GUEST BLOGGER: How to Leverage Social Media to Help your SEO Strategy

November 22, 2019 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Instagram, Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

Website owners and marketers know the power of social media in generating positive results, but they don’t realize that it can also be used to complement their SEO strategy. So, they focus their resources in SEO services such as link building and growth hacking techniques to get a higher domain authority and page ranking.

However, it’s getting harder and harder to build links. Some websites are stingy about linking out to other sites, while others block them to prevent spam. A lot of websites will link back to yours, but they can be no-follow links. To top it all off, search engines are implementing stricter protocols that make it more complicated to increase page rankings. Enter social media.

For most businesses, the main goal of their SEO strategies is to get on the first page of Google and other search engines like Bing and Yahoo!. So, how does social media help your website get closer to that coveted #1 spot? Here are the things you can do.

Reach Out Through Social Media

Email outreach is one of the tactics used for link building. But, social media can be used the same way. For example, instead of emailing the prospects, we can use Twitter to tweet or DM them the link. It’s a great way to earn links through outreach.

Think about it. Big brands and well-known bloggers most likely use social media to share their content and engage with their followers. Connecting with them through social media lets them know that you’re doing your homework. You didn’t just go to their website and clicked their ‘contact us’ button. You engaged with them on another platform, which means that you do follow their content. You’re not just one of those trolls asking for a backlink.

Influence Social Shares and Engagement

Social shares and engagement can help search engines determine how valuable and relevant your content or website is. It’ll send a ranking signal to Google if a lot of people are commenting, sharing, and liking your content. Chances are, you’ll get a higher ranking on Google because of this.

Think of social shares and customer engagement as part of your online public relations strategy or online reputation management. When people engage with your brand, they are encouraged to go to your website and find out more about you. In turn, this increases your website traffic.

High engagement rates also encourage external inbound links to your site, giving you more opportunities for link building. The more diverse your external links are, the higher authority search engines will associate with your website.

Manage your Online Reputation

People talk about their experience and post their opinions on social media. Since no brand or website is protected from criticism in this digital era, it’s important to make sure that you’re managing your online reputation well.

If someone googles your brand and a negative review comes up on page one or two of search engines, then you need to devise a search marketing strategy that pushes down the negative content in exchange for positive content.

Note that social profiles rank higher on Google, so if you’re planning to start an Online Reputation Management strategy for your name or your business, make sure that you have all the necessary social profiles that are relevant to your industry. These include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, IMDB (for the film and TV industry), Quora, and more.

Grow your Fans and Followers

Having a horde of followers interacting with your brand can indirectly contribute to your search engine ranking.

Recently, Search Engine Journal conducted a quick analysis of the fashion website FashionNova, after it significantly increased their search ranking to 88,000 keywords on SEMrush in just one year. According to their findings, the only positive SEO ranking factors it exhibited were its very low bounce rate and 6.3 million Instagram followers.

Growing your fans and followers can increase brand awareness and encourage more people to talk about your brand. People were hopping on Google and looking up their brand and products.

Increase Brand Awareness

This may seem more like a marketing strategy than an SEO strategy, but social media can help with brand awareness (as illustrated by FashionNova) and ultimately, your SEO ranking.

When you improve your online presence and increase brand awareness, people will remember your brand. They will search for you on Google and talk about you. Chances are, the buzz they create will prompt other users to look you up as well. It’s a chain reaction that can go on and on.

The more brand searches your brand receives, the higher the likelihood of getting more qualified leads and conversions.

Optimize Business Listings on Yelp

Remember how your grandparents used the yellow pages to find services they needed? Well, it’s all online now. Placements on sites like Yelp (yes, it’s a social networking site) and the like can help boost local SEO for your website.

Not only are you helping users and potential customers find you on the platform that they trust, but you’re also placing your website (with its relevant keywords) on Google.

As long as your site is getting great reviews from these business listing sites, Google and other search engines will take notice of your website. The more positive reviews you’re getting, the more signals search engines receive that will help them track and rank your website for the relevant keywords.

