In the crush of social media information, there is always going to be the question, “what is the ROI of Social Media?” The folks at MDG, put together a sharp little infographic on some of the social media ROI.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring

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In Social Media Marketing -Words are powerful.

Even more than we realize.

There are 7 words that are CRUCIAL to making your social media marketing efforts successful, whether you own’a traditional business, a home business, or work for a business.

And many do not even know them let alone use them.

They can change your social media marketing to a powerful force in your branding efforts and beyond.

Sooooo….

What are they?

1) FREE.

Many folks in social media like free gifts. They like free content. They like free podcasts. They like free videos. They like free content.

So you need to start using the word FREE in your tweets, vids, posts, podcasts and blogs. WHAT is free? That is for you to decide, but it can be an ebook, a report, an mp3, a CD, a DVD, or anything that the people will find of value to their life.

“Here is a FREE mp3 that i recorded last night and thought you might enjoy. Hope you like it and let me know what your thoughts are as i am looking to improve it. Thanks!”

2) GIVE.

This is a biggie. It is CRUCIAL that you GIVR and use the word GIVE in your communications. It is called a “trigger word.” This is a word that triggers psychologically in the brain to create some kind of emotion or feeling. GIVE is a powerful concept in social media marketing.

Especially what you are giving away is FREE.

“I am giving away today a FREE ebook that will help you in your Success efforts. I want you to have it as I know you will like it. Here is the link for it and let me know how you enjoy it as always looking for ways to improve. Thanks!”

3) TRUST.

This is another huge one as we build bridges of trust with people and their friends. Use the word trust in what you do.  Use the word trust in posts, mp3s, videos, and any other communication. Put it FRONT and CENTER and let people know that is your focus. You are looking to be trusted and you sare looking to trust back.

“My goal is to build trust with people before they ever do any business with me as that is critical. Integrity is the foundation of trust and that is how i operate and always will.”

4) VALUE.

People will do more for Value than you think. And people are smarter than you think. They KNOW value and what is NOT Value. Your focus in social media marketing is to provide VALUE in your communication and use the word in all you do. Your FOCUS should be VALUE and a lot of it.

What people talk about is Value. What people are seeking is Value. What people are DEMANDING is Value and you must be the Value Freak in what you do in social media.

“And my goal is to create such an amazing Value in this video that you will watch it over and over and learn something new each time you watch it. All I ask is you let people know what you have discovered in this video and share it with others.”

5) LOVE.

Love is a strong word that people do not use enough. i know i know. I can hear it now-”Doug is getting hairy fairy.” LOL  Nope. Just telling you the truth. if you believe in something string enough- you need to let people know that you love it. if you are convinced that your product is the best that exists on the planet-let them knwo you love it. if you are sure that the relationships you are building in social media are powerful and life changing, let people know that you love that part about social media. if you are a home business professional and LOVE what you do- shout it out and rock the world with it.

Love is a powerful life changing word and when you use it- EYES ARE DRAWN TOWARDS IT- instinctively.

“I LOVE this mp3/video/ebook/report/post even if I did do it. It has a LOT of great content on it that can change lives. I want you to have it as a gift and i look forward to talking to you about it as I know you will love it too. I love giving things away for free-hope you like it!”

6) SECRET.

Everyone likes a good secret that cannot be kept. And if you are any marketing effort, you need to let peo;ple know that you know a secret that they do not. Why? Fear of loss. Curiosity builder. Wanting to be a part of the in the know crowd. Hope of gain. and ther are other reasons as well. But when you use the word SECRET- BAM! Every one’s heads turn-and they are thinking- “Tell me pleasssee!” And we have used it for years as that truly does set you apart form the masses…

IF and ONLY IF you have a secret that no one else has about your endeavor, Success, leadership, social media marketing, home business success, or internet marketing, or anything else that you are working. Be unique and one of a kind. OWN the Secret-don’t just repeat it. Old news is still old news. Get creative and let the secrets flow.

“I have discovered a secret about skin care that ia amazing and wanted to give it to you. Here is a link to a  video that will tell you the secret of looking 10 years younger in little or no time. And all I ask is that you share it with other you know as it will help them too as well. Here is the secret link….”

7) THEIR NAME.

Enough said.

Their name is music to their ears. It is honey to their soul. It is sugar in their tea. I ALWAYS use the persons name or nickname in communication in the very first couple of words.

It is an EYE MAGNET.

It attracts their eyes to move towards their name and then you are guaranteed that your communication will be at least scanned. Use their name at the end too. I call it “bookending.” It works and lets them know that you appreciate who they are.

