St. Louis Missouri (MO) Small Business Social Media Marketing

Most of us are probably not in a position to throw caution to the wind when it comes to our own marketing budget. Most of us want our marketing programs and strategies to work well the FIRST time we try them, and as we know, that’s always a gamble. Postcard mailings aren’t what they used to be. Direct mail doesn’t have the same impact. Seminar and workshops are expensive when food is served, and there’s never a guaranteed ROI on any of it.

Today there are other ways to market to your local community without spending tons of money. I will be the first to say that “in person networking” can never be replaced. The handshake and the ability to look someone in the eye is still just as important as ever. However, with a little web savvy, you can start those conversations a lot sooner, and educate a lot faster than ever before. Your reach has been enhanced by the power of the internet.

I’ve written about this before but the truth of the matter is that this method of marketing is not only the latest trend, but it is one that I expect will last. If you aren’t on this bandwagon yet, get on fast.

The important part of understanding today’s marketing techniques is that total transparency and relationship building with your target market is the key to success. Long gone are the days when we can hide behind our websites.

Transparency does not mean writing on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog about the latest fight you have with your spouse, or what the neighbor’s bad kids are up to. What it does mean is that you are willing to share enough about yourself and your value system to build a level of trust with your local community that is unmatched. The more “accessible” you are online, the more accessible your prospects will be and the more credibility you will gain. Talk about yourself as the owner, add a picture, talk about your personal experiences that lead you to this business, or to want to work with seniors. Be real. Be honest. Depending on who is reading this I would suggest that most seniors have lived longer than you. They have made more important decisions about their lives than you have, and most can spot dishonesty or half-truths a mile away. Transparency means earning the trust of a skeptical customer.

Social media marketing is free, and it works if done correctly. Plain and simple.

More baby-boomers and seniors are on the internet than ever before. Suddenly there are tons of articles out there talking about Grandpa on Facebook and MySpace. You need to be where your target market hangs out!

I’m about to give away my secret formula that will transform your business into a marketing machine. Yes, it takes a little time, sort of like a weekend painting project, but once it’s done, the time you spend updating your information takes just a couple of hours a week. (But you will be addicted to it, so I know you will spend more time than just 2 hours a week!)

Equipment

The equipment needed for a project like this is minimal- you might want to invest in a good headset with a microphone for your computer so that you can record audio or video if you like. Amazon carries a wide variety of headsets at a reasonable price.

Step 1: (The longest step in the process)

Setting up your online accounts may take a bit of time, but well worth the investment.

Here are the initial accounts I recommend for the fastest and most sustainable results:

* Facebook Personal Account (using your own name, your picture, etc, no logos). Connections on Facebook personal are “friends”.

* Facebook Business Page (this is where you use your logo and other business related items. Connections on your Facebook business page are “fans”.

* Your Blog. Use Wordpress to create a fast and easy blog that lets you get the message out about your area of expertise. Be sure to use their tutorials to learn how to use categories and tags to your advantage. Remember that when you post on your blog use titles that identify your location and your product or service. For instance, instead of a title like “April Events”, use “April Reverse Mortgage Seminars in Miami, FL”. See the difference? The search engines will play their hand in your favor with the second title.

* Set up your Twitter account. I know, you aren’t really sure WHY you need twitter, but believe me some amazing deals go down every day because of good Twitter Posts (called tweets). Once you have your account set up, go to twellow and type in a search for people in your area. Start connecting with your local community by “Following” people in your town. They will follow you back.

* LinkedIn is next. This is an important website for professionals because unlike Facebook, Twitter, and other places, LinkedIn is for the true business to business networking. Many connections that you make on LinkedIn will turn into in-person meetings down the road. Use it to your advantage. Be sure you use the “Wordpress” feature to add your blog posts directly to your LinkedIn profile instantly. (Automation at it’s finest!)

* Use FriendFeed to link everything together. FriendFeed ties all of your accounts together. Once you connect your accounts to FriendFeed, you will notice that when you make a blog post, it automatically shows up on Facebook, Twitter, Squidoo, and many other sites. This is another great lesson in automation. Once this step is completed your BLOG becomes the center HUB for all of your information that you want to share.

* Squidoo is important because it serves as another “web page” about you and your business. You can link Twitter, Facebook, and your blog to your Squidoo page for extra backlinking and content.

* Scribd is an odd little site that pulls a lot of punch. Turn all of your print marketing material into online material that works in your favor. Anything you have in your marketing arsenal that can be scanned or uploaded to Scribd is worth taking the time to load. When you place a document on Scribd be sure to title it the same way you would a blog post- make sure your business (plumber, elder care, home care, etc) and your location (St. Louis, MO) is in the headline or title area.

