Jul 07

How to Create a Facebook Event

One of the ways to create visibility through social media is to create an event on Facebook.

If you have an event, then you can promote it on Facebook and then link out to a registration page.

The benefit is that this will create social proof and will provide an opportunity for viral marketing.

Here is a simple step by step process to create a Facebook Event:

1. Go to the Events Page:

Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/

Click on Create Event in the upper right corner. That will open a new window where you can enter information regarding your event.

2. Event Name

This is the name of the event and it’s what will be shown when someone receives a notification about the event. If your event has a top name speaker, you may want to include their name in the name of the event.

3. Event Details

This is the largest block of space to enter event information. This is where you can promote your event. Include as many details as you think people will need initially. This is just a space for plain text, so you don’t have much of an opportunity to format the text.

Be sure to include several links to your registration page. You can use capital letters to call attention.

4. Location

Include the event location. Facebook may recognize the event location and even insert an option to view a map.


5. Date & Time

Enter the date of the event. Then, add the start and end time for the event. The field for the end time will appear after you enter the start time.

6. Privacy

Is this a public or a private event? Choose who you want to be able to see the event. Note that selecting public doesn’t notify anyone of the event. See the step below for Inviting Friends.

7. Event Photo

Selecting a photo for your event can help to add a nice visual element to draw attention. Think about how people will see your event. On the event page, you can only see a small thumbnail image of the photo. So, don’t select a photo with a lot of small text.

If you are the speaker at the event, then you can use your own photo.

8. Invite Friends

The last step in the process is to invite people to the event. This is the most tedious part of the entire process because you have to select a checkbox next to each person’s name.

Here’s a tip: you can select a list of filter the names of your friends. This can save time if you have created a list with people you want to invite to events.

Add an event today and start capitalizing on the opportunities to promote your events through Facebook.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing and Social Media Trainer

Jul 03

Social Bookmarking Sites to Drive More Visitors to Your Blog

A simple tool you can use to get more traffic to your website is social bookmarking sites.

You can bookmark web pages in your browser, but only you can see them.

A social bookmarking site is similar, but other people can see your bookmarks.

As you can imagine, there is some real potential here to drive more traffic to your website or
blog.

This is especially valuable for content oriented information like high value blog posts.

Of course, they key is to get other people to bookmark your pages. Take time to cultivate relationships with other bloggers who are willing to cross-promote you. This way, there is an added incentive for ongoing support.

Here are 5 great sites to start using:

Digg:
http://www.Digg.com

StumbleUpon
http://www.StumbleUpon.com

Delicious:
http://www.Delicious.com

FriendFeed:
http://friendfeed.com/

BuzzFeed:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/

Here are a few more sites that also give you the ability to share content:

Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/

ClipBoard:
https://clipboard.com/

Diigo:
http://www.diigo.com/

You can bookmark your own sites and you can bookmark others.

In fact, Twitter is also a great site for bookmarking. You can post a message and then click on the Favorite button. You can look at your own favorites and you can look at others.

Start bookmarking your blog posts online. Find other people who are willing to bookmark your blog posts. And you will see a surge in traffic to your site over time.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing and Social Media Trainer

Jun 16

Focus on Adding Value

Many years ago, I learned a valuable principle that I follow to this day. It is simple and yet it’s powerful. It is based on the fact that people do business with people they know, like and trust.

So, how do you build trust and rapport? By implementing this simple principle: Focus on adding value.

What is value? If you want to provide value, you need to start by understanding what your clients need.

Listen to your clients. Ask questions. Survey them. And then give them what they want.

Social media is a great medium for sharing information and adding value. Just remember that social networking is a tool for communication and dialogue.

Add value and be patient. Post messages that are inspirational and motivational. Develop long term relationships that will bear fruit.

I have been saying for years that it takes 7 points of contact before people remember who you are and what you do. Marketing Expert Katrina Sawa recently said that it now takes up to 28 points of contact to make a long term impression. In this age of overload and overwhelm, it takes more effort to break through with your message and have an impact.

Take time to develop relationships online. It’s worth the effort!

Mar 22

Article Marketing Tips to Attract your Ideal Clients

Article Marketing TipsPeople often ask me what is a good strategy to position them as an expert online.

There are many strategies that will do this. One of the fastest and easiest is to simply write an article.

An article is about 400 to 600 words. You should focus on one topic and keep it simple. I like to add a numbered series of tips.

Be sure you include a byline at the end of your article.

Here are are 3 tips to leverage your articles:

1) Post your article on Article Directories

One of the best article directories is ezinearticles.com.

You can set up a free account and then submit your first article.

2) Post your article on your blog

You may want to change the content when you post your article on your blog.

Article directories don't like it when you submit articles that are being used elsewhere. So, change the title and alter the content.

There is no need to include your byline if you are posting the article on your own blog. If you publish someone else's article from ezinearticles.com, you have to include the byline.

3) Share your article on social media

After you post your article, be sure to post a message on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites to invite other people to read your article.

 

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing & Social Media Expert

Feb 22

Social Media Tip: Monetize Social Media

Social media is a great way to increase your visibility online. You can attract new customers and generate leads.

Are you interested in learning new strategies to generate additional revenues using social media?'

I have a free report called "10 Ways to Monetize Social Media."

Click here to download your copy of the report

Dec 14

Secrets to Leverage LinkedIn Groups

Leverage_LinkedIn_GroupsLinkedIn is a great social network for connecting with your ideal clients. As much as I like Facebook, I think LinkedIn offers more of an ability to connect with a Person of Influence (POI).

