media, like Facebook, was just a fad. As it turned out, I was wrong. Fortunately there are some very savvy social media people out there to help us, and Mari Smith is certainly one of those!

Mari is a very smart woman when it comes to social media, and I’ve learned from her wisdom personally. This is why I wanted to share her brand new offering with you!

Her new course — Facebook Money Mastery — shows you behind-the-scenes marketing strategies and real-world tactics that some of the world’s most successful companies are using today — and earning a significant return on all the time and money they’ve put into their social media presence.

Isn’t that exactly the kind of info we’d like to know?!

Starting June 5th, 2012 she is starting a series of 8 webinar sessions on using Facebook to make you money.

The best part? She’s cutting a big discount for those that sign up now! Not only that, but if you’re not 100% satisfied with the webinar she’s offering a full money back refund valid even after you attend all the classes! That’s not “low risk”, that’s no risk!

So, if you want to see your business maximize it’s ability to make money with Facebook, then join me on this course to have Mari show us how it’s done!

Once again, join here: http://bit.ly/FBMoneyMast

Kind regards, and best of luck to your businesses!

Sue

P.S. Like you, I don’t always have time to be somewhere at a specific time watching a webinar. Fortunately, Mari has that covered! All of her classes are archived so if you miss them, you can watch them later. So there is no risk of you missing anything.

http://bit.ly/FBMoneyMast

Tweet

Check out this infographic on the Top Ten Facts of Facebook:

To your social media success!
Sue

P.S. Maria and Tina have an amazing Ulimate Social Challenge where they will show you how to fuel your business with Facebook + Mobile + Pinterest.

Go now to: http://bit.ly/socialchallenge and register!

Tweet

Ah spring! The bounty of colours that erupt from the grey doldrums of winter that brings everything back to life again!

Spring is a time for rejuvenation and your business marketing efforts are perfect for revitalization. It’s time now to put more spring into your marketing and get more clients!

Here are five things you can start on today to get you started:

1)      Pick up the phone. Just as spring is a time of new beginnings for you, the same principle applies for your potential clients. People are in a hopeful, happy mood and are more amiable to making decisions, developing plans and moving forward. Pick up the phone and call your leads, past clients and those you met through your networking activities and introduce yourself, or remind them that you’re still around, and are here to help them.

2)      Conduct a promotion. Create a contest or some sort of promotion that’s tied in with Spring. If you’re in the cleaning or organizing industry, this is tailor made for you! However,  avoid discounting your services – instead, add in more of what you’ll give or do to the regular price. Discounting devalues your product or service but adding more value to an existing package is a win-win scenario for both of you!

3)      Spruce up your website.  If you haven’t updated your website in the past month or so, it’s time to give it a freshen-up. Just like you wouldn’t be reading the Friday newspaper to find out what happened on Monday, your prospects also don’t want to see old news on your website. Spruce it up to bring back some life to it! Here are some suggestions:

1. Freshen up the  copy (text and images), especially on the home page, in a way that your prospects will find enticing.  Copy is King in the on-line world so don’t neglect this critical component of your website. If your copy isn’t well written, it’s not going to elicit much  trust from your potential clients nor compel them into action so be sure it’s written in a way that achieves your website goals.
2. Give it an updated look. If your site was created more than 3 years ago, it’s time to bring it up to date. An old and tired looking website is not going to attract your ideal client.  The more enticing your site looks to your prospects, the more effective it will be at drawing them in and hiring you.
3. Add a blog (or don’t forget about your blog!) A blog is a perfect way to keep your website copy fresh and new. Post an article once a week and not only will your prospects see that you are actively participating in your business (and seeing how much you know) but the search engines will reward you by bringing you up higher in the search engine rankings.
4. Add an eNewsletter (or don’t forget about your eNewsletter!) A perfect way to keep in touch with your tribe (your eNewsletter subscribers) is to write to them at least once a month. This is a critical component to your marketing efforts and you will get results from it. It doesn’t have to be elabourate like mine, but it’s essential for you to showcase your knowledge and skill by writing short articles that will inspire, inform and educate your followers.

   Hint: Integrate this with your blog to cut down on writing so many articles!) By the way, if you’re having trouble getting people to sign up for your existing eNewsletter, you might want to consider hiring Dan to do some SEO for you – he’s brilliant at driving targeted traffic to your website!

5. Add Social Media features to your site. If you’re participating in any of the social media channels, then it’s important you have those buttons and links on your website so you can send people to your accounts to follow you. Additionally, you can add social media sharing features to your site, especially your blog, so people can share your articles to their followers.

4)      Get active in Social Media.  There’s no avoiding it, social media is becoming more and more prominent, and expected, in today’s marketing efforts.  Incredibly,  I am hearing from some clients that they are not being considered for hire due to having a lack of followers on Facebook! Whether right or wrong, potential clients could judge you on your lack of participation in this arena so it’s worth taking a look at.  I know for some, it seems like a waste of time and honestly, I felt that way for a long time too. In the past year I’ve been doing more studying and working at social media and have found there are some key strategies that need to be in play in order for your efforts to not go to waste.

