Social Media – Page 10

Blogging is Giving: How your business blog can help you give and gain, again and again

July 3, 2011 By Linda Dessau

“For it is in giving that we receive.” – St. Francis of Assisi “We make a living by what we get;we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” – Kahlil Gibran “Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.” – Elbert Hubbard “The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” – Albert Einstein “Among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” – Maya Angelou “The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.” – Heda Bejar “Givers gain.” – Ivan Meisner

Whether in business networking or in life, it’s a widely accepted fact that when we freely give, we receive multiple benefits in return. The good news is that a business blog can help you carry out this philosophy all month long.

If you’re already a natural giver, these ideas will help you spread your gifts even farther. If you’ve been looking for ways to give more, here are four places to start:

1) Highlight a charity or a charitable campaign that someone in your network is part of, and include links or instructions so your readers can contribute.

What this says about you: You care about your community and you value and support charitable activities.

2) Write a testimonial about someone’s work and how this person helped you. Include the details of the problem you were having, why you chose this particular service and what the results were. Photos are a nice touch if that’s appropriate for the situation. Be sure to include contact details.

What this says about you: Sharing your own experience shows people that you’re human, and that helps them get to know, like and trust you. It also shows that you’re supportive of other business owners and committed to sharing valuable resources with your audience.

3) Comment and/or build on a blog post written by a colleague. You might write a brief introduction, or simply provide a link to the blog so your readers can explore for themselves.

What this says about you: You are at the forefront of your industry and you have access to the latest and greatest news, tips and solutions. You respect your readers enough to introduce them to other service providers and let them decide for themselves who is the best person to help them solve their problem.

NOTE: If you’re using my weekly blogging method, these three types of posts would be perfect for the weeks in between your monthly feature articles. And that leads us to the final way you can give with your blog:

4) Write an article that provides concrete tips, suggestions or strategies and teaches your readers how to solve one of their most pressing problems.

What this says about you: You are an expert in this area, and you have the tools and knowledge to solve the problems that are causing your readers the most trouble. If your article helps them this much, they will think, just imagine what hiring you could do for them!

Giving back in your blog helps your community and your colleagues, by drawing more attention to worthy causes and useful services. It also helps your readers solve their problems. In turn, it helps your business by revealing more about you, what you value, and how much you know.

For more ideas about how to give back with your business blog, see 12 Most Altruistic Reasons to Keep Blogging.

Is Anybody Out There? Providing Good Customer Service On Social Media

June 20, 2011 By Linda Dessau

Social media is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to customer service. But once you attract a prospective client into your virtual storefront, will they find you behind the counter or are you nowhere to be seen?

There is a lot of pressure for business owners to jump into social media ("You have to be there," you're told, "Or you'll be left behind!") before you truly understand what will be required of you.

Over-automating is ugly

Yes, there are plenty of online marketing tasks that you can outsource and automate, just be sure that customer service is taken care of by a real person in real time.

It's very easy to see who is automating instead of engaging, because their social media accounts display a stream of announcements, links and advertisements, with no replies, referrals or conversation.

And to someone who sends you a message or replies to one of your updates, but gets no response (just more blasts of information), that silence speaks volumes about you and your business.

Once you've put yourself out there on social media, the customer service is only beginning. There must be a response, and it must come from you.

Are you concerned about missing messages but you don't want to spend time checking your account? Hire someone else to monitor it for you, or subscribe to a service like Postling or Nutshell Mail to get email updates of all your account activity.

NOTE: It is sometimes appropriate to outsource your ongoing social media conversations, just be sure your audience knows that someone is writing on your behalf, e.g., with a note in your profile that says, "Tweets by _____, on behalf of _____."

Content marketing is customer service

Social media is simply another mode of communication; a chance to demonstrate your commitment by responding to your clients and potential clients – quickly, courteously and professionally.

And perhaps the best way to respond is to create new content that addresses the questions and comments you're hearing. I've written before about how blogging improves your customer service. By being constantly focused on what your ideal client needs, you will be more tuned into delivering those solutions. Denise Wakeman calls this growing "blog antennae," while Jeff Korhan says, "blogging gives you clarity."

Sharing your content via social media is another way to be of service to people in your network – with tips, tools, insights and strategies to help them in their lives and/or businesses.

After all, helping out is one of the key principles of networking – whether you're offline or online – and it allows you to turn social networking into business networking.