Use Hashtags

What started on Twitter is now being widely used on major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Hashtags help social media users discover the latest trending topics.

On social media, words that start with a hash or pound symbol becomes a searchable link. When users click on the hashtag or search the platform using it, they’re led to social media posts that use the same hashtag. In short, hashtags are to social media as keywords are to search engines.

If you want to be searchable on social media or join a specific topic exchange, then you better use hashtags. They also help increase shares and engagement.

Articles posted on social media that get very high social engagement rates tend to result in better organic rankings. According to a Twitter report, brands that use hashtags get a 50% increase in engagement. Additionally, tweets with more than 1 hashtag are 55% more likely to be retweeted than those without.

On the other hand, the same isn’t true for Facebook. An Edgerank Checker research discovered that hashtags don’t have any effect on the reach and engagement of Facebook posts. In fact, posts that don’t include any hashtag outperform posts that use hashtags. So, be mindful of using hashtags.

Use Social Media Listening Tools

Use social media listening tools such as Google Alerts, Mention, and Social Mention. These tools crawl blogs and social media pages for brand name mentions and related keywords. You can use it to identify and track unlinked brand mentions so that you can reach out to these websites and ask them to link your site to their content.

Website owners or bloggers tend to mention your brand on their site, and there’s a chance that they don’t link to you. This is where you reach out to them to get that link. This link building strategy works perfectly for well-known brands, as they get mentioned a lot on different sites.

Social media listening can also help you determine what’s trending within your industry or niche. If you know what your target market is talking about and what keywords they’re using on social media, then you can also determine the top keywords to rank for when creating content.

Again, this does not directly affect your SEO, but it can enhance and complement your link building, keyword research strategy, and content ideation. Get insight into the content that’s currently going viral so that you can choose the content topic, format, and type accordingly.

Final Advice

Google remains highly private about their algorithms, but search strategies can get you up there on the first page. If you know someone working in Google who didn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement, then lucky you. But chances are, your SEO strategists, no matter how awesome they are, are left to their own resources and experiences to create the best tactics that can increase ranking and authority.

Nonetheless, social media is now part of the overall online experience that can contribute to your SEO strategies in the long run. Google and other search engines may (or may not) include social media as part of their algorithms, but one thing’s for sure, your social media efforts contribute to your website’s SEO success, whether directly or indirectly.

Nina Pineda

Nina is part of Spiralytics’ SEO Team. She launched her career as a web copywriter but eventually jumped into SEO and Online Marketing out of curiosity. This curious cat may be easily amused by Tumblr memes, funny YouTube clips, and foreign TV series but she is keen and driven in achieving results when it comes to work. Don’t let the petite physique fool you; She has a big heart wherein her other half, family and friends fit in.

Follow Nina on Twitter HERE

GUEST BLOGGER: 5 Facebook Marketing Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

October 15, 2019October 20, 2019 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Technology, Uncategorized

Despite the popularity of Social Media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, Facebook still remains to be the widely used Social Media tool among them all. Due to its wide reach, Facebook is always a good place for brands and businesses to promote themselves.

Recent studies have found that an average user in the US spends around 40 minutes on Facebook each day. So choosing Facebook for your marketing promotions is always a good thing. Whether you are targeting baby boomers, Gen X, millennials and Gen Y, you can reach almost all of them via Facebook!

However, it is best to remember that Facebook is also constantly changing and updating its algorithms. To remain relevant, you have to keep up with these tech changes and comply with their quality guidelines. To keep your business relevant on Facebook, you must avoid these mistakes at all costs!

Not using Facebook ads.

Many digital marketers would say that running Facebook ads is a costly campaign – and that is indeed true! However, if you know how to run Facebook ads efficiently, the money you spent will not go to waste. The wide reach and potential benefits of running a Facebook ad gives your business a higher chance of success than those who rely on organic likes and views.

However, if you are working on a very limited budget, you should know how to make the most out of it. First, make use of the Facebook Power Editor Tool so you can dictate where to put up your ads on the platform.

