There are actually some very prestigious brands in the United States who still do not realize the potential of social brands and their first reaction when faced with the question to have an active presence on a social platform is – can we just do without it?

And…when they realize that they simply cannot do without it because their competitors are there as well, they look for an outside agency to handle it. Well, what I am trying to explain is this fear of change from the conventional, and this utter show of ignorance about the potential of social media even though it has proven its caliber time and again. They simply do not want to take it into consideration as an important chapter for brand building and development, and something that cannot be ignored.

‘Now’ is the time for business leaders to get up and get ready for a change and accept the social media and be a part of it. You and only you know what’s best for your business and how you can connect it with the masses, so stop shrugging off your responsibilities and shifting the blame. Become your brands best advocate.

Are your still chained to old school thoughts? Are you still using a firewall to ensure that your employees don’t indulge in social networking? It’s time to grow up!

You cannot hide your face behind those traditional rules and laws, and other legal formalities and do nothing to understand social media. It’s a whole new and interesting world waiting to be explored and getting involved will help you take your business to greater heights. You can never get that by sitting behind closed doors and working on your old business strategies.

If your business comes under the pharma or other highly-governed industry, don’t wait for guidance from any governing agency to figure out how to use social media for your benefit. If you take the plunge before your competitors, you are certain to benefit from this move.

If you play in the financial sector, it’s high time you take yourself out of the conventional norms and avoid treating your employees like a bunch of school kids who should not be accessing social media. Cut that boring old school media playbook in half and strike like a leader in the social biosphere.

Those who need help getting started with social media can get assistance through our training program, Social Media Blueprint Membership.  This power packed program can help you not only catch up but learn at you own pace.

Don’t worry about the ROI social media will give you, just spend some time creating value for your brand today and the results your get in the long run will be overwhelming. Down the line, if you don’t have a well-developed digital strategy, you will find you company behind the eight-ball. We are well into 2013, and it’s high time you leverage the potential of the social media and make it work for your business.

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Image consumption has been significantly increased lately and we all enjoy scrolling down our newsfeeds, glancing at pictures and liking them one after another (this is the reason that Pinterest and Instagram have skyrocketed their popularity, anyway). However, does this mean that status updates are dead?

It might be hard for some of you to believe, but a status can sometimes be more attractive than an image! Social media might be surrounded by pictures, but status posts are still here and their reach is in many cases bigger than an image’s. Why is this happening?

In the era of images, the creation of a status post indicates that you have something important or useful to say. Either for personal reason with an announcement, or a thought, either for professional reasons with a tip you are sharing or an update of your work, these posts cannot be replaced with an image and they still have a high level of engagement among your friends and fans.

Does this mean that we need to stop sharing pictures? Of course not! Images are still important in the visual era we’re part of. All you need to do is find the perfect balance between pictures and status updates in order to improve your social media strategy and be more effective.

How about your observations? Which case works better for you?

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Planning a marketing campaign through social media? You may have a great plan, but before you go live with your campaign put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and review your strategies. Do they stink…and sound downright boring? May be your campaign needs a little facelift and here are some interesting ways that can help you organize a successful marketing campaign with a unique approach.

Think original:

There’s nothing more intriguing and captivating than original ideas that touch the prospective consumers and make them want to know more. Regardless of the industry type of market sector you belong, don’t imitate your rivals and come up with something similar. This will hardly get you the recognition you need and your brand will fizzle out from the market unnoticed. To grab attention and snatch a share of the market, make your presence felt with original ideas. Stop purring like a kitten and let your campaign roar so that your company gets the attention it deserves. Why use social media in the first place?

Connect with the target market:

When you wish to establish your brand in the market, reach out to the end users of your product and connect with them. Use social media to network with your existing and prospective consumer. Be active in your Facebook page, lend a ear to the feedback and make improvements, listen to complaints and address each issue with compassion.

Set realistic goals:

Just because you have an online presence and engage with consumers does not mean that you will get overnight results. Remember that Rome was not built in a day. There are numerous other companies like yours that have a social media presence and they have the similar expectations. So, set realistic goals and work on your plans consistently and with time, you will be able to establish a kind of reputation that none can challenge.

