New Way of Using Social Media to Promote Seminars
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Oct 5, 2009
I’m slated to speak at the Thrive Super Conference on November 19, 2009 in Chicago. The organizer just sent an email to me to login to his promotional page at Ning.com. Now, I’ve used Ning to create a few of my own social network sites, but never to promote a seminar. It’s a great idea if you think about it. Here’s why:
1. You get to see the seminar is real – How many times have you just seen a sales page and wonder if it’s really going to happen? Wouldn’t it be nice to interact with the organizers and speakers to get a better comfort feeling that the seminar will actually occur before committing with your credit card? Of course.
2. You get to interact with the speakers – I know I said this in the previous paragraph. But, if the speakers are willing to dedicate some time of their day to answer questions and prove their willingness to be involved, I would figure there would be a much higher conversion rate of visitors to paying attendees. Doesn’t it just make sense that way?
3. Shows a hint of what you will see more of - People want to attend a seminar where they get to see what’s new. Using a “new” and current medium of interaction and promotion just encourages people that they will see and hear about more new things…and they will! It’s just not always so easy to convince them.
So, sure, I hope you will come say hi to me at the conference and you can claim your seat right here. But, go checkout Ning site that the organizers have setup for this conference and imagine how YOU might be able to use the site for one of your upcoming events.
3 Trends I’m Seeing
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Oct 5, 2009
Every couple of months I start to feel these sort of “hunches” about what’s happening on the Internet these days. So I do a little research and sure enough, trend tools verify my hunches. Here are three of those hunches:
1. More people are producing 1-way posts on social networks than actual discussions. “5 Ways to stop xyz…” and then a link to some blog post, is the commonality now. But, they’re also using post distributors now more than ever too like Ping.FM. I do the same, so I’m not going to claim good or bad, but I just think it’s interesting how the scope is changing.
2. More people are into DIY now. Everyone wants to do everything themselves from SEO to make your own solar panels. People are diversifying their skills at an alarming rate. Personally, I think this is a good thing as the economy tightens and wallets get lighter.
3. Putting two and two together, I’m also seeing more people interested in attending workshops and seminars again in hopes of learning how to do more themselves. This is great news to me personally, as I believe these get-togethers are just so essential to our growth as humans. And, for a while, no one was going anywhere it seemed.
So, just thought I’d point out those three trends I’m seeing and let me know if you’re spotting any new trends too.
Searching for Targeted Followers on Twitter
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Jul 23, 2009
Tonight I found an exciting tool called TweepSearch for intermediate Twitter users where you can search for a personal name of someone you want to follow, but more importantly, search for a keyword phrase….within the bio….of Twitter accounts. So far tonight, exactly 90 minutes after I began using this tool, I have followed almost 100 people in my target marketing and have been followed by about 30 of those. ‘Course, it is midnight right now, so I’ll bet I get more followers in the morning. But, here’s the important thing:
Sure, you can use all of these “cheat tweets” as I call them where you can get 100 followers a day or 19,990 followers a month, whatever dude. What’s really important to a business owner (like me and probably you) is that we get “targeted” followers rather than a bunch of competitors following us, for example.
TweepSearch does just that. Here, I’ll use an example. Here’s what it looks like:
One of my big targets is helping book authors with their Internet strategies. And, if they’re in Denver where I live, I should absolutely be interested in connecting. So, I went to TweepSearch.com and searched for “denver” and “author.”
8 pages of profiles popped up on screen at 20 per page. I could see the word “author” in their bio so I would scan their basic description and consider if each was a potential target for future business.
Here are 3 very crucial discoveries I made after that point.
1) I didn’t want to connect with just everyone with the word “author” in their bio. TweepSearch gives you enough of the bio where you can really tell who you want to follow and who you don’t. Like, someone who has no posts is a red flag to me. They don’t even want to participate on Twitter, so why connect with them?
2) Posts from the person I was newly following began appearing immediately on my Twitter account page, so I was prompt to respond. And, this action almost always resulted in a return follow. I could just sit there and watch my followers number go up! Interaction and replying to other peoples’ posts is so crucial!
