MidTN Technology

Local marketing can be a challenge, especially if you’re entrenched in traditional thinking on the subject.  All too often, I’m approached by frustrated business owners that just aren’t getting results because they’re doing “what they’ve been told” – spending hundreds on “Yellow” or other flavors of directories, television, radio, newspaper ads, etc., etc.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that – and if it works for you, then by all means keep doing it. But quite often my clients haven’t realized that their customers have changed the way they do business – which means that WE have to change the way we attract THEM.

This lady’s a little excitable but if you can overlook the goofy attempt to be cool – there’s actually some great advice here.

Comments? Leave them in the box below.  Questions?  Just ask – visit the contact page.  🙂

The post Local Marketing appeared first on Ken Ivey.

It’s been a long-time practice to boost your website traffic and ranking by building links from relevant websites to your site.  With all of the Google updates over the past few years, you might be wondering if you should bother with link building at all.  Here’s what Website Magazine says:

CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT

The creation of quality, relevant content is the cornerstone of any link building program. Content can be created both on your website or as a separate piece that lives off your website. The more people like the content, the more they will read it and share it – musts to drive links and traffic. Content does not have to be text, although in some cases text is preferred. Content can be photographs, video, infographics, ebooks – the list goes on.

CREATE AUTHORITY

With the information that passes on the Internet, it is hard to decipher what is the best information. Companies need to lead in the ‘expert’ arena. By providing a consistent voice on topics appropriate to your company – via content, social media, PR – it will help distinguish the content you produce and help the chances of your content being shared.

– See more at: http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2013/08/27/10-ways-to-rethink-link-building.aspx

So, are YOU creating content?  Would you even know where to start?  I know many business owners that don’t think they have the skill, creativity, time, etc., to do it – but it really doesn’t have to take a lot of that to do a passable job.  Want to know how?  Let’s talk.  🙂

The post How are YOU building traffic? appeared first on Ken Ivey.

Ever thought you could be involved in a conversation with Ashton Kutcher, Jon Stewart, or Miley Cyrus? What about some of your industry’s rock stars? Well, you can, through social media. Tools like Twitter and Facebook make it easy to connect with the stars and the experts on a person-to-person level. Here’s how:

1. Get on their radar. Read their blog. See what they’re writing about. Retweet their tweets, comment on their Facebook page, and link to their content. The goal is not to become a stalker, but to let them know you’re out there, and you’re more than just a fanboy or fangirl. (If you feel a little stalker-ish, remember that they’re posting their content in a public forum, for public consumption.
2. Add value. Leave insightful blog comments that expand on the topic. Write your own blog post and link back to theirs. Create a video response. Let them know about your experiences and results using the methods or techniques they’ve taught. 
3. Ask a question. Give them something to respond to! Ask a question that shows you understand their topic, and that you’ve followed their information streams. Don’t make it too personal, but make it unusual – something that you haven’t seen answered elsewhere, but something other followers might wonder about, too.
4. Don’t get offended. With tens, and sometimes hundreds, of thousands of followers, chances are that your question is one of dozens they’ll receive. If yours doesn’t get answered, don’t get hurt feelings. It’s purely a matter of volume, not anything personal against you.
5. Rinse and repeat. Keep at it – the longer you work at establishing the relationship, the more familiar your name will seem. If your question isn’t answered the first time you ask it, post it again. Try a few times, and then move on and ask another.
6. Give before you ask. If you’re hoping to establish a relationship with someone in your industry as a potential joint venture partner, or because you want to guest post on their blog, then you have some more work to do. The top dogs in different niches receive dozens of requests for help. Stand out from the crowd of favor-seekers by doing something for THEM first.

Getting noticed by the stars in Hollywood, or in your industry, is possible. But rather than sending a fan letter via post and waiting months for a reply, cut through the red tape and go directly to the source via social media. It will save you time, and save yourself a postage stamp.

Conclusion

As an entrepreneur, time is your most precious asset. It’s the one resource you cannot beg, borrow, steal or replace. While some people are thinking of social media as a sinkhole for losing hours and days, smart business people know they can leverage their networks for a variety of business-related purposes.  Hopefully, this series has given you some ideas for saving yourself time, money, and effort.

