Hoot hoot!

Hootsuite! Hootsuite!

No, we’re not doing some bizarre pig call, actually, we’re cheering for our favorite social media time manager.

Imagine for me, that you know that websites like facebook, twitter, myspace, linked-in, photobucket, foursquare and flickr are the new advertising monopolies, but you just don’t have the time to constantly put your name out there. You know people check their facebook page (or other) multiple times a day and you want them to see you, but you just don’t have the time to post at all hours of the day.

*enter the Hootsuite owl*

With the website Hootsuite, you make yourself a free account for up to five social media sites, or pay for unlimited, and you can write your posts, then schedule them to come out. Just like a blog, you don’t have to be there when your message posts to your social media networks, Hootsuite will take the work right from your hands.

Send images, statuses, tweets; work on drafts, edit already schedule activities (maybe something for 50 years from now!), add an RSS feed, change your theme; and look over to see Hootsuite’s owl blink at you in the corner. Easy-peasey; like magic.

All you have to do is be yourself in writing the posts , and, hey! that’s easy enough right?

Facebook Fan Pages need Facebook Monitors: How to add an administrator

Woo hoo! Your business are finally on facebook! You set up the facebook fan page and as administrator you’re ready to get down to business monitoring and updating it. But wait, you don’t have what you believe to be the time to do this, your victory was in getting it going. But you know this employee who would be perfect for the job, still… you can’t give them your facebook account to manage the fan page can you?… what then do you do?

In this situation, my friends, you shall add another administrator to your fan page. That way, it is like you are co-presidents or co-owners over this new baby of yours and can both love it and care for it at your own leisure. (*sigh* if only you could care for human babies at your own leisure…)

Step one: Log into facebook. (Simple Enough)

Step two: Under “Account” (next to ‘Home’ and ‘Profile’) in

the upper right corner, click “Manage Pages” (Still with me?)

Step two and a half: If you have more than one page, you will have to choose which one you want to add the new administrator to.

Step three: Directly underneath the profile picture of your fan page is a button called “edit page”. Click that, then click “manage admins” (under ‘Marketing’ and above ‘Apps’) on the right hand side.

Step four: There’s a bar for you to type in the name of your facebook friend for whom you want to grant administrator access. Start typing their name, pick them when you’ve typed enough that facebook knows what you want to say, and click save changes.

You’re done. Happy Facebooking!

The person you made admin will be notified that they’re a possible administrator but will be asked to accept.

5 Facebook Rules of Engagement

What’s the most popular of the social media sites? It’s Facebook of course.

If you’d like to be smart with your time and capitalize on the opportunity we’d like to share:

5 Facebook Rules of Engagement

Rule 1: Know the difference between Profiles and Pages

Set up a Facebook Page for your Business, and use your Profile for Personal Connections. This is one of the most important things for people to do. Don’t create a personal profile and then forget to be personal. You especially don’t want to name it ABC Company and try to use it that way. For starters, it’s against Facebook policy, not only that, but people won’t pay any attention to you if you try to handle it that way. If you do have a Page for Business, you still want to allow as many people as you can (Facebook allows up to 5,000) to feel like they know you by having the opportunity to be your ‘friend’. They’ll feel more connected to you here than if they just ‘like’ your page. So let them. It’s good for business.

Also, make sure you add your website to your business page, and your personal profile. When people are clicking around to get to know you, make sure they can follow the trail to what you do for business. It’s also going to be good for Google and the search engines to recognize this link.

Rule 2: Pay attention to your connections, make small talk

Whether they are your personal profile friends, or the people who like you on your business page, make sure you take the time to make conversation.

Think of your online presence like a party, and people keep coming and going. Stop by each group and engage for a moment or two. Ask a question, pop in with a short story, share a photo. The more you are chatty, the more they will be too. That’s great for relationship building, top of mind awareness, and it’s a lot of fun too!

Pages typically take some getting used to. It’s really easy to head over to your profile page, visit the feed and see what your friends are up to. It takes initiative on your part to also visit your business page, and take the time to make a comment. By nature on Facebook users want to interact with people, not just a logo, so know that it will take more work to replicate the personal feel on your Facebook page. Be deliberate about the things that you post, and try to make it feel like you are there – in both your profile and on your page. If you have a team that is generating content for your page feature them in the photos you share, and especially in the photo of the page. It will help – trust me!

Rule 3: Be a Timely Poster

Your connections will each have their own online preference. Watch for trends. When are most of your friends available to chat. Do you see more on during the day, at night, or even on weekends. If you schedule posts to automate over from your blog, consider having it post at peak hours. It’s more likely to be seen. If you have a schedule to adhere to yourself, consider spending your time on Facebook in the evening – you’re likely to bump into more of your friends that way.

Your business page will probably see more daytime traffic than evening or weekend as well, so think out some well placed updates to share, and keep them early to mid-day. Most people will pay more attention to business matters the earlier in the day that they see them.

Rule 4: Mix it up!

If you only share text posts and say the same thing day after day, your friends will notice – or worse yet, stop noticing! Keep it fresh. Vary your content by using videos, text and photos. There are plenty of status update ideas out there. You can share content from your blog, other blogs, youtube, a host of other video sources, fun facts, figures and pictures. If variety is the spice of life, think of your status update section as a rotating spice rack. Mix in the variety!

Pay attention! Some of your content will get better engagement (more likes and comments) than others. Watch for trends, and share more of what is popular. You should also realize that some people are lurkers. They will watch and read everything you post, but may never comment back online. That’s okay. Just realize they are thinking of you when they read your updates, so think of them when you post!

