For Facebook users, you can implement Questions on your business fan page to interact with customers as part of their social media strategy.  Ask questions about your ideas or conduct a mini survey to determine which of your services is most popular.

To begin using Facebook Questions on your own page:

Step 1: Sign into your Facebook Fan Page.

If you administer multiple fan pages, go to the “Account” tab at the upper-right side of your Facebook account and click “Use Facebook as Page.”  Click “Switch” next to the fan page you would like to be signed into, which should be the page where you want to add Questions.

Step 2: On your Wall, where you would normally enter your Status, click on the “Question” link and enter your question.  Click on the “Add Poll Options” link and enter the survey options.

Step 3: Click on “Ask Question”

Yes, it’s that easy!  Come up with a question that you’ve been meaning to ask your clients and see what your Facebook network thinks.

Well, I returned to a pile of backlog items and went into somewhat of a frenzy, trying to get things done in preparation for another vacation just a few days later. This trip was over a weekend, leaving on a Friday morning and returning on Monday. Not surprisingly, working in a frenzy, I didn’t get much done.

Totally exhausted on Friday morning, on a whim (well not quite…I had convince myself not to), I left my laptop at home. As we drove away from the house, I physically turned and looked back with that feeling of dread, like I had left a part of me behind. I repeated to myself over and over, “It’s just a weekend. Just a few days.”

Once on the airplane, resigned to the fact that I no longer had a choice as my laptop was at home, I began to let go. Needless to say, it was the best vacation I had had in years! We spent the time relaxing, played some golf and tennis, even took naps in the middle of the day, and literally did nothing. I hadn’t realized how sleep deprived I had been, even after having been “on vacation for two weeks” only a few days prior and that I was running on fumes.

I’m back in the office now, my head is clearer and I’ve made some changes to my business that I had only been thinking about for what seemed like forever. I’m working more efficiently, and I’m amazed at how quickly I’m crossing things off my backlog of things to do.

I just read an article on BizNik that helped reinforce that feeling – Here’s an excerpt:

“… I made all sort of excuses about how I wanted to be there for the client and things. I mean how else was I going to do what I was meant to do. Serve my clients and be there for them every waking minute. Well, as I read my own words I hear how sad this sounds. It was at that moment I realized that I wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer. One of two things would happen. I would end up in the hospital from exhaustion or I would begin resenting my clients. Neither of which is a good thing. I also knew that I hadn’t created anything new for my business in quite a while and had no clue what was next for me…

… Once, I landed back on the mainland and as I started to withdraw from my tropical haze, I was full of ideas and energy. The type of energy that makes things happen. I’m not sure how long it will last but I can’t wait for my next vacation. I promised myself I won’t take my laptop next time. And that 100,000 foot level and letting go stuff really works. I think in letting go I realized that my business is better when I had a chance to work on my business and give myself a break from working in it.

As entrepreneurs we get so caught up in running our business that all the things we wanted to do when we started get pushed aside in the grind of trying to make money and make it all work. I now have a clearer picture of my business and how I want it to look, work and feel. And that’s a good thing. So, go book your next vacation, zoom up to the 100,000 foot level and get-a-way for a while and get your life and your business back. This is my life through a different lens. Be well.”

– Step Away from Your Business and Nobody Will Get Hurt” by Gerald Grinter, The Twelfth Power Consulting

We simply hold on and tell ourselves “it will slow down after X happens” and push on. I’ve heard it countless times before, but I guess in prior attempts to take time for myself, I haven’t ever quite allowed myself to really let go. I know now that that everything will be okay, the work will still be there waiting for me, but I’m in a better frame of mind to tackle it.

I challenge YOU now to give yourself permission and pick a date (make it soon!) and mark your calendar. Really and truly, completely unplug. Let go. Breathe. Take time for yourself and return recharged and with a new perspective!

It’s again the start of a new year. Many people take this time to begin new advertising and marketing campaigns, or at least take a closer look at where they are with their business. An article I read hit the nail on the head for things to take a look at. Although it’s mainly direct towards trade show marketing, the basic rules still apply.

Planting Sales Seeds by Mike Mraz via Skyline Trade Show Tips

“My nephew Andy is a farmer.  He’s wanted to be a farmer since he was a little boy.  For Andy, there’s something so special about tending the crop to harvest.

