by Kimberly | Jan 8, 2017 | Blog, small business, Social Media, social media marketing, Social Media Virtual Assistant
As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you probably know that it’s a good idea to get started using social media but may be wondering where and how to get started. In this article, I’ll be going four steps that will help you establish your business with a social media presence and get a good, solid start reaching your target market, creating a community and engaging with your customers. It’s important to plan out how you want to approach social media to ensure that your efforts are efficient and effective. STEP 1: Goals, Branding and Target Audience Your business has goals and your social plan should too. It’s also a good idea to identify your branding objectives to help guide you in creating your social media plan. Tie your branding objectives to your business goals. If your goal is to gain more customers, then one of your social media goals would be to increase your visibility (let people know you exist). Another goal would be to use social media to engage with your customers to give them a sense of who you are, what you do and what your business offers. Your social media presence will be a reflection of your business so it’s important to think about the tone you want to use for your social media posts, the images you use and the ad campaigns that you run. These will be the parts of your social media presence that will leave an impression with your audience so you want to have some planning and strategy behind. Your social media channels should also work together with your other...
by Kimberly | Jan 16, 2015 | Blog, Pinterest, Social Media
As of Jaunary 1, 2015, Pinterest opened up promoted pins to all advertisers. After several months of beta testing, they found that promoted pins performed just as well, and sometimes better, as organic pins. They also found that, so far, pinners don’t seem to mind seeing promoted pins in their pinstream. The Details Promoted pins are considered an ad on Pinterest and you’re able to set up different ad campaigns. For each campaign, you can select target audiences based on location (currently only in the U.S), interests, demographics and devices. Pinterest promoted pins work on a CPC basis (cost per click) with a minimum bid of $0.05. This means that you pay only when someone clicks through a pin to your website. Pinterest has a few guidelines when it comes to promoted pins. Primarily, that you want to be authentic. You want your pin to blend in and be of interest to your audience. This means that it should NOT look like a traditional ad. Stay away from calls-to-action, pricing or blatant promotional content in your pin. Be sure to include dates with your pin if it is for a giveaway or other promotion. And, be sure to use an engaging image. Add in useful terms for your pin and double check the link where users will go when the click on the pin. Promoted pins should includes images that make people want to click or re-pin. Your promoted pins need to lead to a relevant landing page with no sign-up request. Pinterest also has some more specific advertising rules that you’ll want to read over as well. Currently,...
by Kimberly | Jun 17, 2010 | Blog, Featured
Any small business or entrepreneur anywhere near an Internet connection these days, will have heard about the importance of using social media as a marketing tool. Many will not know the ins and outs of how to go about getting started or keeping up with their social media efforts. What’s more is that small business owners and entrepreneurs are VERY BUSY and they just do not have time to learn and maintain everything that goes with social media. This is where I come in as a Social Media Virtual Assistant. I help small business owners figure out the what and the how for using social media for their business. We identify what their goals are and how to work towards achieving those goals and some measurable outcomes in using social media for business. I can take care of the initial set up, including all the technical aspects along with my recommendations or shortcuts for how to fully optimize a their presence on different social media platforms. I will give suggestions for how to help syndicate their content throughout their networks and I can help set up systems for helping to manage or automate where it seems feasible. My efforts work best and get the best results with clients when there is good, open communication and when the client clearly understands and participates where needed with the different social media platforms and networks. The biggest mistake I encounter in working as a Social Media Virtual Assistant, is that some clients come to the table with a “set it and forget it” mentality despite my best efforts to advise them otherwise....
by Kimberly | Feb 3, 2010 | Blog, Facebook, Featured
I became a fan of the US Army fan page on Facebook after the shootings at Fort Hood last year. Today I noticed an interesting status up from their page. (See below). I think this is a fascinating use of a government agency connecting with every day people but it was also an interesting commentary on just how far social media has come and is now ingrained in our every day lives. After seeing this update, I went over the Army’s Facebook page to see just what was going on and it seems as though the Army’s fans were posting their opinions on the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. Obviously, this is a highly charged and highly emotional issue for many people on both sides of the issue. The parts that particularly caught my interest was: 1. The response from the Army’s admins for page who were actively engaging with their fans and letting them know they were being heard. It also appears Admins are actively watching the page to delete any completely derogatory and profane messages. But the ones that are on there seem to be posted by people on there who are willing to post their opinions without resorting to name calling or hurtful words. 2. That this issue was being so openly discussed at all on their fan page. While fan opinions on Facebook may not change whether the policy continues, it does seem entirely feasible that at the very least, these comments will be forwarded to those in the higher ranks and quite possibly to congressmen and women and other policy/decision makers. I believe...
by Kimberly | Nov 5, 2009 | Blog, Featured, Social Media, Social Media Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistance
You’ve probably heard over and over that social media is about authenticity, sincerity, and transparency. Maybe this has prevented you from getting a little extra help with your social media needs; you aren’t looking for someone to go out and impersonate you online. You want to be sure that you are the one maintaining control over your image, your business or your brand. Unfortunately, you’ve probably also heard that social media can become a colossal time suck. This is where a Social Media Virtual Assistant (SMVA) comes in. Your image and message can remain authentically yours while someone else takes care of the routine tasks and chores of social media. Here are just a few things a SMVA can do for you: Set up your social media profiles. Setting up a new Twitter account or Facebook Fan page is easy, but optimizing them for the greatest marketing value is quite challenging. An SMVA has the expertise and specialized knowledge to efficiently get your account off to a running head start. Already have an established Twitter or Facebook page? Your SMVA can provide you with recommendations on how to use your accounts to build your online visibility and increase your brand awareness. And how many times have you wondered what exactly you’re supposed to do with your LinkedIn account? An SMVA can advise you on how to optimize your profile and how to be seen as an expert in your industry. Save time by having your SMVA research groups for you to join and find questions for you to answer. Research. An SMVA can help research where your target audience...
