One of the most common problems for small business owners is managing their time when using free marketing strategies. Many individuals feel that free marketing, specifically social media marketing (Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, etc), is too time-consuming and overwhelming.

Individuals aren’t sure what to focus on, where to spend their time and how to balance all of their varying marketing platforms.  As a result, many individuals end up spending hours and hours every day marketing their business.

Believe me, it doesn’t need to be this way! Of course, free marketing is going to take some time and energy every day but, it should only take you between one and two hours if you work smart and strategically.

Here are 7 time management strategies to help you work smarter, as opposed to harder.

1) Narrow Your Focus

There are hundreds of free marketing platforms to choose from. You can’t possibly market on all of them. My rule of thumb is to pick five free platforms and focus your marketing efforts there.

You will never succeed if you try to conquer too much. Remember, you do not want to be a “Jack of all Trades, Master of None!” You want to master a few marketing strategies well.

2) Spend Time Each Day on “Creation” and “Maintenance”

Every day you should “create” new information. This can be accomplished by writing an article, shooting a video, creating a group (FaceBook, LinkedIn), etc. The new information that you create doesn’t have to be long and time-consuming. For instance, you can shoot and 3-minute video and upload it into YouTube all under fifteen minutes time.
In addition to creating information, you should spend time each day maintaining your sites. This can be accomplished by making MySpace friend requests, writing on Facebook walls, adding LinkedIn connections, posting to Twitter, etc.

If you divide your time between creating information and maintenance, you will be working smarter.

3) Set an allotted amount of time for marketing each day.

You want to approach your marketing with a plan. And that includes a plan for how much time you will devote each day to marketing your business.

If you simply “start marketing” without any sense of how much time you will devote, you will be extremely non-productive.

I generally recommend spending 1-2 hours every day actively marketing your business.

However, you also do not want to spend more time than necessary on marketing. If you log into Facebook and begin “to market” without a plan of action, you might still be there six hours later.  So, decide how much time you will spend on marketing and stick to it.

4) Use a Timer

Using a timer might sound silly, but it is certainly a trick that I have always relied on. When I am writing an article, I set my timer for 30 minutes. I give myself exactly 30 minutes to write my article.  If I don’t finish, then I will have to finish tomorrow.

You’d be surprised how much more efficient you are when there is a timer clicking away in the background.

5) Connect Your Accounts

Make sure that you connect all of your social media and information accounts that you can connect.

As an example, you can add your Twitter account to your EzineArticles account. Then, whenever you publish an article, your Twitter account will be automatically updated with your newest article.

Again, you can add Twitter to your FaceBook account, so that your “Twitters” appear on your FaceBook profile. Take some time to investigate all the ways that you can integrate and connect your accounts together. This will save you valuable time in the long-run.

6) Recycle Your Efforts

Whenever I write an article, I reuse it in many different ways. Here is an example:

Imagine that I write an article titled, “7 Ways To Market On FaceBook.” I, of course, publish that article in multiple article directories.

However, it doesn’t stop there. Then, I post that same article to my blog. After that I use the basic concept from my article for a YouTube video. After that, I Twitter about that concept as well.

The point is that when I have a new concept, I reuse that concept as many times as possible.

7) Track What Works and Focus Your Efforts There

You will soon find that when it comes to free marketing and social networking that it’s often difficult to accurately track your marketing statistics. For instance, when using PPC (pay-per-click) it is simple to add a code to your website and find out exactly how many people are visiting your website, opting-in to your form and making purchases.

This isn’t as simple when it comes to social marketing.

However, there are activities that you will notice add to your business success and activities that don’t do a thing for your business.

As an example, I found that managing all the “application requests” from FaceBook was becoming quite a chore. So, I decided that I just couldn’t take the time to respond to every Christmas ornament, Starfish, etc. that I received. I had to begin to “ignore” those application requests.

You will need to make the same decisions.

Remember, free marketing work.  In fact, I truly believe that free marketing often works better than paid marketing.

However, if you are going to optimize your free marketing plan make sure to implement these seven tips to help you effectively manage your time and energy.

