Personally, I find it difficult to find the time (as I’m sure you do as well) so I’m always asking anyone I speak to, if they’ve “learned it” – could they share what they know?  Of course, they rarely have the time to do that!

So, I found a great alternative.  Grovo.com.

It’s a new site that is FREE and it gives you tutorials on many different programs some of which are Amazon, eBay, Basecamp, Facebook, Firefox, Google Apps, LinkedIn, Skype, Mint, Meetup, Yelp and many more.  They’re all video tutorials and simple enough to follow.

It’s a great idea – check it out.

John put together 5 questions that you can ask someone who you’re thinking of hiring as a social media consultant.

1. How long have you been working in social media and the internet? Make sure that if your expert does seem green, they prove their experience in some other way.

2. Can you share an example of one small business you helped and how you did it? Case studies should be king. Make sure that the experiences that your expert has had are directly relatable to your business needs (not necessarily to your industry).

3. What is the biggest mistake you have seen small businesses make with social media? The heart of this question is to understand whether your expert pays attention to what is happening in the marketplace.

4. What do you think we should do first? Focusing on the first steps will help to determine two things about your expert: 1) Whether he or she has done their homework about your business and what you might already be doing, and 2) You want to make sure the expert is not just a professional theorist and that they are actually skilled in getting stuff done.

5. How will I know whether your/our efforts are working? How will you measure success? It is also a hidden test. If your expert focuses your metrics for success on volume (ie getting 1,000 Twitter followers), they probably have no idea what real business impact looks like. If instead they talk to you about how you can map your social media efforts back to your business goals – it is worth continuing your conversation.

Why A Social Media Consultant?

Just in case you’re asking yourself about the concept of a social media consultant vs. hiring someone to manage the social media marketing for you – let me give you my 2 cents worth – it may help.

First, the whole concept of using social media is to have an ongoing conversation with your customers. It’s meant to be casual, relaxed and personal. How personal can those articles or comments be if they’re coming from someone you hired? (The answer is, “not much”.)

Second, social media marketing helps you to gain the customers’ trust. It’s you, speaking to them, talking about new ideas, new products or services, the latest happenings in the industry, what your thoughts are on how your business can help your customer, etc. Now, who can do this better than the folks IN the business?

I know, I know – the concept of having to manage social media on top of everything else that you do in your business is just a bit much – believe me – I know! But the reality is, there’s no getting away from it. Social media has become a large factor in Internet Marketing. And Internet Marketing has become a large factor in business marketing. So, it’s not a matter of “should you get into social media” – it’s actually “how to manage the time to get into social media”.

If you have any questions about social media feel free to contact Eckweb – or if you have thoughts on how you manage social media in your business workday – by all means, share!!!!

What got me thinking about this?

Yesterday, my husband, (who is a physician assistant at an Urgent Care clinic) told me that they had to throw away a large quantity of flu shots because so few people took them this year.

He said, “Remember, last year was the Swine Flu panic. All over the news they were predicting thousands would get it. As a result, we could barely keep up with the demand at the clinic.”

But this year, well, no panic. And because of that, the number of people who actually took the flu shot decreased dramatically. But what happened instead? The number of people coming in with the flu increased dramatically!

I had to pick up a prescription today at the drug store so I asked my pharmacist that question, were more people coming in with the flu and did they have a surplus of flu shots left over? He confirmed “yes” to both questions. We both just shook our heads at the concept.

We are SO influenced by media, whether we like it or not. So, the next time you give your opinion, think about it. Is it really your opinion? And if you’re spouting information that you’ve heard elsewhere, how trustworthy is your source? We all have the responsibility to pass on valid, truthful information. No matter if it’s business, personal, political, spiritual, whatever! Let’s make sure we do it as best as we possibly can.

I don’t get it.

But yesterday, I saw a little flashlight at the end of this long tunnel.

I was speaking with a client who has been “dragging their feet” on getting the Internet marketing process begun on their website.  She admitted she had taken too long, but she was now ready and wanted it right away!!

What turned her around?

She placed ads in local papers, yellow book and local radio for her new day spa in Fort Lauderdale and got ZILCH results.  She sent out 300 emails and got a 10% result.  Cost for the print ads?  (She wouldn’t tell me).  Cost for the emails?  (Just her time).  She told me, “Print is dead…” – I think she finally gets it!!

So, the next time your Internet Marketing manager tells you to make a change to your website or to add something, etc.  Listen to them!!!!  They’re not just blowing smoke up you know what…they’re telling you what they know, that Online direct marketing and social media marketing (in other words, Internet) are where your customers are and where your sales are!

What is Buzz?  Think of it as Google’s very own Twitter.  The benefit is that it’s right there on Gmail.  So, no need to open a separate screen of have a separate account or window open.  Your email, your chats and now your Tweets can all be performed, viewed, responded to right from the Gmail control panel.  Pretty slick.

