This article comes from Andrea Vahl AKA Grandma Mary https://www.andreavahl.com/facebook/the-facebook-subscribe-button.php Woooweee Facebook is making changes again.  Facebook introduced the Subscribe button on Profiles and they have made things a little more Google+ like.  But how do they work and how should you use them? What the Facebook Subscribe button does is allow people to get posts from you from your Personal Profile without being your friend.  Now you can choose what updates people can see by making them Public or just making the post visible to your friends or friends of friends or specific friend lists. First of all, if you are a private person and have no intention of saying anything publicly from your Facebook Page, there is nothing you need to do.  There is nothing to even opt-out of which is not like Facebook.  Make sure you never post publicly with the drop-down menu from the status updates and you are all set. If you are a more public figure or you are using your Personal Profile for business purposes too, then you may want to enable the Subscribe button.  To enable it (or to just learn more about it), go to www.Facebook.com/about/subscribe and click Allow Subscribers. Watch this handy video tutorial on what you have to watch out for when using the subscribe button or subscribing to other people. If you have been wondering if you should create a Facebook Page for your business then this might muddy the water a little bit.  Now do you create a Page or allow subscribers?  My take is that if you have a business, your business should have its own branding with a Page.  There are more things you can do with a Page such as create a Welcome Page, run contests and use other apps that will engage your audience. But, as a business owner, you may also want to enable the subscribe button to allow people to get some of your business updates that you make public.  Here’s a handy chart that shows some of the differences between the Page and the Subscribe feature: Also, I wanted to make sure you knew where to make changes to the Subscribe feature once you have enabled it.  First click the Subscribers link on your left sidebar of your Profile Page and then click the Edit settings as shown below. That’s all you need to know!  What do you think about the new Subscribe button?  Will you use it?  Does it make Facebook more confusing?  Tell Grandma in the comments!

Social Media is the exciting new tool of the future businesses today are using to expand and grow. To successfully and efficiently use Social Media, there are some key points every business needs to address.                 First of all, you must have a clearly started purpose, a select target market and a vision. After this initial step, you must choose appropriate platforms to cater to your purpose, target market and vision. Next, come up with a budget. How much do you want to spend/how much can you spend on Social Media? Once the budget is decided, allocate someone to manage your Social Media. Next, time and resources must be set aside to work on and maintain your Social Media efforts. Then you must decide which KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) you are going to measure. These measurements will allow you to keep track of how your company is doing in regards to its Social Media efforts. Next, is it important to decide how you will integrate your Social Media with your conventional marketing and website. This integration is very important as it gives your target market a clear vision and understanding of your company as a whole. Next, decide how will you create the content for your Social Media. Also decide how much content you will present and how often you will present it. And finally, give examples of the content. This can be in the form of articles, eBooks, blogs, video, coupons, sampling, podcasts, contests/sweeps etc.  Efficient Social Media efforts can lead to a more successful business, reaching its target markets and expanding its fan base. By following these steps, any business can effectively utilize Social Media!

If you haven’t checked lately you may be in for a surprise on your Google Places page. First you will start seeing a Write review red button to begin capturing Google reviews which of course will be highlighted before the other reviews like from Yelp or Merchant Circle and others. This is a wonderful addition that your clients will find helpful. Encourage them to use it as it is going to be very powerful to your business. This will be interesting to watch as Yelp takes a back seat to Google. Next you may find you are missing reviews. Google is not showing your reviews from non Google reviewers ( like Yelp etc) AND some of our clients have found even their “Google Reviews “ have gone missing . hmmmm. In addition, check on your Details section as some are finding that their details are not showing up. For service based businesses like us that provide our services for a wide area, the Service Area Map was quite useful and for the time being has gone missing too. Overall there is a long term “nit” between service based business and brick and mortar businesses both of whom would like to take advantage of the SEO (traffic driving) advantages of Google Places.  There are of course new, alternate ways to accomplish the online traffic driving goals. Our online business clients are getting the details of how we will be fixing their pages to continue to optimize their online business. As always, we have followed @Perry Marshall age old advice and don’t rely all that much on Google directly BECAUSE it changes and is not predictable. If you haven’t considered widening your traffic generating strategies beyond your Google usage, perhaps now is a good time to reconsider all the aspects to growing your online business. Find out more about google places change  here http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/07/ongoing-evolution-of-place-pages.html

