Social Media Marketing

You may be wondering how a business owner can possibly reach a target audience on Twitter. Twitter directories to the rescue. When thinking about social media and how you can use it to build your business and brand, Twitter directories play an important role to finding like-minded Twitter users. Adding yourself to Twitter directories will help you to find those you want to follow and they in turn will most likely follow you.

How do Twitter directories work?

Twitter directories work by allowing a person to search for people based on certain criteria. The criteria may be their geographical location or their interests that they have associated themselves with by using tags when they listed themselves.

What Twitter directories should I use?

Twitter directories are plentiful and they can differentiate from all inclusive to specialized practices such as Legalbirds.com, a directory devoted to lawyers, academics, and or legal professionals on Twitter. You can check them all out, but here are the three top directories that I would recommend: Twellow.com, Wefollow.com and Geofollow.com.

Twitter directories are very much like an updated version of the yellow pages. Twellow.com describes itself as the “Twitter Yellow Pages” and does resemble the yellow pages somewhat with the color theme they use. Twellow.com also allows you to sort your search criteria to really pinpoint who you are looking to connect with. Sort by username, registered users, or followers count.

Another Twitter directory that is useful in helping you to build your following is Wefollow.com. Wefollow.com is very easy to use. Listing yourself can literally take seconds. Wefollow.com also makes it easy to find others in your niche that you may want to follow. To find a person that loves bikes and biking, all you have to do is enter the tag word bikes. The auto fill will help you to find the right tag word and will also show you how many tweeters are listed under that tag. Search results are listed in the order beginning with the highest number of Twitter followers.

Geofollow.com is a location based Twitter directory where you list Twitter username by your location. You can search the directory by city, state, country, tag, name, twitter username, or keyword. This type of directory is especially helpful in locating local followers and or prospects to connect with.

Never before have we been able to connect so easily with others who have similar interests, to both promote our communities as well as our businesses. Twitter directories are far from the old fashioned yellow pages that the consumer searched through page by page looking for a business to serve their needs. And best of all their free. What are you waiting for? Get yourself listed and take advantage of the opportunity of connecting with others through Twitter directories, it just may improve your business.

Connect with me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/urvimehta

Below are videos from the “Are You LinkedIn?” presentation that I did for Social Media Michigan Meeting.

Let’s connect on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/urvimehta

Discover How To Use The Power of Blogs to Significantly Increase Your Online Presence & Get You More Qualified Leads

You’ve heard the social networking buzz, you’re familiar with Web 2.0, and you’re thinking “Maybe we should blog?” Yes, you should blog! Mark Your Calendars to join Social Media Michigan on Thursday, September 17th, 2009.

Every business is built by getting, keeping and growing customers. And that requires sustainable relationships with those customers, to get them buying from you and then coming back. Blogging helps you connect with those customers at a personal level. But blogging can also help you win the SEO battle so prospects first find you online, and then convert to customers when they like what they find.

Blogging = SEO opportunities = Customers

What You Will Learn at Thursday’s Meeting:
* What are Blogs & How to use them in your marketing
* How to get started using Blogs & leverage Blogs to generate more leads
* Tips for making your Blogs go viral and SEO friendly
* Keys to Success with Blogs

Agenda:
6:00—Networking and Light Dinner
7:00—Marketing Minutes & Hot Seat
7:45—Power of Blogs

Thursday, September 17th, 2009
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
University of Phoenix Building
18100 N. Laurel Park Dr
Suite 150W
Livonia, Michigan 48152

First Time Attendees & Members Are Free

Non-Members $20
Seating is limited so don’t delay and reserve your seat TODAY!!!

Social Media Michigan – Subsidiary of PReasy.com – A full service Online Marketing company – is the host of this event.

Social Media Michigan is an organization for entrepreneurs to discover and implement social media marketing strategies to enhance their bottom line. Social Media Michigan Meets on the 3rd Thursdays of each month. Social Media Michigan is committed to help Michigan based Business Owners to “Remove Boundaries” in their business and grow faster globally.

