A recent article in Forbes magazine cautions job seekers to think twice before they publish a photo to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and blogging sites.  Employers are (and have been) using social media sites and services that scour the sites to screen potential job candidates.  This means if you are applying for a teaching position (for example) and just threw up 22 new photos of you doing a fire dance while shooting tequila shots wearing a skimpy outfit, you may be in trouble.

A company named Social Intelligence just got the green light from the FTC to essentially mine and serve up data that it collects for up to seven years. Employers can purchase a report on a potential job candidate and get the bottom line on who they are based on their activity / behavior on social media sites.  So, even if you delete that photo before you interview for the job, odds are, someone grabbed it and stored it.  It’s very important and sobering to remember this: Google Never Forgets, nor does Social Intelligence (except after 7 years), etc..

Here are a few tips on keeping your online image squeeky clean:

* Think twice before you upload any photo.  Ask yourself if it would be appropriate to a potential employer, or if it is appropriate based on your current job.

* Think twice before you post a snide or potentially offensive comment or perspective on a trending news topic.

* Think twice before you align yourself on social networks with controversial figures with radical beliefs or perspectives.

* Think twice before you broadcast your crazy shenanigans and how many beers you shotgunned last evening.

* Think twice before you bad mouth your boss, co-workers, HR folks, etc.. Existing employers also keep their eye on your social media activity.

To learn more about what type of information is available about you online, be sure to check out this article from Forbes.

I was going through my 23,321 emails this morning and noting all of my new Twitter followers.  I clicked on one out of sheer curiosity simply because he had the term SEO (search engine optimization) in his ‘screen name’. The guy had over 3,000 twitter followers and has only had the twitter account for less than a month.  He has tweeted a grand total of 11 times.  Out of even deeper curiosity, I clicked his followers list to see who was following him: Nearly every one of his twitter followers was a multi level marketer, a realtor, or a spammer of some other sort. So, congrats to him for building such a following, he now has 3,000+ spammers following his every move with permission granted to leave spam all over his Twitter profile. Needless to say, I won’t be following him back.

When it comes to social media and branding your company online, pay attention to who you are following: follow leaders in your industry, follow pioneers and inventors, follow your successful clients and prospects, follow the people who matter. The more targeted people you follow and engage, the more targeted people you will get to follow you back enabling you to converse with them and build a mutually beneficial online and possibly offline relationship.

Found this great QUICK video from Seth Godin this morning and it really hit home.  When it comes to social media networking or even off-line networking, simply handing out business cards and collecting followers on Twitter, Facebook etc. is pointless if you aren’t contributing….

It is truly amazing how far along communication technology has come in terms of spreading news and / or information to a large audience in a rapid manner. Social media tools such as Twitter have actually become a source of NEWS for Internet users. I remember vividly that I heard about Michael Jackson’s death on Twitter & Facebook, not by listening to the news, or tuning into my local TV affiliate or picking up the newspaper.

On top of being a great news distribution tool, Twitter is also a marketer’s dream: marketers can test market products, gauge interest, poll specific people who have mentioned VERY specific things in their musings and have PERMISSION to speak to them at will. A great example of social media marketing and building a buzz is the Apple IPad.  Apple, as usual, has built an amazing buzz around it’s product and gotten the entire Twitter universe to talk about it. As a result, when it becomes officially available on April 3rd, there WILL be lines of people camped out in front of the trendy Apple stores dying to get their hands on one.

One of the main questions people ask me is just HOW Twitter can help their business, and specifically, THEIR type of business.  My answer is always this: Branding. By gaining a following of targeted individuals and building a Tribe, you become their leader, you become the voice they listen to, the expert, the authority, the big cheese.  You can rapidly deploy information using 140 characters or less, you can rapidly build a buzz about a new product launch, you can quickly address customer service issues and be the transparent hero of a company that we are all seeking.

So, is it time that your business puts the telegram and telegraph away? Communication truly does move at the speed of light now, so who is spreading the good word about your company to the right audience at the right time?

For a strong social media strategy and presence, give me a call: 407-830-4550.

