Need a Social Networking Coach?

I have been helping people use social media and internet marketing to generate sales for years. When people ask me what I like most about what I do, it’s a tough question. There’s so many things I love about it. I meet the most amazing people, get to learn about what they do, how they look at their business and find ways for them to reach out to new clients, build their brand and establish themselves at the center of their own networks. I show them how this stuff works and that means I get to learn about new tools and networks as they come out so I can find just the right fit for each of them.

I'm in the process of creating a whole line of social media and internet marketing videos and e-books to post on Gateway - a new informational portal from The Gift Basket Association.

So, how can I help you NOW!? I woke up this morning in the Christmas spirit and wanted to make an offer. If you have any questions, need help setting up or fixing your profiles, want a quick tutorial on how to use social networks to generate sales..... just send me an email at lisa@lisabevan.com and I will give you FREE answers and advise - until Christmas

Everything I teach is from experience. I use my own Gift Basket online store as a guinea pig to see what works and what doesn't. I also am a member of a group called StomperNet.com that has experts in all aspects of social networking and internet marketing who give us advise on what's new, what is no longer working and what is coming up.

Let me help you be seen online and generate more sales this Christmas :)

Social Media and Cyber Monday

The term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday and marks the beginning of the online holiday shopping season when Online retailers strive to offer the lowest prices and great deals...

More than 8 out of 10 shoppers will be looking for discounts on Cyber Monday and 69 percent will be searching for free online shipping.

Using your Social Networking skills can enhance your sales dramatically. Here are a few tips for this year.

1) After updating your site with your Cyber Monday promotion, make sure to post the sale to your blog.

2) Then update your Facebook and Twitter status with a link to your new blog post.

3) Log into your StumbleUpon account and make sure to add a link there as well.

4) Also, you can go to online-sweepstakes.com and post your sale there as well.

I personally offer FREE ground shipping - use your imagination. Maybe, buy one - get one free, offer a free size upgrade or an extra little something with every gift :) Just make sure that you measure your ROI (Return on Investment) and not end up loosing money on the sale you choose.

Consumers are more likely to recomend products from Social Networking sites

I was emailed this consumer market research study from one of my social networking subscriptions and thought I would share it with you. I found it rather interesting.....

Consumers are more willing to engage with and buy from brands on social networking sites, according to a new study by Performics and ROI Research.

The study found 34% of customers who have used a search engine to find information on a product/brand after seeing an advertisement on a social networking site. In addition, 30% have learned about a new product, service or brand from a social networking site.

"Social networks are creating a monumental shift in how people communicate with each other and with brands," said Michael Kahn, SVP of Marketing at Performics.

"The results of this study can help marketers better understand where and how consumers interact with social media sites and what types of offers and communications engage them and motivate them to act."

The study also found the opportunity for engaging with consumers on specific social networking sites:

• 46% of consumers say they would talk about or recommend a product on Facebook
• 44% of Twitter users have recommended a product
• 36% of YouTube users say that they have gone to an online retailer or e-commerce site after learning about a brand on a social networking site

"The numbers are staggering. One in four consumers have four or more active social network accounts and more than one quarter access their Facebook or Twitter accounts at least once a day via their mobile phone," said Scott Haiges, President of ROI Research.

"We knew that these sites are extremely popular for socializing, but the level of interest for branding and promotional marketing content is surprisingly large.

Proof that Social Networking Really Works

As most of you know, I use Google Analytics to monitor my traffic source, keywords, ROI, etc. If you would like to learn how to use it, send me a note or an email and I will be more than happy to help. But basically, when you sign up for an account, they give you a snippet of code that you paste in your HTML code which tracks all the information you need.

I was looking at my sales for the month of October and wanted to share my results:

• 9 Facebook sales : I update Facebook with daily sales & events
  
• 12 StumbleUpon sales: I add new blog and articles
  
• 6 Twitter sales: I update my status with the same stuff as Facebook (automatically)
  
• 12 sales from press releases:I submit a press release 3-4 times a year
  
• 10 sales from articles I wrote in ezinarticles : I submit an article at least once a month

I know in the scheme of things, 49 sales in one month is not alot, but I didn't really do that much work - imagine if I focused more time on it. So, I just wanted to give you an idea on how with a little extra work - Social Networking can really help bring in more sales. And here's a hint - I don't always write my own press releases and articles - I have an amazing writer that does it for me if I don't have the time.

