No this is not a spammy, link-filled piece on how to make money on-line using social media… it is a few pointers help you get you and your business found on-line by a few simple techniques and advice so if you wanted a get rich quick scheme…. sorry… there are no magic bullets in social media!

1.  Show the world who you are, what you do and where you are… on Twitter

In your twitter Bio you have 160 characters… have you wasted yours?  Your bio is searchable not only in twitter but also in loads of apps developed to make twitter a better experience.  If you have missed out the fundamental things you are really not making yourself easy to find.  Have a play and see what you can do to improve being found more on this very powerful platform.  Do not forget to add where you are as this is probably the most important thing on there for searches.

2.  Do you come up for what you do and where you are in LinkedIn?

If not, you should have a quick look at this video and see how you can improve this… How many times a day are you coming up in the searches?  How many times are people clicking through and checking you out?  The more times you come up the more chances you have of someone taking a peek and if they like what they see they could take it that step further… and there are loads of businesses partnering up and creating great joint venture partnerships that make you both money.  We see this happening all the time and loads of businesses who have been on our training are sharing great success stories about it.

3.  Are you using your facebook account well?

Forget B2B and B2C you are now P2P, that’s person to person and what is behind every great company?  The chances are some of the people you are likely to do business with are on facebook and in a mood to chat.  No gate keepers, no meeting constraints and no problems if you connect in the right way.  many people have their accounts wide open so the world can see it, mainly because they have no idea how to lock it down.  If you do a quick search of people you want to connect with for business see who you are connected to who actually knows them and see what their likes and interests are.  You may find you have more in common than you thought.  They are much more likely to say yes to a friend connection if you are connected to someone they know and if you take the time to send a personal message to them.  You may even suggest something you think would help them.. like a link to a video that helps them lock down their account is a start…

4.  Foursquare is coming along in leaps and bounds…

You can now get your business listed straight away for just $10 dollars, which means you can start adding offers and incentives to get people to advertise your business to all their facebook and twitter friends when they check in.  That’s got to be worth an added value incentive don’t you think?  We don’t recommend discounting.. but rewarding people is a great thing – especially when they share it to the world.  This may give you a bit more information on how foursquare can help you get more business.  Your business will be found by people checking in at other places and if it has an offer on it – then you get to the top… these people may be out of your network but have just found you… and may even need what you do.. so make it easy for them and for $10 dollars I would be delighted for people using foursquare to share my business with their friends and connections… how powerful is that if you are a local business?

5.  Use video… 

You are much more likely to rank in Google with a video than text – get your keywords right and make sure it says where you are in your keywords and title and go for it… we like video and once you have posted it to youtube you van embed it (like we have here) and share it on other platforms… get people to like what you are posting and they tend to subscribe (which posts your content on their youtube wall…. starting a viral thing going) and it doesn’t need to be expensive… get your iphones and flipcams out and just do it… and if you don’t like being on screen do what I do and use video capture software to record what you are doing or even a powerpoint presentation!  Here is a quick strategy tip for your video stuff…

Now how do all of the above make you money using social media?  Well, if you just do them and nothing else you will get some interest and be found more… which could give you more business… BUT if you make a concerted effort and use your social media platforms better you will soon find your telephone is ringing much more…

do DAILY posts on facebook and twitter – nothing serious and certainly not a link to look at my special offers every 5 minutes… join in conversations and post pictures and videos you think will help people… and watch how many new friends and connections you start getting… the more engaged and audience you have, the wider the reach.  People also have very short memories and unless they remember you they have no hope of remembering what you do.  People are very sociable creatures and naturally share and if they spot someone needing what you do they will… if they have you in their short term memory bank… so make them smile and think and they are much more likely to.

do WEEKLY blogs – get your thoughts together and create a 500 word blog post on wordpress, posterous or blogger and start showing the world you are not only what you say on the tine but also the go to expert in your field.  The competition won’t get a look in within your area (back to location again – I really can’t emphasise just how important this is on-line)… Google loves local references so make sure you get plenty of those in…  If you get stuck on what to write ask someone to guest blog for you…

do a MONTHLY catch up… make sure you have checked your twitter account and followed relevant people who have started listening to you, back up your social media accounts and get shot of the stuff in your inbox that is taking your valuable time… unsubscribe from stuff you are not listening too and focus on what is grabbing your attention.  You will find you now have MORE time to actually do some social media stuff.

Remember social media is not to be used like a gym membership… a mad dash in the beginning and then nothing til a renewal date reminder…. little and often and be consistent… not only in how often you use it but also in what you share and who you – it is much easier to be who you are on-line than pretend because the BIGGEST way of making money on social media is teaming up with the people you have grown to trust and who reciprocate this… and if you are not the person they met on-line you have wasted all that time and even worse… they will share… publicly!

Social media is not a magic bullet but it is a phenomenally powerful platform for you to find people and be found for your business… by what you say and where you say it… as well as the most powerful weapon any business can use… which is word of mouth.  Make a few tweaks and start some conversations and then come and share your wins!  Any issues just ask…