7 Simple Social Media Moves That Work

Likeable founder Dave Kerpen personally responds to thousands of Tweets, emails, and messages every day. Crazy, or genius?

Before he started to dole out social media advice for entrepreneurs like you at Inc.'s recent GrowCo conference in New Orleans, Dave Kerpen, chairman of Likeable Media and now founder of offshoot Likeable Local, had a few things he wanted to get out of the way.

First, he said, social media is not free. Second, it won't bring you immediate results. And, third, it can't make up for a bad product or service.

If you can cope with all that, you're ready to learn how--and why--Kerpen still recommends you get involved:

1. Listen, Then Talk 

A couple of years ago, when Kerpen went to Vegas, the check-in line at the Aria hotel where he was staying "took forever," he said.

So Kerpen did what he does best--took to Twitter, and quickly posted: Waiting on line for 45 minutes at the Aria. Not worth it. #fail

Did he hear anything from the Aria? No. But he did hear from the Rio, a hotel down the street. Within two minutes, the Rio Tweeted back to Kerpen: Sorry you're having a bad experience, Dave. Hope the rest of your time in Vegas goes well.

Kerpen didn't switch hotels on that trip, but where do you think he stayed the next time he went to Vegas? The Rio. And he "liked" the Rio on Facebook. And sometime later, a friend going to Vegas saw that Kerpen had "liked" the Rio, so asked if Kerpen would recommend the hotel. His response? "I don't think it's the fanciest, but I know that they listen," Kerpen recalls telling that Facebook friend.

Kerpen pointed out that all the Rio did was pay attention to Twitter, and respond with empathy.

Kerpen recommends you do the same thing, regardless of the business you're in. "If you're an accountant, go to Twitter and search 'need an accountant'," he said. "Your customers are asking for you." 

2. Respond (to Everyone!)

Kerpen said 60 percent of brands--mostly big ones--currently do not answer customers or prospects on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media. As a result "you have a huge competitive advantage if you respond to your customers--and theirs," he said. (Case in point: the Rio hotel in Vegas.) 

If a customer complains, don't delete. Instead, you have an opportunity to respond publicly that you're working to solve the problem, and will send a private message to the individual so it can be fixed.

"We all know that companies are going to make mistakes," said Kerpen. "The problem isn't when companies make mistakes, it's when companies don't say, 'I'm sorry.'"

Instead, if you delete a complaint, you're sending a message that the person who wrote it doesn't matter, and you're, in essence, "inviting him to go tell someone else, to start a petition," warned Kerpen.

The only types of posts you should consider deleting? Those that are obscene, or bigoted.

When you respond, do it in your brand voice, whatever that is: serious, funny, full of puns, scientific, whatever. As long as it's true to the brand.

3. Tell, Don't Sell

Social media is most powerful when you use it to tell personal stories, not to sell your products, Kerpen said. 

Kerpen likes to tell the story of how, when he and his then fiancé couldn't afford a lavish wedding, they raised $100,000 from sponsors and got married at Brooklyn Cyclones park. That personal story, he says, helped propel Likeable into a $7 million business.

Didn't get married at Shea? Consider your humble beginnings, your personal leadership characteristics, customers who have overcome obstacles, employee challenges, community or charity partnerships. Look at your employees, products, or customers, and identify a story people will want to talk about, and disseminate it across social media.

If yours is a business-to-business company, tell a story on social media using webinars, e-books, and white papers. 

"The only thing better than telling your story on social media is to inspire your customers to tell your story," said Kerpen.

4. Just Be You

On this, Kerpen quoted Oprah Winfrey, who said: "I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I've become. If I had I'd have done it a lot earlier."

As Kerpen puts it: "When I am authentic, when I am vulnerable, when I am me, customers want to do business with me." 

Who does a lot of this on Twitter, according to Kerpen? Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley, who has even posted about where he lives.

5. Advertise (Better)

Social media is not just touchy-feely, said Kerpen. It can drive leads, and sales. 

On Facebook, rather than just get your ad in front of huge a swath of people, you can target the right people--based on job title, interest, age, location. "Every single piece of data that Facebook's got on people you can target based on that," Kerpen said. "What's cooler than reaching a billion people on Facebook? Reaching the right 1,000, the right 100, the right 10, or the right one."

