Let’s talk a little bit about “Crazy Glue.”
No, not the stuff that comes in the little tube. Man, when I was a kid, growing up in Philly, I had a weird imagination when it came to things to do with crazy glue. I’ll spare you the details.
Anyway…
Yesterday I talked about the over-looked Social Network of LinkedIn.
Basically, most martial arts business owners are NOT using it and there are no martial arts business gurus talking about it.
There’s a hint it’s worth your attention and should be added to your martial arts marketing mix
I said to start by setting up a profile and joining a local networking group.
On and off over the past year I’ve talked a lot about social media. We’ve built a bunch a Facebook pages for schools.
But let’s talk about “The Crazy Glue.”
I’m always reading and learning. Right now I’m reading “Social Boom” by Jeffrey Gitomer. Great Book.
The book is re-enforcing a task that’s been on our list for a while. And that’s getting our different social media profiles in sync. (add Google Plus to that now – argh!)
Back to the Crazy Glue.
In the book Gitomer refers to it as just glue. But I say “Crazy Glue.”
The fact is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube are all must right now.
But the “Crazy Glue” that holds them together is your own website and your own blog.
So, the easiest way to “get your head around social media & internet marketing” is like this…
Lead Generating Website
Blog
Facebook biz page
LinkedIn Profile
Twitter Account
Youtube (for video blogging)
Squeeze Pages
Special Pages
Mobile Pages
This may seem like a lot but it’s not that difficult to get this all in sync.
The plan…
Start Blogging (both written and video)
Be sure your blog is tied into and part of your website. Your blog MUST have your lead capture offers right on it. This way when someone visits you can entice them to try your program.
Blog about the upcoming week of classes. Take video clips from belt testing. There are so many ways a school owner can blog, but most don’t.
At the very minimum you have your blog feed all of your social media platforms.
That is the minimum and you should do more.
I hope this sparks your idea engine. It’s crazy glue because it works fast and it’s powerful.
Now really is the time to get on this. So, sally forth and tweet to your heart’s content!
BTW– if you want some help with all this email me.
Right now…
For savvy school owners who are serious about success, we’re including a complimentary. “No-Show Follow Up” system that includes email and direct mail, with our “Internet, Mobile & Social Media Marketing Make Over” program.
Peace Out!
When I polled some martial arts business owners about social media my stats showed that most were using Facebook, some were using Twitter and Facebook & some were using Youtube.
Here’s the non-scientific breakdown…
All were using Facebook personally to talk about their schools. Meaning, they were using their personal profile to talk business. Not a big deal- since the line between work and play is non-existent for most passionate school owners.
Then– there were some who were doing OK with their martial arts marketing “Facebook Business Page” and a few doing really well with it.
Some were using Twitter to post quick updates and thoughts.
A few were wisely doing video blogs with Youtube. Foolishly, MORE should have answered YES to this one.
Funny, No mention of LinkedIn?
Amazing and down-right INSANE when you consider that LinkedIn is THE business social media platform.
I am starting to embrace LinkedIN more and more and I WISH I got started sooner.
Overtime, I’ll reveal what works to our subscribers and especially our Business System Members.
One thing to do right away is to create a profile.
Then, look for some local networking groups. Just go to the “Groups” tab and search.
The fact is there are networking groups all around you. And chances are there’s a good one that’s based in your area already on LinkedIN. Join it and begin adding value.
By Guest Blogger: Mike De Lucia
In the first two parts of this series, I explained how to move from a “Personal” page to a “Business Page” and why it’s vital that you do so. I also covered how to optimize that Business Page so it’s also a “Facebook Place,” allowing your students to announce to all of their Facebook Friends whenever they’re present at your school. Now, let’s look at how to make people want to read your Facebook page, share it with others, and even how you can help to determine what shows up on THEIR Facebook pages that will encourage them and their friends to come back and spend time on yours.
Tip #3 Be Active and Genuine on Your Page
Just like opening your dojo didn’t guarantee a steady flood of adoring fans pouring through the door (unless you’re really lucky or already famous), creating a high-quality Facebook page doesn’t guarantee that people will find it and “like” it. You need to tell people about it, include a “Find us on Facebook” reference on all marketing materials, and it needs to be worth their time. Your page needs to feature content that’s interesting. It needs to add value to peoples’ lives. It needs to inform, entertain, provoke thought, or why should they bother? It also needs to be genuine! People can smell a phony, so you have to really want your Facebook page to be an extension of your dojo and your own personality. Once you’ve got that working for you, there are some tricks that make it even more effective.
Trick #4 Editing Links
One type of “page content” that you’re likely to want to share with your page’s fans will be internet-based media, particularly articles, blogs, and videos. These are easy enough to share, and Facebook will automatically create a “headline” and “body text” for you based on what’s on the page you’re sharing. That’s terrific when it works, but sometimes you won’t be satisfied with the headline or body Facebook creates. What a lot of people never realize is that YOU CAN CHANGE THEM!! That’s right, simply click on the headline or body and edit them until you’re happy with them. You can shorten them, add to them, or change them completely!
