Trying to Understand Social Media and SEO

By Susan Escalante
Director of Public Relations, Federal Financial Group LLC

If you are new at social media and SEO, I have a couple of things to help you get started!  First of all, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. When a website link has value, as determined by a search engine,  it shows up closer to the top of a search return. A lot of entities are interested in having their ranking high on the first page since most searchers only look at the first page of a search return. Let me explain that in layman’s terms: If you “google” something, you get several pages of possible links that will help you. Often you find the thing you need right there on the first page, right? Yes, so that is why everyone wants to show up there – as if to say “Pick me! Pick me!”

To get a quick look at the most important social media platforms you can go to one of my other articles, “How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Business” and to learn more about SEO, Search Engine Land posted this 3.5 minute video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF515-0Tduk  It explains quickly what SEO is.

Social media and SEO can take some time, but it does pay off if it is set-up correctly. I literally got an email today that someone in our organization closed a six-figure business agreement from someone who found him on Facebook. He also has an appointment this afternoon with someone else who called him from seeing him on social media. More about this in another article later! But for now let’s just say that social media marketing does work!

Best wishes as you set up your system! I hope this information helped you get started off on a profitable path!

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For any reviews, please feel free to contact us at socialmedia@ffg2.com. We appreciate your feedback!

7 Things Done by People Who are Successful with Social Media

By Susan Escalante, Director of Public Relations Federal Financial Group LLC

7 steps to social media success

People who use social media tend to do a lot of the same things to be successful with it. They also learn from each other. Most people are willing to share tips they have picked up along the way if asked. Here are some of the common things:

1 – Listen to others

Of course, you hear this lot in most soft skills that involve communication with real people. Listening to others before you just jump in and start throwing out all that you have been up to is a skill you learned at some point in growing up.  The same principle applies to social media. You don’t want to just start blurting out how great you are. Listen and communicate with others first. Get a feel for how things are shared. Then you can ease your way into sharing your links, photos, and thoughts.

2 – Your thoughts

Social media successes do not outsource the things they share in social media. One of my favorites is Ricky Gervais, comedian, actor, producer who started the wildly popular show, THE OFFICE, in England. He has a Twitter account @RickyGervais and it is clear that he writes his tweets. Oh, maybe he dictates them to an assistant who does the actual keyboarding, but many of the tweets are straight from his personality and it shows!

3 – Personality

Which is a great segway into the third observation: the most successful users of social media allow their personality to show. Of course, being professional is key since offensive comments and photos are reported. However, sharing a bit of your personal life or funny things in your business make your social media unique and interesting!

4 – Believe

People who use social media believe that they have something to share that will add value. They have confidence that they are a part of a large community and that someone out there will actually read or see what they have shared.

5 – Social Media Platforms

Realizing that one message will not fit all platforms helps set aside very successful social media buffs from those who just participate because they think they should. Sometimes a comment that will work well on Twitter will fall flat on Facebook. It takes a while to figure this out, but that is why I don’t recommend using one multi-tasking social media platform.

6 – Use various platforms

People who succeed at social media use a variety of platforms. The most used are the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Pinterest is quickly becoming used by all kinds of people promoting their causes and businesses.

7 – Quality not quantity

Quality rules in social media. Just because you have ten wonderful things to promote does not mean you should tweet each one, right after the other. Space it out. You don’t want to overload those people who are actually following what you are doing. This is your chance to be selective and put your best foot forward.

Hopefully this has been helpful as you hone your social media skills! Happy tweeting! ;D

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To submit any reviews or complaints about Federal Financial Group LLC please email us at Socialmedia@ffg2.com. We appreciate your feedback!

7 Things That People Who are Successful with Social Media Do

Successful People on Social Media

7 Things that People Who are Successful with Social Media Do

By Susan Escalante, Director of Public Relations

Federal Financial Group LLC

People who use social media tend to do a lot of the same things to be successful with it. They also learn from each other. Most people are willing to share tips they have picked up along the way if asked. Here are some of the common things:

1 – Listen to others

Of course, you hear this lot in most soft skills that involve communication with real people. Listening to others before you just jump in and start throwing out all that you have been up to is a skill you learned at some point in growing up.  The same principle applies to social media. You don’t want to just start blurting out how great you are. Listen and communicate with others first. Get a feel for how things are shared. Then you can ease your way into sharing your links, photos, and thoughts.

2 – Your thoughts

Social media successes do not outsource the things they share in social media. One of my favorites is Ricky Gervais, comedian, actor, producer who started the wildly popular show, THE OFFICE, in England. He has a Twitter account @RickyGervais and it is clear that he writes his tweets. Oh, maybe he dictates them to an assistant who does the actual keyboarding, but many of the tweets are straight from his personality and it shows!