Now rest assured, I had more than just 49 sales this month - but I wanted to show you some real live examples of how Social Networking can really work :)

Using Radio & TV with Social Networking

I read this blog by Tony Brueski and thought that it was very insightful. I'm actually going to start a radio campaign next month and will most likely try this method to see how it works.... can you guess what "restaurant" he is talking about? I did see the commercials and thought it was genius! :) Let me know your thoughts.....

"Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linked-In, there are far too many to count… and for that matter, too many to remember. It’s very easy for a business owner to feel overwhelmed when it comes to marketing your products and services. It’s no longer just as simple at putting an ad in the paper, buying a radio commercial, or having a TV commercial created. While your customers still use radio and TV quite heavily you need to be in more than one place to make a true impact on your customers lives, and to make them take action. Bottom line: The consumer needs that little extra reminder that you exist. The good news is… the cost of having a presence on social media outlets is free. It just takes some time and effort for it to pay off big time, if done correctly.

When you use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter effectively, you can reach thousands of potential clients with a meaningful message on a daily basis. But how do you get these potential clients to become your “Friend” or “Follow you” if you’re starting from scratch? That’s where traditional media comes in. Recently a major restaurant chain wanted to dramatic increase its “followers” or “fans” on Facebook. To do this, they launched a campaign on TV and Radio asking people to sign up and be their “Fan” on facebook, the message clearly stated that if “a set amount of people became a “fan” by a select date, every one of them would get a coupon for a free burger”. The result… thousands of people became a “fan” and many of them told their friends to become “Fans” as well, and so on and so on. In the end, every single one of them were given a free burger.

So now this restaurant chain has loads of “Followers/Fans”… Now what? If the restaurant uses their social networking wisely, they can make meaningful offers, share viral videos, bits of humor, all in an effort to be “top of mind” with their target customer. It’s not just a matter of posting the daily specials, their “posts” than fall onto their fans “feeds” cannot be spamy in any way, shape, or form.

Do they abandon all other forms of media now? Certainly not. This is a mistake many make, simply dismissing radio or TV as “old”. Remember how they got these followers? The “old” media drove them there, obviously they still work, and work quite well. The restaurant simply now have another way of being in front of their target clientele.

What we are witnessing is the evolution of a new venue for marketing. Just as the evolution from billboards lead to print lead to radio led to TV led to internet, and now to social marketing. None of the mediums died, they simply created more places to reach your customers. The businesses that are reaching their target clientele, still use all of these mediums in some way shape or form. All of them are effective at delivering different messages. Some in making direct offers, some in branding top of mind name recognition, some in garnering excitement and evoking emotion and action. They all work hand in hand."

Want to get more visitors to your site?

I'm not sure if you are familiar with Stumble Upon.

StumbleUpon is a service that allows you to surf the internet by using a toolbar which services random web pages whenever you click “Stumble.” You have the ability to select what category to browse and the option to rate and review each page.

You may also use StumbleUpon as a social networking site, connecting to like-minded individuals and share your findings within the group.

For more information see StumbleUpon: A Beginner’s Guide

It is a great way to not only share interesting web pages and images, but also your own opinions on a website submitted or "thumbed-up" by other users. After thumbing up a website, you will give the site more exposure and increase the possibility of others viewing it.

The great thing about StumbleUpon is that it offers more than one way to get others to view your website. One of the most under-utilized functions is the ability to send articles, blogs, newsletters, etc to friends–even ones who don’t use StumbleUpon.

So..... why do I think this is so great......BECAUSE IT REALLY WORKS!

I've been using it for years - stumbling other websites to get ideas and to see what is out there. I've also been adding my business sites (i.e. blog, articles, press releases) to get more exposure.