* MerchantCircle- one of my current favorites! This group has done a really good job of creating a system that gets you noticed by the search engines FAST. Open a free account. They try to upsell you at every turn, but I dare say you can do just as well with a free account. The key to MerchantCircle is to make sure the name of your company portion is filled in with your line of business and your location. So instead of “Tom’s Financial Services and Loans”, a better business listing would be simply, “Reverse Mortgages, Findlay OH”. Another tip on MerchantCircle is to make sure that you put your blog posts on from your main blog right on to your MerchantCircle blog. The more content you have the faster you move up website page ranks.

* Ideamarketers is a website where you can post articles about your niche. There is no waiting time for approval. Keep the same rules in mind- article titles should reference your location and your line of business.

* GoArticles is a similar story. Post your articles, make sure they are over 500 words. Check for spelling errors etc.

* Finally, type in the words that you would use to search for a Reverse Mortgage provider or plumber in your area on Google. Who comes up first? What websites are showing on the first page and can you get listed on those? If so, go for it.

Step 2: This step is super important.

I’ve written about this before. If your website is homegrown, old, outdated, and has no “call to action”, then you will never have good lead conversion results. Spend the money or the time to update your website.

* What is a “call to action”? A call to action means giving the viewer of your webpage one simple task that he or she

Valerie’s motto and favorite saying is: “Impact is not created by big budgets, impact is created by innovative marketing ideas!” Valerie VanBooven is President and CEO of LTC Expert Publications LLC., a company devoted to empowering small business entrepreneurs and senior service providers with the tools to enjoy thriving businesses and freedom-based lifestyles.

I’m looking for 8 St. Louis business owners who understand the rest of this post.
Whether you are completely new to the business,  or wanting to move to the next level, this might be for you…If you’re plan is to “ease” into 2010. Then stop reading. The
unsubscribe link is at the bottom. Don’t take this the wrong way,
but you don’t want to be helped.

I know, I know that’s not real sensitive. It’s forbidden in the marketer’s handbook.

You know I spend a ton of time running LTC Expert Publications LLC.

I’ve got a family. Triplets that are almost 3 years old and my husband, and our extended family.We’re busy.

How about you?

And yet I get a CRAZY amount done. Finished. Launched. Profitable.

How about you?

You should know exactly how much time you have to work with in a day.

If you don’t then here’s a question…

What’s wrong with you?

If you don’t know how much time you have to devote to your business
(something that is totally measurable); how can you plan?

Forget all the reasons you can’t and start canning.

—————————— ————————
2010 : Important Stuff
—————————— ————————

1. 5%.

That’s the number of businesses that make it.

Michael Masterson wrote this in Early to Rise yesterday, “According
to polls, almost all Americans — about 88 percent of us — plan to
make New Year’s resolutions this year.

That’s good. But this isn’t: More than half of those resolutions
are abandoned (or broken) on January 2.

Another 10 percent will be forgotten (or broken) on January 3.

By April 1, more than 90 percent of those good intentions will have
mutated into regrets and rationalizations.”

Ah…….

That’s the problem.

It’s not businesses that don’t make it.

It’s PEOPLE that don’t make it.

LOL! If people can’t keep (finish) something as simple as a
resolution, how in the world are they going to operate a profitable
business?

The good news. That absolutely does NOT have to be you.

2. 30 days

The next 30 days are crucial.

They set the stage and the pace for 2010.

Get on your mark, get set… GO!

Decide on ONE business goal for the next 30 days.

Launch one blog. Make your first $1. Make your second million.
Whatever. The what is not nearly as important as getting it DONE.

3. Partner

Find a coach or a mentor.

Going it alone sounds cool, but it’s hard.

4. Focus

Are you distracted? Too many thoughts? Too many shiny things to
look at? Too many possibilities? Don’t know what to do first? Don’t
know where to go next?

Schizophrenic business building will drive you insane.

Go back to #2 above. Concentrate on the ONE target. You do not have
to do everything at once. Just one thing.

Earl Nightingale said, “People are where they are because that is
where they really want to be – whether they will admit that or not.”

Think about that a while.

—————————— ————————
2010: It’s Time for a Coach and Mentor
—————————— ————————
Hire a mentor who will really stretch you to into a new paradigm.
You want to be pushed and challenged to be more than you are now.
That’s not going to happen if you are all nice and cozy hanging out with your best friend.

5. Invest High

My last tip is to hire a success coach at a level that hurts.
You MUST have some serious skin in the game to experience the level of growth you desire.
If you aren’t feeling a pinch then you aren’t being charged enough.

Here’s why.

When you find your stride you’ll be tempted to back off or slow down.

When you are dropping some serious change (and this is at whatever level it hurts for you -
could be $200 or $20,000 a month) then you will work a million times
harder to ensure you get the return on investment.

——————————————————–
Move on This NOW. It will sell out, guaranteed.
——————————————————–

In 2010 I’m offering 8 people/organizations the opportunity to work with me one-on-one.

