Best Free Marketing Tips

VN:F [1.9.17_1161]How do you like this post?please wait...Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Hi all, just wanted to share that I have now completed my certification as an executive coach. See the pretty certificate below?

What's this mean to you?

It means that I am better prepared to serve you!

How?

My focus is to help powerful people to help more people. I do this through Executive Coaching and Strategic Marketing Consulting.

Which Means?

I help you to create your personal and business strategic plan to help you align your business objectives with your life objectives so you can achieve balance, fulfillment and joy in your work and life.

I then guide you to create a strategic marketing plan that supports the achievement of your objectives. This can be a personal branding plan, an overall business marketing plan, or a marketing plan for an new product launch.

You then have me as a resource to support you in your tactical implementation which includes analyzing and interpreting your results to refine your tactics and stay on track. You have me to hold you accountable and learn to develop a sustainable system to support your success.

The Results?

You get a clear roadmap to create the life you want! You have support systems in place to maintain it!

How long does it take?

It's up to you. You may have some of these components already in place. You may not. The good news is the process is tailored to meet you where you are and help move you to where you want to be.

Tell me more!

If you are serious about taking your business and your life to the next level and truly living out your dreams, please contact me for an complimentary game plan interview. Serious inquiries only.

Email deb at expertmarketingcoach.com or call 720-878-6606.

Facebook overtakes world social media platforms. Read the rest of this entry »

VN:F [1.9.17_1161]How do you like this post?please wait...Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)Facebook Fan Page Custom Landing Page

When a customer or potential customer comes to your website you want a way to greet them and invite them to "like" your page. When they 'Like' your page, you can then continue the conversation with them off your page and in their news feed.

Your Facebook Fan Page should have a 'landing page' in the same way that every online marketing campaign would have a unique landing page to inform and convert customers.

To create a landing page on your Facebook Page, you will need to add a "Reveal Tab". By default your Facebook Page will have a Reveal Tab for your Wall, Info, Photos and a few other default applications. If you want to add some custom content that is unique to your page, you will need to create a new Reveal Tab for that content.

When you create a Reveal tab,  you are in essence adding another page to your Facebook Page. That page is going to act like a picture frame. It will have a tab that you name and then a blank page. The blank page is actually a placeholder for your content. Think of it as a picture frame and your job is to put in the picture (or text, video, etc.). the frame is called an iframe, and your job is to add an iframe to your page and fill it with your unique content.

There are 3 main ways to create and fill that picture iframe and create your custom page.

1) Install an Iframe application from the Facebook App Center

You can go to the Facebook App Center and download an application that someone else created. These apps usually have the phrase "static html" and "iframe" in their description. Once you install this, it typically will have the name "Welcome". You can change that name by going into your page edit features, going to the apps, then clicking on that specific application.

Once the tab is installed,  you will find that you will need to know html in order to put content in it. If you know html, this method is the fastest way to get started. If you don't know html, you will need to find someone who does if you want to use this method.

The Pros: Fast, Easy, Free.

The Cons: Requires HTML knowledge

For a list of suggested applications in this category, please visit my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/DebraZimmer

2) Use WordPress for Facebook

The second "free" option does not require that you know HTML to create your content. However, there is some setup required. With this option you create your own iframe application from the Facebook Developer Center, and then point your iframe to a self-hosted WordPress site that is formatted with a theme that fits inside the iframe. For this method, you will need to create the application which is not terribly difficult, and you will need a new wordpress installation using wordpress.org and NOT wordpress.com.

I like the simplicity of WordPress and love that I can add another WordPress site for free on my website self-hosting account. You can see an example of my WordPress for Facebook website on my Facebook Fan Page "Debra Zimmer".

Using this technique, you will create the tab and then link to a wordpress site that is formatted to fit in the iframe (500 pixels wide).

There are 3 ways to integrate WordPress as your content management system for your Facebook Fan Page.