For those who are brand new to Facebook or did get started and didn’t do anything with it, check out my beginner’s guide to Facebook here. For those who are already active but are not seeing any kind of results yet, I suggest participating in the upcoming online Social Media Summit where you will learn tons from many top social media experts.

5)      Get out and network.  No amount of online efforts will ever replace the benefits of in-person networking. The key is to find the right networking events to participate in and there, you will gain a huge boost in building relationships and credibility. One of my mentoring clients, Janice Porter (Janice@janiceporter.com)  is a Networking master and I highly recommend you hire her as your personal mentor for networking – she will help prevent you from wasting your time and will teach you how to network effectively in order to build your client base .

If the above list seems overwhelming to you or you don’t know where, or how, to begin. One of my mentoring packages might be a good fit for you where I can walk you through each of these marketing channels and guide you to having a successful business this spring!

Susan is president/founder of eVision Media, a web development and eMarketing firm specializing in building effective brands for entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations for over 10 years. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, she is able to provide an authentic and personalized service for those wanting a trustworthy member of their team for their brand & marketing design, website development and SEO/eMarketing needs. Contact Susan today for a free 30 minute consultation on helping you build your website presence to be the effective marketing tool is can be. susan@evisionmedia.ca or visit www.evisionmedia.ca.

Tweet

Are you looking for some creative social media marketing ideas for your business?

Do you want to know how your peers are using social media?

I suggest joining Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner) on Tuesday, April 17th, in a live and FREE event called “9 Companies Doing Social Media Right: Tips for Your Success.” See http://bit.ly/9companieswebinar

Michael is a true expert in social media and will show you what smart businesses are doing right with their social media strategies and what you can learn from that for your own efforts.

By attending this free online event you’ll discover innovative ways your peers are using social media (and leave with ton’s of ideas.)

The free seats are limited to the first 1000 people so be sure to go here and secure your seat now before they’re gone: http://bit.ly/9companieswebinar

Hope to see you there!

Kind regards,
Sue

P.S. Remember, this is a free online event and it will be recorded–but you must register in advance by going here now: http://bit.ly/9companieswebinar

Tweet

Did you know that LinkedIn is one of the premier business networking sites? It provides amazing coverage of the professional market and one that you shouldn’t ignore, especially if you are a B to B business (a business where your clients are other businesses.)

LinkedIn is a free social networking site but it does have an option to upgrade to a paid version for more extensive uses and capabilities. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn is geared more for business owners who have the intention of connecting and sharing information with other business owners.

If you haven’t done so yet, please connect with eVision Media here http://ca.linkedin.com/in/evisionmedia and if you haven’t created your LinkedIn profile yet, read further!

Below are some basic tips and strategies to get you started in the world of LinkedIn social media marketing.

Setting up your LinkedIn profile

When joining LinkedIn, you will want to create a profile that includes your accomplishments, experience and areas of interest. You will then want to expand your network by inviting others to connect with you. Through LinkedIn, you can:

- Manage information about yourself and your business, which is publicly available

- Find and be introduced to potential clients, service providers, experts and more

- Be found by others looking for your service or product

- Collaborate with others on best practices and processes

Here is an excellent YouTube video that will walk you through creating your LinkedIn profile:

Tips and Strategies while using LinkedIn

- Be strategic about what you feature and post on your profile so that it meets your business goals.

- Use effective keywords that relate to your business and industry so that those doing searches for your expertise can easily find you.

-Use the “recommendations” feature by recommending others that you know and have worked with and by also asking your clients and associates to post a recommendation for you.

- Be sure to post a profile picture of you and not your logo or product picture. People will connect with a real person far better than a logo or image of your product. It is also against the LinkedIn Terms and Conditions to use anything else other than a personal photo of you.

- To increase your connections, join LinkedIn groups that are either areas of your interest and/or where you know your ideal client is hanging out. For instance, if you are a real estate stager, find real estate agent groups in your local area that you can join and be a part of the conversations. Use these groups to exchange ideas and information. Avoid using them to just promote you and your business. The idea is to develop relationships and share your expertise, not to try and “sell” anything.

- Use the eMail feature to send news and articles to your network. Again, not to sell but to help build your credibility as an expert in your field of expertise. You can also post updates at the top of your profile to let people know what you are doing and to share brief tips, hints and other tidbits of information that they will find useful and informative. Remember this is a professional network so avoid posting what you had for breakfast that morning or showing off photos of your kids’ funny faces – save those for Twitter or your personal Facebook profile.

- Remember to build your contacts when out networking, going to workshops and attending seminars and conferences, etc.

- Have a LinkedIn button on your eSignature, eStationery and website for maximum opportunities and exposure to get lots of connections.

Once you have your personal profile created, it’s then time to create your company profile and start building that up. Stay tuned for the next article on how to do that!