Most likely you’ve heard the idea that you are only removed by any other person in the world by “six degrees of separation.” The theory (made popular by Stanley Milgram), suggests that  “if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is only six steps away from any other person on Earth.”

Interestingly enough, this very theory can be applied to your small business. If you need to contact a boss, colleague, consultant or prospective customer, client or employer, it’s obvious to tap into your own network of connections.

But, what if there was a way to tap into the connections of the people that they know, and the connections of people that they know, and so on? Most likely, you wouldn’t have to go through more than 4-6 connections to find the exact person that you are looking for.

So how can you tap into a network that allows you to leverage the power of your connections quickly and efficiently?  That network is called LinkedIn.
What Is LinkedIn?

Once you have registered for a free account through LinkedIn, you are able to invite others to “connect” with you through the site.
Once you begin connecting with others, you are able to ask them to connect you with their network. (The entire system is built on referrals, so there is a good amount of quality control already built in.)

LinkedIn  (much like any networking site) works best when you apply simple and strategic marketing strategies to boost its effectiveness.

Here Are Ten Tips For Making LinkedIn Work For You and Your Small Business:

1. Complete Your Profile. It’s important that you add as much important and relevant information about your small business as possible. Your profile is the first impression that you make upon your prospects and business partners. Make sure to include a picture, past job experiences, current job experience and personal information. The more information people are able to take away from your profile, the better connection they will have with you.

2. Keep Your Profile Fresh And Up To Date. Don’t make the mistake of creating a LinkedIn profile only to let it stack up with dust. Make sure that as you change jobs or achieve business recognition that you update your profile to reflect this.

3. Connect With Clients, Customers, Co-workers and Colleagues. It’s important to connect with past and current individuals in your field. However, it’s also a wonderful way to find new clients and learn about exciting new job opportunities in your field. Remember, that the main purpose of LinkedIn is to create a giant network of possibilities for you and your small business.

4. Use LinkedIn To Research Prospective Business Partners or Prospect. Before you contact a new business partner or prospective client, make sure to research them through LinkedIn. Their LinkedIn profile functions much like a resume and will provide you with insight about their potential strengths and/or weaknesses.

5. Get Recommendations. It’s fairly simple to gather recommendations from individuals in your LinkedIn network, In fact, all you need to do is click a link. Of course, the more professionals that are able to vouch for your products and services, the better your business will appear to others.

6. Use LinkedIn to search for consultants and contractors. There is a great component in LinkedIn called the “Service Provider” feature. It allows you to pre-screen and research independent business people.

7. Join Relevant LinkedIn Groups. As you become involved in LinkedIn, it is in your best interest to join groups that are relevant to your particular field or industry. There are thousands of LinkedIn groups and you can find even more connections by becoming an active participant in several of these groups.

8. Create a LinkedIn Group. If you are interested in being perceived as an expert, then you will want to create your own LinkedIn Group that you personally manage. Once you create the group, you can invite others in your network to join. If you promote your group effectively, you can eventually have hundreds, even thousands of members that you are able to communicate with on a consistent basis.

9. Tap Into The “Question and Answers” Feature. One immense bonus of LinkedIn is the fact that you are able to ask thousands of business professionals important questions, receive immediate answers at no cost to you. In addition, you can answer other business professionals questions and, again, position yourself as an expert in your industry.

10. Respect The Network. Always remember that your LinkedIn connections must be treated with the utmost respect. Answer your emails, respond to questions and give appropriate recommendations. If you are going to be a part of the LinkedIn community then you need to be involved and active in order to find success.  The good news is that it only takes a few minutes every day to reap the rewards.

If used correctly and consistently, LinkedIn can be a powerful networking tool for the small business owner. To learn more about LinkedIn go to: www.LinkedIn.com.

If you’re a small business owner, you’re probably aware that social media marketing is all the rage right now. Not only is it popular for personal use, but also for savvy business owners looking for ways to market their businesses efficiently and economically.

But, if find yourself tentative about jumping into the social media marketing scene, you’re not alone. Marketing through social media platforms is an entirely different experience for most business owners. And, of course, “different” always causes hesitation.