There has been a lot of talk lately about social media and the potential negative impact it can have on business.  The blogosphere has been speculating on how much time social media costs companies, worrying about privacy issues, secret secret company data being disseminated all over the net and IT concerns about hacks etc., through many social media online venues. In my last blog I addressed some social media pros for your business, in this blog, Im going to play negative nelly and discuss some cons for businesses and social media:

Employees Spend more time on Facebook tending to their mafia wars and sorority sisters then they do actual work.
This is becoming a huge concern, HOWEVER, I witnessed a lady sitting at a desk today for about 1.5 hours playing an intense game of solitaire on her PC while she didn’t think anyone was watching….. Social media can indeed be a time waster and burn through company money quicker than crap through a goose, BUT, as I mentioned in my earlier post, harnessing the power of your employees online activities by branding your company and being social with your actual customers could save you thousands in other areas.

IT Concerns with Hackers & Social Media Sites.
I spoke at a tradeshow last week and a gentleman stood up and asked how to combat hackers via Facebook etc., because his IT guy read an article in GeekWeekly stating that if you click links from people you don’t know in Facebook, they can gain control of your whole network and ruin your day…. Newsflash here: Clicking any link from a stranger is a risk, whether it’s on Google, Twitter, Sesame Street, etc. Granted, social media outlets have some tightening up to do, but, as long as there are hackers, there will be exploits everywhere. Best protection here: Use Common Sense. Don’t be a clicker.

My Employees Might Say Mean Stuff About Me.
Yup, that’s inevitable. There truly is ONE in every crowd, and in many instances, plenty more than one.  As long as your employees have Internet access, whether it’s via their work issued PC or their Smart Phone that can launch the Space Shuttle, they will be online saying stuff. How you deal with that ‘stuff’ is mission critical. How you deal with your employees and lay down the lay with a social media policy is mission critical. But, here’s the harsh cold reality: If you fire them for saying mean things about you online, they will immediately leave your office and continue to say mean things about you. If people have an axe to grind they will.

Everything is a risk. Running a web site is a risk, eating that Chinese food from that joint that’s close to the humane society is a risk, marketing your company to the masses is truly a risk, taking risks that are calculated and planned is just smart business.

Not sure if social media is right for your business? Give me a call to discuss. I also offer in business seminars and presentations on using social media effectively and with purpose.  Call me at 407-830-4550 in Orlando or toll free: 866-998-6886. Be sure to visit my web site to learn more about social media: http://www.ontargetwebsolutions.com

I’ve been fortunate to speak at several local tradeshows / seminars about Social Media lately, and one of the most common questions I get from businesses during my presentation is “How do I keep my company safe with Social Media?”

This is a VERY legitimate question as companies are starting to block access internally to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter due to hacking attempts and mostly, due to employee inefficiency.  A gentleman made a crack during my last presentation that he FIRES each employee he catches online. So, employers, business owners are seeing social media as a colossal waste of time as opposed to an opportunity to grow their corporate brand online: here’s a few opportunities I see that could be a positive to implementing a social media campaign for your business and could quite possibly save you money and improve efficiency.

1.) Expand customer service.
What if each one of your customer service team knew how to use Twitter to monitor issues / questions regarding your brand / products or services? Addressing customer service needs promptly online as opposed to answering phone calls all day could dramatically improve overall efficiency and leave the client / prospect feeling like they were special. You are being proactive by GOING directly to the problem and addressing it rapidly.

2.) Expand Your Marketing Message.
What if each one of your marketing team members could rapidly deploy NEW product announcements to a very targeted audience, OR test market a particular product rapidly to a very targeted demographic? Twitter and / or Facebook can be good tools to rapidly get a pulse on potential buyers. Twitter and Facebook can be a great tool to build a buzz about an upcoming product launch or tradeshow, etc.

3.) Spread Your Corporate News Rapidly.
What if your public relations team could get your press releases disseminated rapidly and into the hands that matter using Twitter, online press release services, facebook, etc.  Believe it or not, people get their news quicker from Twitter then they do on CNN.com.

I think business owners need to realize that if your employees aren’t on social media at work, they are on social media at home.  They will talk about work, they will talk about the company: why not harness that power and grow an army out of your staff to grow your online presence and improve your presence online?

There are of course many dangers lurking with social media and corporate usage, I’ll address those in my next post.

I was invited again to represent On Target Web Solutions and discuss Social Media, this time I was asked to discuss Social Media and privacy.

