Of course, this is just some of the most commonly used Twitter jargon. You may see a tweet that looks nothing at all like English but doesn’t use any of these. Try adding a few vowels to see if you can make sense of it. Because Twitter only allows you 140 characters, people will sometimes take any steps necessary to shorten their tweets!

The first part of the graphic shows you how to come up with ideas for content. The second part shows an example of what you might do with that content once you have it. There’s no one right way to post or right number of posts to make when sharing content, but this graphic shows you one option.

Whether you’re a chiropractor or nutritionist, acupuncturist or energy worker, hunting for content can really be a drag. But people ask you about your business all the time, right?

Then here’s a way you can use that to your advantage and make content development easy (and maybe even a bit fun)!

Jennifer’s training led to many of our staff using social media on a regular basis. This is a crucial piece of our communications strategy going forward. Her clear, engaging, and informative training sessions sparked some of our staff (already slightly active in social media) to take their communications to the next level.

Two staff in particular are worth noting–Albert (Consultant) and Brad (VP of Communications). 

Albert is currently our most prolific tweeter. Often tweeting and retweeting up to 10 times a day.  Albert has also blogged for our company blog many times.  Due to the increase in his presence on social media, he has been approached to become a blogger for another organization in our space. This opportunity turned into a content partnership for our organizations. Additionally, Albert was asked to be interviewed on a radio program. He’s entered a virtuous cycle of increased input into social media resulting in increased opportunities for himself and our organization.

Brad is a new addition to our tweeting line-up. But in a very short period of time he has become fluent in the language of Twitter and taken up the mantle with our senior leadership team through example about why social media is so important. He has been re-tweeted by several prominent organizations in our space. He attributes the ease of use of Hootsuite, a product Jennifer provided training on as one of the reasons he’s able to dedicate time and effort to social media on top of his other responsibilities.

–        Jamie Moir, Internet Marketing Manager, Rocky Mountain Institute

I love seeing examples of how my clients use social media to achieve success!

I sometimes think that every social media account should come with a quick-and-dirty tutorial on etiquette. What’s considered good manners? What are best practices for how to treat people online? You’d think that this would be common sense. Courtesy is courtesy, no matter where you are, right?

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

So here are a few tips on social media etiquette…feel free to pass these around to anyone you’ve noticed who could use the help!

1. Answer and respond. If someone comments on your Facebook page or asks you a question on Twitter, respond to them. Social media’s designed to be interactive. It’s social. And if you use it for only one-way conversations, you’re
2. Be a human being. You have a personality, right? Don’t be afraid to show it online. You’re interacting with other people, and most robots are boring (with some notable sci-fi exceptions).
3. Don’t be all about the selling. Yeah. You’re awesome. And, oh wow, you have a sale. Again. Woohoo. Social media is about making connections with real people, not trying to push your products and services on them. There’s a reason people fast-forward through commercials at any given opportunity.
4. Variety is the spice of life. Don’t bore your audience by posting nothing but inspirational quotes or links to outside articles. Keep your posts interesting and different, and you’ll keep people’s attention.
5. Be respectful. When you’re talking to someone whose eyes you don’t have to meet, it can be tempting to be overly casual or even rude when they disagree with you. Remember there’s a person on the other side of your computer. Be as respectful in your online life as you are in your in-person life. Maybe even more so.
6. Think first. As we’ve seen with celebrities and politicians everywhere, what you say social media platforms is public. Even if you delete it after the fact? Most likely *someone* saw your post. Think about what you say before you say it. Whether you’re considering posting something risqué or are about to post your political opinion, make sure that whatever you’re about to say is something you wouldn’t mind your mother (or the whole world) seeing.

What do you think? Are there any social media behaviors that drive you crazy? What would you add to this list?

For nine years, I worked as a marketer for both small and large companies in the architecture/engineering/construction industry. When the economy tanked, I lost my job. Since I’d been talking about starting my own business for years, I figured it was a good time to just do it.

My greatest work experiences had been with small businesses. I loved the passion and drive that small business owners had, and I loved the sense of community that builds among small business employees. But starting my own business was unlike anything I’d done before. I had no idea how one even went about starting a business. All I knew was that I wanted to help small businesses with their marketing.

I believe that small, local businesses are the most sustainable solutions to our challenged economy. I needed to figure out how I could use my own passion and skill to help. Most small businesses owners go into business because they either love what they do or because they’re awesome at it (or both!). That doesn’t mean they know how to market and sell their services. So, for me, this was a perfect fit: a group of people who have fire and passion about their business, who have a vested interest in succeeding, and who I could help get there.

I get that. I have that same fire myself. The marketing and social media services I provide are driven by my own passion and energy.

And that passion is vital to successful marketing.

For example, when I am teaching a client how to use social media, I always tell them to tap into their passion for what they do or what it offers. What are their clients excited about, and what do they want to discuss? Provide that to them in your social media marketing. The same thing is true of networking, giving presentations, writing white papers or articles, advertising, or creating marketing collateral.

And fire is contagious! If you are passionate about something, everyone you speak to will feel that. What’s more, if you tap into your clients’ passion and fire to meet their needs, you will increase the value you’re providing to them.

