Facebook is a very powerful consideration in your Social Media Marketing campaign. It most cases, (but necessarily all), it should be considered an essential element of your marketing. This article is intended to show you how to most efficiently – and effectively – expand your reach through social media by using Facebook.

The power in any marketing campaign, social media or otherwise (or in any area of life for that matter) comes from consistency. To be most effective we must be doing small things on a regular basis, not trying to do large things intermittently. Remember the tortoise & the hare?

Daily Facebook Marketing Strategies

Here are a few simple but very powerful strategies to use on a weekly, or even daily basis, to maximize your presence on facebook.

• Join Groups – Each time you log in, do a search for some groups with your key words. (The words related to your product or service. ie: If you are an author, join groups about your book topic, etc) The more members in the group, the better!
• Introduce Yourself – After you join the group, introduce yourself by writing on the wall. You can tell a bit about yourself, offer some tips or insights, maybe even put a link to your site or twitter account. Let people know that they can be your friend if they have similar interests. You can also participate in the discussions that are happening within the group.
• Make Friends – See who else has introduced themselves on the wall, or who else is participating in discussions. When you ask to be their friend, include a personal note about where you saw them and why you’d like to connect. Also, be sure to make friends (and build relationships) with the admins of the groups.
• Create Your Own Group – You can start a group that allows you to share your unique thoughts & insights on your topic. You don’t have to do it alone, either. You can invite other people that you know & trust to be an admin for the group to help out.
• Make a Fan Page – If you have content that is valuable, and you are at least a quasi-expert, set up a fan page. This is very similar to your personal profile page, except their is no limit to how many fans you can have, and you don’t need to approve anyone before they can participate on your page.
  • For more info on how to create a fan page, check this tutorial by Socialbees.
  • Note: DO NOT make a fan page if you are a nobody and have no value to offer anyone. That is just tacky and will drive people further away from your goal of making friends who know, like & trust you.
• Invite Others to Join Your Group or Become a Fan – Each time you accept someone as a friend, or they approve your friend request, send them an invitation to join your group or become your fan.

Just make it a daily habit to spend 10-15 minutes making relationships on Facebook with these strategies.  Remember that the goal of all social media interactions are to create genuine relationships… so when you connect with someone that may be a good contact for you, move to offline (email, phone, in-person, etc) to create a deeper communication and stronger relationship.

Begin With The End In Mind

These tasks can seem mundane if you don’t have the vision of WHY you are doing it. ALWAYS, Always, always remember that the point of all social media is to build relationships. When you have a network of people that know, like & trust you, you can ask them to promote your products, you can do Joint-Ventures, webinars, teleseminars, etc. You can ask them for referrals and you can provide service back to them as well.

In Social Media Marketing, the adage is true, it’s not what you know, but who you know. Use these strategies with that vision in mind, cultivating deep, meaningful relationships and you WILL be successful.

Social Media Marketing is the arguably the most powerful method for getting your message in front of a targeted audience. It becomes especially powerful for the small business owner who makes money by sharing a message that they are passionate about. As a social media consultant, I see the greatest results coming to professional motivational speakers, life and/or business coaches as well as other professional service providers. (ie: lawyers, real estate agents, nutritionists, etc)

Althought Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn are all powerful components of your social media marketing campaign, they would be almost useless if it weren’t for a blog.  Yes, your blog is perhaps the most important part of your marketing efforts.. The reasons are plenty, but for now we will summarize by pointing out that it is the most powerful SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tool, as well as the hub of all your relationship/community building.

Here are the 5 techniques I have found to be most effective in your blogging strategies.

