A lot of people think they can start posting a few times on Twitter or Facebook or maybe upload a video to YouTube and then sit back and wait for the phone to ring. Well that’s unlikely to happen, unless you are an established brand and already have a large database from which to draw from.

For many smaller businesses social media can take a while to get going, it can be disheartening to post to a small audience and it can be difficult to grow your audience organically. I think this may be why some get frustrated and end up plying the networks with sales messages because they don’t feel like this whole social thing is working for them.

But there are ways that you can help to grow your audience, here are some of the best:

• Share great content (I know, I know, but it’s so important)
• Ask questions
• Don’t overload people with too many posts
• Ask people to share
• Promote offers/competitions
• Post funny/amusing/interesting images as these are easy for people to share and get a good response
• Use your existing contacts and ask them to follow/like/connect etc.
• Make sure people can connect socially from your website and offline marketing material. Include links in your email signatures too.

It can take time to build up an audience but by sticking to what you know is right and ensuring that everything you post will add value in some way then it will come eventually. What you will also find is that the larger the audience the quicker it then continues to attract more people, it’s self perpetuating. Stick with it, it does get easier and if you need some advice, then just give us a call 01279 647003.

There are lots of ways to network with other businesses in Essex. For many it might involve joining a formal networking organisation like BNI or it might mean joining the Essex Chamber of Commerce or your local less formal groups. For most of us, time is valuable and with the advent of social media we have seen more and more people start networking online to compliment their offline activity.

But as an Essex business, how do you still network with local businesses on the Internet? How do you find those groups? Well, one of the best places to start is LinkedIn if you don’t already have an account set up then you can find out more about the benefits of joining LinkedIn here if you go to the groups section and search for “Essex” a whole list will come up. I would recommend joining a few and finding the ones that suit you best. Avoid those that are used purely for self promotion, these tend to be full of people who aren’t really looking to network and build relationships.

Another more recent one to look at is Facebook, businesses are using it more and more. Most companies have a Facebook Business Page now, and again is you search for Business Essex and click the group filter (on the left hand side) then you will see a list of groups with the word Essex in the title. You could even set up your own group if you can’t find something to suit you.

Lastly of course there is Twitter, but be careful with this one, its a real time sucker and you could end up wasting away whole days on here.

Whichever you use to help you network online locally in Essex, remember to set yourself strict guidelines with regards to the amount of time you are going to spend on them.

There are lots of Social Media Workshops and trainers out there, many of which have come to it from a love themselves of using social media. Many have seen how it’s helped their businesses and want to share this knowledge and help others get the same success.

We come at it from a slightly different angle, yes it’s great in it’s own right in terms of customer engagement, knowledge sharing, customer service and sometimes even lead generation. But for me, the most exciting thing is how it relates to search rankings and the integration of your whole web marketing strategy.

Whilst the search engines don’t let on what they do and don’t measure in great detail (and why would they?) we test and measure activity to try and work this out for ourselves. we do know that privacy settings within platforms such as Facebook will limit the amount that search engines can see. But public information can be measured and as a business with a business page, this should be public anyway (otherwise, what’s the point).

We have seen that those clients that create great content which is then shared socially, both by themselves and also visitors to their website or social accounts do better online. It makes sense right, so you are engaging with people, increasily your online reputation and spreading the word about your company. These people are talking about you and sharing your stuff with their connections. Of course that’s going to be seen as an important indicator to a search engine.

Remember, a search engine only wants to display relevant results in relation to the search phrase that has been typed in. That’s it. So if you can show that you are a credible business with lots to say, and the stuff that you say is then shared by others because it adds value in some way, then surely a search engine is going to take more notice of you.

What this doesn’t mean is posting millions of tweets every day, sending our sales messages to your Facebook page. You have to actually be there too, the clue is in the name “social”.

So how does this relate to training, well. We tailor make our training to your business based on your industry, company size, amount of time and effort you are able to put into social media. This sets us apart from a bog standard workshop that is trying to help people with very different needs.

So if you are thinking about implementing a social strategy and need some advice, or you need some hands on one on one training then please get in touch today to find out more.

Don’t use social media portals to try and hard sell to people, it’s about sharing your expertise and not forcing your products and services down peoples throats and so bare this in mind when you are updating your status. All of your messages should be written in the first person and from you as individual, you may be representing your business and you may also be a sole trader but people know it’s and individual typing so why try and be anything different?

Whilst it’s important to try and reach people you don’t want to post so frequently that it could be considered spam, people will simply hide your messages (if they are trying to be polite) or stop following/friending/connecting with you altogether.

You want to try and engage with people and so try and ask questions that will provoke conversation and dont be afraid to use it as a way of getting help. For example if you want opinion on something you are doing, this can be a great, free and honest way to get feedback from people.

