This short report will cover the most critical items you need to be aware of when it comes to social media for your business.

Everyone is on Twitter and Facebook: OK, not everyone is on Twitter and Facebook, but the amount of users are staggering. It is estimated that these two social media hubs have around 700 MILLION users combined. That is a lot of people. Even more surprising is that all age groups and demographics are represented. Some more than others of course, but even the older demographics are steadily growing. It is likely that millions of people interested in your offer are using these social media services

Social Media Is About Engagement: Joining social media sites like Twitter and Facebook isn’t about spamming your offers. It is about engaging with your potential customers. You want to watch and listen to what they are saying about your product or offer online. You want join some of these conversations, and know when not to. You want to offer helpful advice more often than you advertise. The goal of social media is to built a community around your brand or product, only engaging with customers will allow you to do that.

Monitor Your Reputation: Social media makes it easier to share information faster than ever. People seem to love to circulate bad reviews of businesses or professionals. One irate customer can lead to thousands of people seeing their rant in minutes. You want to ensure you have a presence in social media so you can meet these claims heads on. You can defend yourself from any slander, explain misunderstanding or make things right with the customer. Any of these actions will lead to more loyal followers.

Get Staff Involved: The number one complaint I hear is: “I am a business owner, I don’t have the time to be on Twitter and Facebook 24 hours a day.” Great point. Neither do I actually. I don’t think many business people in general do. I have two responses to that. First, it doesn’t take a huge time commitment to do the minimum required to have at least a basic social media presence. Secondly, get your staff involved. Younger staff will often enjoy a task like this. One tip though, make sure you have a couple staff participate, that way if you lose one of them there is no pause in your social media marketing.

Where Do I Start: We have went over why social media is important, and some of the ways you should use it. What should you do if you want to get started today? I think at the very minimum you need a Twitter and Facebook presence. You can set up your Twitter account at Twitter.com. I suggest that you fill out your profile fully and add a picture. On Facebook, you will want to create a personal profile and then use that profile to create a “fan page”. A regularly updated Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account are basic social media steps that all businesses should take.

As a consumer base we are growing more cynical and wary of traditional advertising. If you want to ensure that you can still reach a broad audience then you need to tap into social media. This relatively new technology allows businesses unparalleled access to their customers. At the end of the day you want to be where your customers are, so don’t ignore the 700 million people on Twitter and Facebook.

With social networking websites people from all over the world can chat, message and connect with one another. The can leave messages, comment on one another’s pages, share photos and more. These websites make communication so much easier even if you are communicating with someone on the opposite side of the world. Many people use social networking websites to communicate socially with their friends and family, but there are other benefits to these sites. There are social network websites for many different niches including, business networking, media and news, dating, investing, music, art and many more.

People of different cultures and with different interests can connect with similar people worldwide. People can make new friends, meet new people and even develop new interests by learning from others that they meet. Businesses can use social networking sites to connect with customers as business owners meet people with interests that relate to their business.

A niche social network site like Revelry is designed to connect people who knit and another social site is Deviant Art that connects people who love art. There are many different social networking sites created specifically to connect people that share those similar interests and goals and those people can share ideas, share their creations and just get to know one another. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace offer many ways to communicate such as sharing photos, music, videos and even creating groups within the site to share media and communicate.

Most social networking sites are worldwide websites so someone in Australia can connect with someone in England. Anyone in any part of the world can communicate with one another via these websites. The opportunity to meet new people that share the same interests as you and make many new friends is amazing. Social network sites are also a great way to track down people from the past that you have lost contact with. There are sites that are created specifically to find old classmates and friends from extracurricular activities.

The name says it all with social network websites because they are exactly that – sites that encourage networking socially. However, many business men and women also use these sites for business networking as they are a fantastic means for connecting with potential customers. If a person runs a business that relates to art then they may join the social networking site ‘Deviant Art’ to connect with people that love art. There are many niche social network sites that can enable business people within those niches to connect with their customers.

Some of these social networking sites have been around for quite a while and other new sites are being created all the time. If you search for social networking sites you will find them in all sorts of niches like sites for doctors, articles, book lovers, scientist, dog breeders and anyone that is interested in sharing information, videos or anything else with like minded people. The business possibilities with social networking websites are huge if you do your research and find the right social network site for your business.

1. Google Analytics – This is one of the most popular traffic tracking solutions available. Google tracks just about everything you would need. You can find out how many people were on your site, where they came from and the keywords they used to find you in search. Unlike the other options I will discuss later you can also integrate your Google Adsense if you use it. The only downside is the stats are not real time and the dashboard can be a bit confusing.

