Showing posts with label Social Networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Networking. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Modernizing the Patient Experience in Reproductive Medicine: Part 13- What Else Should You Consider?


I started out in Part 1 talking about customer service and I am sure you know by now that when your customer service fails then no matter what you do to gain new clients or appease current ones you are not going to be in business for long.

I also posted about the following ways to help your client or patients find you:
        Using the Internet
        Social Networking
        Pinterest
        YouTube
        Blogging
        E-Newsletters
        Webinars

        What’s Left?
        Pod Casts
        Radio shows
        TV interviews
        Seminars and exhibiting
        Community specific marketing
        Out-reach education


All of these can be used interactively with your social networks, websites and blogs
 Although all of these external marketing techniques are ways to reach new patients and educate current clients, great customer service along with a warm, compassionate attitude from you and your entire staff can never be replaced.
Obviously I have not elaborated nearly enough throughout this 13 part series on reaching and supporting your patient or client,  however that is because each  company is run differently and addresses issues in a very unique way. This is because we all have a different reasons why we are in the Third Party Reproductive field and have different ideas regarding  how to actually achieve our business goals.  This is where a knowledgeable consultant like LaMothe Services, LLC can come in and assist you in redefining your business plan and helping you implement a few of the ideas I have outlined in this blog. Feel free to contact me via e-mail at Sharon@LaMotheServices.com or call 727-458-8333 to set up a free consultation!

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Modernizing the Patient Experience in Reproductive Medicine: Part 6-Making You Tube Work for You and Your Clients/Patients


Let's start off with a You Tube Hot Fact:  Social media-related YouTube stats are impressive. 

YouTube Statistics 

  • The very first YouTube video was uploaded on 23 April 2005.
  • The total number of people who use YouTube – 1,300,000,000.
  • 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute!
  • Almost 5 billion videos are watched on Youtube every single day.
  • YouTube gets over 30 million visitors per day
  • In an average month, 8 out of 10 18-49 year-olds watch YouTube.
  • By 2025, half of the viewers under 32 will not subscribe to a pay-TV service.
  • 6 out of 10 people prefer online video platforms to live TV
  • The total number of hours of video watched on YouTube each month – 3.25 billion.
  • 10,113 Youtube videos generated over 1 billion views.
  • 80% of YouTube’s views are from outside of the U.S.
  • The average number of mobile YouTube video views per day is 1,000,000,000
  • The average mobile viewing session lasts more than 40 minutes. This is up with more than 50% year-over-year.
  • Female users are 38% and male users are 62%.
  • User Percentage by Age 18-24 – 11%, 25-34 – 23%, 35-44 – 26%, 45-54 – 16%, 50-64 – 8%, 65+ – 3%, unknown age – 14%.
  • More than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices.
  • YouTube’s mobile revenue is up to 2x y/y.
  • YouTube overall and even YouTube on mobile alone reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.
  • The number of hours people spend watching videos (aka watch time) on YouTube is up 60% year-over-year, the fastest growth we’ve seen in 2 years.
  • You can navigate YouTube in a total of 76 different languages (covering 95% of the Internet population).
  • YouTube has launched local versions in more than 88 countries.
  • 9% of U.S small businesses use Youtube
  • Approximately 20% of the people who start your video will leave after the first 10 seconds. Create a damn good intro.
*Credit to Fortunelords 

Let You Tube help you brand YOU!



Now that you have let that sink in, below are some tips for making You Tube work for you and your patients/clients:
        Set up a channel to reflect your brand and engage with others.
        Create short videos of valuable tips of interest to your clients and prospects to show off your expertise.
        Share slides from presentations that weren’t recorded. (which, by the way, is exactly what I am doing here!!)
        Put together a creative video explaining your services.
        Promote your events using recordings of previous events.
        Introduce your staff to add authenticity.
        Post links to your videos on various social networks.
        Display company information in every video including name, URL, phone number and email address.

More You Tube tips on the next post!
* This information is from 2017 so note that these numbers have changed

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Modernizing The Patient Experience in Reproductive Medicine: Part 5- You Tube


Not only can you use You Tube for your own Videos- you can implement the following to get the most out of this amazing site!
·         Streaming Ads-Shorter is better....less than 1 min
·         Advertise on the side bar
·         Advertise on 3rd Party sites 

In the next few posts I have some great ideas for you on how to make You Tube work for you! Have you subscribed yet to this blog? You probably should so all of this great information will land in your e-mail in box and you can read it over coffee and start planning your marketing strategy for 2018!! 
**Learn more about LaMothe Services and how I can help YOU! www.LaMotheServices.com
* This chart is from 2018 so note that these numbers have changed