I use Google Analytics to monitor where my sales are coming from, what keywords people are using to get to me, what keywords are profitable, etc.... and I saw that last month - I had 10 sales from StumbleUpon users! Just from adding my "Gifts for Sale" page to my profile. Every time I add a new site to my profile - I get between 100-200 StumbleUpon visitors to my site.

Give it a try.... it's a great way to get new visitors to your site!

Woman's Network Alliance

Founder, Debbie Pietro-Quintana of The Woman's Network Alliance (WNA) has announced that they are looking for 12 Chapter Presidents across the United States. If you.....

• Own your own business
• Want to increase you visibility
• Have great leadership skills
• Are willing to support others
  
• Live in the United States

Then apply today as a new Chapter President! All entries need to be in by November 1st. and interviews will begin the 2nd week in November.

This is their press release.....

San Jose, California - A local women's networking group which formed in 2007 to provide a new concept of supporting women in business is officially announcing it's national program. The Women's Networking Alliance is based out of San Jose, California but has twenty-four women business owners from all over the bay area. The current Chapter President is Melissa Stacey, owner of Feeling Organized in San Jose and in 2010, they'll add an additional 12 Chapter Presidents.

"WNA has been designed to encourage referrals between members but more important its about supporting one another through challenges and successes," says founder Debbie Quintana. "Our structure, foundation and program has proven to be a successful business model and we truly want to share it with others." This comes after Quintana launched a national gift basket association earlier this year, again, combining her experience as a gift basket company owner and networking professional to help others. The Gift Basket Association has over 100 members, launched a quarterly magazine, a discussion forum and is being nationally recognized for its efforts to uplift the gift basket industry.

WNA is looking for women business owners who are interested in starting their own chapter of WNA in their town. Applications are due on or before November 1st. If you're interested in becoming a chapter president, you can read about the program and apply online at www.womensnetworkingalliance.com. The final announcement of the 12 new chapter presidents will be on November 15th after interviews are conducted, references are checked and the chapter presidents are notified. Chapter Presidents will be challenged with assembling their local chapters of up to 30 women business owners in non-competing businesses that are willing to work together to generate business and help each other grow personally and professionally. The Chapter Presidents will have the support and infrastructure of WNA, allowing them to concentrate on the formation of their teams.

"WNA isn't just about the referrals, we want our members to support one another with new ideas and through the ups and downs of being business owners. It's truly amazing what can happen when you bring real, genuine women together," adds Quintana

For additional information, please contact the Women's Networking Alliance. Debbie Quintana can be contacted via www.debbiequintana.com or directly at debbie@debbiequintana.com. Debbie Quintana is the owner of Gourmet Gifts, a gift basket company supporting your gift needs personally and professionally.

Social Media Bookshelf

Social Media Bookshelf was launched on September 7th. The purpose of the site is to be a resource for the best books about social media networks, social media strategies for PR and marketing as well as tips and tricks for social networks and application. They have everything from "Social Media Success" to "Twitter for Dummies"

Words from the Founders....

"With Social Media Bookshelf, it is our intention to bring together the best resources available in social media. Here you can find books and other materials on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and social media in general. While not a definitive collection, we believe some of the finest, well-respected authors in the industry are represented.

In the coming months, we will also include guest posts from our authors, white papers and e-books. We want to offer the best social media insights available today all in one easy-to-navigate location.

We also welcome your comments and suggestions, as this – like most things in life – is a work in progress.

So, take a few minutes and browse our bookshelf and select a few books and leave a comment or two."

6 Ways to Attract Twitter Followers

No it’s not another Twitter pyramid scheme. This is about attracting real, useful followers to your Twitter network.

Be interesting and unique
Share your own perspective on news or new information you find. Do you scan a pile of blogs for information? Share it, but look for things that aren’t mainstream. I mean, I love ReadWriteWeb, Mashable and TechCrunch but everybody tweets those posts. Find something original to share. Use services like LazyFeed, Feedmill or My6Sense to quickly scan blogs for new content to share.

Re-tweet
Keep an eye out for interesting information to share with your network. Look for the people the rest of your network might not know instead of retweeting the usual suspects. It’s a great way to give kudos to people who are good information sources.

Problem solve
When a question comes up in your network see if you can answer it. Google it if you have to. You’ll learn something and so will they.