2. StatCounter – StatCounter can tell you just about the same information as Google can. The type of information you can view is slightly less with StatCounter Free. To get to Google’s level of statistics you would have to pay. That said, the free version still tells you just about everything you need to know. As an added bonus you can also get real times traffic stats, so when someone hits your site you will know it.

3. Woopra – Woopra is the new face on the block. They do bring a couple unique twits to the table. First the downside, Woopra’s free option is only good for a certain number of page views, after which you must upgrade to get full stats. The free version will be good enough for most basic blogs though. The good side is Woopra includes a desktop client. This helps harness the power of your computer, as opposed to relying just on the internet. What that means is your flash menus and charts will load quicker and run more smoothly on the desktop client. Like StatCounter Woopra also keeps real time stats. One added function is that the desktop client will allow you to initiate a chat with your web visitors. I haven’t found a reason for using this yet but it is intriguing.

I am not making a case for any of the three above providers. I just want to let you know there are free options out there to track your traffic. You will be able to get great results with any of the above three, so what do you have to lose? Start tracking your traffic now.

The fact remains, however, that you cannot rely exclusively on referrals if you want to make consistent income as a consultant. You will need to get out there and find new clients as you build your business.

This is an area of the business that many new consultants struggle with because they sometimes this cold-calling is the only logical next step. Nothing could be further from the truth. Finding new clients can actually be a very fun and rewarding experience. Like anything else, you will have to get creative and find ways that work best for you. But in this section of the guide, we will share some of the most effective ways to reach out and find new prospective clients for your consulting business:

Networking – In Section 8, we talked about the power of “schmoozing” potential clients and getting to know people who may require your services. Networking is one of the most important business practices you will ever partake in. Make sure that you make a point of regularly attending networking events where you get the opportunity to connect with other business owners. Don’t sell at these events, just make as many people aware of who you are as possible. You never know who you might get introduced to!

Online Advertising – Show your prospective buyers that you believe in what you sell. Buying ads on networks like Google and Facebook allow you to create advertisements that are targeted to local companies and make local offers. You can get started with ad campaigns for $20 and be up and running in a few hours. You very well may a potential buyer!

Offline Advertising – While some of your prospects already spend time on Facebook and Google, many of them are too busy “out in the field” running their business. So online advertising would never reach this crowd. These people do read newspapers and magazines. In smaller cities, a display ad in a newspaper can purchased for a reasonable price. This is a traditional method of marketing but it could very well still work for your consulting business.

Mail – Traditional direct response mailing (ie postcards) or custom mailing can be a good way to find clients. Your local post office likely has an arrangement in place for sending flyers to local businesses. You might also want to target certain companies and send hand written letters to the primary decision makers in the company. When the letter looks personalized and hand written, there is a very good chance it will be opened and read by the person.

Email – Cold calling is something that is not even being suggested in this list because there are more effective ways of getting ahold of clients. Sending cold email, however, is something to take note of. With email, you have the ability to research a company ahead of time and do some fact finding. Look for a company where you truly believe you can deliver serious value to. Then put together an email introducing yourself and quickly mentioning some of the potential benefit you see THEM achieving with a better online strategy. Follow up with a phone call a few days later if you do not get an email response.

Press Release – You can sometimes get free media coverage if you have a story that is of interest to enough people. If you specialize in some kind of consulting service and you have an interesting story that relates to your speciality, try submitting the story to local newspapers. Having a story in print might get an offline company calling you directly as there is perceived credibility attached to your name since you have been published in the paper.

Craigslist – This may seem like a dated solution but the truth of the matter is Craigslist is still one of the busiest sites online. Many businesses go on Craigslist looking for help with different needs in their business. Make sure you keep your finger on the pulse of what is happening on Craigslist weekly.

Introductory Service – Consider visiting companies in person but not with the intention of selling. Offer a free flyer for their waiting room with “Social Media Safety Tips” (as an example) or offer to take a photo of their office and use it to create a Twitter account for their company (as another example). Literally make a point of selling nothing but deliver value first. Now they know who you are and will be more receptive to invites/requests in the future.

Directory Service – Create an online directory or blog that profiles local businesses in the area. Offer a free listing to the companies that you would like to target for your consulting services. Once they see how nice their free listing looks, they will be much more receptive to hearing about what you can offer in terms of your consulting.

You want to have your business appeal to as many people as possible. This means that if you’re a car repair shop, being able to show knowledge of everything from tires to chassis is a great way to rope in people who are interested in all levels of car repair. You’ll be able to establish relationships with these people who will hopefully become repeat customers of yours, and maybe even offer references to others.

