1) Automate some of your interactions: While you definitely want to interact directly with your Fans and Followers, automating some processes is essential. For Twitter, consider utilizing an auto responder that thanks people for following you and encourages new Followers to go to your website (or landing page) or become a Facebook Fan. You can set this up using Social Oomph. Also, consider scheduling out your Tweets. This will allow you to plan ahead and always have some content or message to put out for your Fans and Followers on Facebook and Twitter. Consider using a tool like Hoot Suite to accomplish this.

2) Focus on your blog: Social media marketing not only includes your social networking efforts, but also all of your other integrated marketing efforts. The key component of your online social media marketing efforts is your blog. Your blog allows you to go into more detail about a specific issue, concern or question that someone might have about your industry. The blog gives you the platform to show that you’re credible and that you’re the expert. It is important to put out a consistent and unique message that is valuable to your readers. Optimizing and syndicating your blog posts will help people find you, and an RSS feed will keep your readers informed when there’s a new post. You should write at least 2 blog articles a week. Map out your topics ahead of time so that you have a plan when you actually get to writing the articles. Don’t forget to spend a portion of your time responding to comments on your blog posts.

3) Grow your network: Take time to add people that you meet to your social networks. If you attend a chamber meeting, a networking mixer or any other public gathering where you meet and interact with other business people then make sure to ask for their card and follow up with them on Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn. It goes without saying that any “lead” that you meet or that calls you needs to be connected with you. The more touches that you make with your prospects the more visibility, credibility and expertise you show. In turn, you’re growing your relationships and more likely to turn cold leads into warm leads and warm leads into paying clients. Remember to be professional and not to over promote.

It is very important that you have a system in place for managing your social media marketing efforts. If you’re just getting started make sure you have a “set up” phase where you create and optimize all the pieces of your social media marketing efforts. Then map out your ongoing strategy. If your business needs help getting started or developing a strategy for maximizing your social media marketing efforts then consider Turbo Social Media.

Related posts:

1. Social Media Marketing – the Best Trade Show You’ve Ever Attended!
2. How is Social Media Marketing for Business Different From Traditional Advertising?
3. Will Social Media Marketing Work for Every Business?

And I will say to you that “You are right, we have talked much about SEO in a lot of our previous articles, but this is different.”

Search Engine optimization refers to the tactics of driving a lot of people to your sites through search engines. Your meta-data and keywords are geared towards getting high organic ranks in Google, and Bing and other search engines. Social Media Optimization (SMO), however, uses more than just the search engines to drive people to your site. SMO utilizes methods including social media buttons, RSS feeders, and blogs as well as incorporating in videos and pictures.

SMO is an amazing concept and if done well it can really help get more results to your site. SMO was conceptualized by Rohit Bhargava, where he drew many comparisons to SEO but separated the two, based on the variety of Social Media tools that could be used outside of Search Engines. According to Bhargava, the 5 rules of SMO are:

1. Increase your linkability
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy
3. Reward inbound links
4. Help your content travel
5. Encourage the mashup

All in all, SMO is basically an addition to Web 2.0, which incorporates all of these ideas and rolls them all up into 1 concept. The goal of all of this is to create a lot of buzz around your site and drive as much traffic as possible, int he hopes of creating more leads.

To learn more about Social Media Optimization for Business, fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give us a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Zack Zucker, Director of Operations, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. What is Social Media Optimization?
2. Will Google Caffeine deal well with Social Media Marketing search results?
3. Effective Solutions for Turbo-Charged Word-of-Mouth Marketing, Delivered by Turbo Social Media

I’ll start out here by explaining what an authority blog is, and how this is different than other blogs.  An authority blog is a great way for an expert to share their expertise on a variety of subjects by use of their name as a brand.  Sure, many of us have seen blogs (such as this one for instance) where the blog is based on a brand, company, or product, and the purpose of that blog is to teach about that subject.  This blog is centered around social media marketing.  Other blogs are personal blogs on different subjects such as a food blog or a personal travel blog.  These are all centered around the same concept, with the point being to share information on a subject.

So, why would one want to make an “authority blog”?  Well, in business, if you are a coach, consultant, or an expert in many fields, then an authority blog gives you the chance to teach on many different topics.  The goal here is the same with other business blogs, to educate potential clients, and hopefully get them to opt-in to your RSS feed, Newsletter, or other call-to-action with the end goal to pick up a new client.  Authority Blogs are the way to go if you meet the following criteria:

1. You are the authority (or have knowledge to share valuable content on a regular basis)

2. You have multiple disciplines that you are sharing content on (i.e. different market segments and niches)

3. Your followers and industry recognizes your name as an expert

If you meet these criteria, then building an authority blog is the way to go.  We just finished a great example of an authority blog, from Catherine Maley, CEO of Cosmetic Image Marketing.  You can check out her blog here.  Catherine offers a variety of services and products teaching cosmetic surgeons how to effectively market their practices, and her blog will be sharing that content with everyone, as well as being syndicated through her Twitter and Facebook.