Certain placements will work better depending on your niche. If you are advertising a game or app for example, it would be best to place your ad on the Facebook mobile feed instead of putting it on the desktop sidebar.

Not engaging with your readers/audience.

Facebook is first and foremost, a social tool. People go there to like, comment, and talk to friends and family. And that is what your brand or business should do too! You have to humanize your brand and engage with the readers and audience of your page. Ignoring the social aspect of your marketing efforts will eventually isolate your customers, and the disconnect will result to lesser customer retention and brand awareness.

So what to do? Engage your audience with different types of content and respond to their comments, queries and concerns! Say thanks to positive feedback, and offer an apology for unsatisfied customers. Show that your business cares, and that you are easy to do business/deal with.

Posting the wrong type of content.

Posting content is a major way to initiate engagement among customers, but what kind of content is that? You have to be a bit versatile on this aspect. You have to strike a balance between talking about your brand/business, and talking about your customers and community. You have to prepare a variety of helpful topics so readers won’t get bored.

On Facebook, many entrepreneurs make the mistake of posting lengthy content and bland content. Remember, users are just browsing through their news feed all day – what makes you think that they will stop and read a very long post instead of sharing funny memes and looking at funny vine videos all day?

Unless you have already established a good following, posting lengthy content is best done on a blog. On Facebook, make your content shorter. Stick to 200 or 300 words. Don’t waste your reader’s time, and get to the point right away!

Another common mistake is posting bland content after bland content. Status updates are okay every now and then, but you have to accompany your posts with a relevant photo or video from time to time!

People are more attracted to visuals – especially on a platform like Facebook! If you have a lengthy content to post, you might want to try converting that into an infographic or photograph to make it more appealing to users.

Not going on Facebook Live.

Many entrepreneurs and businesses are hesitant to go on Facebook Live because of discomfort, but this is actually a very effective tool when it comes to marketing! You can start short and simple by going Live to showcase introductory videos about you or the business. As you gain more traction, you can then promote your products and services through a live demonstration or seminar!

Irregular posting and content updates.

This is very common, especially among businesses that established multiple business page. Pages that are not regularly updated with new content and engagements give the user an impression that the page is abandoned. It might also give the impression that certain business is already inoperational! To avoid this, just create one Facebook page for your business so you can easily manage it.

You don’t have to post something everyday, but you do have to come up with new content for at least once or twice a week. And even if you don’t have a new post, you have to attend to customer queries, concerns, comments, and messages! If you want your business to stay relevant, you must keep it updated.

Like any marketing plan, Facebook marketing entails a lot of planning and execution. However, the reward here is that your business can stay on top of its game! You get to meet a lot of your customers and create a small community that can help your business grow in sales and value.

Author Bio:

Sarah Jacobs is an experienced writer who loves creating articles that can benefit others. She has worked as a freelance writer in the past making informative articles and fascinating stories. She has extensive knowledge in a variety of fields such as technology, business, finance, marketing, personal development, and more. Check out her company here: https://digitoolreview.com

30 Ways How To Get More Followers On Instagram

May 30, 2019 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Instagram, Social Media, Uncategorized

When Instagram was first launched, it was seen as just a fun social media platform where people could share their photos with friends and family.

However, since then, Instagram has made massive strides towards building businesses and brands.

Even though it’s fun appeal keeps getting better by the day, brands have opted to tap in its enormous potential to advertise and grow their businesses.

This blog will cover everything you need to know when trying learn how to get more followers on Instagram.

Now, Instagram has over 200,000 million active users who share over 50 million images on a daily basis.

The brand engagement rate on Instagram is impressive and anyone trying to put their brand out there on this social media platform is bound to benefit. However, to reap the maximum benefits you will have to do it right.

More so, the competition is stiff and every brand on Instagram wants a piece of this pie.

In order to outperform your counterparts and become an Instagram unicorn, you will need the best tips and methods how to get more followers on Instagram.

So, how can you get more followers on Instagram?

