Standing Out

I first became aware of Joe Hage on Biznik (which I’ve talked about many times on this blog before and if you’re still not joining me, well…) and he’s now a client of mine.

He’s a Marketing Guy. That’s not his official title, of course, but he knows his stuff. Just look at his resume or testimonials to figure that out.

But I’m writing because I was reading a marketing article of his and I am compelled to share it! Never mind that it says Seattle Marketing Strategy - the advice is actually completely independent of Seattle (he probably did that for SEO purposes - learn it!).

Virtual assistants, marketing assistants, etc - we’re as in demand now as it’s ever going to get, so if you’re not getting business, you really need to re-think your marketing strategy.

Read Joe’s article here and if you’re brave and/or smart, you really should join me on Biznik and follow my lead so you can get clients (good paying ones), too. I am a paid member but didn’t start out that way. A Biznik membership is completely free. Even if you just want to learn from some experienced folks, you need to be networking.

If you haven’t discovered one of the better social bookmarking tools out there - StumbleUpon.com, I have good news - it’s not too late.

There are two good reasons to use Stumble:

1. Find content worth reading. People “discover” web pages, thereby giving it an automatic thumbs up. That gets a web page into Stumble circulation. Then, when people “Stumble” (I’ll explain later), Stumble shows random pages that others have discovered. People either vote for the content or vote against it. Eventually, the page you “discovered” will be Stumbled upon, too.
2. Promote your stuff. On any given day, the highest number of unique hits to my blog are from posts that I’ve Stumbled. It’s almost instantaneous, too. One day (a weekend) my daily hits went from less than 20 to over 200 in a couple of hours because I Stumbled some content.
3. Get recognition and exposure. When someone has Stumble installed and they perform a Google search, next to the search result, a link to the user who discovered the page on Stumble is displayed. This is really nifty. Other Stumblers will check out your profile, and you might just get a few fans that way.

Are you “Stumbling” yet?

I met someone through my networking at Biznik who shares my name. Tia’s are pretty hard to come by. She’s not only great because her name is Tia, she’s fabulous because she’s demonstrated the point of networking.

She lives on the other side of the country (really) yet we’ve found some common ground discussing a topic that’s of mutual interest - mastermind groups.

Today, she passed on some information that is priceless to me just because she thought I might find it interesting. Just a simple link to something she found - out of the blue; I didn’t ask for it. She just gave it because we’re in this quest together.

To me, that’s not only the mark of a truly generous person, it’s the mark of a friend and a connection to keep for life. And that, my friends, is good for the soul.

You just never, never know who you might meet in your social networks.

Happy networking!

*Tia*

p.s. membership at Biznik is free and the members are all real people interested in real connections. I highly suggest you join if that’s something that interests you, too.

Yikes! I recently stumbled upon someone’s social network profile creation & management services through a Google Alert that was in my inbox this morning. I was so intrigued by what I was reading that I had to post on this blog twice today (sorry).

While the setup/management packages were relatively inexpensive, I believe they were a little over-the-top.

I’d rather educate my prospective clients and then hope they see the value in my services than to add a bunch of hype that isn’t true.

First of all, there’s no such thing as the “top” 50 or even “top” 25 social networks. Most people who are involved in social networking are not using 25. They’re probably using closer to 2 or 3, really. They’re definitely using MySpace or Facebook (or both) and they may also be using LinkedIn, Biznik, StartupNation, Twitter, Yahoo! 360, Plaxo, Bebo, Friendster, or Windows Live Spaces.

Some people, like me, are using upwards of 12-13 networks but I’m not really “using” them all. Some are set it and forget it types and some I just don’t have the time to actively maintain at the moment.

So, if someone is trying to sell you a service in which they set you up on the “top” 50 social networks, that’s insane! Not only is that completely unnecessary, but it’s also unmanageable (nevermind that there really aren’t 50 “top” networks).

It will be so difficult for you to really maintain 50 social networks that you will probably become jaded and forget the whole thing. Or, your profiles on some networks will become so stagnant that they reek of abandon - and that is about as bad for your business as stale advertising.

Really, set in mind a goal of 10 or fewer networks you think you want to participate in (and then go sign up for my e-course so you don’t go crazy thinking about how you’ll ever find the time) and try not to have social network fever and sign up for every one that you come across.

And remember - spice it up with other social media as well. Social networking doesn’t work as well if you’re not interesting.

• Create an account on YouTube and link to videos you like every now and then.
• Create an account on Snapfish or another picture-sharing account and post pictures when you go on vacation or to a business networking event or conference.
• Start a blog - a real blog, not just one on MySpace or Bebo. You can get them at wordpress.com OR better, download Wordpress and install it (or have it installed) on your business’s website.

But just trust me on this, you DO NOT need 50 or even 25 social networks. Pick a handful you will be active with and then trust in viral or buzz or word of mouth marketing to do the rest.

This idea may seem utterly obvious but I assure you that there is wisdom in this advice.

The power in social networking is the first half of the term, so be social!

Social networks were not originally created with businesses in mind, they were created for real people to make or reinforce or support connections with other real people.

I think social networking is great fun. I’ve been part of MySpace and Plaxo for years now (along with some others) and have just gotten into Facebook and Twitter over the last couple years.

I also think social networking can be good for business (hence, the reason I offer an e-course about it) and apparently the networks themselves agree: Facebook Pages is for businesses, etc. There are even “business” social networks like Biznik and StartupNation.

But when businesses create profiles but forget to “connect” and be social, they are doing themselves a disservice. Social networks only work for you if you participate.

Here are a few key ways to connect:

1. Participate in groups. This is the most effective way to grow your friends list. This takes time, but you need to find a couple groups to belong to, submit a few relevant comments every now and then, maybe participate in a forum discussion, AND THEN invite others in the group to be your friend.
2. Get personal. Make sure there is something personal about you on your profile. You absolutely need a personal photograph of yourself first and foremost, but you could also include your marital status, whether or not you have children, where you went to college or high school, or some likes/dislikes or favorites.
3. Respond to comments. I’m guilty of neglecting this key principle but it is really important if you want to use social networks for business growth. Make sure you respond to comments and messages. No one likes to feel ignored. Take the time to do this act of common courtesy at least once weekly.
4. Invite your real friends/colleagues. Make sure you take advantage of every network’s feature that searches your contact lists to find people who are already part of the network. It’s quick, easy, and it’s a great way to make connects almost instantly.

If you’re concerned about time there are a number of ways to make it worth your while: you can outsource the setup and management or you can create a social network marketing plan that takes time into consideration. If you’re curious how to make it work for you, feel free to check out my social networking e-course at http://blog.allamericanadmin.com. The link is in the sidebar.

Happy networking!

Tia