How do I get invited to speak on National TV? Google organic rankings.  The Daily buzz found me in a Google search and has asked me back several times to discuss Internet marketing and social media.   How can you gain national exposure and be the expert in your field? Give me a call today: toll free: 866-998-6886 or in Orlando: 407-830-4550: Be sure to visit my web site and learn more about all of our web design and Internet Marketing services: http://www.ontargetwebsolutions.com.

I met with a great company last week who is trying to re-launch their company after an ugly ‘custody’ battle of ownership. During this battle, the company was beat up, customers were lied to, the brand message became as clear as mud and their market share dropped drastically: essentially, NOW more than ever, they need a social media campaign to recapture what they once had.

During the course of the spirited meeting I kept hearing the same thing over and over from one marketing rep: “We are already blogging. We are already using facebook, We have three hundred fans on Facebook, we made a viral video already…” It kept bothering me. I saw the video, it will never be ‘viral’, I’ve seen the messages they are putting out on Facebook, nothing remarkable about that, I checked out their Twitter page to see they were only talking to themselves, etc.

Before you let any of your employees get social online, consider the following 5 ways to screw up a social media campaign:

1.) Don’t have a clear message or goal.
If your company is just tweeting to tweet or blogging because your SEO guy insists on it, your social media campaign will NOT yield fruit.

2.) Being Mechanical.
If your idea of a successful social media campaign is tweeting twice a day or posting on Facebook 3 or cranking out 4 blogs a week, your social media campaign will not succeed. To truly engage in social media, you must be fluid, you must be you, you must be engaged.

3.) Let the Interns do it.
Sure, they are young, they use facebook, they have to know how to do this stuff and they are cheap labor.  There is a huge difference between posting on your facebook wall what you had for breakfast and how many Baileys Irish Cream shots you had the night before to communicating and engaging with customers with a big picture goal in mind.

4.) Create a ‘Viral’ Video.
This one kills me. Your company has decided to create a viral video. The owner thinks it’s hilarious. The janitor even had a hoot helping out. Your whole office was involved and ‘get’s’ it. The truth is this: You made the video because YOU thought it was funny. Your intended audience doesn’t get your internal reality. Stuff becomes or goes viral because your audience Get’s it and LOVES it and HAS to share it with their friends.

5.) Sir SpamALot.
Your audience, customers, followers, prospects don’t want to be spammed. They don’t want special offers every three minutes, they don’t want your latest fliers stuffed in their face, they don’t want to be sold to. The purpose of social media is to ENGAGE, to talk, to encourage healthy dialogue. If you are constantly trying to sell, you WILL lose followers. I always encourage clients to put themselves in the shoes of their clients and / or prospects and ask themselves, ‘Will this annoy me over time?’.

Need some help? Call me. Nationwide: 866-998-5 6886 or in Orlando: 407-830-4550. You can of course also visit my web site to learn more about my company: http://www.ontargetwebsolutions.com

A friend forwarded this video to me this morning: I think it says it all about the fundamental shift in the way that we communicate in both life and in business: Social media is truly here to stay, businesses that don’t embrace this revolution may not be here for long:

Be careful what you post on your Facebook or Twitter wall….

Consider Bob.  Bob is in debt up to his eyeballs.  He owes everyone and their brother money, he owes the credit card companies, he owes his credit union, he owes his mortgage company, heck he even owes Cousin Ralphie for that thing with the guy and the rabbit AND he keeps asking his boss for a big fat raise. Bob loves the finer things in life…. Lavish dinners, the latest Apple Products, a nice cigar now and again, weekend getaways, fine wines and whiskey. Bob also loves bragging about all of his purchases on his facebook wall:

Example:
“Bob Smith just spent the night at the Gaylord Palms, ate dinner at the Ritz Carlton, visited Disney, drank a pint of Johnnie Walker Red, smoked a case of Cubans, went to the clubs, tipped the doorman a few bills, bought Trixie a new diamond necklace, and visited the Apple store to pick up a new AppleTV and wants his Boss to know that I think he is a doofus.”

What Bob doesn’t know is that everyone of those bill collectors are paying attention.  They read Bob’s Facebook posts. They are annoyed that Bob hasn’t ponied up or taken any of their harassing phone calls. Even more fun, Bob’s boss is a friend of Bob on facebook and sees all of his posts, so while Bob is whining for a raise, Bob’s boss can see why. Bob’s bill collectors and Bob’s boss are building quite a case against Bob and could use it against him to collect debt or even fire Bob. Bob could be in trouble.