Interestingly enough, walking into the social media scene is much like walking into a huge cocktail party. In both instances you are going to meet people of all shapes and sizes.

Here are the ways that I often categorize social media types:

1) Shy and Awkward. This person lurks in the shadows and is afraid to interact with anyone. They stand on the sidelines listening and observing, but are too afraid to step into the party and start meeting people. Unfortunately, by remaining in the background, they will never understand the entire experience.

2) Loud and Obnoxious. You know this one! You can hear their voice booming from miles away. They talk too loud, too much and monopolize the conversations. No one can get a word in edgewise.

3) Life Of the Party. These are the people that make you laugh. They have funny stories to tell, positive comments to make and just make the party more fun. You always look forward to talking with them again. They may get a bit goofy and dance with a lampshade on their head, but you must admit that they always add that extra spice.

4) Know-It-All. You are going to meet at least one person who seems to have all the answers. In addition, they aren’t afraid to tell you what you are doing wrong, how to do it right and why you should listen to them. Always remember that the know-it-all usually doesn’t know-it-all.

5) The Bore. We have all been stuck in the corner, at one time or another, with the person who drones on and on about their “Aunt Mary’s blood pressure medication.”  Since there doesn’t seem to be any easy escape, you end up nodding in agreement at their mind-numbing stories for hours on end.

6) The No-Show. There’s always someone who doesn’t show up. They say that they will be there, but “something always comes up!” They RSVP, have the best of intentions, but just never quite get there.

7) Friendly Interactor. This is what the party is all about. The friendly people who ask questions, make you smile, share fun stories and remind you that coming to the party was worth it after all (even if you did have to suffer through a few obnoxious, boring, know-it-alls in the process)!

So, in my own experience social media mimics the real world. You just need to decide how you want to be perceived, the type of people you want to gather around and, of course, the type of people you want to avoid.

So, get into that party and meet all the different varieties of people. In the end, you’ll be glad that you did.

I truly love Twitter. Without question, Twitter had increased my visibility, created thousands of leads for my small business and produced dozens of sales for my products and services.

And every single day of the week, I run into quite a few self-proclaimed “Twitter-Experts.” 

Of course, as with any industry, I find that all of the soapbox experts fall into one of three main Twitter categories: 

1) The “Twitter Virtuoso” with interesting and often remarkable advice;

2) The “Quasi-Twitter Expert” who has an average suggestion here or there;

3) The “Twittering Fool” who shouldn’t even be on Twitter in the first place.

There are hundreds of great tips and strategies that come from experienced individuals who are truly boosting their income through the power of Twitter. However, beware of those crows who are masquerading as eagles. If you listen to them, your Twitter days will be incredibly disappointing.

Here are the five worst tips I have personally received regarding marketing on Twitter:

1) Don’t Promote Yourself. This is bad advice on so many different levels. Obviously, any savvy marketer understands that you don’t jump on Twitter and start tweeting “Check out my product…it’s really the best one in the world!” This just goes without saying.

However, if you are using Twitter as a marketing tool you need to do a bit of balanced marketing. There are only so many Tweets in which you can tell your followers what you are having for dinner until people start to unfollow you.

Twitter is a two-way street. Of course you are there to ask questions, listen and interact with your followers. But, you also need to let your followers know about blog posts, articles and press releases that highlight you and your business. Don’t be afraid to do a bit of self-promoting.

2) Don’t Autofollow. I absolutely disagree with this advice. I use www.SocialOomph.com to automatically follow everyone who follows me. I then get to know whom I am following through their Tweets. If I find they are annoying, rude or inappropriate, I unfollow them.  But, how can I make a decision to follow someone based on a 140-word profile?  For all I know, this person could be the next Faulkner with some of the most profound Tweets known to mankind.

I can only decide if someone is worth following AFTER I am following them and reading their Tweets. I truly believe that it is in good taste to follow everyone who follows you and then unfollow those who are not compatible with you. Not to mention that it takes too much time to manually decide whom to follow and whom to ignore.

