Thursday, September 30, 2010

7 Ways to Use Social Media to promote your offline events

by Sarah Santacroce

Planning an event, whether it is a networking event, public seminar or a personal tea party, can take a lot of time and energy.
In order to make each event an absolute success, there are some great Social Media tools you can use for your Event Marketing.

  1. Blog

    Write a blog post about your upcoming event. Introduce topics, speakers, prizes etc. This will encourage people to register and
    spread the word about your event.

  2. Facebook

    Facebook has it’s own Event application. It’s pretty easy. You just create your event listing and then decide who can see the event.
    facebook-com Picture 1
    Make sure you select “Show the guest list”. It’s always easier to participate if a friend of yours is already on the guest list! And don’t
    forget to invite all your friends. Read this post on Mashable for more details on how to post an event on Facebook.

  3. Twitter

    twitter-com Picture 1
    Prior, during and after your event you can use Twitter to create buzz around your event. I recommend you create a specific hashtag (#). Go to hashtags.org to find out if your specific hashtag is available. Choose a short and easy hashtag. You will have to constantly remind your attendees of the hashtag by mentioning it during the event, on your website, on Facebook etc. You can even create a widget which only displays the comments concerning your hashtag. Create it here.

  4. Email Marketing

    Don’t forget to inform your list about your upcoming event ! With Email Marketing tools such as AWeber, Constant Contact or Mail Chimp you can create separate lists for each event and even create a webform where people can RSVP. If you add a “Share this” button at the end of your e-mail you maximize your outreach even more. Read this blog post from AWeber.

  5. Linkedin

    Linkedin is another great platform for event marketing. Go to Linkedin.com and you will find the events under the “more” tab on the right.
    From there you click on “add an event” and enter all your info. Make sure you click the “add more details” button. You will then be able to enter your website url, a short description of the event and most importantly some keywords and job titles of people who should attend the event. If it’s a virtual event, check the “this is a virtual event” box. Once you are satisfied, hit the “Preview” button and then hit “Publish Event”. For more details, read this post from “Market Like a Chick”.

    Linkedin events

  6. Xing
    This is another option, mostly for my European readers. Same idea as Linkedin, so just login to your xing account and then follow the steps to create your event. Find more info here.

    Xing events

  7. Evite for personal events
    This one is not really for professional events, but I think it still deserves a spot on this list. From birthday parties to housewarmings, you can easily create an invitation and send your friends and e-mail. You have the options of asking them something to bring, indicate how many kids are attending and even display your personal profile with photo etc. I use this for all my private parties !

    Evite events

After the event, don’t forget to:

  • post pictures on your Facebook page, Flickr, Twitpic and Evite
  • send out a Thank you e-mail via Email Marketing
  • send out Thank you message to your Twitter hashtag

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Increase Your Online Visibility with Press Release Marketing

by Sarah Santacroce

Before web2.0, press releases were just for journalists and only big company changes were announced to the press. Today press or news releases can be used even by small companies, and the whole wide world has access to them. By distributing your press releases online (for example on pitchengine.com) you will be reaching out to a huge audience and therefore increase your website traffic (and hopefully your sales!)

Below you will find benefits, tips and tricks in a bullet point list.

Aviary pitchengine-com Picture 1

Benefits of the new web2.0 Press Releases:

As mentioned above, the main benefit of the new approach of sending press releases, is that they don’t only reach a small bunch of journalists, but a vast audience of potential clients.

  • people are informed about what’s going on in your business
  • when somebody searches for you on Google, they will find your press releases
  • press releases are indexed fast on Google
  • press releases are a non-static part of your website which increases your chances of getting indexed by Google

What and when to write a news release:

It is key to commit to a regular schedule of press releases. If you decide to send a release every other month, than stick to that schedule. There are many reasons to write a release, including :

  • the addition of new services or new products
  • the reception of an award
  • new staff
  • the introduction of a special offer
  • a publication of a free e-book or a whitepaper
  • the publication of survey results
  • a company event
  • your point of view of an exposition or a fair you attended
  • etc.

Tips:

You can find free samples of press releases on Google. It is important to:

  • use your keywords
  • include special offers
  • post links to your website

Where to post it:

There are many Press Release Distribution Sites (see list below). Don’t forget to also post your releases on the media room on your website. This is a specific page on your website usually entitled “Media Room” or “Press Releases”. You would post the title of the release with a link to a pdf document.

If you found value in this checklist, you might be interested in my free e-book “21 Proven Ways to Increase Your Website Traffic”. You can download it by clicking on the picture below:

download your free e-book

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Free E-book helps you increase your Website Traffic

by Sarah Santacroce

Dear Fellow Entrepreneurs,

Imagine there is a great party, but nobody knows about it. The organizers spent a lot of money on the venue, the decoration, the hors d’oeuvres and the DJ. With excited anticipation they open the doors at 10pm but – only 23 people show up. The party is a complete flop!

See where I am getting at? A website is like that party. One can have the fanciest website on the market, but if nobody knows about it, it won’t get any traffic.



But don’t panic, I’ve got you covered. I wrote a report that should come in handy. In it you will discover some of the most important tools and tricks to increase your website traffic, attract more potential clients and boost your sales

- with your Blog

- with Link Submissions

- with E-mail, Press release and Article Marketing

- with on page Search Engine Optimization

- and with Social Media!

Are you ready to get this party started? So hurry and click on the picture below and then fill in your name and e-mail and you’ll receive my report immediately.

Send me a tweet @sarahsantacroce and give me your feedback ! Or just leave a comment below.

I appreciate your input !
Internet Marketing


Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Use your avatar (profile picture) as a marketing tool

by Sarah Santacroce

In a previous post I have written about the benefits of commenting on other blogs. If you have been actively doing that, you must have noticed that some people have a nice profile picture (a so called avatar) next to their comment, and some don’t. Which ones did you prefer? Obviously the ones with the picture. A picture gives every comment a human touch, we feel like there is a real person behind the text. A faceless or worse, an anonymous comment, leaves the impression that the person is trying to “hide” something.

A nice avatar actually increases the trust in your person and therefore your brand. So in my opinion, it’s one other little thing that you should add to your Internet Marketing “to do” list. And that’s where Gravatar.com comes in.

What is Gravatar?
Gravatar stands for Globally Recognized Avatar. It’s basically a little icon, that represents your brand and will be displayed on every blog comment that you write.
Signing up with Gravatar is fast and easy, and most importantly it’s totally free. You can add your blog and website links and social media icons so when a person clicks on your avatar they get the full information about your brand. Below is mine to show you an example.

Sarah Santacroce, bilingal Virtual Assistant on Gravatar

A few tips on your Gravatar

  1. use a good quality photograph
  2. don’t use your company logo, it’s too impersonal
  3. I recommend you use the same picture as on your other Social Media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc.) This way people easily recognize you and associate you with your brand

That’s all there is to it.
How about this? You register with Gravatar and then show off your new avatar by leaving a comment below? I’m looking forward to it…