These are the 7 most powerful words that you can use in social media. of course there are more.

What other words can you suggest in your social media marketing?

blessings…Doug Firebaugh
PassionFire Training
Follow Doug on Twitter

Editor’s note: this post was written by Doug Firebaugh of PassionFire International. If you’re passionate about social media, social media marketing and social networking lifestyle design, contact me about writing an article yourself.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring

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Value Rules in Social  Media.

Value is the KEY.

Value is the key to making anything happen in social media, whether you are in it for marketing, social networking, entertainment, or just for learning. But VALUE is the KEY to any successful social media experience.

Then…

There is what is call “JAW DROPPING VALUE.”

What’s that?

JDV (Jaw Dropping Value) is that EXTRA Value that is unexpected, unanticipated, and totally a SURPRISE. It s is Value in a product, message, video, training, blog post, podcast, or even event that delivers way beyond what is normal.

Ok.

HOW do you ADD Jaw Dropping Value to a message, product, or event? Well, there are 3 major ways that you can add JDV to anything you do, and we do it all the time and it truly works.

Here are three ways that you can add Jaw Dropping Value to anything you do:

1) Be Totally and Unexpectedly moving in a Direction that people are not expecting AND ARE BLOWN AWAY BY.

What does that mean?

Simple.

Take your message in a different direction and look to see what is NOT being done with your industry. Ask, “What holes are out there in my industry that needs to be filled and how can my message or product fill those holes?”  JDV is a result of moving to a place that many are not looking for, and taking them to an higher level in life and their desires because of it.

We took a look at the holiday season and no one was doing a holiday webinar for home businesses. So we said, “GO!” and then we added twice as much content as expected, and blew people away last year, and this year is even bigger.

You can do the same thing-look for the holes and fill them.

2) Take Your Message or product or focus and at least DOUBLE THE PROMISE-and then DELIVER.

Wow. I can hear you saying that now. I cannot do that. Sure you can. But it takes guts and courage. That is how you set yourself apart.

Be bigger.

Be better.

Be bolder.

Be brassier.

Be Bodacious on occasion.

THEN DELIVER the goods and get a reputation as someone who does deliver and in a way that is bigger, better, and more Valuable than anyone else. A friend of mine in Texas did that. She is in Real estate. On her Activerain social site and in her ads, she said that if she could not sell your home within 21 days, she would buy it from you- GUARANTEED.

She has yet to buy a house. THAT really motivated her, and has taken her career as well as social media exposure thorugh the roof.

3) Give away your best material or freebies and then DOUBLE IT.

You read that right.

THAT will get people talking about you in a whole new way as that will virally market like a rocket. I know…you may be thinking that I just gave away my best stuff.

Wrong.

You just gave a sample of the current best stuff you have–but THE BEST—that has yet to come.

And they will be WAITING ON IT with baited breath.

You are SEEDING into the future and into the destiny of your career. And that is how social media works. Look at all the freebies that Chris Brogan or Scott Monty, or my bud John “Foggy” Fogg-or Jackie Ulmer- or Carrie Wilkerson- or Diane Hochman- or all the other social media talents out in the social sphere.

You can get some AMAZING trainings, ideas, solutions, little known info, brain expanders (thanks larry hochman) and much more for free-because that is what makes social media so special.

YOU GIVE- before you get.

What you are reading- THIS EXACT TRAINING (but a little more in depth)- I have taught in personal coaching in the past to the tune of 500.00 to 1000.00 an hour. What is it costing you today?

ZIP. NADA. FREE.

And I hope that it helps you add some serious Jaw dropping Value to what you are doing in your efforts in social media and social media marketing.

blessings…Doug Firebaugh
PassionFire Training
Follow Doug on Twitter

Editor’s note: this post was written by Doug Firebaugh of PassionFire International. If you’re passionate about social media, social media marketing and social networking lifestyle design, contact me about writing an article yourself.

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Personal Branding.

One of the Most Important Factors in your Social Media Message.

We have done over 50 seminars on that one subject. Personal Branding for traditional and home businesses.

It seems to be a subject that has gotten to be huge in the home business and social media circles.

But WHAT has NOT been taught on personal branding in social media?

A LOT.

And I am here to tell you that PB evolves daily and transforms into something more powerful about every 6 months in social media and internet marketing.

There are three tips that most do not know about personal branding and I wanted to share them with you. They have really helped us the last several years and hope that they help you.

So far, they have proven to be GOLDEN in our business.

What are they?

1) Quit trying to be Remembered. Become UNFORGETTABLE.

