A new report out by Wetpaint and the Alitmeter Group showed that companies with the greatest engagement in social media in the past year grew their revenues by 18% while companies that were the least engage showed about a 6% decrease in revenue. The study included the top 100 brands and include such social media channels as blogs, wikis, Twitter, Facebook and discussion forums. Not surprisingly, the top three brands with the highest levels of engagement included Starbucks, Dell and Google.

Where it gets interesting is that the analysis revealed that these companies had dedicated teams of people who were actively engaged in using the variety of social media channels. WebProNews reports that:

Basically, it shows that it pays (literally) to have a team working full time on engaging with customers via social media. Even if that team consists of one person, it means they will not be distracted by other tasks and can give the social channel the attention required for it to make a significant impact.

What this means for the small business owner who may not be able to afford nor need a “dedicated” staff of employees to help them engage with their customers using social media, but they do have the ability to work with a Social Media Virtual Assistant and make an impact on their overall online visibility and more importantly, their bottom line. Social media becomes an effective marketing channel when it is used as part of a strategy and with continuous and ongoing efforts. The small business owner or entrepreneur who may not have the time or the capacity to get started and maintain their social media/social networking initiatives can benefit from being able to work with a Social Media Virtual Assistant.

By working with a Social Media Virtual Assistant, small business owners are able to contract for just the number of hours needed plus a SMVA is well versed in how to get them up and running with their social media in a minimal amount of time. There is also the added benefit that working with a SMVA over time will make them familiar with your business, your style and your goals which means they essentially become a partner with you in your social media marketing efforts.

What are your concerns in getting started or maintaining your social media efforts as a means to connect and engage with your customers or network with colleagues?

Social Media is now being used by small business, entrepreneurs, big business, non-profits and a multitude of other organizations. Using Social Media to market and network online is quickly becoming the norm as the number of people using and participating in Social Media grows exponentially.

Consider these numbers:

• In 2005, 8% of all adults online had a profile on a social networking site. Today, this has increased to 35%.

• In December 2008, 76 million people visited MySpace which was a 10% increase over the previous year.

• In December 2008, 54.5 million people visited Facebook which was a 57% increase from the previous year and it’s estimated that 22% of all adults online have a profile on Facebook.

• Facebook’s fastest growing demographic is among users ages 35-49 in 2008.

• In August 2008, 23.7 million people visited YouTube and 1 out of every 3 videos viewed online is on YouTube.

• Globally, in 2008, more internet users accessed a social networking community than used email, (67% to 65%).

• In December 2008, 4.5 million people visited Twitter which was an astounding 753% increase from the previous year. Five to ten thousand new Twitter accounts are created daily.

• The number of active people on Twitter in the past week is over 550,000.

• 73% of active online users have read a blog.

How Can a Social Media Virtual Assistant Help?

Clearly, Social Media is here to stay and it’s obviously become a marketing force to be reckoned with. As small business owners or solo entrepreneurs, many of us have limited time to be focusing on how to learn or manage what it takes to increase online visibility or to adequately manage all of the “places” online that we are told we “need” to be. That’s where a Social Media Virtual Assistant can help. I have spent the time learning and understanding not only how Social Media works, but how the various Social Media avenues can be used for marketing one’s self or one’s business online. Further, I know how the various platforms work…those icky, sticky details of how to do something within Facebook, how to best manage your Twitter account, who to follow, what does an @reply mean…all things that can take precious hours to learn and understand. As a Social Media Virtual Assistant, I become your short-cut into jumping into the Social Media fast lane. Further, I can help explain to you “why” you want to be involved in Social Media and Social Networking. There are other benefits that are not just about connecting and engaging with your target market.

Stay tuned this week for additional posts which will cover exactly what I can do help with different Social Media platforms, real world examples of how Social Media is being used and other information about why it is important to establish a strong online presence.