Rule 5: Be Smart about how you promote

You can create amazing new relationships on Facebook, and it can be especially good for business. The open forum is a great place to engage with one person, sharing stories, or results of the day, only to be overheard by another person who could really use your services.

What not to do: say “come buy my stuff” or any variation of that theme.

What to say: “helped another awesome client to day”, “loved networking to meet new business professionals in my community”, thank a colleague for help you got on a project. Give a shout out to your graphic designer for help on the new marketing piece you have. Share your excitement for what you are working on. People are curious. Once they ask, feel free to share. You’ll figure out how to finesse these posts with practice. Just make sure when you start you are very mindful of the balance you are trying to keep.

Now that you’ve got the first 5 rules, stay tuned to our blog. You might want to enter your email address in the upper right corner so you get information first when it comes out. There’s so much to do – you’ll want to get right at it!

Setting New Year Intentions? Can we help you get a handle on your social media?

Self Paced Social Media Coaching with the InSights Group

Have you been struggling to wrap your head around social media? Do you see other people building a business on Facebook and wonder how they do it? Have you tried to learn social media by studying, reading and trial and error?

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be hard, overwhelming or time consuming! Our winning self study training and coaching program for social media is designed for busy people who need to learn it, do it, and see real results. The businesses and individuals we have enrolled are absolutely raving about it.

“After spending hundreds of hours and countless thousands of dollars over three decades of dentistry trying to ethically market my practice, the “experts” with their marketing “formulas” were both unsuccessful and artificial.

Allan and Sandi offer a logical, yet revolutionary approach for promoting your
practice with integrity and unique personalization. Their concepts give you the
opportunity to present your authentic personality and services to a virtually limitless
audience, giving those in your community a true opportunity to beat a path to
your door.”

What makes this approach different?

We’ve broken down social media training into weekly email lessons that include:

Information — real insights from real social media experts
Action items — with full instructions so you can quickly do them yourself
Accountability — the missing link in so many “self study” courses
Live coaching — real social media experts at InSights Group

The weekly lessons are a combination of audio, video and written information, with tutorial-style examples. The action items are designed to get you working in social media quickly, and the accountability items give you that extra push so many busy people need to keep going. Direct feedback and personal coaching from your social coach helps you tie it all together and build a greater understanding of how social marketing drives today’s business engine.

Take a peek at one of our lessons, to get a better idea of what you’ll get:

Week 1: Social Media Getting Started

Week 5: Lesson 5: Facebook

At InSights Group, we use social media all day every day. We understand it’s a bit overwhelming at times for people who have full time day jobs — or full time businesses — to figure out how to maximize time and results. This system helps to simplify the process, and get your social media efforts focused.

It’s a great place to start building a foundation for the rest of your marketing efforts, and we’d love to get you started right away!

Meet one of our successful program graduates, Betsy Rackliffe

I use social media. I use Facebook and Twitter to market my company and to keep at time-of-mind-awareness. I use it to build my confidence and InSights program was the first thing I did, even with in the first week, when I opened my company. Sandi and Al are my business coaches; and the InSights community is my cheerleader. I have gone from a shy, self-sabotaging, want-to-be designer to the confident smiling eclectic designer. My name is becoming known in the area and my calendar is full. I am creating retail spaces, home offices, staging homes and warming up homes every day.

I have created a website based around a blog that showcases my interior design work, my design ideas, and other professionals I recommend for your home. Having the site has changed how I think about my projects. I think of them as ways to promote my business; “How can I use this project to showcase what I do?”

How much time is involved?

Expect to spend about an hour a week on the lesson and the action items – this is focused time actually engaging in social media, vs. trying to find out what you need to know. Learn it, then take immediate action. We’ve made it simple.

Start right now building a foundation for the rest of your marketing efforts. As a successful business owner or entrepreneur, you deserve the personal attention and expert training advice that will move your marketing efforts forward. Get individualized, expert coaching that helps you achieve your goals whether they are new client acquisition, an increase in bottom line revenue, or recognition in your local community.

Weekly Self Study Coaching Lessons {SM 100}

The self study online coaching program includes a weekly introduction to a new concept, online tutorials to demonstrate the concept, an action item or two to complete, and email follow up for your questions. You also have ongoing online access to a resource room full of on demand training information.

Here’s what we ask from you…

This is the important part. Online coaching is a two-way street. Just as we provide the training plan, we expect you to provide the feedback that will allow us to help you best. Throughout the program, we expect (and rely upon) consistent feedback.

Let us know the results of each training session, action items that you have completed, and questions you may have. This allows us to make any necessary adjustments to the trainings we provide, based on what you need. Each client we work with is unique; you’ll tackle each of the stages of social media at your own pace. Our program is continuously modified based on your feedback and with the results of each training, so it is your responsibility to keep us updated on how the training is going.

Unlike other coaching programs, we don’t limit the number of phone calls or e-mails from our clients. We wholeheartedly welcome and encourage your feedback as often as necessary, especially in the early part of the training schedule. Ask all your questions. Let us know how things are going – both for you and your team. We rely on your feedback to keep your program on the fast track to success.

Payment Options

Your coaching program may be purchased via credit card through PayPal (below), Monthly Coaching Agreement, or via phone consultation to 810-623-5839.

Subscribe today.

With our weekly self study online coaching program, you receive an email once a week with an introduction to a new concept, online tutorial that can come in written, audio, video or recorded lesson format, an action item or two for your to complete, and email follow up for your questions. You also have ongoing online access to a resource room full of on demand training information – and many other bonus recordings, trainings and CD’s are a part of the program. There are 52 lessons set up for your first year – stay on the program as long as you’d like. The content will continue to grow and change as social media does, so you’ll always have the best advantage!

5 Facebook Rules of Engagement

10 Great Social Media Status Updates