Another perk of advertising on Facebook? Word-of-mouth endorsements. You can target ads against just the friends of people who have "liked" your brand on Facebook, and when those people see your ad, they will see listed the names of their friends who like your brand, too. 

6. Give Stuff Away

If you take 10 percent off, you're marketing, 50 percent off, you're giving away value, 100 percent off, you have loyal customers for life, Kerpen quipped.

Give away good content, webinars, articles, and white papers. "I've had two people come up to me and say, 'Thank you for all that valuable information you gave away, I'm starting my own social media agency,' but I also got dozens and dozens of inbound leads because of all the value we put out there," said Kerpen.

Recently, a new client told Kerpen she had $250,000 to spend on social media marketing she'd move to Likeable because of all the free, yet useful information the company has made available.

7. Be Grateful

In your social media posts, regularly thank your customers, and partners.

According to the non-profit organization DonorsChoose.org, Kerpen said, of those people who received a thank you note, 38 percent were more likely to donate again.

He writes three thank you notes every day. 

"It puts me in a great mood every single time," he said.

 http://www.inc.com/allison-fass/dave-kerpen-social-media-moves-that-work.html

3 Critical Questions to Ask Yourself Before Posting to Facebook

By Brian Patrick Eha 

  

The Holy Grail of social media outreach on Facebook is "engagement" -- going beyond broadcasting to interact with your fans. While some businesses might use Facebook to drive traffic to their own websites, the more that people are "Liking" and commenting on your posts and sharing your content with their own networks, the more brand loyalty you can build.

Facebook uses its "Edgerank" algorithm to measure fan engagement and to determine which of your updates appear in the News Feeds of your fans. Your Edgerank score goes up when fans "Like" and comment more on your updates which, in turn, means your posts will be seen by more people.

While there's no tried-and-true formula for everyone to maximize engagement all the time, outreach on Facebook doesn't have to be like blindly throwing darts at a board. Here are three questions to ask yourself to make sure your Facebook posts are prompting maximum engagement:

1. Will this add value to the people I'm trying to connect with?
Social media is a "soft-sell medium," says Mark Evans, a social media consultant. That means you should be trying provide your fans with some kind of value instead of hitting them over the head with a sales pitch.

Nevertheless, one of the goals of social media outreach, as with other types of marketing, is to spark conversion. The way to achieve this on Facebook is to come up with "educational and entertaining wall posts and promotions," says Todd Newman, founder of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based online social media agency SummaSocial. For example, one of Newman's clients raffled off an iPad 2 to fans of his Facebook page -- and gained nearly 1,200 fans as a result.

2. Will this update seem fresh to my fans?
If all your updates sound the same, your outreach can grow stale and your audience might stop engaging. "You can post links to interesting articles, photographs and videos," Evans suggests. "You can create contests and polls."

To help keep your updates fresh, and fans coming back to your page, Newman recommends this weekly posting schedule, or something similar: 

Mentor Monday: Share videos and posts that educate your audience.
Trivia Tuesday: Encourage fans to engage and share their opinions.
Watch Us Wednesday: Publicize in-office events and community involvement.
Thankful Thursday: Offer an incentive and play up your strengths.
Fan Friday: Feature and reward your star fans.

The goal, Evans says, is to create "a content potpourri that keeps people coming back, because they don't know what to expect."

3. Is this post in line with my metrics?
To understand what types of updates resonate with your audience, use the administrator panel on your Facebook page to monitor your metrics. Page Insights can be especially crucial, providing a weekly breakdown -- by age, gender and geographic location -- of who likes your content and who's talking about it.

For instance, if you've been posting U.S.-related content but discover that nearly half of your fans live in India, you might consider rethinking your approach. You could post special updates and promotions on major Indian holidays such as Diwali in addition to Labor Day and other U.S. holidays.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/224062

3 Ways to Use Facebook Groups to Attract and Keep Customers

By Amy Porterfield       

Many business owners think about Facebook in a one-dimensional way: Create a page of your own where you can promote your brand and products or services. But there's potentially a lot more to it than that. One underutilized strategy is creating Facebook groups, which provide an easy way to segment customers. With groups, you can create communities around particular products, improve customer service, provide a networking forum for customers and even drive new sales.