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Modernizing the Patient Experience in Reproductive Medicine: Part 4- Twitter

Letting Twitter Work for You




       Invite your professional network (via e-mail, Facebook and LinkedIN) to connect with you on Twitter
       Lookup professional associates manually
       Follow other professional associates that you know or want to work with
       Post a note “tweet” about your company news, events, activities, services, promote other professionals
       Drive traffic to your Websites, You Tube, Facebook and Blogs by tweeting about posts and articles
       Utilize for opinion polls
       Build community by commenting/retweeting others
Remember that you can link these social networking sites together in several different ways. This enables you to just post in one place and have that same post show up in several different sites.
* This chart is from 2017 so note that these numbers have changed

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Modernizing the Patient Experience in Reproductive Medicine: Part 3- Facebook

First let me tell you some facts that you may or may not know. I am pretty sure if you are reading this it just might be that you saw my blog post link on my own Facebook or Twitter feed and so you already know all about what I am going to share...or not...read on and see! ;-)

Facebook Facts and Statistics

  1. Worldwide, Total number of Monthly Active Users: 2 billion.
  2. Total number of Mobile Monthly Active Users: 1.66 billion.
  3. Total number of Desktop Daily Active Users: 1.18 billion.
  4. Total number of Mobile Daily Active Users: 1.57 billion.
  5. The gender split on Facebook is 46% men and 54% women.
  6. One in five page views in the United States occurs on Facebook.
  7. More than 83% of daily active users are outside the US and Canada.
  8. The Facebook like button has been pressed 1.13 trillion times.
  9. The average time spent on Facebook per visit is 20 minutes making the average monthly time spent to 600 hours.
  10. At its current growth rate, Facebook acquires about 8 users per second. That’s 7,246 people every 15 minutes.
  11. 75% of all men and 83% of all women who use the internet can be reached via Facebook.
  12. Every 60 seconds, this is what happens on Facebook: 3,000,000 items are shared, 243,000 images are uploaded and 3,125,000 likes are generated.
  13. Currently, Facebook is available in 101 languages.
  14. Any two people on Facebook are separated by an average of 57 degrees of separation.
  15. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp collectively process about 60 billion messages a day,3 times the number of normal SMSes sent globally.
  16. An average Facebook user has 155 friends.
  17. 87% of online users of age 18-29 are on Facebook.
  18. 56% of online Seniors aged 65+ are on Facebook and 63% are between age 50-64.
  19. About 66% of Facebook users turn to the platform for news.
  20. As reported at the end of Q1, Facebook’s revenue stands at $8.03 billion, at a 49% increase year-on-year.
  21. 80% of Facebook’s revenue comes from ads, and 20% from virtual games.
  22. 65 million businesses now have Facebook pages.
  23. Nearly one-third of Facebook users (32 percent) engage with brands regularly.
  24. 42% of marketers report that Facebook is critical or important to their business.
  25. 42% of customer service responses from brands on Facebook happen within the first 60 minutes.
  26. 70% marketers claimed that they use Facebook to acquire new customers, while 47% have said that the social network was their top influence for purchases.
With some of these numbers you might now see why you should really give due respect to what this free networking service can do for you and your business if you manage to keep up with it all. And that is not so hard to do!

Below are a few tips on how to use Facebook to your best advantage.

        Create a professional Facebook page for your Practice

        Select a business category from the drop-down menu such as “Health/Medical/Pharm.”

        Create an interesting profile, photos (office, staff, etc.)

        Advertise your new profile by sending it to all your co-workers and professional friends

        Make sure you add links to your website, You Tube, LinkedIN, Twitter and blog

        Remember to update and post several times per week
Do you have more to add? Please write down your own tips in the comment section! 

 [ FB Fact Source: ZephoriaDrumupWikipediaOmnicoreagency]

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Modernizing the Patient Experience in Reproductive Medicine: Part 2- Let's Look at Social Networking


The next few blog posts are going to focus on Social Networking. As most of you know I actually do a lot of social networking not only for myself but for quite a few clients in the Reproductive Field. It brings visibility and shares your business's very important messages. Building a following is vital and for low to no cost why not take advantage of this great marketing tool?

While at the ASRM I met with Rob Taylor from TD Media and what he uses social networking for is a practice/business advocacy tool.  This means that he takes the "Happy Patient/Client" and empowers them to become an advocate via social networking to support the clinic or business that they have had a positive experience with. This is extremely important  as potential clients are out there on Bing and Google reading everything they can about you and your business so they can make an informed decision.
My next post is all about Facebook!

