Social Media Marketing

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Assisting small businesses with their marketing mix, with a focus on developing a comprehensive social media strategy into their business to leverage the power of Web 2.0. Business development and marketing are my specialties, and I've parlayed that into practical application with my thorough understanding of the new social media marketing paradigm.

I also have a number of clients that use my one-on-one social media coaching services. Most of these are provided via webinar, but to a person, all that have participated have stated they've received far more attention and information than from other sessions or courses they've taken.

In addition, we provide customized fan pages for Facebook, Twitter backgrounds and YouTube channel customization.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Make sure the person has the experience, but also the wherewithal to back up their expertise. In social media, many profess to be "experts," but few can walk the talk. Who are their existing clients? What results have you provided? What's their use of these sites, and how effective are you in their use?

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Anyone that's been on Facebook for a year can profess to be an "expert." Likewise I'm seeing that on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and others. Be mindful that just because they know how to use these sites personally, they may not know how to execute on these platforms for business purposes. A marketing and sales background helps transform the knowledge of using these sites into a powerful business driver.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. What sites are you currently using?

What have your clients experienced in terms of benefit from using your services?

Do you provide ongoing training and support?

Can you instruct or train individuals? What's the largest group you'll consider training or speaking to?

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Am I using social media effectively in spreading my marketing message? Do I have a comprehensive strategy to connect with and engage the customers I'm hoping to attract? Is my social media in sync with the rest of my marketing message?

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I provide a non-technical viewpoint and presentation with my material, de-mystifying the world of social media and the new paradigm of conversational marketing.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Immerse yourself (as I have) in the medium for at least two years. Don't be afraid to make mistakes along the way, but be ready to discard any preconceived notions you have of what marketing should be. It's all changed, and we're now in an era of conversational marketing. It's all about building the engagement level of the consumers you're wanting to attract.