Geez I wish I had done this from the beginning!

I’ve created this short video to show you step by step how to:

• Create a list in Facebook
• Add friends to the new list
• Create a status update and tag someone
• Make a status update visible ONLY to people on the new list you created.

Love to hear your feedback on the video. Do you have any tips to share? Any questions, ideas, tips or messages please leave them below or watch the video on Youtube and leave your comments over there. Either way I will read every comment and reply. And hey…why not add your Facebook profile or fan page link to your comment so you can find new friends here?

Cheers

Janet

6 Steps to Profit From Your Facebook  Page

In these strategies, Mari referred to a Page (formally called fan Page) you can create on Facebook. If you are confused about the difference between a profile and a page on Facebook here’s the difference:

You must have a profile and this is always connected to your name. Don’t be tempted to have a few profiles in different names. It’s against the rules. You can have a profile and no page, but you can’t have a page without a profile.

So…the profile represents you and you can accept and reject friends and who can and cannot see your information.

A page is something you set up once you have joined Facebook and is usually about your business or product. It can be about you if you are your brand. Anyone can choose to “like” your page and there is no limit to how many followers a page has (though you can only have 5000 friends to your private profile).

You have the ability to add some pretty groovy things to a page, such as opt-in boxes, extra pages, discussion areas etc. So some of the things mentioned below refer to this ability to add features to a page you create in Facebook.

OK, now we’ve got that sorted, let’s get onto the strategies:)

Step 1: Design

The design of your Facebook Page should reflect your objectives of using Facebook in the first place.

Here are a few objectives Mari mentioned: build an email list, sell more, establish yourself as an expert in your area, get media attention, find Joint Venture Partners, get visibility.

So for example, if your objective is to build your email list, then make sure the first page they see when they come to your Fan Page (you can set which page is the default) has either an opt-in box added or a link and enticement to get them over to your sign up place on your web site.

Step 2: Content

Content is king (or queen) so make sure you give consistently good value content on your topic. It can be a mixture of your own content and sharing other people’s content. Mari stressed how important it is to share content from other people. This gives value to your followers but also gets the attention of the people who you are linking to. They are then likely to “share the love”.

Step 3: Promotion

Advertise your Facebook Fan Page EVERYWHERE!

Mari has a great article with 21 Creative Ways to Increase Your Facebook Fan Base . Love to know if you use any of these techniques and what has and hasn’t worked for you.

Step 4: Engagement

Decide how you will engage with people on your fan page and be consistent. For example, will you reply to everyone who leaves a comment? Will you use their names? How will you cope with scale?

Make sure you do engage and continue a conversation, otherwise all you are doing is broadcasting.

Step 5: Conversion

This is the area most people don’t do. They simply don’t ask for the sale. If you have been giving great value content and engagement then your followers will accept, and often expect, you to tell them how they can get to learn more from you. Let them know. Mention your sales, products and programs.

Step 6: Scalability

As your following increases so too will the amount of time Facebook can take for you to continue to engage. You have to decide how you will do this. Mari suggests you never outsource your self. This means, don’t get your assistant to write and pretend it is you. It just won’t work.

This link to the fan page for Social Media Examiner is a great place to study how they manage scalability. They have given various team members admin rights to the page. When they post status updates or comments they always write their name after so you know who it was from.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Facebook has over half a BILLION active users (which means people who have logged in during the last 30 days). As Mari said, you fish where the fish are swimming and that is Facebook. This is definitely an area to study and learn best practice. Once of the best places to get access to the best brains on social media is at the Facebook Success Summit. It starts today but that doesn’t matter. You get access to all the recordings when you join so you can work through them at your own pace.

So go on….be social and tell me your ideas

Cheers,

Janet

What is a hash tag?

If you aren’t a member of www.twitter.com yet then get over there and sign up. It’s free and it is shaping the future of marketing on the Internet. Be warned. It’s addictive.

Basically you share 140 character “tweets” with others on what you are doing, thoughts you have, questions, business tips, links to blog posts etc.

You may notice at the end of some posts people add something like # followed by a word or letters. This is called a hash tag. For example, the new tag we use for Wonderful Web Women is #wwwomen

So why is a hash tag great?

Twitter can get very busy and it is hard to find the actual conversation threads you are looking for. Once you know a hash tag you can search for all tweets that use that hash tag so you can continue a conversation with people with the same interests (or on the same tele-seminar). It’s like tuning into the right radio station when all you heard before was white noise.

Below here, I show you step by step how to sign up for twitter, search on a hash tag and join a conversation. It’s really pretty easy.