3) Anyone I saw that had nearly no posts/contributions to Twitter, I bypassed as well. These are people who are glad to receive a follow but are only promoting whatever is in their profile page or bio. Twitter is supposed to be to meet people and be interactive with them. You and I don’t have time to waste on those that don’t understand the idea of getting to know people using social media.
TweepSearch.com is really a tool everyone on Twitter should be using. But, I’ve only heard about now by searching specifically for a tool to help me search for keywords with peoples Twitter “bios.” Twitter’s main search feature only searches post content. Real-time search engines like Collecta.com also only search through post content.
But, when you and I are trying to network for potential leads, we need to search for peoples’ bio info by keywords. Give it a whirl and let me know how it works for you.
Getting Leads and Sales with LinkedIn Without Even Trying
Posted by Marty Dickinson on May 1, 2009
LinkedIn has finally revealed to me how it can produce more leads and sales for a business and I did it without even trying. I started my LinkedIn profile in 2007 and setup my profile just like the pros. Got a bunch of connections and then just sort of left it be. I thought the whole purpose of LinkedIn was to just wait for connections to happen. Boy was I way off!
Since starting my LinkedIn profile, I’ve spent far more of my online social networking time with other systems like forums, Facebook, most recently Twitter. I’ve had leads, made sales, increased my opt-ins with every single one of those systems…but nothing from LinkedIn…until the last two weeks.
Here let me show you!
Today is Friday. On Wednesday night, I sat in my recliner for the second half of the Denver Nuggets once again destroying New Orleans in the basketball playoffs. During the last 10 minutes of the half-time report and commercials, I read questions people were making in groups I had signed up to be a member of (free member of course).
After the game was over I just sat in my chair for another 30 minutes joining another 3 groups and posting a few questions of my own and answering others.
The next moring, this is what my email box looked like:
#1 is a lead, someone asking me about what kind of Web site work my HereNextYear company does for clients. #2 is an opt-in to a subscriber list for my Ultimate Blog Setup Checklist site. #3 is a product sale where someone bought one of my e-manuals and #4 is an invitation to join someone’s linked in profile.
The rest of what you see in my email there are from comments made to the groups I belong to after I made comments to them. So, about 80% are people commenting about my comment.
What does all this mean?
It means the secret to using LinkedIn as a lead and sales generator is to participate. You need to do the following:
1) Create a profile in LinkeIn if you don’t have one already
2) Add links to your Web sites in your linkedIn profile so that when people do decide to find out more about you from your participation in groups that they will have a place to go
3) Click the “Groups” link from within your profile to search for groups where your target audience might be already members.
4) Join 10 or more groups if possible and choose some groups that have more than 5000 members. It’s okay to belong to some groups that have smaller membership numbers, but you need to be part of some larger groups just for sake of volume. For any group member that has the “email me every time a comment is made to this group” activated, when you make a comment, an announcement will go out to everyone on that group list. That’s what you see in my e-mail inbox image above besides the #1,2,3,4 is notices that comments have been made to the group I’m participating in.
5) Every time a notice DOES come in to your email, read the reply and engage in more conversation.
One conversation I was participating in is about LinkedIn spam. It was such a popular topic that there were 4 pages of comments within a week’s worth of discussion. I shared my opinion on the first page of the comments but then added more comments to make sure I had visibility on other pages too.
So, keep track of those discussions and participate frequently.
Should you ONLY participate in LinkedIn groups with the intent of getting sales or leads? YES is my opinion! That’s why we spend time on the Internet for social networking. But, the WAY in which you do it is important too. Don’t just be salesy about it. Simply make comments and share your opinions and expertise. When you write good responses, people will send you emails saying “Hey, great comment to that question and thanks for the help.” And, that’s when you know you’ve made a great first impression. Someday, a person like that could turn into a client, an opt-in, or even a recommender for your services.
And, that’ is the power of how LinkedIn can help you get leads and sales without even trying.