Nike. Tiger. Shaq. Madonna. Reebok. McDonalds. DoshDosh. Mashable. Taylor. Miley. BMW. CitiCorp.

And the list can go on and on.

YOU need to be on this list.

These are ALL unforgettable brands. How did they get that way?

Offer a Message, Image, or Product that is Totally Unique and repeated exposure.

Offer a Message, Image, or Product that is Totally Unique and repeated exposure.

Offer a Message, Image, or Product that is Totally Unique and repeated exposure.

Repeated exposure.

Repeated exposure.

Enough said?

2) Don’t just BE Something. DO SOMETHING.

Actions often are more powerful anchors to the mind than “being phrases.”

I call it “Action Branding.” This is where you go past where most go- and brand yourself with an ACTION that is uniquely yours.

It can be a bodacious give away free action that has never been done before.

Oprah gave away over 100 cars. THAT was bodacious. But you may not be able to afford that-so how about giving away something DAILY?

How about giving something away on people’s BIRTHDAYS?

How about doing a video that is so funny that people pass it along-and it brands you in a  unique way maybe for the holiday season? (THAT is a tip for NOW.)

How about doing a 24 hours podcast-a-thon and doing it LIVE and interview someone every hour in your niche?

These are just a few of the many secrets of “Action Branding.”

3) Quit focusing on your image and start focusing on the EMOTION.

Get this:

It is NOT the image that comes to people first in branding and when they think of you and your brand.

It is the EMOTION they feel again and experience they have had with you they FEEL- first.

THEN they start thinking of the image that pops into their mind.

So…what can you do to get that emotion to a peak positive level?

Start encouraging people when you communicate with them and tell them how wonderful they are with or without your message or product.

Elevate their perspective of who they are and CAN BE.

Let them know that YOU are there to HELP THEM achieve what their goals are for their life and your message or product is secondary to their most ardent desires for their life.

Have emotional colors and pictures connected to your brand. THIS is critical and if you do not know the psychology of colors, then go here.

These are three tips on personal branding that most do not know and I hope that it has given you something to think about in your social media marketing.

blessings…Doug Firebaugh
PassionFire Training
Follow Doug on Twitter

Editor’s note: this post was written by Doug Firebaugh of PassionFire International. If you’re passionate about social media, social media marketing and social networking lifestyle design, contact me about writing an article yourself.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring

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“Build it and They will Come!”

NOT.

Connection is the Nuclear Core of Social Media. But you MUST make an effort for that to happen.

Whether you have a social media home business, traditional bricks and mortar business, or an online business, you must get into the social trenches and connect and converse. It is that simple and that plain.

It is ALL about Connecting and creating a Magnetic Conversation.

But why are people NOT doing that?

Maybe they do not know this powerful 5 Step “Avalanche Process” for getting New Customers and KEEPING them.

You MUST connect with the social media culture. It is what marketing is about in social media. Some people think that this is anti-social media and they think they can broadcast their message and people will come.

Build it and they will come!

Don’t think so. Not in social media. You do not build ‘IT” but build relationships that can become doorways and then become customers.

Connect –> Conversation–> Value –> Doorway–> Customer.

Let’s take a quick look:

1) CONNECT.

This is where it starts. On Twitter.On facebook. On LinkedIn.On Youtube. On Orkut. On every other niche site there is that matters.

CONNECT.

Here’s a little tip:

Connect to those who are looking FOR YOU.

They will find you if you are visible, and accessible to connect to.

2) CONVERSATION.

Then the conversation starts. Talk about THEM and where they want to go. talk about what they want to talk about. Study their profile, pictures and videos. You can learn a LOT just by paying attention.

Then make sure that you STAY IN TOUCH and LISTEN when they are communicating. If you do, they will want to stay connected to you.

3) VALUE.

This is where you bring in the Magnet to Pull them towards your message. Show them Value in their life. Show them how your message can help expand, Increase, Enlarge and Improve their life. Do it through Tips and how to’s in videos and blog posts and podcasts. And yes, tweets and twips. Show them how you can make their life easier, or show them how to do something they want to learn. Show them how to BE or DO something. if you can increase their dreams, you can get them as a customer.

The More Value people perceive you have the more likely they will walk through the “Doorway”.

4) DOORWAY.

This is the Doorway to Conversion. You MUST convert prospects into customers if you are going to have any kind of business. That is simple to do.

Give them an offer they cannot say “No” to. That is the secret. GIVE first and then make it so compelling they cannot say “No.”  We do it all the time. we just ran a social media special on our training products and it blew the roof off our shipping department. It has been a FLOOD of new customers and new orders.

