This is our 3rd week of our Social Media series in August and I know that all of you love it as much as I do. Today, my friend Jennifer Herndon is talking to you about why a blog would benefit you, especially it you are interested in making an income.
She loves to motivate people to go all out on the potential that is on the inside of you. Every time I read one of her blogposts, I am impressed and always feel I have to take some action. I hope you feel the same.
I know you will like her; she is very upfront with you and I know she will show you what to do as a newbie in blogging and even as a professional blogger; enjoy her post as much as I did.
Here is Jennifer:
3 Big Reasons Your Online Business Needs a Blog
by Jennifer Herndon
You can build an online business through social media these days. I love that fact. It really levels the playing field. No longer do you have to be rich enough to rent an office, tech savvy enough to program a computer, or fresh on the heels of a degree from the Harvard School of Business.
All you need to know is how to do social media right. That doesn’t sound too hard. Signing up for accounts with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest takes a total of about 30 minutes. And you’re in business, right?
Wrong. Yet I hear it often. People I meet on social media tell me they have an online business. But when I go to trade websites with them, it’s “well I don’t have a website yet.” And most of them have no realistic plan to get one.
Because they are building their business with social media. Which is great. But, you are making a huge mistake if your blog is not at the heart of your social media strategy. (I’ll use blog and website to mean the same thing here because in the beginning, there doesn’t need to be much on your website other than your blog.)
Your blog is in fact the motherload of your social media marketing. Why? Here are the top 3 reasons:
1. Your Blog Makes You an Expert
Yes, you can put out some wonderful nuggets of wisdom on Facebook, Twitter and the rest. But people go to these traditional social media platforms for bites of information. Social media moves quickly. They aren’t going to “pull up a chair and stay awhile” while you try to educate them on your market.
Even though Facebook and Google+ allow for blog-length posts these days, that’s not what your readers are going there for. (There are some exceptions to this when it comes to Google+).
The place to teach the masses is at your blog. Your audience expects to come there and be educated through articles containing 1000+ words, as opposed to 140 characters. And, it is in the consistent reading of your blog content that your market sees that you do know what you’re talking about.
It is your blog that’s going to establish you as the “go to” expert in your market, not the witty quote you just posted on Twitter.
2. Your Blog is Where the Money’s At
I hope the purpose of your online business is to serve others. But let’s face it, this is your business. It needs to be profitable.
Your social media networks are where relationships are built. Your blog is where the money is made. You aren’t going to build a million dollar business tweeting and posting about your products and services. You can however, build a million dollar business using social media to drive people to your website.
Once at your website, what do they find? An opt-in box, where they give you their email address in exchange for a valuable freebie from you. Now they’re on your email list and you can sell to them. Email marking works for making sales. Social media works for building the relationship necessary for people to see that they want to be on your email list because you have valuable things to offer.
3. Your Blog is Your Story
A huge part of the reason people buy from you is that they like you. And they like you because they remember you. There’s a whole lot of noise on social media, and you have to figure out a way to shine, or you’ll never catch your intended audience’s eyes.
And the place you can really shine is on your blog. Because your blog is yours. I know you paid a lot of money for that Facebook cover photo and custom Twitter background. But, do you realize most people see those once, if at all? Your audience is seeing your posts in their stream, looking the same as everyone else’s posts.
And what you are putting out on Twitter and Facebook and all the others is disappearing almost as fast as you post it. Finding it again takes some work.
Not so with your blog. YOU own your blog. And you have the power to customize it however you want. You can put the pictures of your family, tell the stories of your past, and display client testimonials as your successes. And it’s all right there for your reader to see. All in one place, all designed by you, and all permanent. It’s like a virtual book about you. And it includes the stories people are going to remember. The things that make people like and trust you. The reasons people buy from you.
So, Get to Blogging
Your blog is the home of your online business. It’s as necessary as a building is to any offline business. Trying to run an online business using social media without including blogging as part of your strategy is akin to a dentist setting up his chair on a street corner. Don’t do it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you don’t have a blog, will you be setting one up today? If you are blogging, how important is it to your online business?
Jennifer has two passions ~ raising her children, and helping entrepreneurs grow profitable online businesses. She has been enjoying the time freedom and financial benefits of being a work from home entrepreneur for over 14 years.
As a single mom of three awesome kids (ages 4, 5 and 7), Jennifer relates to the challenges of being a full time parent and small business owner. Jennifer specializes in working with offline experts to build a strong online presence. Her programs combine mindset with method to produce lasting results for your business.
Your Facebook Family Tree: Trim It With Love
Today is our last day of our Social Media series this month. I am so glad that you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Now, you also know some of my friends on Facebook. 🙂
Dorien and I have something special in common and that is that both of us are Dutch; we come from the same country: The Netherlands. And although we have never seen each other, there is that one thing that makes it a little special, no maybe 2 things: both of us are Dutch and both of us love Social Media.
I know that you will enjoy her post as much as I do, maybe especially because of all the insights she gives on how to do certain things on Facebook. Enjoy her post and please leave her a comment.