To learn more about Social Media Marketing for Business (as well as authority blogs), fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give me a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Matthew Arndt, President, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. Is there ever “too much” social media marketing?
2. Will Social Media Marketing Work for Every Business?
3. Blog Platform or Website: What Do I actually need?

When it comes to understanding the “new media” known as social media marketing, there are a few things that will help you understand why this might work or not work.

The first thing is what Seth Godin calls “The Purple Cow”.  This concept means, basically, does your product or service push the boundaries of your industry?  Are you offering the same thing that everyone else does, or do you have a unique take on your industry that will be making leaps and bounds into the future?

Being unique is very important with social media marketing, but that in and of itself is not enough to determine whether it will work for you.  One thing that people tend to misunderstand about the Internet, is the sheer number of people using it, and what they are looking for.  On the Internet, people search for very specific things.  Whether they are looking for a doctor who treats the chronic condition fibromyalgia in Menomonee Falls, WI or for someone who knows how to fix redwood siding in Sausalito, CA, the new internet consumer wants their information, and they want it now.  This is a form of the concept of “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson.  Although some people will know to search a general category so they can shop their problem around, it’s those who can be in front of the consumer when its time to make that buying decision that will ultimately succeed.

So now that you have a basic understanding of a “Purple Cow” and “The Long Tail”, it’s also important to understand the power of sharing information and proper education of your visitors.  In the early days of the internet, huge efforts were made to “trick” the search engines using so called “Black Hat” techniques.  Keywords were stuffed, meta tags altered, gateway pages created in and effort to get to the top of the listings.  These days, Google and Yahoo know better, and this is the reason you see great content like blogs, facebook profiles, and article sites showing up in the search results.  As you can see, sharing content, especially good content that can get spread throughout the internet, position you as the expert in your field, and build your brand, will generate leads.

To learn more about Social Media Marketing for Business, fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give me a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Matthew Arndt, President, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. How is Social Media Marketing for Business Different From Traditional Advertising?
2. Business Coaches leveraging Social Media Marketing to promote programs and events!
3. How are business coaches using Social Media Marketing to boost revenues?

First off, just having video on your site is not going to make your site more money.  It is true that having video can increase the amount of time that people spend on your website, but this doesn’t necessarily correspond to additional leads or revenue.  In fact, the wrong video on your site can send prospects running. The most important thing to remember with the video that you are putting on your website or landing page is the message.  This goes for videos that are blasted out as well.  The message is important in video, just as it is in your headline, copy and so many other aspects of your marketing.

Ok, so now back to my point about whether the video needs to be professional or not.  Truth is, it really depends on your product, market, and whether you think that will matter to your clients.  More often than not, with the correct basic equipment, a solid plan and script, and a bit of time, “home based” videos can work out and be just as successful as a professionally shot video.

In terms of equipment, I suggest the Flip Ultra HD paired with a full sized tripod.  Here at Turbo Social Media, we use the Flip Mino HD.  The only difference is that the Mino is smaller, but the Ultra holds twice as much video as the Mino does and it bigger, and thus less delicate.  Either way you can pick up one of these awesome little HD recorders for about $200!  That’s a bargain considering what they used to cost, but I’ll get into that in another post.

Bottom line is, as long as the message is correct and the video and sound comes out fine and is good for the end user, video doesn’t need to be professionally done to be effective on blogs, websites, and video blasts!

To learn more about Social Media Marketing, fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give me a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Matthew Arndt, President, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. Flip Cam and Video Marketing
2. Is the Traffic Geyser Video Marketing Submission Service all that it claims to be?
3. Why is Video Marketing Such a Key Role for Medical Professionals?

When a blogger writes an article that people like, they share it on other social media sites, email it to their friends, and the word spreads based solely on the sharing of information.  Social Media Marketing for businesses is different: it is not a hard sell, it is providing some information, defining your company as the expert in their industry, and encouraging interaction with your visitors.  Now, I feel it’s also important to have a funnel where people can get more information, such as the opt-in that I have placed to the right offering the free video series, but the important thing is that you are reading this information right now because you are interested, and not because a commercial came on while you were watching your favorite TV show.