Make connections
When you see somebody with a problem or question you can’t answer, look to your network and connect them with somebody who can.

Add to the conversation
Re-tweeting is good, but don’t you have more to say? Can you share some links to other information to keep the conversational ball rolling or take it in a new direction?

Respond when people Re-tweet or @ you
It’s just plain courteous to respond when somebody talks to you. Don’t be rude or we’ll just think you’re stuck up.

originally posted by Janet Fouts

Are you using video to Market your Business?

Why is video so important? Because today, the average attention span of a web user is measured in seconds. Once delivered to you on a red carpet by a major search engine search query, or by a recommendation link on a review blog, the new web visitor applies only a very limited effort and time to see whether they can make sense of what you are selling and to decide whether you have what they were actually looking for. If you can engage their interest right there and then, and offer a fast, highly visual way to let them discover what your "message" is, you are ahead of the game.

I know what you are thinking.....

Don't know the first thing about videos or editing?
I personally hate being in front of a camera, but I know how important video marketing can be. So I decided to create small 30 second commercials using a web service called Animoto. This is a great video making tool. You simply upload the pictures you want to use, add some text, add music, click "submit", and voila! - you have a professional looking video! You can see examples of what Animoto can do by going to my YouTube channel.

If you have a webcam or a family video camera - you have everything you need to make a video. Fancy equipment and green screens are great - if you have the budget, but don't let lack of funds or knowledge stop you from using inventive means to promote your business. You can find very cheap editing tools that will help you create the perfect video for your business. Visit this Video Editing Software Review for more info.

Here are a few video ideas.....

Video introduction can be a firm handshake!
One of the best ways to market your business is to have your customers see you as a person not just a business. A great way to do that is to add a 30 second introductory video on your homepage. Introduce yourself, send a welcome message, talk about upcoming sales or promotions. Show them how passionate you are about your business and why they should buy from you.

Add video testimonials!
Add real customer testimonials to your site. Have your customers send you a video of them enjoying your products, share stories or create mock commercials using your items. A great way to get these videos is to have a contest where the "best video" wins a prize :) Here are some examples of video testimonials from a friend of mine’s website.

Create FAQ videos!
Instead of creating a basic frequently asked questions page, why not create videos? You can create a step by step video on how to buy a product from your store – showing the checkout process, or how to apply a coupon code. If you have a product where assembly is required, why not create a video that shows your customers how to put it together.

Promote your videos
Adding your videos to your website is only the first step. You need to promote them to reach a wider audience to your online store. Upload them to your Facebook page, Twitter account, blog - every social networking site you have. You can also upload them to online video sites. Here are some video sites that I use.

• YouTube
• eSnipes
• Kewego
• MetaCafe
• Photobucket
• Revver
• MotionBox
• Megavideo
  

Making videos can be fun. Be creative and show your customers just how much you love your business. You'll be glad you did :)

5 Easy Ways to Market Your Business

Too many small business owners think marketing is like a trip to the dentist — something you just have do every six months or so. But when marketing is continuous and targeted rather than occasional or sporadic, business gets easier. Ongoing marketing works when putting the right message in front of the right person at the right time.

Here are 5 ideas for doing that

Social Networking
Social networking is a marketing tool that spreads the buzz, spreads the love, and creates a sense of community. Participating in a social networking mix by sharing your experiences, help create that community and build trust with your customers. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn allow a business to offer “friends” only discounts and promotions. As American Express is fond of saying, “Membership has its privileges.” so does social networking. Reward your friends and fans with gift basket promotions at the holidays, announce contest winners, promote new products, answer customer questions and more. It’s a great way to keep your business’s name in the forefront of their minds.

Other social networks are more niche related. Posting blogs, submitting articles or creating Hub pages are a way for a business owner to build credibility and share their expertise. They can work to drive customers to the gift basket retail site or they can be ways to develop a referral network for future customers. These types of articles and blogs help business owners establish a connection with consumers by providing trust that they are experts in their field. It is the difference between being a salesperson and a solutions provider.

