The Success Center

Wanna take your blog or website to the next level this year?

Here are 3 sure-fire ways that you can take your blog or website to the next level in 2012.

Write Great Content

Ever read an article and it makes you feel like the author was talking to you? This is what great content is. It all starts within your niche, finds it way to a topic that is relevant to your readership, and ends in a great article title and blog post. It really hooks people into who you are and what your business is all about.

Tip: To write great content try finding out what your readers want to learn how what their biggest issue is within your field and solve their problems. You can do this easily by doing a survey or a poll.

Produce High-Quality Content

Short blog posts are fine if you just want to put a few thoughts out there, but you’ll gain a following and community by posting higher quality posts. That doesn’t mean it has to be long, just a bit more refined, fleshed out, and pumped full of tips, advice, and ideas.

Tip: Take your time when writing a blog post. Always set out to write your best content and don’t just “throw” something together to post. Imagine if the president of the U.S. was reading your blog, wouldn’t you want him/her to leave with a great impression of you?

Generate Rich Content

I’m more of a magazine reader than a book reader. I’m spoiled on pretty graphics, fancy design, and bright colors. Why not add pictures, videos, and audio to your blog to enhance your articles? Don’t just write a post an expect people to read the whole thing.

However, they might if you give them an incentive to keep going. That could be a great video or picture in the middle of your text. Whatever you do It’ll add more depth, keep reader attention, and enhances the rest of your copy.

Bonus Tip: Need help in organizing your thoughts, blog posts, and ideas for articles? Here’s a great video of how I create an editorial calendar for The Success Center. Check it out; “How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog.”

Bonus Tip #2:Want a visual cheat sheet for all this? Check out my info-graphic: 12 Easy Steps to Writing Killer Blog Posts [Infographic]

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About The Author

Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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Can you imagine setting up a booth at a convention where everyone gives you their business without having to make a single sales pitch? That’s the potential power of social media. It removes the mystery, hesitancy, and coldness of marketing and creates relationships where none existed before.

Many of you know how much of a Twitter-holic I am, but do you really understand why? It’s not because “it’s what’s hot right now” and I certainly don’t use it just to let people know “what I’m doing.”

It’s a conversation starter and engagement platform. By interacting on Twitter I generate targeted traffic to my website, quality business leads, and build relationships for life. Below you’ll find some ways you can do the same for your business.

5 Tips for Growing Your Business on Twitter

• Share High-Quality Links - the key to attracting targeted followers is to share information, news, and articles consistently. People are always searching for things on Twitter. If you can point them to a reliable source of information then you’ll become valuable in their eyes. The higher your value the greater chance you have at being retweeted and shared with their followers.
• Offer Advice to Newcomers - Whenever someone tweets, “Please welcome so-and-so to twitter” I immediately jump, introduce myself, and offer an article from my site that can help them get started with Twitter. Doing so positions you as “the go to” person that they’ll refer to when they need help. It’ll also start the basis of a solid follower relationship that will transform into site traffic.
• Share quotes and Retweet often - If you don’t know what to tweet find something good someone else has said and share that. Find quotes that enhance your brand’s theme or image. You can’t go wrong quoting the wisdom of others and you’re 10 times more likely to get retweeted as well.
• Start a Hashtag - “#Hashtags” allow people on Twitter to find and track conversations. Some examples are, #FollowFriday, #MusicMonday, etc. Create one unique to your brand and get people involved on your website and Twitter. Mine is #Successtip, where I share inspirational quotes. This keeps your message and brand consistent and easy to follow.
• Ask After Serving - remember to share more than you plug your website, product, or service. The last thing people want to do is engage with a salesman or woman. However, once you’ve shared over 50% of your tweets, feel free to throw out a link or promotional message about your business or website. This is the essence of social networking for business.