Our strategies are industry best practice and they work!  We have worked with large and small business owners, just like you, for over 15 years. Our proprietary  online marketing systems for entrepreneurs , monthly education, and private consulting, gives you just the edge you need to stream line your, marketing, sales and cash management. Take your business from "offline to online"

• Not sure about marketing on the internet?
• Want more clients without going to lots of networking events?
• Worried about maxxing out the credit line?
• Struggling to manage paper invoices, checks, spreadsheets and manual work?

  The first step to rev up the income - is to request your Online Tune Up. Only 4 business owners each month are given the opportunity  to receive the complimentary Strategy Session The Tune up includes a 21 point online assessment of your website, social media and other lead generation, sales and cash management. We give you specific strategies to 1 Fill your Funnel with prospects - We show you exactly what to tweak and how to put this in place in 1-2 weeks. This will immediately enhance your value to your customers and improve your current marketing efforts. 2 Get the Cash Flowing - Using simple online money management , many of our clients increase sales revenue in just a few weeks. 3 Get your Time back -  We are entrepreneurs too! Its easy to get wrapped up in the daily management of the business, wearing most if not all the “hats” and finding more work ....than time to do it in.  Our 3-D strategy gets you back into control of your day and your business- without spending a penny. We provide this assessment valued at $175 as a complimentary gift because we believe in giving huge value right up front. The Online Tune-up is conducted as a conference call by the President of our company, Patrice Barber, who has over 15 years Business Technology & Systems consulting experience with large and small companies.  Industries include Construction Management Consulting, Marketing consultants, Home Security providers, Engineering firms, Health and Wellness providers, skin care professionals, and over 35 Fortune 500 corporations including Qwest, Applied Business Technology, and GE Capital. Please be assured that this consultation will not be a thinly disguised sales presentation; it will consist of the best intelligence Ms. Barber can supply. A small Caveat... this program is not for everyone You must already have a strong background, knowledge,and accomplishment in your business area and be ready to accelerate to an online approach quickly. Because of the nature of this community, the enrollment is limited to people already "winning" in their personal and business lives. If you're in some crisis such as a bankruptcy, divorce or some other serious domestic or personal problem, this isn't the program for you... right now.  Some participants have consumer debt, but they must demonstrate a serious intention of becoming debt-free. We will assess qualifications during the Tune Up. If you're ready for a one-of-a-kind experience that will explain  how to get more leads online and give you the knowledge and skills to quickly achieve your business success & wealth goals - This program is for you! Ready to find out more?  Fill in the form and we will be in touch or call us at 303-216-0472 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              303-216-0472      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

We all run short of ideas about what to talk about and how to help our sphere of influence. Keep this list handy to keep fresh ideas flowing and prevent your writers block.

