small business, social media marketing and life from the bottom up…

Writing blog posts for a small business niche site can certainly feel unglamorous. The posts don’t necessarily generate huge amounts of traffic or garner tons of comments.

However, the importance of this basic step, as part of your overall small business social media footprint, cannot be stressed enough.

Consistent posting can lead to improved Google rankings, increased authority in your niche topic, and most importantly, additional avenues to reach your potential customers.

As a “real life” example for you, I am going to outline my strategy and how I go about creating web content that promotes my venture while at the same time is:

• Helpful
• Non-spammy
• Trust building

Step 1: Before I write a word I determine what my goals are. For the purposes of this little tutorial, and my real life example over at Culebra Blog, my goals were to create a post that:

• Had a catchy title that might draw in readers.
• Included photos that would give people a sense of Culebra’s beaches.
• Incorporated keywords that had the potential to rank well in Google.

Step 2: With the above goals in mind, I referenced the Google Keyword Tool and did some queries to see what people were searching for with respect to the term, “Culebra.”

Step 3: From the info gathered with the KeyWord Tool I decided to do a post on Culebra’s beaches, which in and of itself is an okay title, but it doesn’t really have a catchy hook. So, I crafted the title - - 5 Culebra Beach Pictures that Will Make You Want a Vacation.

Step 4: Then it was time to find five really nice beach pictures with the Filckr search tool CompFight (h/t Seth Simonds).

Step 5: I downloaded the photos and sized them using Photoshop, and came up with an opening line for the blog post that would hopefully interest readers.

Step 6: One of the most important steps, I placed my business website at the bottom of the post, added some relevant keywords and hit publish.

*You can see the post here: 5 Culebra Beach Pictures that Will Make You Want a Vacation

Step 7: The next morning I Googled the phrase “Culebra Beach Pictures,” and like magic, I am on now the front page of 77,200 search results.

Not bad for a half-hours worth of work on a Friday evening!

Why do I call this post successful? Because all of the goals that I set out above were met.

As a final note, when it comes to your small business blog, it’s important to remember that you might not have a huge subscriber base like Seth Godin, Brian Clark, Chris Brogan, or Darren Rowse, but what matters most is that YOUR potential customers are able to find you.

What do you think? Do you have other tips or suggestions?

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Taking risks, accepting challenges, and pursuing big ideas can be intimidating.

But, what if you had the mindset that you could not fail and you did not allow yourself to fear the unknown?

What could you accomplish?

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Ah … yes, we all think that we are smarter than our dogs. Don’t we?

In fact, we are supposed to be the masters of our furry, four legged, K-9 creatures, but sometimes they do teach US a new trick or two.

While I was out walking my dog this morning I started to think, that perhaps, my dog can actually teach those of us who are working to develop a social media footprint for our small business some valuable lessons.

I have three dogs that are all rescues, but this post is specific to our (highly) mixed breed dog named ‘George’ and how his personality can help you (US) to discover how to “Do” social media.

Trick 1: Friendly and non judgmental - George doesn’t care who or what you are - - skinny, fat, orange, green, tall, short, a celebrity, etc - - to him, we are all the same. There is no better way to develop trust portals, grow your reputation, and build your small business social media footprint than being open and honest.

Trick 2: Consistent – George is here everyday. If you are attempting to develop your small business reputation in the social space, consistency is key.

Trick 3: Eager – When he knows he is going for a walk or a beach trip, George does an all over body wiggle out of pure excitement that is akin to someone who is being tasered. Now, I am not suggesting that you need that level of enthusiasm, but if you’re passionate and excited about what you are doing it’s going to resonate with your followers, friends, and fans.

Trick 4: Happy – We all have bad days, but very few brands and small businesses pull off sulky and desultory well.

Trick 5: Helpful – George has actually been known to carry a water bottle on a 10 mile run. Are you being helpful and obliging others before seeking assistance for yourself. No matter how big you get, always try to be helpful.

Trick 6: Smart – I don’t know George’s IQ, but I would venture to guess he is pretty smart (in dog terms :-)). Original, smart, and thought provoking ideas will help spread awareness of your small business.

Trick 7: Playful – George does not take himself too seriously and you shouldn’t either.

Trick 8: Loyal – Perhaps one of the most important tips that George can teach us about using social media for small business or brand awareness. If you have followers and fans who continually support your work, repay them by being loyal in return. (Remember karma?)

Trick 9: Persistent – George has been known to eat green coconuts with the focus of a brain surgeon. Never give up!

Trick 10: Your turn - - What would you add to this list?

(OK, you got me! Most of these are traits not tricks….but “Traits” just didn’t work in the title.)

