What Does Chocolate Lava Cake Have to do with Social Media?

What Does Chocolate Lava Cake Have to do with Social Media? 

Sitting at Chili's enjoying the free Chocolate Lava Cake I was served after checking in on my Foursquare app, I got inspired to feed my readers a blog post on the importance of Local Social Media.

Enjoying Free Chocolate
Lava Cake at Chili's

I'm always surprised to find  large number of businesses not using these proactive business building tolls like Foursquare. Foursquare is free, it's easy, and it brings business into your establishment! So why aren't businesses using it? Because very few business owners are learning and understanding Local Social Media. 

On Foursquare you can claim your business listing and advertise Specials for patrons who check in at your business. Potential patrons surfing on their smart phone will see an orange tab differentiating your business from others in the area, therefore giving you a proactive way to bring potential new clients to your business.

Listing your business on Foursquare is free and it is a better tool than Facebook, Yelp, Gowalla, Google Places or other check in apps because of it's ability to draw browsers to your business with Check In Specials.

Your First Foursquare Local Social Media Marketing Move

Simply go to Foursquare.com/business, click on Business Tools > Your Listing and the click on the Get Started button to claim your business on Foursquare. Confirm your listing then add Check In and Mayor Specials to your listing.

Once you've claimed your listing you will start driving more new and repeat customers to your place of business! Congratulations! 

Manny Sarmiento - President
New Media, New Marketing, Inc.

GET CERTIFIED! In Social Media...! 
http://www.certificationinsocialmedia.com 

Top Social Sites & Top Networking Sites You Must Have for Business Success

Top Social Sites & Top Networking Sites You Must Have for Business Success

Social Networking and Using the Top 5 Tools

The most common question I'm asked when teaching Social Media is "Which Social Media Sites are the Most Important for My Business".  The answer may surprise you. While many people think that Facebook is a must for business, it is a site you could theoretically do without.

There are three elements to look for when choosing social media sites to engage in.

First, the social networking, social bookmarking, video, or other social media site must have plenty of active users. These are users who visit the site on a daily basis. 

Second, the sites must include the persons in your target market and/or professionals

Third, the sites must be SEO friendly, which means that these social media sites appear on the search engine results pages, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo, often.

These are the Top 5 Social Media Sites that meet the required criteria and you must use to have greater success in your business. Lets count them down:

5. Facebook  AlthoughIt almost didn't make my Top 5. Facebook is intrusive, not very professional, but it has over a billion members. The key to using Facebook for business is creating a Business Page, formerly called a Fan Page, with an interactive and engaging iframe. Other than that, Facebook is a useless tool for business since no one is listening and those are are speaking are speaking nonsense. The tool I find most useful on Facebook is events.

4. Twitter  This Social Networking / Microblog site is growing and becoming more practical. It still lack engagement for most, but it can be a useful tool for business.

3. Foursquare  I'm still waiting for businesses to jump on the Foursquare bandwagon. This is a great tool for business owners because you can proactively engage and attract new customers to your brick and mortar locations by offering check-in specials and mayorship offers.

2. Google+  The fact that Google+ Plus is closely related and interact with the Google Search Engine, and with Google Places, makes it a must-have for all businesses. As business owners realize the importance of being on Google+, this awesome Social Media tool will explode in members.  Be sure to add a +1 button to your website and watch engagement grow.

1. LinkedIn  By far the most important Social Media and Social Networking tool, LinkedIn has enough members to fit out criteria, and these members are, for the most part, the professionals you need to engage with to create more business and increase your sales.

These Top 5 Social Media sites are just a small portion of what a great social media strategy should. Social media network, social media bookmarking, social photo sharing and other social networking sites are opened constantly.

Keep your eyes and ears opened when you are on Google for the next, "big" or "greatest" site. If a site pops up often when you are researching your company, industry or competition, then that is the site you need to create a keyword-rich profile on. And don't forget to add your professional picture or logo to the profile.

Manny Sarmiento - President / CEO
New Media, New Marketing, Inc. http://www.nmx2.com / manny@nmx2.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/mannysarmiento
 

Facebook is Dead! Social Media Marketing Top 5 Predictions for 2011

"Facebook is Dead" - Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2011

Facebook is a nice Social Media toy!  Facebook is not very nice! Facebook is disruptive! Facebook is annoying!   Strong remarks huh! 

The problem with Facebook is that it is not a tool that lets you engage with clients or potential clients.  A good social media marketing tool allows for proactive and real engagement with people.

So what is good about Facebook.  I call it the law of large numbers.  With over 500 million users and 53% of them active, I look at Facebook as being able to "touch" large numbers of users. 

Engagement though, is another issue. Facebook does not lend itself to practical engagement, or establishing a on-on-one relationship with potential clients. Which is what you want to do with a practical social media marketing tool.

So what are the Top 5 Social Media Marketing tools you should use, other than Facebook, that will have an impact on your business in 2011?  Lets count them down:

5. Foursquare.  Although it is not suitable for all types of businesses, Foursquare has done it's homework and has become a tool for businesses that are frequented by clients. It is an free, high-impact, engaging tool that can bring in new clients and keep them coming back.

4. YouTube.com and Video.  Youtube and other video sites such as Metacafe get indexed on Google and other search engines faster than your web site. You must have a Youtube video chanel and add at least one video per month.  Videos should be no more than 4-5 minutes long and the description and tags should have relevant keywords to your business.

3. MerchantCircle.com.  One of the best local directories on the web, other thatn Google Places, Merchant Circle allows you to list your business for local searches, connect to other local businesses and invite your friends and business contacts. Merchant Circle is listed on Google search engine result pages often.  You must be on Merchant Circle in order to be more competitive in your local market area.

2. PRLog.org. Social media press releases are the best kept secret in social media. A posting on PRLog will get indexed very quickly. Social media press releases are free and easy to send. They are one of the most effective ways to get your business showing on Google.

1. LinkedIn.com. Amazingly, I find many professionals are not on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is one of the most professional and useful social media sites. I rank it well above Facebook as a marketing tool for your business. LinkedIn has two very practical tools for proactively marketing your business, Groups and Answers. These tools if properly used will dramatically increase your engagement with potential clients. LinkedIn is a must for any professional.

By utilizing these 5 tools correctly you will dramatically increase traffic to your web site and engage potential clients, making 2011 a profitable year for your business.

Manny Sarmiento - New Media, New Marketing, Inc.
http://www.nmx2.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mannysarmiento
http://www.facebook.com/newmedianewmarketing
http://www.twitter.com/nmx2