2010 Business Marketing Strategy: Allow Your Comments to be Heard All Over the Web!

As we ring in 2010, I feel that it is as important time to be making goals for your business, as well as your personal life. I am not referring to the far-fetched “impossible to reach” goals, but ones that you can actually fulfill with a sense of accomplishment.

Forget all the tips, tricks and tools bombarding your social marketing strategy and focus on the big picture of what you are trying to achieve: visibility.

Think about it, if no one knows what your business is all about, then what is the point of wasting your valuable time on a marketing plan? My advice for the New Year is to increase your visibility on the Internet by following your industry…But where do you find these people? I thought you would never ask…

The answer is simple. Blog commenting and forum posting is the BEST way to follow thought leaders in your market and appeal to your customers at the exact same time.

Do some keyword searches for your niche market and see what blogs seem to have a large, active audience. Now, all you have to do is read, listen and make your comments heard. Here are some ways to get noticed and convert your posts into new leads:

• Stay on Top. Treat your blog commenting as if your were ordering tickets for your favorite band off of TicketMaster. The earlier you are, the better seats you’ll get. It is the same with blog participation. In order to make a informative, eye-catching, unique post, you must be one of the first ones on the board. Visit your most popular industry blogs during the time they generally post their information. If you check early and often, you should have no problem being one of the first ones there.

• Make a Disagreement. By no means should you enter a blog looking for controversy, but it is important to remember to stick to your values and opinions. If you disagree with a particular post, don’t be afraid to express your feelings. By stating a disagreement, you establish respect and provoke emotion…the key to successful business marketing.

• Inflict Humor. Recently, as I was going through my daily networking plan and posting to industry blogs and forums. I accidentally made the mistake of posting my comment in the wrong thread, and was not able to erase it. This thread was one of the most popular hangouts for participants. I was bombarded by negative comments: being accused of spamming, not abiding by the forum rules, etc. I replied with one simple comment, “Oops! Sorry about that everyone! I can’t get anything past you,” and much to my chagrin, I received nothing but positive praise, more connections and increased traffic to my site. So, when in doubt, use your sense of humor, and a little charm, to make an impact.  You will build a solid rapport and establish credibility.

Use these tips as a guideline for all of your online comments and posts. Remember to stay true to yourself, and don’t be afraid to travel outside of your comfort zone. 2010 is the year of change…so start now!

2010: The Year of Innovation or The Year of Interruption?

As the holiday season comes to a screeching halt, I can finally catch my breath…or can I? Being apart of a social media marketing business has the ability to consume your every move, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Forget about the holidays! The distributed web knows no holidays! Whether it is Christmas, Hanukkah or New Years…the Internet NEVER stops. Therefore, neither can you. I guess it is the price we have to pay to do something we really enjoy and call it our job.

2010 is going to be the year of the distributed web, but I am not sure we can handle much more innovation. Between retweets, blog entries and scheduling pings, I don’t know how many more social media outlets I can handle! So, when does innovation go so far that it becomes an interruption?

Pete Cashmore, Mashable’s king of social media marketing, questions whether the “real-time web” could do us more harm than good.

I’d say, I would have to agree.

With the upcoming transition into the New Year just days away, I think it is that time to analyze your ability to plan, organize and remain productive with all the innovations and changes to the social media world.

• Create and Build Meaningful Connections. I know how cliché it sounds, but really, you cannot be friends with everyone, especially when you are trying to, effectively, run a business. Utilize sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook to foster close-knit relationships with people, in your niche market, who are seen as valuable connections and can help your business achieve its goals.

• Make the Most of Your Social Media Efforts. Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. MySpace. Friendster. I think you get the point. With the overwhelming presence of social media sites, it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE for a human being to effectively be present on all of them. Stick with the Big 3: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Concentrate your efforts and maintain a solid presence within these sites. If you have these areas under control, then you can begin to dabble in other areas.

• Do What the Analytics are Telling You. At GenNext Media, we check Google Analytics multiple times a day to stay abreast on what our market wants to read, and what they don’t. Once you realize that people are more interested in reading your articles on social media marketing vs. lead generation, you can concentrate the majority of your efforts in that area. After all, your overall goal is to give your followers what they want, right?

• Strive to be an Expert in Your Industry. Your social media presence is not about selling. I repeat, your social media presence is not about selling. Before you start tweeting, making updates and replying to your followers, you must decide what type of presence you want going to have within the distributed web. Don’t use your social media efforts to increase your bottom line. Be helpful, personable and informative and you will have no problem selling your product. Social media is an online community and you have to prove your worthy before anyone will do business with you.

As 2010 hits, we will be bombarded with the new innovations and technologies of social media. Now, you have no excuse not to be prepared! Don’t get overwhelmed by all the new bells and whistles being released to the distributed web, just stick to your plan.

What is your plan for the New Year?