Monday, May 29, 2017

10 Reasons Why You Should STILL Be Using Facebook (as found on SEO Chicks)

Since writing a few blog posts about the benefits of using Facebook for marketing, I have been asked; “Well, how do you do it?” There are no secrets to using Facebook, unless you are running illegal scripts. Depending on the reasons and types of markets you might be dealing with on Facebook, it’s really quite simple to utilize the social network as a marketing tool.

“Don’t hate on Facebook.” Give it a chance before you decide to curse it to hell as an annoying social site that is a waste of time. If you STILL aren’t using Facebook for yourself, you won’t be able to understand how to use it for anyone else.

Create your “internet marketer” profile. I prefer when people give it their own personal touch. Add some (and only some) albums of cool pictures for me to see what you are like. Myself among many others are dying to judge you. This sounds a lot worse than it actually is.

By now, you probably already know over 200 people on Facebook. Whether they are your actually friends, or authors of the blogs you read. The #1 Simple Step of Social Media Success is to connect with these people, according to Chris Winfield. Facebook makes it really easy for you, and separates these people into networks, and clubs. You already know who you should be conversing with. In most cases, networking professionals will accept your friend request.

Some of these people, you might not have gotten a chance to talk to at the latest convention and now you are looking at mobile uploads of their children. This really is a wonderful tool.

Here are 10 reasons why you should STILL be using Facebook as a Marketing Professional:

1. Join all the groups that relate to you and add connections: Start conversations with people you look up to in the industry. Possibly gain a friend request or two hundred.

2. Promote your blog or other blogs you are promoting on your profile, using BlogFriends. You spent hours perfecting the perfect blog post, now everyone knows.

3. Draw attention to yourself quickly: Upload a new album, post a note, poke people (occasionally), comment on everyone’s stuff. Being popular on Facebook can easily transfer over to real life.

4. Set up real life connections: Introduce yourself to your Facebook friends. Start a relationship. These people are also voters on Social News sites, and blog writers, and good people to know.

5. Research information for clients and Gain Knowledge: Dive head first into groups and read what people are saying about your clients. Excellent for those who are practicing Reputation Management. Read forums, participate, research, and get to work!

6. Network before big events: With SMX West coming up, there are tons of groups to join. See who will be there. Set up a meeting with these people by sending them a message on Facebook, or just simply join the group so people will know you will be there as well. Look at their profile, if they have recent news, you will have a conversation starter at the convention.

7. Update your Status: I hate to say it but those people who tie in their Twitter with their Facebook status are super helpful. If you become a regular status updater, people will always take interest in whatever your doing. It’s like reality TV. *Congratulations to Glen Allsopp who just PASSED HIS DRIVING TEST! 38m ago*

8. Applications Help: It’s true that many applications are annoying. But the Stumble Upon application is awesome! It shows on your profile and news feed what you are Stumbling, so this way everyone else knows, and will also stumble if they are interested.

9. Facebook is Improving: The ever changing controls are sometimes annoying but helpful. You can edit your preferences in the news feeds and see what you want to see. You can also control what people see about you with privacy and security settings.

10. Facebook Profiles Rank- If clients are looking you up, they might like the fact that your profile comes up (but they might not). In this case, it works the same as LinkedIn. So make sure to keep it as Professional as the business you run. *For example: While hiring, I did a search and found a possible employee Facebook page and lets just say they weren’t hired based on the profile picture alone. This could have totally worked in their favor, if I saw a nice clean page with nice comments from Coworkers, friends, a link to their blog, etc.

So… Why Not? It’s totally up to you how you want to use it. If you choose not to use Facebook, then don’t. If you just want to use to it watch what everyone else is doing, that is fine too. You don’t have to add every application, or give drinks to your Top Friends. You can totally make what you want of it.

I hope that this post helps people who are still “Hating” and helps them find success with Facebook conversations, like I have in many ways.



If you have any other reasons or ideas why Marketing Professionals should STILL be using Facebook, please let me know!

Monday, April 17, 2017

17 Twitter Tips (as found, in part, on DoshDosh)

As most of you already know, I 'do' social media for people in the Reproductive Industry. They are trying to reach out to other professionals (like I do) as well as potential egg donors or surrogates, intended parents and donor egg recipients. Sharing information and educating the public is another great reason for people to turn to social media in the first place. I set up businesses and individuals on the road to social networking success by placing bios and information about their business on places like Facebook, LinkedIN, Pinterest, and Twitter to name a very few. Needless to say they still have to USE these tools to get the most out of them. (but Lamothe Services can do that for you too!) Below is a segment on Twitter that I found that should catapult even the busiest executive into posting a 'tweet' once in a while.  





Twitter gives you a fragmented experience of opinions, events, news, ideas and feedback largely because its structured to accommodate non-contextual usability: You can easily follow thousands of users and listen in and enter into conversations conducted among multiple users at any point. And this is usually the case.

