INSIDER MARKETING TIP – NO COST TO YOU
Social networking is the new buzz word for marketing on the internet. Once you sign up to join these communities (which is free), you build a profile and the search engines will pick up your listing. This means that you get free advertising for your virtual bankruptcy assistant business and all it takes is a few minutes of your time.
But there is a catch . . .
You need to spend a few minutes a build a profile so that the search engines and the community can identity your interests and list you properly so others can find you. Think of it this way. Do you remember the old card files back in the old days used by the library? If you wanted to locate a book on starting a business you went to the card file. You located the main category of business. Next you looked under subdirectories until you found categories like: entrepreneur or starting a business.
This is only one small example; however, search engines break down the categories even more so that people can quickly find what they are looking for. For example, if you were looking for a stuffed cow for your grandchild you certainly don’t want to look at taxidermy websites. That is why the search engines are so highly categorized into category after category after category. And the words you use on your social networking website will be picked up by the search engines and placed in a certain category within the search engine itself.
Note: Remember to NEVER use your social networking website for personal purposes, use it for business purposes only. Let me explain how to do this:
UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO
When you upload your photo, type in a title like: Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant so these words will appear under your photo. This way, the search engines will pick up on the words virtual, bankruptcy and assistant.
DON’T HAVE A PHOTO?
Take one with your digital camera and size it down to a 72 dpi (dots per inch) for fast loading on the internet. DO NOT use high resolution photos on the internet because they are too large and take too long to load. Then, make plans to go to Wal-Mart and have a photo taken for $15.00 or so. It is important to have a photo to promote your company. Why? Back in the old days, if someone walked into a store to buy something they could see real people. At your internet store people cannot see you before buying anything. A photo helps people to see you are a real person and build more faith in your business services and products.
PROVIDE A PROFILE
Do not provide information about your family, kids and dogs. This will do nothing for your business. Instead, provide a profile that says something like:
Jane Doe is a virtual bankruptcy assistant who provides professional Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition preparation services to attorneys across the United States. Jane Doe received her training from 713Training.Com and is a member of the National Association of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants at www.navba.org. You can view Jane Doe’s company website at www.mywebsite.com
All of these crucial keywords like: attorney, bankruptcy petition, Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and so forth; are essential to categorizing your listing properly in the search engines.
ADD MORE WEBSITE LINKS
Remember to add your website link to your profile as well as links to other websites that operate within your nitch. DO NOT include the website link of your grandchildren or anything else personal. Remember to stick to business information only. If you want to display photos of your grandchildren and just play around, develop a separate profile under a different email address.
If you are a member of the NAVBA, remember to add http://www.navba.org and if you received your training through 713Training.Com, remember to add http://www.713training.com I am not telling you to do this because I am trying to advertise on your social networking website. Instead, the NAVBA website will give you recognition as a member of a professional organization and the 713Training.Com website will establish you as having received professional training since our company is well known throughout the legal industry.
JOIN GROUPS
In every social networking website you join, remember to search for and join groups. This is basically the reason you join a social networking website; to network with people who have your same business interests. First, search for groups using the search word (bankruptcy). If there are none, try (legal) then (law) then (paralegal) then (virtual assistant) then (business). Join the groups with the largest number of members that fit this criteria and everyone in the group will be exposed to your company and visit your website for more information about what you do.
Although many of us do not have a lot of time, it really is to your benefit to take a moment and post a message to the groups that you join to tell others about your company. DO NOT use this as a chance to advertise. If you do, you will blow the opportunity for free exposure. You may want to post something like:
Hello everyone. My name is Jane Doe. I just joined this group and I am interested in networking with others who work in the legal field or operate their own home business. I would like to share marketing techniques and learn more about how you grow your business. I am willing to share any information I have that will help you also.
Notice that the posting above provides a two-way street. You do not come across as a selfish person who is only interested in what you can get from others, but rather you are also willing to share information to help others also. This opens up the door for you to be accepted by the group and people will be more willing to contact you. You will become interesting instead of appearing like a selfish nut only interested in pushing your service down every persons throat. The types of people you want to attract and network with avoid people who are rude and selfish; so take steps not to appear that way.
SEARCH FOR AND ADD FRIENDS
In addition to searching for and joining groups, make sure you also search for friends that have the same interests you do. Every social networking website has a search function for you to search on a specific keyword like: business, legal, attorney, paralegal, bankruptcy, entrepreneur, etc. When you find people within these groups, invite them to join your Friends List and build up a network of your own. Again, this exposes you and your business to even more contacts.
Notice: I am a registered member of all the social networking websites listed below. Once you join, I would be honored if you invited me to be part of your Friends List. Simply search for my name: Victoria Ring and click on the link to send me an invitation. I will be instantly added to your Friends List. Or see the links to all my social networking pages on the left side of my web page at http://www.713training.com/victoriaring/
OTHER AREAS TO FILL IN
Don’t forget to add your company mailing address, city, state, zip code and other sections of the social networking website. Every one of them is different so you will need to click on all the different options and fill in the required information. Spending time to do this will help to draw people to your listing that is interested in the same industry which is what social networking is all about. By networking with others, you will have a better chance of picking up attorneys who need your services as a virtual bankruptcy assistant plus get some excellent marketing advice along the way.
SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES
To find more, go to any search engine and type in the search words: social networking websites; however, below are the major ones.
Twitter
http://www.twitter.com
LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com
FaceBook
http://www.facebook.com
MySpace
http://www.myspace.com
EventFul
http://www.eventful.com
PartnerUp
http://www.partnerup.com
Eons
http://www.eons.com
FaithBase
http://www.faithbase.com
SET UP A GOOGLE ALERT
It may take you a few hours to set up your profile on all of these social networking websites. But to show you how well these work for marketing on the internet, set up a Google Alert. A Google Alert will send you an email every time your name or company appears on a website. It is a powerful marketing tool. To set up a Google Alert visit http://www.google.com/alerts
Have fun! Keep marketing and 2009 will show growth in your business. Keep me informed of your progress as your success is very important to me.
Victoria Ring, CEO
http://www.713training.com
http://www.713attorney.com