Spend a day with him and you’ll learn that farming is very hard but rather simple work.

Of course technology has made a significant impact on the farming process. Fields are now charted by GPS, seeds are engineered to withstand hardship and chemicals assist in maximizing output.   

But, the process is still pretty simple; turn the soil, plant the seed, water the field and harvest the crop.

Imagine if Andy farmed like many organizations marketed.

Here are 5 lessons that farmer Andy could teach marketers today:

1. Choose the right crop for the right field.  Market segmentation and targeted messaging allow us to focus our efforts and leverage our marketing dollars like never before.  The proliferation of smaller more targeted events, allows exhibitors the chance to tell their story to a very qualified audience.
2. Remember where you planted your seed.  What’s the point to randomly handing out or letting people help themselves to your literature a trade show?  When that brochure gets stuffed into a show bag, it’s one step closer to the trash can.  Just like the farmer controls his seed, the trade show marketer must control his information.
3. Nurture your seed as it grows.  Focused follow-up and relationship development after the show is CRITICAL!  The farmer would never toss his seeds to the wind and expect the crop to harvest itself.  Why do exhibitors think that they can show up at a show, hand out literature, give away a few pens and expect a harvest to follow?  The harvest will belong to the marketing farmer who works the field.
4. Know when to harvest your crop.  Experienced marketing and sales people know when it’s time to ask for the business.  They take a very strategic approach to developing the prospect into a customer and know when the time is right to close.  And, close they must.
5. Be a good steward of the land.  Give back to your industry.  Get involved with the associations you belong to.  Put your “knowledgeware” (your smart people) on display by getting them on the speaker’s platform and presenting at your big conference.  To be seen as a thought leader you need to act like one.

If farmers behaved more like the average marketer, this country would starve.

With the exception of field sales (interesting use of words), the trade show floor is the only marketing field where we are face to face with our market.  In this field we have the opportunity to nurture a good crop and grow your business like no other.

So put on your overalls, grab your pitchfork and get to planting. You’ve got mouths to feed!”

1) Start by calling or emailing them simply to set up an appointment to talk further. That’s easier and less daunting than trying to close the deal right then and there. And you’re less likely to bag out once you’ve made a commitment. If need be, hire a Virtual Assistant, Intern or assistant to call people back and schedule appointments.

2) Set aside one day a week, or an hour a day, to do follow up calls and block out the time in your schedule. Then commit to doing that and nothing else.

3) Draft an email that you can send automatically when people contact you, letting them know you got their message and would like to set a time to chat. That way you don’t have to think about it and it’s less likely to get put off until later.

4) If you’re not sure what to say on the phone, or how to answer certain questions, you need to create a script—something that’s never a bad idea. Then practice it with someone you know. You don’t need to follow it word for word forever. Just use it to help you get your thoughts in order, or as a cheat sheet, so you can speak confidently.

5) Create an automated system for sending thank you cards after phone meetings. I like to have a draft already written, that way I can customize the message quickly and send it out as soon as I get off the phone. A service like Send Out Cards or a Virtual Assistant or Intern works great for this too.

Read the entire blog post:  http://theunchainedentrepreneur.com/five-ways-to-make-following-up-easy

Don’t let your site get lost in Internet obscurity. Here’s the last of five simple ways to help boost your website’s traffic and optimization.

5. List your site in online directories by related category or region.

This is an effective way to increase exposure and get found by prospects searching specifically for information on your product or service by keyword topic. Popular directories (like Business.com) typically have a nominal fee. But there are many other directories (like Dmoz.org, Info.com, and Superpages.com) that are free.

Most important, before you start your SEO initiatives, don’t forget to establish a baseline for your site so you can measure pre- vs. post-SEO tactics. Upload a site counter (which counts the number of visits to your website), obtain your site’s Alexa traffic ranking at Alexa.com, or get your site’s daily visit average (from Google Analytics or another application) and then chart your weekly progress in Excel. Understand that it typically takes two to three months for a site to be optimized…so be patient. You will eventually see results.

Don’t let your site get lost in Internet obscurity. Here’s the fourth of five simple ways to help boost your website’s traffic and optimization.