Whether they're prospective clients, referral sources or fellow business owners in your community, show your online network that you're here and you care. That's good customer service. And that's good for business.

Three Powerful Ways That Blogging Can Help You Follow Up After a Networking Event

June 18, 2011 By Linda Dessau

Have you ever met someone at a networking event who would be an ideal client for you? Yet you struggle with how to follow up without seeming “sales-y” or putting any pressure on the person?

Imagine returning home from a networking event and calmly sending an email like this:

Hi ______ (Fred, Anne, John, etc.),

It was great meeting you this morning at the ______ (name of event). I wanted to follow up with some resources about what we chatted about.

You mentioned that _______ has been a challenge for you. Here is a blog post that I wrote about that very problem. It includes some basic information and some suggestions for how to apply it. (#1) You can view the post at _________ (link to the specific post). (#2)

Please let me know if you have any questions! You can reach me at ___________ (phone number). Or feel free to connect with me on ________ (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.).

See you soon, _________ (your name)

P.S. If the blog post was helpful, feel free to sign up for my weekly updates, from the top right-hand corner of my website. That way you’ll see my newest posts with similar information. (#3)

Congratulations! You’ve just deepened your relationship and shortened the distance between blogging and business.

(#1) Sending helpful information exactly when it’s needed creates goodwill with your contact. It also shows that you were listening and that you care. NOTE: At some point during your conversation, you will have needed to ask, “What is your biggest challenge when it comes to ______ (YOUR area of expertise)?”

(#2) Your well-written, focused blog post establishes you as an expert at solving the exact problems this person is dealing with. NOTE: Be sure to provide the permanent link (“permalink”) to the specific post, which you can get by visiting your blog, clicking on the blog post title and then copying the URL that appears in the address bar of your web browser.

For example, the permalink of this post is https://contentmasteryguide.com/2011/06/how-blogging-can-help-you-follow-up-after-a-networking-event.html – do you see it up there in your address bar?

(#3) Inviting the person to your blog/website gives the person a non-threatening way to find out more about you and your services. NOTE: You can turn your blog into a website (a “blogsite”) by adding just a few crucial details. See my simple writing tips for your blogsite pages. ALSO: Be sure there is a subscription form for your email list on every page of your website or blog.

With a mountain of high-quality content on a blog to draw from, following up with new networking contacts is as easy as 1-2-3.

Fame is Fleeting But a Blog Post is Forever

April 24, 2011 By Linda Dessau

“When you share a well-written, relevant, helpful article, it’s like a bright flash that lights up the online world for a moment, an hour or a day. There are links, tweets, retweets, accolades, introductions, referrals and maybe even a sale or two. Then, in the span of a moment, an hour or a day, someone else shines their light and people move on. Good writing is pointless unless you’re doing it consistently.” – Content Creation Manifesto #3

Another benefit of building a mountain of high-quality content happens long after your brief moment of fame, retweets, comments and emails. And that’s when people stumble upon your blog posts on their own.

I experienced a nice example of this last week when creativity coach Sue Mitchell posted a link to a blog post I wrote in December 2010 (her tweet is the third one shown below). The next thing you know, TWO people from her network posted the same link to THEIR networks. What a wonderful way to introduce my work to a new audience – the best way, in my humble opinion.

Here are five ways to produce “forever” blog posts, and help them be discovered, re-discovered and shared for years to come:

Balance your blog – Aim to write at least one “how to” or thought leadership post per month, and then build on that with connective connect to consistently keep in touch with your readers.
Connect the dots – Speaking of connecting, be sure to include links to other posts you’ve written about the topic – I also use the service LinkWithin, which automatically displays and links to similar stories at the bottom of each post. This step will help your readers find your earlier work so you can continue the conversation.
Be green – While you can find inspiration for new posts from seasonal themes or current events, make sure that most of your content will be relevant no matter when someone sees it – we call this “evergreen content.”
Say the same thing in different ways – Some of the most popular blogs cover the same topic many, many times, so don’t worry about repeating yourself. You just never know which analogy or collection of tips will finally help someone say, “Oh, NOW I get it!”
Check your work – Don’t let typos or grammatical errors linger out there for the world to see. Remember to use this simple and effective proofreading strategy.

Want to write more “forever” blog posts? Contact us today to learn how we can help.

And by the way:

Over-automating is ugly

Content marketing is customer service

Benefits of posting your blog links on social media