Changes

Change is inevitable. Just look at Facebook. Tee hee.

Well, I may not be Facebook but thanks to a great professional opportunity coming my way, it is likely that Simply Social Media will go by the wayside as I become a FT employee of a company with a social media division. I know! It's exciting, right?

Stand by for another week and I will share EXACTLY who it is I am going to work for and detail how I will be better able to serve clients.

Please, pass it on. And follow me @tracykuethe on Twitter.

a very basic reason to use Linked In

If you ever find yourself waiting at Starbucks for your appointment to arrive and are not sure who you are looking for...quickly pull up their Linked In profile and if you are lucky, they will have a profile picture and tada!, crisis averted!

why use LinkedIn?

As I was clicking around today on LinkedIn, this information truly struck me:

 {stats taken from my LinkedIn profile}

My 356 LinkedIn connections translate to this! Look at the reach I have if I just utilize this great tool.

Do you have a LinkedIn profile? If so, is it 100% complete? Be sure to get recommendations and add a profile picture, do everything you can to make it work for you.

Please send me an invite, I'd love to meet you. View my LinkedIn profile here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tracykuethe

making connections: using your email signature effectively

Do you have a Twitter and Facebook account? Do you have a blog too? If so, share this information on every email by taking advantage of your email provider's option to include a signature. I will walk you through how to add permanent signature in Google's Gmail.

When you have your Gmail account open, in the upper right hand corner you will see this blue wheel. When you click on it, you will be given the Mail Settings option. Click that.

A page will open that accesses a TON of settings that you can tweak. Scroll down a bit and you will see the signature box, shown above. This box gives you functionality to include hotlinks, photos and much more. Choose those which will be most effective for you and your business.

Here is how my signature looks at the end of each email I send:

Tracy Kuethe, Social Media Strategist
Phone: 513.307.2303
Email: tracy.simplysocialmedia@gmail.com
Blog: http://simplysocialmedia.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/simplsoclmedia

Not only have I included all of the links I determine to be important, but I use bold type for my name and title. Make it easy for your customers and potential clients to contact you...through any channel they choose.

Do you have a custom email signature? 

conducting a poll on your facebook page

You might ask: why would I do that? OR what kind of question do I ask?

You want your customers to interact on your page. And although you are promoting your business, the premise of Facebook is truly to be social. So instead of trying to do true research, it seems more acceptable and well received to ask questions such as: have your kids returned back to school yet and the give three options:
YES
NO
CHILD FREE.

If this poll engages your Facebook page fans they may stick around and click around on your Facebook Wall, or better yet, click through to your website.

This is a snapshot taken from Local 12's Facebook page.  This pool resulted in over 400 interactions and a handful of comments. My educated guess is that is many more visits and responses than a typical day.

One word of caution. Be sure to UNCHECK the box that says: Allow anyone to add options. Pizza Hut recently had a run in with a jokester which subjected them to some bad press until it was resolved. Save yourself the embarrassment by learning from their mistake.

Do you do polls/questions on your page? What questions have been most provoking? Please share in the comments.

facebook landing pages

If you are not yet a fan of a Facebook business page, often times you are greeted with a specialized message that is designed to really catch your attention. Here is an example from the Cincinnati Reds:

Another tactic is to offer first time Facebook visitors a special incentive. The Montgomery Inn offers a $10 discount, click the link to view and find out how to get your discount.

The "landing page" is a great place to make a great first impression. The Boomer Esiason Foundation does just that with theirs:

Have you noticed a particularly good campaign or business page on Facebook? Please share it in the comments. Also, if you are a business seeking help to develop a landing page or custom profile picture, please contact me for a consultation and price quote. Small businesses are my specialty!

Welcome to my newest client: Dare To Dance

Today I can officially announce that Simply Social Media has signed a new client, Dare To Dance.

Dare To Dance is a fabulous dance studio located in Blue Ash. In their own words:


Conveniently located in the heart of Blue Ash, Dare to Dance has one goal in mind: offering the best Cincinnati dance experience possible, at affordable prices. It is a place where everyone can learn to dance, relieve daily stress, and improve their self-confidence in a social and relaxed atmosphere. No matter your level of dance knowledge; from beginner to advanced, Dare To Dance offers something for everyone and for every budget.

I can personally attest to the fact that Marco and Connie are a joy to work with. Look for frequent updates and slight changes on their Facebook page and also the introduction of an email newsletter. Your first class is always free at Dare To Dance so if you have an interest in ballroom, Zumba or learning a new dance for your upcoming wedding day, please visit the Dare To Dance Facebook Page and LIKE them. 

Would you like help in the areas of Facebook, Twitter or email database management? Contact me for a consultation.

Social Boom!

As I rededicate myself to this site and attracting new social media clients, I came across a review for Social Boom!. A few years ago I attended a Gitomer Sales Seminar and really enjoyed him. {As an aside, I found Jefferey Gitomer via his partner's sister who is an established scrapbooker *Ali Edwards* and whose blog I follow. Proof that an online presence is mandatory and you never know how your future customers will connect to you}.