1. With this I created a set of WordPress templates formatted to blend with Facebook and I sell those for $15. this allows you to show multiple WordPress Pages inside the one Facebook iframe and the color palete matches that of Facebook so it will work for any business.
2. If you have an existing WordPress site and just want to link one of the pages to it, you can use the "Fanpage Connect" Plugin for WordPress. This plugin will format your WordPress page to fit inside the iframe restrictions of Facebook Pages by stripping out the formatting and sticking the content only in the Facebook iframe. Please note that this only allows you to show one WordPress Page in the iframe and I found it difficult to understand the directions.
3. Design your own WordPress theme.

Pros: You can use the familiar WordPress content management system to create and update all  your custom content on Facebook. One iframe contains multiple pages of content. Free if you already have a self-hosted WordPress website.

Cons: Takes some setup. You may need technical assistance for setup.

More details on these solutions are available at http://www.facebook.com/DebraZimmer

3) Get a Facebook Application with Templates

The third option to create your customer Facebook Fan Page is to register for a 3rd party software application. These require no programming skills. No installation required. However, they may require a fee.

You can see the ones I've used and tested by 'liking' my fan page. And, a complete list of applications is available at http://www.facebook.com/DebraZimmer

Are you using any of these techniques to customize your Facebook fan Page? What tools do you like most and why?

VN:F [1.9.17_1161]How do you like this post?please wait...Rating: 3.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Wow, I've been so busy this past month with clients and preparing for my upcoming series on Facebook for Business. I'm launching LIVE seminar series next month here in Denver. I hope to be rolling it out online soon.

You see, it all started while I was teaching the social media segment of my Be Found Bootcamp. I turned to my husband and said "this is all changing so quickly, I can't keep up with all of it. Facebook alone has gotten so huge! It's become such a great resource for small business owners to reach their customers."

Once it was out of my mouth, I had to stop. Every good marketer knows you need focus. You need to focus in on something, grab a foothold and build from there. Was this my new focus?

Did I just perceive a demand or was there really one there? So I tested the demand for it. I went talked to some clients and said "I'm thinking of offering a Facebook for Business class, what do you think?" The answer, "When?"

Then I asked my hair stylist who had just opened up a new salon. I asked her "I'm thinking of offering a Facebook for Business class, what do you think?" The answer, "When?"

I tested it with some more of my clients. Same question, same answer. I went to a meeting of a group of which I am a member (so they know me). Same question, same answer.

I went to some more networking groups. I stood up and said "I'm holding a Facebook for Business class and if you are interested please contact me after the meeting." The result? 25% gave me their cards.

Now as an experienced business person I know that with no preparation, no flyer, no introduction, no sponsor, basically, no one in that room had ever heard of me except for my 2 minute self-intro, that these were amazing results. 25% of people who had never heard of me were interested in learning more about my product. Now, THAT made me stop in my tracks. I found a really BIG need in the market. I thought "Let's go serve it".

So that's what I am doing at the moment. Serving the needs of my market.

I'm sharing this because I want you to see the process. It's really simple to do some market research. You get an idea and you ask for feedback from your audience. You tweak and you get more feedback. It's OK to not get it right the first dozen times. Just keep going until you find the right words, the right need and the right audience.

Market research doesn't have to be hard. It doesn't have to be complicated. It just requires a few simple steps and opening yourself up to indifference, possible rejection and eventually you find the sweet spot.

The key is to find a demand for something. It's so hard to try to sell something that people don't understand they need. It's much easier to find something they want, then give them what they need. I've heard that phrase before, but didn't understand that what they want and what they need could be 2 different things.

Please use the comments section below to share what has worked for you. What have you found that your market craves? How have you tweaked what you offered to match that? What are some simple ways you've tested your products or services with your market?

If you are in interested in learning more about my Facebook for Business classes., or perhaps you want me to teach an online version, or you want me to speak on the subject, please let me know (give me some feedback). Click here to learn more…