• Website – Engagement is the key word for 2011. Not only should you engage with Social Media, but you should engage with visitors directly on your website. Add all the key elements to your site to keep the searcher involved. Are you utilizing videos? Are you giving the user an experience that will result in your end goal? Connect with your searchers on every level directly through your website.

• Facebook – A Facebook is an essential part of any Marketing Campaign. In 2011, take your Page to the next level! Make sure you are utilizing the Custom Tab feature. Make sure that your Tabs are functional and practical. Since there are only a few spots for Tabs, use ones that will benefit your campaign and your fans the most.By using the @ function, you can “tag” other people or companies, therefore posting your post on their wall in addition to your own. This is an easy way to spread your message!

  Make sure your posts are “share worthy”. This is the name of the game and is what truly makes this viral marketing. If you want your news to spread, make it interesting. Your goal for 2011 in regards to Facebook should be: More Likes.

• Mobile – With Tim Mayer predicting that mobile search will occupy 1 in 5 of the searches by 2012, it’s time to get involved! Ask yourself if searchers can find your content from their mobile device. If the answer is no, put this on your list for next year!

Blending all your marketing efforts will get you the best results. We at Mannix Marketing wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season!

But…social media online branding is a daunting task, no? Actually, it’s not as difficult as you might think if you can a.) stay abreast of the latest hot topics and b.) be creative enough to use that information to get ahead of your competition! For blogs and real-time news, Google Trends Hot Topics is a blue-chip tool for research, revealing the latest trends in everything from shoes to car parts! Hot Topics is a particularly effective tool for seeing who is talking about what – right now – and providing you the opportunity to get in on the conversation while it’s happening!   

Hot Topics highlights popular topics, trends and phrases that are currently finding their way into today’s real-time marketplace. For instance, on Google Trends the #1 topic today, May 18th,  is “miss usa”. When I click on the link, it brings me to a landing page with options for all the latest and greatest data – I can choose from news, the latest Twitter and Facebook updates, videos and more:

How can this help your business? Search for your own keywords under “More Hot Topics”. Here you will find the same data…news, real-time updates, shopping, videos, all areas of input that reflect who is talking about what in your area of interest. Jackpot! Combined with a fabulous, optimized website design and a business plan that incorporates search engine positioning services, social media optimization is a key component in staying ahead of what the competition is doing.

Do you have an email newsletter that you send out weekly/monthly/bi-monthly? Why not connect it with your Facebook Page for your business and kill two birds with one stone? Don’t know how? It’s easy, trust me. Here are some instructions:

If you use Vertical Response as your email platform

If you use Constant Contact

If you use iContact

Providing an email sign up to your newsletter can be as easy as downloading the Static FBML application to your page and then following some simple instructions. Have questions, please contact us and we can help you get up and running.

Increase your reach by over 24% by creating this simple form and pasting it right into your Facebook Business Page profile. It will show up either as a tab when you download the app, or in the left hand corner of your Page profile.

Examples:

Get people to sign up via your Facebook Page for news, latest events, or hot deals THEN follow up with a short, but sweet, BLAST through the “Send an Update to Your Fans” feature. Whether you have 10 fans, 100 fans or a billion fans — say hello to them via this feature  fast and effectively.

Facebook is making communication easy, folks. Jump on the band wagon and promote your business through these easy to use tools.

Don’t miss out on the added 24% of traffic/customers/leads that you could get by broadcasting your email newsletter through social media.

With jobs running scarce, the economy shaky and even long standing media closing its doors, we are turning to the internet as our lifeline. With our desire to always stay connected, we post just about anything to our social media profiles – from what we had for breakfast, to whether or not we think it will rain for another 30 days straight. We ask our ‘followers’/’fans’/’voyeurs’ to take polls, quizzes and/or give us advice on what life throws at us. In the world of the internet, we may think it stays on our screens, but it doesn’t. Anything you post online is public and for all to see.

For those who may have just gasped after reading that, rest assured. Each social media networking site has privacy settings that you can alter based upon your preferences. My suggestion? If you don’t want your mom reading about your night out, why would you post it publicly on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter? Don’t post pictures or enable the ‘tag’ feature on photos…your employer does not want to see you pie eyed at some random bar on a Friday night.
Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to Social Media.

