Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
5 Ways To Use Social Media To Launch A Book
-Have a Book Cover Designing Contest
Although it hasn't been used too often, this technique can go a long way in generating interest around your book, and chances are, you'll probably be able to get yourself a variety of book cover designs to choose from.
Everybody loves a good contest, and it's one of the best ways to capitalize on the ‘viral’ factor of social networks. Just set the ball rolling by convincing some of your friends to put the details up as their status or tweet about it, and watch the ripple effect take place. Make sure your contest page has some details about the book - putting up a couple of extracts from the book will help you gather more interest around the book.
-Lure the movers and shakers
The first step in this technique involves finding the so called ‘movers and shakers‘ in your genre of books i.e. the bloggers and reviewers who have large fan followings. Once you have identified them, try getting them to review your book or even just tweet about it - you could offer them a few free copies or send them the first chapter and ask if they'd like to see the rest. However, if you do follow this technique please remember there's a fine line between 'luring' and ‘spamming - make sure you don't cross it.
-Don't be afraid to promote yourself
Blog, promote, use Zinzz for share, advertise yourself... do whatever it takes to get yourself heard. Don't be afraid of coming across as annoying or narcissistic. If you genuinely believe your book has what it takes, then you shouldn't be afraid to let that fact be known. Having a tumblr or vlog is a great way to promote yourself and your book.
Another great idea is to just tweet and blog about stuff that interests you - if you create a famous internet persona for yourself, people will automatically read your book.
-Release extracts
Imagine this - an extract from your book flying around Twitter and Facebook, being commented on, shared, and debated. It's one of the easiest ways to generate excitement around your book because it requires almost no effort on your part except for selecting the right extract from your book. Ensure that the extract is posted online in such a manner that it lends itself to sharing - this is one place where those annoying share buttons linked to multiple social networks is essential.
-Make sure purchasing online for your customers is easy
This is absolutely essential if you really want to leverage the power of a social network. Imagine this situation - someone reads an extract from your novel on Facebook, decides they want to buy it, looks on all the online stores doesn't find it, makes a mental note to buy the book the next time he sees a bookstore, and never thinks of the books again.
To really use social networks to your advantage, you must ensure that your book is available for those who want to buy it on an impulse - otherwise there's a large chance they'll just forget about it. Ideally this would mean that your book can be purchased in both paperback hardcover and eBook format online, and is available at all the major online retailers.
Featured images:
This is a guest post by Fabian Thunder. Follow him on twitter.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Engaging On Facebook Is About Relationships
You've probably heard that success using Facebook is about engaging with your audience, but what does that really mean? Engagement doesn't just mean getting likes and shares. You have to build a relationship with your fans to really engage them.
How can you build a relationship with your fans?
A relationship in real life is all about give and take, so how can we translate that to online relationships between your Facebook page and your fans? It all starts with building a dialogue. There aren't any good relationships that don't have meaningful conversations. You have to ask questions, and want to hear the answers, and then respond to those answers.
Keep in mind, not everyone is going to agree with everything you say. That's another thing about relationships. There are always going to be some points of disagreement. It's how you go about responding to and resolving those problems that will determine whether your relationship with those fans will continue to grow.
Give to your fans
Make sure you're giving your fans something in return for their liking you. Share information with them, and give them your time and attention. Far too many Facebook pages are run by folks who rarely do more than just make posts and then leave. That's just like asking your friend how their day was and then completely ignoring their answer. Most likely, you won't have that friend for very long. You need to engage your fans.
If you can offer a special deal or inside information to your Facebook fans, that's a great way to give something back to them. They will respond with gratitude, and they'll also look forward to seeing your next post or update.
Don't be too promotional
No one likes hanging around with someone who is constantly trying to sell them something. The same is true on social media. Being too promotional can drive people away. Everyone wants to feel they're valuable for more than what they can spend from their wallets. Show appreciation when folks engage with you, when they share your posts, and even when they offer constructive criticism.
