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Social Media Myths - It's Free Social media itself is free. It is free to sign up for an account as a private citizen. If you consider what it takes to build an effective campaign, the marketing side is not free, and never has been. Consider the elements: * Developing a strategy that raises awareness and boosts sales * Aligning strategy with existing marketing platform * Distributing content * Media/advertising buy on platforms * Active engagement with fan base * Building a targeted fan base * Providing your fan base with an opportunity to engage with each other, with you, and show off * Turning your fan base into tangible profits * Creating any and all content for distribution The sooner you stop thinking of it as a free "bonus" service, and make a real investment of resources, the sooner you'll have effective and profitable strategies in place. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Webs

Grow Your Online Business with Social Media When it comes to operating a successful online business these days the key is traffic to your website. In order to generate traffic there are a number of sources one can tackle. The first and most obvious is an increase in your search rankings over at Google. But what about all those social media websites floating around out there - are they worth your attention? According to a release at Nielsen Online (PDF), social media is eating up more and more user time online and is truly becoming one of, if not the biggest online activity. According to Nielson, "In the U.S. alone, total minutes spent on social networking sites has increased 83 percent year-over-year". In the past 12 months Facebook has seen the total time spent in minutes on its social networking platform grow by nearly 700% compared to April 2008, pushing it far above second place's MySpace. In April of 2008 MySpace saw usage around the 7.2

Questions You Must Ask Before You Hire Your Next Social Media Consultant 1. When engaging in social media marketing will you keep my targeted audience in mind? Most social media companies will focus on making the connection. They do not care whatsoever who that connection is. What good is having thousands of connections if they do not become prospects, new clients, referral sources or possible JV partners. When I help my LinkedIn clients, I focus on their target audience. I research each individual potential connection to see if they could be a future prospect, referral source or joint venture opportunity. I focus on the quality of the connection, not the quantity because my clients do not care how many people I connect with them. They care more about how much money they are making from LinkedIn and their social media efforts. 2. Do you create a system to take the online conversation offline? Many consultants do not take the most crucial step of any onli

Social Media Myths - Create a Profile Page and Forget It Do you know what happens if you create a profile page on a social network and don't promote it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing will happen. Unfortunately, far too many marketers think all they have to do is create a profile page on the various social networks and somehow people will magically appear at their doorstep - credit cards in hand. Sorry, it just doesn't work that way. Creating a profile is only the first step. You have to constantly promote your profile page and actively participate in the social networks you belong to. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.webcraft.ws E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws Twitter: WebcraftGuru Facebook: Webcraft Guru I'm protected by SpamBrave http://www.spambrave.com/

Social Media Myths - Social Media is Time Consuming Well, that depends on the individual and how disciplined he or she is. I use social media very effectively, and I spend less than 15 minutes a day combined on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube - but I'm disciplined. I do what I need to do on those sites and then I'm outta there! Yes, I realize it's fun to hang out with your friends all day and socialize. But it's not the best use of your time. True professionals realize, there's a time and place for everything. It's all about being disciplined. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.webcraft.ws E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws Twitter: WebcraftGuru Facebook: Webcraft Guru I'm protected by SpamBrave http://www.spambrave.com/

Social Media Myths - You Have to Be on Every Social Network What a bunch of malarkey! You can be on all the social networks in the world, but if you don't use any of them effectively and maximize their potential, you're better of being on none of them. No, it's not the number of social networks you're on that matters, it's how effectively you use them that's important. My advice: Unless you're an experienced and skilled marketer, focus on one social network at a time. Maximize the potential of each network, before moving onto the next one. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.webcraft.ws E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws Twitter: WebcraftGuru Facebook: Webcraft Guru I'm protected by SpamBrave http://www.spambrave.com/