Will it take over Twitter?  Who knows, it’s anybody’s guess as to what programs will still be in use months from now but one thing is for sure.  The ease of using this new gadget can’t be beat.

If you’ve already been buzzed, feel free to follow me at eckweb@gmail.com.  I’ll post my daily tips, notes and comments about this crazy SEO / Internet Marketing industry and hopefully you’ll find them useful for your own marketing.

Happy Buzzing.

Posterous – The Place To Post Everything
Might be the easiest method for ANYONE to post just about ANYTHING online.

Bigola – A multi search engine for social media
If you want to search for a topic or person on multiple social media sites, this is where you can do it.

Ether
An interesting program to “monetize” what you have to say.  I haven’t investigated it yet but it looks interesting.

Screenr – instant screencasts for Twitter

RefMob – another interesting “monetizing” site
Another interesting concept on sharing and referrals.  Again, I haven’t tried it yet but if you do, let me know what you think of it.

Tweetadder – another program for Twitter
I know, Twitter this and Twitter that – there are a gazillion programs and services out there for Twitter.  It’s just amazing.  Add this to your list.  Let me know if you like it.

Groupon (get it? Instead of Coupon!)
Launched in November 2008, Groupon features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in a variety of cities across the United States.

Tagul – for creative clouds
If you like those clouds of keywords on your website or blog, here’s a creative way to showcase them.

PitchEngine
An interesting concept – blending Press Releases and Social Media.  What will they think of next?

So, give these programs a try.  Let me know what you think!

Anyway, because of the budget restraints I’m often asked which Internet marketing strategy works the best?  Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?  Pay Per Click (PPC)?  or Social Media (SM).

Truth be told, combining all three is the best strategy.  It makes sense.  If we were a standard advertising firm where we marketed your business via print ads, billboards, etc. we would say the same thing.  If you pay me to put up 4 billboards you’ll get X amount of traffic.  If you pay me to put up 4 billboards + a commercial on cable tv – you’ll get more traffic.

It’s no different on the Internet.  The more you’re “out there” the more traffic you’ll get.  The more traffic you get, the more the search engines like you.  The more the search engines like you, the higher your ranking will be.  – Of course, I don’t have to tell you that website traffic is just ONE factor that search engines look at so don’t imagine that just because you get a ton of traffic to your website that is all you need to get high in the rankings, the search engines are much smarter than that!

So, what I recommend to my small and home based business clients is to combine as much of the services as they can.  If they can only afford only one then I recommend whichever option works best for them.

1) If they don’t want to do any work on their own on the website then I recommend SEO.
2) If they want immediate traffic to the website then I recommend PPC.
3) If they are willing to do some work and get involved in the marketing of their business I recommend SM.

Personally, I think Social Media (SM) is the way to go for many small and home based businesses.  It’s an excellent way for them to start and if a client comes to me with an existing social media campaign, then it just makes the SEO that much easier and quicker.

So, if you’re stuck and you’re not sure which Internet marketing strategy works best for you, contact your SEO firm, they’ll advise you.  If you don’t have a contract with an SEO webmaster, then contact us at Eckweb Designs, Inc.  We’ll be happy to help!

Twitter Personality Types

a) Are short on time – busy folks with too much to do in too little time.
b) Still want to interact with other humans but not too much.
c) Enjoy sharing information and data.
d) Enjoy getting information and data from others.
e) Are direct and to the point (some might say blunt).

Facebook Personality Types

a) Are relaxed types with time on their hands – even if it’s just perceived time.
b) Enjoy sharing everything about themselves with anyone who will listen (or read).
c) Love sharing information and data and all the details that come with it.
d) Feel a strong need to be with other humans at all times.
e) Love to talk just for the sake of talking.

Well, what do you think?  Are these correct?  Do you fit into one of these types?

But, having vented those sentiments, I have to acknowledge that apparently there are many more people out there who ARE interested in hearing all about this.  How do I know?  The traffic on social media programs like Twitter tell me so.

I know we like to blame the media for promoting certain pieces of news but with the real time social media tools like Twitter influencing news stories (and everything else it seems) we can’t blame the media anymore.  They’re just responding to what they’re seeing and reading.  And what they’re reading is that millions of people are lamenting the death of Michael Jackson.  So, the media is just responding to what the audience wants.

This just goes to show that no matter how YOU may feel about a topic or service or product, as a business owner YOU need to LISTEN to what your audience wants.  If you think that the majority of your audience are searching for divorce services, but in reality the majority is searching for mediation services, then why don’t you offer (and advertise) mediation services?

Use the great tools at Twitter and Google to find out what your audience is looking for.  Begin tailoring your website to those needs and you’ll see traffic coming to your site with very little effort on your part!