All we did was give them an offer that they could not say NO to.

The SECRET is the first word:

GIVE.

Give away something they MUST HAVE. They will get it.

5) CUSTOMER.

Here is where they purchase your message, products, or webinar or event. This is the BEGINNING- not the end.

Here you must start building the relationship even more.

GIVE MORE than they expected. Throw something in for free they were not expecting. Give them a free download or ebook. Let them see a Private video collection.

ENCOURAGE MORE. Make sure that you send a note of encouragement and stay in touch with them.

THANKS MORE. Make sure they know you are thankful for their business and connection. We send out free downloads all the time to say thanks. And some people paid $$$ for in the past. Thank them in everything you do and they will come back for more.

Get your Customers ADDICTED to your  Value, Message and Emotions. They will become more than a customer. They will become a loud speaker for you and tell everyone you know you ate the BEST at what you do

And that is what you want to happen in your home business or traditional business in social media marketing.

blessings…Doug Firebaugh
PassionFire Training
Follow Doug on Twitter

Editor’s note: this post was written by Doug Firebaugh of PassionFire International. If you’re passionate about social media, social media marketing and social networking lifestyle design, contact me about writing an article yourself.

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YOU LIE!

Social Media can really irritate me.

REALLY.

These lies in social media that people are promoting daily that as far as marketing and social connections, have little to do with either of the two. I hear them on podcasts, see them on blogs, and view them on videos and each time I feel like SHOUTING to the roof top.

I believe it was Joe Wilson that shouted out “YOU LIE”during his speech. Well, maybe we need to take the Joe Wilson speaking course and shout that out  at out social media folks that are promoting lies and maybe even are not aware of they are doing it. They may be just repeating what they have heard in social media.

One of the things I do, I consult companies- traditional and non-traditional- on marketing, social media, success, leadership, team building, home business strategies, plus other topics. And I could never take the 3 concepts that I am hearing and make it a part of any consult.

They probably would end up firing me.

And they would you too.

These “lies” are all  part of the ‘i want to be known and be special” club. Listen up- it is ALL ABOUT you making OTHERS feel special- not you feeling special. if you are looking for a short way to kill your credibility in social media-go down that path. There are others that have and are now nowhere to be seen.

Ok…enough ranting.

What are the 3 Huge Lies that are found in social media?

1) It’s all about how many numbers of followers and connections you have to obtain social media star status.

I have found this one to be particularly irritating. First off- you make the person you are holding the conversation with THE STAR. YOU are not a star-but a star builder. And that is what you do.  You build people up and make them the star in the process in your world. And do that enough and you will find star status if that is what you are looking for. I hope not.

It really sets me off when I hear about getting a huge numbers of followers. Here is the TRUTH— Numbers of followers do NOT equal business or success. It is NOT about how many numbers- but how many people in those numbers that are truly listening and acting on your brand messages,

I know a company right now that has less than 3000 followers on twitter and less than 2500 on facebook and this quarter they will do over 500,000 in business from social media. They have 3000 people that are talking FOR THEM and ABOUT THEM- and getting their message out. It is not about numbers- but how many are multiplying the brand message.

2) It is all about CONVERSATION.

Nope. You can hold conversations with folks and it be totally meaningless in social media. It may be fun-but as far as marketing or business- what has happened?

Not much.

It is NOT about Conversation- but Connection. People you are connected to emotionally and socially always hold a more powerful conversation than those that are not. Connection means you took the time and learned about them-connected to what they were looking for- and then held a conversation that was of VALUE to tha person. THEN you could talk in a manner they found engaging versus boring.

3)  You must be on many sites and work them daily.

THAT is called stupidity as first off, you have not time to develop any relationships and truly get to know people. Secondly, you have OFFLINE tasks to do as well, and you would have not time at all for that.

Here is a tip: Get a base camp of about 5 sites that are YOU and you like the feel of them and the focus, and then start connecting and working hard to develop and move into that community. Then, after you have developed some traction with those sites- reach out and start expanding your social basecamp sites. I work about 10 sites and have for nearly 5 years. But I started with 2- myspace and classmates.com. (They were the only ones really around then.)

Work the sites to broadcast your message as well through software. You can get your message or url or blogpost or video out to dozens of sites- and broadcast it- with ping.fm. There are others-but that seems to be the most popular one.