On the other hand, Twitter can be actively used as a tool to push out messages that capitalize on the attention you’re receiving from other users. Yes, I’m talking about self-promotion and marketing. This involves active user engagement.


1. Personal Branding. Twitter is a social media platform you can use to build your personal brand. It has the primary benefit of developing a casual persona and establishes you as a social personality that is connected and approachable. As Twitter adoption increases, new users will be drawn towards well established Twitter personas.

2. Get Feedback. Need an alternative perspective on how a website looks or the right course of action to take? Blast out a message asking for advice and you’ll receive replies from other users. This collective intelligence can be used as fodder for articles or projects.

3. Hire People. Need a good logo designer, marketer or programmer? Send out a message asking for recommendations. This is a very quick and easy way to hire freelancers or even companies based on familiar recommendations.

4. Direct traffic. Twitter can be used to get traffic to your websites or the sites of friends. If you ask your friends to tweet about it, the message will spread faster and further as other active users pick it up. There is a viral nature to all types of news, even on a site like Twitter.

5. Read News. Twitter users often link to useful sites or articles and can be a source of scoops and alternative news. You can also subscribe to Twitter feeds for specific websites/conferences, which allows you to receive and view content quickly. This is very useful for active social news participants.

6. Make New Friends. Like any other social network, Twitter has a built-in function for you to befriend and track the messages of other users. This is an easy way for you connect with people outside of your usual circle. Make an effort to add active users you find interesting. A Twitter acquaintance can be developed into a long lasting friendship.

7. Network for benefits. Twitter can be used as a socializing platform for you to interact with other like-minded people, especially those in the same industry. It can be used to establish consistent and deeper relationships for future benefits such as testimonials or peer recommendations.

8. Use it as a ToDo list. Use Twitter to record down what you need to do while you are away from the computer. Mark the tweet as a favorite to file it for referencing. Another alternative is to use an Online task management service that is synced with Twitter. One example is Remember The Milk.

9. Business Management. Twitter can be used as a company intranet that connects employees to one another. Workers can liaise with each other when working on group projects. Particularly useful when certain workers go out often in the field. Updates could be set to private for security reasons.

10. Notify Your Customers. Set up a Twitter feed for the specific purpose of notifying customers when new products come in. Customers can subscribe via mobile or RSS for instant notification. Twitter can also be used to provide mini-updates for one-on-one clients.

11. Take Notes. Twitter provides you with an easy way to record important ideas or concepts you want to explore further. Include links relevant to ideas you want to explore. Note taking can also be done offline via mobile applications.

12. Event Updates. Businesses can use Twitter as a means to inform event participants and latest event happenings/changes. This is a hassle-free way of disseminating information, especially when you don’t have the means to set up a direct mobile link between you and the audience

13. Find Prospects. Twitter can be used as a means to find potential customers or clients online. Do a search for keywords related to your product on Twitter Search and then follow users. Tweet about topics parallel to your product and close prospects away from public channels by using direct messages or offline communications. Discretion and skill is needed in this area.

14. Provide Live coverage. Twitter’s message size limit prevents detailed coverage of events but it can allow you to provide real-time commentary which may help to spark further discussion or interest on the event as other Twitter users spread the message. Very useful for citizen journalism.

15. Time Management and Analysis. Twitter can simply be used to keep a detailed record of what you are doing every daily. This might be boring for others but this type of usage is useful when you want to analyze how you spend and manage your time.

16. Set Up Meetings. Twitter can help you organize impromptu meetups. For example, you can twitter a message while at a cafe, event or art gallery and arrange to meet fellow users at a specific spot. It’s an informal and casual way of arranging a meeting.

17. Acquire Votes. Send a link to your stories you’ve submitted in other social news sites like Digg. Sometimes your followers will vote up the stories because they agree with it. This allows you to acquire more support for your efforts on other social media websites

