BNI Minnesota & N. Wisconsin Blog

“But Sue, I only use Facebook for personal, not business. I want to keep my personal and business lives separate!”

If I had a dime for every time I heard that comment, I’d be a very rich woman! I understand the sentiment, but the problem is this: There’s No Such Thing as a “Personal” Facebook Page!

It is important that you understand whoever looks at your profile is going to view it from their intent, not yours. The viewer is usually looking at your profile in an attempt to better understand who you are, your values, and the judgments you make in life as a whole. Are you giving them a favorable “first impression”?

“Google” yourself and you’ll find that your Facebook profile shows up close to the top of the search – this is what others will find when they search for you. Take a close look at your profile page through the eyes of a “stranger”. Are you someone you would want to know?

Here are 5 things you can do to successfully blend your “personal” and “business” images within your personal Facebook page:

1.   Have a photo that is appealing. Do you look approachable? Do you look like someone we’d like to meet? Can we see your eyes? Are you the only one in the photo so we don’t have to try and figure out which person you are in the group? Smile!

2.   If you are tagged in photos, what image do they portray? If these photos are sending out a “mixed” message, simply adjust your settings so that the photos those people post and tag you in are “hidden” to the general public. (do this in Settings) Remember the line, “birds of a feather”? If you are in some photos taken and posted by others that shed less than a positive light on you, people who read your profile may judge you unfairly. You control your own image. Take charge!

3.   Complete your profile by adding business interests as well as social and personal interests. Let people get to see the “whole” you.

4.   Vary your status updates to include a few business comments occasionally. Potential clients and customers are going to review your info anyway, so give them some great info!

5.   Delete or hide “friends” who make inappropriate or stupid comments. This would include the avid updater who is consistently posting irrelevant comments such as “I’m waiting in the car for my daughter”, then minutes later, “I’m driving my daughter home”, etc. You know who I mean! This also applies to political, sexual, religious, and racial content.

Social media has given microbusinesses the opportunity to create large PR on a scale that competes with the big companies. You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression. It’s up to you to enhance and control the image others see. Tweak your profile to compel others to want to get to know you. Once they know, like, and trust you, business can happen. 

 In the recent 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report*, the following stats were published based on a survey 1,898 people participated in over a 5-day period:

·         91% use social media for marketing their business

·         65% of marketers have either just started or have been using social media for only a few months. B2B companies have been using it slightly longer than B2C

·         76% of marketers are spending at least 4 hours each week on their social media marketing efforts.

·         85% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have: (1) generated exposure for their businesses, (2) improved traffic to website, and (3) built new partnerships.

·         More than half indicated a rise in search engine rankings.

·         After only a few months and with as few as 6 hours per week, half the marketers have generated qualified leads using social media marketing.

·         78.3% of marketers reported that it helped them close business.

Social media marketing is not a spectator sport – it takes effort, energy, and specific actions on a consistent basis. If you would like to increase the results you achieve through social media marketing, please attend one of the Advanced MSP’s on Social Media. These workshops are designed to show you, step-by-step, what actions to take. I encourage people to spend 15 minutes a day EVERYDAY working on various social media platforms. You can double that time and get better results faster, but with 15 minutes a day, you should see results in a matter of weeks.

As you can see from the statistics listed above, social media isn’t just a fad, it’s here to stay. Embrace the opportunities it provides, learn what to do and say, be consistent, and you, too, can experience an increase in traffic, new partnerships, qualified leads, and closed business.

*Report compiled by “Social Media Examiner”, Michael A. Stelzner  (socialmediaexaminer.com)

Creating and maintaining an effective social media presence doesn’t need to be a labor-intensive time trap. When you know what your goals are and why, the “how” becomes simple. Here are my top 5 tips to creating social media success in 15 minutes a day:

1. What do you want from your social media presence? Many people in my classes say that they want to educate readers, build visibility and credibility, become known as “the expert”, etc. While this is great, isn’t your real purpose to gain new clients/customers and make more money? It’s important you recognize what you want your end result to be because if you don’t, you won’t position yourself in a way that helps you achieve your goals.

2. Who is your target market? Identify the top 5 clients or customers you would clone if you could. What similarities do they share? Why do you like working with them? What problems do they have? What solutions do you provide? How do they benefit?

3. Now that you know who your target market is, how do you find them? 

• First, look for groups of people who have the same background, interests, etc., as you do. If you graduated from a college, you should have received an inquiry when filling out your profile, asking if you would like to find and connect with anyone with the same info. Do it!
• What other organizaitons do you belong to? Toastmasters? BNI? Rotary? ABWA? Search for online groups and join.
• What organizations, groups, colleges, or industries does your target market(s) belong to? Identify at least one group in each category and join. I look at the number of members and how recent and how often there are group updates when determing which group to choose. I want to be in an “active” group. If you join a group and it’s not what you thought, just click on “leave group. It’s that easy!

4. Read the group discussions and comments. Get a feel for how the conversaitons flow, what seems to be acceptable, and make appropriate comments. The more you share helpful tips, ideas, etc., the sooner others will respect what you say. How can you help? This is about building credibility - it’s NOT PITCHING your product. However, you can share short stories of your clients or customers, what their problem was, the solution you provided, and the end result for them. We relate to stories. Stories sell.

5. Connect with all the people you know. It doesn’t matter how you know them: high school, previous employment, social activities, past clients/customers, etc. You are already at the visibility, credibility, or profitability stage with some of these people, so use social media to renew these friendships and associations. Connect with them, read what they post, and make appropriate and sincere comments.

Social networking isn’t about how many people you are connected to, it’s about how deep your connections with these people are. People do business with people they like, know, and trust. You CAN build meaningful relationships in 15 minutes a day when you show sincere interest in others and offer helpful tips, ideas, suggestions, and yes, products and services.

by Beth M. Anderson

While I was at the BNI International Conference last week I was fortunate enough to have breakfast with one of the best speakers I have ever had the privilege of meeting - Frank De Raffele. Among other things, Frank has a radio show each week that is syndicated in 10 markets across the country. If you don’t live in one of them, you can listen to it on the web.

I have known Frank for years, always select to hear him speak over anyone else at conference, and he is a speaker at our International Networking Week event in Florida in February 2009. I have some visibility of what Frank does for a living, and know that he does a radio show, but I’ve never actually passed him a referral.

After talking with Frank last week (that’s him in the picture!) I realized that I could help him and help the BNI members in my area by promoting his radio show. So here it is, www.eeradioshow.com. Each Monday Frank has great guests to help you learn more about networking. Dr. Misner, founder of BNI, has a spot each week, as well as 9 other business professionals teaching you everything from taxes to marketing. Go to his website, sign up to receive notifications on the show each week, and then check it out on the air or on the web next Monday and let me know what you think. Or let Frank know!

So what are you doing this week to help your referral partners in a proactive way? If you do a newsletter, can you have others write tips to include. How about on your website? Do you list the people you refer on your website? Do you have your members’ marketing materials in your office, your waiting room, on a sheet that you include with every invoice? There are dozens of ways to be proactive in helping your partners get more business.

Click the comment button below and let us know what you are doing to be proactive in finding referrals!