So, your company is ready to “do” social media. Great!

But what does that mean, exactly?  Do you want to grow awareness for your business? Find and engage your customers and fans in conversation?  Or, maybe even generate some leads and sales?

Understanding what you want to accomplish with social media marketing is the first step in determining the best approach, and where you should invest your valuable time.

Our helpful guide will arm you with everything you need, including links to free and affordable social media tools, resources, and lots of best practices.  We’ve even included a list of some of the common pitfalls to avoid – so you can start marketing with social media with confidence!

Download a free copy of Leadtail’s Guide to Getting Started with Social Media.

Have other online marketing, advertising, and social media questions?  Check out the online marketing and advertising resources section of the Leadtail website.  We’ve compiled lots of other useful information to help you grow your business.

Or, you can always reach out to us directly by asking your question on Facebook or Twitter, dropping us a line, or giving us a call at 888.330.3236.

As you’re reading this… you’re experiencing the power of the written word. It keeps you engaged, makes you come back, and creates trust… so that you’re willing to buy (or try) the author’s products and services.

These days, good content is extra important since it offers your customers and prospects something to talk (tweet) about and post to their Facebook page… which will put you on the radar of many new prospects (yay!)

Look, I know writing stuff is not easy for everyone. But it’s worth the time and energy. It really is.

And you don’t need to become a best selling author overnight (though that would be cool!) Creating content can be as easy as posting your company news to Facebook, commenting on your favorite blog, or writing an article on a topic you’re passionate about.

The good news? We’ve found that the more you write the easier it becomes! It’ll be the same for you… just give it try and then stick with it. You’ll connect with your customers, generate leads, and bring in sales. Not right away… but it will. Since content is marketing.

Not sure how to get started? Here are a few helpful posts we’ve done on this very topic:

Think Like a Publisher. It’s All About Your Website Content

Why Aren’t You Doing Article Marketing? You Should Be!

Don’t Be a Blogger… Be a Blog Commenter Instead!

Why take our word for it? Here are two other great blogs that help remind us that content is king!

Copyblogger – making content writing easier

Junta42 – learn about content marketing

Happy writing!

I must confess… I didn’t (gasp!) do keyword research before writing the copy for our website. And the truth is I should have. But better late than never. So let’s pretend we’re writing our website content today (maybe you are)… and then take it from there!

First of all, why is keyword research so important?

Search engines (i.e., Google) are the number one way that people find your website. Your job is to make it easy for them. There’s much you need to do to make this happen… but it begins with figuring out what words and phrases (keywords) your prospects use when searching the Internet for what you sell. Then you need to make sure your website content includes those keywords. Do it right… and your website shows up in your prospects search results!

Here’s how to get started:

1.  It’s all about your target customers. You really need to understand who they are, what they’re looking for, and why they’d buy from you in particular.

2.  Think about what keywords they’ll use when searching on Google for your products and services. (If you already have customers… ask them!)

3.  Then make a big list of all the keywords you come up with.

4.  Add qualifying terms to your keywords that help better define your market… such as your product features and business location.

5.  Boil your list down to the keyword phrases you’re going to use with your website content. These phrases should best reflect your product offering and be search terms your prospects will use often.

6.  Now write (or update!) your website copy with these keyword phrases in mind.

Simple enough?

For example, let’s say you have an Italian restaurant located in Long Island, NY. You want keywords that target customers will use to find your restaurant. The keyword “restaurants” isn’t specific enough. Maybe: “Italian restaurants”? Better for sure. But we need some qualifying terms to make it even more specific. How about “Italian pizza restaurants” or “Italian restaurants on long island”? Now we’re talking! Just include these keyword phrases as often as you can in your website content.

You should target 5 to 10 keyword phrases depending on how many products or services you sell, and the different types of customers you serve. Have lots of products and services? Then you’ll need more keyword phrases.

The good news is there are free tools to help:

• Google’s keyword tool makes it easy to come up with hundreds of keyword phrases to consider. Plus it’ll show you the number of monthly searches for each phrase.

• Wordtracker is another good keyword tool for generating ideas. And it will also show you the popularity of each keyword suggestion.

• Google Analytics is free web analytics software that gives in-depth data on your website traffic… including which keywords send visitors to your site!

Now it’s time for a few cautionary comments (sorry!)

Spicing up your content with good keyword phrases will make it easier for prospects to find you… and also make generic website copy more specific and interesting. But don’t go overboard. Remember, it’s all about making your website helpful and informative for your target customers… not about stuffing your pages with keywords for the search engines. (see our related post)

And the process of keyword research never stops. You need to keep an eye on what keywords are driving the most traffic to your website… since your prospects are changing how they search all the time!