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

8 Dos and Don’ts of Networking Follow Up By: Jenny Klimisch


There are networking opportunities everywhere, whether you’re at a trade show, conference, meetup, or even chatting with someone on your commute. You need to make the most of every opportunity because you never know who you might meet! Here are eight actionable dos and don’ts for following up with someone in a professional way after you've connected:
DO: Send an invitation to connect on LinkedIn in a timely manor by including a personal note on where you met him or her and something you may have discussed. For example, “It was great meeting you at the ABC Event. I’d like to keep in touch about the possible partnership we were chatting about.”
DON’T: Send a LinkedIn invite to every business card you collect. You should have a one-on-one meaningful conversation with someone before sending them an invitation to connect.
DO: Follow up via email to business cards you collected and personalize the messages. Ensure you let people know ahead of time you’ll be sending an email and have their permission, otherwise your email may be viewed in a negative light. 
DON’T: Buy a list of event attendees and email them all. This would be a violation of the CAN-SPAM act. Also, it’s not the best way to start a professional relationship.
DO: Try to follow up in a timely fashion, usually within a few days to a week of the event. It will help keep you top of mind of your potential clients or business partners. 
DON’T: Wait too long to follow up with a contact. Time flies after events and it’s easy to forget all of the people that you might have met. 
DO: Go the extra mile about how your businesses or connection can be mutually beneficial when you do reach out to someone. Take the time to research and understand what his or her company does, if you don’t know already.
DON’T: Go on about your company without understanding whether it’s actually a good fit for the company or contact you’re reaching out to.
DO: Set a limit to the amount of communication. Do some testing to see the optimal amount of touches that it takes to connect with someone. Refine your cadence and amount of outreach accordingly. 
DON’T: Call or email multiple times if you don’t get a response. No one likes to be harassed or stalked.
DO: Extend an offer for a free demo or an info session to learn more about your product or service.
DON’T: Forget to include a link to your website in your email.
DO: Include your LinkedIn profile link (personal or business) within your email signature to make it easy for people to connect with you.
DON’T: Have an unprofessional picture in your email signature, or as your LinkedIn profile picture. 
DO: “Like” a business you’re interested in on Facebook, and follow that business on LinkedIn and Twitter. When you do, the business or owner may follow you back.
DON’T: Try to friend someone’s personal page on Facebook, or connect in other more personal ways. Sometimes it can be perceived as creepy.
These eight networking follow up dos and don’ts should keep you on the right path to growing your network and making successful new connections like a pro.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Let LaMothe Services Assist You With Our Social Networking Packages!

Social Networking is the fastest and easiest way to stay in touch with colleagues, co-workers,industry professionals,family,and friends. But learning how to navigate a site by yourself can be frustrating especially if you would rather be spending time doing other things. Networking in any form is a great way to keep your business in the forefront of everyone's mind and lead you to a better position in your industry.
 
Package #1 includes:
(one time set up fee)
Facebook~LinkedIN~Twitter~etc.
 
Setting up your social networking site with your e-mail and contact information
 
Posting your bio and other relevant information
 
Feed your blog to your networking site if possible
 
Showing you how to invite friends from your address book to your site
 
Teaching you how to navigate the site easily and quickly
 
Package #2 includes:
(paid monthly and can be combined with your blogging maintenance package)
 
Everything in Package #1 and
 
Maintenance of your social networking sites
 
Posting on your sites
 
Networking with other relevant groups on your site
 
Keeping you informed of events posted on your sites

At LaMothe Services our highest priority is satisfied customers. We are proud to serve you and work hard to earn your business. Call 727-458-8333 to schedule your free personal 40 minute consultation. There's no obligation, only opportunity.

Monday, August 4, 2014

LaMothe Services are designed and developed to support your growing business!

Our services are designed and developed to support your growing business. When you make an appointment for a free consultation, all information gathered is then formulated into a program specifically designed to resolve problem issues using LaMothe Services as your partner. We are willing to sign non-disclosure documents to make you feel comfortable in allowing us to assist you in managing and solving your most delicate business problems.

LaMothe Services specializes in Surrogacy and Egg Donation agencies and other Third Party Family Building Companies. We can also assist other businesses with customer service, organizational, social networking and marketing support issues. Call for your free 40 minute phone consultation.

Please note that LaMothe Services is also offering professional surrogacy consulting packages aimed to educate and inform those considering Surrogacy as a family building option. This service is a natural first step for those exploring all options that are within the realms of Third Party Family Building and the Reproductive Technology Industry.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

How can LaMothe Services help you and your business?

We make it our responsibility to know you and your business. LaMothe Services will work closely with you to ensure that the solutions we provide are tailored to meet your unique needs and challenges. We are committed to your success. Our job is to enter into collaborative relationships with you as our client and take on those assignments that provide dramatic increases in growth and profitability.
LaMothe Services will provide you with the resources to optimize every opportunity.
 
LaMothe Services also provides Coaching, Mentorship, Training, Seminars, Staff Education, and Public Speaking events in the area of Third Party Reproduction, namely Surrogacy and Egg Donation. Our background and expertise will provide your staff with the development and training resources and the results are that your employees will be more motivated, focused, organized and realize results! 
 
At LaMothe Services our highest priority is satisfied customers. We are proud to serve you and work hard to earn your business. Call 727-458-8333 to schedule your free personal 40 minute consultation. There's no obligation, only opportunity.
 

Monday, December 2, 2013

It's Cyber Monday and LaMothe Services is offering it's very first Social Networking Special!