Join me on my new Linked-in Group where discussions are already underway for a variety of subjects related to how blogs interact with social networking. We’re calling it
The Social Blogger Group at Linked-in:
The Net Effect – How Your Blog, Social Networking and Websites Work Together
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Apr 30, 2009
Web sites used to be designed with the primary intent to push pages of content onto the public through search engines. But, when social networking began, the traditional Web site became more of a second, higher-level form of introduction. First people would meet each other on the social network and then your newly found friend would eventually click on something to get to your main Web site.
But, traditional Web sites still today are too slow to keep up with the traffic and conversations that result from the many forms of social networking available on the Internet. When someone becomes introduced to you on Twitter, Facebook or Linked-in types of sites, and THEN they visit your Web site, they are usually wanting to interact with you more.
If you don’t know how to use Dreamweaver or have given up trying to learn your high-end Joomla or Drupal install, it’s just not that motivating to offer to pay someone to make changes or additions to a Web site every day. This potential for interaction is gone unless they pick up the phone to call you or send an email to you.
I’d like to suggest that the importance of a blog has reached a whole new level. Your blog is now at the heart of your entire social traffic flow as shown in this diagram:
Whatever interaction you have on social sites eventually should flow to your blog where you can encourage further interaction. Then, once someone is ready to really look at the services you offer, they are directed to your main Web site.
Note too that the “Net Effect” of using your blog as the very heart of your social gathering place is your ability to add new content quickly and even automate it to be pushed right back to the very social networks you are already receiving traffic from.
Join me on my new Linked-in Group where discussions are already underway for a variety of subjects related to how blogs interact with social networking. We’re calling it
The Social Blogger Group at Linked-in:
I hope to see you on Linkedin soon!
Calculate Number of Characters – Great for Twitter, Google AdWords
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Apr 30, 2009
Here’s a nice little script for those lazy moments where we just don’t want to open up MS Word or Open Office to dump our sentences into a document just to calculate the number of characters.
Why Your Goal Should be to Get 2000 Followers on Twitter
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Apr 21, 2009
If you don’t already have 2000 people following you on Twitter, that should be your primary focus until you have exceeded the 2000 mark. Get there as fast as possible now so that you don’t have to worry about it later. Why is this so important?
- Size does matter – Many experienced Tweeters will automatically follow you once you follow them. They will checkout your profile later and likely unfollow you if you look like you’re just starting out with 100 or less followers.
- Twitter limitations – You can only follow more than 2000 people after you have more than 2000 people following you. Twitter does this to prevent people from abusing the system as it’s easy to just click the “follow” button over and over again in hopes people will follow you in return. Hey, we’ve all done it sometime in our Tweetlives.
- Proof of higher stature – One of the great uses of Twitter is to follow people you admire. But, if you follow someone with 50,000 followers, you probably won’t get much notice or attention when you have only 100 or 200 followers. Sure they’ll follow you, but that’s likely just an automatic setting and you will probably get unfollowed within a few weeks.
- Better results – If you Twitter for business, you can expect on average to get one or two people clicking on a link you might feature in any given Tweet. With 2000 followers, you will start to see higher clickthroughs ranging between 15 and 50 of your followers clicking on links per Tweet.
- Inspiration – When you get more results from your Tweets and find yourself meeting and conversing with high profile people in your industry as a result of Twitter, you will be inspired to participate more in Twitter. And, that’s what your 2000 or more followers will be expecting of you.
For almost everyone I’ve met or talked to about Twitter that has less than 500 followers, the entire process seems like such a waste of time for them. But, something changes when you get to 1000 followers. You begin to see Twitter in a different light; one that offers the true potential everyone is always talking about.
If you have less than 2000 Twitter followers, take the challenge right now to develop a plan for getting 2000 and more followers on Twitter.
How to Get 2000 or More Followers on Twitter
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Apr 21, 2009
I’m not quite there yet, but by the end of the month, I surely will have 2000+ followers on Twitter. It took me a while to learn how the big boys Tweet and I think I’ve got it now. There are a few tools to use, a few things to automate, and a few tricks to get you ahead that not a lot of people are talking about. But, I’m going to divulge the secrets right here for you for free in thanks to all the people who have helped me for free with my own Twitter journey.