Follow these tips and you’ll grow your following in no time. The best part of all, they’ll want to know what else you have to offer or how you can help them in someway. It’s a win-win for all and you didn’t even have to make a sales pitch. If you’re new to Twitter or want some more power-tips, read my article, “Are you a Twitter Newbie or Power User?”

How do you grow YOUR business on Twitter? Share your thoughts – and your Twitter handle (so others can follow you) in the comments below.

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.  ~Albert Einstein

Questions, as Albert Einstein relates so eloquently in the statement above, help us frame our thinking and define our problems. We can rarely think of an answer outside of the way we’ve framed the question, so it stands that the questions we ask – particularly those we ask ourselves – will drive our thinking and our behavior.

In my last post I shared tips on aligning your goals with your values. This time around I want to focus on questions to consider as you move forward in 2012 aligning your goals so that they match what you value most.

These questions are designed to help you move beyond what you write on paper into a mode of daily success action. I am a huge believer in the fact that “success happens when you take actions”. There is so much to share and say on this topic that I am breaking it up into two posts so that you can digest the information easily.

It’s About How You Speak to Yourself

The purpose of this article is to help you take a look at the way you speak to yourself, and to make some changes along the way. In this article I have listed five questions you should be asking yourself to broaden your thinking and make you more successful.

Whatever it is that you are trying to attain in life, the encouragement and suggestions in this article will help you define your path and remove obstacles that may have been holding you back.

Question #1 – What Are My Highest Value Activities?

 Many people reach the end of their day, only to realize that they didn’t make any movement towards their main goals.

If this sounds like you, you’ve got an issue with the kind of tasks you’re undertaking. While it’s great to be busy and feel productive, it’s even more important to do the things that matter. The key to making this distinction in what your highest value activities are.

The answer to this question is going to be exclusive to you. No coach, no matter how skilled, can tell you what you receive the most value from. It stems from a blend of your unique gifts, talents, skills, and your overall goals and dreams. Join the two, and you’ve got a list of the things that only YOU can achieve – and these are the things that should get priority on your daily to-do list.

If you find yourself getting sidetracked by tasks that aren’t on your highest-value list, you need to find a way to remove yourself from them.

You can;

• Delegate them to someone else,
• Hire another person to do them, or
• just simply stop doing them.

Every minute you spend doing something that is outside of your highest-values is a minute you aren’t reaching your full potential. Concentrate on the tasks that you and only you are skilled at doing and leave the rest to someone else.

Think of it this way: If you call Apple, the CEO doesn’t answer the phone. He doesn’t respond to customer complaints. He doesn’t sweep the floors, order more paper for the copy machine, or make sure the cafeteria is fully stocked on coffee. He leaves those details to others, and he focuses on the projects and activities that only he can do: Visualizing the future path for Apple. Bottom line…Focus works.

Question #2 – What is the One Thing I Could Do Today to Move Forward?

 Sometimes we get stuck in the “overwhelm of life”. There are simply too many projects, too many things to do, too many people clamoring for our attention, and too much information.

We aren’t at all sure on what we should do next, and so we retreat to the relative peace and quiet of a game of Solitaire on our computer, or we check our email yet again, or we head to the refrigerator for food we likely do not need.

When we find ourselves taking the long way home to avoid dealing with the snarl that appears to be our life, we need to stop. Instead of avoiding the commotion, we need to dive in, looking for that one loose end that will unravel the mess and lead us to our goals. Sounds too easy, right? It actually is.

When you come to a spot and don’t know what to do next, or you are tempted to run away and hide in a pint of Hagen Das ice cream, ask yourself what is the one thing you could do today to move yourself forward?

Sometimes the answer is a big task but usually, it’s something very simple – Make the phone call, buy the book, or answer the email. Just like with a knot in a rope, sometimes it just takes a bit of wiggle room to make the whole thing loosen and come free.