Discover new platforms:

Although Twitter and Facebook are the most obvious choices when it comes to promoting your brand business or products, you may also consider discovering other platforms such as Pinterest, Youtube and Google + to make the most of the less explored regions.

Don’t use social media as a place to promote only: This is probably the biggest thing that business owners struggle with and the most important thing each of them needs to remember above all else…enough said!

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Start by adding a photo. Your profile photo should be of you and not an object; people want to know that you are a real person.  You do not have to have a professional photo but it should be a good representation of you. You will want the photo to be recent so that you are recognizable when you walk in for your interview and you should look approachable.

Your summary is the place to highlight you so don’t leave it blank. This will be your chance to make a great first impression. Write in the first person, let people know why you do what you do in your own words, and be engaging.

Your experience section is your online resume. Add in your past and present employment, and your education. You can also add a section that includes volunteer experiences if you have any. Make sure to update your profile when things change.

Don’t put that you are unemployed in your headline. Be creative, and use relevant keywords. Use all or as many of the 120 characters that you can.

Here are some other sections you should pay attention to. Select an industry so that you can be found when someone does a field search. Take a moment to ask for recommendations from people you work with or have worked with in the past. The additional information section is for you to add in your links (website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, anything that will give someone extra information about you).  Your URL is customizable too; use your name if it’s available. Finally make sure you profile is public. It would be a shame if people couldn’t stumble across you. Have a great time growing your network. You never know who might bring you your next job opportunity!

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Images have always been a powerful way to capture the world’s attention. The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” applies to Instagram since the use of pictures is a major function. Shareable pictures are not the only way businesses can use Instagram – they can include links in the photo’s comment section and post their comments and photos on other social networks.

Adding hashtags and location tags helps your customers find for your photos. Create galleries of images or interactive maps to let your viewer know where photos are being taken and go a step further by using photos you post on Instagram in other forms of publication. Attract a larger audience by featuring guest photographers and expanding your reach by sharing your images via other social networks. Tell a story using photos and invite viewers to comment and respond. Being interactive is an important element, and the local touch makes a difference.

Nowadays since business is so competitive connecting with your customers on a more personal level is important in order to keep them feeling in touch with your products and business.  If consumers have a deeper connection they will be more loyal to your products and also share your pictures and information as well which equals to more free advertising.

The benefits of Instagram include how easy it is to use, the fact it is free, and that you can connect with your customers via more social networking sites.  These features make using Instagram a wise decision, and you can give your business more exposure which will hopefully lead to more revenue.

Some business owners may believe that Instagram isn’t right for them because their business isn’t visually based, but if you think creatively there are many ways you could grow through this platform. It can be useful in promoting contests and campaigns, and people love pictures – so find a way to become visual. You can use a number of programs online to help you track activity on Instagram, which means you can try things out and learn from your mistakes.

Staying in touch – with current and potential customers – is more important than ever, but thanks to the internet and social networking sites like Instagram it has never been easier to do so. The only issue is that business owners need to keep up with responding to comments and inquiries, adding new content and sharing via other social networks. Even though this may sound like a lot more work it really isn’t once your accounts are established and then it is just a matter of maintenance. Having a content strategy that includes Instagram updates from the start will ensure you never leave your profile looking empty. Get started today.

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Even if Facebook comes first when you think about getting social, it is worth considering the advantages of using other social networks: namely, Twitter. With its limited number of characters, 140, many people working in the industry have been and are still skeptical of the impact that could have on marketing campaign. However, Twitter is a good way to expand your business and allows you to interact with users around the world by sending three types of messages:

– Short message sent to a group of people for advertising purposes;

– Short message addressed to a specific person advertising purposes;

– Short message sent to a private individual.

Briefly, Twitter is a tool which attempts to create relationships with potential clients, to maintain and cultivate them. Given this statement, you can use this social network to:

– Develop and promote your brand;

– Interact with your customers;

– Monitor user discussions that relate to your company and brand;

– Promote upcoming events;

– Promote your created content (blogging, website articles, webinars, etc.);

– Develop direct relationships with journalists & bloggers for online promotion.