3 – Personality

Which is a great segway into the third observation: the most successful users of social media allow their personality to show. Of course, being professional is key since offensive comments and photos are reported. However, sharing a bit of your personal life or funny things in your business make your social media unique and interesting!

4 – Believe

People who use social media believe that they have something to share that will add value. They have confidence that they are a part of a large community and that someone out there will actually read or see what they have shared.

5 – Social Media Platforms

Realizing that one message will not fit all platforms helps set aside very successful social media buffs from those who just participate because they think they should. Sometimes a comment that will work well on Twitter will fall flat on Facebook. It takes a while to figure this out, but that is why I don’t recommend using one multi-tasking social media platform.

6 – Use various platforms

People who succeed at social media use a variety of platforms. The most used are the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Pinterest is quickly becoming used by all kinds of people promoting their causes and businesses.

7 – Quality not quantity

Quality rules in social media. Just because you have ten wonderful things to promote does not mean you should tweet each one, right after the other. Space it out. You don’t want to overload those people who are actually following what you are doing. This is your chance to be selective and put your best foot forward.

Hopefully this has been helpful as you hone your social media skills! Happy tweeting! ;D

For any reviews or complaints, please email socialmedia@ffg2.com. We appreciate your feedback.

Talking Points of Great Leaders

By Josh Rice, Public Relations Specialist with Federal Financial Group LLC

Communication in business can make or break your career. There are a couple things that all good leaders have in common when interacting with colleagues, employees and even friends. I have taken some ideas from an article from Inc., many communications classes in college, and watching some great leaders here at Federal Financial Group LLC.  Here are a couple things you should say continually to keep you standing out and being a trusted leader:

“Here’s what I’m thinking”

Whenever a boss says this first, I get pretty excited. It’s a really friendly way of telling someone your opinion or what you need them to do. But the key difference is that they are open for improvement and value your opinion. So when you use this phrase it makes people feel like they are on a team and working with you rather than being told what to do.

Transparency

In everything you do be as transparent as you can be. If you do this people are more likely to trust you and be more willing to work harder for you because they know what you stand for. Even if you think it’s bad and you don’t want to share it with people, you will be better off telling the truth so that people know that you’re human and where you intentions are going. Time and time again I see this in our leaders here. They love to keep us updated on everything that is going on and be as transparent as possible. This makes me want to work harder for them and motivated to do the same thing for them.

Apologizing

We are all human, so that means we will make mistakes. If you don’t, that raises more eyebrows to me. Whenever I have had a boss apologize to me for something, it has really meant a lot and I come out of it really respecting the person more. You are more likely to remember a boss down the road for his character that has apologized to you than one that was always right.

“Can you show me?”

“When you ask to be taught or shown, several things happen: You implicitly show you respect the person giving the advice; you show you trust his or her experience, skill, and insight; and you get to better assess the value of the advice”, said Jeff Haden, a writer for Inc.com.

I really like that last comment. If we could apply all four tactics when we are leading people or communicating with people, we will become those leaders that we have looked up to for so long.

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For any reviews or complaints, please email socialmedia@ffg2.com. We appreciate your feedback!

Social Media Tweaks That Will Change Your World

Social Media Tweaks That Will Change Your World

Social Media Tweaks That Will Change Your World

By Josh Rice, Public Relations Specialist

Federal Financial Group LLC, Draper, Utah, USA

April 19, 2013

 

Only find it in one place (exclusivity)

There are many different outlets in Social Media (Federal Financial Group LLC uses over 9 different social media outlets). If you are feeding the same stuff to every outlet then people get bored and disengaged. What is the point if all of your outlets do the same job? Give people a reason to follow you. Offer exclusive material in different social media platforms. This will keep them coming back.

Images

Always have a description when you put an image online.  The description tells people what is going on with the picture and why you posted it. Have keywords in the description so when people do searches you come up. You can also add links to your website that can drive people there to increase business.

It’s about your followers!

To get more interaction online, do things that people can interact to. Tell stories, ask opinions and run contests! Federal Financial Group LLC is constantly looking for different ways to have fun with people. The more that your followers are engaged with their comments, likes and shares the more they will go to the top of your fans’ news feeds so that more people can see it.

Be direct

Be very clear on what you want people to do. If you want them to comment, like, share or retweet something, tell them to do it. People move fast online, they won’t get offended.