Continue reading Ryan’s blog HERE

Moving forward even with Facebook Changes

May 13, 2019May 13, 2019 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Marketing

As Facebook continues to make changes, we need to make sure we are still being consistent with everything we are doing. As changes happen, it can affect our overall exposure BUT if you have been working Facebook, from all aspects, then you should NOT see an impact to your marketing efforts.

Here are some elements you want to make sure you are doing on a daily basis, to help you with being consistent, for getting your business out there, for bringing exposure to you, the Business Owner.

Posting on your personal timeline WITHOUT directly selling your products/services. This is represented by doing strategic posts, like every Monday, doing a post that outlines what you have on your agenda for meetings, clients, customer service elements, business tasks that you need to complete, even throwing in a little bit of personal. This is also represented by doing a Friday post that talks about one element of success you had in the past week. The purpose of these types of statuses is to ultimately showcase what you do, but indirectly selling to your audience.
Interaction in a variety of ‘networking’ style groups. You want to make sure to go in each day, and post a question, share a tip, post a quote, something funny BUT keeping in mind that these posts should not be directly related to what you offer, more generic. You also want to scroll through the Group wall and engage on other people’s post where you can. It is important to use these groups to build relationships, not to sell your product/services because that will happen when you focus more on selling you.
Post on your Business Page
Share your Business Page posts into a variety of groups (5 shares per day would be great). Please note: Check each Group’s about section to know when you can or cannot promote your business.
Share your Business Page posts onto your personal timeline twice a week BUT please make sure that what you share is of value.
Grow your Friends’ List. As you are building relationships within the different groups, start sending friend requests to those who are engaging on your posts.
Respond to any events you have been invited to, this way, when it is time for you to host an event, others will respond to your’s.

By working these elements consistently, you will be building relationships, which in turn will lead to new clients and referrals. Then as you are building and Facebook makes changes, you will not see the impact as much as those who are not working social media on a daily basis.

MORE tips on my Facebook Business Page, be sure to follow me HERE!

What to post on your Facebook Personal Timeline

March 13, 2019March 13, 2019 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

Since Facebook states that we cannot use our Personal Timelines for commercial use, many people are unsure of what they should post to bring visibility to their business.

The goal here is to be talking about all the elements that make up your business, where you are going, what training you are taking, who you are working with, where you are speaking, what deliveries you receive; all elements that ultimately indirectly sell you and your business. This is a great way to showcase everything that you do to enhance your business, enhance what you offer your clients, the knowledge you have, what you are learning to improve on your business.

I have put together some examples to help you think about how you can showcase your business.

Excited to be one of the table speakers at the Rock Your Biz event. My focus will be finding out where business owners are stuck and give them some tips on how to get past it.

Another GREAT meeting with the ladies from FemCity Bradford!

Attending the WinterFresh Trivia Night to help raise funds for the York Region Food Network. I am thankful for these women, who are small business owners but also great friends, as they helped me survive my lack of trivia knowledge lol

Thanks to my girlfriend Darla for accompanying me to the CDC Lunch n Learn where I was one of the speakers, talking the world of Facebook.

Excited for another Zoom Facebook Training today, I love teaching!!

Look who I ran into at Rogers TV this morning!! We were all guest speakers on the show!

P.S. I would actually tag both of these ladies in the post which ultimately brings all of us more visibility.

Today was all about learning from Guest Speakers, building relationships and selling our businesses.

P.S. I would tag each of them as well

As you can see, I have inserted a variety of different elements that make up some of the things I do but also showcases some fun things, like the Trivia night as I was with other business owners. At no point, did I directly sell anything, I am just showcasing what “Tammy” is up to.

I also do two main posts, one on Mondays and one on Fridays.

Mondays I focus on outlining my week, what is going to keep Tammy busy.

Fridays, I look back over my week and I review all the different success elements and I pick one to talk about. I tell them why I feel that it was successful for me and also include some type of quote to support it.

