Maybe you’ve noticed a trend lately on Facebook or Twitter where certain people “check in” at wherever they may be at the time—perhaps the local Starbucks, their neighborhood bookstore or even the post office. At first glance you may have seen some of your friends and followers doing this and thought, “who cares where you are?”

If you are a small business owner yourself, however, you might want to take a closer look at what’s going on.

In most cases, these location-based “shout-outs” are being done via an application called Foursquare. While there are other similar apps out there (such as Gowalla), Foursquare has emerged as the most buzzed-about geo-location tool, and the application you’re most likely to see pop up in your Facebook News Feed or Twitter stream.

What Is Foursquare?

As the official website explains, “Foursquare on your phone gives you and your friends new ways of exploring your city. Earn points and unlock badges for discovering new things.”

While you will often see it integrated with social networks like Facebook or Twitter, Foursquare is not used in the same way as these sites. Whereas you might sign into Facebook or pull up Twitter to see what your friends are talking about, people use Foursquare, primarily via mobile phone, to make a “game” out of letting others know where they are at any given time.

For example, say you’re out and about downtown.  You would take out your phone (be it an iPhone, a Droid or a BlackBerry), click on the Foursquare app, and via GPS, you would see a list of all the nearby locations. You would then click on the business where you happen to be and then “check-in,” adding a custom message and posting it to Facebook and/or Twitter if you’d like.

As you check in at new places, stop at multiple places or make repeat visits, you earn points and unlock “badges” in the game. Check in to one place regularly enough, and you get a chance to be named “mayor” of that location.

Sound silly? While on the surface Foursquare may seem easy to dismiss, many small businesses are already embracing it to engage with customers and build loyalty. Foursquare recently passed the milestone of 100 million check-ins, and it even made Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual List of 100 Brilliant Ideas.

How Local Businesses Are Using it

Geo-location is huge in social media, and will continue to boom in the coming years. In fact, at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference it was announced that spending on global location-based services is on track to exceed $7 billion over the next three years.

Realizing this, savvy local businesses are taking advantage of Foursquare by using it to offer specials, discounts and rewards programs to pull in new customers.

To illustrate, here are just a few examples of current offerings by businesses near me:

* Sports Authority in Cherry Hill, NJ: Get a $10 Cash Card towards a purchase as a thank you for being Mayor

* Exit Skateboard Supply in Philadelphia, PA: Get a free T-shirt for your first check in on Foursquare

* Whole Foods Market in Marlton NJ: Free small coffee for the Mayor anytime; plus a free reusable bag on your 10th check-in

* Tortilla Press Cantina in Pennsauken, NJ: Free appetizer on your first visit; Mayor at end of month gets a $20 gift card

Another bonus for business owners using Foursquare? Access to venue analytics tools that will let you explore some pretty cool stats. For example: who the most frequent visitors are, the total number of unique visitors, what times of day people check in, who the most recent visitors are, and more.

What About Online Businesses?

While virtual businesses may not benefit the same as brick and mortar ones, online business owners can still use Foursquare to make connections—the same way they do via other social networking sites.

One example of a virtual biz owner using Foursquare successfully is a Facebook connection of mine, Rebecca Thompson of CLR Virtual Connection. Someone she “ousted” as mayor of a location ended up hiring her after becoming aware of what she did for a living in the process. In another instance, a Twitter follower engaged her after noticing that they often both checked into the same places. That conversation led to a request for Rebecca’s services.

It just goes to show—you never know where your next client or customer is going to come from. And while cutting-edge applications like Foursquare might not yet be as widely used as a social media behemoth like Facebook, with the exploding popularity of smartphones and location-based social networks, business owners would be wise to take a second look.

Resources

Join Foursquare
Find out more about Foursquare for business (and claim yours)
Foursquare support

Post from: communicate value

Location-Based Marketing: How Small Businesses are Leveraging Foursquare

I wanted to switch things up a bit and do a video for you today on a topic I have been asked about lately: how did I go from pretty much nowhere to the successful business I have today? I gave it some thought and have narrowed it down to 7 main “ingredients” which I share below. (If for some reason you have a problem viewing the video here, I also uploaded it to YouTube.)