Social Media Don’ts:

• Don’t Be Pompous: Just because you are sitting in front of a computer screen doesn’t mean you are invincible. No one likes a ‘know it all’, so don’t act like one. If you are looking for a new job, follow those in your niche. Ask questions. Be available for meet ups. Be Proactive. Get your ego in check and act humble. It’s all about networking and building friendships.
• Don’t Slap it on Heavy: Let’s face it. The job market is tough and the hiring process is not easy. Stay true to yourself and don’t lie about your past work experiences because Google always remembers. Tout your winnings, but not too loudly as this might offend your followers or perhaps turn people away from contacting you. Believe it or not, a self promoting tweet may be the demise of your online persona.
• Don’t Blab About Anything and Everything: No one cares if you are drinking a Coke or “so tired you can’t keep your eyes open”. People care about unique, enticing content. Share your thoughts, your goals or talk about the latest project that you worked on. Update your statuses with ‘sticky’ content and it will drive people to look at your profile and even follow you.
• Don’t Just Set it and Forget it: Social media profiles take time to setup and even more time to maintain. If you setup a Facebook Page for your business, it’s wise to have someone on staff to update it regularly. If you setup a Twitter account for your client, it’s best if you maintain weekly status updates; checking for new friends, direct messages, shout outs or reviews. You never know when that ‘hot lead’ will come in…it’s best to be ready.

Social Media Do’s:

• Do Be Friendly, Cordial and Respective: People love feedback. Comment on statuses of those that you follow and respect. Virtually get to know your friends by checking out their social media profile. Where do they work? What is their passion? Comment, share posts, befriend. Karma, folks. It does come back to you.
• Do Participate: Just like with status updates, you can also post messages on links that people share. Or, take it upon yourself to share the content of your peers via a ‘Share This’ button. Blog about a new product. Make news viral. Share the ‘link love’ by giving others a direct link to your website. Link popularity is a huge component to getting found in the search engines. The more high quality links you have pointing to your website, the more credible and valuable your website appears to the end user and the search engines.
• Be Proactive About Leads: You may have a variety of social media accounts. Synch them up using Hootsuite, TweetLater or Ping.fm and update statuses quickly and efficiently with these tools. Make sure to check regularly for direct messages, shout outs or ‘thumbs up’ and give the love right back. Connect, Engage, Communicate and Befriend.
• Do Set Your Privacy Settings: Like I said, no one really wants to see you carrying on in pictures, especially not your employer. We have become too comfortable online and seem to post everything for all eyes to see. Be aware of what you or your friends are posting about you. Set your privacy settings so that you must approve everything first.

Online social networks, whether for personal or business use, are a wonderful thing. Just make sure you know how to use them appropriately to make them work for you!

What is LinkedIn?
Similar to other social media sites, like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter, LinkedIn is an online community where you and other users can interact, post updates, add photos and display information about the most important product…YOU.

LinkedIn is different from most other popular social media sites because it is geared toward business professionals. Rather than making ‘friends’ with other users you make valuable ‘connections’ on LinkedIn. Think of it as a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, online networking mixer. With the economy and job openings seemingly going by the wayside, it’s time to start getting creative and being proactive about your most marketable asset: yourself. LinkedIn allows you to put your best foot forward and begin building your new image.

How Do I Build My LinkedIn Network?
You can build your online network by making connections with other business professionals you know or have worked with in the past. These can include college friends, professors, current coworkers, past coworkers, club/group/chamber associations, and the list goes on.

First, begin by connecting with your colleagues at your current place of employment. Next, input your email contacts and connect with your entire list within seconds! If you do attend local business mixers, whether through local Chambers of Commerce, or attend niche trade shows, make sure to collect those business cards and check to see if your peers have accounts. Again, if they don’t – send invites to these new friends asking them to create an account and link to you.

With over 35 million business professionals currently using LinkedIn, you can connect and network with like minded business people on both a local and national front or promote your business services shamelessly to your connections! Build your sphere of influence and open up your network tenfold through this ‘virtual handshake’.

What If I’m Currently Unemployed?
If you are one of the many who may be on the look out for a new opportunity, don’t fret – consider your former employers. LinkedIn allows you to find connections you may have from companies where you have worked in the past. Where did you go to school? Where did you learn your craft? Where did you study? You can find people from your past educational institutions or organizations and connect. Simply put in the name of your past businesses/education organizations, and LinkedIn will do the work for you. You might be surprised at who you find and connect with!

Once you have a connection bank, the next step would be to browse your connections’ connections…do you know these people? If so, send them an invite to connect with you. You will be on your merry networking way in no time!

How Can I Personally Benefit From LinkedIn?
Get seen, be heard and connect! There are many benefits of using LinkedIn, whether you want to promote a positive image of yourself online, network with others, stay in touch with business connections, monitor group updates and/or stay up to date on industry news through RSS feeds. In short, LinkedIn provides an open platform for self promotion and business networking, which often go hand in hand.

