{SatyaColombo’s} Man on the Fly...

How did I do it?

Armed with this new knowledge I decided to take a different approach and move beyond my blog and create a social media footprint for my business.

Disclaimer: It’s very important to remember that there really is no right or wrong way to delve into social media promotion for a small business. You should feel confident in know that we are all learning. (Although, I hear that being a jerk does not provide very good results.)

My specific strategy might not work for you, but listed below is a good portion of the steps that I undertake to promote my small business online:

• FLICKR - post relevant, well tagged, pictures to FLICKR on a daily basis. That way when people are searching for a photo that is relevant to your niche, you will always be on top of the search results (if they sort by date). Sounds strange, but this part of my routine helped me to land a full page write-up on my business in the international publication, Islands magazine. Note: there are groups and all kinds of manner to get fully (socially) involved on FLICKR, but my plan did not include that much participation.
• YouTube - along with FLICKR, I started uploading videos to YouTube. Whether you make jewelry, are a plumber, or sell real estate you could start simply with a Flip camera and make some videos that show us how you ply your craft.
• Forum visits - I am fond of saying that no matter what business you are in, from pet grooming to selling shoes and beyond, there is most certainly a forum that covers your small business niche. Find them, be helpful and answer questions. For my own particular business, TripAdvisor is one of the most powerful sites out there, so I try to answer questions that are related to my destination. By being helpful, you can begin to gain the initial trust of those you hope will become your customers.
• Help a Reporter (HARO) - is an amazing, FREE email newsletter that comes out three times a day. It is broken down by category (e.g. business, health, lifestyle, technology, etc) and its purpose is to put reporters in touch with potential sources. Read: Free press.
• Twitter & Facebook - it’s hard to argue with the fact that Twitter and Facebook are revolutionary communication and social media tools. Some small business owners have remarkable results promoting their venture on these sites. At the moment I do NOT really use Twitter or Facebook for marketing my business. I primarily use Twitter for listening, learning, and engaging. So far it has proven to be an invaluable source for networking and hearing about potential opportunities for my business. Should you choose to use Twitter or Facebook for small business promotion, just be aware that you should really know someone well and be comfortable with them, before you start pushing your business. As I stated in a previous Twitip guest post, “It takes a long time to build up a loyal following and develop trust, but it only takes one Tweet to alienate every one of your followers.”

Well, that's the meat of it..

- to that i would add - Get your mission and your message down pat and damn clear, and get to understand your audience and market a bit more by doing the keyword and online research. If you want to know what i mean, read the SEO posts below....!

From blog network to social media agency

Peter Brady and his team at Orbital Media Network are responsible for four established blogs which cover luxury lifestyle lussorian.com, fashion Top Stylista.com, travel TripInspiration and project management ClaretyConsulting.com.

Brady says: “We started in 2003 with a a blog network, much in the vein of starting an online publishing house. In the last two years we’ve learned a lot and that’s why we set up a social media agency advising clients on social networking, blog management, online public relations and Search Engine Optimization, and we’ve grown that quite substantially.

It was the success of their blogs that enabled Brady to attract big-name clients to his social media agency. Orbital Media Network has the kind of client list most could only wish for, including Adidas, Pretty Polly, Island Records, Oxy Skin products and the Trinity newspaper group in the UK.

When was the last time you saw the use of THAT 3-letter word in a social media for business blogging headline... anyway, hopefully that one doesn't backfire ;)

read on at the wordtracker link... !

Remarkably, the most successful products and services tend to be either high in fidelity or high in convenience -- one or the other, but not both. In fact, products attempting to be both typically end up with a confused brand, like if McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) tried to do gourmet meals.

This impossible place of both fidelity and convenience is something I call the fidelity mirage. And Starbucks chased it big-time.

After a decade of stupendous success, Starbucks ran into trouble in 2007. Fewer people were coming into its stores. Profits sank. The stock dropped by nearly half through the year. In early 2008, Howard Schultz, who'd built the coffee chain into a global phenomenon, took back the CEO job he'd relinquished eight years before. Almost everything he said about what went wrong points to one simple explanation: Starbucks chased the fidelity mirage.

(yeah i wasn't so sure about that freeze-dried instant starbucks coffee idea, not sure they're going down yet though either ; )
CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE

I think this is a big idea, but your mileage may vary.

I've been having great success with a hybrid of the yellow legal pad and a printed presentation from Keynote (or Powerpoint). I use it during small meetings where more interactivity is useful, and where the group is too small for a laptop to be the best way to present slides (I think running a presentation says, "I talk, you listen...")

Here's how it works:

1. Create a presentation. A good one, not one filled with bullet points. Instead, graphs, images, a few words to anchor a discussion. A page might be nothing but a blank 3 x 3 grid.
2. On every page, remove some of the information.
3. Print the presentation out (horizontal, not portrait).
4. Bring it to Staples and have them spiral bind it with covers. (Not that cheap plastic comb, though.)
5. Get a good pen.

Now, when you make your presentation, sit next to the person you're meeting with and go through the booklet page by page, writing directly on each page. As you work your way through the ideas in the booklet, the two of you can talk about what's in front of you and mark it up.

It's not a brochure, it's the outcome of a working session. Leave it behind when you go.

This is a continuation of the Zig Ziglar Talking Pad article i posted yesterday...

This is brilliant, but i'd say it's reserved for world-class service providers, or sales peoples - whatever your niche.

It reminds me of the entrepreneur/web designer who now works for Sitepoint.com who won a ~$15,000 web design bid, against two other companies who bid about $5,000, by arranging an in-person meeting with the potential client where he presented a hardbound proposal and spoke with him about the prospective's golf club and his game (he had done his research, and he killed it).

This is 100% focused intention to succeed. I'd say you"ll win at least 2 out of 3 attempts if you use this kind of intelligent power focus. Don't be half-assed in your bids, your projects, or your business, or your prospects will be bored.

My little secret: just get excited about being the best person for the job, and your excitement will be contagious. Psyche yourself out. You're going to do whatever it takes to be that person. Even if it ends up costing you more money -- more time -- more resources, 'cause that's the kind of rockstar service provider (or sales flack) you ARE.