Every good relationship is built on a foundation of trust, caring and communication. Be open and clear, and you'll gain trust. Show fans you care about them, and they'll care more about you in return. And always keep the lines of communication open, even when you aren't hearing quite what you want to hear, because that is what a good relationship is all about. There are some people who will hack Facebook likes but they aren’t getting true engagement when they do this.
What tips do you have for increased engagement on your Facebook?
Featured images:
Karen Barkan is a social media manager and guest blogger on social media topics. Read more and learn how you can improve your Facebook pages.
The Five Elements Every Medical Blog Needs
Blogging has become a vital part of the medical industry’s marketing strategy, so much so that it’s rare to see a hospital, pharmaceutical company, or even a private LASIK clinic without a blog of their own. But having a blog alone isn’t going to set you apart from the thousands of other medical bloggers you’re competing with to gain rank. To maximize your blog’s potential, you’ll need the following elements.
From author bylines to social-media-ready images, incorporate these elements to give your blog the extra boost. Your marketing will be more effective, your readers will be more responsive, and your business will thrive!
Comments Section
Many medical practices stray from including a comments section on their blog because they fear bad publicity, not complying with HIPAA policies, or both. Furthermore, comments allow spammers and self-promoters of all kinds to write in their own messages, plague your blog with unwanted links, stir up controversy, and so on. Needless to say, a comments section will never be a 100% safe element of blogging. But you can’t do away with it and here’s why.
Comments is where you rally up support for your blogs and brand, it’s where you find new patients, where you engage your users, and build a name for yourself. Without it, you’re missing out on potentially major publicity. Just keep an eye on it, respond to positive and negative feedback, and keep your cool. Monitoring your comments will keep you active in discussions and establish you as a professional authority that patients can trust.
Author Byline
Leaving the byline out of your blog can force your articles to lose credentials and confidence. People don’t just want to read quality blog posts with solid information, they want to know their information is coming from a reputable source. A byline sets you up as the expert they need to listen to.
While your website should already have a biography with your information, credentials, and accomplishments, a small author byline at the end of each blog post will give it an extra boost. There are even several WordPress plugins you can use to link all of the articles you’ve written together and attach them to your Google Authorrank, a great way to gain a little extra SEO juice.
Social Media Links
Blogs are meant to be shared! You want your readers buzzing so much that they’re willing to share your post to their Facebook feeds. This means reaching a wider audience and potentially nabbing a few extra patients. But if those social media links are missing, sharing your blog suddenly became a pretty inconvenient task.
Include links to all major social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest and Reddit. You want your readers to have as many options as possible because people are more likely to shop (or make an appointment with a doctor) after they see a recommendation from a friend. Social media sharing might as well count as personal recommendations; so let your users share!
Search Feature
There are plenty of ways to incorporate a search feature with your medical blog, including a search bar and an archive of all the topics you’ve previously written about. Not matter how you do it, having a database for readers to browse through is a win-win for your business and your readers. Potential patients can find more articles like the ones they’ve just read or search for blogs by topics that are interesting to them, therefore staying engaged with your website for a longer period of time. And when your users are this engaged, they are much more likely to convert.
Images
Images are crucial to a blog’s success and you simply can’t run a blog with having at least one picture per blog post. First of all, images make complicated concepts much easier to grasp, especially to the general population that didn’t go to med school. Think about how motivating “before and after” photos are rather than just reading about a diet plan itself. Having a visual supplement really gets a user’s mind into gear.
Images are also great for social media sharing. From Facebook to Pinterest, social media is becoming more centered around visual content, meaning not only are the platforms now better designed to display high-quality graphics, but people are now much more likely to click on a post with an associated image. Since our eyes are naturally drawn to pictures, you should use more to generate buzz around the web. Just be sure you own the images and that they relate to your blog post.
Blogging isn’t entirely about the blog posts. To truly have a blog post succeed these days, you need to have the elements that can support it and promote it. Let your readers comment, see whom they’re learning from, and have an easy time searching and sharing your content. Not only can your blog succeed, but so can your business.