It's Cyber Monday and LaMothe Services is offering it's very first Social Networking Special!
 

Social Networking is the fastest and easiest way to stay in touch with colleagues, co-workers, industry professionals, family, and friends. But learning how to navigate a social networking site by yourself can be frustrating especially if you would rather be spending time doing other things. Networking in any form is a great way to keep your business in the forefront of everyone's mind and lead you to a better position in your industry.
 
Package #1 includes:
(Cyber Monday Special of a one time set up fee of $300.00)
Facebook~LinkedIN~Twitter~Wellsphere etc.
 
Setting up your social networking site with your e-mail and contact information
Posting your bio and other relevant information
Feed your blog to your networking site if possible
Showing you how to invite friends from your address book to your site
Teaching you how to navigate the site easily and quickly
 
Package #2 includes:
(Cyber Monday Special of $250.00 paid monthly)
Maintenance of your social networking sites
Posting on your sites 2-3x per week
Networking with other relevant groups from your site
Keeping you informed of events posted on your sites
Posting Your events on your sites
Driving traffic to your social net working sites
 
You can activate this special between now and Jan 1st, 2014. Just let us know when you would like to get started!
 
Happy Holidays!
 
Sharon LaMothe
727-458-8333
 

Monday, September 9, 2013

10 Reasons Why You Should STILL Be Using Facebook as a Marketing Professional

Since writing a few blog posts about the benefits of using Facebook for marketing, I have been asked; “Well, how do you do it?” There are no secrets to using Facebook, unless you are running illegal scripts. Depending on the reasons and types of markets you might be dealing with on Facebook, it’s really quite simple to utilize the social network as a marketing tool.

“Don’t hate on Facebook.” Give it a chance before you decide to curse it to hell as an annoying social site that is a waste of time. If you STILL aren’t using Facebook for yourself, you won’t be able to understand how to use it for anyone else.

Create your “internet marketer” profile. I prefer when people give it their own personal touch. Add some (and only some) albums of cool pictures for me to see what you are like. Myself among many others are dying to judge you. This sounds a lot worse than it actually is.

By now, you probably already know over 200 people on Facebook. Whether they are your actually friends, or authors of the blogs you read. The #1 Simple Step of Social Media Success is to connect with these people, according to Chris Winfield. Facebook makes it really easy for you, and separates these people into networks, and clubs. You already know who you should be conversing with. In most cases, networking professionals will accept your friend request.

Some of these people, you might not have gotten a chance to talk to at the latest convention and now you are looking at mobile uploads of their children. This really is a wonderful tool.

Here are 10 reasons why you should STILL be using Facebook as a Marketing Professional:

1. Join all the groups that relate to you and add connections: Start conversations with people you look up to in the industry. Possibly gain a friend request or two hundred.

2. Promote your blog or other blogs you are promoting on your profile, using BlogFriends. You spent hours perfecting the perfect blog post, now everyone knows.

3. Draw attention to yourself quickly: Upload a new album, post a note, poke people (occasionally), comment on everyone’s stuff. Being popular on Facebook can easily transfer over to real life.

4. Set up real life connections: Introduce yourself to your Facebook friends. Start a relationship. These people are also voters on Social News sites, and blog writers, and good people to know.

5. Research information for clients and Gain Knowledge: Dive head first into groups and read what people are saying about your clients. Excellent for those who are practicing Reputation Management. Read forums, participate, research, and get to work!

6. Network before big events: With SMX West coming up, there are tons of groups to join. See who will be there. Set up a meeting with these people by sending them a message on Facebook, or just simply join the group so people will know you will be there as well. Look at their profile, if they have recent news, you will have a conversation starter at the convention.

7. Update your Status: I hate to say it but those people who tie in their Twitter with their Facebook status are super helpful. If you become a regular status updater, people will always take interest in whatever your doing. It’s like reality TV. *Congratulations to Glen Allsopp who just PASSED HIS DRIVING TEST! 38m ago*

8. Applications Help: It’s true that many applications are annoying. But the Stumble Upon application is awesome! It shows on your profile and news feed what you are Stumbling, so this way everyone else knows, and will also stumble if they are interested.

9. Facebook is Improving: The ever changing controls are sometimes annoying but helpful. You can edit your preferences in the news feeds and see what you want to see. You can also control what people see about you with privacy and security settings.

10. Facebook Profiles Rank- If clients are looking you up, they might like the fact that your profile comes up (but they might not). In this case, it works the same as LinkedIn. So make sure to keep it as Professional as the business you run. *For example: While hiring, I did a search and found a possible employee Facebook page and lets just say they weren’t hired based on the profile picture alone. This could have totally worked in their favor, if I saw a nice clean page with nice comments from Coworkers, friends, a link to their blog, etc.

