A Dirty Little Secret About Social Media...

Here's a guest post from my marketing mentor Dave Dee. Enjoy!

Just like my kids, I want every business I launch to grow
up to be strong, healthy, and well-rounded.

When it comes to marketing, you want a strategy that is
going to give you a steady flow of leads that are excited
to hear from you, buy from you, and tell their friends to
do the same. Luckily, that's what I specialize in, so get
out your notepad because I'm about to tell you a VERY
important secret.

What's the opposite of strong, healthy, and well-rounded?

Weak, fragile, and narrow-minded. I wouldn't want my kids
to grow up that way, and I sure don't want to grow a
business to have it crumble under its own weight.

The key to growing a robust business really comes down
to marketing. Without that steady influx of leads you're
likely to be hobbling along like all the other business
that will expire like a candle this month.

How do you make your marketing robust? Just like you want
your kids to eat from ALL the major food groups, and get
smart in ALL the types of intelligence, you want your
business to embrace ALL the best marketing strategies.

Here is a dirty little secret you will hear from neither
the Social Media gurus, nor the old die-hard direct-response
mailguys that I learned from:

You need both.

That's right. In this day and age, if you don't have a
presence on Facebook and Twitter, you're pre-historic. Yet,
if all you do is spend your days surfing social media looking
for clients, that's like swimming through the water all day
looking for a fish to net.

What you want is to attract and retain clients with a hybrid
marketing strategy that includes:

1.) A solid base of Direct Response Mail - postcards,
letter campaigns, and of course, a monthly newsletter (the
traditional stuff that WORKS)

2.) A regular email contact similar to the emails you
receive from me - at least weekly, as much as daily

3.) A consistent presence on the top social media sites -
Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn

The real power comes when you get them all working together.

Things really start cooking when someone finds you on social
media and signs up for your email list. Or when someone gets
your direct mail and follows you on Twitter because you list
that as a contact option. It's list building, but it's a more
interactive list.

The best is when someone signs up for your newsletter and
gives you their address on your landing page because they
followed a link you posted on Twitter or Facebook. I love
when that happens! Social media is just like a big mouth on
a marketing funnel.

Here's a great tip - in your emails you want to lead people
to your social media profiles so they can check you out and
really get a feel for you. Put links to your social media
profiles in your emails! It's a much more personal form of
communication, and people feel like they're getting "more"
of YOU when there are pictures and real-time interaction.

It's amazing how much of your personality and expertise can
be conveyed on social media. Prospects you gain there will
be some of your best because they've pre-screened themselves
to be a good "fit." They like you, know you, and want to do
business with YOU.

If you do all these together, each one of them, you will
have a business that grows up healthy, strong, and has a
well-rounded base to keep it stable when the storms in life
come a-blowin.

Here's your assignment for the week: Find me on Facebook
and Twitter. It's really simple, here are the links:

Facebook: http://budurl.com/DaveDeeFanPage

Twitter: http://budurl.com/DaveDeeTwitter

Can't wait to connect with you!

~Dave

PS - You may have to set up your profiles real quick. I
encourage you to follow through. I will be writing more
about this as I develop my own hybrid strategy and I want
to take you right along with me.

PPS - Check out my friends at the Social Media Profit
School. Craig and his team have an awesome questionnaire
that they personally review and tell you: How Close you
are to REALLY making money on Facebook & Twitter?

If you've been doing what I recommend, you may be a lot
closer than you think!

http://www.socialmediaprofitschool.org

PPPS - Craig will be at the Triple X Bootcamp in LA with
us. You can meet him there. Check out these great bonuses
we're offering to anyone who registers for the event
through my Fan Page:

http://budurl.com/DaveDeeFanPage


Cheers,

Craig


PS - If you know you need a social media presence and a strategy for attracting clients, then send me an email, or connect with me through the social media profiles I've listed below. We've got entire done for you packages that include a comprehensive strategy session, integration with your blog and CRM lead capture form, and a host of other neat tricks that would take you hours and hours to figure out on your own.

Craig Filek
Social Media Profit School
Read Blog: Social Media Profit School Blog
Email Me: Craig(at)SocialMediaProfitSchool
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/SocialMediaProfitSchool
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SMProfitSchool