How To Use Facebook Groups With Tremendous Success For Your Small Business

One of the most looked over Facebook Training opportunities and strategies is Facebook Groups! You may actually have had some bad experiences trying to take part and prospect in other large groups. You may have felt that most people posting in that group were trying to sell you something.

This is NOT the experience that we are training on in this webinar! What if you could create a community around your business? What if you could have it appeal to prospects and your most loyal clients equally as well? What if it took away a lot of the burden of working one-on-one with prospects and clients in order to keep the relationship alive? What if it actually added value to your business, mostly from others? HOW NICE WOULD THAT BE?

Facebook groups can be a strategy for your business that you wish you had started a long time ago!!

What You Will Learn

• The Pros & Cons of Facebook Groups
• How To Create A Facebook Group
• Selecting The Right Type Of Group
• How Facebook Groups Work
  • Creating Community
  • Creating Accountability
  • Dos & Don’ts
  • Business Benefits
  • When to start?

Helpful Links

• Facebook Training Home Page
• The Marketing Role Of A Personal Profile Versus A Business Page
• Back To All Webinars

This is a webinar that unlocks even more of the tremendous benefits and opportunities within Facebook for your business. And it doesn’t add time to your busy schedule, it will actually help free it up in the end!

The total length of the Webinar is a half hour. You may have to wait 30 seconds to a minute for the video to start playing. Many members are finding it very advantageous to watch the Webinar all the way through and then keep it open in a separate window to review while executing the recommendations.

To watch this Facebook Training Webinar, simply click on the play button below.

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The Top Ten Reasons Why Every Small Business Should Be Using The Free Tools Online

We have all heard of the amazing success stories of companies using the world of social media. In fact, Inc. magazine says that the nation’s fastest-growing private companies are making use of social media. Forbes magazine calls social media a foundational shift that is here to stay.

The question still remains, is it appropriate for a smaller business? It may be great that JetBlue is using Twitter for customer service, Dell has an incredible Facebook presence or BestBuy is training all sales associates to use social media. But what about the 20+ million companies in America that have no payroll? How about the companies that have employees, but no significant marketing budget? Is social media appropriate for them?

The answer is yes. Social media is a new marketing fundamental that encompasses strategies that no company should operate without. There are tremendous opportunities for every business with the knowledge and desire to use social media as a competitive advantage.

Below is part one of a list of the Top 10 reasons why social media is a marketing necessity for ALL companies – from solopreneurs all the way through to Fortune 500 companies.

1. Getting Ranked High In Google Is A “No Brainer” For Your Business

People don’t surf the net, they search. 40% of all consumer spending and 85% of all B2B transactions begin today with a web search. Every business needs to come up within search engine rankings for those keywords that surround what it is that you do or offer as a company. There are over 18 billion searches that happen each and every month in this country. If you are not represented in the search engine rankings, you are missing out on one of the largest opportunities that is proven to embody people searching for brands that have the right products and services to meet their needs. They are hot prospects!

2. Marketing Exposure For Little To No Budget

Most people and companies have in common two extremely precious treasures, their money and their time. In this economy, for many companies, placing more money behind marketing is no longer an option. Thus, ideas that can be implemented with just the appropriate know-how and simple elbow grease are critical. This is the case for social media and why it is such a hot topic. Tremendous new marketing opportunities are unfolding daily for every business through the use of social media. And all they require is an understanding of the ever evolving online tools and how to get started.

3. Social Media Prospecting Is Easier Than Ever

Finding the right highly targeted audiences is easier than ever with social networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. People identify themselves and their needs by what they say online. If you are using the tools to listen well, you can intersect with them at the time of their need. This is a highly relevant way to find the highest quality of leads…and with tools that are the best at then following up and starting a conversation. These tools are social networks aren’t they, specifically designed towards one-on-one and viral communications!

4. It Is One Of The Fastest Ways To Build Your Expert Reputation

As long as you have been successful in business and have customers or clients that believe in you, you have the means to establish credibility, and trust in your brand online. These are critical factors to closing your fair share of the prospects discussed above. One out of two new people you meet in business will search for you online. The search engine results are a third party opportunity for you two shine by controlling the top page of rankings with everything you want people to know about you. Top page rankings aren’t as hard to “own” as you would think because the combination of your name and business name are not only the most popular search combinations for you, but are very low competitive search phrases. Thus, it is very easy to manage what people see. Especially those that you are directly prospecting!