Pete Wise is a copywriter with 20/20 Institute. We provide LASIK services in Colorado. See what I'm posting on Facebook
3 Simple Ways Your Dealership Can Monitor Online Reviews
The success of your business now lies in the hands of your customer. Today, aside from providing their thoughts on your business through word of mouth marketing, they’re also taking to popular social media sites and online review sites to share their opinions, and these opinions can have a major impact on your business.
It’s extremely important that your dealership start monitoring online review sites like Edmunds and DealerRater to ensure that your business is successful. By monitoring online review sites, you can learn exactly how your customers feel about your dealership, and you can also use the information to learn if there are areas that need improvement.
Most dealerships ignore monitoring review sites because they feel as if it’s too time consuming, but the following are three simple ways that your dealership can start to successfully monitor online review sites.
1. Claim your business.
Each and every online review site allows you to claim your business on its respective site. Claiming your business allows you to create your own business profile as well as respond to any reviews that are left for your business. But aside from simply being able to communicate with the reviewers, claiming your business page allows you to set up review notifications via email.
Every time a new review is generated (or when a comment is left on a past review) the respective review site will send you an email notification. You can determine if you want to receive these alerts on a daily, weekly or in real-time basis too. You will then know via email when a review was left (and what it said), which will allow you to take the necessary steps to thank the customer or learn more about their experience.
2. Use a monitoring tool.
There are monitoring tools out there that are made specifically to help you manage your review sites. Review Trackers is one of those tools that can help you monitor your sites without having to do much work. Instead, Review Trackers will scour the Internet in search for specific mentions of your business and will send you an email notification whenever they find something. Like the email notifications from the respective sites, Review Trackers will also allow you to determine how often you want to receive the notifications.
One of the many benefits of Review Trackers is that you don’t have to worry about claiming your business on all the review sites out there in order to receive notifications. Instead, Review Trackers will notify you whenever your company is mentioned on any review site, even those you have yet to claim.
3. Hire a community manager.
Because the use of online review sites is so popular, it’s a good idea to designate one specific employee to monitoring your company’s online review presence. This is why you may want to consider hiring a community manager. This individual will be in charge of not only watching the reviews that come in for your business and recording them appropriately, but they will also be in charge of responding to the reviews in a timely fashion. This can help make your customers feel as if you’re actually paying attention, and it can even help to alleviate a negative review from going viral. Plus, by giving the responsibility to a designated individual, you will ensure a steady process and keep from piling the responsibility onto the plate of your other employees.
Garrett Payne is a professional reviews tracker who enjoys blogging. He has recently been sharing information about car dealer review tracking.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Social Media: Revolutionizing Business
Over the last 20 years, with the invention and popularization of the Internet, the traditional mediums that companies used to advertise, inform, and simply connect with their consumer base have change drastically. In fact, the traditional organization of a business has also been revolutionized. Now there are thousands of businesses that are run out of individual homes, forgoing the typical brick-and-mortar companies that were abundant before the Internet. For example, my friend's neice just started her own business online at a site called etsy.com. This brilliant idea for a website allows users to have their own “shop” wherein they are able to sell vintage and/or handmade items. Because of this, potentially millions of stay-at-home moms, craft makers, and people with hobbies making things can actually make a profit doing the things they love to do—without leaving the house.
Social Media-Leveling the Playing Field:
Normally a business would have a marketing manager in charge of all of the advertising campaigns, launching an expensive, extensive, and very broad-reaching commercial crusade using many different mediums, resulting in a fraction of the people reached who actually respond to the ad. For the people with “etsy” shops, all they have—and need—is social media. With the developing of sites like MySpace, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Twitter, and many more, market outreach and advertising have been revolutionized. Anybody can use these sites to any extent, to either benefit and/or hurt a business. With the smaller, personal businesses, a seller relies completely on friends and contacts to spread the word about the shop. For larger companies, it is much different.
Marketing Revolutionized:
To the companies that used to spend millions on marketing, social media could be considered a godsend. Although they still have to maintain traditional marketing strategies to some degree, it isn't nearly as costly. Using Facebook, for example, setting up an account is free, and everybody who “likes” the page will get the automatic updates the merchant sends. This narrows the outreach to current customers and exposes the business to many potential new customers when their “friends” like that page as well. This drastically decreases the seller’s Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) because it is completely free. A seller can pay for additional ads that will specifically target people with similar likes and interests as the general customer base.