The post Connect with “Experts” appeared first on Ken Ivey.

In an earlier article in this series, we covered using your social media networks to get informal opinions from your followers and friends. Now, let’s cover how to solicit more structured input. There are a number of ways to create and post “official” polls or surveys, none of which involve getting a paper survey printed, and sending it out via snail mail to your followers. Here are some options that are much faster and less expensive:

• Google Docs. Create a simple survey in Google Docs (docs.google.com) and get your results in spreadsheet format – for free! You can even brand the survey with your own colors and logo.
• Survey Monkey. If you want to email out your survey, check with Survey Monkey at http://surveymonkey.com. You can create surveys quickly and easily, and aggregate answers from up to 100 respondents for free. Get more surveys and more answers for a small monthly fee.
• Facebook Polls. Facebook makes it really easy to add polls or surveys to your Facebook profile or page. Just go to http://facebook.com/survey to be walked through the free process.
• WordPress Widgets. There are a number of WordPress widgets and plug-ins that can be added easily to your WordPress blog or website. Check out WP-Polls, Poll Code, Snap Poll, and Vizu.

Polls are perfect for the following circumstances:

• You want to increase engagement among your followers. Polls are a perfect way to gather information and use it to further discussion. Most people don’t just want to weigh in with their position; they want to discuss it, too!  If you need a reminder, consider all the Facebook posturing in support of your friends’ political candidate of choice.
• You want to use current events to spark conversation. Does your audience think the latest Google search algorithm changes will affect their business? Do your blog readers agree with the experts’ national college football rankings? Ask them, and you’ll establish yourself as an expert by hosting the conversation.
• You want input from your followers and volume of responses is more important than speed. If you are in the process of developing a new product, you can find out if people would prefer an audio, video, written, or multimedia product. If you’re thinking of visiting a few cities on tour, you can see where your pockets of fans reside.
• You want to gather demographic information about your followers. Want to know how often your followers golf, how much money they spend on equipment, and what their biggest challenges are? A survey is a great way to solicit that type of information.

The post Execute a Survey or Poll appeared first on Ken Ivey.

You’re changing the name of your podcast. You just gave birth to a baby girl. You’re heading to Los Angeles for an upcoming trade show. You are releasing a new online product. All these are perfect opportunities to use your social media networks to help spread the word far and wide.

When you have something that you want to share with the widest possible audience, leverage your networks – all of them. Here are some tips to make sure your news gets the attention it deserves.

1. Don’t be afraid to post it more than once. Particularly on Twitter, stuff gets lost in the noise. If people don’t catch it the second you post it, it may be gone forever. Use a tool like Tweriod.com to see when most of your followers are online, and post during those times. And post it a couple of times over the course of a day or so. Those who already read the original post will just delete it without thinking twice about it. 

2. Create an opportunity to connect. Turn a newsy announcement into a way to engage with your audience. Instead of just saying “My new product launches next week,” say, “Check out this sneak peek of my new eBook that I’m launching next week. Let me know what you think!” Or, “My daughter is here – here’s her birth photo. Guess her birth weight and the person who’s closest will win a free 30 minute consultation with me.” People are looking for new and different. Give it to them.

3. Talk about the news before it happens. Telling people about what you have in progress not only helps them feel engaged, it also serves as a subversive way to promote yourself without sounding promote-y. Say, “Just finished the last chapter for my eBook. Have you signed up for early notification?” Or, “I’m interviewing so-and-so next week for my next online class. Do you have any burning questions you’d like answered?”

4. Interconnect your social media networks. Place an announcement on Twitter that sends your followers over to your blog to read more. Record an announcement on YouTube and then post it on Facebook. The stronger the interconnections between the spokes of your network, the stronger the overall network.

As an aside, it’s also important to note that with recent changes in the search engines’ algorithms (the mathematical equations they use to determine if your website shows up in the search engine’s results for a given query) the recommendations above are now considered “Social Signals” – and may give your website an unexpected boost!

So, get a jump on press releases and publicity, and don’t sit back and wait for the newspapers to find you. Instead, you can do some promotion yourself by leveraging the members of your network.

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