One of the best places to find your ideal customers and clients is in LinkedIn Groups.

Here are 3 quick tips to leverage LinkedIn Groups:

1) Focus on adding value

Make sure that you share information that people want to read. One great strategy is to include a link out to your blog post. This will help to position you as an expert. It will also allow you to generate leads if you have an opt in box on your blog.

2) Connect with people you meet in groups

After you have interacted with people a few times in a LinkedIn Group, then send them an invitation to connect.

LinkedIn Groups also gives you the capability to follow people. This is similar to the way Twitter works. It’s an easy to build a base of followers who read your posts and comments.

3) Send personal messages to people on LinkedIn

What good is a network unless you actually intend to communicate with people. Make time every day to reach out to someone on LinkedIn and send a personal message. Share a resource, congratulate them on a recent success or ask them for 5 minutes to chat by phone.

LinkedIn Groups is a great tool for making connections with powerful and influential people. Set a goal now to leverage this tool to grow your business.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing and Social Media Trainer

Sep 09

How Meetup Was Started as a Result of 9/11

How_Meetup_9_11I received the following message today and thought I would share it. I have been a participant of multiple Meetup groups. I also launched a local networking group using the Meetup site called the Roseville Growth Network.

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I thought this was amazing story of how Americans grew in a positive way in the face of tragic and frightening events.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing & Social Media Expert

Here is the message:

From: Meetup
Date: Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 1:25 PM
Subject: 9/11 & us
To:

Fellow Meetuppers,

I don’t write to our whole community often, but this week is
special because it’s the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and many
people don’t know that Meetup is a 9/11 baby.

Let me tell you the Meetup story. I was living a couple miles
from the Twin Towers, and I was the kind of person who thought
local community doesn’t matter much if we’ve got the internet
and tv. The only time I thought about my neighbors was when I
hoped they wouldn’t bother me.

When the towers fell, I found myself talking to more neighbors
in the days after 9/11 than ever before. People said hello to
neighbors (next-door and across the city) who they’d normally
ignore. People were looking after each other, helping each
other, and meeting up with each other. You know, being
neighborly.

A lot of people were thinking that maybe 9/11 could bring
people together in a lasting way. So the idea for Meetup was
born: Could we use the internet to get off the internet — and
grow local communities?

We didn’t know if it would work. Most people thought it was a
crazy idea — especially because terrorism is designed to make
people distrust one another.

A small team came together, and we launched Meetup 9 months
after 9/11.

Today, almost 10 years and 10 million Meetuppers later, it’s
working. Every day, thousands of Meetups happen. Moms Meetups,
Small Business Meetups, Fitness Meetups… a wild variety of
100,000 Meetup Groups with not much in common — except one
thing.

Every Meetup starts with people simply saying hello to
neighbors. And what often happens next is still amazing to me.
They grow businesses and bands together, they teach and
motivate each other, they babysit each other’s kids and find
other ways to work together. They have fun and find solace
together. They make friends and form powerful community. It’s
powerful stuff.

It’s a wonderful revolution in local community, and it’s thanks
to everyone who shows up.

Meetups aren’t about 9/11, but they may not be happening if it
weren’t for 9/11.

9/11 didn’t make us too scared to go outside or talk to
strangers. 9/11 didn’t rip us apart. No, we’re building new
community together!!!!

The towers fell, but we rise up. And we’re just getting started
with these Meetups.

Scott Heiferman (on behalf of 80 people at Meetup HQ)
Co-Founder & CEO, Meetup
New York City
September 2011

Aug 28

Educate First Before Selling

Educate_First_Before_SellingI love sales and marketing. It’s one of my passions in life. And I love sharing ideas with people to provide an opportunity to experience a transformation that can improve their results.

I learned an idea from my mentor Eric Lofholm a few years ago that sums up this sentiment. He said educate first before selling. It’s an interesting concept. Education provides the chance to share something that can have impact on someone’s life.

Earning a sale becomes an extension of the education process. The question for you is what can you do to educate prospects? This is not rocket science.

Position Yourself As An Expert

This conversation becomes easier if you have positioned yourself an expert. As an expert, part of your role is to educate people. Let’s face it, people love experts. And as an expert, you have the ability to influence people.

What steps can you take to educate people? Take action now to start the process.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing Expert

Aug 09

Blog Whisperer Jerry Kennedy Reviews Crush It from Gary Vaynerchuk

Jerry_Kennedy_Blog_WhispererJerry Kennedy, the Blog Whisperer recently wrote about Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It. Jerry says,

“He writes about the importance of building your personal brand as it relates to major markets.  A lot of Fortune 500 companies are still quite wary of allowing their employees to share their connection to the company online along with their employees’ personal online presence. Companies should heed the advice Gary has in encouraging businesses to allow employees to further a company’s brand via their online presence and online connections. Companies not doing this should realize they are missing an untapped marketing resource.”

Jerry brings up a good point. This is a huge untapped marketing resource for many companies. I will be giving a presentation on Twitter to a group of strategic marketing professionals in a few months. One of my messages is that their companies should encourage people to blog and to use social media. This is a challenge for a lot of companies to give up control of their message. But, in reality, the control they think they have is an illusion.

People are already blogging about your company. They are already posting on social media. And if they aren’t, you’re missing the boat!

So, heed Gary’s message and get into action. Expand your online presence and your online connections.

Jul 31

Social Media Quote: Gary Vaynerchuk

expert-quote“I pride myself in listening. When you have people paying attention to you, your biggest job is to listen what they want. Deliver what your community wants.”

~Gary Vaynerchuk