Resources:

http://www.primalmedia.com/blog/social-media-non-profits

http://mashable.com/2009/03/09/social-networking-more-popular-than-email/

http://tweetrush.com

Image by fredcavazza via Flickr

I’m pleased to announce that JK Virtual Office Resources now has an “official” Business Fan Page on Facebook. As a virtual assistant who specializes in social media and internet marketing, it makes perfect sense for me to have a Business Fan Page for the following reasons:

• I can keep my personal profile separate from my business profile.
• I can have a targeted group (fans) of people who are interested in my business and who want to receive updates regarding my business. I’ve essentially created a space where I can develop relationships with potential customers and have a “conversation” with them. I’ve made my business accessible to a whole population of people who I might not otherwise ever interact with.
• Increased visibility- I am able to post a link to my fan page from other social media sites, from my own website and from anywhere else I might be able to post a link. I’ve also made it easier for my friends on Facebook to find a place that explains exactly what it is that I do and what my business offers. Also, I’ve created an alternative to my website to advertise my business for potential customers who may do a search for virtual assistants or social media marketing on Facebook instead of Google. I can post notes or other relevant information on that page and it is immediately sent to my fan’s homepages. If they post back on my page, then all of their friends will see that on their homepage. That’s viral marketing at it’s best.
• Anyone can join or see my information without having to first send a Friend request that has to be approved. The Business Fan Page removes this barrier and allows people see your information much more easily.
• I’ve created yet another back link to my website which can help with search engine rankings.
• Facebook provide daily statistics/analytics such as the number of page views and unique visitors to your fan page. This provides you with good quantitative data about how often people are visiting and viewing your page.
• It’s free. Creating a business page on this highly visible social networking site is completely free and takes only a little bit of time and finesse to set up and it’s totally free. Who doesn’t love free?

Take a look at my fan page and I’d love it even more if you became a fan. I’ll be posting links and other social media information there that will be relevant to the small business owner or solo entrepreneur. If you don’t already have your own Business Fan Page, shoot me an email (or a message through Facebook) and we can talk about how I can assist you with setting up, maintaining and marketing your Facebook Business page.

How have you used Facebook for your business?

Image via Wikipedia

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• How Much Time Should I Spend On Social Media (chrisbrogan.com)

Marketing yourself and your business has undergone a complete face lift with the explosion of social networking and Web 2.0. For anyone who is looking to establish an online presence, promote themselves or their business online or sell a product or service, then using the social networks and other Web 2.0 application is quickly become an absolute.

A post over on Hiring the Internet about the theory of social media marketing talks about how social media is evolving as a marketing tool but is also a tool that many businesses will fail at using correctly. Statistics from several recent reports show that 60% of Americans are using social media to interact with companies and businesses online and that nearly two-thirds of businesses are establishing their presence on social networks.

Social media marketing is a new kind of beast that many do not yet understand how to harness it’s power. Most people are tired and distrustful of the old world marketing tactics. Using social networking for your business is a relational type of marketing where you can gain consumers by gaining their trust and providing them with a sense of knowing who you are or what type of company you are rather than just by your service or product.

Setting up social network profiles, updating and maintaining them is a time consuming process. It not only takes knowledge of the many different types of sites that are available but you must also know how to use them (correctly) which also requires that you understand what benefits you will achieve from using a particular site or network. Expertise and knowledge at using social media sites for marketing takes A LOT of time. But the payoff can be well worth the effort.

An internet marketing virtual assistant can be a huge help in this area. Internet Marketing Assistants have specific expertise and training in using all the most popular and relevant social media and networking sites for business. Many also use these for promoting their own business as well. Here is a short list of what an internet marketing virtual assistant can help you with:

• Set up and maintain social networking profiles such as Facebook, MySpace, Stumbleupon, LinkedIn
• Assist with building Twitter profile, locate people to follow and follow back
• Track blogs to relevant your business
• Post videos and track view statistics
• Track and report on your web analytics
• Conduct Search Engine keyword research
• Submit your website or blog to directories
• Article and press release submission
• Track your Google Alerts
• Format and publish blog posts, approve comments and assist with blog maintenance

And that’s just the short list. If you think you might like to talk further about how an internet marketing virtual assistant can help you get it all done without going crazy, shoot us an email or contact us for a free consultation. We love doing this stuff.

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