When you post your compelling wall updates on Twitter and / or Facebook please note the following: People are watching, listening, paying attention, taking screen shots and will use it ALL against you.  A bit of common sense goes a long way, a bit of self control can help you keep your job, can help you not irritate your bill collectors, could help you not instigate cousin Ralphie.  Just remember to use discretion and be aware that people are watching.

Be sure to catch me tomorrow, January 28, 2010 on The Daily Buzz (Nationwide) at 6:15 as I discuss social media with Mitch English and the dangers of inappropriate self disclosure!

When I first started with Twitter, I didn’t have a clue.  I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Sure, I watched the cheesy Twitter video explaining stuff, I google searched, I read other’s wisdomful nuggets, but I’ll admit, the Internet Marketing guy didn’t have a clue. In fact, one of my own clients (A Life Coach) pointed out to me after I was posting tweets to no one that I was speaking to absolutely NO ONE. I’ve come a long way, but still have  much to learn. I think Social media can be a great tool, I think social media can help strengthen and reinforce a brand, I think social media can help us enhance customer service initiatives, etc. Here’s the biggest lesson I learned:

BE SOCIAL.

It seems so elementary, but people need people. The second you start making everything about you and your company, you’re doing it wrong.  Use social media to share your wisdom with your tribe, use social media to reinforce your brand, use social media to constantly improve your company and your level of customer service.  Social media is about talking and listening, it’s about contributing and building, it’s about transparency and being human.  The second you start using social media to SELL, SELL, SELL, you’re done.  People leave you, they move on to another tribe to learn and grow. Game over.

Need some help getting your social media campaign up and running? Give me a call: 407-830-4550.

Does your pizza suck?

Pizza Hut has listened to their social media followers. They have listened, they have adjusted and they have cranked out this powerful video admitting their faults. Wouldn’t it be great if we all embraced this? Open, honest and sincere.

Learn more about how social media can help transform your business today.  Call me at 866-998-6886 or in Orlando, call 407-830-4550. On Target Web Solutions: THE Internet Marketing experts. Visit our web site here to learn more about web design, Internet marketing & social media.

One of my major concerns with Social networking  / media sites lately is the tremendous amount of spam that is being generated.  Now that Google and other search engines have begun to index tweets to instantly update searchers, I worry about the integrity of results being pulled in from Twitter, etc.  Mind you, spam has and always will be an issue whether it’s walking spam (door to door salesmen), Fax Spam: Unsolicited faxes, phone spam, email spam, etc., so I’m not suggesting that spam will ever go away, and, unfortunately, it will be a part of social media as well. Twitter does remove posts and does suspend accounts for abuse, but as more and more businesses jump on the social media bandwagon, twitter spam will be here to stay.

So, what can you do to prevent twitter spam on your account?

Be careful who you follow.
I personally try and steer clear of the following characters, Multi Level Marketers, anyone who uses the word GURU, life coaches and real estate agents.  I’m not picking on those entire industries, but I can tell you from experience, they tend to post wothless solicitations OVER AND OVER AND OVER.  Do your homework before you follow someone, see who they are associating themselves with, and remember, you can always delete them from your account at the first site of a a new home listing from Realtor Joe, or a post on how you can make billions tomorrow by following three easy steps.

Don’t Be That Guy / Girl.
Automating Twitter posts if fine and a great time saver, however, posting the same message over and over in hopes that your message will saturate the market will defeat the entire purpose of being ‘social’.  Also, while it’s important to always be closing, if every one of your tweets is a solicitation, you’re doing it wrong.  Twitter is about engaging and being ‘social’, not listing every one of your recent real estate listings in North Dakota.

How can you be a responsible Tweeter?

Be Social.  Social media / networking is a two way street.  As a business, use twitter to boost your customer service,  use your twitter account to help people assemble your products, use twitter to poll your customers on product improvements, etc.

Be a giver.  Many companies are gun-shy to give stuff away these days, but rest assured, if they can’t find it on your web site, they will find it on your competitors site.  People are hungry for information, they will find it online, use your twitter account to help them find the information on your web site before they find it elsewhere.

Be Consistent. One of the biggest mistakes companies make using social media is that they give up.  They are gun ho in the beginning and then fizzle out once they don’t get instant results.  If you stop tweeting, you become less relevant.  The less relevant you become, the more relevant your competition becomes. Once you start, know that a commitment is warranted to make your social media efforts succeed and grow.