5. A 180 Degree Change from Traditional Marketing

I call it PUSH versus PULL marketing. Traditional marketing (radio, newspaper, direct mail, etc.) is like casting out big marketing nets trying to catch the right people, or pushing your message at intended recipients. Sure, you can target using demographics, past behaviors, geography, etc., but how can you ever tell if you are reaching those prospects that are truly interested in what you offer as they have determined that they need it most? And traditional marketing costs money to reach each and every prospect, no matter their value to your business. In social media, interested prospects find you by typing keywords into a search engine or by you listening to what they are saying. They PULL themselves towards you by taking a specific action on their own that identifies their needs. This is a highly qualified prospect versus one blanketed by traditional marketing. They are literally raising their hands and identifying themselves as great prospects for your business. And the best part is that with social media, these hand-raisers don’t cost you a dime. Prospecting, blogging, writing articles, posting video, etc. are all free social media strategies to intersect with highly qualified prospects, allowing people to pull themselves towards you.

Look for the second half of the Top 10 reasons to to be posted soon!

A Solo Entrepreneur’s Best Place For Getting Started Right With Social Media

This Social Media Training webinar is meant for anyone who is just starting out, has been dipping their toes in the social media waters, or is more advanced…but feeling overwhelmed! Social Media Marketing for your business doesn’t have to be complicated, but there certainly is a recipe for success.

If you have never had an overview of how social media works, the right tools, their unique and individual roles, how they work and integrate together, and how they should each be deployed on behalf of your business…then this is absolutely the right place to get started!

We will explain everything that you need to know in order to have the best chance of succeeding with social media for your business, including a detailed explanation of the “7 Elements of Social Media Success.”

The total length of the Webinar is just over 46 minutes. You may have to wait 30 seconds to a minute for the video to start playing. After watching the webinar, please make sure to review the recommendations below for how to plan out the training for your next two months. And remember, month one is all about setting your social media foundation. Month two is where you actually start prospecting!

Below is a timeline For laying out your first two months of activity. Make sure to follow them in priority order!

Things You Do Once (your first month)

Week #1 – Review the webinar on Branding Strategies. This will show you how to create your brand (even providing templates to fill out), how to identify your target market niche and develop your keyword strategy.

Week #2 – Take the time to refine your brand strategy, target market and keyword strategy!

Week #3 – Watch the webinars and create your Facebook personal profile, YouTube and Twitter accounts. Even if you have these accounts already up and running, you will still want to take the time to review these since they are focused on using these tools for business! Make sure that you are providing the right information on each account so that it is a balanced reflection of both you as the individual and you as the business owner.

Week #4 – Review the two webinars listed below which will help you create a rock solid reputation online, and help bullet proof your credibility as a businesowner that people can trust!

• Google Training Webinar – 20 Minutes To Top Page Google Rankings
• Yelp Training Webinar – The Top 5 Strategic Uses Of Online Reviews You Can’t Ignore

Your Second Month (all about prospecting)

Week #5 – Start reviewing the three Prospecting Training Webinars in the University. This will give you an extremely solid foundation to start generating new business leads!

Week #6-8 (part one) – Continue to refine your prospecting strategies and tactics as you put the University’s lessons into action. Make sure that you have hooked up with an accountability partner during this process. If you need one, we can help!

Week #6-8 (part two) – Start to build your blog. As you will learn in the training, this is the hub of your social media activity! You will find a complete Blog Training series for your review. This may take you past the first two months, but is well worth the effort!

FINAL NOTE: If you spend the time to dedicate to your success through social media marketing, you will find all-new ways to achieve growth for your business that you never even knew existed before. As you will find as you go thru our training…Your personal brand, influence and ability to find and convert prospects from anywhere, anytime will be easier to accomplish than ever before.

Click through to return to the Getting Started series home page.

How Any Small Business Entrepreneur Can Get Started Right In The World Of Social Media Marketing

August 25th from 4-5p PST

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What You Will Learn From This Social Media Training 101 Webinar

• What should my expectations be to create a successful social media campaign for my business?
• What are the elements that I would need to create?
• What is the priority order?
• How do I create success with limited time?
• What are the few things that will make the biggest difference?
• Success stories?
• Why you can do it, with nothing more than a computer and a good connection to the internet!
• How to do it all, for very, very little out-of-pocket costs!
  

One of the most daunting tasks for most small business entrepreneurs is simply knowing where to start! If this is your situation, or you are already well under way, but don’t feel like you have a game plan…then this is the webinar for you!

This is the webinar where it all comes into one clear picture. And we guarantee that this webinar will include things that you have never hear of before. We don’t stop with the popular social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we dig deeper for things you just can’t miss in your road to success.

You are not going to want to miss out on this webinar!

A First Look At An All-New Social Network

July 21st from 4-5p PST

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What You Will Learn From This Google+ Training

• Why this could be the competition for Facebook we all needed
  
• How is this new social network unique, better or worse that Facebook?
• Why are many experts calling it a blend of both Twitter & Facebook?
  
• How does Google+ help you socialize with people that aren’t even in the network?
  
• What are HANGOUTS?
  
• What are SPARKS?
  
• What are CIRCLES?
• What does it mean that Google+ is still in Beta?
• And more!
  

