Sound Solutions: North Bank Audio Solutions

So, you probably know by now that you should be submitting articles to article directories by now, so I won’t bore with you why. I’ll just let you check out Article Marketer to find out more on that topic - they’re the experts. What a lot of people aren’t doing though is effectively linking their work together. What do I mean by this? You should have your body of work (your blog, podcast, articles, videos, and social media etc.) all refer to eachother. Here are a few examples:

1. When you create a blog post, include a link to a relevent vidoe that you posted on YouTube.
2. When you post something to Twitter, link to a related podcast, blog post or article you submitted to ezinearticles.com.
3. Post the videos you put on YouTube to your Facebook account.
4. When you upload videos to YouTube, include a link to your free report or teleseminar recording opt-in page for lead generation.
5. Link your blog to your social networking sites. Like Twitter, MySpace, Linkedin and Facebook.

The reasons for doing these things are two fold:

1. You want human beings to click on these links. This is pretty obvious, but remember, the more ways you can display your information, the better. Some of your prospects and clients might love to read blogs, but others might do better with video or audio.
2. You want search engines to know where your stuff is online. The logic goes like this - if you link to your YouTube video on your blog, then you are letting Google and Yahoo know that the video exists, thus pushing that video up in order of importance. The same goes with your articles, blog posts, social media, podcasts, etc.

One more tip - for those of you who are blogging (and I hope that’s all of you) may I make the suggestion, that you go a step further with these suggestions? If you take a look at my blog, you’ll notice that my Twitter updates are syndicated on the lower right hand side. This is done for a similar reason as I explained above. People might click on my updates and go to my Twitter profile and because search engines like fresh, new content, my blog site is constantly changing each time I post to twitter. You’ll also notice that I’ve integrated my podcast in a similar way. This is a slightly more advanced way of linking your blogs and social media, but all the more effective. You can actually do this on your static websites as well with a tool called Feedburner. If you’re not using Feedburner, shame on you. No, but seriously, check it out. It’s free. I’ll probably include some video tutorial of how to do these things in the near future, so make sure to subscribe to my feed so you get them as soon as I post them.

Social networking is all the buzz nowadays. Many of my clients, friends and colleagues who would have laughed at the idea a year ago have now jumped on the social networking bandwagon. Social networking lingo (apps, tweets etc.) have become commonplace in the coaching and consulting industry and there are even coaches and consultants who specialize in social networking!

I’m going to preface this by saying that social networking, all-in-all, is a great thing and can and does pay off for many people who use it as a viable marketing strategy. I have a client who claims that Facebook is her #2 source of new leads! Great connections have been made on social networking sites and they are a fantastic way to stay in touch with people you meet at events or clients and friends who live in different parts of the country or world.

But - with any new craze, approach social networking with due skepticism. Remember the “Dot Com Boom” of the late 1990’s? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Here are some social tips to ensure that you don’t become a “social networking sucker.”

1. If you’re treating it as a part of your online marketing strategy, treat it just like you would any other tactic. Make sure that you’re planning your social networking campaigns and then testing and tracking the results. Focus on what achieves results, not what some faux guru says you should do.
2. Consider the return on investment with each “social networking venture.” Even though social networking is free in terms of dollars, it’s not in terms of your time. Is there another way you could be marketing your business that could be delegated or automated more easily? Is there another strategy that could be completed in less time? Is there something else that your business depends on that you’re putting off because it’s not as fun as playing with your Facebook profile or posting on Twitter?
3. Set aside time for social networking and don’t play with while you’re doing other things. This is something that I have a particularly hard time with myself. It’s important to make an effort not to multi task or piddle away too much valuable time with social networking.
4. Keep in mind that social networking sites are there for a reason - to make money (not for you, for them.) They are designed to be fun and addictive, not necessarily with your business’s best interests in mind.
5. Don’t get caught up in the flavor of the week. There are new social networking sites popping up all the time. Before setting up an account and investing your valuable time with one, see who’s using it and what kind of results they’re getting. You’re better off sticking with a few sites than having to manage dozens of different memberships.
6. Automate and delegate as much as possible. Have an assistant go through and complete tasks you find yourself doing all the time (approving comments, posting blog posts, accepting friend requests, conducting research etc.) If you are using multiple social networking tools at once, use a service like http://www.hellotxt.com to update your status in all of them in one swoop rather than doing each one manually.
7. Always be asking yourself these questions:
   • Am I doing this because it’s working or because it’s fun?
   • Is this the best use of my time right now?
   • Do your ideal clients or business partners actually “hang out” on social networking sites?
   • If so, are you following the proper etiquette when contacting them?

Make sure to follow these tips when you’re using social networking sites and you’ll be sure reap all the benefits of this new technology without falling victim to “social networking suckerdom.”