4. Website pages should be keyword rich and related to your business.

Make a list of your top 20 keywords and variations of those words, and incorporate them into the copy on your site (avoiding the obvious repetition of words). Search engine “spiders” crawl Web pages from top to bottom, so your strongest keywords should be in that order on your home page and sub-pages (the most relevant on the top, the least relevant on the bottom).

You’ll want to do the same for your tagging. Make sure your title tags (the descriptions at the top of each page) and meta tags are unique and chock full of keywords. And your alt tags (images) should have relevant descriptions as well.

Don’t let your site get lost in Internet obscurity. Here’s the third of five simple ways to help boost your website’s traffic and optimization.

3. Give Web searchers great content and a link back to your site.

Upload relevant content to sites that make such information available to other sites that want to publish it, such as ArticleDashboard.com or ArticlesFactory.com. This is a great way to increase market awareness as well as establish an inbound link to your site. There is also a syndication opportunity, as third-party sites may come across your article when doing a Web search and republish your content on their own websites. As long as third-parties give your site editorial attribution and a link, getting them to republish your content is just another distribution channel for you to consider.

Don’t let your site get lost in Internet obscurity.  Here’s the second of five simple ways to help boost your website’s traffic and optimization.

2. Initiate a relevant inbound link program.

Set up a reciprocal link page or blog roll (a listing of URLs on a blog, as opposed to a website) that can house links from industry sites.  Contact these sites to see if they’d be willing to swap links with you – a link to your site for a link to theirs.  Again, relevance is key.  Search engines shun link harvesting (collecting links from random websites that have no relevance to your site), so these links should be from sites that are similar in nature to your business.

Okay, so you have a website. You’ve spent time and money getting this thing up. You’ve used all your creative juices to get the words just right. And you added some nice graphics to make the site aesthetically pleasing. Now what?

A website is of little use if nobody can find it.

Mastering organic search ranking has proven to be a fundamental part of the online marketing mix. (By “organic,” I mean the “natural,” as opposed to “paid/PPC,” listing that appears when someone conducts a search on Google or other search engines. Optimal placement is typically within the first 20 listings or three pages.)

Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) � the ability to increase your site’s visibility in organic search listings and refine the content structure on the site itself � are critical for market awareness and customer acquisition. According to WebProNews, 66.3 percent of searchers click on organic listings before they click on a sponsored link. Even more important, a recent study by CreativeWebsiteMarketing.com indicates that most people who buy online start with a search engine.

Don’t let your site get lost in Internet obscurity. Here are five simple ways to help boost your website’s traffic and optimization.

1. Create online buzz about your site, product, or service.

You can do this by generating online press releases. There are services on the Web, such as PRWeb.com or Free-press-release.com, that do this for free or at a nominal cost. Another idea is to post comments to high-traffic blogs, bulletin boards, chat rooms, or forums.

Do a Web search for top blogs or news forums that are related to whatever it is that you’re selling. Go to each site, one by one, and post a comment. (Start a new topic or reply to an existing one.) This helps in two ways: One, you create buzz in the marketplace. Depending on your tactics, your message can even go viral. Two, you get a “back-link” to your site that helps when the site is indexed by search engine spiders.

An important note: Your post should be relevant and genuine. Your comment should be relevant to the question you’re replying to, have some sort of value to the readers that view it, and be in the proper area/subject matter on the forum you’re posting to. Stay away from posts that are blatantly self-serving. These posts are viewed as spam by forum webmasters and could get you banned from the forum, or at least be deleted.

For example, MaryEllen Tribby (ETR’s Publisher) had the good fortune to interview Newt Gingrich in March. Immediately after the interview, we posted a press release to several online press distribution services. We also uploaded comments about the interview to news-aggregating services, blogs, and political forums (with a back-link to the release posted in our Investors Daily Edge archive).

Within the weeks following the initial interview, website visits and traffic ranking more than doubled and conversion also showed a spike. Three months later, this release is still being picked up by the media and through syndication…and the Investors Daily Edge website is enjoying residual traffic and back-links from this effort.

Year-to-date, these techniques and the others I’m about to go into have helped increase traffic nearly 80 percent with a monetization of more than 150 percent ROI.

to be continued…watch for the next WebSight Viewpoint!