This webinar will get you up to speed and in the know on Google+. Competition in the social networking world is always going to be good for us as it stimulates innovation and accelerated change!

You are not going to want to miss out on this webinar!

Does My Small Business Need A Facebook Like Page? And When Should I Open One?

One of the most common Facebook Training questions that we get is around why and when to open a business page on Facebook. There seems to be almost a gold rush mentality around the need to have a Facebook page. But there are a number of really important factors that need to be considered first.

Time is a huge factor. Do you have enough time as a solo, small business entrepreneur to dedicate to making your new business page into a vibrant destination site that will engage new visitors on a regular basis. Do you have the time to create a page that constantly adds value, creates interaction and accelerates new visitors into a deeper relationship with your business? These questions could be the very same ones asked about the blog for your business. And we know that your blog is the very hub of your online, social media activity.

So you have to ask yourself the question of whether or not you have the time to make that kind of commitment. If you move forward and only give a portion of the effort required, it will backfire! You will have created a lifeless, inactive page that shouts out to everyone who visits that there is nothing of real value there. You will have created the exact opposite experience that you were intending for your brand!

Do you have a plan for creating ongoing engagements and value? It’s not enough to just say you want a business page on Facebook and just go right ahead and open it. You need to have a plan for how you are going to create a regular drum beat of activity that engages and involves your visitors. If you have not considered this plan before creating your like page then you have probably not had great success with it over any length of time. Really think through what it will take to create ongoing value without having to recreate the wheel each week or suck up all of your time! Feel free to check out the Practical Social Media University’s Facebook Page as one example of how a vibrant community around a business can be created.

Why do I need a Facebook Like Page? One of the biggest benefits of Facebook is that interactions (comments, likes, tags, photos, videos, etc.) can all become “stories” that make it into the newsfeeds of those that like your page. That means that their friends have the opportunity to see them interacting with your brand on your like page. And there is no limit to how many people can like your page. So as long as you have a growing, vibrant, engaging experience happening on your like page, it will constantly be working to make your business more and more viral on Facebook. The more interactions on your Facebook page, the more stories get entered into the newsfeeds, that stay up longer and generate more exposure for your business.

Does it meet your near term goals? Most solo entrepreneurs that I talk to want and need more customers and clients now. The best way to get immediate results on Facebook is to simply dive in and start targeting and prospecting. In order for business pages to really start producing new leads, they need to have a lot of love and attention put there way.

Another consideration is that Facebook pages don’t allow you to message one on one, that is only a feature of your personal profile. Facebook page messaging doesn’t even go into the regular, most noticed part of people’s message inbox! So Facebook pages are really intended for creating mass engagement strategies off the page itself! Thus, they are a slower process to creating a return on your time invested because the real value comes from creating an all-new community around your business.

When should I open a Facebook Page? When you already have a good following for your business online. When you can announce the new page and assure that you’ll be able to start out with a large enough community to create a foundation for good, sustained interactions. The best plans for a like page won’t make any difference unless there is that community of people using it!

Conclusion: Facebook pages are a tremendous opportunity to go viral on Facebook while creating a community that naturally attracts your existing customers at the same time. That mix of satisfied customers and new prospects can be a tremendous benefit for your business! You should have it in your expectations that long term, one of the most significant reasons why you create a Facebook page is because of the value of interacting and creating a community for existing customers and clients. Not only are they a vitally important source for future earning potential, but the best advocates for your business if you keep in touch and keep them happy.

Just make sure that before you start that you have the time, the plan and the community in place to make the most out of your new business page on Facebook.

We also have a full member’s webinar dedicated to this subject, entitled, “The Marketing Role Of A Facebook Personal Profile vs. A Business Page.“

Click through for a full list of Facebook Training resources within the University’s curriculum.

The Opportunity For More Exposure

Over on the University’s Facebook page, we’re taking nominations for our Monthly Small Business Spotlight. You can even nominate your own biz! We want to shine the light on small businesses that are making it happen and help you get the exposure you deserve!

Make your nominations on the wall of our Facebook page and we’ll tally up your votes. The winner will be prominently featured both here and on the the University’s home page! This is a great way to get additional exposure. Don’t miss out on the opportunity!

Click over to our fan page now!

Today @ 4p PST!

Part of the membership privileges of the Practical Social Media Community include being able to get your questions answered.  And there is no better place to do that than in an open forum like a webinar.  Questions can be submitted in the days leading up to the webinar through info@practicalsocialmedia.com or typed in during the webinar itself.

This will be a format driven 100% by your questions – those that you submit prior to the webinar (info@practicalsocialmedia.com, subject line: webinar question) OR those that you submit during the webinar via the CHAT function that will be available to you when you are in attendance.  The webinar is meant to be a very productive resource for being able to ask questions surrounding the community, our services, or any of the social media training.

