Lorac Virtual Solutions

Archive for the ‘social media marketing’ Category

Personally I believe everyone should use social media to market themselves, their products and their services and Authors are no different.  This is a service we are now offering at LoracVS and are really excited about it.

The following guest blog from Kim Letendre explains why.

How Can Authors Benefit From Social Marketing?

An author I’m working with told me that she just wants to concentrate on finishing her book.  She doesn’t want to think about writing a blog.  And, while she’s willing to post occasionally to her Facebook business page, and she has asked me to build up the following on that page, she is not willing to commit to putting any more time into social marketing.  She just wants to write her book.

OK.  Got it.

However, if you are an author that wants to make a real splash when your book is finally complete and have readers eager and waiting in anticipation when it is ready for general consumption – you need to build awareness and start marketing your brand.  That being said, I know you are too busy writing your book to think about the marketing and, and that is why you should hire an expert to help accomplish these tasks.

Social Media is a great place to start building the buzz.  For an author, I suggest building an Author business (or what was called fan) page in Facebook.  Your book will take on a life of its own, eventually, but for right now all you have is “you” to brand and market.  So let’s start there.  Then, once you build the “you” brand, the books can become your children and have pages of their own.  This is especially true if your book is a nonfiction or a business book.

Your Facebook business page will reflect you as the author and should have your “voice”.  This will allow readers to connect with you as a person and also hear your views.  Giving them a taste of what they will get in your book helps build anticipation and they will be eager to hear more from you.  Asking them questions will start building relationships and by conversing with your audience, you will receive new ideas for your book that you hadn’t thought of.

Don’t you really want your book to be the start of a conversation?  Where better to start a conversation than in the social media forums.  Another great forum for authors is Good Reads.  After starting an account here, you can begin conversations with your colleagues and start getting the word out here about your new book.  Also avid readers are in this forum as they are always looking for the next best thing to read.  You can connect with friends via Facebook and then open up your following to a whole new reading arena.  This allows you as the author to become a resource to your followers; and is another way to build stronger relationships and find commonalities.

Having a marketing professional plan your social marketing campaign, your blog author platform and plan your online book tour, will create the buzz you need to become a Bestselling Author, while allowing you the freedom to concentrate on finishing your book.

Kim Letendre is founder of KAZ Works, LLC, an independent marketing firm specializing in online marketing strategies.  Kim is devoted to helping authors and small companies discover the best marketing tools that fit their personality and business model.  She helps strategize and then implement the full marketing plan.  Grab a copy of her free Marketing Pie Blueprint at www.kazworks.com to get more information on the pieces of the marketing pie available and how to strategically use them.

All the best,

Don’t forget to sign up for your FREE copy of ”7 Steps to Online Marketing“ and

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Carol Ann Quibell, is the operator of Lorac Virtual Solutions, providing virtual solutions to business owners by assisting them with social media, developing business plans, online marketing and writing services.

Social Media Marketing Specialist

Before you start blogging all over the internet advertising your product or service you definitely need an action plan.  Why?  How do you plan on reaching your goal?  What is your goal?

Goals:

•  Ultimately we wish to increase traffic to our website

•  Increase sales by 10%

• Improve search engine listings

How to reach these goals:

• Create a blog on your topic

• Set up Social Media accounts like Facebook and look for special interest groups that have a common interest with you and your products.

• Become involved in the groups and interact with others but not as a sales pitch – make suggestions, gets to know others with similar interests, respond to questions others may have and ask questions yourself to relevant topics. 

• Be sincere, truthful and accurate.  People will get to know you and will start looking for you and your assistance.  This will help drive traffic back to your site.  After you become known you can make suggestions as to how you could help or your product may help them.  People like to do business with people they know and since you have developed a relationship with members of your group they know you and will probably do business with you.

• Join Twitter and LinkedIn and follow the same strategy as Facebook.

Videos:

•  Use Video marketing and post these videos on YOU Tube targeting specific markets.  Make them relevant and provide something to your target – maybe some free information or product.