Would love to hear your thoughts on what I shared in this video–let me know in the comments!

Post from: communicate value

Social Media Success Video Post: The 7 Ingredients That Got Me to Where I Am Today

I’m excited to announce that you’re invited to a special complimentary call with me on July 29 at 8pm Eastern.  It’s called “Get Social Savvy! The 7 Best Profit-Building, Credibility-Boosting and Biz-Transforming Facebook and Twitter Strategies That Are Working RIGHT Now.”

I’ve created this complimentary call so I can share with you powerful strategies to market your business online using Facebook and Twitter. These aren’t just the same old, rehashed tactics either—these are the latest, most effective techniques and strategies that are working RIGHT NOW. And they are strategies that YOU can easily begin implementing right away, too.

Maybe you already know you should be using Facebook and Twitter in your business, but you’re afraid to dive in because you’re just not sure how to use it the “right” way. Or, maybe you currently have a Facebook and Twitter presence, but have the feeling you’re just not quite maximizing them the way you should.

Either way, you don’t want to miss this free call.  In fact, most business owners wait until September to begin thinking about their sales and marketing for the Fall. Why not get ahead of the game and get your social media strategy in place NOW?

Would love to have you join us!

Click here to learn more and register now.

Post from: communicate value

Complimentary Call 7/29: What’s Working RIGHT NOW on Facebook and Twitter

For the second year in a row, I’m headed to Las Vegas, Nevada for Ali Brown’s SHINE—an incredible 3-day event especially for women entrepreneurs. If you aren’t familiar with Ali, she’s an extremely successful multi-millionaire business coach and Inc. 500 CEO. She’s always been someone who has inspired me, having started her own business with a hand-me-down computer and not much else in her 400 square foot apartment in New York City.

I got so much out of her SHINE event last year that I am heading back again. I HIGHLY recommend SHINE for anyone who is ready to uplevel their business and their life and network with hundreds of other amazing entrepreneurs. Ali is going to be spending time during the event talking about the POWER of SOCIAL MEDIA for business, and it got me thinking…

Why not hold a pre-SHINE event for a select few business owners who are serious about mapping out their OWN social media marketing strategy once and for all?

So….

I’m excited to announce that I’m putting together a half-day social media intensive for a very small group of people while at the SHINE Event–and I’d LOVE to meet you there!

This one-of-a-kind opportunity is happening on Monday, November 1st, 2010 in my luxury suite in the fabulous WYNN HOTEL in Las Vegas! Because I want to give lots of personalized attention, I am limiting the number of people I will be working with in this intensive to just *FOUR* people. You’ll be treated to a delicious lunch and lots of great step-by-step strategies tailored to YOUR specific business.

Sound like something you’re ready for in your biz?

For more info and to sign up for the priority list to be the first to know all the details, check out this page.

Post from: communicate value

Meet Me in Vegas for My Half-Day Social Media Intensive?

Rather listen to this? Just click play!

Many small business owners—especially solopreneurs—end up wearing all the hats in their business when it comes to the day-to-day nuts and bolts of running things. Sometimes they end up in this situation because they believe they can’t afford to bring on extra help; sometimes it’s due to feeling that no one else could take care of things as well as they can.

Whatever the reason, sometimes you need to step back and really assess whether it is in the best interest of your business as a whole to continue to try and juggle everything alone. In terms of affordability, there are many reasonably priced virtual assistants out there who can take a lot of the administrative tasks off your plate so that you can focus on the activities that make you the most money instead.

If a virtual assistant charges $40.00 an hour and that frees up time for you to work with clients where you can make triple that amount in an hour, wouldn’t it be worth it?

Despite that, I know there can still be some real resistance to bringing on help. Even I still have to take my own advice sometimes, as I like to be in the thick of things in my business because I enjoy it so much! However, I’ve learned to delegate and let some things go. In fact, concentrating on your “genius work” and outsourcing the rest is absolutely necessary in order to get to the next level.