Remember, you’re not looking for the grand gestures or huge movements (“I need to sell my house and move to Idaho”); you’re looking for one thing you can start and accomplish TODAY that will let you make progress. Here is an activity I do with some clients who have obstacles toward success :

• Choose 1 thing you can right now at this moment towards your bigger goal.
• Break that down into a small doable task for the day. Maybe that something is a newsletter that needs get out to your subscribers. It is ok to make it your ONE thing.
• Break it down with a to-do list of what is going to take to get it out at a reasonable time and in a practical manner.  No one said you had to write a magazine. Just do the newsletter in a simple yet effective way and you have succeeded at accomplishing your one thing that will help you connect with your market and increase your sales.

Make sense?

If all you did was ask yourself this question day after day, and then take action on the answers, you’d soon find yourself closer to your goals than you ever imagined.

Are you moving in your seat yet? Did I touch any nerves? Trust me when I say that I have not arrived and I struggle with some of these very issues (especially the second one). I think most entrepreneurs do! Don’t you?

Don’t get comfortable yet, there is one more post coming soon to help you. I have even more questions to help you succeed in 2012. If you aren’t moving on your goals for 2012, why aren’t you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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LaTara Ham-Ying is a Biblical Lifestyle Coach, online marketing consultant, and successful blogger who enjoys helping others create a life and business that fits their style and shows them the power of living in the NOW! Learn more about LaTara at latarahamying.com

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This guest post comes from Paul Wilson, Jr. of 3hrive.com.

One of my most memorable life experiences is having the chance to play college football, which is why I’m a huge fan of the game. Those who follow college football know that from mid-December to early January of every year is “bowl season.” Football enthusiasts around the country will probably over-indulge, having the chance to watch 35 bowl games starting December 17th and culminating with the championship game on January 9th.

One of the most well-known college football conferences is the Big 12. And although they don’t have a team playing in the championship game this year, they regularly have teams that are at or near the top of the national rankings. However, as accomplished as that conference is, I don’t want you to confuse that Big 12 with the “B.I.G. 12 for 2012”.

Top-tier college football teams set a goal to be the national champion, not just to win a bowl game. Well this blog is not about college football or New Year’s bowl games. You need to determine what a championship year looks like for you.

What does winning the “big one” look like in your business?

How will you know if you are on track to meet or exceed preseason expectations? How are you preparing to make mid-season adjustments based on fresh opportunities, unexpected events, or new challenges?

Most people want to build a big business, but that is often focused on temporal measures of success that won’t stand the tests of time. However, a “B.I.G.” (Bold, Innovative, God-Inspired) business is one that focuses on building significance, i.e. the ultimate legacy that you want to create based on how you and your business impacts people and communities.

Significance happens by helping others achieve success. If you focus your efforts on building a significant business, you will definitely reap success along the way.

Here are 12 B.I.G. ideas to propel you to have a significant championship season personally and professionally in 2012:

1. Write a life championship speech – your eulogy – as if you were going to die 50 years from now. Then write what would you need to start doing in 2012 to eventually live up to your future legacy.

2. Choose a daily reading plan to read through the entire Bible. This is your spiritual playbook. If you have already done this previously, choose a different version of the Bible than you normally read.

3. Pray constantly for your customers, competitors, strategic partners, and employees. The Holy Spirit is your competitive advantage, so ask God for the specific wisdom for how to most effectively deal with each of these groups. Also ask Him for divine alliances.

4. On a monthly basis study the business characteristics of Biblical leaders such as Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, Paul, and others.

5. Choose a community group or charity in which to invest a percentage of your company’s profits on a monthly basis.

6. Choose a community group or charity in which to volunteer your time serving on a monthly basis.

7. Choose a community or non-profit organization that needs your expertise and offer one of your products or services pro bono. Ask God for creative wisdom so that all parties involved will be able to benefit over a long period of time.

8. Join a business-focused Bible study group where you can get strengthened spiritually and naturally in living out your faith while growing a sustainable business. There is safety in wise council.

