Women Entrepreneurs - The First Year

The Facebook Status Update: Your Most Important Facebook Tool

by Andrea Stenberg


The Facebook status update is probably the most important and yet least understood feature of Facebook when it comes to marketing your business. The status update is at the top of your profile and is where you tell people what you’re up to.

When your Facebook friends log into the site, they’ll see the most recent updates of their friends on their home page. That’s what makes the update so important; the more often you update your status, the more likely it is someone will see your name and your face. And marketing is all about repeat exposure.

Sounds simple. But what do you say in your status update? The most common mistake business owners make is to only talk about their business, not themselves. If you’re only selling in your status update, you’ll turn people off.

Now I know what you’re saying to yourself because I hear it every day. “Who wants to know these unimportant details about my day?” Why should you talk about the weather, your last vacation or the new restaurant you tried last night?

Well, think about when you go to a live networking meeting. Do you only talk about your business? No, of course not. When you meet new people, or talk to old friends, you engage in small talk. You talk about the funny thing your kid did last night, how excited you are about an up-coming trip, or even complain about having to shovel the driveway again. None of these things are earth shattering, but they’re about connecting on a personal level with people.

In fact, if you met someone who only talked about their business, who was always trying to sell something before you even have a chance to get to know them, you’d get turned off. I bet you’d look for the first opportunity to ditch them and go talk to someone more interesting.

So your status update is really online small talk. It’s a chance for people to get to know you a little bit. You don’t need to share your most personal details – in fact you shouldn’t – but you can share enough to allow people to feel they know you. Then you’re not just an anonymous business online, you are someone they can relate to.

And ultimately, it’s building relationships is the purpose of social media.

Andrea J. Stenberg is working to help baby boomer entrepreneurs use social media marketing to build their brand, find an audience and make more sales. Learn how to use the social networking site LinkedIn with a free recording at www.WhyLinkedIn.com.

Marketing on a Shoestring!

If you are like I am, times are tough in the small business world.  While my business, Fun Car Tattoos, is still getting a good number of hits, my sales aren't what I want them to be.  I just read a great article, Shoe-String Budget Marketing by Maria Falconer that I'm hoping will help me!  Maybe it will help you too!

Shoestring-Budget Marketing

The internet has lowered the cost barrier to quality marketing. Try these inexpensive or free tools to get your name out there.

You've scraped together a few hundred dollars to do your paperwork and make your business legit. You have a new Shopify website (complete with complimentary listing in the Shopify marketplace) and spent a little extra to have a web developer customize it. That probably means you don't have the $500 a month for Adwords or some other pay-per-click search engine advertising.

Don't despair. This type of traditional e-marketing probably wouldn't have done much for your business, anyway.

Contrary to popular belief, advertising for most e-businesses isn't about attracting a huge quantity of clicks. It's more about the quality of the clicks you attract and how you answer the question, "Do customers buy when they visit my website?"

Michael Slawin is president of Hits that Click, a marketing firm that specializes in the promotion of e-businesses and traditional businesses looking to increase their online presence. While he agrees that quality over quantity is key for most online retailers, Slawin suggests that social media can be the trick to having both.

"Social media is not an option anymore for business owners who value growth," Slawin says, indicating such media are mandatory. "Social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and even Twitter are where people are spending their time and, increasingly, spending their money."

To take full advantage of social media, try the following:

1. Participate in social networks. The great thing about sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg and StumbleUpon is that you can join for free. You can also download dozens of free widgets to dress up your Facebook or MySpace pages. If you can't do it on your own, your neighbor's 12-year-old would probably do it for a song.

In the creative world, websites that sell handmade items, such a s Etsy and DeWanda, are all the rage. But handmade product mavens shouldn't discount more mainstream social media.

For business owners, Facebook and MySpace represent a growing trend of subtle advertising. This type of under-the-radar marketing has become huge on the web. Tweets (a term familiar to the Twitter crowd) and blogs are popular ways to gain visibility.

Tweets are a kind of mini blog, a one- or two-sentence "where are you, what are you doing?" update that encourages others to take an interest in you and your ventures. You can even tweet on the go via your cell phone or BlackBerry.

2. You've got to blog. Blogging can be more intimidating than tweeting--but think of a blog as a really long tweet. Open your laptop and start writing. Warning: Don't blog only about your shiny new product or your recent adventures at the DMV. Blog about other artists. Turn your blog into a central knowledge hub for all things creative and yourself into an expert in the field. This will attract a diverse audience to your blog and new customers to your product. If you don't have the time or the inclination to blog, firms such as Slawin's will blog for you as part of their marketing services.

3. Solicit advertising on your blog. Your blog also can make money on the side for you if you allow other artists, crafters and designers to advertise on your site. Since sites such as Blogger offer free blogs, your only overhead is your time and energy.

4. Create a network of blogs with a few of your artist friends. Link to each other's sites. Takes turns as guest authors on each other's blog. Before long, you'll have a devoted following.

5. Contribute to blogs. Don't take an interest only in your own blog. There are hundreds of crafts and design blogs on the web, and most accept queries and cold calls. The most popular, Poppytalk and design*spnge get most of their featured articles and photos from the artisans themselves.