Tweet

Have you heard the buzz about Social Media Success Summit 2011—the web’s largest online social media marketing conference? http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

Before I tell you how this virtual summit will help your business attract great customers and prospects, gain a unique competitive advantage, and measure your social media results, let me share a story with you.

PROOF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING WORKS…

In October 2009, Michael Stelzner started Social Media Examiner, a blog for marketers and small business owners. Almost overnight, his site became one of the top business blogs in the world.

He didn’t advertise, didn’t rely on the press and almost none of his traffic came from search engines.

Slightly more than a year later, his site has more than 57,000 email subscribers, over 31,000 Facebook fans, a half-million page views a month, and has generated nearly $2 million in sales.

Everything he does focuses on delivering high-quality content coupled with intelligent social media marketing.

Michael’s story is not unique. A significant 73% of business owners and marketers plan to increase their use of social media in 2011 (2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report).

What’s the connection? Your customers (and prospects) are using social media every day. Social media is a new marketing frontier because it bypasses all the costly middlemen and allows you to engage directly with your customers and prospects! AND this presents an enormous opportunity for you.

Check out this video:

SO WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?

Michael (and his team) have been working for months to bring the best minds in social media together in a fully online event called Social Media Success Summit 2011.

A significant 2,500 marketers and business owners from around the world attended his last Social Media Success Summit. Businesses were transformed. In fact, 96% of attendees said they’d attend again.

This summit’s focus is to empower you to implement successful social media marketing tactics, track and measure your social media ROI, and see how successful social media campaigns were executed. Twenty-two of the world’s leading social media superstars will be summit instructors.

Presenters include Jeremiah Owyang (Altimeter Group), Brian Solis (author, Engage), Frank Eliason (Citigroup), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Erik Qualman (author, Socialnomics), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner), Dan Zarrella (author, The Social Media Marketing Book), and experts from Boeing, Intel, Verizon, Cisco and LinkedIn.

Plus join Andy Sernovitz (author, Word of Mouth Marketing), David Meerman Scott (author, Real-Time Marketing & PR), Jay Baer (co-author, The Now Revolution), Hollis Thomases (author, Twitter Marketing), Steve Garfield (author, Get Seen), and Ann Handley (MarketingProfs)–just to name a few.

Attendees at our two last summits included well-known organizations such as General Electric, American Express, Staples, General Mills, Microsoft, Harvard, San Francisco Giants, MetLife, Kraft Foods, Hyatt Hotels, Stanford, Ben & Jerry’s, IDG and Disney. But you don’t need to be a big business to benefit!

This is the world’s largest online social media event designed to empower marketers and business owners to master social media marketing. And the great news is it’s a live online conference you can attend from your home or office.

Go here now to learn more: http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

Here’s to your success!
http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

P.S. Twenty-two of the most successful social media pros will show you how to use social media to market and grow your business. Remember, the experts teach the sessions live (and it’s all online). So you don’t need to leave your home or office! Go here to see how this works: http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

P.P.S. As a way of saying “thanks” for checking out the summit, there’s a gift just for marketers called “8 Steps to Creating a Winning Social Media Strategy” by Jay Baer (valued at $59) waiting for you. Go get it here: http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

Tweet

Attention business owners, entrepreneurs, marketers and VA’s… and those who want to get the most out of Social Media Marketing…

It’s not too late to register for the upcoming Social Media Success Summit (Starting May 4th) for only $397 and save $200! (Savings only valid until midnight PST, April 20th). Check out below for details on this popular on-line summit where you will gain valuable information about social media… It’s a huge savings and really worth it. Click here to register

Dan and I registered the other day and in this early bird deal they are offering, you also get a bonus of a whole bunch of giveaways worth $797 that can be accessed once registered. I started watching some of the videos and have already learned a ton about Facebook! To me, that alone was a lot of value!

Here’s a sample of the 20 valuable (and relevant!) bonuses they’re giving away:

* Facebook for Business: How to Create a Loyal Following, Build Your Brand, and Increase Your Profits Using the #1 Social Network
* Using the Power and Reach of LinkedIn to Grow Your Business
* How to Grow and Engage an Audience on Twitter
* The Twitter Strategy Marketing Guide
* How to Drive More Qualified Traffic to Your Blog

There is also a forum and Facebook community to network with, which is also a bonus!

Be SURE to register by Tuesday, April 20, to enjoy a savings of $200!! (There’s even a two-pay plan to make it super easy on your wallet.)

This event is *entirely* virtual and your ticket includes ALL replays for your review or in case you can’t make any live sessions. 24 leading social media experts will lead content-rich sessions including someone I admire greatly, Mari Smith.

This year’s focus is to provide everything you need to create an effective social media marketing plan, track your social media results and learn from other successful businesses. Plus, you’ll find out how to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Foursquare and Groupon to attract high-caliber customers and grow your business during any economy.

Dan and I hope you will join us – the great thing is that after the event is over, we can help you build your social network if you don’t have the time nor inclination, but it’s so important you understand that medium first so we can provide assistance as needed.

To your social media success!

Sue & Dan