Stay Relevant. Stay on top of changing times.  The whole beauty of social media is it’s ability to disseminate information rapidly and efficiently.  Spread company news, share information about upcoming product releases, comment on industry news RELEVANT to your market.

Be Transparent. The truth shall set you free: If you think for a second that people won’t discover indiscretions about your company on the Internet, think again.  Be who you are, admit to mistakes, be a human being.

The Bottom Line: If your business does not have a solid social media plan for 2010, we need to talk. Social media is not the COMPLETE answer to your marketing needs, rather, it is a method to help build brand awareness for your business.  Social media is but one tool of an Internet marketing campaign arsenal. Call me today at 407-830-4550 to discuss your Internet marketing needs.

In my last two blog articles, I discussed getting your organization / business ready for a social media campaign.  I promised to then share my favorite social media tools / resources that will help your overall efficiency.

Social Media Books:
I don’t believe everything I read, but I can tell you, these books are valuable and have helped pave the way for many successful social media campaigns:

1.) Tribes.  Tribes by Seth Godin helps us realize the leadership role that we need to take through a social media campaign.  A quick read, down to earth, and loaded with wisdom.

2.) Groundswell: Winning In A World Transformed By Social Technology. By Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff.  The Groundswell teaches us via actual studies how to best harness the power of social media based on our organization / business type and goals.

3.) TwitterPower: How To Dominate Your Market One Tweet At A Time. By Joel Comm.  A great hands on technical book for using Twitter to help further your brand.  Some great do’s and dont’s and strategy pointers.

Software / Applications.
Social Media can be time consuming.  Finding ways to become more efficient at running a social media campaign is mission critical to any business…. Here are three (and there are a billion more) of my favorite social media software / applications.

1.) Hootsuite.  Let’s face it. You’re busy.  Social media can wear you out by having to login to all of the various venues.  Hootsuite simplifies your life and social media campaign by interfacing with each venue (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc.) to share your messages.  Free to use, easy and robust.  The team at HootSuite continues to improve and have recently launched an IPhone app.

2.) WordPress Blogs.  Yes, a blog is social media.  A blog enables you to communicate and engage your audience, the major difference? There is no character limit on a blog.  WordPress happens to be my favorite blogging software simply because I use it every day and know my way around it.  Once you have a blog setup on your domain name, you can get several open source applications which will notify your twitter account of recent blogs, update your LinkedIn.com account and update your facebook.  I’m a huge fan.

3.) TweetDeck.com. Tweet Deck is a program that allows you to stay on top of your Twitter account directly on your PC or Mac.  The software installs easily and allows you to set alerts, alarms, etc. to enhance your Twitter campaign.  I especially love the real time search feature as it less clumsy to use than the actual Twitter search.  This is a great tool if you are just getting started and need to build up your tribe.

If you are aware of any other great social media tools or books, I’d love to hear about them.  Social Media is evolving and ever changing, but, the fact of the matter is this: it will be around for a while.  It may not always take on the look of Facebook or Twitter, but engaging people and interacting with them at the speed of light will not be going away any time soon.

Hope you enjoyed the series and be sure to follow me on Twitter.  Twitter.com/ontarget

Google is finally adding real time search to it’s search arsenal.  What does this mean to you? It means it’s a good time to start utilizing social media to put your targeted message out in front of the Google search results.  Google will be pulling in live feeds from various social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter & YouTube AS they are happen and placing them within the search results. This is similar to a feature that MSN’s Bing already offers, but obviously, Google has a much larger market share.

Is your business new to Social media? Are you considering a social media campaign? I’ll spend my next few blogs offering some pointers on how to get your business ready for a social media campaign.  Feel free to offer any pointers or suggestions along the way if you’ve been there before.

Social Media Pointer #1 Know Your Story.

A strong foundation supports buildings. A strong story can help support your marketing campaigns.  Take the time to meet with your staff, owners, marketing team, etc. and begin the story on paper.  Who is your company? Are you generous? Are you rock solid? What is the image that you wish to portray? Does that image match the message that you have been sending out prior to this campaign or are you changing? The point is this…. You and your entire company need to know your business story and live that story daily.  Our inside reality carries into every business communication that we ever have, including emails, phone calls, faxes, brochures, web sites, etc.  It is critical to have your team and staff well versed in your story.  Your story will become the cornerstone of your social media campaign and your corporate online persona.

