With the recent acquisition of Friendfeed by Facbook (wonder if they’ll blend the names…maybe FaceFeed?), and the announcement that Facebook is creating a real-time search that rivals the one Twitter has, one can only wonder what changes the social sphere has in store.

Many have reprimanded Facebook for its issues with terms of service, and although they revoked the changes and asked the public for their help in re-writing them, the wounds stayed open. Because of the frustration, many users left Facebook, or at least cut back on their usage. Now, those same problems are being brought to FriendFeed, and leaving people wondering what will happen to its service and whether it will stay the same site.

I can’t help but wonder, will Facebook become better/more powerful or will they attempt to spread themselves too thin, and branch out into arenas they should leave alone? Will Twitter suffer from the new Facebook search and lose its footing as a social media powerhouse? Is Friendfeed going to continue as its own site or will Facebook take their API and combine it into Facebook, removing Friendfeed from existence? And more importantly, will people change the way that they use all three sites?

What do you think about the recent changes? Will those changes affect how you use Facebook and FriendFeed?

Let’s start with a quick list of the most popular marketing tools:

• Print marketing in magazines and newspapers
• Television ads
• Radio ads
• Social networks (twitter, facebook, linkedin, youtube)
• Blogging
• Web (adwords, banner ads, etc)
• Direct mail
• Cold calling

The marketing tools you should use are directly correlated to what you want your marketing to do. By this I mean, if you want millions of people to see it, you need to make a statement and money is no object, TV ads may be for you. If you have a budget and need people to understand more about you, to learn before they buy, blogging and social media are probably a better solution. If your services only benefit a very specific group of individuals, combining direct mail and cold calling may be just what the marketing doctor ordered.

Today, we want you to take a step back from your busy schedule for just 5 minutes and answer these 5 questions about your marketing strategy.

1. Which tools do you use to market your business?
2. Are those the most appropriate for your business strategy or are those just the tools you’ve been using?
3. Are they bringing you more business than you can handle?
4. Do you wonder what else is out there to market your business?
5. Should you choose a new strategy or tools?

Don’t forget to share your results in the comments!

Twitter, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn…It’s all a bit much isn’t it? At first, it may be, but as with anything, creating a strong social media presence takes time, effort and a plan. Without a strategy behind social media, it is just a time suck that no one can afford. Done right, using these 4 tools can shape a strong marketing strategy with an even stronger ROI.

So, how do you manage them correctly? For each business, it will be slightly different, but here are 5 steps for each tool that we use in our strategy:

Twitter

1. Find 5 new people to add to our followers list every day. Also, look at the people that have followed us and determine whether or not to follow back. There are auto tools that can do this, but we find a personal approach is better in the long run for building a strong network.
2. Reply to at least 5 questions/comments with actual answers, something that adds value to the conversation.
3. Send out 5 interesting links that can benefit our community as a whole. Add my thoughts with the link so that my followers know why I am sharing. Read at least 3 links that are sent out by my followers that are pertinent to my business.
4. Spend a total of 1 hour on chit chat throughout the day to make sure to keep the connections strong
5. Tweet 5 times from my own personal/business thoughts to start conversation

Blogs

1. Write. Jot down ideas and create drafts to work on later. I strive for 3-5 posts per week.
2. Read through your current comments and respond to anyone who has made a strong point or asked a question
3. Comment on 3 other blogs that you read, with genuine thoughts, not just “good post”.
4. Stumble/Digg/Share at least 1 interesting post from another blog author
5. Look for 1 new blog to subscribe to. Remember, it is okay to subscribe to some blogs just for fun.

Facebook

1. Check if any of your friends are having birthdays. I recommend sending a tweet or email, it shows you took a little extra effort
2. Update your business page with any new information or changes
3. Respond to any new wall posts – make sure that it is a quality response.
4. Send a message to at least one connection whom deserves special notice
5. Comment on at least 5 status updates

LinkedIn

1. Comment on at least 1 status update
2. Answer at least 2 questions that are pertinent to you. Pose 1 question per week.
3. Look through recommended connections and add anyone who is interesting
4. Check on the forums in your group and respond to any inquiries
5. Update your own status.