How to make the most of it

Every time we have a life tele-seminar with Wonderful Web Women from now on, we will have a parallel conversation happening on twitter. That way I can concentrate on doing a great interview and answering the questions you send you through to me on the web cast page. You can be taking notes but also sharing ideas, asking questions and sharing tips with other people who are on the call listening. How cool is that?

That way you can all help each other make the most of what you are learning. There is also a great chance you will find your next client or joint venture partner on twitter during these conversations.

Convinced? Give it a go and see what you think.

There are 4 web addresses that will help you:

1. www.twitter.com

2. www.tweetchat.com

3. Nancy’s free report:
“Why Social Networking: 4 Remarkable Strategies to Grow Your Business, Expand Your Referral Network, and Increase Your Visibility”

4. Nancy’s excellent product to automate heaps of the stuff you do on twitter and facebook so you look busy when you aren’t

Now, step by step photos on how to do this. It is really very easy.

Step 1: Join Twitter

www.twitter.com

Step 2: Log in and see all the chatter happening

logged into www.twitter.com

Step 3. Click on the search link at the bottom of the twitter page

scroll to the search link at the bottom of the page

Step 4: search on #wwwomen

search for #wwwomen

Step 5: See where all the really cool people from Wonderful Web Women hang out. Remember, make sure you add #wwwomen to any conversations you have about Wonderful Web Women, especially when you are on one of our tele-seminars, so your conversations will show up here too.

What you see after you search on twitter for #wwwomen

Another option:

Instead of Using Search, you can try Tweet chat

Step 1: Log into www.tweetchat.com

www.tweetchat.com

Step 2: search for #wwwomen

Search for #wwwomen

Step 3: Hang out where the really cool people are (make sure you add #wwwomen to your comments so you show up here as well)

Follow and Add to the conversation. make sure you put #wwwomen on your messages

Next week I interview Nancy Marmolejo who is a world recognised expert in using social media  to boost your business. All I can say is….BE THERE

Nancy Marmolejo

Interview Date: Mon, March 2nd 2009 at 3pm Pacific, 6pm Eastern USA & Tues March 3rd at 10am East Coast Australia

“Why Social Networking? 4 Remarkable Strategies to Generate More Leads, Build Your Network, and Boost Your Business”
How to use social networking to generate leads
Traffic building tips so your visitors become your followers
Authentic ways you can add a personal touch… without losing your professional strength
Credibility boosting strategies that will increase your worth and online visibility
How to build a referral network of people who LOVE to promote you and your business
Proven tips to build you “Know-Like-Trust” factor with prospective clients, referral partners, and Joint Venture contacts
And much more!
At a GlanceGuest: Nancy Marmolejo
Topic: “Why Social Networking? 4 Remarkable Strategies to Generate More Leads, Build Your Network, and Boost Your Business”
Date: Mon, March 2nd 2009 at 3pm Pacific, 6pm Eastern USA & Tues March 3rd at 10am East Coast Australia
Phone-Number to Dial: 712-432-3000 (For Australians: 0011-1-712-432-3000 )
Use Conference ID: 180901
Listen to WEBCAST free on-line: http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=5963043
Get answers to your questions: Send in a question now, or even during the interview with our speaker. Simply visit the webcast page link above and type in your question

Over the next week I will be sharing with you a few of the concepts Michele introduced. Today I’d like to share with you a concept that is close to my heart – “Leverage”.

Michele’s 7 step recipe for Web 2.0 traffic

Raw Ingredients: 

Prepare beforehand: 1 great quality article, 500 words in length that gives great content on your topic

Step 1: Include your article in your email newsletter / ezine.

• Send your newsletter at least once per month. Michele recommends once per week
• This develops a relationship with people on your list

Step 2: Post the article to your blog

• Your blog is central to your Web 2.0 strategy.
• Blogs are favoured by educated, affluent people (ie, good paying customers)
• Use WordPress software on your own domain (free with Wonderful Web Hosting). Michele also has a hosting and blog facility for $100 / yr. Her contact details are below)

Step 3: Add your blog to your social networking sites

• You can actually  import your blog into Facebook in the notes section of your profile
• Facebook gets more traffic than Google and the average age is 39 (not all teenagers)
• I have just added this to my Facebook account. Be my friend? I’ll show you later this week on this blog how I did this.