Suggestion:

Hold a staff luncheon and ask each key member of your staff to offer their thoughts on who your company is: use the 5 basics of journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why to help prompt them. Once you’ve heard your team, take notes, reconvene and note the differences, similarities.  This exercise can help you fine tune and shape your story with the help of your team.  It will also help prepare you to address weaknesses and provide a possible solution for those weaknesses. Remember: if your company engages in a social media campaign, transparency is a huge component.  If your story is telling one thing but your past tells a vastly different story, people will find out and potentially tarnish everything you have worked for both online and offline.  In other words, don’t be something you aren’t, Google never forgets.

In my next blog, I’ll discuss a critical social media component, Who should you be following and more importantly, NOT following.

To learn more about Google Real Time Search, read this article from Wired. Google Real Time Search.

So, your company wants a social media presence? Creating and maintaining a social media presence can be quite time consuming, so who in the office should take care of it? The new guy Bob? Bob seems to know what’s up, you’ve heard him around the water cooler talking about Ashton Kutcher and his zany twitter tweets, he seems like a hip and happening kind of guy right? Or maybe Cindy, Cindy the intern just finished up her very first class of marketing at the local university, she HAS to be qualified right, heck, she’s bubbly and knows how to use Google? Maybe Cindy should be in charge of creating a corporate presence and engaging prospects and clients around the Internet social media world….. Maybe not. Here’s why:

I’m sure Bob and Cindy are great folks both with sparkling personalities… But Bob is the New guy.  Cindy is an intern.  Will they be involved in your company six months from now? 9 months? If you can’t answer that question with confidence, Bob and Cindy should NOT be running your social media initiatives. Let’s say that God forbid, we find out that Bob is robbing the company blind or that Cindy the intern is leaving to take a paid job at your competitor tomorrow. Now what? Whose master account was the corporate facebook account started under? Are either Cindy or Bob going to give up their own personal facebook account? What is the password to the twitter account and whose email address is it registered under? So, now you are left with a disgruntled Bob because you fired him and sweet Cindy who is now working for your competitor and knows all of your social media secrets…. Imagine how much damage Bob and Cindy can do with the keys to the kingdom.

Be certain that your social media accounts are managed by a key person in your organization, preferably an owner or share holder: you also want to make certain that any staff member who has access to the social media accounts has signed an agreement and adheres to your corporate communication policies and plans.  Thinking all of this through in the beginning can save you and your organization / company a tremendous amount of potential grief down the road.

Need some help with your social media / Internet marketing plan? Give me a call today: 866-998-6886 or visit our web site to learn more about social media and Internet marketing.

Google just recently announced it’s experimental Google Social Search….. Basically, it allows you to search within known connections (on various social media venues) to see what your friends / connections are saying.  Things are evolving rapidly in search and search engines are gravitating towards feeding you live, fast and timely results from your peers, your friends, your prospects and your competition.

Check out this video from the Google social search team to learn more.

Need some guidance with social media and search engines?  Call me today: my social media and seo team are here to help your company build a solid Internet Marketing plan.  Call 866-998-6886 or visit my web site for more information.

A while back I discussed an encounter I had with one of my Facebook ‘friends’ whose account was compromised: long story short, someone hacked her account and started using the Facebook chat to ask her ‘friends’ for money to help get ‘her’ out of a pinch in Europe.  I quickly caught on that it was not my actual friend, but a cyber crook seeking to steal money.

The more and more popular that social media becomes, the more that crooks find creative ways to exploit it.  Here are some tips to help safe-gaurd your Facebook account:

1.) Don’t be so quick to sign up for the plugin that your friend just installed.  Often-times, crooks are lurking on the other end of those applications.  Example, IQ Test, Poll, What did I look like in high school, etc.  By clicking on these applications, cyber dorks can get access to your account and compromise your stuff.

2.) If you get a friend request in your inbox from someone you may not now, or from someone asking to share pictures with you, DON’T Click the link.  Rather, login to your facebook account via a browser and check your facebook inbox to see if it was a legit request.

3.)  Don’t accept friend requests from people you do not know.  By keeping your Facebook account ‘under control’ you limit your exposure to cyber dorks.

Check out this article on CNN to learn more about potential social media dangers.