1. Use Wordpress – Wordpress is the best blog to use, for a number of reasons. Here are the main ones to consider when choosing Wordpress as your blog of choice:
   • Plugins – these are little bits of software that can be added to your blog to improve the functionality of your site. Here is a short list of the ones I recommend and why:
     • Sexy bookmarks – This is a visually appealing way to allow visitors to share your message (blog post) through their favorite social media networks.
     • All-in-one SEO Pack – A must-have for any search engine optimization that you want to do on your blog.
     • Digg Digg – Integrates “Digg Button”, “TweetMeme”(twitter) and a few others, to allow users to share content right to their social network. (Similar function to sexy bookmarks, but different format)
   • Community – As an open-source software, Wordpress is the most supported platform for blogging. That makes it the most powerful blogging software, the most prevalent, and the easiest to find people to help if you happen to require customization, need help with the above bookmarks, etc.
2. Educate – Your blog is not a place to sell your services. Your blog is a place to establish your credibility as an expert in your market. You do this by giving away free content, that provides a lot of value to your readers. People do business with those they know, like & trust… your blog, if used properly, will make this a no-brainer.
3. Be Consistent – This is important for 2 main reasons:
   1. SEO benefits – You need to update regularly for maximum exposure in the search engines. Every time you post, you are letting the search engines know that they should come back and visit your site.
   2. Personal Credibility – If you can maintain a blog on a regular basis, you are demonstrating to your prospects that you are credible by having enough information to share on a continuing basis and not just a flash-in-the-pan trying to get their money. You also demonstrate that you are dependable & consistent… this is a huge character trait that says a lot about your ability to deliver.
4. Encourage Interaction – If your blog is just a place for you to post static information, you are missing the power of web 2.0.  Your blog should allow for visitors to leave comments… and so should your writing style! Are you encouraging people to share their feedback? Ask questions? Leave links to their sites? All of these things will make your blog a place that people will feel welcome at, so they will come back for more.
   You also want to provide the ability for users to give you their contact information if they like your stuff. A wise blogger never sells directly on his or her sit, but they always give the user a chance to opt-in for some sort of report, download, newsletter, etc. (that’s where you do the marketing & selling… AFTER they tell you that they are interested in what you have to say and believe you have a certain level of credibility)
5. Syndicate – If you are writing good content, it belongs on as many places as possible.  You can automatically, or manually, re-publish your blog content on many different sites including RSS directories, Squidoo, Hubpages, Article directories, etc.  You can also import it directly into your Facebook feed, and other social networks.

If you believe in what your message is, and are honestly providing value to others, then you need to maximize the effectiveness of your blog to make sure your content is getting in front of as many people as possible.  Your blog should be looked at, and treated, as the central hub of all of your social media marketing strategies.

I like to keep things simple with my marketing strategy, and you should too.  Here’s why: keeping things simple gets results.

It is far better to master one technique, than to do twenty at a lower capacity.  We see this with small business owners all the time… they try to do sales, marketing, bookkeeping, administration, support, etc, all on top of their primary function. (You know, the widget that makes money.)

This article isn’t about the dangers of multi-tasking and the need to focus our efforts, though.

It’s about the power that flows into ALL of our efforts when we master the single most important thing: our message.

The purpose of social media marketing is very simple. It is to create an increase in your:

• Visibility
• Credibility
• Profitability

But, why is it that two different businesses, with equal visibility do not enjoy the same credibility and end up with far different profitability as well?

The reason is the message.  Remember, that core function that makes you money? It’s not just a widget, it should be an expression of who you are. In fact, your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) should be considered a spiritual experience. If it isn’t, you aren’t getting the results you deserve… I guarantee it.

There are two critical elements to manifesting your dreams through social media marketing:

1. A crystal clear picture of your vision
2. Crystal clear expression, or communication, of that vision

If you want to ‘dominate a marketplace’ or bring to reality the fullest expression of your dreams (pick the language that is most comfortable to you), then you need to take the time to really get clear on what your vision is.  I’m not talking about having a vision board with your dream home and bags of money. It’s not the end result… it’s about the journey.

What is it that will have you so inspired that you jump out of bed without an alarm clock?

What will fill you so much excitement that you don’t want to go to sleep at night?

Your business isn’t about putting in 8 hours so you can then go home and eat with your family. Your business should be the fullest expression of why you are on the planet. You have unique gifts and talents that deserve to have a voice. When you get absolutely clear on what that voice needs to say, you are untouchable in the marketplace. You will have something that nobody else will ever compete with… the value that you add will be completely unique, and you will never have to compete on price again.

Once YOU have clarity on what that gift is that you have to offer to others, you need to make sure it is clearly communicated to those who are listening.  While there are many “self-help gurus” and teachers to help you refine your vision, they all fail in connecting the bridge to the marketplace and your target audience.  Moses may have gotten the law on the top of Mount Sinai, but it didn’t do anyone any good until he brought it down to the people.

Social media has the power to explode your business and make your dreams a reality.  Your success depends on effectively communicating your inspired value proposition to those who are asking the question: “what can you do for me?”