-I will arrive at  your office/home office/facility/community one time, and spend 1 to 1.5 days with you (at my expense) and your staff looking at marketing processes, print marketing pieces, CRM, autoresponders, websites, radio, tv, newspaper ads, yellow pages ads and more.

-We will analyze the effectiveness of what’s happening now, what needs to happen for success in 2010, and how to make it all happen QUICKLY.-You will also receive one-on-one coaching calls monthly.

-You will receive $400 “LTC Expert Bucks” to use on any of our products or services in 2010.

-Finally, you will receive free admission (for 2) to our 2010 Power Marketing Conference (dates TBA).

Most coaching programs like this cost $15K and up, and even $15K is a low figure for most high level programs.

This is for serious elder care entrepeneurs who feel that they can benefit from one-on-one “in person” coaching/mentoring that will absolutely give them and their organization to get to the next level.

The cost for the program for 1 full year is $5K.

That’s peanuts for a huge leg up on your local competition, and believe me, I know what most of them are doing.The program is by application only, we will only accept 8 clients this year.

If you are accepted, and full payment is made, we will immediately work together to schedule our meeting dates.

SEE ATTACHED or LINKED FILES FOR APPLICATION AND AGREEMENT.

Success is NOT an Accident,Valerie VanBooven RN BSN

APPLICATION FOR COACHING PROGRAM.pdf (136 KB)
View this on posterous

LTC Expert Coaching_Agreement.pdf (20 KB)
View this on posterous

Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services

Originally written by Michelle MacPhearson on her blog at: http://www.michellemacphearson.com/internet-marketing-and-social-media-2010-predictions/

As 2009 winds to a close, we look to 2010 with antici…….pation and enthusiasm. It’s a whole new year with a clean slate. And with the new year comes a reflection on where we’ve been and where we’re going. The web has changed drastically and that changes the way we, as internet marketers, do business.

2009 Predictions: 4 1/2 out of 5 Predictions

Before rolling into 2010 predictions, let’s establish a track record – how well did I do with my 2009 predictions? Let’s see!

1. 2009 Prediction: With the “down” economy, opportunities in “make money online” will be even bigger. TRUE! The business of teaching others how to do internet marketing has grown exponentially. Ed Dale saw the biggest number of 30 Day Challenge participants ever in August while my own Crowd Mountain launched and grew exponentially in February. Big product launches, once again, broke sales records. But even folks new to the game were able to break out and do big business. There’s still more room than ever in this market.
2. 2009 Prediction: Data portability becomes more a norm rather than an exception. TRUE! You’ll be hard pressed to find a new social service these days and not have it integrate with Facebook, Twitter, and/or Gmail to port your current contacts into your new profile.
3. 2009 Prediction: Using video as part of the sales process will become a necessity. TRUE! I’ve continued to run tests, and a salespage with video has outperformed a salespage without video every time. Simply put, if you’re not using video, you’re leaving money on the table.
4. 2009 Prediction: People will bring more focus to their social media marketing efforts. FALSE! I wish this were true, and I could probably call it true without any arguments from readers, but it’s just not. I still get messages nearly every day with people overwhelmed by the vast array of social media sites, and while I think many folks “get it” there are still many who don’t. So I’ll shout it from the rooftops one more time: Pick 2-3 social media sites that are active in your niche and focus on them rather than spreading yourself too thin across every available network!
5. 2009 Prediction: As a product owner or a niche leader you’ll be expected to be available, responding and engaging with your “tribe” more often than not. TRUE! People want to know you’re available to them more than ever, and those that are tend to rise to the top.

Drumroll please…. Here are my 2010 internet marketing and social media predictions:

Location, Location, Location

Many folks are claiming location based services, like BriteKite and FourSquare will be the breakout hits of 2010. I disagree. Location WILL become increasingly important in 2010, but for mass adoption, these services will have to be rolled into existing, already adopted platforms, like Facebook and Twitter.

My mom lives in Oakland and works in San Francisco (two areas where loacation based services have really great data from their users). Would she EVER use something like FourSquare? No. Would she use it if it was integrated into Facebook? You betcha.

I live in a little mountain town of 900 people. I can’t really even use these location based services – my town is literally not on the map! Would I be interested in my local Facebook friends (most of the locals I know are on Facebook exclusively) location info? Absolutely! Can I get it anywhere else? Nope.

The digerati and web wunderkinds aside, most folks don’t have the time and interest in creating and maintaining another social profile.

After recording this prediction on IMTW last night, rumors started flying that Google was in talks to buy Yelp, a local business reviews site. It’s speculated that Yelp data could be integrated with Google Maps.

And this is where I predict successful location based services will go in 2010: merged into already existing products that have been adopted by the masses.