What you want to avoid in general is getting too pigeonholed, as this can cause you to miss out on a lot of business.

However, the fact of the matter is that staying broad and appealing is a good thing, but people do tend to have specific interests. Maybe you know a lot about overall car repair, but you prefer to tinker with the engine. Maybe you like all car brands, but you prefer Jaguars. Humans do tend to gravitate toward increasingly specific levels of mastery depending on their inclinations. Just because you happen to know more about Jaguars than any other brand of car doesn’t mean that you should hide your knowledge out of fear of seeming too specific.

The “too specific” parts of your business can be used to your advantage. These are called “sub-niches,” and are basically where you can get super specific without losing huge chunks of your audiences.

In fact, being able to use your sub-niche is a great way to really get your business to flow. Maybe there aren’t that many people in the world who are as psyched about Jaguars as you are, but if you can tap into this sub-niche, you might be floored about how much business they’ll give you. People love to tap into others who have similar specific interests, and if you can manage to find the people who are as obsessed about the Jaguar engines as you are, you’ve probably made about fifteen new best friends. Best friends are excellent for advertising – and they’ll likely mention you to others who just have general interest in car repair, just because you’ve connected over Jaguar engines.

The trick is not to let the sub-niche take over the niche. Again, more balance. Maybe you like talking about Jaguars more, but you shouldn’t let it keep you from the general “help me with my oil change” threads on forums. In this way you can stay broad enough to help even the most out of touch layperson as well as the experts in your sub-niche. Behold the power of the sub-niche if used properly – just don’t let it take over everything else!

One of the cornerstone tenants of SEO is the importance of having solid, informative content. While it’s possible to stuff your website or your social media page full of keywords, this won’t necessarily improve the status of your site and definitely wont’ charm the customer. The reason why people subscribe to Twitter feeds and friend businesses is because the content those social network pages are offering is informative and interesting. Very few people are going to follow a business’ blog or Twitter feed very long if the content isn’t there.

So, how do offline businesses insure that their online content is interesting and informative? Well, the first thing that you can do is take advantage of the serious one-up you have on online business – that is, your ability to directly interface with the customer. In other words: ask. Ask your customers, “If this business started a Twitter feed or a Facebook page, what kind of content would you like to see? What would keep you interested?” Obviously, it’s more useful if you can ask repeat customers who have shown an open interest in the wares of your store. These are the people who will let you know what they want to see, and if your veteran customers are interested in something regarding your store or product, it’s likely that there’s a treasure trove of other people who would like access to that same content.

Another important thing to keep in minds insofar as content is concerned is keeping your “updates” useful and short. Nobody wants to have their inbox spammed constantly with daily updates from your store. It’s unlikely that many people are that interested, and if you overdo social media networking, it will turn off potential customers. The best way to go about it is to think hard about every update you make. Ask yourself, “Is this informative, or useful? If I were going to receive information from a company using this format, would I want to read this or would I trash it?” If you’d trash it, don’t send it.

A good rule of thumb is to keep your social media contacts updated once a week. This shows constant activity and that the account is a “live” one without being totally overbearing. Keep your content coming, but don’t bury your followers!

Below is a list of the most important safety tips that every social media enthusiast should become aware of when they want to become active online.

Learn how each social networking site works before you join. Understand if your information is private, semi-private (controlled by you) or completely publicly available

Control the information you post. You might want to restrict access to your page/account to a select group of people like friends and family

You don’t have to post your full name. This is a personal decision. There is never a need to post other info like address, phone number, or bank and credit card account numbers. Avoid publishing any info that could identify your offline location.

Create an anonymous screen name. Don’t use your name, your age, or your hometown.

Remember that many people can see your page. This may include parents, kids, colleagues, your boss, your employees, etc… Once the information is posted online, it is out in the public forever. Make sure you are okay with what is being broadcast.

You don’t have to post a picture of yourself. This is always optional and you should consider that your photo is now publicly available.

Understand that social media sites can be very anonymous and that people you meet online can easily fake who they are. Consider all online friends as virtual unless you know have actually met them in person.

Be careful when clicking on links that have been sent or posted to your account. They may appear to come from a friend but may have been maliciously placed there by someone who wants to send you to an untrusted site.

Avoid allowing social media sites to connect to your address book. In doing so, you may be giving away the email address of friends who do not authorize the sharing of their information. You might want to send a personal email to a friend if you would like to invite them to a new site. That way, they can check out the site and decide to join on their own terms.