After reading the summary of Social Boom on Amazon and only the first few reviews, I quickly downloaded it to my Kindle. I am anxious to read this book and will share a review with you as I digest it.

What Social Media books or ebooks have you read? What do you recommend? 

Put a face with that name!

Across all platforms, I tend to give less attention to, or flat out avoid, profiles without a photo or customized profile picture.
One of the Twitter apps I use actually will sort out all my new followers that have the default "egg" as the profile picture.

Don't let your message be ignored. Take the simple steps to upload a good profile picture or company logo on all of the social websites where you have an account: Linked In, Twitter, Facebook etc.

Afterall, isn't this:

so much better than an egghead?!

***this post was prompted after seeing that 2 of the 5 recent views to my LinkedIn profile had no photo of their own uploaded. 

I love my clients!

So today, I am helping to promote an event that the Brides Buddy Blog & Receptions are hosting on Thursday, July 28. If you are a Cincinnati area reader, this is a great opportunity to visit Receptions. They specialize not only in wedding receptions but also business events.

Wine & Weddings

Cocktail Hour at Receptions

Thursday, July 28, 6-7pm

You can RSVP online by visiting the Wine & Weddings Homepage.  

Do you need help implementing an email newsletter or creating an online event? If so, I can help. Contact me for more information.

8 ways businesses can share their experiences on Twitter

This a blatant repost of information I found on the Tweepi  blog. Tweepi is a great resource for streamlining your follows and followers. And I always chuckle at their "flush the unfollowers" terminology! Check out Tweepi's various services, some available in FREE packages.

FROM THE TWEEPI BLOG:

One of the goals of a business presence on Twitter is to build a community and improve credibility with the entire tweeps’ population. To be able to do that, the usage of the service by businesses should extend beyond just marketing of their services or talking about themselves, they should also strive to develop a personal connection with their audience.

Twitter for Business

Here are some of the ways to achieve that:

• Share some tips related to your business and how you manage to balance between your work load and life commitments. This will help you to connect with other in your line of work on a more personal level.
• Help others to solve their problems, even if they are not related to your business line and especially if you are a small business.
• Post your thoughts on your Industry, business and other topics of interest.
• Share photos of your business, staff, conferences and events. Pictures will help make your Twitter feed a friendlier place.
• Hand pick news items that are related to your business, share them and provide some commentary on them.
• Link to other people’s articles, posts, tweets and commentary and what kind of insight or value they add.
• Cover conference and events that you attend. Usually those insider tips and insights are really valuable to those who haven’t had the chance to attend.
• Diversify the viewpoints that others can view your company through, encourage your fellow co-workers to Tweet under the company’s name and make sure to utilize the Twitter background to inter-link them.

no nonsense tip of the day

I am guilty of this so I thought perhaps some other bloggers may be as well. I work like a crazy woman for one day or night or maybe over the course of a few days to design, update and add new things to my blog. And then...I go for a very long time without revisiting things like links/hotlinks, items in my sidebar, the list of my favorite blogs or the hotlink to my facebook page etc.

Guess what? Links can go bad, blogs and websites can fall off the face of the earth (or at least the world wide web)...basically, things change.

 {photo credit}

So my super easy and quick tip of the day is to occasionally visit your blog as if you are just that, a visitor. Click through every link and be sure it works properly. Review your content and be sure the lists that you share are still timely and in keeping with your focus. By doing a review like this, you ensure that your blog will be putting it's best face forward and it is ready to meet the public each and every day.

Follow Friday Helper: Twitter Tip

If you are already an active Twitter user (hooray! I applaud you!), I would like to suggest this free tool to enhance your participation on Twitter. This is how Follow Friday Helper describes their app:


FF Helper... makes it dead-easy to recommend tweeps on Twitter. FFH shows you a filtered list of users you interact with on Twitter. You can then write more personal #TY, #Gratitude, #FollowFriday (..etc) tweets using the user's name, URL, bio and location with just a few clicks.

Although they describe their service as an "app" in reality you authorize Follow Friday Helper to access your account information by allowing them access to your Twitter account. It's not scary, trust me. And it is safe.

And one last thing, you can use this any day of the week. Not just on Friday.

iPhone photography hits the big time

I am an avid photographer. I have a digital SLR camera and know enough about it to be dangerous. Same goes for PhotoShop but the iPhone 4 has really revolutionized things for me. I use it exclusively in place of my former pocket camera and it is my only current means of videotaping. Tack on some of the cool apps like Hipstamatic or Instagram, and I am a full fledged junkie. So I was more than pleased when I saw that the next issue of Martha Stewart's Every Day Food will feature a photo spread taken with an iPhone.

 

(photo credit)

Yes, this is affirmation that the iPhone + apps is very worthy. And that is a very good thing.

To view the entire magazine spread, go ::HERE::.

Do you have an iPhone or Smart Phone? Do you use the camera?