Even some social media activities can be delegated to an assistant, as long as those activities don’t require your personality or voice. Here are some examples of those types of tasks:

• Researching quality content for you to share via social media
• Finding ideal people to send friend requests to
• Uploading videos
• Creating events on LinkedIn and Facebook
• Pre-scheduling certain social media updates

Additionally, there are many different administrative-type activities that could easily be delegated as well (just think of all the time you’ll save!):

• Handling registration for events
• Bookkeeping
• Proofing written material
• Shipping products
• Managing your inbox
• Responding to inquiries
• Website/blog maintenance
• Creating graphics
• Submitting your articles to article sites

So remember, just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you should. There are lots of things an assistant can be doing instead of you—freeing you up to work on true, money-making activities. After all, isn’t that what we’re in business for?

Photo Credit: Jordan Perez

Post from: communicate value

Is it Time to Hire Someone to Help You with Your Social Media Strategy (and More)?

Two of the biggest components of effective marketing are reach and frequency. Reach refers to the number of people you “touch” with your message; while frequency refers to the number of times each person is reached on average. Frequency is a way to build trust and drive your particular message home.

In the marketing world, it is often said that you need to “touch” a prospect 7 to 11 times before they buy. Online, someone needs to hear your message at least that frequently—if not more–before they will be ready to spend money with you.

We know that social media is great for building relationships, but what about outside of that? Just as there is more to the Internet than social media sites, there are many other ways to grow and strengthen relationships with potential prospects online.  Here are three of the most effective ways to do that:

1) Build a list of email subscribers.

It is important to build a list of targeted subscribers to market your products or services to. You want a list that’s responsive and your job is to keep in touch with them regularly so that you remain top of mind for them.  Most people won’t be ready to buy after only interacting with you a couple of times on a social site or visiting your website once or twice. It’s the building of trust and the relationship that makes it more likely they will make a purchase down the line.  Having permission to contact them on a regular basis means your emails do the heavy lifting.

2) Maintain a blog and build a list of blog subscribers.

Post from: communicate value

Three Ways to Build Relationships Beyond Social Media

You’ve listened carefully to what your market wants. In response, you’ve crafted your new offering with care.  You’re SURE it’s going to be hit and you’re ready to begin racking up those sales.

Tah-dah!  You’re ready to unveil your new product or service….and then….nothing.

Uh-oh.  What went wrong?

Well, you could have the most amazing offering in the world, but if you are not using some form of a launch strategy when you are ready to begin selling a new service or product, you could already be dead in the water.

Unfortunately, “if you build it they will come” does not apply here!

The solution? You need to create an increasing BUZZ and sense of excitement about your upcoming offer in order to increase the chances that people will buy. In fact, what is known as the “pre-launch” period is arguably more important than the launch itself—and take it from me, it can make a HUGE difference in the number of sales that you make.

It actually starts with the strong foundation of having a list you have been building a relationship over time with—a list who you have been continuously asking about what it is they most need help with.  However, don’t forget to incorporate these other important strategies for your most successful launch ever.

Objections

Through surveys to your list, comments on your blog or your interactions through social media, you will often uncover potential objections to your offering.  Don’t cringe, though!  This is actually a good thing to know, because you can then make sure you answer each of the objections for your prospect on the sales page for your new product or service.

Testimonials

If you have offered the product/program before and have testimonials, by all means gather them for the launch. If it is the first time you are offering it, consider giving it to colleagues for free in exchange for (an honest) testimonial prior to the launch.

A Complimentary Preview Call or Webinar

When I am launching something new, I spend just as much time and energy promoting a no-charge preview call all about the topic my new product, course or service will be covering.  Why?  Getting as many people as possible on an info-packed call about a topic they’ve raised their hand and said they care about is smart. Once they experience your knowledge, personality and excitement first-hand, they are more likely to buy once you tell them—live on the call—that your offering is ready for purchase.

Time Limit

Creating a sense of urgency around the release of a new offering can be a really effective strategy. This is one of my favorite techniques to use and it always results in more sales.  For example, consider offering special bonuses or a price break for the people who buy within a certain time frame.  (This is perfect for announcing on the aforementioned preview call.)

Limited Quantity

With physical products, if you are only producing a certain number of them, be sure to make this known.  A big buzz-builder tip: keep people informed periodically as the number available decreases via your website or by emailing your list.