• Reuse and Repurpose: If you already created some popular content, see where you can expand it or possibly target a certain aspect of it in finer detail.
• FAQ: Ask your followers and clients what their top questions are at several stages of working with you. Focus on Before, During, After - Before they chose you , what were their reasons for hesitation, after they got started were there areas of confusion that you need to address or change and help new clients be aware of, when complete what did they expect to happen next. There's gold in the questions and answers you hear over and over again.
• Be the news: Set up your RSS feeds or alerts to get the specific type of news that you report out on sent directly to you. Pay attention to what's happening in your area of expertise in the news and many times you'll find something that ties in perfectly to your audience's interests. For example, if your target market is counseling teens, stories that describe successful teens or stories that warn of various online dangers is a potential subject to share and comment on. If you have a coaching business for other business owners, sharing ways to get financing, tax breaks for business owners and other related topics will be appreciated.  Even if that is not your main focus – sharing related tips is great.
• Give Product Reviews: When you come across tools or other products that help you. Share it. People always appreciate someone else’s research and honest product reviews. Include who is best suited to use the tool or product and the features and benefits you experienced. If there were things you didn’t like or thought it should have provided, include that too. Integrity is key.
• Share Case studies about Your Clients / Customers: Case studies are an excellent way to provide highly-informative success stories and they become amazing testimonials for your business.
• Interview other Experts / Celebrities in your Market: Your local celebrities and you interviewing or being interviewed by the experts in your field shows that you know the right people and you know them well. Implied in the celebrity factor is that you must be a celebrity or close to it if you are connected to other celebrities. This is the beginnings of a great PR campaign for online and offline PR.
• Have Someone Interview You: This is an excellent way to create content using the audio and transcript of your interview. Create great social media buzz by having your own followers submit questions for the interview.
• Have fun : A top reason face book has replaced the porn sites as most viewed site and why You Tube is about to take over Face book is that people are BORED. They seek information but also entertainment. You don't always have to come up with earth-shattering information to impress your audience. Have fun, inspire them or make them laugh. Share your personal side (not too personal mind youJ)

Feeling inspired? Great! Write down your new ideas now. In fact setup a list and put it in your smart phone,  then add more.  Sometimes a little story about what happened to you at a restaurant or at your kid's soccer game can become a relevant lesson to your readers. To get more details on how to put these ideas into place in your business check out our next Get More Customers bootcamp. Apply now to get on our VIP invite list as space is limited to the first 20 and these usually sell out. To your success!

A recent study found that  78% of consumers trust peer reviews and only 14% trust advertisements. Can you see KA_CHING  in those numbers?  It is crucial to be involved in your community and have a good reputation. What are people saying about your brand? About 25% of search results for a brand name links  to user generated content –  that means other peoples judgment gets to the top of the pile of information about YOU. Nourish these relationships. Best offense is a good defense - over deliver and under promise.  Then talk about it and have happy clients talk about it too!  This includes  Twitter, Face book, blogs, forums, industry publications and media. Monitor the conversation, join in on the conversation, be sincere and show that you care. Here are a few ways that I found to work for myself. Facebook can be a little tricky on how to get more fans. You will see an increase in fans if you do these following steps: 1) Creating a "List" of your friends and name it business. Find this when you login to Facebook and it is on the left hand side, click friends, edit friends, create list, then click on all your friends that you want to "Like" your page. (Note: every time you add a new friend put them in this business list) 2) When you create your page use the widget code that Facebook gives you to add a "Like" box on your website. 3) Add your Facebook Page link on your email signature. 4) Send an email out through your email system like GENESIS, Constant Contact, Aweber, iContact, ETC telling them you are on Social Media and inviting them to "Like" your page. You can give some type of incentive for those who like your page if you want. Example: "Like" our business page and receive 10% off your next order. 5) Make a compelling video to put on your welcome page on Facebook, show people who you are, what your personality is like, and what you do. (You can add a Welcome tab on your page through www.Tabsite.com) 6) Have customers tag photos of you and your products, leaving a testimonial with it. 7) Using Facebook Ads to get more fans. 8) Run a contest for just your Facebook fans, this creates interaction on the page. 9) You can use Mobile marketing to have people check out your Facebook page and "Like" it when they like it they get entered into a drawing, free prize, discount something along those lines. 10) Have your Facebook Page link on all of your marketing materials. 11) Funnel your Twitter followers to your Facebook page. 12) Use the Suggest to friends on page and suggest to the list you have been creating, from step 1. By implementing these few things you will see an increase in fans. Encourage your customers/clients to leave comments, feedback and questions to your page. Facebook ads are a great way to get fans quickly and easily, BUT you want to make sure you are doing the ads correctly. Make the message in the ad compelling so people want to come to your page and "Like" it. Facebook is a great way to make connections with people all over the world and a great place to get closer to your customers/clients. Remember it is all about building relationships! I hope this  was helpful. Have questions?  Have requests for other details? What have you done to increase your fans that you want to share? Post your comments and questions below.