Marketing to Public Relations:
Aside from the marketing advantage, social media allows a company to connect more deeply with its customers. This, unfortunately can be a double-edged sword. Social media is just that: social. If there is any type of scandal in a business, everyone with a Facebook or Twitter account can know about it within minutes. The lightning speed of bad news can result in a PR nightmare—just ask Domino’s Pizza. Because of this, you will need to be extra vigilant maintaining a good relationship with your customers, which can only help.
In addition to managing public relations, Facebook gives the seller a direct line to customers, getting fast, honest feedback about products or commercial campaigns, even including them through contests and giveaways. Take Doritos for example. The biggest TV commercial event of the year happens on Super Bowl Sunday. Companies plan very far in advance to make sure their commercials are funny and memorable. Doritos was running out of ideas, so they did something ingenious: had their customers come up with ideas in a contest with not just prizes, but the ultimate prize: a spot in the Super Bowl commercial lineup. This strategy has been extremely successful, probably more so that they had ever imagined.
Every business, from a cottage industry to a large corporation, must understand that social media is here to stay. It can be one of the greatest vehicles for mass advertising the world has ever seen, and using it properly can be a great advantage to a business.
About the Author: Rick Delgado is a freelance writer who specializes in the latest social and technology trends. He is cur
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
How to increase business productivity on a tight budget
Practical tips to help make the most of
your business even when faced with cutbacks or a tight budget.
One of the biggest challenges facing small
and medium businesses is how to manage growth when the market isn't working in
your favour.
At the end of the day, it's all about
looking at your budget from a new angle and making smart decisions about the
best way to use it - that way you can keep your business on track and stimulate
growth even in a difficult economic climate.
But how? Take a look at a few practical
tips to maximise the potential of your business and stretch your budget as far
as it can go…
Trim
the edges:
When you're trying to stretch every last
penny, looking for ways you can trim down on expenses can go a long way. You
might be surprised at the money you could save by implementing a few simple
changes. Areas to consider include:
Travel expenses - how much are your
employees travelling, and is it absolutely necessary? For example, by implement
a video chat or conference call policy for internal meetings you can save
travel expenses and your employees can spend that time at home - helping achieve
that important work-life balance.
Office supplies - paper, toner and
envelopes might seem innocuous but when every pound counts this is a good place
to start as many companies find their supplies amount to excess expenses. Keep
an inventory of everything you have and how often it's being used up. Encourage
employees to donate any free promotional materials - pens, notepads, pencils -
they might have received at a conference back into the supply cupboard.
Finally, wait to purchase supplies in bulk or when there is a large sale on,
that way you can pick up the essential items you need at a fraction of the cost
you might have otherwise paid.
Utility providers - The same way you want
the best deal for your home, you should be looking for the best deals with your
utility providers. It's unrealistic to think your office could run without
electricity or the internet, but that doesn't mean you should give up on
savings. Many providers offer bundle deals or will undercut competitors so it's
worth spending some time to shop around and find reliable providers that will
help you ease your monthly expense.
Investing
to save money :
This might seem counterintuitive but really
it's all about increasing efficiencies across your business. Are you still
using old systems that are doing more harm than good? Investing in new
technology, a new training program, or HR tools can improve efficiency both by
motivating employees and helping them get their work done - something that
promises a far greater return on investment.
Areas to consider might be:
Health insurance - Right now, small
business health insurance might not be on the top of your priority list,
but maybe it should be. Keeping your employees fighting fit is a great way to
cut down on those lost days due to illness, and can also help reduce the stress
they might be feeling about medical bills.
With their health in check, they can focus on feeling their best and
making the most of the days spent in the office.
Technology - choosing the right technology
can completely transform everything from the way you bill your clients to how
you do business. Consider any areas of your business that might benefit from
going digital - integrating technology will go a long way to aiding growth and
providing accurate insights into exactly how and what your business is doing
every step of the way.
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