These are the 3 Huge Lies that drive me nuts. Not that  is really hard to do- but i wanted to scream “ENOUGH ALREADY- YOU LIE!” and graduate from the Joe Wilson school of social media marketing.

blessings…Doug Firebaugh
PassionFire Training
Follow Doug on Twitter

Editor’s note: this post was written by Doug Firebaugh of PassionFire International. If you’re passionate about social media, social media marketing and social networking lifestyle design, contact me about writing an article yourself.

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So many people on Twitter have been asking me what is Quansite? Or what is the “secret society of the Quan”?

What is a “QuanSite”?

I’m really honored to share this with you. Quansite is coming October 13, 2009 to the general public.

Quansite, is the rebirth of the social media marketing platform I’ve been using for over a year called Blogi360 that the Social Networking Lifestyle website runs on. It’s a new media online marketing software and website hosting…plus so much more.

This Quansite system has been an integral piece to my social media marketing platform. I’m using it to build my website here as well has my Home Fitness Revolution site. Since early 2008, I’ve been using Blogi360 to run my sites.  This social media marketing platform is the backbone, the social hub of my social media marketing.

The masterminds behind Quansite are Coach Deb and JP Micek on Twitter their handles are @CoachDeb and @JPMicek. They built a fantastic social media hub to build your personal brand around or develop an entire sales tool around a new product, or even build out an exclusive community membership site. The array of social site building system tools is really for the serious business, not the casual dabbler in affiliate marketing. Quansite is designed for building a PROFIT-full business!

After much thought behind the decision of deciding on Quansite as the name, they said recently that “the Quan” in Quansite was inspired by the movie, Jerry Maguire. You know the movie. You remember the scene with Cuba Gooding Jr. don’t you? It’s all about the Quan! All the money, all the love…come on, I know someone knows that scene by heart!

If you need a refresher, here’s a collection of clips from the movie about “The Quan” (avert your eyes if you don’t want to see the scene where they are in the shower):

It’s ALL ABOUT “The Quan”

Here’s a great video where Coach Deb is talking about the Quansite Revolution:

What really impressed me, was a few weeks ago, Coach Deb was on a live broadcast with Mike Filsaime. And this is a guy whose story really doesn’t need to be told. Mike was more than impressed by the power of what is at your fingertips with Quansite. As simple as a push of a button.  The Quansite release will radically change the way people do business and use social media for business profits!

Now you can have this same powerful social media marketing engine doing the majority of the online marketing and social media work for you too with Quansite. I believe will be an incredible asset to your social media marketing projects. Provide the content: podcast, blog post, video and Quansite will do the rest.

JP Micek calls it “automagically”. LOL Man, I think that’ll end up in the dictionary one day. Automagically.

Without question, if you’re at all active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or any other social media site you’re going to be hearing a lot about this “Quansite Revolution“ in the weeks and months ahead.

Okay, okay…so:

What Is The Quansite Revolution?

Simply put, Quansite is an entire website marketing social media marketing system. Quansite is far more than just a blog platform; it’s a completely new social media marketing system that includes UNLIMITED sales pages, UNLIMITED squeeze pages, one time offers pages, your blog pages. That also includes video and audio streaming, social power bookmarking, video uploading as well as video and podcast distribution and all backed by a full tech team so you don’t have to worry about it.

Imagine that…

Never worry about having to find the latest plug-in to stop Wordpress spam or how do you undo the damage done to your blog with the latest plug-in. It’s worry free with Quansite.

Quansite does a lot of the WORK for you. I estimate that the Quan Site system saves me about 7-12 hours of work for me each and every week. And I’m probably STILL underestimating that number. What’s even more exciting is all the new stuff that Quansite is going to be released in the months ahead. The power that is working for me…has been optimized to maximize your exposure! JP Micek and Coach Deb Micek said on a recent video conference that they have even more things planned that will be coming on top of what’s coming by the end of the year! I can’t wait to find out what those are!

For me the BIG bonuses of Quansite/Blogi360 is I don’t have to be a techie or an expert on Wordpress! If you use Wordpress, Quansite blows it out of the water and in my opinion makes it obsolete!

Quansite saves you from tasks you shouldn’t be focused on as an affiliate marketer, network marketer, or small business like social bookmarking, SEO, where to find video hosting, etc etc.

Your focus should be on more important things…and Quan Site give you that time freedom and the arsenal to maximize your exposure and your bottom line!

Dump the time-wasting stuff forever and spend your time on those activities that produce the Quan! You’re up and running in minutes with Quansite.

JP & Deb are releasing Quansite to general public October 13th!

Check it out and see if want to Join the Quansite Revolution and be a “Secret Society of the Quan” Insider before you get left behind! I’ll be posting more information as I get it from them Deb and JP.

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