6. Advertise on blogs. Don't stop there. Contact the blog owner/author to inquire about advertising rates. Be careful, though. Some blog advertising is outrageously priced. Always ask the blog owner what the site's daily traffic is. If it gets fewer than 5,000 page hits a week (that's hits or impressions, not visitors), it's outrageous to spend more than $50 per month on the ad. Sites such as Blogads make it easy to choose the ideal blog you should advertise on. You can select a prospective blog based on the number of impressions or the dollar amount you'd like to spend. You can also search by blog topic.

7. Explore print advertising. So you've got your blog and you're tweeting like mad. Your MySpace and Facebook pages are up. But you're still not making sales. That's because there's so much great stuff on the web, it's unlikely anyone will ever stumble upon your website or your advertising. You have to reach potential customers before they reach the internet.

Trouble is, advertising in print media can be cost-prohibitive. That's why you have get creative.

First, keep handy the e-mail addresses of every marketing and sales director of every publication you read. Make note of publishing deadlines, usually listed on the media kit available online. A day or two before the publishing deadline, contact the marketing director(s) and ask for pricing on remnant advertising. Publishers seldom sell all of the advertising space in their newspapers and magazines. Remnant advertising is the last-minute purchase of available ad space at a discounted price. Publishers would rather sell that space at a discount than not sell it at all. Still, you might have better luck finding cheap remnant advertising in newer magazines and alterative publications vs. mainstream periodicals.

8. Get free ink. If remnant advertising is still too pricey, get the print media to notice you and your business without paying them. The secret driver is charities. In this economy, the only institutions worse off than banks and small businesses are charities. When profits dry up, so do charitable contributions. So contact a local nonprofit and ask if it has any high-profile donation drives coming up. Then offer to donate a product for a silent auction or raffle. In exchange, charities will often mention your business in the event program, on their website or in a press release. Don't be afraid to ask for that exposure if the charity doesn't offer it. Members of the media covering the event might mention you in the article.

9. Send a press release. You can also distribute your own press release. Sites such as PR Web will distribute your press release for free, although for optimum circulation, you'll want to pay for upgrades. Either way, hundreds of people will see your release and the media might even publish it.

Remember, people won't buy from you if they can't find you. Legitimizing your dream is the easy part. Marketing your business is the true challenge. So use your creativity where it matters most--getting your name out there.

Maria Falconer is the founder of Rambles.com, an online retail shop specializing in handmade goods from a variety of designers.

5 New Year's Resolutions for the Woman Entrepreneur!

OK ladies... The New Year has come and gone.  If you are like me, you've eaten too much over the holidays, spent too much time posting pictures to Facebook, played too much on-line poker and wonder what your next Visa statement is going to look like.  And... if you really are like I am, you are wasting this last weekend before the first Monday in January hits you head on.

I'll be honest... My sales of Fun Car Tattoos in December were not what I hoped for.  As this was my first year in business, I had no previous history to predict what my sales might be.  But I had thought that December was going to be a big month.  Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.  I got about the same number of orders I did in December as I've done every month since my business first opened 8 months ago.

 

And while I am disappointed, I think that this holiday has been a great opportunity to take some time out and figure out what I want 2009 to look like and what resolutions will I make to get me there.  So... I thought that I'd share what I'm committing to - in hopes that it might give you a couple of ideas of making 2009 the best year ever.  

          1.  Have fun!  

That's right... if I'm not having fun in my personal life, than my work life isn't going to be fun either.  And just for the record, I really did have fun over the holidays.  I took my 12 year old corgi, Yori, to the snow for his birthday.  A good time was had by all and I need to remember to get as much fun in my life as he gets in his!

2.   Don't blame the economy!
No doubt about it... the economy sucks!  But... that doesn't mean that there aren't niches waiting to be filled.  Personally, I'm looking for a more "green" product to sell.  (In fact, if you have any great ideas out there, I'm all ears!)  But some businesses are doing great.  I just need to be sure that mine is one of them!  And if you don't believe me, ask Kim who has a new business called Trees for a Change.  She has a wonderful product and is seeing the fruits of her hard labor pay off.  (BTW...if you are looking for a thoughtful, unique gift that does the world some good, check out her website at www.treesforachange.com!)

3.  Say "yes" more often!
I consider myself a pretty optimistic person but... I'm shocked at how often I hear myself saying "no!"  I can't tell you what that's all about but I think that it has to do with being in a rut.  My best ideas come when I'm out of my comfort zone and the only way I'm going to be out of my comfort zone is to take risks.  Why wait?  The clock is ticking!

4.  Send positive energy out into the world!
Change isn't just happening on the national level!  It's happening all around us.  Get involved in your community!  Thing about something bigger than yourself.  Support others who are trying to make their dreams come true.  Whether it is like my friend Kathy who has started a nonprofit called Partners for Sustainable Pollination (that is making significant progress in solving the problems honey bees and other pollinators face) or Wright, a high school classmate of mine, who just wrote an adventure novel, Macedonia Passage, Dangerous Cargo, support their enthusiasm for life!  Make it contagious and spread it around!

5.  Eat right!
Boy, this sounds boring but I'm convinced that it will help me in the long run.  Garlic french fries and cookie dough ice cream might be great once in a while, but a steady diet of it just doesn't lead to helping make my dreams a reality. 

So... here are my ideas for making 2009 the best year ever!  If you have any other ideas, please let me know!!!!