3) Don’t Use Automated Software For Posts. There are some individuals that believe that automated posts (posts that you preschedule through a service like www.socialoomph.com) are too impersonal. However, I preload helpful marketing and small business quotes into socialoomph.com and auto-send them out throughout the day to my followers. Many of my followers love these quotes and actually look forward to them. Plus, it keeps my small business in front of my followers as much as possible.

Of course, I also log into Twitter every day and interact personally with my followers as well. I believe that if you combine auto-posts with personal interaction, you will leverage the power of Twitter in a much more meaningful way.

4) Keep Daily Stats On How Many People Unfollow You.  This is one of the strangest tips that I have received. First of all, who has time for this? And second, I really don’t care who unfollows me. Really. If someone doesn’t like my Tweets, then they SHOULD unfollow me. I am not on Twitter to make sure that everything I say appeals to every single person. I am on Twitter to connect with interesting and like-minded people.

5) Your Tweets Should Always Be Witty, Educational or Profound. Obviously, in the ideal world this would be the case. But, the last time I checked, most people on Twitter are not professional writers, bloggers, and word-smiths. They are just regular people making connections. Of course, you should strive to add value and interact with people. But, don’t worry so much that every Tweet is a witty comedy sketch. Just be yourself and have fun.

Twitter is an amazing and powerful marketing tool. However, besides spamming and other illicit behaviors, there are not many “rules” that you must follow in order to be a part of Twitter.

In my opinion, Twitter is mainly about using common sense.  Interact, be nice, ask questions, listen, and add value.  And of course, just be yourself and have a little fun.

Over the past ten years marketing has changed more than any other time in history. The marketing world has gone through three main transitions that are important for the small business owner to understand.

1) Traditional Marketing includes tools such as television, radio, billboards and direct mail. The marketing message is commanding and directive and there is no interaction between the marketer and the consumer. As a result, consumers began to distrust the commanding nature of traditional marketing and turned to the internet in order to feel more in control over their purchasing choices.

As consumers moved online, traditional marketing was forced to change. Small business owners realized that they needed to utilize the internet to reach their clients and customers. Thus, internet marketing was born.

2) Internet Marketing includes tools such as pay-per-click advertising, banner ads, text ads, solo ads, etc. Internet marketing is more dynamic and more focused on the wants of the customer than traditional marketing avenues.

However, the consumer continued to change. They wanted even more participation in their purchasing decisions and wanted to become personally involved in the buying process.

As a result, consumers developed various networks of trusted friends and colleagues through social media platforms to help them in their purchasing decisions. Thus, small business owners were forced to embrace new marketing tools in order to market their businesses and relate to customers in an entirely different way.

3) New Media Marketing includes tools such as blogs, video sites, social networking sites and podcasts. This marketing approach is vastly different from either traditional or internet marketing. Instead of an aggressive, pushy and a one-sided dialogue, there is an open process that includes listening, interaction and involvement between the consumer and business owner.

Today’s consumers are savvier than ever before. They aren’t interested in the commanding and directive ways of traditional marketing. Instead, they are interested in interacting and developing relationships with the companies they do business with.

Therefore, another way to understand the vast changes in the marketing world is to divide marketing into two distinct categories: interruption marketing and relationship marketing.

Interruption marketing is exactly what the name implies. It is marketing that “interrupts” the consumer. For instance, as you watch a TV show, a commercial cuts into your program. Or, as you listen to the radio, an ad abruptly takes over your favorite song.

Research suggests that consumers detest interruption marketing. Here are some interesting statistics that show how quickly interruption marketing is dying:

According to Justin Kirby and Paul Marsden authors of Connected Marketing:

• 90% of people, who are able to skip TV ads, do skip TV ads.

• 65% of people believe they are constantly bombarded with too much advertising.

• 56% of people avoid buying from companies that they feel advertise too much.

According to a McKinsey and Co. Report:

In just a few short years, traditional TV advertising will:

• be 1/3 as effective as it used to be.

• experience a 23% decline in ads due to switching the ads off.

• experience a 37% decrease in the marketing message due to saturation.

A report put out by The Internet Advertising Bureau states:

• In 1980 fewer ads reached more people with undivided attention.

• In the 2000’s more ads reach less people with shorter attention spans.