Moving forward, I encourage you to sit down and make a list of all the activities that you do for building your business and determine what type of pictures you need to take (the more of you the better as people love seeing photos of us).

I hope this helps you to think a little differently about what you are posting on your personal timeline.

Reflecting…..

December 12, 2018December 12, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Uncategorized

Well, 2018 is coming to a close and it is always a great opportunity to reflect over the past year to understand your growth, what might have not worked, where you can make changes and figure out what is next.

➦ 2018 was a HUGE year for me for my business!! I started regrowing back in 2017 when I did a 10 month Mastermind Program and this continued into 2018. With my growth, I realized that I could not continue to move forward unless I hired helped, so I now have 2 people who help me daily with a variety of activities. I have also been outsourcing different tasks that ultimately are a benefit to my clients. This has allowed me to continue taking on more clients from Business Page Management and Coaching.

➦ I launched my Online Academy and had 9 business women jump on board with an opportunity to learn how to use Social Media, Blogging, Networking, Newsletters, Opt-Ins, monthly Zoom calls with me, and it has been great to watch the ladies grow and embrace what I have taught them.

➦ I launched the FemCity Bradford Collective and was ecstatic to fill the Collective with 25 Business Women BEFORE my official launch meeting!! This was a true testament to all the building of relationships I have been doing for the last 10 years.

➦ I started with a Direct Sales company, that was at ground floor, however the company has still not launched in Canada, so I made a decision to walk away and put the Direct Sales industry on the back burner as it is not something that will fit with me at this time.

➦ I learned how to ‘fire’ myself from Clients and when to say ‘no” (still working on this lol).

➦ I restructured my calendar to work with everything that I wanted/needed to accomplish BUT will move into 2019 developing a new calendar as more changes are coming for me. It is important that I manage my time effectively as I still want to take my weekends off.

➦ I took 3 vacations as travel has become one of my passions and I will continue to take a couple of trips a year. I am very fortunate to be able to work my Facebook Business from anywhere in the world.

➦ We, as a family, went through some personal journeys BUT I am excited to say that things have taken a turn towards success.

I have gone through many ups and downs, both through business and personal, but have no regrets. I have learned, I have embraced, I have resolved, I have become a better person. Moving forward, there will be more changes and I am excited for them. I have some new opportunities and will rework my calendar to be able to embrace them. I will continue taking on new clients and at some point, look at hiring a 3rd person, if and when I need it. I am not afraid anymore of having people help me as I know this is important for my own growth.

Embrace everything that comes your way and know that it is okay if sometimes things just don’t work out. The bonus is that there will always be something you can learn from every single thing that enters into your life.

Cheers to an EXCITING 2019!!

GUEST BLOGGER: 5 Ways to Increase Social Media Engagement

November 5, 2018November 5, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

Brands of all shapes and sizes are hung up on making waves in social media.

In such an overcrowded landscape, piercing through the noise and reaching your audience is a daunting task. Well, be that as it may, there are surefire strategies to make it happen. Instead of bombarding people with intrusive marketing and sale pitches, you need to foster meaningful relationships.

Furthermore, it is necessary to invest a great deal of time and effort in getting to know your audience, working out a marketing strategy, and implementing campaigns. But, do not fret. All your blood, sweat, and tears will be a drop in the bucket compared to amazing benefits that wait down the road.

Uncover your unique persona

To drive traffic and conversions, you need to flesh out a unique social media persona. It should be the genuine reflection of who you are (your brand) and what you stand for (your values and mission). Brands like Dollar Shave Club have proven that throwing fun and humor in the mix pays off big time.

The trick is to avoid sounding too promotional. People want to feel something and connect to your story. The best way to influence them is to evoke emotions and provide entertaining, educational and useful pieces of content. Just try to be unique rather than emulating more successful brands. Standing out is the most reliable tactic you can employ.

Embrace a consumer-centric interaction

Social media is the place of constant interaction between brands and customers. It is a far cry from traditional platforms for self-promotion. Alas, one common mistake businesses make is not listening to their audiences. You should know better. Conduct a thorough research to figure out people’s wants, needs, and online habits. Show that you care about what they think.

