2012 -Time to Renew with Social Media

December 25, 2011

Happy New Year!  Here we are with 2012 just a week away.  Time just goes by so fast!  Happy New Year!  My calendar just seems to be on Steroids and my life! Do you relate?

With another year upon us we have so much to be thankful for yet our economy is not looking to well these days.  More than ever one needs to market their business as competition is stiff out there.  People are expecting to pay less while still getting more.

It is a great time to renew your Social Media business plan for the upcoming year and take a look back on this previous year in business.

About Social Media:

Social Media – The Next Best Thing to Being There in Person

While meeting with your clients and prospects in person is always the best way to build relationships, you might also consider Social Media.  Facebook is a wonderful place to get to know your clients and engage with your audience.

It has created an opportunity for anyone, anywhere, to have a voice.  Getting a message out no longer depends on how large a marketing budget is; in fact, it’s forced many companies to be creative; many have even hired social media consultants like myself to manage their social media campaigns. The good news is that anyone can learn how to benefit from social media.

You can Blog, Tweet, Facebook or create videos to draw in your targeted audience. What ever you do, you MUST jump on the social media wagon because Internet marketing has never been more necessary for small businesses that want and need an online audience.

Announce new products, post coupons, get to know your clients and their needs.  Don’t just sell them, get to know them!

If you want to brand yourself online please contact me. 

Visit my portfolio by clicking here.

Happy New Year!

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Posted by Jude Hodge

Jobs & Social Media Privacy

September 11, 2011
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Image via Wikipedia

Just how private should your social media profile be?  Social Media like Facebook and others have taken over our lives, all around the world.  Now more than ever it is easy for a potential employer to find out more about you when looking through their applicants.  This can work in your favor or against you, depending on the image you portray in your social media pages.

A few months ago in a public group I saw a young stay at home mom seeking a part-time job.  She said she was willing to work any hours, had child-care for her child, that she just wanted to get out part-time and work.  I clicked on her photo to learn more about her as I knew of a few available jobs locally.  Her profile was not private and I saw that she liked to drink a lot of beer, and that her house was filthy as the carpets that her baby were crawling around on were filled with pet hair and crumbs. I also saw that her hair was purple and pink, she had large gauged holes in her ears that hung low, (like the photo above) her nose, lip, eyebrows and chin were pierced, she had tattoos on her neck and arms, her husband had just been released from jail…no I am not kidding as she had chatted about it on her profile page.

So personally I am sure she probably a nice person, but I know that 50% of the public would judge her, so as an employer I would think she would be a great applicant for a tatoo parlour, a hair salon that was trendy, and a place that does piercing, maybe a trendy young cafe etc…but she has narrowed her choices considerably or even the chance of getting an interview based on her profile.  Tatoo’s can often be hidden, piercings can come out and hair color can change.  The chat about jail and her husband made you wonder.

So I bring this all up not to judge her, as there is someone and something out there for everyone.  But I also know that she limits her possibilities having a page that just anyone can look at anytime, even a potential employer as if they are conservative like most then she missed out on ever getting an interview.

The message here…if you are looking for a job, who do you want your employer to know?  The professional you, or the friend, wife and mother trendy girl you are?  Choices?? You may want to reconsider your social media privacy choices.

Leave a Comment » | Brick and Mortar, Customer Service, Facebook Marketing, Marketing Online | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Jude Hodge

The Value of Social Media

August 23, 2011

Making sure your business has an online presence in the virtual world is an important part of any successful  marketing plan. With that said, it’s easy to get over whelmed with social media. Responding to comments on your Facebook page you can make you start to feel  like you’re spending a lot of valuable time and resources keeping up an online  presence that isn’t necessarily turning into dollars.

Or is it working?

I  like to think of social media as a networking tool, a way to connect with many people at once. I know, that sounds  rather obvious but if you take a look you’ll see a lot of online businesses  aren’t utilizing it the way they should. Effective marketing and networking leads to  sales and traffic to your website, especially in the business to Business market. Social media is a fantastic sales tool, particularly Facebook, you just have to change the way you approach networking and sales and take it seriously!

