Social Media

Sharing information on social media networks and blogging have become increasingly popular in recent years.  In the past we have talked about Social Media Communication and Online Marketing, but in this post we’ll talk about the reasons to add a blog to your website. 4 reasons to add a blog to your website: It’s a way of keeping your audience aware of news and changes in your industry. You have lots of knowledge to share and sharing your knowledge in a blog can help position you as an expert in your field. This will add to your credibility and encourage customers to do …

Most business people aren’t using the social media platforms you like to use as a consumer to buy products and services. In fact some don’t use social media at all for business. If your next thought is, “well, they are old” or “they aren’t tech savvy”, I would reply that you’re probably making judgements based on your reality of online marketing, not the reality of your customer. And data shows most of our business activity is still done using dark social. In 2013 in the US, only 22% of business people used LinkedIn, a well known social media business platform. …

The conversation began: “I need to do social media for my business” they said. “Great”, I answered, “What’s your business and which social media platforms are your prospective customers or influencers using?” “I’m not sure, but I know I have to do it.” they replied, “Do you have the time?” I asked. “Not really”, they replied, “but I know I have to use it. I need to use social media to grow my business. That’s where everyone is.” So here’s the question: Is most online social interaction done within the confines of social media? In the excellent article “Dark Social, …

Social media is an important part of your marketing mix, though it can be overwhelming. Guest contributor, Leslie Hughes of PUNCH!media explains how to keep it simple and effective.   I routinely receive the following question at my Social Media seminars: ”How much time should I be dedicating to Social Media?”. My answer is “Marketing time is marketing time”. Every business requires a certain amount of marketing time dedicated to promoting your business. With Social Media, your business has the opportunity to reach a qualified, targeted audience who is *actively* interested in your product or service. 1) Start strategic. Decide what …

Looking out at the older crowd I asked “so who knows what Twitter is and how it works?” A single hand went up from a 19 year old who just finished presenting. Oh boy. So began my impromptu presentation about Twitter. “Who knows what a ticker tape machine is?” All hands went up (other than the 19 year olds). “Imagine you had 2 ticker tape machines, one follows the NY stock exchange the other follows London. A typist located at each stock market location feeds in the information at their end and each machine would simply stream out information from …

Great writing is about sharing stories or information that are personal, practical and timely for your audience. I typically ask myself if I received this information, would I give a sh#%@ or DIGS which stands for Do I Give a Share? In this new online world, it’s hard to know if anyone is reading and liking what you put out there. Sure, they may comment and have an opinion. But, the really good writing and tidbits get shared, just like they do in the physical world. It’s a quick way to measure if people are reading what you have to …

Welcome to Andy Lopata, our contributing writer and friend from England. Described as “one of Europe’s leading business networking strategists” by The Financial Times, Andy Lopata FPSA works internationally with global brands to help them make the most of their networks. He is the author of three books on networking and a Fellow of The Professional Speaking Association. Find out more about Andy at www.lopata.co.uk. Based on the Six Degrees of Separation Theory, LinkedIn helps users to see how they can connect with other members through mutual networks. Put simply, if you want to be introduced to someone else who …