9. Facilitate 12 information interviews (one per month) with a successful expert in your industry and draw out the transferable principles that you can apply to your business and life.

10. Facilitate 12 information interview (one per month) with a successful expert in a different industry than yours and draw out the transferable principles that you can apply to your business and life.

11. Plan an international business missions trip to be completed in either 2012 or 2013. The purpose of this B.I.G. adventure is to have a three-cord impact on the foreign community you choose to engage: social, spiritual, and financial.

12. Rest, relax, and recreate regularly. Your health is your greatest wealth. Take care of your spirit, soul, and body so you can enjoy the fruit of your bountiful harvest.

Champions prepare with the expectation that they are going to win. You will have a Bold, Innovative, God-Inspired year personally and professionally in 2012 when you plan your work and then work your plan. The significance you achieve will be worth exponentially more than a trophy. And you will have a great cloud of witnesses who will be cheering on your victories.

What else can you do to have a B.I.G. year in 2012? Leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below.

About the Author

Paul Wilson, Jr. is a Marketplace Pastor and “Dream Catalyst” for leaders and entrepreneurs. He is an author, inspirational speaker, and business coach. Connect with him at his website, 3hrive.com

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Whether you own a small business or a large corporation, the key to success in business is branding. Branding sets you apart from your competitors and it helps your prospects and clients come to know your company. So it is very important that you put a great deal of effort into learning how to brand your business or company.

What exactly is  branding and how can you create a successful branding strategy? Let’s find out!

Definition of Branding

Branding is one of a company’s most valuable assets. Essentially, it is the company’s reputation. It is how your customers portray you and it is how you will become memorable; allowing loyal customers to refer you to other potential customers. When you look at the top brands out there, whether we talk about Coca Cola, Apple, Nike or Ikea, all of these companies use branding as a powerful tool to attract their clients and keep them asking for more.

There are many different parts to your brand, including;

• Your logo,
• The connections you make with customers,
• Your customer service,
• The affordability of your prices,
• The quality of your services/products,
• and any other aspect of your business that will affect how your customers portray your business.

How to brand Your Company

Now that we know the branding definition, we can discuss how to brand your business. Branding begins with understanding your core values. Do you want your business to be known for its honesty, client satisfaction, and integrity? Or perhaps you want it to be known for its high quality products at great prices? Whatever the case, you need to determine your core values before you can communicate them to your audience.

Speaking of your audience – do you know who your audience is? Your target audience will be the key to your success so it is important that you pinpoint who they are. Once you have determined who your target audience is, you can conduct research to learn what they like, where they shop, and what types of websites they use. It is only once you know this essential information that you can successfully market towards the customers who are going to make you the most money.

When learning how to brand a company, you not only need to know who your target audience is, but you must also know how to connect with them. In order to attract a following, you must appeal to your audience on an emotional level, develop a clear message that will become relevant to them, and set yourself apart from your competitors by offering something unique (low prices, high quality products, unique services, etc.).

In sum, we can state the branding definition as the reputation of your company. It is everything that your company does to create a name for itself.  If you offer excellent customer service, high quality products or services, and create strong connections with your customers, you will quickly establish a positive brand for your business.

If, on the other hand, you are dishonest, do not offer good service, and sell low quality products, your brand will be associated with a negative name and you will lose potential customers quickly. Develop a smart brand strategy for your business or company so that you can create a positive name for your business, gaining loyal customers each step of the way!

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About the Author

Silvia Pencak, also known as Magnetic Silvia around the social web, is a Brand Strategist specializing in small business online branding. You can connect with her at her blog, Magnetic Look. com.

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By now it’s clear that Facebook can be a profitable platform for business networking online. Your personal page is a great way to expand your professional network. And business pages (fan pages) are a great way for you to promote your business, blog, or website.

But there’s another, less obvious, way to use Facebook to boost your business that I’ve been using over the last 6 months: Facebook Groups.