Traditional Media is Interruption Based…

To demonstrate this, I found this great video that summarizes the conversations that businesses are not having with their consumers, and what is likely going to happen with traditional media in the future.

To learn more about Social Media Marketing for Business, fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give me a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Matthew Arndt, President, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. Business Coaches leveraging Social Media Marketing to promote programs and events!
2. Will Social Media Marketing Work for Every Business?
3. Why is Social Media Marketing overtaking PPC?

Their headlines on the site say: Who Couldn’t Use “A Black Box That Prints Money” Right Now?

Of course a lot of that is marketing hype, so as a company that uses their software to syndicate video content on our client’s behalf, I thought that Zack (Turbo Social Media’s very own Video Marketing expert) and I would do a little interview and get to the bottom of this!

In this video you will learn:

• What is Traffic Geyser?
• Does Traffic Geyser Work?
• Why is using Traffic Geyser more or less effective than submitting videos by hand?
• What is the best part about Traffic Geyser?
• What is the worst part about Traffic Geyser?
• What should do to the videos to make sure they get submitted correctly and get accepted by as many video hosting sites as possible?
• What should you do before you submit the videos to drive traffic?
• Bottom Line, is Traffic Geyser worth $99 per month?

Thank You and Zack and I really hope that you enjoy this video!

To learn more about Social Media Marketing, fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give me a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Matthew Arndt, President, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. Web Video for Social Media Marketing : Does it need to be “professional” or not?
2. Flip Cam and Video Marketing
3. Why is Video Marketing Such a Key Role for Medical Professionals?

Lets start by showing the beginning of El Pollo Loco’s Challenge of KFC, this one was a TV Commercial:

Then, to respond to this challenge, KFC went onto Oprah and offered a coupon to everyone to give them a free 2 piece meal to try their new “grilled chicken.” If you’re interested in that, click here. The best part is that they made the deal not valid on Mothers Day…BIG MISTAKE!

Here is El Pollo Loco’s Social Media Marketing Response:

I guess other than entertaining you today, and possibly providing a free meal from KFC…or El Pollo Loco if you have one around you, I just wanted to talk about how Social Media Marketing allows the small business owner to succeed when faced with challenges from much larger competitors, on the cheap! Its effectiveness is unparelleled when working on a regular small to medium business budget.  So if you are a small business, keep thinking out of the box and coming up with unique ways to challenge the big guy!

To learn more about Social Media Marketing, fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give me a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Matthew Arndt, President, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. Web Video for Social Media Marketing : Does it need to be “professional” or not?
2. How is Social Media Marketing for Business Different From Traditional Advertising?
3. United Breaks Guitars – Social Media Marketing causes PR Nitemare

Also, to be a good sport and show that what Dr Don is saying about the last week’s activity on his website is true, I’ve included a PDF report from Google Analytics that has his stats over the last week…truly amazing! Thank You Dr Don for your support and allowing us to share your story!

To learn more about Social Media Marketing, fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give me a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Matthew Arndt, President, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. Social Media Marketing – the Best Trade Show You’ve Ever Attended!
2. Business Coaches leveraging Social Media Marketing to promote programs and events!
3. Why is Social Media Marketing overtaking PPC?

During this “recession”, many businesses are cutting their trade show budgets. Attendance at these events is diminishing because of a lock on travel funds, and because frankly, a $20,000 trade show booth isn’t the most effective way to spend your marketing budget. Although trade shows offered a great way to interact with prospects and other people in your market, these days, people are turning to the internet, more specifically, the social web to teach and interact about new products and services.

Blogging is a fantastic way to teach your market about the new products and services that you offer. It is the starting point for social media marketing. It provides the exposure and visibility that matters when trying to reach your market, like a trade show, but unlike a trade show, the effect lasts much longer, and you can continue to find new prospects for many years after you post that article! Also, blogging and other social media platforms allow interaction with your current clients and people in your marketplace. Commenting on blogs is a great way to ask questions, and an active blogger will be more than happy to correspond with you publicly! Open conversations not only bring credibility to the table, but also confidence to your prospects and clients!

To learn more about Social Media Marketing, fill out the form on the right to watch our free video series or give me a call at 877-673-7096.

Thank You, and I encourage you to leave and comments or questions below. To learn more about the video series, Medical Professionals should click here and Entrepreneurs should click here.

Article by Matthew Arndt, President, Turbo Social Media

Related posts:

1. Why is Social Media Marketing overtaking PPC?
2. How is Social Media Marketing for Business Different From Traditional Advertising?
3. How Much Does Social Media Marketing Cost?