So… Why Not? It’s totally up to you how you want to use it. If you choose not to use Facebook, then don’t. If you just want to use to it watch what everyone else is doing, that is fine too. You don’t have to add every application, or give drinks to your Top Friends. You can totally make what you want of it.

I hope that this post helps people who are still “Hating” and helps them find success with Facebook conversations, like I have in many ways.



If you have any other reasons or ideas why Marketing Professionals should STILL be using Facebook, please let me know!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Self-Promotion That's Fun

This is a picture of me at the Hubbard Glacier!


I have been working with individuals who have no idea how to market themselves. They even seem a little embarrassed that they have to "do it" at all. In the past many relied on referrals from professionals who have been long standing friends as well as colleagues, but as people move on, change jobs, or retire sometimes those referrals dry up and it's hard to relearn how to network and, well...basically sell themselves and their services.

This article below gives an insight to self-promotion. Many of my clients are already on FaceBook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest and Plaxo among other social networking sites but those venues are just the tip of a very large Internet iceberg!

Feel free to contact me with any questions regarding your own marketing issues. Simple and affordable solutions can be found at
http://lamotheservices.com/

Sharon LaMothe

Self-Promotion That's Fun

by Will Craig

Do you have as many clients as you want? Are you "landing" the type of clients that are absolutely fun to work with? Okay, here is one more question... Are you promoting yourself?

The reason most of us get into coaching is to coach. Few of us -if any- get into this business to promote ourselves (and wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to). The sad fact is, we do.

Here's why:
Unless people know about you they can't hire you. It's easy to think that others who enthusiastically market themselves are, in some way, "fly-by-night hucksters." In some cases this may even be true. The fact is, if you don't promote yourself your potential clients may end up hiring those less qualified individuals instead of you. You've given them no choice because you haven't promoted yourself to them as an option.

If you think about it you have an obligation to promote yourself so that the clients that really need to work with you have a way to reach you (and not someone else). The good news is this doesn't have to be an obnoxious task.

Here's how:

The professionals that are successful at selling their services aren't really selling at all. They are promoting themselves in subtle, yet convincing ways. They are allowing their prospects to get to know them. They are building rapport and trust. In a nutshell, they are just being themselves.

If you put yourself in situations where you allow people to experience you, you will have your pick of clients. And they'll be the best clients for you! Feel good about promoting yourself by recognizing that marketing your professional services is nothing more than relationship building.

Mainstream sales and advertising has given the marketing of professional services a bad rap. When self-promotion is done right, it's fun and rewarding, PLUS you can feel good about it. Go out and be yourself with as many people as possible. The ones who are attracted to you will work the hardest for themselves. They will also be the most fun for you to have as clients.

Sharon LaMothe
LaMothe Services, LLC http://lamotheservices.com
LaMothe Surrogacy Consulting http://lamothesurrogacyconsulting.com
Infertility Answers, Inc. http://infertilityanswers.org


Sunday, July 24, 2011

Marketing in Social Media is Not Off-putting to Users


You know, facts often speak louder then *my* words. I found this study (from 2009) below and wanted to share it with you because it pretty much says what I have been preaching all along....social media is a GREAT way to get your company noticed! Read below and share with me what you are doing to become more visible in the infertility industry.....

Sharon LaMothe

LaMothe Services, LLC



More research has added weight to the assertion that social network users are receptive to brand marketing messages in their various social environments and are happy to recommend products or services themselves. by Helen Leggatt

The joint study, released this week by Performics and ROI Research, found that while sites such as Facebook and Twitter were primarily for socializing, branding and marketing content was widely accepted.

Not just accepted, it seems, but often acted upon. Many people took action after seeing a brand mentioned on a social channel. For instance, the study of 3,000 active social network users in the U.S. found that almost half (48%) of Twitter users who saw a brand's name mentioned on the site would go on to use a search engine to investigate further.

In addition:
- 34% have used a search engine to find information on a product/service/brand after seeing an advertisement on a social networking site,

- 30% have learned about a new product, service or brand from a social networking site,

- 32% said messages about printable coupons on social sites resonate with them,

- 28% said messages about sales or special deal notifications resonate with them.

So, marketers need not give social media a wide berth when it comes to disseminating brand information. The keys are to find the right "voice" and the right buttons to press to pique their interest and encourage further engagement and conversation.

"Social networks are creating a monumental shift in how people communicate with each other and with brands," said Michael Kahn, SVP of Marketing at Performics. "The results of this study can help marketers better understand where and how consumers interact with social media sites and what types of offers and communications engage them and motivate them to act.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

5 Ways To Network Your Way To Blogging Success By Steve Roy

Networking has become a buzzword over the last few years and with the explosion of social media, it has become “the way” to build a business.
We all know the vast power of social media and the role it can play in your success as a blogger. However, there are still many, many blogggers who are not taking advantage of this phenomenon.