Take part in conversations on a regular basis and ask users what they would like to see in the future. Comments and reviews can provide you with invaluable insights for fine-tuning your social media strategy. You can also direct followers to your review pages and engage them in instant messaging. In any event, soak in as much feedback as you humanly can.

Host contests

People adore getting free stuff. You can take advantage of this fact and sponsor various giveaways. For instance, you can ask your followers to share and like your social media posts, comment and tag their friends or you can encourage them to submit their own pictures and videos in order to qualify for rewards. These tactics tend to increase the volume of social signals and engagement rates (and you can also end up with a lot of awesome user-generated content).

Moreover, an online contest does not only have to be a strategy for increasing social media engagement but it can also serve as an incentive for your customers to spend money. A great way to achieve this is to launch a loyalty program. For example, research done by ICLP shows that 41% of Hong Kong shoppers would spend more on brands with a loyalty program. So, something like a branded prepaid card in Hong Kong could be a perfect gift for your contest – it generates buzz on social media and also helps you boost sales.

Harness the power of the visual

Visual content is a social media super-weapon you have to incorporate in your strategy. Studies have shown that posts with quality, non-generic images and videos attract way more likes and shares than plain text. Many brands have managed to increase engagement with assets like behind-the-scenes photos and lighthearted videos.

Of course, there are also image-heavy networks like Pinterest and Instagram, where visuals are basically the name of the game. They provide filters and tools for visual enhancement as well. So, step up content production. It is time to craft killer posts, master the art of visual storytelling, and enthrall the audience.

Add relevant hashtags

Hashtags are essential tools for improving reach and amplifying the impact of your efforts. They enable you to make the most of keywords and keeping close tabs on the flow of discussion. What is more, hashtags can be used to center conversations on certain trending topics, effectively connecting with everyone who uses the same hashtags.

Try not to go overboard, though. Over-stuffing posts with hashtags can achieve the opposite effect and actually put people off. To tap into new audiences and delight existing customers, take lessons from the best of the best. Coca-Cola, for example, has worked wonders with the #ShareACoke on Instagram and other major networks. That is how you nail the campaign and flatten the competition.

Shape up or ship out

Social media can be a real game-changer. It generates buzz around your business and propels the whole organization towards set objectives. But, rest assured that arresting and retaining attention does not come easy. You first have to come up with a rock-solid game plan and do your homework. Capture consumer data and feedback to refine your approach.

The goal is to make sure your messages and content strike a chord with an audience of a particular social network. Following these steps, you should be able to witness the avalanche of shares and likes coming your way. Just bear in mind that social media engagement is an ongoing process that never really comes to a halt.

So, whatever you do, just do not rest on the laurels or take loyalty for granted.

Elaine Bennett

https://bizzmarkblog.com/

elaine.bennett@bizzmarkblog.com

Competition……

October 9, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Social Media, Uncategorized

Competition, does it exist? Absolutely! BUT how you deal with competition will make a huge difference in your business.

The Social Media space has a TON of people who offer the same services as me, yet they are different. We all have our own unique qualities, our own thoughts on how things work, what is beneficial, what is not and of course, we are all different in how we deliver.

This means, that not everyone is going to be your client and when someone reaches out to you, you need to make sure you understand what makes up that business owner and their business, along with how you work/deliver. You need to make a decision as to whether they are the right fit and if not, then recommend one of your competitors.

I have 3 Social Media people that I refer business to and they do the same. We all know that we have something different to offer each business owner and sometimes, the other person could be the best fit for the client.

Embrace your competitors, find out who they are, their personalities, what they offer in regards to products/services and utilize this when someone reaches out to you.

What I love about competition is that it is not just about someone doing the same business as you. Competition comes in many forms and usually shows it’s ugly head when there is a jealousy component added in. When we work hard, when we build our businesses, when we show success, sometimes that will lead to others believing you are their competitor. When this competition arises, you have to remember that it is really not about you, it is the issue of the other person, and it has nothing to do with your business, it is a personal element.