Use links to direct people to your website but not with every post. It can be one way of driving traffic to your website but if it looks like this is all you are doing people will soon switch off, however if it’s to ask opinion on a blog you have written for example then this is a good way of increasing your audience. If people like what they find then they are more likely to come back again.

Don’t write anything inappropriate and don’t use it as a way to moan about people or other companies, sense check everything you are posting and if you wouldn’t be happy for your friends, colleagues, boss to see it, then don’t post it. Make sure that what you post is within the guidelines of your social media policy, if you are posting on behalf of your company then you need to be clear what the rules are.

If you have any questions about how to use your status to help communicate or engage with people then please let us know by commenting in the box below.

The way you set up your profile in the various social media sites is very important, one of the key elements is consistency and so make sure that you include key information in each profile that you set up. Make sure you use the same name for each profile so that people can find you easily when they are searching for you, this also gives you a greater chance of showing up in the search results when people are looking for you.

Make sure you include your company information in your profile and professional contact details, you really don’t want businesses contacting you on you personal email address or calling you at home. Make sure that you use a professional photograph of yourself and again use this across all profiles.

Make sure you complete each profile as closely to 100% as you can and again keep it professional. Use keywords in the biography sections so that if someone is looking for what you do, then they have more chance of finding you rather than the competition.

If you have a personal Facebook profile make sure you have your privacy setting set up so that only your friends and family can see personal photo’s and status updates. You can seperate your Facebook Friends into groups and then choose who sees what posts.

Keep it authentic and professional, if you do this then you can’t really go wrong.

If you are an experienced speaker or looking to break into this area of business then in today’s world you face a lot of competition. There are less opportunities and more people going after them and so standing out from the crowd is ever important and I don’t mean dyeing your hair green. I mean being noticed in the right way.

If it’s true that the vast majority of people will look online to check you out before making contact then you need to make sure that you are firstly present online and that your online reputation is as you would want it.

Social media can help you build your own personal brand and increase your chances of getting that speaking gig that you are after. Firstly make sure that you sign up to LinkedIn as this is really the place for professiona,l networking. Ensure that your profile is as close to 100% as possible and that you present a professional image. Ask your contacts to write a recommendation, people trust in peer recommendation whether they know the person or not and so encourage your customers to leave you a glowing reference.

If you have a Facebook profile that you use for personal use, make sure that you set your privacy settings so that only your friends can see your information. Set up a Facebook page and use it to help educate people about your area of expertise.

In fact having an active social presence can help you in so many ways, these few simple touch on what is an enormous subject. If you want to know more about how to use social media for speakers then please do get in touch for an informal chat.

Social Media has changed the way we communicate and through tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook Essex business communities have sprung up all over the place. This is a great way of building relationships with other local businesses without having to drive all over the Essex countryside and attend millions of networking groups.

Referral marketing is the most powerful form of marketing and so by becoming known as an expert in your field and encouraging your customers to talk about your business online you can increase the number of referrals you receive easily and cheaply.

So many Essex businesses get social media completely wrong, they spend their whole time broadcasting messages without really engaging with people. No one wants to hear about how fantastic you are, you need to show people by offering help and advice, asking opinion and really getting to know people.

Many people have a go at social networking, start advertising their business and then give up if after a couple of weeks this hasn’t resulted in lots of new customers. Social media doesn’t work this way, in the same way you wouldn’t walk into a pub and start spouting off, you need to build relationships with people who will then naturally show an interest in what you do.

Essex is a large county and a particularly good one in which to network online in. There are a lot of active businesses in all kinds of industries and although most are their with the end aim of generating more business it is also a great way of sourcing supplier and gaining support from others. Let’s face it, being a business owner can be a lonely occupation and you aren’t going to be an expert in all aspects of business. By building up a trusty network you have access to people who are experts and can draw on their experience.

If you still aren’t sure where to start with social networking in Essex then give us a call on 01279 647003

Online reputation management is vitally important for business. Social media has changed the way we communicate and people freely discuss their own experiences online, whether they had a great meal at a certain restaurant or had a bad experience with a telecoms company. Whatever it is you as a business need to be accessible in the places where these conversations are taking place to be able to react to what is being said.

It can be quite difficult for businesses to make the leap into using social media particularly as many spend time battling to stop their staff spending too much time chatting to their friends on Facebook. We are fully aware of this and so my fabulous colleague Rob Thomas will be hosting a webinar to help you understand where to start with online reputation management.

On 31st July at 4pm Rob will be outlinging those risks if you don’t manage your brand online and also the benefits if you do it properly. Not only will he talk about how to do it he will also give you some great tips and tools that you can use to help you achieve the results that you are looking for. Alongside the Webinar there will be a Whitepaper that will be available for download with all of those important nuggets of advice contained within it.

The webinar is completely FREE to attend, all you need to do is fill in an online form and add the name Claire Taylor as the IC that referred you and that’s it. So click on the link below to register

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/592612369