Taking Your Business to the Next Level Seminar:
Turning Social Media from Sociable to Profitable
Next Level Panel: Ty Downing, Millie Holloman, Charlene Dupray, ActionCOACH Reggie Shropshire, Andrew Gray, Nicole Wilkinson, Nathan SnellAn Expert Panel of Professionals shares their tips, strategies, examples and knowledge of social media to increase profit and business success. They use Blogs, MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIN, YouTube and Twitter as new ways to take their businesses to the next level:
- Ty Downing - Perspective Internet Marketing
- Millie Holloman – Millie Holloman Photography
- Charlene Dupray – South ‘N France
- Andrew Gray – Graymerica and Greater Wilmington Business Journal
- Nicole Wilkinson - Freelance Internet Marketing Consultant, Spectrum Art & Jewelry
- Nathan Snell - The Snell and V.P. Web Development, National Speed
- And...Generous with his time and audio expertise:
Audio Sponsor: Brian McArtan, DJ Professionals & Video
A few highlights:
Coach Reggie: Why participate in Social Media?
Panel Members respond:
Social media is all about cultivating friendships, relationships and networking, without spending tons of money on marketing.
Coach Reggie:
How does Social Networking help you in your business and the clients you serve?
Panel Members respond:
- Post weekly events.
- Include casual photos of everyday events – increases potential connections with your clientele (Andrew Gray connects with his clients by offering opportunities to identify common interests and hobbies by posting vacation and every-day photos).
- Post consistently over time: 5 days a week. You can prepare in advance and schedule your posts for daily posting.
- It increases your on-line traffic as people read your posts and think to order your product.
- Puts your personality out there for potential customers to get to know you.
- Cuts down on face-to-face meetings – provides a way for prospective customers to get to know you faster. (Many of Millie Holloman’s prospective clients learn enough about her to eliminate the need for a “get to know you meeting”...and are ready to place the order!)
Coach Reggie: How do you start Blogging?
Panel Members respond:Ty Downing suggests two sites to get a blog up and going easily and at no cost: http://www.blogger.com/ and http://www.wordpress.com/. Check out the PowerPoint slides for additional information and social media sites.
- Get a stand-alone Blog and domain name ($3 to $9 to host)
- Set up sorting/selection categories (research the best keywords and phrases; organize your blog posts for easy use)
- Add value to your blog: post regularly to keep search engines coming to your site to see what’s new; link OUT to other websites and blogs
- Comment on other blogs; actively solicit feedback (include a question or survey), and add your Social Media buddies
Reggie: What are some lessons you all learned?
Panel Members respond:
- Be consistent and realize it takes time…don’t give up!
- Offer a contest…have a prize!
- Photos of people – your customers, friends, clients – draw visitors when the ‘star’ passes your blog link onto their friends
- Link to other sites
- Keep blog posts short: 2-3 paragraphs at the most (500 words maximum)
- Make it easy to scan with bullets, numbers, bold headers and good title
- Include a range of topics
- It’s NOT a constant commercial for your company or product!
- Become a member of the community…45% of people have blogs!
- Contribute to other blogs in your industry - Contact owners – offer comments on their blogs (but don’t’ promote YOUR product)
- Track conversion
- Don’t let people comment on your blog without your moderation
- Keep your installations current
- To encourage people to click onto or subscribe to your blog, Nicole Wilkinson suggests everyone make their blog address clear and easy to find.
- Blog consistently, frequently and regularly.
- Nathan Snell suggests starting slowly, posting 1 to 2 days a week, and gradually increasing your frequency to 3 to 5 times weekly.
- Preview potential new- hires
- Find out who knows someone you want to know or meet
- Check out someone’s history
- Get to know your prospects; go into a meeting knowing about them – find a common ground
- Seek answers – ask questions
- Increase your visibility and credibility
- Google picks up your profile and list it in search engines
Don’t’ leave your LinkedIn profile unfinished – complete all entries
Find service providers – read their reviews on LinkedIN
Show off your skill set
More about Twitter:
Twitter is a microblog - 140 characters or less that lets people know what you are doing
Helps you stay in contact with each other.
Andrew Gray reminds everyone to stay true to your brand and watch what you say in public!
Proof read for typos and other errors.
You can delete a post, but NOT edit!
Keep your name and company name top of mind.
Thanks to an exciting panel of experts and a room filled with eager business owners from the greater Wilmington area, we had a 260% increase in attendance from the August Next Level Seminar...don't miss the next one!Save the Date:
Set your calendars for the first Tuesday of each month and join other successful business owners for ActionCOACH Taking Your Business to the Next Level Seminar:
October 7th: 5:30 to 8:00 pm
“How to Build a Marketing Campaign that is an Investment Not an Expense
Can't wait until October? Look for the ORANGE button on the top left of this blog to register for 6 Steps to Building a Better Business!
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