Looking for a job? In today’s world, submitting a resume may not be enough to land you that dream career that you’ve been striving for. Competition has ramped up, and employers are looking for those who enjoy interacting and engaging within their respective niche. Most interviewers will ‘Google’ your name to see what information comes up, trying to learn more about you. Try ‘Googling’ your name, and you will see that your LinkedIn profile may pop up above other listings for you. If you don’t have an account yet, ‘Google’ one of our names, either Sarah Lamansky or Destiny Malone (go ahead, try it), and scroll down. Google now offers direct links into social networking platforms (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn). Traditionally, Google only allowed 10 links on the results page…now the 11th is given to these privileged social networking platforms…showcasing YOU.

Your LinkedIn profile is almost like an online resume that people can view at any given time – an open showcase of everything you have to offer. So make the most of it! Beef up your profile with your professional skills, job experience, credentials, you name it. References are even available upon request; meaning, you can request recommendations from your connections. Anyone viewing your profile can then see and read all the recommendations you’ve received, and it adds to your credibility and positive image as a business professional.

How Can My Business Benefit?
You can use LinkedIn to monitor your competitors and keep an eye on other big players in your niche industry. You may find new business ventures, leads or skill sets, and your LinkedIn profile may be priceless for sealing the deal with a potential client or finding that new business opportunity. You can even use LinkedIn to find or pre-screen potential employees.

Google likes LinkedIn! Many search engines consider LinkedIn.com a reputable site and give more weight to those links. Try ‘Googling’ our company’s name, Mannix Marketing, and you’ll likely find our LinkedIn company profile among the first page results. Also, any links you post on LinkedIn to your website will aide in boosting your site’s search engine rankings as well.

Take note that a LinkedIn company profile differs from an individual LinkedIn account. Employees of your company who have individual accounts can actually help build out this company profile, where you can add a company description, links, photo, etc. This provides a sort of mini-website showcasing all your company has to offer and can be accessed from all of your employees’ individual accounts. In this Internet Age, the more information available online that is controlled by YOU, the better.

How Do I Get Noticed On LinkedIn?
Be active! Change your status daily. Make regular profile updates. Comment on your connections’ statuses. Become an expert in the ‘Answers’/’Questions’ section. Create a poll. Add applications to your profile. Start discussions with peers within your selected groups (you can search groups related to your profession, or browse through a list of groups that LinkedIn suggests for you based upon past/present professional expertise). Staying active on LinkedIn is the key to standing out among the other millions of professionals who utilize this networking super giant.

*This article will be featured in the Glens Falls Business Journal in the July issue

What’s the Buzz over  Social Media Optimization all about?

Aside from traditional search engine optimization, website traffic and analytics prove to be the leading metrics in determining if a search engine positioning program is effective. Build brand recognition through these social media networks and become a rising voice within the array of niche communities on the web.

Post videos on YouTube, create a Facebook Page, open up a Twitter account, or join a network on LinkedIn. Promote yourself, your business and even acquire new sale leads through the use of these social media networks.

Why is Social Media Optimization Important?

Invite, Engage, Connect, Communicate. By establishing yourself/company in an online niche, not only will you promote your business (or product), but also create immediate connections between you and people like you. Go ahead, try it out! Contact us if you need help.

Weigh in on the conversation here! What social networks do you like?

Twitter…what? Just when you think you’ve found the ultimate internet marketing tool, a viral media wizard…a social networking authority – the dishing begins! It’s undeniable that Twitter has ushered in a completely new era in microblogging and social media development.  Yet while ‘twittering’ and ‘tweeting’ has fast becoming a mainstream mode of sharing information, there is suddenly a rising media backlash aimed at disproving the idea that Twitter is – to be modest – the next best thing! 

Do the naysayers know something we don’t?  Or are they just feeling left out? Jon Stewart of The Daily Show recently gave Twitter a good fist shake.

What comes through loud and clear is that those who don’t use it – haven’t! To the uninitiated (or unmotivated) user, Twitter can seem confusing and puzzling. But honestly – with all the twittering and tweeting going on in the halls of Congress – how hard can it be?

Twitter has taken the world of social networking and social media optimization to a new level. Twitterers (Tweeters? Twits? Twerps?) joyfully share everything from what they’re doing at any given moment to the branding of goods and services that is cheap and effective 140 characters at a time!  The truth is that building an online network has never been easier or more fun, with millions signing up to take part in the real-time phenom and no end of the growth in sight. And the real key: Twitter is being found in Google search  more and more frequently.

Yes, real time inclusion can lead to frivolous or mundane messaging. But the real gem that twinkles through all the perceived ‘warts’ on the Twitter bandwagon is the fact that Twitter is definitely here to stay! It’s easy to use, highly relevant and it offers an opportunity for small businesses and large to take advantage of an incredible internet marketing environment.

If you’re using it, you already know. If not, companies like Mannix Marketing, Inc. offer social media optimization development plans that include a brand-building environment on Twitter as part of their basic social media optimization package. So, no matter what the tweet-phobes may say, it’s a good thing!