Keep it short and to the point

Don’t write long things online. Just like reading the news keeps it short, people want their info fast and to the point. They don’t want long drawn-out tangents that lead them to nowhere.

About section

The about section on anything you do in social media is extremely important. It can make the difference between someone following you or not following you. People need to understand where you are coming from and what you are about. Use keywords so that SEO will pick you up in searches. The more you are noticed the more you message goes to people.

Successful Social Media in Fifteen Minutes Per Week

SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL MEDIA IN FIFTEEN MINUTES PER WEEK

By Susan Escalante, Director of Social Media, Federal Financial Group LLC

April 8, 2013

Many people want to know how to use social media without spending a lot of time on it. Here at Federal Financial Group LLC, we value person-to-person contact so much that sometimes we forget to connect online, which is why I want to share this streamlined, time-efficient and effective social media shortcut.  In my ten years’ experience in public relations, media relations and social media, I have developed a system that will help you use Facebook and Twitter to drive people to your website with little time investment on your part.

It is true that there are hundreds of social media platforms to choose from today. However, almost everyone has a Facebook account. Start with Facebook. If you do not have a personal account, set that up first. Then add a page for your business. If you work with Federal Financial Group LLC, we are happy to post it on our central company page or you can use one that is there already to tweet out!  Here is a word of caution: It is possible to cheat the Facebook system and set up an account under your business name, but this is not recommended for several reasons. The most valuable reason is that once you have invested time to build up your presence, when Facebook discovers that you have used their platform this way, they will block your account. So, initially, save yourself time in the long run, and use a Facebook PAGE for your business.

Once you have your Facebook page established for your business, post something every 2-3 days. Conversely, we have found that no more than 4 times per day, though! (Too often and you start losing followers!) Make sure you monitor your page: “like” or “comment” on things others have posted to your page. Delete anything offensive. This should take you about 15 minutes per week total. Set a timer for yourself if you are concerned that you will get “sucked in” to the virtual world.

Post things that are relevant to what you are doing, but be sure to also post something funny and entertaining about once a week! Your social media does not always need to be about you and your business. People appreciate variety. Be professional. A good rule of thumb is to think of someone you respect because of their integrity: Then post only something that would not offend him/her. Avoid political issues, religion, humor that might be considered offensive in any way, and anything about drugs, partying, alcohol, or tattoos. The last thing you want to do is offend someone, so when in doubt, don’t!

Adding Twitter to your social media strategy will broaden your reach tremendously. One of my Facebook friends recently asked, “Should we connect on Twitter where the real business is done?”

You will need to spend a little time on the learning curve for Twitter, but once you have it, you will spend only 1-2 minutes per work day. Here is a link to the basics of getting started on Twitter. https://federalfinancialgroupllc.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/103/

So, once you are set up on Facebook and Twitter, here is how it works. You post something on Facebook then blast it on Twitter. Use #hashtags to reach your target audience. Get inside your potential client’s brain and determine what keywords they will use to find you. Those keywords are the same words you will use for your hashtags. Also use those keywords as part of all of your messages.

Additional tips for your Facebook and Twitter profiles. Be sure to have your contact information right there conveniently located in your bio or profile. Include the link to your website. Tweet and post about how your potential clients can reach you. Engage with your followers so they know you are a real person and not an automated bot. Retweet some tweets that are either motivational, humorous, or further your cause.

Social media is not rocket science. Anybody can do it. Be confident with your tweets and remember K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simply Simple. When in doubt, you can always say “XYZ Company is here to serve you. http://website.com” or “Hope you are having a great day!” In 2010, I acquired over 3,000 followers on Twitter simply by saying positive affirmations each day such as “You are a beautiful person! Don’t forget it!” In 2012, I lost about a thousand followers in that same account by saying negative things about political events. Haha! So there is the “what works and what doesn’t work on Twitter” in a nutshell!

Good luck! If you have any questions, feel free to email us socialmedia@ffg2.com. Remember that this is the basic of all basics. If you find that you like using social media to connect, there are at least a gazillion more strategies to accomplish your goals!

How Pinterest is not Just for Mom Anymore!

Federal Financial Group LLC

How Pinterest is not just for Mom Anymore!

By Josh Rice, Social Media Specialist, Federal Financial Group LLC

Pinterest has over 11 million users and is one of the new social media websites that has sky-rocketed to success in recent years. From the very beginning it has been predominantly women that have used this site, but recently all of this has started changing. Businesses have noticed that Pinterest is a good way to increase their reach and branding across a large audience. In a down economy where nobody wants to waste money, this is a good channel for any company to get their name out there.