I believe that when you reach this level of competition, that means that you have built success for yourself. So congratulate yourself on achieving success, because if there are other business owners who do not like you, it is most likely because of this reason.

Go out there and create competition……

Blogging…..Should you do it?

July 17, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

So many of my clients and business friends ask “is it worth me to start blogging?” YES!!

Here’s the deal…..I am not a blogger, I don’t know enough about SEO but what I can tell you, is that since I have starting blogging, it has brought me more visibility, especially from people through Google whom don’t even know me.

When I blog, I just write. I write how I would talk to people if they were sitting across from me. I write exactly how I would talk. I don’t use fancy words, I don’t focus on what I should or shouldn’t be doing, I just write. I share my thoughts, ideas, tips, just write.

Yes, there are many rules to blogging (like how many words to use) but to be completely honest, I don’t follow the rules, because I just write. For me, I believe it is a great way to bring more traction to our website, but also to share/teach others more, that hopefully can help them, whether it be personal or business.

BUT how do you come up with all the content? How often should I be blogging?

I am no specialist here, so I am not the one who ask those questions to but I will tell you that you need to just start doing it!! One main tip I can give you is to ask others to be guest bloggers for you. There is no cost for them to do this, it brings you visibility to their followings because you are sharing your blogs onto Social Media and tagging their business to thank them, and it helps with adding more content. Look for those who can compliment your business and provide value to your audience. Just ask, since most will say yes (actually I would be surprised if someone said no).

Once I do a blog, I share a portion of it on my Facebook Business Page, with a link to the actual blog (which of course is on my website, driving traffic to everything else that is available) and I also post it on my Google+ (this is where I have received great visibility)…..I will also share my post from my Business Page into a variety of groups for more exposure.

So, just do it!!

Are you committed to Social Media?

June 24, 2018 by Tammy Hudgin, posted in Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

Having structure, being organized, is key to keeping on top of your Social Media work. In order to build a presence, to being consistent, you need to put together an actual plan of how you are going to work your Social Media on a daily basis.

I wish I could tell you that you can just “pop” in and out but it is not going to bring you the return you are looking for. With competition being so high in Social Media, people need to see you, hear from you, learn from you, talk to you, on a daily basis. I am not saying you have to bombard them, but you need to be present daily.

For me, personally, we know that I am very active, and I am sure that people unfollow me, but I have reached a point in my presence and building my business, that I am okay with that. It is a mental thing that you have to get past.

When you are starting to make this list, you need to understand what your end game is. Are you looking to build a following, looking to get new customers, looking to build a referral based business? What is your ultimate goal?

Are you looking to work all Social Media sites or just focusing on one/two?

Where is your target market sitting?

What information will benefit them?

What are the reasons why someone would want to use/buy your product/services?

Answering these questions will start to help you formulate your Social Media plan. It will guide you as to where your focus needs to be as well as what parts of specific Social Media you need to focus on (for example: Facebook Business Pages, Videos whether recorded or live, Groups, etc.)

Once you decide on which Social Media sites answer all your questions, you then need to do some research to find out what works best in each of these sites. What time of day is best to work it? Where do you need to focus for that site? How often do you need to post? (For example: Twitter you would need to tweet at least 5-7 times per day). What are some of the key elements you can take advantage of that is popular in that site?

The research is important for you to understand how you are going to move forward and how much time you need to commit, on a daily basis, to build the presence you are looking for. Once you have established this, you NEED to commit, you NEED to schedule the time on your calendar, and you need to STICK with it!!

Building a presence, getting attention, is work. Remember way back when, people walked hours and hours, going door to door to sell their products/services, because they were determined to make a living, build a successful business. Well, we are fortunate that we are able to do this from the comfort of our homes, in a relaxed environment and behind a computer. It doesn’t get any easier than that 😉

P.S. If you decide that Facebook is one of the sites you are going to be focusing on, download my FREE Daily Checklist HERE!!