Wondering what tweets you should send?

– Share with your customers the latest news related to your company;

– Post a link to an interesting blog or article that relates to your business’s activity and even to a YouTube video;

– Post the event details you will hold or to which you are invited to participate;

– Promote your content on your site or blog;

– Interact with other people by sending a message using the “@” sign;

– Respond when someone comments on what you posted.

Use Twitter marketing campaigns

1. With you social networks you can try to attract more visitors to your site. Post links to your website and if the content you present is more attractive, you will see that other users can use Twitter that links your recommendation to friends.

2. You can post and promote events on Twitter, and you’ll find it a great way to interact with people who are really interested in your products and services. Do not forget to post a review blog about how the event took place and allow users to share the link to that page.

3. People who are keen to discover interesting things on the Internet, will read and share your tweets if you submit links to new content that you have produced on your website. You need to be posting articles that answer questions or fulfil a need for your followers.

4. You can build a reputation as an expert in your industry by sending messages that relate to your niche. This may seem like a lot of effort, but once you are on top of news that is relevant to your industry you will soon find you can send one or two tweets a day that position you above and beyond your competitors.

Today, users are the biggest consumers of information in media and they dictate how you contact them. Marketing relies heavily on interaction on blogs, publishing useful content and optimizing websites. With Twitter you can make inroads in all of these areas.

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But how does Google know the right answers? Even if the algorithm is a well-kept secret, one thing is having an ever-growing effect – Social Media. With the newest tool released, Graph Search, Google tries to erase the blurry lines between traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media, as well as promote a new fresh kind of search: socially search.

Let’s put it like this: you are looking for a tapas restaurant in the city, yet the search from Google is insufficient. When it comes to food recommendations, hairstyling or car repair, you want to find some relevant opinions from your Facebook friends. Google cannot yet provide this data; Google+ needs more time to mature. So Facebook is the best alternative in these kinds of dilemmas. Facebook gives a more human result when everybody else is searching for specialized help coming from niched websites. Therefore, searching socially means to employ your search with the ‘human voice’ of confidence.

In the last few years, the SEO strategy increased so heavily, that it is no longer a performance tool, It’s a “you cannot live without it” necessity. Everybody can optimize their site content by choosing the right keywords, giving a more structured title, increasing visibility and site speed. So, if everybody has the same chance at optimizing, why, on the Google ranking system, is one website is more visible than another? This is the beauty of social media, and the crack in Google’s algorithm.

Google created Google+ because they felt the urge to control the content via a social platform. Then, Google Authorship was born, giving another signal to push to ranking sites and content – again controlled by Google.

The More the Merrier

Social sharing cannot trick the search engine, and yet the power of sharing can influence the power of search. “The more, the merrier”, is the future of search, and you, as an individual user and person who shares, can make a real difference in ranking certain content. So to compare this to days gone by, you get to choose what is on the most visible shelf in the library.

Strategic SEO alone is not enough. Social search comes as a natural consequence of expanded viral communication. Your vote of confidence takes form in a “share”, a “re-tweet” or a “re-pin”. Google needs to know your consumer habits and your interests, so they can transform this into meaningful data; it’s a win-win situation. You say what you like or want and Google gives you what you need. Your customers need to “like” what you do, or you will soon fall off the radar.

This is social influence, a relatively young resource that needs to be fully exploited. Do you have a business? Create engaging content, make it worthy and then use all the social media platforms available out there. Don’t forget to blog about what do you have to offer. May the power of social search be with you!

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In order to see results from social networking you need more than a Facebook fan page or a Twitter presence, while these help – you need a plan. Just about every other company out there is going to use social networking to market their services, but where these firms fall short is consistency. They will be aggressive for a few days but then slow down and give up. This is where you can overcome your competition by constantly coming to your Facebook and Twitter site on a regular basis. When you do this consumers will start to take you seriously.