Chances are if you have been on Facebook for any time, you have been added to a group. In some cases it may feel like you have been hijacked into a group. When Facebook first rolled this feature out, people could add you to a group without notifying you, and then suddenly you would see a ton of postings in your stream from the Cupcake of the month club or some other group that had no relevance or value to you.

Finding your stream clogged with spam like posts from groups you never joined is an annoyance if you are strategically using Facebook to build relationships and promote your business. But when done right Facebook Groups can be a powerful way to create community and build long lasting relationships that expand beyond Facebook.

Three Signs You’ve Found a Good Facebook Group

While there are some groups that prove to be absolutely worthless, there are other groups that get it right: they provide valuable content, connections and opportunities. How can you tell whether or not a Facebook group is worth our time?

Here are three tell-tale signs:

• People are connecting: This can be tricky since it takes time to build a community, but even in a growing group you should see some exchange between participants where they are asking and responding to each other.
• Valuable content, not just offers are shared: The best groups that I am a part of provide lots of resource links and content links that are relevant to the group. These are communities where members are actively seeking, sharing and learning.
• The admin is an active facilitator: When you have a Group admin who is actively moderating the conversations (setting rules, starting conversations, welcoming new members, etc…) the group is usually successful.

How to Make Networking in Facebook Groups Profitable

Whether or not your participation in Facebook Groups is profitable is totally up to you. Here’s how you can ensure that you will not be wasting your time and energy:

• Choose the right group: This means you have to know what you want from the group. Are you looking to build your network? Looking for a Joint Venture partner? Is your goal to position you and your business as main resource?
• Participate: It’s okay to lurk in the beginning. But after you observe how the group interacts and identify who the influencers are, it’s time to roll up your sleeve and get involved. Share content (yours and others), respond to people’s comments and questions, ask questions, and “like” posts and responses that have value for you.
• Invite other people: Sometimes you find a group that is so good, you want to keep it all to yourself. But remember the goal of most groups is to create a community.
  It’s almost like church – when you find a great place you invite your friends or anyone you think may be helped by what the community has to offer. Take the same approach with Facebook Groups you are connected to.
• Extend: Once you start connecting with people in the group, hopefully you will find a few relationships where it makes sense to move beyond the group.
  Maybe it’s connecting via Facebook messages, maybe it’s a follow up phone call, or maybe it’s an invitation to a live event. If your group isn’t providing valuable connections or generating leads, it may be time to move on.

Recommendations: My Favorite Facebook Groups

I spend a good amount of my social networking/marketing time connecting via Facebook Groups. Here’s a brief list of the ones I find most valuable on a weekly basis:

• Social Media Swag – Group of people who are using social media and not just talking about it
• Christian Women Entrepreneurs – Great support system and sharing here
• Social Media Managers – One of the most helpful communities for anyone interested in developing their Social Media Marketing business
• Share Your Events Here – A group just for events, stated up front so everyone knows what to expect.
• WordPress for Business – Extremely active group that shares lots of resources
• Christian Women Bloggers Network – Good place to find like minded bloggers to connect with
• Fix My Site – Members share resources and links for generating revenue through their websites
• Launch While Working -The EmployedPreneur Network – (Shameless plug alert) Facebook community for people who are launching their business while working full-time or part-time.

Your turn

Are you a member of a thriving group on Facebook? Or maybe you’ve started a group and are looking for new members? Post the name, a brief description, and a link in the comments section.

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Today, I’m being featured in an interview at Latara Ham-Ying’s blog, the Kick Start Success Blog.

It’s a fantastic interview that really gets to the core of who I am, how I got to where I am today, and more!

I highly recommend and want to invite everyone to check it out. Here’s an excerpt;

Rod Kirby is the under 30 CEO of Kirby Media Productions. His company specializes in helping entrepreneurs take their business to the next level via the web, video, and with social media. Rod is m a newlywed (going on 6 months!) and editor of The Success Center which is the #1 Christian entrepreneur’s online destination for small business help. Needless to say, he got a lot going on and he says he would have it no other way.