Please take full advantage of the opportunity.  Any thoughtful question that has a more immediate need can also be sent into info@practicalsocialmedia.com with a request to be answered as part of the site’s Q&A forum.  This allows everyone else to see, learn from, and add to the conversation in a quick and efficient time frame.

The Q&A Webinar is scheduled for December 14th from 4-5p PST.

Members: REGISTER HERE

Join The University: SPECIAL OFFERS

*NOTE: YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN TO REGISTER!

Non-Members: Not available to non-members.

Features

• All questions submitted in advance to info@practicalsocialmedia.com or typed in live during the webinar.
• The highest volume of similar questions will be addressed live.
• Remaining groupings of questions will be addressed on the Q&A forum.
• Webinar attendees can vote during the webinar by digitally raising their hands on whether or not a question was sufficiently addressed.

Benefits

• Get your questions answered, period.
• Learn from the most popular questions cropping up throughout the community.
• Find new opportunities through Q&A discussion that you may have never considered before.
• Learn the subtle nuances that can always benefit your tactical execution.

What everyone needs to know BEFORE getting started with social media

If you review the training within this series, you will understand the fundamentals necessary for business success, have the proper expectations of what it takes to start, and avoid sure disaster from just jumping in with both feet first. The advice isn’t always very intuitive, but it is critical to your success as a social media marketer.

IMPORTANT: If you are brand new to the University, you can also visit our New Member page or review our step-by-step, Training Webinars for recommendations of what to learn in priority order. You can also access any training module (webinars, videos and how-to articles) from the home page or the sidebar on any page throughout the site. However, we recommend reviewing this Getting Started series as your introduction into social media marketing for your business.

Don’t miss our SOCIAL MEDIA 101 TRAINING WEBINAR, all about how to get started right as a solo entrepreneur. This webinar is an overview of exactly what you should expect and do in your first two months…including the SEVEN ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS!

Don’t make the mistake of starting out before spending time in this Getting Started series!  The best time to use this Getting Started series is prior to launching into the tactics of your campaign. If you don’t apply the learning here, we guarantee that you will work really hard at your social media marketing, but your social media marketing won’t be working very hard for you!

Here are the two most important “Getting Started” recommendations:

• Review the Social Media 101 Training Webinar on Getting Started Right For Solo Entrepreneurs. This will provide you with invaluable information that previously, could only have been discovered through the school of hard knocks!
• Set your expectations right! Make sure you are committed to carving out an hour a day to set your social media foundation and then start prospecting for your business. In fact, we recommend seeking out an accountability partner to help ensure your dedication and success.

Every social media expert who has been exposed to this ‘Getting Started’ series has said in one way or another that it was priceless. They each wish they had known the information when they were just starting out!

So as a tribute to the hardworking small business owners, we have collected a list of social media case studies for small business, those who have unlocked the wealth that social media participation can potentially bring.

• Curtis Kimball’s Crème Brulee Cart in San Francisco
  • Curtis ingenious small business idea was to create a “taco truck” of sorts and people loved it! He serves line after line of hungry crème brulee enthusiasts and has been told by customers that they found his business on Twitter.

Indeed, Twitter is a very useful tool for budget conscious small business owners. Claire Cain Miller of the New York Times writes:

“Small businesses typically get more than half of their customers through word of mouth, he said, and Twitter is the digital manifestation of that. Twitter users broadcast messages of up to 140 characters in length, and the culture of the service encourages people to spread news to friends in their own network.”

• Umi Sushi Restaurant in San Francisco
  • Umi gets an average of five new customers a night from Twitter. He tweets about the fresh fish of the night with colorful hunger-inducing descriptions that pulls his customers off their couches and into his store.

• Caminito Argentinian Steakhouse
  • A restaurant in Massachusetts that uses a blog and YouTube and constantly monitors social media.

• Cynthia Sutton-Stolle’s Silver Barn Antiques
  • Cynthis uses Twitter to find suppliers and customers nationwide. She has sold a few thousand dollars of products to customers outside her area with Twitter alone, and has made connections with other people who make candles.

• Scott Seaman’s Bed and Breaksfast
  • Scott Seaman operates his business in a town of 1,500 residents, and uses Twitter to expand his reach. He uses TweetDeck to talk to people who tweet with keywords related to this business, and more than once has drawn a person to stay in his bed and breakfast.

• Chris Manna’s Woodhouse Day Spa
  • Christ tweets about special discounts and offers for massages and manicures everyday. Twitter is a popular source of coupons, deals and discounts, and many flock to the microblogging site to get their bargain fix.

Social Media indeed is a perfect avenue for small business promotion with little or no money investment. All you need is determination, research, guidance (we’re happy to help), time and of course let’s not forget, an internet connection! Many have achieved success with social media, step up and reach for yours.