A Social Media Cockpit? That Makes Money???

RT Mari Smith - Relationship and Buzz Marketing Specialist How FriendFeed Could Become the Ultimate Social Media Tracking Service: http://is.gd/1qHsp [w00t, go FriendFeed!!]
July 8th

This article opened my eyes to a vision of the social web as it is emerging beyond our wildest dreams.

Mark Joyner, one of the internet marketing game's first big success stories, and a navy seal or something crazy like that... he wrote about the history of communication technology, and how it is accelerating at an exponential rate. Think about it historically... how long between innovations:


From hand transcription by emasculated monks to biblical liberation with the Guttenberg press
From foot travel to Pony Express, Rail-Road and Steamship
From telegraph and radio to telephone and television
From telefax to email
From print journalism and publishing cartels to blogging and self-publishing

And where does it all culminate? Where does the speed, freedom and reach we now have to communicate with our networks lead us to as a species?

To total choice about the media that we subscribe to.

We are no longer relegated to the 15 women's magazines on the shelf at the grocery check-out aisle, or the 718 channels of garbage that vandalize our home of the soul that resides within.

We can subscribe to anyone we want and receive our media anyway we want... as long as they're offering it.

So, if you've got something important to say... a mission in the world... something you feel called to broadcast to a wide range of people, but mostly those who can hear you and value what you're saying... then let's talk - you need a social media presence and a way to communicate with your networks that is:

1.) Simple - as easy as using email or even your phone

2.) Regular & Convenient - it has to fit into your daily life like any other intimate relationship... but not take it over. Like a cat - there for you when you want to play, but not demanding like a puppy or a business.

3.) Fun - Social media is a marketplace. It's like travelling to Bangladesh and meeting the merchants in the streets. It's the way business has been done for thousands of years. We had a brief hick-up there where the corporotocracy nearly got a handle on us, but our natural social artifacts are developing so rapidly, we can all but circumvent the non-sense of the politcal agendas that try to trip us up in this game of life.

That's it. You need a cockpit with some read-outs that display information that is relevant and interesting to you in a timely way, and you need a means of broadcasting YOUR message to your tribe in a way they can all hear and read you.

That's what I do - I set that up for you, and I make sure you're enjoying your experience. And that it pays off for you psychically as well as fiscally.

Email me to learn more: craig at craigfilek.com

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. Contact me today!

Craig Filek
Your Social Media Maverick
Read Blog: Social Media Maverick Blog
Email Me: CraigFilek(at)gmail
Facebook Me: http://profile.to/craigfilek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CraigFilek
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/craigfilek

How Do You Profit from Social Media Profiles?

Return on Investment.

It's a tricky notion when it comes to Social Media.

What most business folk are used to is, "never spend a dollar unless you can make or save MORE than a dollar."

And this is terrific advice. I fully advise it on every business decision.

So, how do you get your Social Media profiles to pay off? How do you make your tweets and wall posts and friend requests add up to "more than a dollar"?

It's very simple. Since this is new territory for many business folk, I'll break it down into a few basic steps. Let's begin with the end in mind:

1.) Have a Marketing & Sales System that captures a prospect's attention, causes them to desire more information about how YOU can help solve their problem(s), and eventually converts them into a client. This is the KEY to making your Social Media investment payoff. If you don't have a system for capturing Leads and building value while further qualifying them and eventually converting the most qualified into sales, then you will not likely see the ROI. It's that simple. It's like fishing with a worm and a line, but no hook. You're not likely to land the fish, silly.

2.) So what is the "hook"? It's also known as a Lead Generation Magnet and looks like a Name & Email capture form that is connected to an auto-responder or CRM. Typically, a Free Report that promises some answers or vital information that a qualified prospect would desire and value make a great Lead Generation Magnet. Free consultations also work well, depending on your business model. The hook will be offered on your blog and your website, though not on your Profiles. Occasionally, you may post or tweet a link about it, but infrequently as this will turn people off.

3.) Funnel your prospects from your Profiles to your Lead Generation Magnet page. By integrating your Blog with your Social Media Profiles like Facebook and LinkedIn, you will be writing interesting content that is automatically disseminated to your Tribe (aka: list, herd, friends...) When people are interested in you, what you have to say, or what you have to offer, they will dig deeper into your information. They will click on your blog, or your website, and see the Lead Capture Form. They will enter their name and email in order to get your Free Gift. That's when they have raised their hand as a qualified prospect who you can begin to convert - to SELL to. All your Social Media Profiles are intended to funnel qualified prospects back to your Lead Capture Form. Trying to sell directly on the Profile is tacky and people will un-friend you.