What makes these social networking websites appealing is their ability to make things go viral, when someone buys a product of yours and mentions it on their Facebook and Twitter then all of their contacts are made aware, this spreading is powerful. In order to maximize the reach and exposure offered by social networking solutions it is necessary to build your marketing plan around it. Think of Facebook and Twitter as essential components of any marketing campaign and not simple add-ons.

A few things you should refrain from talking about when using social networking websites no matter how tempting it may be is matters of religion and politics. While it may feel right to state your opinion as a business owner your only opinion should be “the customer is always right”.

There is another benefit aside from the initial sales offered by social networking you can improve your search engine rankings as well. Search engines like Google take social signals into consideration when they are ranking a website and if your business is constantly being mentioned on Facebook and Twitter then Google is going to notice it.

Given the benefits that are associated with social networking websites you need to start your planning now if you want to start realizing the full potential of online marketing. Now you may be tempted to outsource this process to a SEO firm you must keep in mind that when you are using social networking websites whatever you put out there will stay there forever. Since there are many firms that could meet your needs be sure that you screen them carefully based on their track record of success. In order to gauge the suitability of these firms you need to find out what type of results were achieved in the past, without this due diligence it would be difficult to determine who the most sensible choice is.

By implementing a genuine strategy you will find you find that you can grow your fan base, increase your social media signals and be a part of the social media conversation in a consistent and productive manner.

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I was scrolling down my Twitter newsfeed a few days ago and I suddenly realized that every glance at a tweet may be your first impression of a person. There were people I didn’t know and a single tweet was my first “introduction” with them. This means that your whole personality must fit in 140 characters or less!

If you are using Twitter with your real name appropriate behavior is very important, no matter why you signed up for. You don’t have to be a celebrity or a politician to double check your tweets before posting them. If you want to be taken seriously into consideration on any aspect of your expertise, you need to use Twitter wisely. This doesn’t mean that you should become too serious or even imitate somebody else. Just keep in mind that even a RT could be considered insulting, vulgar, racial, or politically incorrect for some of your followers, leading to their misjudging you for no reason.

In the era of social media, your digital presence is part of yourself. Just imagine a case that an employer finds your CV interesting and makes a quick social media search about you. What if he sees on top of your newsfeed a tweet that makes him reject you with no second thought? Or how about a client?

Never forget that your digital personality is more important than ever and everything that you post stays out there, either for good or bad reasons. If you keep that in mind from now on, everything would be easier!

Did you ever catch yourself misjudging a person from random posts?

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Social media networking sites are public domain; anyone, including the government, can have access to the information posted there. This access can work for you or against you, which makes it difficult to come down definitively on either side. One of the good things to come from this type of data mining took place in New York. By accessing social media profiles, law officers there were able to indict 63 members of an East Harlem gang for crimes that they committed. This is only one example of how these sites can be used for good.

On the other end of the spectrum comes the issue of privacy when using a social media site, such as Facebook. People think of Facebook as a site on which they can share life events with family and friends of their choosing. Sometimes this isn’t the case. Anything that you post on the internet can be found or seen. If you don’t want the information shared, don’t post it – period.

There have been many incidents where information has been used in court that was obtained from social media networking sites such Facebook. This is especially true with those that may be filing for disability then go on Facebook and post pictures of themselves water skiing. You can understand them being prosecuted for fraud. Yes, there are people out there that do that so don’t be surprised if the government checks your networking site to see if there is anything that would make them point the finger at you.

Should government agencies be able to access information on your social media site without your permission or knowledge? This is an important question, particularly today, when the right to privacy is such a hot topic. According to the laws the internet is public domain meaning that they can access your information. If this is the case how do you think it affects things such as record keeping.

Use of social media by the IRS is just one of the many concerns that people have in the highly technological world we have become. Check privacy settings on these accounts, and remember not to post what you don’t want made known. Take the time and let us know how you feel about the IRS accessing your information. Let us know whether a pre-audit decision or post-audit decision should be made by the IRS. Check out Facebook for other discussions concerning privacy issues.

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