If you liked this post, let’s connect on Twitter @mark_hayward. And you might also like:
Ideas for Social Media Types (from a Small Business Owner)
How to Use Big News Stories to Improve Small Business Search Engine Rankings
How I Use Social Media to Promote My Business

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Have you been working hard to promote your business and feel like you’re not having much luck? Most of you already know:

Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such as intercept encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, crazy PR stunts, and any unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. (source: wikipedia)

It seems to me that a lot of people are expending a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money attempting to create the next VIRAL whatever that’s going to help spread the word about their business.

However, before you attempt a guerrilla campaign, have a look at this promotional stunt that Jerry Seinfeld did for his Bee Movie a couple of years ago.

Absolutely nothing against Mr. Seinfeld, but this guerrilla marketing effort, which was supposed to create some buzz for his movie, went horribly wrong.

Instead of me wanting to go see the movie, I just thought that it looked like a ridiculous stunt done by a Cirque du Soleil performer on acid.

Unfortunately, the video does not include the interview Jerry did just prior to heading down the zip line. In all seriousness, when I saw him talking in that costume I actually felt sorry for the guy.

You had the feeling like you knew (that he knew) he looked ridiculous and I hope that he strongly reprimanded the publicist that thought this would be a way to gain viral attention for his (then) new flick.

As a small business owner, I know that we have to get “feet in the door” in order to survive. When it comes to customer service, marketing, social media, and promotion I am quite fond of trying to consistently do the basics well.

But what about you? How are you spending your time?

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The other day after my ProBlogger guest post, How to Go Beyond Your Small Business Blog and Create a Social Media Footprint, I received quite a few emails from people who were still confused as to where to begin and what the varying levels of social media activity are.

Well, Mr. Brogan and Mr. Smith were smart enough to coin the term and write the book, “Trust Agents” and I have always viewed my small business social media marketing activities at various sites as an act of creating ‘trust portals’.

Hence the phrase and post title – Hierarchy of Trust Portals for Small Business Social Media Marketing

First, for clarification:

Trust - firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing. (source: answers.com)

Portal - a specialized entry point to a specific market or industry niche, subject area, or interest. (source: wikipedia)

Your hierarchy might look a little different or a lot different depending on the sites that you concentrate on for your small business social media marketing.

When I began, my business started off with NO web presence and I first moved into level two with a minimal engagement strategy where I was just posting photos and videos online, drafting a few press releases and responding to some HARO queries.

As I began to understand social media a little better I moved up in my hierarchy. Subsequently my levels of engagement increased and the most positive outcome was that my opportunity to build trust also increased.

The general hope if you’re just getting started is - - if you interact in the first three levels appropriately, and act as genuine member of a community who is truly trying to listen and help, then potential customers might move on to level four where they invest a little more emotional capital and check out your website and small business blog. All of which could lead to increased sales and referrals.

Here’s the thing: As a final note, I feel it’s important to mention that with every new interaction online the hierarchy begins all over again until trust has been established. It takes a lot of work!!

This diagram is in very rough format and I would truly appreciate your constructive criticism, thoughts and feedback.

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If you have been struggling a little bit with your small business social media efforts lately, I am guest posting over on ProBlogger today on a topic that you might find helpful.

“How to Go Beyond Your Small Business Blog and Create a Social Media Footprint”

If you answer yes to the questions below you should go have a read:

1. Do you have a polished website for your small business and even a professional blog where you publish posts a couple of times per week?
2. Are you a bit frustrated because based on your initially optimistic website and blog marketing expectations, for some reason, the customers just aren’t coming?

What is a Social Media Footprint?

Don’t get me wrong, having an optimized website and small business blog is a fantastic start, but it is not enough.

Creating a social media footprint is the process of getting the name of your business and brand recognized on the Internet at various sites where your niche customers are likely to find you.

The ultimate goal is to establish the online identity of your small business and to proactively manage your reputation.

You can read the rest of  the post, “How to Go Beyond Your Small Business Blog and Create a Social Media Footprint,” over on ProBlogger now.

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If you are looking for further reading, here a couple more guest posts that I’ve done recently:

Twitip - 20 Must Read Beginner Twitter Tips for Small Business Owners

WorkShifting - Ten Critical Points to Consider Before Workshifting Internationally

Small Biz Survival - Five Amazing Sites to Help You Figure Out Small Biz Social Media

As always, if you need assistance with anything or find yourself struggling with your small business social media campaign, please feel free to email me or get in touch on Twitter @mark_hayward.

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What is the power of social media? And why do so many people evangelize its effectiveness as a tool for making connections and promoting small businesses?