Evaluate:

• How successful has your campaign been?  Did you meet your target goals?  If not, you may have to go back and evaluate where and when you made your mistakes and correct them.  Did you regularly post relevant information?  Did you participate?  Were your offerings beneficial to others?  Remember this exercise is not about you – it’s about your target market and how you can help them.

If you aren’t comfortable with the above strategy I suggest that you take a Social Media Marketing course with Vaclassroom ~ Craig Cannings from Vaclassroom provides courses that make sense and are easy to follow. They offer programs that you can work at your own pace or courses that are interactive.  I have taken several courses with Vaclassroom and have not been disappointed yet. Anytime I had any questions or concerns they were addressed immediately by either Craig or his wife Kelly.  I highly recommend any of their programs.   If you aren’t comfortable blogging check out their mini course on blogging tips – it was economical and relevant. 

VAnetworking.com: “A Virtual Assistant (VA) works independently at an arm’s length, via the Internet, utilizing the latest technologies, to provide immediate professional support, services and skills to busy entrepreneurs and business managers.

Partnering with a VA reduces stress, protects cash flow, eliminates administrative hassles, and enables business people to find the success they originally set out to achieve.”

See our Cost Comparison sheet to see how you can save money by hiring Lorac Virtual Solutions as YOUR Virtual Assistant.

All the best,

PS:  My new E-Book “Start a Virtual Assistant Business” is now ready and by purchasing it now ~ You SAVE MONEY!

Just over a year ago I was searching for resources to help me start my Virtual Assistant business.  I found many sites that proclaimed to have all the answers but few actually offered me anything substantial except charging me a great deal of money. 

One of the most popular training certification courses right now is VAClassroom’s Social Marketing Specialist Program. Craig Cannings, the co-founder of VAClassroom and developer of this program, has seen so many amazing testimonies on how this niche training program has helped to increase many of their graduates’ client and income opportunities!

The Social Marketing Specialist Program, which I took by the way, includes over 30 interactive videos, supplementary resources guides, action-plan templates as well as an exclusive Social Network designed for our Social Marketing Students to connect with instructors and each other – a great learning atmosphere!

Not only have the training I took from VAClassroom given me more skills to offer my clients, I apply what I have learned to my own business too.

Blogging for Business

As you know, the business of blogs has grown and evolved significantly over the last 24 months. A quote from the WordPress.com site puts it best…

“Blogging is growing both in the US and especially internationally. Tens of thousands of new WordPress blogs are created every day – by regular bloggers, companies, large media publishers, and many others. In addition, we seeing a trend that’s potentially even bigger than blogging: Publishers are starting to use WordPress as a platform to create all kinds of sites beyond blogs – large and small company sites, online magazines, social networks, travel sites, scrapbooking sites, contact managers, startups, multimedia archives, video sites, sports sites.”

Isn’t this cool? Ten of thousands of blogs being created DAILY! Businesses are using blogging technology to create company websites, social networks, video sites, membership sites and so much more.

The sad reality is that a good portion of these blog sites won’t last more than a year as they are lacking some key success strategies for optimizing and marketing their blogs.

Well now there is a great remedy for that problem….”Blog Marketing Tips, Tools & Tactics“

As I have taken this course, I believe there are two valuable reasons for taking this blog marketing mini program:

 1.  This program offers some advanced and current marketing and optimization skills that you can offer as a high value and “in-demand” service to a fast growing base of blog site owners.

 2.  This two-week training program will essentially provide you with a blog marketing tune-up and blueprint for your wordpress site, so that you can increase your targeted traffic, business visibility and new client leads.

This two-fold purpose will have a strong impact on both your business visibility as well as new income opportunities!

To get all the details on this important new training program, just click on the link below:

 http://www.vaclassroom.com/socialmarketing/cmd.asp?Clk=3296686

 Clients are hiring VAClassroom Students

As you can see I am very passionate about the courses VAClassroom offers its students.  Not to be overlooked is that many clients are now approaching VAClassroom’s students and offering contract work for the services they need for their businesses.