As the peer pressure to jump on the social media bandwagon becomes more and more pressing, companies are diving in head first to social media without a plan or any logic. Here are some common annoyances that can turn off your potential Twitter or Facebook followers quickly:

Tom’s Top 5 Social Media Pet Peeves.

1.) Not Being Social.
Social media is about being social.  Talk to people, engage people, communicate with people.  Simply posting ‘tweets’ or wall updates all day will not attract a tribe or following which subsequently, will not do you or your brand any good whatsoever.  Engage people and encourage a conversation.

2.) Posting Junk / Social Media Spam.
This takes on two forms, many companies are posting nothing more than sales pitches every two minutes, others insist on only posting links or quotes from their favorite author.  This drives me nuts.  Be yourself, speak, think, contribute. Regurgitating nonsense will not further your cause or your brand.

3.) Farkle, Mobster Wars, Sorority Life. Farm Town, etc.
I am so glad you are having a blast on your Facebook account, but I honestly don’t care that you just whacked another mobster or that you were promoted to head cow milker on Farm Town.  This clutters up other people’s walls and can lead to you being de-friended!

4.)  Pointless Tweets / Posts.
I’m not really interested in your bathroom break schedule or when the last time you shaved was.  This goes back to having a clear concise plan of communication when you engage in Social Media.  What is your message? What are you hoping to accomplish? Are you looking for Brand Awareness or public opinion on your new products?

5.) Guilt By Association.
If you let every Tom, Dick & Harry follow your Tweets on Twitter, you are bound to get a wall full of absolute junk, all the way from real estate listings to life coach ramblings to Twitter prostitutes.  Keep your image clean by blocking rif raff from your wall. On the other side of the coin, be careful who you follow. Take the time to check people out, see who they follow, see what they post about, etc.  What will you gain from following that particular person?

Need help with a social media plan? Call me today:  407-830-4550.

We recently held a social /viral marketing class for our clients. Most of them said they had not yet jumped on the social bandwagon because they were too busy to keep up with it. Being a small business owner myself, I can see where adding another job to your already busy schedule would deter your social marketing commitment. Although, believe it or not, you can actually manage your Social Marketing accounts in less time than you think with these easy pointers below:

Facebook: Take the time to comment on your friend’s photos, notes or status’.  You don’t have to comment on everything. Facebook has made it even easier since its implementation of the “Like” button. Update your status, add a note, post a photo, etc. Don’t get caught up in games, quizzes (every once in a while is ok) and looking through your friends profiles or photo albums. Do try to find 3-5 new friends for “friendship requests” especially if your Facebook is for your business. Another time consolidating tip is to pull your blog feed into your Facebook Notes http://ontargetwebsolutions.com/search-engine-blog/pull-your-wordpress-blog-into-facebook/551/ so that every time you update your blog, it will post it in your Facebook. This will keep your friends, clients and prospects up on your company’s news.

Twitter: Twitter offers many different options to help you get followers.  When I first started out my account I went in and searched for others using the names of my keywords: seo, internetmarketing, and webdesign.  There were many more than you think. You can look at their profile and follow them.  The more you follow the more that will follow you. I try to follow at least 10 new people a day. First I look at who is following me and see if I want to follow them. Most of the time I will find my 10 people there. In case you don’t there are other options. I personally have used http://wefollow.com and listed myself under #seo #blogger #marketing and http://localtweeps.com and listed myself in my zip/postal district. This will help to get you targeted followers without spending too much time. I also try to update my Twitter status with seo, webdesign, blogging or social tips.  You can also RT  (Re Tweet) other people’s post if you find it amusing, interesting or educational.  This will also help to keep your updates up. Like Facebook, you can pull your blog feeds into your twitter account, so every time you post a blog it will update your twitter.

LinkedIn: A good way to stay on top with LinkedIn is to communicate with others. Sometimes you can answer questions, engage in discussions or ask questions yourself.  This will keep you in loop. Make sure you check LinkedIn for old college friends, old business associates or others in your field. This is a great online business networking tool.

Almost all of these social sites, have applications for your cell phone or allow you to receive emails, text message or phone alerts. This will allow you to update, check in and comment even when you are on the go.

If you or someone you know needs assistance with their Social Marketing Plan, call the social media and Internet marketing experts at On Target Web Solutions, Inc. we can help you setup and get started on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Call us at 407.830.4550.

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