The other day after a late afternoon run, where I had been thinking how cool it would be to meet other social media users from Puerto Rico, I sent out the following Tweet:

And within less than two days of that simple Twitter message, the collaborative effort for organizing and making PodCamp Puerto Rico a reality, has been nothing short of amazing. (Sincere hat tip to Christopher S. Penn & Chris Brogan for starting this initiative.)

At present we have:

• A PodCampPR Wiki to work on organizing the event.

• A domain podcampPR.org has been registered and hopefully a simple site will be up by the end of the week.

• Locations are being scouted.

• Tentative dates (in November) are being suggested.

• A Twitter hashtag has been created #podcampPR.

• Discussions about goals, presentations, graphics, sound and other details are taking place.

NONE of this would have happened without social media, specifically, Twitter! Also, a huge *thank you* needs to be given to everyone who has provided assistance or offered their input thus far. (Please note: if you have assisted and do not see your name/link below you were NOT left off on purpose. I tried to get everyone in the roundup. If you’re not there LET me know.)

Gabriel Pagan
Lucilla Feliciano
Ezequiel Rodríguez Andino
Hector Ramos
Albizu Garcia
Jesus Hoyos
Edgardo E. Jiménez
Joel Villarini
Alesandro Ortiz
José Hernández Falcón
Rafy Mediavilla
Toky Cruz

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Have you been meaning to use the social web to help promote your business, but have been holding back because you did not know where to start?

Today, you have NO more excuses.

The other day I did a guest post over on Twitip, 20 Must Read Beginner Twitter Tips for Small Business Owners, which had over 700 ReTweets. (Not meant as backslapping just seems to intimate that there’s a need for this kind of information!)

That post came about came about because a friend of mine, who is also a small business owner, was hesitant and did not know how to start using Twitter.

Today I thought that I would build upon the Twitip post and broaden the scope to include more of the social web. Here are my suggestions for you as you work to build your social media footprint:

1. Register for Help A Reporter Out (HARO), read through the notices, and reply to all inquiries that are related to your business.
2. Connect with, or promote, at least five people in your field on Twitter.
3. Find the most visited forum that covers your industry and leave a non spammy comment or post as you work to begin to gain the trust of your potential customers.
4. Upload 20 well-tagged pictures to FLICKR that show us how you ply your craft.
5. Start a “Customer of the Day” photo section on your website or blog and provide a story to go along with the picture.
6. Setup Twitter Search and Google Alert to see who is talking about you or your industry.
7. Create a blog and with your very first post teach us something.
8. Make a fan page for your business on Facebook and encourage your customers to drop by.
9. Have a look at your ‘About’ page and rewrite the whole thing.
10. Write a useful and amazing guest post and submit it to a very large blog. (Note: If I can get published on ProBlogger, Zen Habits, and Chris Brogan then YOU most certainly can.)
11. Think creatively about your website’s search engine rankings (and SEO) and find new ways to rank better in Google. (Here’s one example of what I did last week!)
12. Define who your customers are, fire your customers who don’t fit, and then let us know what you offer and who your ideal customer is via a detailed FAQ’s page.
13. Shoot an interesting video that’s somehow related to your business and your brand’s story and then post it to YouTube.
14. Do a Twitter or FaceBook only promotion.
15. Depending on your business, study sites like Epinions, Yelp, Citysearch, Yahoo! Local, TripAdvisor,  and OpenTable. Thank those who are singing your praises and respond to your critics in a professional manner. But, most importantly, try to find the kernels of truth from those who criticize.

I am sure you know that social media is not rocket science. Sometimes the hardest part is just taking action and getting started. The keys are to listen, learn, engage, and be helpful. (Once you’ve started, consistency counts!)

As a final note, you should realize that if you don’t begin to manage your business’s online reputation today, sooner or later someone else will.

Over to you. What do you think? Do you have more suggestions?

image source: Matt Hamm

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I was out running this afternoon and began thinking about all of the intelligent people from Puerto Rico and the Caribbean that I see in my Twitter stream on a daily basis…and thought, “Wouldn’t if be great if we could get together and learn from each other?”

Earlier this evening I sent out a Tweet just to gauge interest and to see if people might want to meet up and do a PodCamp for Puerto Rico and the greater Caribbean.

This post is meant to serve as an initial sounding board and we can move it to a more official location if this PodCamp idea gains some traction.

First, here are some questions for all of us:

• What date would you like to hold the meet up? (I would prefer after hurricane season and before Christmas. Perhaps, the first week of November?)

• What topics would you like covered?

• Are you interested in speaking?

• Do you know of a location (with VTC technology) where we can hold it?

That is all I can think of for now. PLEASE leave your feedback and ideas below! If need be you can always get me on Twitter @mark_hayward or email me direct mark_w_hayward AT yahoo.com.

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