Syndicating Your Content
Show Notes: January 3, 2011

Building your business brand should be one of the main goals you have for your social media marketing plan. What this means is using syndication to place your content on the internet as an extension of your brand, and it’s message. So let’s talk about your social media hub.

The Center of Your Hub – Your Website or Blog

Of course, you know that I advocate your website actually be a WordPress blog, and I can put you into a fully functioning wordpress blog for only $10 a month….but I digress

Your website and blog are the center of your social media hub. This is where you sell your products or services on the web. It’s your online representation of you and your business. People visit your blog, you talk to them through your posts, and or content, and they decide to buy from you because you’ve established a rapport with them.

Your Hub’s Spokes

Think of these as spokes on a wheel, where your blog is the center of the wheel and the spokes are those places where you go and create a second presence, another place where people can find you. This is where social media comes in. Each social media network you join is another place for you to meet new people and connect with friends and clients. Each network is an opportunity for you to build a community. You’re probably using some of them now, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Plaxo, and others.

Once you’ve created your profiles at your social networking sites, here are some strategies to consider:

1. Build and nurture relationships. When you’re spending time on your social networks, think about ways in which you can build relationships. This can be furthering relationships you’ve already established or forming new. For instance, when I have a new friend on Facebook, I put them into a list so I can look for them frequently, and easily, to see what they are talking about. As often as possible I try to join a conversation they have started, by adding a comment or sharing their information. Don’t underestimate the power of sharing your friend’s links, comments, etc. It’s a tremendous goodwill builder.I use my personal Facebook profile as a way to nurture my existing relationships as well as build new ones. Think of it as expanding your reach.
2. Syndicate your content. Once you have a blog up and running, you’ll want import it into Facebook with the Networked Blogs app so that you can immediately send new blog posts to Facebook. This allows new friends on Facebook to see your post, and click over to your blog to find out more about you. It’s also a social community itself. You can find and follow blogs through Networked Blogs that extend your online community.
3. Make new friends. I add friends in Facebook who I have never met. I may see something they said to one of my friends, or pulled them up through a search that intrigued me, so I send a friend request. When you do invite them to be a friend, make sure to add a personal message letting them know why you’re sending them a friend request. Again, having a common interest or two really helps break the ice. To expand your community, you need to feel comfortable reaching out to new people. Remember that common interests help us form those online relationships a bit easier. You never know who your online friends know. It’s expanding your sphere of influence.
4. Show who you are. Transparency is key to your social media strategy. Keeping in mind that all you post on the internet, stays on the internet, show a little personality in your interactions with others online. Don’t be afraid to talk about your interests, the stories that illustrate your point in a blog post.
5. Share info you think your friends would be interested in. You shouldn’t be broadcasting your marketing message 24/7. Sharing is one of the most expedient ways to create solid relationships. Be seen as someone who thinks of others.

Those are some tips on creating a hub for your social media using your blog’s rss feed to deliver your blog posts to your social networking sites and how you can create and build profitable relationships online.

What do you think? Let me know by commenting!

I’ve been blogging since 2005. I started at Blogger and discovered WordPress in January 2007. I’ve had two self-hosted blogs and have been programming in WordPress exclusively since then.

North San Diego Business came out of a need to show the small business community, in 2006, what a blog looked like, and what it could do. To that end, the weekly North San Diego Business At Large podcast came into being.

When Facebook and Twitter came into the small business community you saw a plethora of “social media masters” come out of the woodwork. Their fees ran the gamete, but were usually pretty hefty. One firm was asking $500 a month for their services. It seemed to me that some were cashing in on the craze. More power to them!

However, some in the small business community were left in the dust. Dazed and confused, they left business sponsored social media events without a clue how to implement social media into their business.

So when I hear of yet another Social Media Mastery series I have to ask a few questions, especially when the series costs you an arm and a leg. Here are the questions I would ask.

• How long has the “social media master” been around?
• Does the “social media master” have a blog?
• Are they blogging regularly?
• Have they been blogging long?
• Is their blog at wordpress.com or blogger.com?
  (there are some exceptions to this question)
• Do they have a Facebook profile?
• How many friends do they have?
• Do they have a Facebook page?
• Do they have any custom pages on their Facebook page?
• How many fans do they have?
• How many connections on Linkedin?
• How many followers do they have on Twitter compared to how many Tweets they’ve sent out?
• Do they share information online or just promote themselves and their services/products?
• Do their course outlines tell you what you’ll be learning?
• Have you heard of them before?

Where can you get a lot of information about social media without shelling out a lot of your hard earned money?

Social Media Examiner
Mashable
Chris Brogan
CopyBlogger
HubSpot
Inside Facebook
Search Engine Guide
Search Engine Journal
Search Engine Watch
Daily Bloggr
Duct Tape Marketing
Social Media Coaching Center
Specky Boy
Square Martini Media
Tech Crunch
Social Time
Tripwire Magazine
WebPro News

Got a social media story to share? Feel free to comment!

Discounting the value of social media, blogging, Facebook, and all those other “invites” you receive as being a viable tool for your message? You might want to think that over.
Gary Hayes, Personalized Media, created this cool app that tracks social media usage.

“I decided to put together this little Flash app (which is in constant development) showing how active & dynamic the Social Web, Mobile Industry and Game Business is.” ~Gary Hayes

Here are just three of the many interesting statistics he’s complied on social media:

• Facebook 25 million new members each month Feb 2010 Mashable
• 50 million Tweets per day Feb 2010 - eConsultancy
• YouTube 1Billion watched per day Dec 2009 SMH

Still think it’s a fad? Let me know by posting your comments below

“2010 Social Media Influencers” is the first report from the series “2010 Influencers Series: Trend Predictions in 140 Characters”.

Trends Spotting Market Research is now running its third annual prediction reports following major trends in six categories. We will be featuring the predictions of digital and marketing experts on the big changes awaiting us in the coming year.