For more information on Social Media Michigan, please visit http://www.SocialMediaMi.com

Bill Glazer will be in town on Wednesday, September 16, to give a timely presentation, How To Make The Recession Irrelevant, and to sign copies of his new book.

During his presentation, Bill will reveal and walk us through what he calls his “7 Steps” To Survive & Thrive In The Recession…and Beyond, giving us real-world examples that we can apply to our own business right away, as follows:

1. Sell To SOMEONE Different
2. Sell DIFFERENTLY
3. Sell Something Different
4. Create MORE Value
5. Strategic STATUS
6. ASSOCIATION
7. Direct Response Marketing SYSTEMS (with a bunch of OUTRAGEOUSLY Successful Examples)

Frankly, I believe it’s impossible for any of us to not to take away ACTION IDEAS to implement right away.

==> http://www.preasy.com/billSept16

The event is on September 16, 2009, from 5:00–8:00 PM at the Laurel Manor, 39000 Schoolcraft Road, Livonia, MI 48150.

Networking and vendor tables from 4:00-5:00 PM. A bountiful spread of delicious appetizers, hot hors d’oeuvres, desserts and soft drinks will be provided prior to the presentation.

Doors open at 4:00 PM for meet & greet premier vendor booths, and socializing prior to the presentation.

The retail price of these tickets is $50.00. However as a Reader of my Blog, you can attend for FREE. That’s right! No cost to you…all you have to do is pre-register for the event!!!

Registering and confirming your seat is as easy as going to the special web confirmation page at:

==> http://www.preasy.com/billSept16

Also, if you don’t want to wait until September 16th to start your own OUTRAGEOUS marketing, check
out Bill’s video and site where you can download examples and there first three chapters of the book.

==> http://www.preasy.com/outrageous

Looking forward to seeing you on the 16th!

Urvi

P.S. During the break, door prizes will be awarded, and Mr. Glazer will have a limited supply of collector’s editions of his book, Outrageous Advertising That’s OUTRAGEOUSLY Successful, published by Morgan James, available for $19.95 (all book sale profits go to Junior Achievement)

Social Media Marketing using LinkedIn is made easy by following five simple steps. LinkedIn is the perfect site to build your professional networks, keep in touch with connections, discover opportunities, develop relationships, build authority in your industry and also find leads and opportunities for you and your business. Keep it simple and check out these easy methods to getting started with LinkedIn.

1. Create your account
2. Complete and update your profile
3. Create a summary
4. Get connected
5. Engage with Others
   

Creating an account

Go to http://www.linkedin.com and fill in your name, email and create a password and click the green join now button.

Complete your profile

Your LinkedIn profile is an important part of your social media marketing strategy. Upload a current, professional looking photo of yourself. You’ll want to complete your entire profile, and include previous work experience that you’ve had. Remember your profile is a representation of you. The little details are important to your profile; it should have substance, be grammatically correct and have no spelling errors. Include your chosen keywords liberally throughout your profile whenever you can so that others searching for those keywords can find you. Don’t forget your email addresses, new and old, to increase the opportunity for connections.

Summary tips

A summary should give a good snap shot of who you are and what you do. Use two to four sentences in your summary that incorporate your specialties or expertise. These sentences should include your keywords and add what you enjoy doing to help others to connect and get to know you.

Connecting on LinkedIn

Connecting with others on LinkedIn is controlled. In order to connect with someone on LinkedIn, you must show how you know them. Getting recommended by LinkedIn members who know you and what you are all about is a wonderful way to connect to with others.

Engage with others

Joining LinkedIn groups gives you the opportunity to maximize your networking and social media marketing efforts while connecting you with great people with similar interests. Start by joining employer alumni groups, were you will have connections with people you have something in common with. And finally, enhance your LinkedIn social media marketing experience by participating and interacting with others through posting, responding to posts and networking with other group members.

For more information about LinkedIn or to connect with Urvi Mehta:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/urvimehta

Twitter: http://twitter.com/urvimehta

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/urvimehta