So what’s your fire? And your clients?

Have a great week, everyone!

Your Website

Your website’s purpose is to inform visitors who you are as a business, what services you provide, and how you can help them. It’s where you post content that is interesting to your target market and any upcoming promotions, events, or specials. Your website is also a gateway to bring in business. For some businesses, your website is the way you bring in business.

But for most people, your website is primarily a one-way communication tool. Outside of the occasional blog comments, there really isn’t a lot of interactivity on your basic business website.

Facebook

Unlike your website, social networking (Facebook, in this case) is about interaction and relationship-building. For a small business owner, particularly one who provides a professional service, a good portion of your revenue comes from repeat business and word of mouth. Social networking is exactly that. Networking.

Like your referral groups, Chambers of Commerce, and professional organizations, social networking is a way to create and nourish relationships with your target market, whether that be your clients and prospects, teaming partners, or referral sources.

Facebook is a way for you to engage with your target market, build a community around a shared interest or passion, and provide added value to the people or businesses who are interested in your services. It’s a way to develop a relationship with your clients and prospects and inrease their know, like, and trust.

But content development is a tremendously important part of your marketing strategy. It provides value to your clients/customers and exposure to new prospects and referral sources. It even helps your Google ranking (search engine optimization or SEO).

But even with all the reasons why you should develop content, your time is still limited. So how can you make the best use of your time?

By getting “legs” out of your marketing content. 

Instead of writing one blog post and then ending it there, figure out how you can repurpose content.

For example, all of us have frequent questions that arise from our clients or prospects over and over. Write down the questions as people ask them. These are ready-made topics for your content. So how can you get more out of one topic?

• Take one of the questions and make a 60-second video. Doesn’t have to be fancy. You can use your smartphone or your $100 flip video camera. Let’s say your topic is “10 Questions to ask when hiring an accountant.”
• Post that video on Facebook, Twitter, your website, and YouTube.
• Transcribe that video, tweak a bit here and there, and post it two months later as a blog post.
• Take those top 10 questions to ask and turn them into 10 Facebook posts or tweets.
• Turn the audio portion of your video into an mp3 and make a podcast.
• Add to your blog post, and turn it into an article for a local publication.

Why recreate the wheel if you don’t have to? That was a list of six different ways to use one topic that would take significantly less time than writing six different blog posts on six different topics.

Food for thought!

In today’s marketplace, people don’t want to be sold to. We watch DVR to avoid commercials on TV. We listen to our iPods to avoid commercials on radio. We block popups on our web browsers to avoid internet ads. We now have the choice to avoid most ads, and most people choose to do so.

Instead of looking in the yellow pages, these days we go to our friends and family for recommendations when we need a professional service. If our friends and family have no recommendations, we turn to Google and check out reviews. We want to hire professionals that we know, like, and trust.

So what does that mean for your own marketing as a small business owner?

It means that every part of your marketing—whether that’s networking, advertising, or social media—should be geared toward building know, like, and trust in your target market.

How are you marketing to build know, like, and trust in your own client/customer base?

As I listen to the rain outside my window this morning, I’m excited. Why should I be excited about rain when it’s been such gorgeous weather lately? Because April showers bring May flowers…or in my case a May garden!

Every year, usually in January—because, yes, I am that impatient—I end up creating a plan for that summer’s garden. What will I want to eat all summer? What do I want to preserve for winter? I have space and sunlight limitations in my garden, so what would be the perfect mix to plant?

Hey…this is kinda sounding like a strategy, isn’t it?

Well, being the Type A personality I am, I enjoy making Excel spreadsheets for all fun things in my life. So, yes, creating a garden strategy excites me each year.

But if I didn’t actually act on said plan, I would have to rely on subpar veggies all summer. So I create action items. In February, I choose all my seeds. In March, I set up my indoor mini-greenhouse and start my seedlings. On good weather days in April, I bolster my garden boxes, build any new boxes that might be needed, and make sure the soil is weeded and ready. Come May, I’m ready to plant.

Okay, so this is more about my garden than you ever wanted to know. What’s the point, right?

The point is that without a strategy, my garden wouldn’t produce as I would like. My tomatoes might not have enough sun to grow, or my beans could be planted next to my onions, and neither would grow as well.

Many small businesses either think that a marketing strategy is a waste of time or that it costs too much, but they’re not considering the increase in their marketing effectiveness. Without a plan, they may be spending too much money on tactics that don’t work, or they could be focusing so broadly that they’re having less-than-desirable return on investment.

Of course, the flip side of planning out my garden is that without taking action on my strategy, I might not have any vegetables at all. My boxes might fall apart because the brackets were loose. Or my seedlings might not be ready in time for May planting, which would mean a late harvest.

Alternatively, when a business does have a marketing strategy, it can be easy to let the actual action items fall to the wayside in favor of doing billable work. This is an understandable challenge. Then again, without marketing of some sort, your billable work will eventually dry up. And if you’re reacting instead of planning and responding, your marketing is going to be much less effective.

Successful marketing is a two-part process. The first is to figure out how to market smartly. The second is to do it.