Want a really good breakdown of what social networking is in plain english?  take a look at this video:

So now that you’re a little more aware of what social networking is and how it works, (I’m sure you’ve heard the terms Twit this and Facebook status updates) did you know that you can use social media marketing sites to help promote your business?

Here is a breakdown of some of the more popular sites on the internet and how they can help you:

FaceBookFFacebook:  Originally created for student as a form of college photo album and social connector, but has now been taken over by the over 40 crowd and is getting very popular with business networking.  When you are setting up Facebook (FB) for your business, remember to keep the personal out – not everyone wants to hear about the new baby or the puppy.  Also, it’s very important to check your settings as to who can see your personal details.  You also need to be careful as to who you might communicate with about a negative business dealing.  Word of mouth gets around, especially on FB.  Take this into consideration when connecting your business to this very popular avenue.  Consider setting up a Fan or Group page for your business.  What’s the difference?  When a Fan page is updated, the  information goes to the home page of all the fans of the FB page, whereas a Group page lives in its own little world, which makes it good for discussions.  To see a sample, check out my Fan page for Lyrical Biz.

twitter-logoTwitter – Tweets, Twips, all little acronyms for what you’re doing right at the moment.  Tweets can contain links, sales blasts, photos, and all must be done in 140 words or less.  Twitter has gotten so popular that the media is consistantly updating us with the news of the day in mini headlines.  This can also be done for your business.  How about the tip of the day?  or a special sale you’re running for the weekend…  the Tweets can also be your latest blog posts, which can be automatically updated right from your blog without having to log into Twitter.  Link your Facebook and Twitter accounts together to provide concurrent status updates.  Follow Me on Twitter!

linkedin

LinkedIn:  Great for business – the majority of people listed on LinkedIn are business owners, just like you.  LinkedIn can be a great place to network.

flickrFlickr: for photos – this is another great way to share your latest promotional success with your clientel.  Share photos of your last grand opening, the booth at your last event, and more!    If you’re a photographer, this is a great place to show off your portfolio and you can link your photos back to by way of  Flickr widgets to your website, Facebook and more.

rssiconRSS – lots of confusion here on how to use this great media.  First off, what exactly is RSS?  RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and what it basically does is publish frequently posted material on the web, such as blogs.  I’m sure you’ve seen the iconic symbol for RSS – but did you know that all you had to do was click on the icon to subscribe to your favorite feed?  And then when you do, how do you get the information sent to you so you receive the updates?  The most simplistic way is by signing up for a Feed Reader service.  Google offers a free services tied into your account that puts all of your feeds in one place.  Just log in.  And if there is a blog that you would like to add, you just have to type it into the search box – pretty slick.

youtubeiconYouTube: video sharing site.  YouTube is not just for silly commercials or cat videos anymore.  did you know that you can find a slew of tutorials on how to do practically anything, and for free?  You can also create and upload your own videos or presentations as long as the file is less than 10 gig and less than 5 minutes long.  Think of that last great presentation you did that you want to share with people that weren’t able to attend.  You can give a brief recap by editing your video and have a link to the full presentation to your website.

To get the most out of all of your social media websites, make sure you have links on all of them to each other and most importantly to your website or blog!

Lyrical Biz offers installation of Social Media plugins for your WordPress website – for a nominal fee, I will install and update all widgets on your blog to your individual social marketing profiles!  Contact me today for a quote!

Websites for a Song
Lisa Drew
WordPress Diva & Website Creator, Classical Singer, Artist
Websites for a Song LLC
https://websitesforasong.com

Office Hours (unless urgent):
M-F 10am-5pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed

EV SSL