Don’t forget to keep your keyword phrases handy. You’ll not only reference them for your website copy but also for your online advertising campaigns, social media efforts… and even your offline advertising (which also influences what people type into a search box).

Let’s get started with your keyword research!

Btw, did you notice the keyword phrases I’m using for this blog post? Let us know which keywords you used to get here. Thanks!

I’ve got a riddle for you. What type of online advertising is free, will establish you as an expert, and can improve your website’s popularity with search engines… all while making it easy for others to drive traffic to your website. The answer: article marketing. So why aren’t you doing it? You should be!

What exactly is article marketing? It’s simple. You write an article and then submit it to article directories, websites, and blogs that are looking for quality content. They post your article, including your bio and a link to your website… and then good things start to happen!

How to get started?

• Write about what you know. Make writing easy. Write about topics that you’re interested in and have plenty to say about. Just make sure your articles are related to your business or industry. That way when readers check out your website they’ll know they’ve come to the right place. And no selling please! Your articles are for educating and informing with your reader’s interests in mind. So when writing articles, think coach and teacher… not salesman.

• Keep it keyword rich. You want to make it easy for the search engines to find your article. No surprise right? Make sure your article title includes keywords you care about. It’s also a good idea to sprinkle keywords into the article text… but always remember it’s about engaging your readers not over-stuffing keywords.

• Have a compelling article title. The headline of your article is the only thing that most people read. So make it compelling. That way they’ll have no choice but to read on. How do you do that? Make your article title provocative. Try writing it in the form of a question that draws readers in. Or phrase it as if you’re going to let them in on a little known secret. You get the idea!

• Write articles often. Get in the habit of writing lots of articles. Volume counts… as one or two won’t do. That’s why it’s so important to write about what you know and like. Look for ideas in your favorite magazines and blogs. And from conversations with your prospects and customers. The good news is that your articles don’t need to be long. Figure 300 to 600 words. But you do need to write at least two articles a month (or more!)

• Don’t forget your bio. Besides your article title, your bio is the most important part of your article. Why? Because it’s where you get to brand yourself and include your website’s URL. This is where the selling happens so definitely add a few sentences about you and your company. The goal here is to get prospects to read about you and visit your website.

When you’re ready… start with publishing to the article directories. It’s easy and free. Go ahead and submit to all the top article directories such as: EzineArticles, ArticlesBase, Buzzle.com, SearchWarp, GoArticles, and IdeaMarketers.  Just search “article directories” to find more.

And keep a look out for blogs and websites in your industry that want guest authors (you can be one!) Having your article show up in a popular blog can mean thousands of dollars of exposure for your business.

Happy article writing!

It doesn’t matter what type of online business you have… just remember it’s all about the content. The text, pictures, and graphics of your website are responsible for informing, engaging, and prompting visitors to stick around and take the actions you care about… like signing up for a newsletter, giving you a call, or buying your products!

Once you realize how important your website content is then my next comment should be obvious: you’re actually a publisher. That’s right… a publisher. Why? Because publishers are always thinking about content and that’s what you need to do too!

Here are some guidelines to help you think like a publisher:

• Keep your target audience in mind. When writing your website copy, always use words and phrases that reflect how your prospects actually talk. When in doubt, just think about the conversations you have every day with people interested in your offerings and write like that. But please no “biz-speak”… you know, a formal tone with lots of big words that no one uses in real life. Unless your target audience really speaks that way.

• Write content that is engaging and personal. Always write in the “active” voice. For example, the phrase: “you can” is more engaging than “enable you to”. See what I mean? And write as if you’re speaking to an actual person. Notice how I use the words “you” and “your” all the time? I could instead use “one” or “a person”… but that’s so darn impersonal.

• Update and add website content often. This keeps prospects coming back to see what’s new and interesting. For example, you can update product pictures on your home page, add customer reviews and testimonials, provide tips and best practices, and even answer more frequently asked questions. Depending on your business, you should update and add content weekly or at least monthly.

• Grammar and formatting are important too. Please, please, please… no grammar or spelling errors. And keep paragraphs short and easy to read with lots of bullet points when it makes sense. Remember, people don’t like to read on the Internet… they browse and scan instead. Make it easy for them and they’ll want to read more!

• Do it yourself or have someone do it for you. There’s no shame in needing help with your content. Maybe you’re not a good writer or graphic designer. Why should you be? Just find someone that is for what you need help with. These days there are many talented people available and affordable too. Need copy writing help? Place an ad on www.freelancewritinggiggs.com, www.elance.com, or www.craigslist.com for starters.

Lots of good content (especially text) is also critical to keeping the search engines happy. And a happy search engine means prospects will find your business when searching the Internet.

The bottom line: when prospects and search engines like your content then a wonderful thing happens… you generate lots of business!