When I say taking advantage of it, I don’t mean posting your weekend activities on Facebook or tweeting out random thoughts you have throughout the day.

What I’m talking about is using social media to build relationships with your peers and with those who are in social circles that you want to be a part of

The Power Of Networking

Networking is especially important for a new blogger. If you think you can go it alone and see the same level of success, then by all means try it. However, if you want to speed up the process of building traffic and gaining new readers and subscribers, then you need to leverage other bloggers audiences. This is where networking comes in.

Great content is the starting point for a successful blog, but when you are just beginning, nobody is going to read it because you have no traffic. Building significant levels of traffic takes time and that’s part of the blogging process, but why not help yourself and begin networking with bloggers who have already achieved what you want?

For example, I have a fitness blog which has been running since 2008. It has never received more than 300 visitors in any given month. Why? Because I have not networked one bit. I have written my posts and done nothing to get people to read them.

Now take my current blog, I have focused my attention on building relationships through networking and have had much greater success. Here some of the things I have done which have helped grow my blog quite rapidly:

1. Use guest posting.

We have all heard that guest posting is a great way to reach out to more readers and build traffic. A few important things to keep in mind when using this method are:

Find a blog in a similar niche.I see a lot of bloggers who want to submit their post to a high traffic site even though it is in a completely different niche. Big mistake. Even if you get some traffic from it, chances are that they will have little interest in your topic. There is no point to driving traffic to your blog if nobody wants to read it or opt in to your newsletter.

Interact with those who comment on your guest post. Don’t just reply with a “thanks for the comment”, ask them questions and get them talking to each other, that’s how you will get them to come to your blog and become your readers too.

2. Use Twitter.

For months, I was resistant to Twitter because I thought it was a glorified chat room. When I was finally convinced to get on board by a friend, I discovered its potential. In my opinion, Twitter is themost powerful of all social media streams. Just in the last month, I have been in contact with “A” list bloggers and gotten their radar, formed relationships with very successful business owners and bloggers, and made several friends in the process. When used correctly, Twitter can be incredibly powerful and can have a huge impact on your business.

3. Be Useful.

Anyone can self promote and send link after link promoting their own stuff, but the real potential for massive traffic is when others start doing it for you. I can send out 20 tweets about my own most recent post and get a few visitors.

One tweet from someone like Pat Flynn, Brian Clark, or Yaro Starak will send 50 or 100 times the traffic that I could promoting myself. How do you get these big names to promote you? You need to get their attention. Email them something that will interest them, sell their products as an affiliate, send them a personal and unique Tweet, but you HAVE to provide value.

Successful bloggers are incredibly busy people and inundated with emails, calls, and everything else all day every day. You need to stand out, be different, and NOT be looking for a handout. “Please RT this” will not work with these folks.

4. Make Friends.

I have been lucky enough to meet a few people on Twitter who I can now call friends. It just so happens that these friends have blogs that are MUCH more successful than mine.

My intention is to build on those friendships and hopefully learn some things about blogging along the way. If you have a hidden agenda and are just using your “friendship” for your benefit only, it won’t last too long and you will have burned a very important bridge.

If we constantly ask our network to promote us, it will most likely ruin the relationship. However, if we are providing a good resource for people and our content is high quality, we may find that we get promoted without even asking. Just being mentioned in a high profile bloggers blog can send hundreds or thousands of visitors to our sites. The important thing here is to focus on building a network of friends, not promoters.

5. Give, Then Receive.

If you can adopt the philosophy that you need to give before receiving, you will be in a much better position in the long run.

If you can consistently promote high quality sites and valuable resources to your network, you will find that you will begin to build credibility and trust. These two things are absolutely critical to a building a successful blog.

People love to share information. It’s our job to share high quality and valuable information. If you find a new blogger who seems to have great ideas, by all means, send out a tweet. If you come across a fascinating article, share that too.

Don’t worry about others promoting you right now, that will come in time (assuming you have good content). Your focus should be on providing helpful resources and offering that information to your network. Over time and with a little luck, you may get the attention of the people whose blogs you have been promoting. That’s when great things can happen.

If you are not building your network in some capacity every day, you are severely limiting the growth of your blog. Make a commitment to building relationships with those in your niche and start building mutually beneficial relationships today!

You will be amazed at the difference it can make.

About the Author: Steve Roy is the owner of EndingTheGrind.com, a blog dedicated to helping people get out of their miserable jobs, build an online business, and live with passion!