Help! Somebody needs to invent this job and start doing it, yesterday:
INTERNET PUBLICIST
I don’t have time to do it, and I am throwing it your way because I think it’s genius, and maybe you’d like to consider it. I think of this all the time because I am personally going crazy and need to hire such a person. If I do, maybe others do, also.
Here’s why the market needs such a service: Certain businesspeople need to use the web to sell their product. In fact, for some biz’s, like mine (writing, in case you hadn’t noticed), we need to establish a potential customer base BEFORE we even sell our first book. In fact, if we had a sufficient customer base, we could just sell the book via Amazon’s Kindle and other e-readers; also, we could publish the book ourselves if they wanted a hard copy, using POD (publishing on demand), if we had that big, beautiful customer base. But the scene is still fairly new (aren’t you seeing charts and graphs, attempting to tell us what networks work best for what purpose? I am, and it’s a start.)
Many small biz peeps are trying to learn how to market their products in an eworld. They (we) are going to workshops and slaving over a hot laptop, networking our butts off, trying to establish that customer base. And we may be, largely, wasting our time. Or a big chunk of it, anyway. Because we don’t know what works, and we don’t know how to maximize our efforts. For example: I am on several social networks, write two blogs, and belong to two writing national writing groups that meet in actual rooms. I post to Twitter, Facebook, More.com, SheWrites, LinkedIn, Writers Digest community, etc etc. I read and comment on OTHER people’s blogs. I follow and am followed on Twitter.
Is this smart? Will it work? Who the #%$* knows? And is it necessary to mention that while I am doing this, I AM NOT WRITING. You’re right. I’m frustrated.
I wish that I – and I suspect other businesspeople wish THEY – could ask somebody the following questions:
- Where should I concentrate my efforts? Does your answer change if I’m an attorney, or a physical therapist, or run a housecleaning business?
- Should all businesses be networking online, and if so, how much and where?
- What strategy, what array of networks, will most effectively yield that customer base?
- Am I wasting my time on the “community forum” type nets? Is Facebook mostly good for family and pics of your grandkids, but not so much for business? Is Twitter better for this? Where should I be spending my time?
- If I want to make my posts, tweets, etc. more efficient, is there anything better than Ping.fm for similtaneous postings?
- Is there some new version of that service that I could use to post my updates, thoughts, eventual notices of book signings and appearances, by sending ONE message to, say, a dozen outlets rather than a dozen messages?
This is a 21st-century question. Go ahead, take my ideas. Make a mint. Just remember who got you started.
Where should I concentrate my efforts? Does your answer change if I’m an attorney, or a physical therapist, or run a housecleaning business?
There are core sites for each of these, including #1 LinkedIn (professional networking), #2 Facebook (engagement), #3 Twitter (“listening” and research) …. additional platforms selected to job and niche market(s).
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Should all businesses be networking online, and if so, how much and where?
Yes. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Initially, select a very limited number of sites and go DEEP. Do not go wide too early.
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What strategy, what array of networks, will most effectively yield that customer base?
The answer to that question depends upon the profession. The three sites I mentioned work across the board to start.
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Am I wasting my time on the “community forum” type nets?
You are not wasting your time there if you have the right tenor and the right approach. Hard sell never works. Sharing works everywhere. Community forum sites and Q&A sites are excellent places to engage. You want to weigh all your options, however, and leverage your presence in places where there is high traffic and significant engagement.
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Is Facebook mostly good for family and pics of your grandkids, but not so much for business?
Facebook has business pages (fan pages) and advertising solutions. There is a delicate balance between personal and business use on profile pages.
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Is Twitter better for this? Where should I be spending my time?
Absolutely not! Twitter is good for listening, timed broadcasts, limited engagement. Twitter is very valuable and if you feel like you are floundering there and wasting time, you are! Spend time where you know you are making valuable connections.
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If I want to make my posts, tweets, etc. more efficient, is there anything better than Ping.fm for similtaneous postings?
There are numerous syndication tools. I don’t like many of them. The language and culture of major social media platforms changes a lot from one to the next. Would you study Russian if you were planning a trip to France? I hate to see Twitter posts on Facebook pages … Lots of syndication is terrible in the final analysis.
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Is there some new version of that service that I could use to post my updates, thoughts, eventual notices of book signings and appearances, by sending ONE message to, say, a dozen outlets rather than a dozen messages?
That’s a pretty broad questions … there are lots of answers when you narrow it down … this is the best I can do so far.
What a fascinating post!
Let me preface my answer by telling you how I found this blog. You left a comment at my Facebook page. We are Facebook Friends who never met face to face and I am working to achieve deeper engagement with friends I never met who engage with me in social media.
I work with companies and speakers to develop social media best practices and policies and procedures. I also work one-on-one with social media and blog coaching clients.
I design and execute social media engagement plans for select clients and I teach others how to do it themselves. Frankly, I prefer to teach others how to be their own “social media gurus.”
My process starts with a discussion about needs, followed by a comprehensive social media assessment (your web site, blog(s), Facebook presence, Twitter engagement, LinkedIn, question-and-answer forums, and more). We design a social media plan of action tied to goals. That plan is very specific; leverages the most important platforms for your business; and designs yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily engagement plans.
You are right on target again,Lynne! Bells and whistles went off in my mind when I read through your post and all those questions, everyone of which I have had. You are the social networking guru..and you are the one bringing this up. I’m with Debbie, if you find such a person, send him/her my way. I will be following this post to see what other ideas are out there!
Kathy
http://krpooler.wordpress.com
Lynne, if you find such a person, send him/her my way! I DO think you’re onto something, and if I didn’t have each of my fingers and toes already involved in so many other projects, I’d tackle the job myself. You’re right — I’d probably make a mint. BUT, I’d have to scrap my writing, and that’s just not something I’m willing to do at this point!