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Get Your FIO (Figure It Out) Degree In Social Media Marketing!
I meet with business owners all the time who are interested in hiring me to manage the social media sites for their businesses, but some end up making the decision to do it themselves. While that may work out to be just fine, in many cases they quickly realize they don’t know much past Facebook or they just don’t have the time. They can learn what they need to but where and how and by whom? And what business owner has all that extra time anyways? If you are like most business owners, you do it all. You are behind the counter 70 hours a week, you are the sales person, the marketing person, the receptionist, the accountant, the secretary, the janitor and the boss. Then you get to go home and be a spouse, parent, maid, teacher, gardener, handyman, nurse, bus driver, referee, etc. And now you have to figure out how to do social media marketing???
Social media is relatively new in the marketing world, just now hitting the main stream and a select few universities are just beginning to offer a few classes in their MBA programs. In other words, there is no degree or certification for this type of marketing, you just have to figure it out. There are many credible websites out there that give fabulous industry news, tips, and other valuable information such as Mashable.com, but depending on how computer savvy you are, if you don’t know what SEO means or have never heard of FourSquare then you may already be behind the eight ball.
My passion has always been in marketing and especially helping small business owners succeed and compete. Because of the lack of social media “teachers” out there, I have decided to take the Facebook 101 class I’ve already been teaching to beginners to Facebook a step further. I will begin teaching social media seminars in May in my local areas of Las Vegas, NV, St. George, UT, and Salt Lake City, UT. For those of you elsewhere in the country, I will be providing the ability for you to view the class online via webinar. The 6 hour class (some will be divided into 2 days, 3 hours each) will consist of hands on training for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, FourSquare, Yelp, YouTube, Hootsuite, Google, social media basics, analytics, QR codes, RSS Feeds, best practices, creative content, tools for your social media toolbox, valuable resources, engaging your audience and much more. You will come away from this class fully equipped to market your business online and with the ability to blow your competitors out of the water!
The class includes lunch, networking, a valuable informational packet, and a 1 hour follow up phone call or meeting for questions on what you have learned. The class is $200 for the 6 hour seminar but the first 10 people to register and pay will recieve a $50 discount! There are no availabilities for the May class but the June class in St. George, UT has just been opened. You can register online by clicking the “shop now” tab on my Facebook page.
Everyone should be implementing social media into their marketing plan and everyday business regiment, but when you do it well is when it really makes the difference.
Social Media Seminar by Chanda Gunter
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 9am – 12pm
and
Thursday, June 30, 2011 9am – 12pm
Courtyard by Marriott
185 South 1470 East
St. George, UT 84790
435-767-8184
If you have an iPhone, Droid, or Blackberry, you can download a barcode scanner app or QR code scan app to be able to scan the above QR Code and store the event info into your phone. Just another social media tool you will learn at my class! 
3 Fabulous Tools For Your Tool Chest
Many business owners are just now realizing how social media can effect their business, so now it’s just a matter of fine tuning what you know and how you are using the tools you already have. Well I have a few tools to share with you that you may or may not know about. These tools will save you money if you have a smaller budget and can save you time and a headache.
1. Hootsuite
Many people are aware of Hootsuite, but if you are not it is an awesome tool for the busy business owner. While Hootsuite can do many things for your social media marketing, it’s main claim to fame is it’s ability to schedule posts on multiple accounts. For example…If you want to post on your business page at noon but you have a meeting, then you can schedule it through Hootsuite and it will post automatically to whichever account or to multiple accounts such as personal profile pages, business pages and Twitter. Hootsuite offers many other services but the beauty of it is it’s FREE for up to 5 accounts! Click here for a video tutorial.
2. Involver
Involver is a great site to find FREE apps for your Facebook business page. It will allow you to link your blog, Twitter feed, Flicker account, YoutTube, you name it and it will add it as a featured tab.
3. ShortStack
Have you seen some Facebook pages that are all done up like websites? They are called “professional Facebook Pages” or “Welcome Tabs” and are a great way for new visitors to your page to “like” you and want to share your page with others…it’s whats called “curb appeal”. Oreo and Victoria’s Secret are good examples of these pages. Normally to create one of these custom pages, you would need to hire a web developer to write the code for these pages and it will cost you minimally $500-$1500 or more to do this. With ShortStack, you can use one of their templates and upload your own photos, videos, text, polls, and many other widgets all for FREE! If your page likes gets to be at a certain number then you will need to pay a minimal fee to maintain the custom page but it’s a great place to get started for a small budget.
I hope the information on these site have helped you get started on your social media marketing success. If you have any further questions, please feel free to comment on this post, email me at GetNoticed@ChandaGunter.com, or just give me a shout at 435-767-8184.
Sprouts Some Legs, Why Don’t Ya!
I get asked all the time “Now what exactly is it that you do?” and I try to explain it in just the right amount of time and detail without boring you to tears and losing you all together. I almost always get the reply, “So you post on Facebook?”. Yes and no. I do so much more for your business that includes Facebook but is much bigger than Facebook. The reality is, everyone knows about Facebook and most business owners understand they should be on Facebook, but the majority of people still don’t fully understand just what Social Media is and what it can do for their business. While Facebook is a huge part of social media, it is just one aspect of social media. Think of it like this…
If you have a Facebook page for your business and a website, then Google only has 2 places to reach out and find you when someone is searching for your business. What social media does is it takes your business, literally sprouts legs, and begins to crawl all over the web. Word of mouth is the best advertising you will ever receive for your business, correct? Well, Social Media is word of mouth on steroids!
Don’t limit yourself to “just” a Facebook page for your business. Sprout legs and run, you never know who is chasing you.
