Social Business Consulting continues to evolve and 2017 is no exception.  I have been helping companies with social media marketing since 2009 so makes me feel like a grandfather in the space.  That’s eight years! but a lot has changed in the social business and social media consulting landscape since then.

Here is a quick video post I did on the The Top 10 Must Read Social Media Books for business professionals.  Enjoy!- 

Justin Results French.

social media quotes

Do you love what you do? I certainly do. Did you know over 70% of the population dislike what they do. That means only 30% of people actually LOVE what they do.  My question today is about the social media strategy for your business.  Is your social media strategy lifting people up and leaving them feeling inspired? People often say that social media is mostly hype. That may be so, but at least it’s positive hype.  It’s better than having a negative connotation.  I have been helping businesses with social media since 2009. That said, there is nothing wrong with mixing into your social media marketing mix some motivational, inspirational, and educational content that helps feed peoples minds with positivity.  We have enough negativity in the world today, so I say- continue posting social media content that has positivity.

Thanks for stopping by,

Justin French

I was very humbled to be featured in the 2014 Marketing Experts prediction check out the full presentation here http://www.slideshare.net/simplify360/future-of-marketing-welcome-2014

My 2 cents: “My prediction for 2014 is big data from social starts driving big revenue. From Apples’ recent acquisition of Topsy is writing on the wall. This says their is a lot of hidden marketing value behind big social data and turning that marketing sense into dollars will continue to be the key for 2014. “- JF The Social Business Guy

What are some of your predictions?  Happy 2014- Justin

If your business is not involved in social networking, it is missing a key development ingredient. You are missing important contacts, sales, falling behind your competition and not living up to your potential. Getting involved with social networking is easier than you may think. It really is about telling stories, and who doesn’t like a good story?

Start a Blog

Blogging started out as individuals keeping personal online journals. It has evolved into an online phenomenon known as the blogosphere. And, it is not just for amateurs. Many businesses realize the importance of staying in touch with their customers. Blogs give your potential customers a chance to communicate directly with your key personnel. Many blogs contain comment sections that can eventually lead to online forums.

Blogs give your business a chance to develop a more personal relationship with your customers. Instead of reading your company’s financial statements or annual report, for instance, viewers can see how products are developed. They can read your insight into how new products came about and what you are hoping to achieve with them.

* You can post employee accomplishments, philanthropic endeavors and other nonwork-related happenings on your blog. It gives your customers a chance to get a “behind the scenes” look at your business. Everyone likes this.

Be sure to assign a key personnel the duty of regularly updating your blog to keep it from getting outdated. Nobody likes seeing a blog that has not had a post for a year. Start a schedule, such as weekly, to keep everybody abreast about your business happenings.

Remember to list your blog with as many social media sites as possible to increase your awareness. You never know when a viewer will turn into a paying customer.

Include social media site widgets on your blog to make it easy for your readers to share information with their social networking community. This is another great way to increase your brand awareness and business exposure.

Make A Video

Videos play a key role in the social media world. Millions of users daily upload multistreaming videos to sites such as YouTube. Missing out on this marketing tool will play havoc with your business development.

Help your multistreaming video stand out by preparing a Web 2.0 marketing article that contains your keywords. SEO plays a crucial role in getting your business noticed by the search engines. Keywords are what search engines crawlers use to categorize your online presence.

* Practice reading your article before the mirror, or to your associates, before actually recording the video. Remember to speak clearly and enunciate properly so listeners and viewers easily understand what you are saying. Videos work remarkably well for product demonstrations, for instance.

* At the end of your video be sure to include a link to your business website or blog. You want to make it as easy as possible for others to contact you for further information.

Schedule Regular Updates

When getting involved with social media, remember that it will not work on a sporadic basis. It needs to be done consistently to assure your success with developing your business.

Plan on setting aside a certain time slot daily or weekly to update your social media sites, profiles and updates. Have it become part of your work schedule.

Being consistent increases your customers, clients and potential customers’ confidence and trust in you and your business. Everyone likes consistency.

Social media can help you develop your business by bringing in new leads, increasing awareness, improving brand recognition and enhancing the retention rate of your existing. If you feel overwhelmed, contacting a professional may be your best option.

AUTHOR:

Crystal Balker is a freelance writer specializing in the social media field. She has written over 500 published pieces including articles, books and blogs. She writes for Degree Jungle, which provides information for college students.

Today’s Blog Post Sponsored By:

Before working with a anyone who claims to be a social media consultant, you may want to ask yourself a few questions.
Please Ask yourself The Following before choosing to work with a social media person:

10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Working with a Social Business Consultant:

1. Do I  have the time to learn all this social media stuff and stay up to date on my own?
2. Do I want to be a thought leader online in my industry?
3. Do I  have a willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed?
4. Do I see the value in having an on-going and ACTIVE social media presence for my business and brand?
5. How are my competitors activities on social media comparing to my business?
6. Do I have the time to dedicate to marketing my company on-line or do I want a social business TEAM of consultants to do it for me?
7. How much is NOT having a strong on-line presence costing my business?
8. Am I still trying traditional marketing approaches or expensive pay per click that are producing diminishing returns?
9. Am I currently having success in my business from doing social networking & social media?
10. Will someone at my company or will I be the one working with the social media consultant on an ongoing basis?

In this FREE Report, I reveal the Top 21 KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) your business or agency must be measuring for Social Media ROI

First– ask yourself a question:

Which of the 3 website goals am I trying to achieve?

Websites typically focus on these 3 objectives:

Increase website traffic

Increase leads

Increase sales (Or what we help do- increase conversion)

Second– ask yourself what is my cost per lead? Cost per customer? Remember: LTV of a customer (Or life time value)

Third: Understand Quantitative VS. Qualitative measurements

Now for the 21 KPI’s your business or social media agency should be measuring:

1. # of unique website visitors per month

2. # of Twitter followers & # of Twitter lists

3. # of mentions of your brand, product or service on twitter (see the tool www.tweetreach.com )

4. # of Facebook friends/ Fans

5. # of clicks on bit.ly links (find patterns in the time of day) this is FREE PPC! HUGE cost savings I’ve personally saved companies over 20,000$ easy that they would of spent on PPC  (who says social media is free??)

6. # of you tube subscribers

7. # of you tube channel views/ videos views

8. # of newsletter subscribers (or blog subscribers)

9. Know which traffic sources are sending you the most traffic (Google Analytics)

10. # of quality inbound links (SEO)

11. # of blog comments

12. # of opt ins to your list

13. # of linked in group members

14. Avg. time spent on site (social media increases this) More time is better

15. Bounce rate (you want this % as low as possible) Lower is better

16. # of leads, sales, and conversions (Percentage) This is the MOST IMPORTANT

17. # of customers you retain from social media (staying engaged and on top of mind)

18. % of revenue increase from social media marketing

These are just some additional supplemental benefits of social media:

19. How much a PR campaign or traditional campaign would of cost without using social media (Cisco saved 250,000$ that they would have had to spend) see video here: http://justinrfrench.posterous.com/social-media-saves-businesses-like-cisco-2500

They reached 90X the audience at 1/6th the cost with social channels.

20. Social Media produces much higher QUALITY of leads than paid advertising

21. Social media produces better conversion rates than email, PPC, CPA, CPM, etc.

Last Point:  Social Media is just simple communications Duh!

If you need an actual ROI Calculator, check out Dragon Search which we use quite often to show cost savings to clients. You can find here http://bit.ly/jFWilb

Hope you enjoyed this FREE Report.  Click Here If you would like to subscribe to our Social Media VIP Insiders tips and tricks.