Here is Dorien!
Your Facebook Family Tree: Trim It With Love
by Dorien van Dam
Remember when you first made your Facebook profile? Whether it was yesterday, months or years ago… Facebook ‘knows who you know’ and you probably gathered your first few family members and close friends and ‘friended’ about 50-60 people within a week. I venture to guess your Facebook family tree quickly branched out when old high school friends found you, present and past colleagues sent friend-requests and your child’s teacher or your neighbor’s son asked as well. Sounds about right? Maybe you made a business page since it is the only way to conduct business on Facebook. You got fans. With that, I dare to wager, came the friend-requests of people who really weren’t your friend. Business associates, fellow bloggers, other page owners and just plain strangers, all wanting to ‘friend’ you. Feeling it? Now how do you keep track of the friendships, make sure you see the important updates of your loved ones and don’t miss anything you value on Facebook? Here are some ideas and Facebook features to do all that AND keep your Facebook family tree healthy, trimmed and neat so you are in control.
USE YOUR LISTS For personal profile/friends only
Use the initial ‘Lists’ Facebook set up for you, and put people in the appropriate lists. They are:
* ‘Your Town’ Area
* Family
* Close Friends
* Friends of ‘Your Business Fan Page’
Create new lists
Think:
* Acquaintances
* Sports Friends
* Colleagues
* PTA moms
* Friends in Europe
* Etc.
Each list you add to your profile creates a new ‘filtered news feed’ meaning only the status updates/posts of those personal profiles on that list are seen in that filtered feed.
CREATE INTEREST LISTS
Add both personal profile/friends AND Facebook Pages to these interest lists.
Think:
* Social Media Managers and their Pages
* Local Pages and Page owners
* Experts in your field
* Authors Pages
* Publishers
* Restaurants
* Entertainment in Your Town
* Fellow Bloggers and their Pages
* Etc.
Each list and interest list you add to your profile creates a new ‘filtered news feed’ meaning only the status updates/posts of those personal profiles or pages on that list are seen in that filtered feed.
CREATE GROUPS
Groups on Facebook are a great way to solidify new friendships or to share sensitive content.
* Secret groups are great for MasterMind-type groups, family groups or support groups. No one can see who’s in them or what is talked about. They are by invite only and do not show up in Facebook searches.
* Closed groups are great for like-minded business owners, networking groups, PTA’s, camps, sports teams, fraternities and sororities, book clubs etc. They do show up in Facebook searches and everyone can see the members, but no one outside the group can see the posts. Admission is by approval of the admin to the group.
* Open groups are good for large brands, fundraising campaigns and interests like ‘reading’, ‘writing’, ‘surfing’ etc. Everyone can join, everyone can see the posts.
How will this help you ‘trim’ your Facebook family tree? When you want to interact with a person about their business or a mutual interest, but you have nothing else in common, groups are an ideal meeting place. Being in a group with a business associate gives you access to them and lets you tag that person in a group, but it protects your personal newsfeed from their updates. If you feel inclined, you can ‘friend’ later. It’s almost like trying out a friendship first, to see if it is a good fit! 😉
HIDE UPDATES
This option is great for friends and family you love, but whose continues and annoying updates or game requests you despise! Hide all but their ‘most important’ posts and you are both happy. Your online relationship continues without hurt feeling and you both win. (And they will NEVER know you hid their annoying statuses 😉 )
DELETE SPAMMERS
I am sure you’ve accepted friend-requests from those known to you or not, to only regret it right away: You are inundated with messages about events you never want to go to, receive coupons for items you will never purchase or find game requests notifications each time you log on. Only one way to deal with them: un-friend them NOW! Do not react to them, or send them message to ‘please stop’. You are one of many Facebook friends; spammers play the ‘number’ game. They probably care very little about you and what you want. They want to sell you something or promote themselves.
UNFRIEND THOSE WHO ARE NOT WORTHY
You must know whom I am referring to: People who continually bash others, people who are very negative, people who are extremely controversial and post inappropriate stuff. There is nothing left but to un-friend those people along with the spammers. And guess what; unless they go looking, they will not even notice you ‘left’ the conversation! No notice will go out that you un-friended them.
I love my Facebook family!
Facebook is a great platform to connect on. I personally use B2C and B2B marketing and I have met some great people on Facebook I am proud to call my friends! Taking the time to ‘trim your tree’ every once in a while will enhance your productivity: It will create more time for those who are a positive influence, those who share your vision and those who with amazing content. Will you take the time this week to trim yours? Leave a comment and let me know when you do!
Dorien Morin-van Dam is the face behind the orange glasses! Proud to be Dutch, Dorien wears orange glasses in real life, too!
As the social media manager of my own company, I find myself frequently talking and walking business owners and friends alike through the initial steps of social media set up and management. Explaining and helping them understand this is important. Even though they might delegate some or all of their social media to a social media management company, it is crucial for them to understand how the different platforms work before they engage in social media marketing.
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