You segment your email list, right? So why not segment your Facebook community, too? To create a group, login to your Facebook account, go to the Home page and in the left column you will see an option to "Create a Group."
So far, few business owners are using Facebook groups for customer retention and acquisition. Get a jump on the competition by trying out these three Facebook group strategies:


1. Use closed groups as a customer support hub.
A closed Facebook group can be used to deliver support to a specific customer segment, cutting down on customer email clutter and providing a central place to get feedback on what is and isn't working for your business. For example, I have closed groups for all my online training programs to offer support to my clients and give them a chance to network with each other.

The goal is to generate an open dialogue between you and your customers by providing a special spot for them to ask questions. Although Facebook users can see who is in the group, they can’t see members’ posts without joining the group. That way, group members don’t worry that their questions will end up in a friend’s newsfeed.

Use the group to share documents, such as FAQs, and appoint one of your community managers to jump in and answer customer questions. This can also be an ideal forum for announcing product updates, sharing discounts and inviting customers to events and contests. Group members who have already made a purchase are usually more likely to engage with your brand again, especially if they’re happy with the customer service.

2. Use 'secret' members-only groups as networking hubs for current customers.
If your goal on Facebook is to create a tribe-like community, then a secret, members-only group can be worth investigating. Unlike closed groups, only members can see who is in the group.

Secret groups allow you to create a personalized, private feedback loop, which can be a priceless engagement and retention tool. They’re ideal for providing extra value to your VIP-level clients and customers.

A private group may be especially appropriate for businesses whose products and services have a more exclusive audience, such as coaching organizations and training and consulting providers. The closed group atmosphere can create a sense of exclusivity and your clients will get direct access to you and your team.

I use secret groups both for retention and customer acquisition. A private group provides a forum where my consulting clients can network and share strategies with other marketing professionals. Clients love having a place to candidly ask me and experts in the group for feedback.

It’s been such a popular feature that I now use secret groups with all of my products. As a result, I’ve seen a 30 percent increase in returning customers after I introduce a new program. Also, my return rate has dropped because customers know I am there to support them when they have issues.

3. Use open groups to build awareness, authority and interest in your brand.
There already are plenty of open groups on Facebook. The narrower the niche or hyper-local the group, the more likely it is to be lively and engaged -- such as these local “free-cycling” and photographer groups.

Start or join an open group focused on your business niche. Use it not to sell your products directly, but rather to establish yourself as an expert and to network with others in your industry. For example, if you edit photographs for a living, a photography group is a way to share your expertise and provide relevant content in a more personal and community-focused way than with a brand page.

For all types of Facebook groups, use the “About” tab to outline the purpose and goals. Create and post membership guidelines to the "Documents" tab, especially for closed and secret groups, because you may want to allow members to invite friends when appropriate.

And focus more on participation than messaging. Groups are about dialogue, not direct sales. Encourage customers to interact and post often.

  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224154?cam=Dev&ctp=PopRightMod&cdt=10&cdn=224154

4 Biggest Social Media Mistakes

Let's kick your Social Networking results up a notch! BAM! Just a quick question....how is Social Networking working for your business?

If you answered...

UM....I think pretty good. OR

I am not really doing anything with Social Networking. OR

Working for my business? Say what? OR

I have friends online. OR

Not really sure.

You have a HUGE goldmine waiting for you. The biggest challenge I see in Social Networking is that business professionals are making some SERIOUS mistakes and actually MISSING out on new leads, referrals and clients.

As always, I love to be part of the solution. I am GIVING you a no charge, completely complimentary Social Networking training where I will share with you the 4 biggest Social Networking mistakes and how to fix them. Yes....you will walk away with information you can instantly use.

Here is the first couple of keys to make this work for your business:

1. You have to show up. Sorry....I will not be offering a replay of this because lets face it - if this is really important to you right now, you will make this happen.