LVH: What three words would you use to describe your success journey? Please share why you chose these words.

My three words would be impatience, prosperous, and sacrifice. Why you ask? Well, I’ve started 3 businesses before my current one, I was extremely impatience with the whole “success process.” I learned a while back that I had to sacrifice my “Rod ideas” for “God ideas.” I also found out that God takes pleasure in the prosperity of his people so I discovered tools (within myself) to be prosperous in life & business.

Read More

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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Note: Can’t see the video above? Watch it on Vimeo instead. If you’re on a smartphone and you can’t see the video, try watching it on Youtube.

Note #2: Yes . . . my microphone magically moves around, lol.

Kiesha Easley is a blogger, mom-preneur,  and head-honcho at We Blog Better.com. Recently, Kiesha, sent me a copy of her new book; Be a Blessing: 77 Ways to Bless Others. And, to be honest, I let it sit on my shelf for a couple of weeks.

Why? I don’t know, I think I assumed it would be about a topic where I didn’t really need any help in. But, once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. It’s a genuine page turner and I’ve got to give credit to Kiesha for expanding on the Biblical principles of blessings instead of just going with the Webster definition and moving on.

I love how she breaks down what a blessing is, even going from the old English version of the word to how we know it today. Kiesha pours her life, family, and other personal experiences into this book and it truly paints a picture of a blessed woman.

She writes;

The book is comprised of 22 short chapters that set up the frame-work for understanding what a blessing is, how it benefits others, how it benefits you, how to use what you already have to bless others, and more. After that, in true blogger fashion, she offers 77  ways to bless others – which she doesn’t just list, but, actually gives some thought to each action.

She offers a web link, in the book, where you can submit other ways to bless others. I wish she would have gotten suggestions for her list first and then included the final results in the book. I think it would have given it a different perspective/spin on the topic. But, overall, I was satisfied with what was shared.

If you’re a Christian entrepreneur or just someone that needs to read something inspirational, this book is definitely for you. There isn’t a whole lot of “business talk” in the book, but what’s there is the foundation for how God wants us to serve His people. . . so, it’s relevant.

I highly recommend Be a Blessing and would encourage you to buy it today. The paperback version is only $15 on Amazon or you can get the Kindle version for $10. If you can spend $20 on lunch, you can spend $15 to learn how to truly be blessed in your life.

My Review:

The Good

• Excellent read & short too!
• Not just a “definition” of the word blessing,
• goes in-depth with Biblical principles,
• very relate-able for Christian entrepreneurs and others,
• Personal story is very inspirational and drives the theme of “being a blessing” home

The Bad

• Would have been cool if the author included other people’s suggestions for ways to “be a blessing”

My Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

- Rod

P.S. – All the links are my Amazon affiliate links . . . I’d like to be blessed as well!

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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A year or two after I dropped out of college I started a business designing logos, fliers, and developing website templates for small business owners. I can remember walking around my neighborhood, from business to business, trying to sell my services. I passed out fliers, business cards, and made cold-calls from old business cards I collected. However, I generated  very few leads from my efforts and only scored sales from close friends and family.

Since then, I still pass out business cards and the occasional flier, but I also add social media to my traditional marketing efforts. As a matter of fact, I would happily say that 85% of my sales leads are generated online and the other 15% are referrals from friends and family.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, social media is a great medium for building your marketing platform and generating sales. If you’re running television, print, or other traditional marketing campaigns, adding social media into your traditional marketing mix can grow your profits exponentially.

Here are 3 huge tips for incorporating social media into your current marketing plan;

Do Market Research

Every year I issue a general marketing survey to my blog readers, Twitter, and Facebook networks. And every year I’m amazed at the amount of feedback I get and the ideas I receive on how best to serve my target market.