The Death of Software Downloads

We’ve already seen it with services like Google Docs and Gmail – why keep files or email on our harddrives when we can keep them on the web and access them anywhere?

I made the switch in 2009 to storing as much of my data as possible online, so it doesn’t matter where I am or which computer I’m on, I have access to everything I need.

It makes sense from a user standpoint in terms of being able to work with the software wherever you are. But it also makes sense from a business standpoint:

• Updates are server-side and seamless for the user, no re-downloading a re-installing (which inevitably leads to customer support issues)
• Web based applications work on Mac or PC – you’re not leaving a giant segment of your market behind
• It’s easier to find web developers
• Less compatibility problems with different operating systems and conflicts with already installed programs which leads to less customer support issues
• Allows for a recurring access charge

We’ve seen some movement in this direction in the internet marketing space in 2009, and in 2010 web-based software (aka “cloud computing”) will become the norm.

Link Popularity Gets Social

While simply having links on social media properties was once enough to boost your search engine ranking, in 2010 the popularity of those links will become a bigger ranking factor.

Consider this scenario:

Two blog posts on the same topic. One is retweeted a gazillion times, is linked all over Facebook and has a ton of comments. One gets little traction in the social media space. Which one do you think *should* rank higher in the SERP’s? The one that people shared the most!

The easiest way to achieve this is…. producing great content that people will want to share. You can also encourage people to share your content by using the tips in The Three Pillars of Social Media Marketing.

Social Media Marketing Matures

In 2010 social media marketing will mature in a variety of ways.

Firstly, we’ll move away from conversations about why one should be using social media in your marketing towards *how* to use social media in your marketing. It will be assumed that a social media presence is necessary, and we’ll see more instruction on exactly what to do.

We’ll also see more focus in how businesses use social media. Rather than using SM “because it’s the thing to do” we will more strategic at moving folks from social media into our sales funnels. Social media marketing will be less about “joining the conversation” and more about specifically growing your business (the “conversation” is still important, but our joining of it will be more purposeful).

Finally, our collective psyche’s will move away from a “bigger is better” mentality. Rather than valuing social media by the number of followers or fans, we’ll look more at those followers’ and fans’ engagement. 100,00 YouTube views or Twitter fans does not sell products if those folks are not engaged.

Wordpress As a True CMS

We love Wordpress, and it’ll just get bigger and better in 2010. With products like Affiliate Theme and Squeeze theme, and more flexibility with offerings like the Thesis Theme (used on this blog), Wordpress is moving more towards a true CMS that can be used for anything, without custom coding.

Building a membership site or a review/rating site or even a salespage exclusively with Wordpress has picked up steam in 2009 and will be even simpler in 2010 as developers create more plugins and themes to do so.

Products in this space will grow and our adoption of them will follow.

Additional 2010 Predictions

As is our tradition, Lynn Terry, Paul Colligan, Ed Dale and I recorded our 2010 predictions show last night for Internet Marketing This Week (that podcast will be out shortly). Watch the @IMTW Twitter feed or subscribe on iTunes to listen.

http://www.michellemacphearson.com/internet-marketing-and-social-media-2010-predictions/

Join us for a Webinar on December 3

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/777444579
Thursday December 3, 2009, 7pm Central Time

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN, owner of SeriousSocialMedia.com

Social Media Marketing for Business Owners- Local and World Domination is Possible

Please attend to learn more about:

*What social media marketing “is’ and what it means to for small business owners

*How social media marketing can decrease the cost of your current marketing budget by decreasing reliance on print and pay-per-click campaigns.

*Which accounts you should sign up for, and which ones you should avoid.

*See actual screenshots of what it looks like when your business dominates the first page of google naturally! (all a result of social media marketing)

*How much time and skill it takes to set up a good program.

*Learn from the pros- one hour of amazing content that will show you how to get the most attractive lead generation website ever put together for your Home Care, Elder Care, or Senior Service  business (or maybe you need more than one!).

*Learn the secret search engine optimization techniques that will work for any website that you currently own.

*Learn why web masters are TERRIBLE about making changes to your site, take way to long, or never respond at all- and what you can do to change all of that once and for all.

*Learn about the “new” websites that allow you to make some changes on the fly all by yourself, and meet a web designer who is not only a sales professional like you, but is obsessed with great customer service.
Title:           Social Media Marketing for Business Owners- Local and World Domination is Possible
Date:         Thursday, December 3, 2009
Time:         7:00 PM – 9:00 PM CST
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/777444579

Free Social Media Marketing Class: St. Louis MO
Thu, Nov 05, 7p-9p
Objistics Computer Lab, 1405 Jungermann Road, Suite B,
St. Charles, MO, US
Free Social Media Marketing Class: St. Louis MO for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and consultants!

Limited to 16 seats- we use a computer training lab. Please RSVP at www.SeriousSocialMedia.com