4.) Profile Content is the final step in this system. It's such a broad topic that I am going to cover it in a separate post: Suffice to say, your Content is what people are most interested. Why? Because people do business with PEOPLE. Social Media is about PEOPLE. So, while your Lead Generation Magnet is about selling, your Profile Content is about YOU. Anyone interested in working with you will want to know more about YOU than your business vision and mission. They want to feel they can trust YOU and that means they have to have a window into your life. Your best, longest term clients will be the ones you have the most affinity with, shared interests and values. The bottom line on Profile Content is this: Be Authentic!

If you follow this simple formula, you will see an ROI on your Social Media investment. It will not come overnight, though. It takes time to get the swing of things with this new Marketing Channel, build a Tribe, get some viral exposure to new prospects via your existing Tribe, and perfect your Lead Generation Magnet.

In the next post I will delve into Profile Content and how to Be Authentic!

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. Contact me today!

Craig Filek
Your Social Media Maverick
Read Blog: Social Media Maverick Blog
Email Me: CraigFilek(at)gmail
Facebook Me: http://profile.to/craigfilek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CraigFilek
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/craigfilek

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Feel free to link back to this post when requesting that your email contacts white-list you too!

Providers we have instructions for:
AOL
Comcast
Earthlink
Gmail
Hotmail
Yahoo
Mozilla Thunderbird
Outlook 2003
SBC Global
Verizon
Blackberry Devices



AOL
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COMCAST
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MOZILLA THUNDERBIRD
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SBC GLOBAL
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VERIZON
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If you have received a message from us:
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BLACKBERRY Devices
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4. Go into Address Book and find the user.
5. Select Save.
6. Click to edit it, and then click the Berry button to add another email address.
7. Paste it in and click Save.


Feel free to link back to this post when requesting that your email contacts white-list you too!


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. Contact me today!

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

Why is Social Media So Important?

Without social media, there would be no Christmas. The sun would not light the earth, and the worms would not dig in the soil.

It's true, business has been done for millenia without even so much as an iphone, let alone all these new-fangled social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and Blogger. It will not be the end of the world if you aren't using these channels to promote your business. But, for the return on investment, I'm going to strongly suggest you consider trying it out.

What is really important to understand is that people like doing business with people they know, like and feel a sense of shared values or affinities with. Business has always been done that way because humans have always operated this way.

What's unique about business in the past 2, or even 50 years, is how much information can be communicated, quickly, to and from any point in the world. We live in HIGH-TECH times, and it's made the pace of life and work just about maddening.

What people crave at any age, not just Millenials and Gen Y on their wacky cell phones, is a sense of connection. We call it High-TOUCH, to balance the High-Tech.

While it's easy to do business with someone we can see and touch and vibe with, it's not as easy to do business with someone 300 or 3000 miles away. However, with social media, I can learn a lot about a person before doing business with them, and this my friend, is why it's so important that you have a social media profile.

Even if you're a local professional and your clients live right up the street, unless they have a good feeling for you, they may not even come down to the office to meet with you in person. Your website may have a picture or two of you, mostly it's full of clip art, and phony models impersonating satisfaction with some semblance of your service work.

What people want to see is YOU! They want to know if you are a cool person, with a face and a name and a personality. Maybe a family, certainly some hobbies and a stance on issues or interests you are passionate about sharing.

You like Italian food? What about water-skiiing with your family on the weekend. How was that trip to Paris? The tabloid and gossip industry is a multi-billion dollar business.

People are curious, they want to know. Give yourself authentically to your prospects and clients on your profiles, and they will do business with you because they see you are like them. So they will like you, and they will like doing business with you.

That's how we work. That's how to work it with social media.

It's pretty simple once you get set up. It's the setting up that can be a challenge.

Let me know if you need any help ;-]

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. Contact me today!

Craig Filek
Your Social Media Maverick
Read Blog: Social Media Maverick Blog
Email Me: CraigFilek(at)gmail
Facebook Me: http://profile.to/craigfilek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CraigFilek
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/craigfilek

Are You Committing Any of These 7 Social Media Sins?

Your Free Report has been emailed to you.

Please look for it now and print it out so you have it in front of you.

It will take about 10-15 minutes to read through, and give you a lot to ponder.

If you are interested in speaking with me about how we can launch your Social Media Presence miles ahead of your competition and put you in the cockpit of a FREE Lead Generation system that attracts highly-qualified leads that already like and want to do business with you, then contact me by email at CraigFilek (at) Gmail (dot) com.

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. Contact me today!

Craig Filek
Your Social Media Maverick
Read Blog: Social Media Maverick Blog
Email Me: CraigFilek(at)gmail
Facebook Me: http://profile.to/craigfilek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CraigFilek
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/craigfilek

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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. Contact me today!

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

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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. Contact me today!

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