So, what do these statistics mean to you and your marketing plan? In a nutshell, our audiences are changing so our marketing needs to change.

People are tired of traditional advertising. They are sick of “being sold” and want to make purchases in a completely different environment. Research clearly suggests that consumers are moving away from trusting directive advertising and moving toward trusting their friends, their networks and the networks that they have created around themselves.

More and more consumers are moving online to establish this network of trusted friends and colleagues. They are active in social networking sites, business networking sites, sharing sites, and publishing sites. Therefore, if you want to capture the attention of this new consumer, then you need to move online as well.

However, it’s not enough to simply build a website on the internet. You must develop ways to genuinely interact with your potential clients and customers.

The good news is that there are hundreds of free marketing platforms that allow you to engage with your prospects in very authentic ways. Blogs, videos, podcasts, ezines, articles, press releases and social media sites are all new tools perfectly designed to communicate with your target market.

You are currently part of the most exciting marketing phase in history. Anyone can quickly and efficiently grow their small business, using a combination of effective marketing tools, without spending a dime.
 
So, go ahead and begin your journey into the exhilarating world of free marketing.

We live in a world where our potential clients and customers are barraged with thousands and thousands of ads every single day. The competition is fierce, the climate is noisy and it’s not going to lighten up any time soon.

So how can a small business owner, on a shoestring budget, even compete? The answer is simple: repetition through massive visibility.

Research suggests that we are exposed to over 4,000 ads each day. As a result of “advertising overload”, our brains are forced to filter out and ignore most of these ads. Plus, let’s face it, most of the advertising we encounter is just a caberet of bedlam and babble that doesn’t even apply to us.

But, all of this is great news for the savvy shoestring marketer.

Each time your prospect catches sight of your brand, their filter becomes weaker until finally, your marketing message has broken through. But, it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, your prospect needs to see your marketing message, on average, between twelve and twenty-four times. (You can read about creating a marketing message here.)

How do you ensure that your prospects come into contact with you and your brand over and over again? First and foremost, you need to ensure that you and your brand are everywhere. You must become so visible that your prospects can’t ignore you.

You should become an active participant in Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Dedicate time each day to blogging, podcasting or video marketing. Send out online newsletters and host monthly teleseminars.

I signed up a new client last week and here’s the interesting part. After reading my blog, watching my videos, becoming a friend on Facebook and following me on Twitter, for one full year, she decided to sign up for my ezine. I did some quick math and figured that, over the course of that year, she was exposed to my brand thousands of times through my status updates, blog posts, videos, podcasts and ezine issues. Not to mention that she also came to at least ten of my live webinars.

Obviously, she took longer than usual to make the commitment to purchase my products and services. But, she let me know that one of the main reasons that she joined forces with me was because she “saw me everywhere.”

So, make an effort to get yourself out there, in front of your target market, as much as possible. It’s the only way to break through all the competitive businesses clamoring for your prospects’ attention.

If you’re a small business owner who is serious about boosting your income, listen up! Your profile picture matters.
 
I have seen thousands of profile pictures including those that are silly, indecent, weird and just plain unprofessional.

Obviously, if you are utilizing free-marketing strategies, you’re going to tap into social media marketing. And ALL of these sites allow you to upload your picture.

Remember, marketing is all about transparency, visibility and connectiveness.  That is, people want to get to know the person “behind the company.”

When people come to your profile page on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, what is the very first thing that they look at? Your picture of course!

Now, obviously it’s not a beauty contest. As of right now, there aren’t any prizes for the “Best-Looking Facebook Profile Picture.”  So, please don’t start down the path of “I’m too fat, too ugly, too old…”  There are some “great-looking” marketers and some rather “unexceptional-looking” marketers out there.  It’s not their beauty that scores them points. But, what all good marketers have in common is that they do put up a professional profile picture to better relate with their audience.