More and more people are using social media to help them decide on what they will and will not buy and Pinterest is a good example. Merely pinning something and having others share it can get your company name online. Many businesses do this, including Federal Financial Group LLC. Here are a couple tricks that can get you and your business some attention.

Searchable words or power words: When doing anything online, it’s important to use your words wisely. For SEO purposes certain words are used more than others and come up on searches stronger than others.  Certain keywords have longer shelf life than others on the web. When you pin something make sure it’s searchable with – product, place and person in it. This will help your pin be found.

Hashtags:  Twitter was the social media site that started the use of hashtags. But it has proven valuable across the board in many different social media sites. These hashtags make it easy for your post to be readily discovered so that others can share it. Many businesses use hashtags to track their marketing campaigns and what they post online.  Federal Financial Group LLC uses hash tags on a lot of the things that they do in social media so they we can track if we are being effective. #FederalFinancialGroupLLC

Backlinks: It is important that your site get a link back from the pin. Traffic can be sent to your website from putting links in your pins and posts. This will help your business get more traffic online to your website. You should always be thinking about a way to put your website in the post so if someone is interested you will have a chance of them going to your website for more. You will find that if you do this often, you will have more traffic on your site and in turn will show in sales. Typically Federal Financial Group LLC will add hashtags and link to our site on most stuff we do.

Pin-it button: Make it easy for people to share your stuff. Put a pin-it button on your website so people can share your product. This goes with everything you do, make it easy for everyone to share your product on all social media platforms.

Format your images:  Make your images on your website have ‘Alt’ text descriptions, because that is the default info picked up by Pinterest when someone pins from your site. They may do a quick pin and not change the description, so make sure you have the right keywords to describe your product.

I really hope these tips help you in making Pinterest work for you. Social media is all about engaging with other people, and that is the most valuable thing to remember!

Building an Online Community is Like Having a Neighborhood

Building an Online Community is Like Having a Neighborhood

By Josh Rice

Social Media Specialist for Federal Financial Group LLC

http://www.ffg2.com/

April 4, 2013

When I think of the words “community’ or “neighborhood’, I think of growing up on the street where I lived. All the kids played together after school and the adults hung out on Saturdays. Everyone in the community knew each other and for the most part looked out for each other. This is what I think of when I hear the word community. Well this same kind of thing exists when you are online; you just have to go about it in the right way.

Facebook and other social media sites allow you to connect with people and the cool thing about this is that you are not limited to how big your street or community is. Social media has a larger reach which allows you build a lot larger communities that have the same interests, spending habits and ideas as you.  Through a social media community you can guide people to your blog, website and gain customers that last a lifetime. That’s why Federal Financial Group LLC has all of these different types of things online.

Here are a couple of steps to get you started on building a community:

Facebook profile or page – There is a difference between the two.  A profile is for people and a page is for a business or company. If you already have a personal profile you can have a page for your business, too. You can put yourself as the administrator for the business page that you created and keep your personal account separate. Most businesses do this. For example, here at Federal Financial Group LLC we have a number of different admins that contribute to the company page, but they personally have their own Facebook profiles online. This keeps their personal lives away from the business. A business on Facebook is looking for “likes”; this is similar to “friends” on a personal account. The more “likes” you get, the larger your community gets.

Detailed “About” section on your Facebook profile/page – You would be surprised on how many people browse Facebook and the internet and run across someone’s Facebook page or website and can’t really figure out what they do or what they are trying to achieve. Be very detailed on what you do and your purpose. Make it so clear that any random person that comes across your stuff will know what you are doing. Federal Financial Group LLC has it stated on our website and Facebook page very clearly that we are in the insurance/annuities business. There are links to our business website on our Facebook page so that people can learn more about us if they want to.

Ideas on what to include on your Facebook:

• Write a bio that will attract people to know more about you and get them interested in learning more about you or your company.

• Never make comments that will offend anyone’s religious and political.

• Use an awesome profile photo. Use something that will let people that don’t know you see your personality right off the bat. If it’s a company, put something that will get people’s attention.

• Tell people why they should be your friend or like your page! What is your purpose? Goals? What will make them want to be a part of your community?

• If you have a website, list it first! Put it at the very top so that people can see it right away.

• Provide links to ALL your social media that they can connect with you on. This way if they don’t do Pinterest don’t worry, they might have a Facebook or a Twitter account.