Blogging Conferences

I read a lot about blogging conferences such as  Blog Her or Bloggy Bootcamps like this one. Finally, a conference is literally in my own backyard, the Bloggy Conference so I could not resist attending. In fact, I will be tweeting live on Friday, July 15. The speaker during this session is Debba Haupert of Girlfriendology. 
About Girlfriendology...
Online community for women to inspire you to appreciate and celebrate female friendship. Our goal is to make the world a better place one friendship at a time.

Have you attended a blogging or conference about social media? I cannot wait to give a full review later in the month. 

Link Within

One of my favorite ways to increase traffic on a blog is to add the simple widget, Link Within. By creating prompts at the bottom of your blog post that link back to previous posts, you keep your visitors engaged longer and encourage them to click around and stay awhile.

I have Link Within installed on my personal blog and it is very successful at the Brides Buddy blog.

Now that you are aware, chances are you will recognize it used quite liberally. Not only is it effective, it is also FREE: Visit Link Within. I am not a programmer and I don't know HTML and I have successfully installed this widget many times. I encourage you to explore this option and as always, if you need help, contact me.

klout-do you have it?

Last night, as it often happens, I got taken away on a journey of clicks and links as I was browsing the internet. This time I was being introduced to Klout. What is Klout?

"The Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses over 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability, and Network Score."

To understand many of these terms better, visit Klout and poke around. I also encourage you to sign up and learn your own Klout score. The breakdowns are amazing and it shows how other people in your networks compare. Here is an example from my own Influence Report:

I am an admitted newbie to this site and have a very limited grasp right now on what it can offer and what it can do. I do know I want to learn more. One more tidbit from the Klout blog...


"Today, we’re proud to announce that we’re partnering with Involver to allow brands to provide customized experiences to their Facebook fans based on Klout Scores. Besides the number of fans, brands know surprisingly little about who those people are, their potential reach, and have little ability to message them individually. Now, with this partnership, brands can choose to give different offers, promotions, or messaging to fans based on their Klout".

Wow. You had better believe I have my eye on this.

What's your Klout score?

Facebook Business Profile Picture

If you have a Facebook business page, it is important to make use of every inch (er, pixel) of space allowed. One great place to start is the profile picture. Here is an example (from one of my clients), Receptions Inc.

By using the extra space, Receptions is able to share their logo plus some key information regarding their business. Their picture measures 180x452. You can visit and like this page ::HERE::. 

Another local business who has also updated their profile is restaurant, El Coyote. Below is their profile:

You can visit the El Coyote Facebook page ::HERE::.

By comparison, the Cincinnati Museum Center is using the old "square" photo, which measures 180x180 pixels. While their building is certainly easily recognizable, they are missing the opportunity to say and show more.

Do you have a Facebook business page? Do you need help updating your profile? I can help.

using social media "buttons" correctly

Today, when checking out a prospective client's webpage I noticed that their Facebook button linked me to Facebook directly, not to their business page. Be sure when using tools like this:

that the attached link goes to your specific, business page like this:

When you click the second button, you should be taken directly to CatScrap Designs (one of my wonderful clients!). Be sure if you are intentionally sending a customer away from your website or blog, that you are sending them directly to your brand on a social media site, such as Facebook. If not, you run the risk of them clicking away from you and your product for good.

Do you need help understanding how to install buttons, attach links or establish a Facebook account for your business? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please contact me.

#Twitter Tip

A quick tip:

Vary the times of day that you Tweet. Don't choose the same block of time, like say 9-11am. You may be missing a valuable part of your audience who instead check in on Twitter after 5p.

Something to think about!

Follow my tweets @simplsoclmedia and @tracykuethe.

Fantastic Friday

How about on Fridays I highlight a small business owner (and/or savvy blogger) who is doing lots of things RIGHT!

First up, the Pleated Poppy. I have been following Lindsey for two years or so. I love her personal blog...her decorating sense, fashion sense and attention to detail are just fab. Right now she is featuring her daughter's Art themed birthday party....

By becoming a fan of her blog, I was introduced to her products. She seamlessly, nearly effortlessly, connects the two which is a wonderful advantage of social media outlets like blogging and Twitter when they are done well. In my opinion, people are drawn to authentic business owners who share the right mix of personal and professional. Again, Lindsey is a master at this and her success is a reflection of it.

Pleated Poppy Shop....

I Pod Case available at the Pleated Poppy.

Please visit Lindsey to enjoy more of her personality and wonderful, handsewn products.

 If you would like to recommend a person or business to be highlighted on this blog, please leave a comment or send me an email.

about simply social media

I have maintained a personal blog for several years and highlighted my social media clients, ideas and strategies over there but the time has come to make my professional work a bit more official.

Introducing Simply Social Media.

I plan to showcase my clients, share my own ideas and also pass along helpful information that I find online and elsewhere. I hope you will add me to your list of "must read" blogs and join me as this passion of mine evolves.

Today's takeaway...
If you have a Google Blogger blog, you can show a mobile version of your blog to those reading on a mobile device. Here's how:

Go to SETTINGS-->EMAIL & MOBILE-->and check YES for Show Mobile Template.