Thursday, November 22, 2012

Social Media...Some Beginners Tips For My Isa Friends

First, wishing everyone a very happy, fun filled Thanksgiving full of fun, family and blessings.  Speak a blessing of gratitude for what you do have, and lift up to the heavens a prayer for all those in the world going through rough times.
 
As I sit here drinking my morning Isa Shake (already had my Ionix Supreme) wanted to write an article to share with everyone in our Isa Social Media group over on Facebook...a few tips on getting started in Social Media Marketing.  For beginners, Social Media Marketing (SMM) can be...well, it can be intimadating. 
 
Social Media Marketing is something necessary in this new age of instantaneous communication, and it takes time to learn as there is a LOT TO LEARN.  That said, don't let it intimadate you...Rome was not built in a day, and when it comes to getting yourself out there, patience truly is a virtue.  So, some basic tips for those wanting to get started. (Hey, once the turkey is in the oven, and the footballs games are turned on, or after dinner when everyone wants to take a timeout before desert, why not get your toes wet?)
 
Social Media Tips For Beginners
 
1. Listen to your audience.  Sure, we all want to speak our minds, but are we doing it in a way that makes others want to listen...your audience is going to let you know what they like, what they want to hear about.  If one of your articles in a blog, tweets on Twitter, or a time line entry on Facebook gets great response (how many comments, how many article views?) while others see almost no traffic, your audience is speaking to you, "HEY, we really like this."  You can also ask your audience what they want to hear using polls, or even putting up a post asking them, "What articles would you like me to write, or what discussions are we wanting to have."
 
2. Know your audience.  On Facebook, many of us belong to various Isagenix groups, a captive audience of folks who want to hear about, and learn about Isagenix...so, probably would not make a lot of sense if I started putting up comments about the fine points of overhauling and restoring a 1947 DeSoto.  Those in Twitter A) like short concise statements (duh...only have 140 characters) and tend to like links in case they want more information.  Blogs on the other hand give you more of a platform for longer posts and explantions. 
 

Bonus tip...Write a blog post (IE, this one) then make a short concise statement about it with a link on twitter...a great twofer!  Viral Marketing at its finest.

 
3. Start small.  Yes, you want to protect your brand, maybe you want to run out and establish yourself on say 10 Social Media sites...but, once you have made that LAND GRAB, let some of those pieces of real estate sit idle.  It is best to put all your efforts into one or two projects, build them up, grow a following, then look toward expanding.
 
4. See what’s working.  Think of it as research...do Google searches, find out what others in your industry (Isagenix) are doing to attract and build their own audience...if you are using Facebook, go find out who is being successful marketing a similiar/identical product, and start modeling your plan based on this newly gained information...they say imitation is the highest form of flattery, and it is.  After all, why would any of us want to duplicate a marketing plan that DOES NOT WORK?
 
What it all comes down to...GET STARTED.  Find your audience, strike up conversations about what you are passionate about (Isagenix), engage, engage, ENGAGE...why do you think they call it SOCIAL MEDIA?

6 comments:

  1. Sherwood, My bigger goal is reaching people who are NOT in my Isagenix groups. People who are my friends and friends of friends who have not yet come over to Isagenix. Any specific tips on attracting those folks without vomiting Isagenix all the time?

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  2. Hi Mary:

    Our groups on Facebook are in effect places where believers in Isagenix and their wonderful products congregate. A blog, a Twitter account (as examples) give you the opportunity to begin reaching a BIGGER audience.

    As example...every article has tags/labels for them. This is telling Google Bots, and a larger audience what an article is about, and in effect (over time) telling people how to find you. So, choose these tags WISELY. For instance, I live in Sullivan County NY. Lets say I write an article about my own weight loss. I might want to use the tag "Weight Loss Plan in Sullivan County".

    A part of learning the game, is figuring out how to connect with those people you do not know yet. So, lets say you are sitting at home eating a box of Twinkies and have an epiphany that you need to change your life, you need to GET HEALTHY. It used to be that you would get out your Yellow Pages and let your fingers do the walking...now days, people are going to use Google, and a lot of times, Google returns results based upon (well one of the things) the geographical area of the person doing the search. If someone living in Portland Oregon is wanting to lose weight, getting the contact information, or the link for someone offering help who lives in New York city is not going to do them a lot of good...make sense?

    Like the movie line says, "Build it and they will come"...over time. This is not a process that happens OVERNIGHT, but instead gradually builds. I started a blog about this time last year that I abandoned/set aside about two months ago when I started my journey with Isagenix and had more important things to put some of my time in too. The first month that blog was up I barely managed 150 visitors...two months ago (ten months into that blog) I had seen over 30,000 unique visitors from 108 countries around the world...sure, some of the people that regularly visited were friends, people that live in my community, but a lot of them found me thanks to the Google Search engines, and once they paid a visit, many of them kept coming back again and again.

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  3. Social Media is definitely where it is at! Love love love the possibilities! My goal is to start blogging ........... now here are muddy waters for me .. I have NO idea of where to start OR what to avoid!! Suggestions??

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    1. Hi Casey, and Merry Christmas

      Been out of the loop for a few days here with shopping and getting ready for the big day tomorrow. Starting blogging is easy...getting good at it is a bit trickier. Best suggestion I can make is to start. Some general rules...at least three short articles and one long article a week, and CONTENT is king.

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