I could scream from the roof tops on this one! At our recent Put Your Year in Gear event held in Golden Colorado, we had great discussions on social media and getting it started the RIGHT way. Our attendees came away understanding what it really takes to be successful online , BUT so many of the new business owners I have spoken with lately seriously don’t “get it”. Online Marketing is still a foreign concept. Having a website, a twitter account and making posts on facebook does NOT a strategy make. Thankfully our attendees went away, knowing how to make their online marketing work for their specific business. Want to know the secret? It starts with a game plan, end results, a financially driven goal. For any specific campaign how much money do you want to make and how will they (your new found friends and well built relationships) be shown what value you bring beyond the pleasant conversation so they WANT to buy your stuff  ( and you can make that money)? No you are not in business just to be nice, you are in business to be richly rewarded for the information you have worked hard to acquire, products you have built and wisdom you can share. What is most often missing is the path – the step by step of how to get from that first contact email or social media post into the relationship and onto the clarity of sharing your value and getting paid for it. If you’re going into social media without an end goal in mind, why are you even going in? Where’s the benefit? Is it because you see everyone else has a  Twitter  profile and Facebook page and they look like they’re having fun while they talk with people? Excellent observation – but are you looking into the details….what is actually being said , what direction and options are given, where does it lead to next?  Is there an end goal?  OR Is it simply building relations online like going to a networking event to collect cards or having a ribbon cutting so you get known in your community? Whatever it is, if you’re not getting any results,  it’s because you didn’t really plan to get results. Now that’s cleared up -  what to do about it? What are the possible results you could get? How do you use social media so that you have a system that leads to results? Start with key questions

• How many connected conversations will it take to create a sale.
• How many products will you need to give away so your audience knows likes and trusts you enough to take action.

• How many people will you need to  address the incoming posts, questions, comments in the social arenas you are building relations in.

• Set an End date – this is when you STOP track and tweak

For many business owners and marketing directors in the Denver Boulder area and around the US , success is just a few steps away – not miles. We have found that by just putting a few clear steps into place , creating their online marketing plan, a communications plan, and using a system to automate it to lead to their end game  -  success follows.

  Marketing when you are on the go can sometimes be challenging. If you have wondered how you can still stay in touch even when you are not at your desk top, this presentation on using your smart phone solves all those problems. Nathan Womack shows you the screens shots you need so you can use Facebook on your smart phone to stay top of mind. He describes the importance of using Face book fan pages or personal pages to make your posts and more importantly answer questions or make comments right when they occur instea of going back in time and ineffectively trying to get back in touch. He gives incredible detail about the different smart phone platforms, describes what you can do on the android but not on the apple i- phone and how to save a ton of monthly fees by connecting using a wifi connection with your cell phone instead of just using minutes of talk time to make the same connections . When you have a solid marketing plan for your online marketing you know exactly what you need to get done and having an alternate way to get it all done for each months marketing campaigns by using your smart phone is a very handy way to manage it all.  There are a variety of tools that will allow your posts on one social network to be sent out to the other social networks as well. Getting these setup on your desktop is a great way to enhance your smartphone experience. Make a single post and have it appear instantly on other social networks. It is a excellent time saver. During the Put Your year In Gear event , Nathan will be describing how to use his proprietary 5 step process to get your tech in check for 2011. You will walk away, knowing exactly what your top priorities are for technology that you will need in 2011 and what to spend money on and what NOT to spend money on. To find out more about this strategy and get the screen shot , step by-step details go to www.putyouryearingear.com and request your free access now. These will be going away soon ( in November) . 6 & 7 coming soon.