2. You have to implement instantly. How many times do we go to seminar after seminar after seminar after seminar (you get my point) and do absolutely nothing. We have a feel good period that generates very little for our business. So this will be different. I will give you ACTION ITEMS that you can instantly implement. WOO WHO!

I guarantee this will be some of the best time you invest in your business. I want you to generate more results right now with what you are doing in Social Networking?

Haven't started or still trying to figure out if you need Social Networking.....then this is the right webinar for you!!

Please join me Thursday, July 28th 12-1:30 PACIFIC Time. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/983213731 Is this short notice...not really. What I have found is that most business professionals sign up for webinars and then forget they did that and then miss the webinar thinking they can just watch a replay and then never do. Sound familiar?

I am going to invite you to take action now....if you want to create different results in your business then start doing things differently.

I am so excited for you to be part of this. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/983213731

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Big hugs,

Sabrina Gibson

PS The great thing is if you don't find the webinar helpful, you can continue doing what you are doing in Social Networking and generating the same results you are now.

10 Twitter Tips for Bloggers

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So it looks like 2009 is going to be the year of twitter.

#1 Update Your Twitter Profile

Under settings you can add a url, make sure this link is your blog address. This means that when you get new followers and they view your profile they’ll have a direct link to your blog.

#2 Twitter is the new RSS

When you visit any established blog you will see the orange RSS feed in the top right hand corner. Now most people won’t check their RSS feed everyday, but most twitter users will, hence I think twitter will be the new RSS. At the moment a standard button for twitter hasn’t been established, but you should be adding an image next to the RSS link that points to your twitter page.

#3 Follow The Leaders In Your Industry

When you first start out you’ll probably know a few people you want to follow, but it’s quite daunting to figure out who the movers & shakers are in the Twitersvere. If you Follow MrTweet you will be given a list of people who you should be following. If you’ve posted a few updates and a good bio then some of these people will follow you back, so let the networking begin.

#4 Install TweetDeck

Once you install this software onto your computer it opens up a whole new twitter experience.

When someone your following updates it will ping and let you know someone has tweeted. It allows you instantly reply to updates, and it will monitor for anyone who replies to one of your tweets. No more frantically refreshing the homepage to get that twitterfix!

#5 The TweetMyBlog Plugin

This nifty plugin allows me to have my twitterfeed in the sidebar of my blog.

It will also automatically update my twitter account everytime I make a new post, and if you have established good relationships then you should see instant traffic.

#6 The Sociable Plugin

Once installed this plugin makes it easy for readers to share your content. Be sure to tick the “TweetThis” function so that people can tweet about your blog post in seconds. Providing you produce good Pillar Content the amount of extra traffic could be huge.

#7 Use Search To Get Found

Have you seen people post updates with a #nerdpickuplines or similar? If you use the search function then you will this is a way of trending and picking out what is popular. By tweeting about popular topics not only will you have topics to chat about at the watercooler but you’re being part of the community, which will bring more traffic back to your blog.

#8 Use ViralTweets instead of E-mail Capture

The thinking about offering a free report in exchange for your readers email is that you can follow-up and email them about new blog posts. Whilst email lists are fantastic the chances of ytour reader telling all their friends about the free report are pretty slim. If you study the offer on my sidebar you’ll see that anyone who tweets the message automatically follows me, and posts a link to my main website – long term much more valuable than an individual address.

#9 Be Yourself

Twitter is a big social network that works on the basis of “What Are You Doing?”

If all you’re doing is blasting adverts over the twitter network then you’re not going to make any friends, and you’re wasting your time. Conversly if you use it a “Micro Blogging” site and post things that aren’t worth whole blog posts it will work fantastically well for you, and help establish a relationship with the readers of your blog.

#10 The Power Of The Retweet

This final point is probably the most important for traffic generation.

When someone you’re following posts a link to a blog post and you like the content you go to tweetdeck and hit the little arrow button. This automatically retweets the link to the content, and shows your followers you’ve found an article you think they would like to read. By retweeting great content you will gain the respect of your followers, and get on the radar of the person who wrote the content.

Finally if do write a hot topic article then be sure to make sure to tell people that you want it retweeted.