Facebook in particular is  about listening. It’s about conversations. It’s about building a  relationship with your customer/consumer.  It is easy to do and you can spend as little as 10 minutes each day building up your brand and relation-shipping with your audience.

Not only does social media provide a great way to target your customer base, but these sites also provide businesses with a great way to build hype around a product or service.

If you’re not sure how to start a business page, hire someone!  If you do not quite understand Social Media, take some classes.  And get yourself a Facebook page!  Add friends and family, learn about it, then start your business page.

Best advice: Be yourself,  Show  your personality, have some fun with it. In social media it’s as much  about listening as it is about getting your message out there.

Traffic

This is one of the more obvious ways of measuring social media. Remember that quality often beats quantity, though not always.  Facebook provides a traffic report instantly that every business page has access to.  It is called Insights.

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Posted by Jude Hodge

Facebook VS Website

July 24, 2011

Someone asked me this week why they need a website when they are using Facebook for advertising.  That is a really good question as both serve a different purpose yet they work well together.  Both are needed if you want to truly have an online presence for your business.

Facebook is useful for attracting new customers, daily specials, keeping current customers updated, connected, engaged,  building your brand and the most important thing is the opportunity to relationship and communicate with your clients.

Facebook does not archive your info, it works like a forum as when you post each day the prior post moves down and off the page.  It is live…which is great for promotions and everything mentioned above but now lets look at why you need a website.

Websites archive all content which makes it available to be found anytime through search engines which can bring your business site a lot of traffic. The average person searches for a business online through a search engine, make sure you are there!

 Websites are branded with your professional image, your products and services and everything is developed, stored and  maintained and it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It never stops working for you.

Facebook is a tool to drive traffic.  Always link to your website…Example please see this short video clip.

Click to see short video example

Facebook fan pages are like a  mini website where it’s a lot easier to engage with your clients and provide instant information in an online Social Media  community.  It should lead back to your website where you can provide more in-depth information and content. that is always available by search engines and branding your business.

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Posted by Jude Hodge

Put the R back into….Relationship

July 17, 2011
Marketing Plan

In my small town the recession is obvious for many. It saddens me to see many close their doors in business, lose their homes and in some cases move away.

I know of two businesses that do the same type of work in my small town. One is thriving with 100,000 jobs lined up and several other 2 year projects while the other is losing everything a little at a time. Their home, their employees due to their inability to pay on time, their office spaces due to lack of payment, and also their accounts in town and elsewhere., and their phone is not ringing off the hook to give them work.  They are having to seek work elsewhere just to try to survive.

I do not have to ask myself why….I know why. No matter how good you are at what you do there are some key elements that determine your success. This list I am preparing is regarding the one succesful business owner who is thriving as he meets all of these while the other one does not meet any of this criteria.

Ask yourself if you offer these important key elements for success:

  • Excellent relationship skills, networking, meeting new people, building strong relationships in the community

  • Great communication skills – Returns phone calls right away, speaks strongly and confidently, returns emails and most important keeps the customer informed of every step and direction regarding their project.  Good or bad, the call is made right away.

  • Integrity to stand behind the product and not make excuses to the customer, at all cost…save face with the client to assure they are satisfied.  One bad customer deal can ruin your reputation in any town.

  • The successful company owner never over promises and under delivers.  Never gives EXCUSES!  A person with the right character is never a victim of any circumstance and will never excuse themselves from anything.  ANYTHING!

It is just hard cold facts, people are more choosy than ever where they spend their money and every business must be at the top of their game or they will no longer be in business.

So step it up…you too can thrive during a recession if you have what it takes!

Leave a Comment » | Brick and Mortar, Customer Service, Facebook Marketing, Marketing Online, Mobile Marketing, Motivational | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Jude Hodge

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