1. Write Your Profile as a Brochure or Website Content

Think of your marketing message, the benefits your product or service bring to customers, and what makes your business unique. It’s basically how I would coach a client to write their brochure copy or website content. Instead of saying “ten years of experience in business organizing,” for instance, I suggested that she has assists “small business owners, executives and home-based entrepreneurs with maximizing their productivity through efficiencies gained from better work flow, time management, and simplified organizing techniques.” Stressing benefits is always the way to go.

2. Add Status Updates that Demonstrate Your Service/Product and Seek Responses

My friend had just been featured in a Hartford Business Journal article on decluttering office spaces. Instead of just saying “I was written up in the Hartford Business Journal,” I encouraged her to include more about the nature of the article, lead visitors to it with a link (read about organizing your workspace here), and ask for feedback. What did readers think of the tips she provided? What organizing challenges are they having at work that she might help with? Etc. 

3. Load up Contacts, Then Reach Out

Don’t be afraid to let LinkedIn upload your email contacts. Really. Once they are loaded, you will be able to find your friends and associates on LinkedIn more easily. Go ahead. Load away. Then get in touch with them by inviting to connect on LinkedIn. Stay in touch by encouraging them to think of you when opportunities to promote your services or products arise. And be sure to do the same for them.

4. Seek Out Meaningful Groups, Join, and Participate

Look for groups on LinkedIn that can help you further your business, of course. But also look for those that can help you build your skills. Once you find a group that sounds appealing, is active, has lots of other members (always a good sign!), and will benefit you it’s time to chime in. Join conversations. Participate. Educate others in an area where you have expertise. Be an active part of the community, and others will start to seek you out.

Want some help writing your profile? Get in touch at contentbyleslie@gmail.com.

1. Fear of the Unknown. These are new vehicles, and new users can be unsure about their return on the investment. How much to invest, how long an investment is required, and what potential returns will result are all valid questions for a business owner to ask. But just because these tools are “new,” does not mean they should be feared, nor that they will soon become irrelevant. Remember seeing your first Personal Computer? I do. (Okay, so that tells you I’m not in my thirties anymore. But it also tells you I have some perspective.) Weren’t you a little mystified about just how the darn thing worked? Were you going to lose your data? Was it safe? Sometimes we still have these worries, but we don’t let them stop us from benefitting from an awesome piece of technology.

2. Stranger Danger. The point of social media is to contribute, contribute, contribute….and then they will come. Like in the movie, Field of Dreams, remember? It is a bit of a leap of faith – put information out there, and “they” will come. Who is “they”? “They” are the people and companies who are interested in what you have written about, which of course should be quality information that is also in some way relevant to your product or service! Some business owners start using Twitter and feel a bit freaked out that “someone” is following them online. But the type of “stranger” following you on Twitter is someone with interest in your business, not a stalker or some insane zombie wandering out from amidst the corn. You don’t know them – yet. But you should, because they are your next new customer. They are no more frightening than any business prospect ever was, even though yes, they found you online. Scary? Not.

3. Writer’s Block. It can be daunting to conjure up topics to write about, especially when you know you should consistently be posting something of value in order to get results. Will you have enough material? Creating an editorial calendar to map out potential topics for the year can make this less overwhelming. You’re in your line of work, hopefully, because you have interest in it. Share that interest! Once you start dreaming up potential blog topics or FaceBook posts you may find it difficult to stop. If you’re really stuck, another idea is to collaborate with a complementary business and ask them to write a guest article for your blog. You can even ask a customer to contribute something, which they will find flattering. Or if they don’t love to write, just ask a close customer what they’d like to know more about, and you’ve got a great new topic that others are probably wanting to know about as well. One of my clients makes compost, for instance. They could write a blog post for a local garden center’s blog in Connecticut or Indiana (they have operations in both) about how to compost at home or what the benefits of organic compost are. People reading it will appreciate finding a good local resource for quality compost that will benefit their newly planted spring pansies (purchased at said garden center!), no doubt.

4. Resource Constraints. These days, this is a real biggie. Some smaller companies may worry they need to hire someone practically full time to keep up with social media requirements. Not so. Hire a good writer with the intelligence to learn your business and experience with social media, on a project basis or on a small retainer. You have now cleverly outsourced your social media needs without blowing your entire marketing budget for the year. You just found one great resource to call on if you’re reading this! Get in touch with me here:  contentbyleslie@gmail.com. I’ll offer up tons of topics and great writing to help you clear your social marketing hurdles and get off an running!

Got another hurdle ahead that I didn’t think of? Let me know what it is, and challenge me to solve it!

GreenCycle, with locations in both Connecticut and Indiana, produces natural landscaping products from recycled organic material. Their website is designed for performance, with search engine friendly architecture, keyword rich content, smart image tags, and more. We also incorporated social media, a new inbound marketing tool for GreenCycle. Launching a Facebook page for the company and adding a blog, called “The comPOST” (check it out for some great organic gardening tips!), GreenCycle now has effective ways to draw traffic and qualified leads to its website. The site was built in WordPress, giving Greencycle a robust content management system they can use in-house to keep their content fresh and their marketing efforts current. Check out www.greencycle.net, get some great ideas for your springtime garden, and maybe even choose the delivery option for your seasonal mulch needs! They’re a local business that really knows what it means to be “green.”

Which Social Networking Works?

My advice to clients is always to meet their customers where they are. If you are a business with customers who are middle-aged women, for instance, you’re missing a great opportunity to connect with them if you’re not on Facebook. (I predict seniors are going to be an up-and-coming Facebook population next.) If you provide professional services for other businesses, LinkedIn is a platform not to ignore. Think Twitter is just for celebrities? You might be surprised at how many customers really do want to follow you!

How Often Should I Post?

Remember, social media is not email marketing. Email marketing is “outbound” marketing, while social media is an “inbound” tool. That means that customers and targets who are choosing to read and/or request your posts are truly looking for information about your company. Even so, don’t abuse their permission to send information about your business. Keep your posts timely, ultra relevant to your audience, and informative. I think there is a thin line between being informative and creating an annoyance. Just because they love your product or service doesn’t mean they want to hear about it 24/7! How often to post or tweet is really dependent upon your business, its industry, and your clientele’s appetite for information.

One product I like, personally, is a supplier of organic milk. Even though I buy their product quite loyally, I don’t really care to get an update every time it’s carried in a new restaurant – especially if that restaurant is way out of my geographic area. If they come up with a new product,  however, that I really want to get word on! So remember, what is important or concerning to you as a business owner may or may not hit a hot button with your target audience. Try to put yourself in their shoes when writing your posts. Of course, this advice carries over to messages for all marketing material, in my opinion – websites and blogs, email newsletters, brochures, etc.