So if you are looking for the following online training look at VAClassroom closely.

Facebook Fanpages Training Course

Building a Profitable Niche as a Virtual Event Specialist (Even in a Down Economy)

Virtual Event Specialist Preview Call

Blog Marketing Tips and Tactics

Interested in Starting a Virtual Business from the Comforts of Home? Click Here for More Details.

Visit VAClassroom and find out how you can learn the skills you need to skyrocket your business
Internet Marketing Certification Course

Do check out the courses from VAClassroom if you are looking for any online training.  Their prices are reasonable, customer service is great and the benefits are definitely worthwhile.

All the best,

PS:  Don’t forget to sign up for my “Business Tips for YOU” monthly newsletter!

            The traditional word for marketing your business was called “advertising”.

Today you mostly hear the term “marketing”.  It really doesn’t matter what you call it. It matters that you are using whatever tools are at your disposal to target your potential customers, clients or suppliers. 

Some of the traditional methods of marketing are:

1. Telephone directories – these can be in the white pages but definitely your name should be situated in the yellow pages.

2. Newspaper: There are probably at least one local newspaper in your area and maybe more. Use their classified section or create an ad in a targeted section

   1. Offer to write a column about your topic, become known as the expert in your field. Are you an accountant? A virtual Assistant?  Propose an article giving tips or helpful information to their audience. Get your name known in the community.

   2. Penny saver or other local classified types of papers – don’t forget these papers.  They get a lot of traffic.

3. Craig’s List

   1. It really doesn’t matter is you are selling a product or providing a service, advertising on Craig’s List is viable. 

4. Partner with another business

   1. Realtor – create a welcome pack for new businesses, partnering with a realtor,

   2. Welcome Wagon – advertise your service or product, giving samples or discounts to newcomers.

   3. The local coffee shop may let you display your business card or brochure if you give your customers a gift card from their store. You are both gaining in the process.

5. Social Networking Forums

   1. Create networking accounts such as twitter or Facebook.  Interact with people, creating an online presence.  If you are targeting local customers find out who they are and which networks they use – and join them in conversation.

   2. Get involved in discussion groups and interact with the members. Don’t just jump in and start advertising your business.  You are there to interact and find out what your target market is looking for.  Can you provide it?

6. Chamber of Commerce

   1. Attend their networking sessions, offer to give a presentation, be visible.

7. Word of Mouth – this is probably one of the most effective ways of obtaining new business. Ask for referrals from your current customers or clients. If they are happy with you, ask them to tell their friends and clients. 

 Marketing Material

Although marketing online is becoming the most popular method of advertising our businesses, we still need physical marketing material.

Business cards

These are your introduction cards. Make sure they have all of the necessary information telling people who you are, how they can contact you and what you do or provide. Don’t just give them one.  Give them two or three, in case they would like to pass one on to their friends.

 Flyers, brochures, post cards, door knockers

            Hand these out to everyone you know.  Post them on every bulletin board in town; go door to door leaving them at each home or business. 

Signature

Create a signature for your email accounts and forums.  I don’t mean just have your name listed.  Have your business name and something about your business as part of your signature.  List your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts so they can find you.

There are many ways to market your business and not all will work for you.  However, try them all and track what works and what doesn’t.  It isn’t advisable just to do one form of advertising.  Try them all!  What have you got to lose when you are marketing your business?  Nothing.  Now get started.

All the best,

PS:  I ran out of business cards!  Not a good thing.  read how I rectified the problem…

Building an effective social networking strategy is essential for creating positive brand recognition for every company regardless of whether they operate online or are a traditional “brick and mortar” type business.

In today’s fast paced environment almost everyone researches businesses online to determine where they will eat, at what stores they will shop, or what companies can provide the services they need.  Read more

All the best,

PS:  The VAnetworking membership group is a place where anyone searching for a reliable, efficient and professional VA can post their requests and receive qualified responses.