Finally, make it an event! The idea is to build up as much buzz, excitement and anticipation as you can.  Once you’ve done that, you can count on more “ka-ching” than ever before.

Happy launching!

Post from: communicate value

5 Simple Keys to a Successful and BUZZ-Worthy Launch!

Post from: communicate value

Stuck in a Content-Creating Rut? 8 Offline Tips to Get Your Juices Flowing

You’ve picked the domain, decided on the design and started posting great content that showcases your expertise. 

The hard work is over, right?

Not exactly—after all, you need people to actually read that useful content that you’re diligently cranking out. So how do you get those eyeballs to your site? There are literally hundreds of ways to drive traffic to your blog or website, but here I will highlight just a few of the ways to drive traffic and generate interest in what it is you have to offer.

Write articles: Most of the article directories online are free to submit your articles to. They usually allow you to add a resource box at the end, which can include a blurb about you and your business and a link back to your site.  Some of the directories I like to use include Ezine Articles, Go Articles, Idea Marketers and Articles Base.

Comment on other blogs: When you comment on other high-traffic blogs in your niche you not only get a link back to your own site, you’re also boosting your site’s visibility in front of the blog owner and the others leaving comments.

Social media: Provide links to your latest posts on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and invite your friends and followers to leave their thoughts on the particular topic in the comments.  You don’t want to do this for every post as it might be viewed as spamming—but it’s perfectly acceptable to occasionally encourage others to click through and read a post you feel particularly proud of.  Also, be sure to include your site’s URL in all of your profiles.

Hold a contest: A great way to generate interest in your site is to hold a contest where the entries are comments left on your post.  For example, you could give away someone else’s product in exchange for writing a post about it and then publicize the contest through your social networks.

Email signature: Most of us send numerous emails in any given day—capitalize on this by adding a link to your site in your signature line.

Basic SEO: You don’t need to be super-knowledgeable about search engine optimization to benefit from it.  If you use the WordPress blog platform, install the All in One SEO Pack plugin. This post gives some simple and easy to understand tips on SEO in general.

Post in forums: Many online forums and message boards will allow you to use a short signature line at the end of your posts.  You can include a link to your site here.

Blog directories: A simple Google search will reveal that there are many blog directories online where you can list your site for free.  These sites are important because they provide a way to get links to your site—which boosts your ranking in the search engines.  A good list of some of the best directories is here.

Guest post: Reach out to fellow bloggers in your niche and offer to guest post for them.  Make sure you find out specifically what kind of topics they are looking for and that your audiences both compliment each other.  Offer them a spot guest posting on your blog as well.

Link to other blogs: It’s a good idea to give “link love” to other bloggers by mentioning them in post once in awhile and providing a link to their site.  Think of it as good blogging “karma.”

Post valuable content regularly: I’ve saved what is probably the most important strategy for last.  Many times, this is what makes the difference between blogs that succeed and those that fail.  The above tips are effective for sure, but in the long run this is what will keep people coming back for more as well as draw new readers in.

Photo credit: qualityhostingnow

Post from: communicate value

Simple Ways to Get More Visitors to Your Blog or Website

I was thrilled with the big turnout we had last week for my complimentary teleseminar “Wild About WordPress: 7 Reasons Why it’s Now Super Simple to Create Your Own Customer and Client-Attracting Website—FAST, Without HEADACHES, and for FREE!” We had several hundred people registered!

If you missed out, don’t worry—you can still get the audio:

http://communicatevalue.com/postwordpresscalloptin

I’m also offering you $50.00 off towards my BRAND NEW course “Website Without Worry: Step-by-Step Strategies to Using WordPress, the Number One FREE Web Platform to Gain Clients and Customers FAST!”

Created especially for solopreneurs and small business owners, this 4-part webinar series will walk you through EXACTLY how to use WordPress to create an effective and affordable website of your own.

And I also threw in some pretty sweet bonuses as well.

You can learn all about it now at http://websitewithoutworry.com

But don’t wait—we start this Wednesday, June 16. You won’t want to miss out on this info-rich, step-by-step course.

Hope to “see” you in class!

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An Affordable Way to Learn WordPress—We Start Wednesday!