September 2011 - Mike Coleman

Google is the powerhouse of the online world. But when most people think of Google, they only think of Google’s search feature.

Google has several tools that could prove to be beneficial to you and your business.

Google Alerts allow you to monitor industry trends, developing news stories, celebrities, sports, or anything else you can imagine.

You simply go to www.google.com/alerts and type in the phrase or word you want to monitor. It’s also a great way to monitor your name or your business.

Google Places is another way to get found by the search engines. When you do a search for a business in Google, you will see the listings towards the top of the page that contain the address for the business you are seeking. That is Google Places.

You will notice to the right of the address, there is an option to click ‘Place Page’. Click on this link, and you will go directly to the Google Places listing for that business.

97% of consumers look for local businesses online, so it’s well worth your time to get listed in Google Places. To get listed, go to www.google.com/places and sign into your Google account and follow the prompts. There is also www.google.com/placesforbusiness.

A lot of people use Google Calendar to keep track of their schedule – www.google.com/calendar.

Google Analytics allow you to track the effectiveness of your website. This is a great way to test different copy on your website to find what works best. Go to www.google.com/analytics and sign up for free.

And, as if we needed another social networking site, Google just came out with Google+.

I have just scratched the surface of what Google has to offer. So do a search and see what else you can find that Google has to offer you and your business.

As a side note … this is my 100th consecutive weekly newsletter. I want to thank all my loyal subscribers and my new subscribers for continuing to subscribe. I hope I am providing valuable information you can use in your business and would love to hear from you.

False Expectations

September 20, 2011 — Leave a comment

Social media has become a necessary part of doing business. The mistake people make when using social media is thinking it replaces what they are currently doing.

That is a common misconception and causes business owners to say social media doesn’t work. But it does work if you have the right expectations.

Social media may get you a few customers. When you have a presence on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, it definitely raises the buzz factor when it’s used properly.

But you still have to do a lot of offline marketing. You still have to make the phone calls, network, and all the other traditional tasks that people associate with building a business.

Here are a few things you can do with social media:

1. Connect with people you otherwise would not be able to connect with. I’ve created joint venture partnerships with people all over the country whom I’ve never met.

2. It’s a great tool for research. Asking questions on Twitter and using LinkedIn Answers are two ways you can learn more about your target market.

3. It’s a great place to track current trends and share information. You can use hashtags in Twitter to keep up with specific topics. Log in to your Twitter account and type a topic into the search box preceeded by a #. For example, if you want to learn more about LinkedIn, you would type #linkedin in the search box to find the hashtags for that topic.

Just like all your other marketing efforts, you will not experience overnight success. It takes consistent effort to make social media work for your business.

Just think of it as another way to connect, engage, learn, and network. If you have the right expectations, you will find success with social media.

In business, internet marketing, promotion

Write Less

September 11, 2011 — Leave a comment

Sometimes less is more.

You don’t have to try and fill in every bit of white space when writing sales copy, designing a business card, or creating copy for your website. White space is a good thing. It gives room to “breathe” as the reader is going through your copy.

Even when writing a long sales letter, it’s best to write short paragraphs and give the reader short bursts of information. And double space between those short paragraphs.

Another place where less is more is when working with clients or making sales calls. You should talk less than you listen. Whether on the phone or in person, less is more in these situations.

Have you ever been in a conversation with a sales person who seemed to not take a breath leaving you no room to join the conversation? How did that make you feel?

Blogs should be kept to 250 words or less. Even a few short sentences in a blog will work if it gets your message across.

We live in a world that sometimes gives us too much information and too many options. Ever go into a restaurant and read through their 8-page menu trying to decide what you want?

Make it easy for your prospects and clients. Keep it simple, and keep it short.

Adhere to the less is more rule.

In keeping with the tone of this newsletter. That’s all I have to say this week.

In Uncategorized

Engage With LinkedIn

September 7, 2011 — Leave a comment

Too many people view social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) as a one way conversation. Or they just see social media as a place to promote their products or services.

But social media provides you with a great opportunity to engage your audience and to start a two way conversation.

In this newsletter, you will learn how to use an option in LinkedIn to start engaging your audience and for doing market research.

It’s called LinkedIn Answers and you can use it to ask a question or answer a question.

Here is how it works:

Sign in to your LinkedIn account and hover your mouse over ‘More’. A drop-down menu will appear. Select ‘Answers’ from the drop-down menu.

At this point you can ask a question or answer a question.

To answer a question in LinkedIn: Click on the ‘Answer Now’ button and select the question you want to answer from the list. On the next screen, click on the ‘Answer’ button and type in your answer. Click ‘Submit’.

To ask a question in LinkedIn: Enter your question in the box. Select a category under ‘Categorize Your Question’. Click ‘Ask Question’. On the next screen, you can send an email to specific recipients or you can just click ‘Skip’.

Your question will be listed under the ‘Answers’ tab, on your profile, on the LinkedIn home page of your connections, and in email, if you sent your question to specific recipients. All your connections in your LinkedIn profile will receive the question.

You have now taken the first step in engaging your audience through social media by using LinkedIn Answers.

This is just one of many social media tools you can use, and I will be discussing more of these in upcoming newsletters.

In answers, internet marketing, LinkedIn, small business, social media