Step 4: Cut your article into bite size pieces

• Use these tasty morsels to answer questions in blog posts and forums
• Post these answers on other people’s blogs as comments

Step 5: Record yourself reading your article

• simply record yourself reading your article (use an MP3 recorder or record straight onto your computer)
• Add the audio to your BLOG using a wordpress plug in for podcasts (search Google for wordpress plugins)
• You can then take the podcast “feed” information that is given to you through this podcast plug in, and submit it to podcast directories such as itunes (search Google for podcast directories) 

Step 6: Create a press release

• Use the 500 words you have written and create a press release
• submit this to press release directories on the Internet
• This will get you traffic but importantly will get you noticed in the mainstream media

Step 7: Submit your article to article directories / portals

• Spread the love. Your original 500 word article can now be submitted to websites that let people use your article on their own websites (with links back to your site of course)

As you can see, this is the recipe, but like any good cook there are gourmet techniques you need to master to create a true Web 2.0 degustation (how far can I carry this analogy?). This is where Michele comes in. She has created a comprehensive package that shows you how to do all these steps. It is not just information (though mind you, she has even loaded the recordings directly onto an Mp3 player for you). It includes checklists, excel spreadsheets, links to the directories she uses, how to write the articles, press releases and how to create a podcast and heaps more.

You can grab this here, and she even has a 4 part payment plan. After you purchase, email Michele at michele (at) michelepw.com and tell her you are from Wonderful Web Women. She will send you a $50 refund and also send you her digital book “Why Isn’t My Web Site Making Me Any Money? 10 Easy Steps To Make Your Web Site Go Ka-Ching!”.

You receive the digital version immediately and the physical version within the week.

I’d love to hear of your ideas on this strategy. Watch the blog this week. I’ll be sharing with you screen grabs of how I added this blog to Facebook and also Michele’s 3 reasons why people use the Internet (you must cover at least 2 to succeed).

Cheers

Janet

Wow, there’s a whole new “parallel dimension” out there! I only joined Facebook yesterday in preparation for interviewing Mary Pat and what a revelation that was. At first I felt a bit nervous, a bit like you would if you were going to a party at a place you had never been to before and you didn’t know who else was there. You weren’t sure if you knew anyone but you were sure there were lots of clicks of people who already knew each other and didn’t need you. Do you know the feeling?

I only filled in the basics (I figured MaryPat would let me know what to do), followed the instructions and then found that Facebook actually suggested people I would like to meet and I knew some of them (how did it know?). I then discovered that I could use the technique my mother taught me when I started school – I simply asked someone to be my friend!

Ok. So do you want to be my friend? Just ask me here and you can join my growing network:

http://profile.to/janetbeckers/

How to use Facebook to find and nurture Joint Ventures

First,  let’s define a Joint Venture:

A joint venture is 2 people (or more) getting together to create a new entity, a new venture. It’s a 2 way street in that each person contributes in the form of money, product, knowledge, contacts, hard work etc. Whichever of these they have to contribute.

It is different to an affiliate arrangement which is pretty one sided. You are not really working closely together and contributing to the finished product.

Examples of a Joint Venture

MaryPat and I are JV partners. We both created a product today together, the recording of our interview. We both promoted each other’s businesses and we are helping each other’s customers.

Another example could be where one person has a great idea and industry knowledge, but no time. The other person contributes sweat and hard work and contributes to the creation of the product etc.

How to use Facebook to find and develop JVs

1. First of all, go to http://www.facebook.com and sign up
2. Send me an invite to be my friend http://profile.to/janetbeckers/
3. Gradually fill out information in your profile about yourself (books, music, hobbies etc). The whole idea is that people want to form relationships (JVs) with people they can relate to, so let them know a bit about yourself.
4. Important. In your profile make a space to say “I want to meet people who… and my target customers (or I can help people who)…….. Be clear and specific
5. When you invite someone to be your friend, include a personal note about WHY (eg, I really admire your work)
6. DON”T go straight away and ask for help or say you are looking for a JV
7. DO take the time to write comments to their profile, contribute to any discussion they may start and introduce them to people you think may help them (you can do this automatically through facebook)
8. It’s like any relationship, you say hello and introduce yourself before you ask to go on a date!
9. Do join groups in facebook on your topic. There are thousands of them, you don’t have to be invited to join and it is an excellent way to find contacts in your niche.
10. Join niche groups: As well as a great way to find contacts (i.e. JV partners) it is also a powerful way to do your market research. If people are discussing problems they have, if you can find a solution to that problem, you have a business.

So go on, why not join me on Facebook and we can discover this parallel universe together? We can share our experiences over at the forum at http://www.wonderfulwebforum.com.

How Mary Pat Kavanagh can help you find JV partners

Mary Pat works with entrepreneurs to find them JV partners and coach them through creating these relationships. She has a unique program where she holds your hand, helps you find JV partners, helps you work out your scripts so you can approach them confidently and has an amazing new program which she runs through a private Facebook group. So you get trained on how to use Facebook for JVs, through Facebook. She has given an incredibly generous discount on her 6 month program just for Wonderful Web Women. It will cut your time to success. Here are the details:

http://www.wonderfulwebwomen.com/recommends/marypat1

Cheers

Janet

P.S. Will you be my friend? http://profile.to/janetbeckers/