Trick #5 Tagging
In the old days, “tagging” meant spray-painting graffiti on a wall. In the “age of Facebook,” however, you “Tag” people or businesses by including them or referencing them in a post, picture, or video. It’s easy, too! When you post on your wall or your page’s wall, you can “Tag” anyone who is a personal friend of yours, or any page that you have “liked,” by typing the @ symbol, followed by the first letter of their name. A list of people and pages that begin with that letter will appear. Just select the one you want and Facebook inserts it into your post. Big deal, right? Yes! Because it’s inserted as a Hyperlink – other people can click on it and jump to that individual’s or business’s page! Better still, your tagging of them now shows up on THEIR wall (particularly if you have your own personal Facebook Privacy setting for “Posts by Me” set to “everyone.”), which is again a great way to insert yourself into their page where their friends are likely to see it.
Tagging photos and videos works even better – there’s actually a “tag people” button on the photo or video’s page – just click it and start typing in the names of your Facebook Friends who are in it. That photo or video will then appear on THEIR Facebook page and on THEIR FRIENDS’ newsfeeds. It’s basically an ad targeted to people who know the people you know. You know?
Mike De Lucia is a writer, accomplished business executive, and martial arts enthusiast. Mike is currently the Director of Business Operations for Five Star Martial Arts in North Syracuse, NY. His martial arts background includes Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, Iaido, Goju-Ryu, and Kenpo Karate, which he practices along with his wife and children. Mike blogs at www.virtualvellum.com.
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By Special Guest Blogger: Mike De Lucia.
Getting on Facebook is easy. Leveraging it to grow and market your business can be tough, though – especially because Facebook is often-changing and not always clearly documented. I’ve put together some of my favorite tips and related tricks – skills I’ve learned doing Facebook-based social marketing on a daily basis…
Tip #1 – Business Pages are for Businesses
First up, you MUST have a Business page. This isn’t a trick, it’s just a fact, but it leads to a trick and it’s insanely important. If you’re using a “personal page” as your business, you’re in violation of Facebook’s policies and could be shut down at any time. Think they’ll never find you? Do you have competitors? Because there’s nothing to stop your competitors from outing you to the Facebook police.
Besides, business pages are so far superior to personal pages for social marketing it’s just crazy not to use one.
For instance, did you know there’s a 5000-person limit on personal pages? Fan pages are unlimited (and you WANT that to be a problem, don’t you? You WANT 5000+ fans all generating leads and “buzz” about your school, right?). You get to add applications to your fan page, too – including a “Landing” or “Welcome” page that can even have embedded functionality – that means it can be used as a lead-generation tool! Personal pages cannot do that! Also, Business pages count for SEO (search-engine optimization) purposes, which means they’re growing your “Brand” on the internet. Personal pages don’t do that, either.
“But Mike,” (De Lucia) you might say, “I already have a Personal page that I’ve worked hard on over the years. I’ve got lots of Friends, pictures, videos. It’s already the face of my business. I can’t just give that up!” All true. Luckily, you don’t have to.
Trick #1 – Migrate Your Personal Page
It’s time to get you off that personal page of yours and move you to a full-featured Business Page – without losing your hard-earned “friends” or all of your content. When it comes to Facebook secrets, this one’s about as secret as they come.
First step – download all of your Facebook account’s information. Go to “Account” in the upper-right, then “Account Settings” and click “Learn” next to where it says “Download your Information.” Click the “Download” button, then click it again in the box that pops up. It may take a while to receive your email from Team Facebook, but once they’ve gathered your data, packed it up, and asked you to verify your identity, they’ll send you a compressed “zip” file with all your data including all of your posts. It’s important that you complete this process, including receiving the file, before you continue with your migration, or it may (will) be lost.
Next step – the actual page migration. It’s pretty easy, actually, and all begins on this page: https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=19691. Click where it says “here” and proceed to set up your new martial arts business Facebook page. When it’s done, you’ll have all the functionality of a business page at your disposal. Remember, this process is irreversible, and be sure to set your own personal Facebook account as an administrator. Which actually leads me to…
Trick #2 – Posting on Your Own Facebook Martial Arts Business Page
Another poorly-documented feature of Facebook is the ability to turn off the requirement that business page admins always post “AS” that page. Sometimes you want to post as the “face” of your business, but other times it makes more sense to post as yourself. To have the choice, you simply have to uncheck a box in your page’s settings. Click the “Edit page” button in the upper-right of your page, then choose “Your Settings” from the menu at the right. UN-check the box next to “Always comment and post on your page as” and save your changes. Voila! You now have the choice to post either as “Sensei Napoli” or as “Five Star Martial Arts” – you’ll see a link on the right-hand side of your page that lets you “Use Facebook as Five Star Martial Arts.”
In parts 2 and 3 of this series, I’ll explain how to make your Martial Arts Business a Facebook Place, with all the advantages thereof, and I’ll explain how Tagging isn’t just for graffiti artists anymore – it’s an integral part of a thorough Facebook Social Martial Arts Marketing Strategy!
Mike De Lucia is a writer, accomplished business executive, and martial arts enthusiast. Mike is currently the Director of Business Operations for http://www.fivestarkarate.com/ in North Syracuse, NY. His martial arts background includes Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, Iaido, Goju-Ryu, and Kenpo Karate, which he practices along with his wife and children. Mike blogs at http://virtualvellum.blogspot.com/
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