Itâ??s pretty obvious that the marketing of today has changed. You have newspapers going virtual/web only, Twitter and Facebook replacing postcards and phone calls, and potential clients now being the main target of your press releases as opposed to editors. Itâ??s all varying and to do PR today, you need to exchange with it. The excellent news is that itâ??s never been simpler. The terrible news, you need to learn a new way to do things. Fortunately, there are tips that can make it simpler and Iâ??m here to show you a few.
First, no one can deny the power of social networking. And those that do are just plain incorrect. Iâ??ve been in business since 1985 and I liken this to way back when emails became a way of life. Many still contended they wanted to do it the ancient fashioned way and nothing would beat a letter. (I know itâ??s hard to even imagine this today.) It wasnâ??t long until they realized their error, but by then their competition was way ahead of them. Donâ??t make the same mistake now. You unquestionably need to get with it and get on board. I can practically guarantee you within weeks youâ??ll be hooked and wondering why you ever hesitated. Itâ??s so simple, and the potential so fantastic, you need to start today.
Letâ??s break it down. Twitter first. Forget all the â??I donâ??t care what they ate for lunch excuses,â? thatâ??s where your competition and peers are and you do need to be there too. Sure you do have a few tweeters who will update you on the newest hot dog they ate, but thatâ??s rare. What you do have is more and more businesses networking and connecting with each other in ways never thought possible. Itâ??s also more than just networking back and forth, you can have chats, host events, get more publicity for your articles and press releases and even announce your seminars and radio shows. And thatâ??s not even the half of it. There are entire books written on this, so my first recommendation is to get them. Why struggle and find your way around when you can easily read the tips from those who know exactly what you need to succeed.
Also, while you are getting your feet wet, donâ??t jump in and start posting and selling and ranting and raving. Take it slow. Sign up, take a sit, remain silent for a fleeting time and read what others are posting. Follow the leaders in your industry and take advantage of their knowledge. It can nearly feel like walking around with them all day and looking over their shoulders for their secrets. Whatâ??s cool is they give their tips unreservedly, why wouldnâ??t you want to take advantage of that? As an example, if a name were looking for information on early a virtual assistant business or getting publicity for their business, they could follow me at Twitter.com/dianaennen.
Now the key many forget is that not only do you need to follow them, you need to listen earnestly to what they are saying. Go to the sites they recommend. Really do the things they suggest. And most importantly, if you have the opportunity to contribute and honestly have a touch of importance to say, do! Even if they arenâ??t following you, once you list their twitter name @name, it will go to them. Best yet, you might get a retreat or even better a RT and follow back. As many say, those are the ultimate compliments.
Now itâ??s vital to learn the social media lingo â?? Hashtags, Retweets, Fans, Follow Friday, this is just a few of the many names you need to know to do business better. It can be overwhelming. No, in fact it is overwhelming. But, if you keep it simple and take it a step at a time, you can do it. When you see a term you donâ??t know, look it up right then. Write down your interpretation and do the investigating to find out more about it. Here are just a few to help you on your journey.
Whatâ??s a retweet? Thatâ??s when you find somoneâ??s information useful and you want to pass it onto your followers. So in the end RT (retweet) is excellent content that you pass on. Many RT just to RT. Donâ??t be one of them. You know your followers and what they want and need, thatâ??s what you should be RTâ??ing. We highly recommend signing up for TweetDeck for ease in doing this. A click of a button and you are there.
Next you need to know about Follow Friday. This is certainly one of my favorites. Reckon of Follow Friday as your day networking at a business get-together, only better. You get to stay in the comfort of your own home, and you get to immediately make the relations, not when you get home with a handful of business cards. Try and plot your week so you can participate. Remember this can be even more effectual than a Chamber meeting or an expensive business seminar. So plot a lighter load on Friday when possible. You want people to mention you so mention them. Also, donâ??t just list 20 screens of twitter names that you want people to follow. Tell your followers why they should follow them. What do they place forward that your followers would be interested in? Remember to place #followfriday in your posting. (By the way, see that # in followfriday. Thatâ??s what is called a hashtag. Cool huh!) And irrevocably, you want people to retweet your followfriday postings, so keep your count to 120 instead of 140 so they can easily do this. In fact, do this for all tips or postings you want retweeted.
Try and post on Friday mornings. I donâ??t know about the rest of you, but Iâ??ll evenly go down my postings to find those I want to list. I know I want to list them previous to hand so itâ??s not that Iâ??m just going down my acquaintances column, but evenly times I donâ??t have their information readily available. By posting on Friday you are giving it to them.
Irrevocably, sign up for Trilalerts for your keywords. Start following those of interest. For example, Iâ??m a virtual assistant, so Iâ??ve signed up for virtual assistant updates. Now I can follow other virtual assistants easily. I do the same for Publicity, etc. Who do you want to connect with? Thatâ??s who you sign up for. Follow the media. Sign up for Facebook and Twitter for the newspapers and TV stations in your area. Look for business reporters who tweak and follow them. Learn their style and what they are looking for in their articles.
Also, follow some of the owners of the many article and press release directories who peep. Some of the best are on there and giving away secrets to success left and right.
Facebook is pretty self explanatory. The key here is to spend some time to expand your network. Fortunately you get notices when a name responds to your posts, so try and go and follow-up as soon as you can. But, be careful that you donâ??t get sidetracked doing this too evenly. Build relationships. You can have thousands of acquaintances and fans, but can you honestly connect to all of them. I know I sure canâ??t. Twitter also now allows your tweets to be sent to your Facebook page too. This is certainly a plus. Just make sure that you donâ??t do this to all of your postings, only the ones you feel would interest your acquaintances on Facebook.
Article Submissions, Press Release Submissions – I also say you need to send out articles and press releases religiously. Many question how some succeed with this and others donâ??t. Whatâ??s the difference? The main thing is that they know what to do. They realize the difference that page ranking can make and donâ??t waste their time on sites that donâ??t get results. They sign up for Google Alerts under their keywords and then check out the sites that frequently get spidered. Then they send to those places and add those sites to their database. We do have a fabulous PR informational package that is free to anyone who emails us.
Marketing a business and social networking doesnâ??t have to be expensive if you just remember to network and use all the tools available to you. In fact, it can be fun as you get to meet new people and develop new ways to sell you and your business. Also, keep in mind if you donâ??t want to do it yourself, there are brilliant qualified pros and virtual assistants available to help. You donâ??t need to do it all. You just need to do it!
Tags: Changed, Everything, Marketing, Model, Networking, Social