If this list seems like a lot of work – it is. Nothing worth doing is easy, and it is definitely worth doing right. Remember, just doing it for the sake of doing it doesn’t benefit anyone. It needs to be done right, participated in correctly, and planned accordingly. It is as easy to ruin a brand in social media as it is to improve it, especially with the number of people watching. But, the work is worth it when it pays of with a strong community network that not only respects you, but can turn into prospective clients.

What strategy do you use to manage your social media – or are you still missing that piece?

Facebook is just a site for reconnecting with old friends and definitely not for business, right?

Wrong.

Facebook can be used for personal reasons, and it is a great tool for connecting with friends and family, but used properly, it can also be a great business tool. Facebook has a section on their site for “pages”. These pages are for businesses to use to promote what they do, gather fans, and create a network of their consumers and potential consumers. The business can share news, blog updates, videos and answer questions. But the first question that needs to be answered is: Does your business need a Facebook page?

The following 10 questions should help you to determine the answer:

1. Do you have a personal Facebook page where you are connected with friends and talk about your normal life?
2. Do you want to keep your personal life separate from your business?
3. Does your business have a blog or website?
4. Would you like to bring more traffic to your blog or website?
5. Are higher rankings in the search engines important to your business?
6. Do you sell a product or a service that people buy?
7. Are you on any other social networks? (Twitter, Youtube, Flickr,Yelp, etc)
8. Are your buyers on any social networks? (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, Yelp, etc)
9. Do you want to be connected to your buyers?
10. Could your buyers benefit from a community where they can share stories and connect?

If you answered YES to 8 or more of the questions above, you need a Facebook page for your business.

If you answered NO to two or more, let us know which one and why in the comments and lets discuss.

Still confused? Send us an email to biz@motorcreative.com.

LinkedIn is a TOOL, it is something created to help you to monitor your brand and promote your business. It is a means of connection and when used properly, can be extremely powerful. It is not meant to be an end-all solution, but combined with a strong social media strategy, it can definitely help.

So, what is it about LinkedIn that is so special? Why do you need to have a strategy?

Here are 10 simple, but important, reasons why you (and your business) should have been on LinkedIn yesterday.

1. Social networking isn’t going anywhere. While the tools may change, the idea is going to stay. Learning to use these tools to your advantage keeps you one step ahead of the game.
2. LinkedIn is like facebook for business. It is a way for people to get to know you better, but on a business level. Reconnect with old colleagues, find interesting people in the same field, get recommendations and join groups that will add to your knowledge base. LinkedIn was designed for business connections, are you making them?
3. People do research before they meet with a company. Which is why it is imperative to make sure that everyone in the company is on the same page. If someone is researching your business but no one has a similar description of the company, the picture of your brand gets blurry. Creating a uniformed way to talk about your brand will make sure it stays sharp.
4. It’s one more location your brand can make a presence. The more times that someone sees a brand in a positive light, the better the brand gets. Because you can control the way that they see your brand on LinkedIn, you can make sure that it is in the right way and with the right words.
5. Unfortunately, it is also one more place that your brand can fall apart. Proper management is key – just ‘being there’ isn’t going to work. But, if you can make sure that your brand stays connected, it can become more powerful.
6. SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Social networks are ranked extremely high in the search engines, which means the more social networking pages you can create properly, the more results will show up when people search for your company.
7. Asking questions. Looking for a consumer opinion on a product? LinkedIn’s question and answer section provides businesses a built in study group, with participation from some of the best minds in the business.
8. Make sure to answer a few questions as well. Providing quality answers can not only get you out there, but it can help brand you as an expert in a category. It gives you a chance to share your knowledge and possibly introduce your product, all without sounding precocious (of course, only if it’s done right).
9. Blog integration and promotion – You can tie your blog to your LinkedIn page, which means that the connections you have there will see it and hopefully visit. It is just one more way to promote your message and get people to listen.
10. If you’re not monitoring your brand, your name, your employees and managing your company page, who will? It’s just that simple.

Still not convinced? Ask us questions, get involved, send us an email…let’s chat about LinkedIn.

Already on LinkedIn? Connect with the Motor team – Kirsten Wright, Peter Quill and Greg von Urff.