Here are the Top Ten Profile Picture Disasters (that I have personally witnessed):

1. The “Trying To Be Sexy” Profile Picture. You absolutely must cover yourself up. There is nothing less professional than a scantily clothed business-person. (Except, for #5)

2. The “Blurred” or “Too Dark” Profile Picture.  If it’s not a clear picture, don’t use it.

3. “Your Child” As Your Profile Picture.  If you use your child as your profile picture, there will be many misconceptions.  Believe it or not, people will actually think that your child is YOU and immediately exit your page. So, keep your children in your photo albums where they belong.

4. “Your Dog” As Your Profile Picture. Those who know me, know that I am absolutely crazy about my little Chihuahua.  But, as adorable as she is, I do not use her as my profile picture.

5. The “Chugging A Beer” Profile Picture.  Enough said.

6. The “Sideways” Profile Picture.  If you upload your picture and it ends up sideways, you NEED to fix it. We don’t want to have to do acrobats to be able to see you.

7. The “Faraway” Profile Picture.  It is never fun to try and make out someone who is  1/16th  of an inch big. We should never have to get out a magnifying glass to see you.

8. The “Way Too Serious” Profile Picture. I truly believe that individuals should smile in their profile picture. In addition, there was a research study conducted on Twitter that suggested that people who smile gain 28% more followers.  Who wants to do business with Debbie-Downer? So put on a smile, it’s really not that bad.

9. The “Trying To Be Goofy For No Reason At All” Profile Picture. Until you have truly created your brand, don’t go for the goofy hats, clothes and antics. It really does send out the wrong message.
 
10. The “No Picture At All” Profile Picture. This is the worst offense of all. Please put up a profile picture if you are using social media sites. People want to see you. And I have heard time and time again that people oftentimes won’t connect with people without pictures. Social media is “social.” So, show us who you are.

If one of the above disasters describes your picture, then you have a decision to make. You can simply keep your profile picture “as is,” or you can take the time to upload a picture that represents you as a true professional.

Like it or not, your profile picture speaks volumes about you. So, do your best to use a picture that you want the world to see.

Even though social media sites are becoming a highly effective way for marketers to promote themselves and their businesses for free, most marketers don’t utilize these powerful platforms effectively. They vacillate between feeling completely overwhelmed and feeling that the sites are a huge waste of time.

Social Media marketing is one of my favorite forms of marketing.  And there are some basic principles to keep in mind in order to make your marketing more effective and efficient.  Here are five important tips that will enhance your social media marketing experiences:

1) Create a Landing Page.  A landing page is a one-page website that offers prospects a personalized introduction to you and your business before they see your official business site. Landing pages are crucial to business success. They allow prospects to connect with you on a more personal level, they quickly highlight the benefits of doing business with you and they offer something of value to your prospect in exchange for their name and email address.

As you may have heard before, the fortune is in the list. Savvy business owners understand that they must generate a list of prospective clients and customers and continue to market to them on a regular basis.

2) Set Up a Complete Profile. If you want your marketing efforts to work, make sure that your social media profiles are complete. If prospects land on your profile page and it doesn’t have a picture and contains sparse information, they aren’t likely to feel any connection with you. You should provide as much information about yourself as possible. Remember, people want to get to know you, so give them what they are looking for!

3) Participate; Don’t Push.  As you begin to market using social media platforms, always keep in mind the 80/20 rule. You should spend 80% of your time sharing, answering questions and interacting with others and only 20% of your time promoting your business. If you stick to this rule, you will be seen as a true participant as opposed to a pushy sales-person.

4) Be Consistent. Social media marketing is all about consistency. You must log into each of your sites every day (Monday through Saturday).  It is extremely important that prospective clients see you on a regular basis. Exposure is the key to gaining your client’s trust and eventual business. So, get on those sites and interact every single day!

5) Create a Daily Schedule. If you don’t have a schedule, you will quickly get sucked into the “social media black hole.” Determine how much time you have to devote to your social media marketing and stick to it! If you only have 60-minutes/day, then only utilize 3-5 social networking sites and generate a strong presence on them. I like to use a timer (honestly!) to keep myself on track. I set my timer and when it beeps, I am off to the next site.

Social media marketing is extremely effective as long as you understand how to tap into its power. If you implement these five tips into your marketing efforts, you should quickly begin to see some great results for you and your small business.