Here’s the summary of steps you will need to get 2000 or more followers on Twitter, beyond just the basics of setting up an account and without tweeting day and night hoping people miraculously follow you by the hundreds, because it just doesn’t work that way:
Get a free account at TweetLater.com – Certainly one of the most essential Twitter tools available, here you will be able to add a setting to automatically follow anyone who follows you as well as create automated posts ahead of time. Here’s a screenshot to show how a post is added and scheduled for delivery to Twitter in 5 steps.
1) Add a new Tweet
2) Shorten any long urls you might be pointing people to
3) Publish right now or
4) Set a specific time and date by clicking on the calendar image
5) Include distribution of your Tweets in your rss reader
Tweet Later screen shot for adding a new Tweet automatically
Add a custom background (theme) to your Twitter profile – Every highly followed Tweeter I’ve come across has a custom background (also known as a theme) promoting their Web sites and products. Using default settings for Twitter backgrounds just looks like you’re not a seasoned Twitter user. Adding a custom theme increases Twitter followers all by itself by giving you the opportunity to show creativity while remaining professional
Plan for 3 sets of 5 Tweets minimum per day – You won’t have to do this forever. Remember, we’re just trying to get you to 2000 followers within a short amount of time. Use your TweetLater account to add scheduling Tweets so that you hit 3 different groups of people at different times throughout the day. I usually focus on the 8:30-10am, 2-4pm, and 8-10pm crowd.
You can post about several topics such as:
- Trade news
- Industry facts
- Links to tips and article pages (not on your Web site)
- Links to tips and article pages (on your Web site)
- Fun posts/attention grabbers
- Product reviews
- Web site reviews
- Questions.
Use IFollowBack.com – This free utility allows you to see profiles of Tweeters who agree to follow those who are willing to follow them. So, by simply going through one profile at a time, you can find people who you are interested in following or who might prove to be even potential customers for you. The prerequisite for being part of this rather secret program is that you have to be willing to follow others who choose to follow you.
Lots of people get hung up with this concept of “being followed.” I got an email once from a guy I followed and he literally said “Who are you and why did you choose to follow me?”
Geez! Pretty harsh ‘ay? Just goes to show that not everyone grasps what Twitter is really about. It’s about exposing yourself to a larger amount of people than you could ever meet for the same price FREE!
Use FriendOrFollow.com – This free tool allows you to see all the people you are following who are not following you. Sure, someone might follow you initially but they can “UNfollow” you anytime they want to. You will need to delete several unfollowers so that you have room to follow others while on your way to acquiring 2000 followers of your own (people following you).
I’ve been suggesting for a while now that using Twitter is a great way to get started on the Internet without spending a penny. If you use those five components together, you will be on your way to getting 2000 or more followers on Twitter.
Online Marketing Summit Comes to Denver June 4, 2009
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Apr 20, 2009
Really this is just a placeholder for myself so that I remember to sign-up for this but it would be great to see you there too! Come find me and say HI on June 4, 2009 in Denver at the Online Marketing Summit, touring 13 cities over the coming few months.
Web Marketing All-in-One Reference Guide for Dummies is In-Stock at Amazon
Posted by Marty Dickinson on Mar 12, 2009
My co-authored Web Marketing All-in-One Reference Guide for Dummies book is officially in-stock at Amazon. And, even though I haven’t seen the live version come in quite yet, it sure is exciting to know that it’s close to being in stores everywhere! Next week I will be interviewing my fellow co-authors about their book chapters and hope to get a few nuggets showcasing the most secret Internet strategy techniques.
Here’s a link to the book on Amazon for you to order right now!
As a SPECIAL LAUNCH BONUS, I’m offering 1 month access to my Level 2 membership program featuring the Internet Marketing Organizer tool. All you have to do is send a receipt to me by email at Marty@HereNextYear.com so that I have proof you’ve actually purchased the book and I will hook you up with a username and password to access Level 2. That’s a value of $141.00 and is my special gift to you for supporting our book project. [UPDATE: We now have more than $700 in bonuses available during our week-long book launch March 23-28, 2009!! Visit WebMarketingBook2009.com for details.]