Join groups that are applicable – Get involved! Just like your community that you live in, online is the same way; you get what you put into it. If you are active and know your neighbors they will be more willing to look out for you in so many different ways.  The same applies to our online community. By joining groups and getting involved in the conversation it can get your profile or page known within your community. Let’s say you sell insurance like Federal Financial Group LLC does: If you have built a community around you and have gotten involved online, people will know you and reach out to you sooner or later. We have seen this time and time again. Remember to try and share good relevant information. It is alright to add something funny occasionally to lighten the day. We like to draw from the most popular humor sites, and always make sure it is family-friendly in case children are surfing the web.

Follow the right people – You can get great ideas from people or competing businesses around you. Find people that can provide you with content and ideas; follow them and learn from them. This includes businesses that you are competing against. You can always learn from your competition and see what they are doing right and wrong. This can only make you stronger. I don’t think enough businesses or people do this often enough to see real value in this. That’s one thing that I learned when I started to work at Federal Financial Group LLC and I have seen so many benefits from it.

The key is to stay involved and if you do this there are so many benefits that you will receive for you and your company. Even if you just dedicate 5-10 minutes every day to doing these steps you will see the benefits to your online community and real results in your business.

How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Business

By Josh Rice, Social Media Specialist    March 28, 2013

Anyone that is in business, does business or associated with business knows that networking is everything! You can have an amazing product that is life changing in every way possible but won’t go anywhere if you don’t network. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. The baby boomer generation knows this very well. But things have changed really fast in this technological world we live in. It’s no longer networking face-to-face that will help you.  If you are doing this and this alone, you’re missing out on huge relationships and even more importantly ——>  HUGE money.

If you thought social media was a fad and was going to disappear over time you were wrong.  Social media has been around for more than ten years and every year more time, money and attention gather around some of the top social media sites. Think of social media as a popular place where people hang out in a city. All the people that are the opinion leaders, cool kids and potential clients are at this place and there is a ton of opportunity at this hang out spot.

Top social media sites-

LinkedIn – This site is key in the business world. If you don’t have it, then you’re missing a piece of the business world puzzle. Here you make a business profile that shows your professional accomplishments. You can find current/former colleagues, clients and even partners that you already have a relationship with or want to have that relationship with. You add connections by inviting contacts you have and meet new contacts through those relationships.

Facebook – This site has snow-balled into a social conversation scene. People talk about anything from what they had for lunch, politics, and even business. This site can help you connect with clients, share fascinating content and promote yourself to others. Businesses have had to change the way they do things because of Facebook and other social media sites. Every business now has a page on Facebook and they are seeing the opportunity to get people talking and engaging the consumer in the conversation. Brands can make or break it on this site. If you do it right, you really can make a huge presence for yourself by capitalizing on all opportunities with Facebook.

Twitter – For the first time ever we have the opportunity to access direct contact to anyone we want at any time. Now the trick is to get their attention long enough for them to connect back with you. Twitter allows it’s users to send updates or post in 140 characters. Some use this to follow their friends and see what they are up to. Others see this as an opportunity to connect with people they don’t know and people they want to know for business.

These are a couple of ideas to totally capitalize on your social media experience:

• Target – With social media you have the opportunity to track and focus on certain groups of people that can benefit you for sales. Always be watching for these people.
• Opinion Leader – Generate and find content that people want to see and start a conversation about. This will get your name out there.
• Be yourself – The more you show your personality, the more people will want to connect with you and find out what you are saying.
• Engage – Invite people to start a conversation with you, be genuine and show your personality, make it easy for people to contact you.
• Participate – Join and create groups, get yourself visible online in conversation.

Always try new things on these sites. If it is not working, then find something that is. Follow people that are doing it right and emulate them.

One of the most important things about social media is that people are talking about you and what you do. You have a chance to shape their opinion about you and mold what they think about what your product is… and always have a conversation with someone not at them.

Twitter account

STARTING A TWITTER ACCOUNT BASICS By Josh Rice
Twitter is a new form of social media for a lot of people. It can be used as a great tool to get your name out on the web and talk with so many different people that you would have never had the chance before. Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media outlets and here’s how to get started:
– Go to http://Twitter.com
– Look for New to Twitter? Sign up
– Put your full name, email address and a password that you will remember. Then click on the “Sign up for Twitter” in yellow.
– The next page will verify with you that all your info is correct, and then click “create my account” in yellow.
– It will give you a list of people that you may want to follow. At this step they want you to follow 5 people to get started. Then click “next” at the top of the page. The next page will ask you to do the same thing again. Follow 5 more people. Then click “next” at the top like you did before.
– You can find friends through your email or skip this step and head to putting a profile picture up on twitter of yourself.
– You have set up your new account, at this time go to “compose new Tweet” at the top and write this as your first tweet – “Excited to be working with @ffg_2, great company to work with! #insurance #annuities”