Social Media Myths - Anyone Can Succeed at Social Media One of my favorite TV shows is Forensic Files. I am absolutely fascinated at how scientists are able to solve crimes with DNA evidence.blood, saliva - even fingernail clippings! It's nothing short of amazing. But I could never be a forensic scientist. I simply don't have the mental aptitude for it. Forensic scientists have to excel at math and chemistry and science, and quite frankly, those are the subjects I'm weakest at. The same can be said about social media. Despite how easy the experts make it sound, not everyone has the mental aptitude for social media. And while that may be a bitterly hard pill to swallow for many of you reading this, it's also a fact. Not everyone has what it takes mentally, physically or psychologically to succeed with social media. That's just the way it is. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.we

Social Media Myths - Social Media Will Replace Face-to-Face Networking Nonsense! People always have and always will prefer face-to-face communication over all other forms of communication. It's in our DNA. That's why organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and BNI (Business Network International) continue to prosper. Networking online has its advantages - convenience being the most obvious. But it will never replace the need for human interaction and good ol' face-to-face networking. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.webcraft.ws E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws Twitter: WebcraftGuru Facebook: Webcraft Guru I'm protected by SpamBrave http://www.spambrave.com/

Social Media Myths - Social Media Can Replace Your Website Sorry to burst your bubble, but websites aren't a luxury, they're a necessity. And I am absolutely amazed at how many people there are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the other social networks who don't have a website - not even a blog. I think this is a mistake for a number of reasons. First of all, search engines are content driven vehicles. And while you may have a nice profile on the various social networks, it's not the same as having unique content on your website. In addition, you have complete control over the content on your website, as opposed to social network profiles which are limited and have user guidelines. Also, it's much easier to build your brand if you have a website. Think about it. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.webcraft.ws E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws Twitter: WebcraftGuru Facebook: W

Social Media Myths - Blogging Doesn't Work Blogging works, but just like any marketing tool, it has to be properly executed. Unfortunately, many marketers don't have a game plan when it comes to blogging and no matter what you attempt in life or in business, if you don't have a game plan, you will fail. When it comes to blogging, the first thing you need to figure out is, are you doing it for fun or for profit? There's a huge difference. If you're doing it for fun, you don't need to take blogging seriously. You can fool around with it and post at your leisure without any pressure to generate any income. On the other hand, if you're blogging for profit, you have to approach blogging much more seriously. You have to treat it like a business because that's exactly what it is - a business. That means you have to post often and refresh your content regularly to keep visitors coming back. It also means you have to figure out an e

Social Media Myths - You Can't Measure Your Return on Investment With Social Media That's only true if you are inexperienced and don't know what you're doing. However, professional marketers easily track and measure their social media ROI by using analytic software like Google Analytics. For example, GA will allow you to track visitors coming from social networks and the actions they took. You can do this by setting up "Goals" in Google Analytics to see which links you are tracking generate the most activity. You'd be surprised at the number of sophisticated actions GA can perform. All you have to do is take some time to study the tutorials to see what's possible with GA. After all, that's what being a professional is all about. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.webcraft.ws E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws Twitter: WebcraftGuru Facebook: Webcraft Guru I

Social Media Myths - Social Media Isn't Right for Your Type of Business Well, let's examine that statement shall we? Does your business need to generate new leads? Traffic? Build your brand? Strengthen your SEO efforts? Offer customer support? Give your customers a platform to offer feedback and suggestions in real-time? If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, social media is right for your business. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.webcraft.ws E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws Twitter: WebcraftGuru Facebook: Webcraft Guru I'm protected by SpamBrave http://www.spambrave.com/

Social Media Myths - Social Media is Nothing But a Bunch of Carnival Barkers On the surface, it may seem like social media is a bunch of people with bullhorns shouting back and forth at each other. But if you know what you're doing, social media can be a very effective and profitable bullhorn. For example, contests, sweepstakes and giveaways are a great hook and can be very effective when used in conjunction with social media. Want to know what else is very effective? Great content. If you have a great article or video on your website that has educational and/or entertainment value and you share it with others on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, it has the potential of becoming viral and can give you the kind of valuable exposure money just can't buy. If you have any questions or comments please contact me. Regards Gerald Website: http://www.webcraft.ws E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws Twitter: WebcraftGuru Facebook: Webcraft Guru I'm prote