Happy Tweeting

Andrew

Google Slowly Rolling out Google+

Google is rolling out their new social network Google+ to only a select group of people such as Google insiders, technology geeks, social media stars and journalists . From what I've heard and read it's off to a good start. But do we need another social tool, and will everyone jump on board?

The central components of Google+ are Circles, Sparks, Hangouts, Instant Upload, Huddle and Mobile. Let's look at each one:

Circles: This is a group management tool, similar to Facebook's List feature, but probably more effective. You can create your own circle of friends, family, colleagues and others so that you can share what you want with whom you want. If you share content with your Book Club circle, for instance, then your Runners Club won't be able to read it. This feature should help people to share more because they can choose who sees what and want to keep their personal lives separate from their business.

Sparks: Sparks is a recommendation feature where you can share your favorite restaurants, museums, movies, events, etc. with people having the same interest as you. Once you create your interest lists, Google will even recommend links and content to you.

Hangouts: This feature is a multi-person video chat service. You can create open chat rooms where members of your Circle can stop by and "hangout".

Instant Uploads: Capture pictures and video with your Android or iPhone and upload directly to Google+.
Huddle: Think of Huddle as a group messaging service. Create temporary groups so you can plan gatherings and meetings without all the text messaging and calling that you'd normally do when you try to gather a group of friends or colleagues together.

Mobile: Geo-location based, this feature will display results of what stores, restaurants, etc, are in your area. It also allows you to check-in while you're on the go, and see where your friends are. Use the Huddle feature and gather your friends on the spot. Right now, the Mobile feature can only be used as an Android app, but the app for the iPhone is coming soon.

Is there room in our lives for another social network? Can Google convince Facebook and Twitter users to make the switch? Opinions vary. Some say that Google+ will only be a big hit with the tech geeks and social media gurus. Robert Scoble, self-proclaimed tech geek and early adopter of Google+, says that most "average users" are locked into Facebook and probably won't consider a new social tool - or at least not until they hear from their friends about the glories of Google+.

Another opinion from Chris Voss, Social Media Leader and serial entrepreneur, believes that it will be easier than both Facebook and Twitter. It's a cleaner user friendly layout, and it is integrated with your Google G-mail. Watch his video: http://bit.ly/jgEU3V

What about Facebook? Will Zuckerberg react and duplicate Google+'s best features? Rumor has it that Facebook has already called a press conference. What's up their sleeves is anybody's guess.

As for me, I did sign up for a peek at Google+. I'm curious, and geeky enough to want to give it a try.

Eydie Stumpf

Twitter Tip of the Day

Unique Tweets get Re-Tweeted ... plain and simple. AND ReTweets lead to more followers ... nuff said. And one way you can dominate your niche on Twitter is to be the FIRST to Tweet breaking news on your topic.

Eydie Stumpf

2 Free Ways to Use Google for your Busienss

Here are 2 ways you can use Google for your business!

1) http://google.com/alerts
2) http://google.com/places

Use them, they are FREE, We all love free right?

Natalie Gouche, Social Media Strategist

The Social Media Marketing Gold Rush

Contribution by Mark Stebbins, Stebbins Media

Social media is the fastest-growing marketing channel in the world. Spendig on social media marketing in the U.S. will grow annually at a 34% compound rate through 2014, according to independent research firm, Forrester Research, Inc. By then, social media marketing will amount to a $3.1 billion industry, surpassing email marketing in terms of spending, Forrester said in a 2009 report.

• 67% of Twitter users who become followers of a brand are more likely to buy that brand’s products

• 60% of Facebook users who become a fan of a brand are more likely to recommend that brand to a friend

• 74% of consumers are influenced on buying decisions by fellow socializers after soliciting input via social media

From the Fortune 100 to small and medium businesses, marketers have industriously built out a social media presence in just a few years. The hyperactive growth of such companies as Facebook and Twitter has prompted many organizations to plant their flags on the social media landscape, without much planning as to how their marketing investments can be measured and effectively optimized. In fact, marketers cannot afford to wait to riddle out the details. Competitors are diving into social media, and evidence suggests strong payback for companies whose products enjoy positive reviews from social media users. Marketers that can persuade prospects and customers to join a company’s Facebook fan page also stand to gain.