In your survey ask for information such as;

• Annual house-hold income,
• Education level,
• Profession,
• What social sites they frequently visit,
• What problems do they currently face,
• Which of your products or services helps them solve those problems, and
• Ask for an email address for future marketing campaigns.

Start a Facebook Ad Campaign

With a network of over 800 million people, Facebook is positioning itself to be a lucrative marketing platform just like print and television ads. With their recent news of giving away $10 million dollars in free advertising, it shouldn’t be any surprise that they just might succeed with that notion.

With your Facebook ad campaign start by;

• Creating a free Facebook page and start an “outstation” for your marketing efforts. This should be a hub where Facebookers get to know your brand, receive valuable discounts, and engage with your company.
• Build “Likes” of your page by promoting it on other social networks, your blog, and company website.
• Use Facebook’s social plugins to generate engagement and sharing of your blog posts.
• Set a budget for Facebook ads and target people by their likes & interests, gender, location, and more. The best part about ads is you only pay for what’s in your budget. So, if you set a budget of $100 and that generates 1000 new likes to your page, that’s all you spend.

Bonus Tips!

• Include your top blog posts, Facebook page link, or an Introductory Youtube video in your email signature
• Add links to your social networks, your e-book download, or a welcome video onto the back of your business card
• Mention how customers can connect with you online on your business voice-mail
• Create a special page on your blog that visitors from your Twitter profile page are sent to – offer them links to your best advice, get them to sign-up for your email list, and more!

The return on investment with social media is tremendous if you play your cards right. The key is to always give more than you ask and you’ll always get more than you dreamed. What ways are you incorporating social media into your traditional marketing plan? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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This guest post comes from LaTosha Johnson of targetstars.com,

Have you ever wondered why some people achieve success while others seem to hopelessly stay in mediocrity? Those who reside in the neighborhood of mediocrity often cite reasons such as lack of funds, education, etc. as to why they cannot excel.

By no means am I trivializing these reasons, but there are people who have been confronted with these exact same circumstances and somehow excel in life. Why?

They realize that success is contingent on the ability to create their own opportunity. Successful individuals acknowledge their obstacles. Then, they get to work removing or using the obstacles as a stepping stone to help them reach their destination. With careful preparation, everything in your path to success can be utilized for your benefit.

Case in point, obstacles keep us from rushing and making foolish decisions.  When we encounter an obstacle, we are forced to examine the situation and create plans that are sure to include the following steps:

Identify

(i.e. Travel the world, so you can learn more about other cultures, perhaps?)

Answering this question is easier said than done. Identifying your goal(s) is a major hurdle that you will need to clear. In some cases, it can change your focus as well as test your willingness to succeed.

Identifying your goal(s) is what separates the achievers from those who hopelessly stay in mediocrity. When the aforementioned questions have been answered, you need to investigate the situation.

Investigate

Once you have established your goal(s), you need to spend some time getting to know what talents you possess. Having this knowledge will make sure you’re headed in the right direction.  It will help you to identify your strengths as well as alert you to your limitations.

Taking time out to do this will enable you to avoid disappointment and unnecessarily losing money in the process. You can do this by simply asking yourself, “What activities am I most passionate about performing that will help me to achieve my goal?” Make sure that you don’t confine yourself to the “traditional” ways of achieving your goal.

For example, you want to travel the world so you can learn about other cultures. You don’t have to get a “corporate job”, be miserable until you have saved enough money to take your trip. Based on your talents you could look into teaching abroad, work in the airline industry, volunteer, sell your belongings, etc. Regardless of what conclusions you come to in your investigation, make sure to keep in mind that you need to make a living, so you might as well do something that you enjoy.

Implement

This step should be easy because it consists of bringing your plan to life.  If it’s difficult or stressful to implement what you discovered during your investigation, then something could be wrong with your plan or the people that are involved with your project. Be sure to take a step back and reevaluate your plan because you can’t succeed if you’re missing any of these “I’s”.

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