Referral Clubs
Referral groups and the local chamber of commerce are great places to make professional contacts. Successful referral groups will focus their meetings on highlighting a members business and being a forum to help find solutions to current business needs. Referral groups are also useful to small business owners who often go it alone, in a small office or their own homes, and need advice from others that are in the same boat and may have encountered the same problems before.

The local chamber of commerce is another way to build a reputation in the local community. Many chambers sponsor monthly lunches, local trade shows, and provide members with ways to share their businesses with community members. Membership often adds some credence to a business and can be a plus to their marketing efforts. Particularly in the age of shopping online, sometimes having the endorsement of local community organization can make all the difference.

Newsletters
Email newsletters are a wonderful way to communicate and share information with past and current customers. By asking customers to opt into the newsletter at point of purchase or by offering them a discount for opting in, your email list is easily built and it is a wonderful touch point.

Having a monthly contest or promotion tied to the newsletter is equally helpful. Most customers will only be shopping when they need something, like a birthday gift or a wedding present. A newsletter sent monthly or when new and exciting products are available, can foster the potential for more sales and not just when someone is searching for the perfect basket. A newsletter will also continue to build and strengthen a business’s creditability with their current and past customer base.

It is important to note that newsletters should be used judiciously and sent only sporadically, or customers may begin to treat them like spam.

Trade Shows & Exhibitions
A trade show or exhibition is another way to strengthen not only your business connections, but also your customer base. These venues are like networking groups on a larger scale and often draw businesses from a larger geographic area. A wonderful perk of attending a trade show is industry professionals tend to visit other booths and business relationships often develop.

Just as with networking groups, trade shows are a chance to highlight your business and your expertise by just talking with other business owners. Many small business owners are passionate about shopping and support other passionate and savvy business owners. A trade show is like a cocktail party, minus the cocktails. Talk about yourself and your business, it is the perfect venue to toot your own horn and listen to what the other businesses are there to provide.

Internet Marketing
With the new generation of consumers, radio and magazine ads are not enough. Targeted online advertising can help find a whole new generation of consumer. Cross marketing is the name of the modern ad game. Try being creative with your ad dollars - consider posting ads for gift basket on wedding sites, real estate or baby sites, create fun and informative videos and post them on YouTube, submit your website to online directories, write a press release or post ads on Facebook or MySpace. Effective internet marketing can truly help reach a larger audience and increase your customer base.

Social Media vs Generation Gap

Recently, I was at a local referral club and met a sales person who said to me, "What is this Social Networking you keep talking about?". He wanted to know if it could do anything for his business. He told me most of his leads came from referrals. He has a network of over 2,000 people that he carefully maintains with phone calls, emails, lunches, sales calls and sharing his connections to help the network thrive. He's spent 20 years nurturing his relationships and they've paid off quite well. He said that he knew everything about his customers from when their kids are graduating to what kind of scotch they liked - I liked him right away :)

So I started explaining to him the different types of social networking and how it's not much unlike what he is doing now. After only 5 minutes into the conversation, he understood the power it had and how it could help him generate sales. He told me that he felt intimidated by the internet and didn't really understand how it could help him. But after realizing that it's exactly what he's been doing for the past 20 years, just in a different way, he felt comfortable that he could do it.

I explained how he can be even faster to respond to events and news, cross reference his connections and make sure to introduce people to others they need to know to make their lives easier and better. Also that he could listen to what's going on in the market and be the first to share it with his connections and to share the solution to a problem before they even know they have it.

I helped him create a Twitter account and am in the process of creating a Facebook page for his business. It made me happy to be able to convert a newbie to our side :)

Twitter Applications you may not know about

You know how you find that incredible Twitter app, use it a couple of times and then can’t remember where it was? Me too.

So I pulled this quick list together as much as a bookmark list for my own use as to share some apps you might not have seen yet.

If I am missing an application that you use and love - make sure to add it in the comments section.

MyTweet16: When you want to step back into Twistory. View the first 16 tweets of any Twitter user.

TweetScan: Search messages and profiles on Twitter and set up email alerts so you don’t miss a thing. Download an archive of your Tweets as a CSV for posterity.

Twellow: A directory of people on Twitter sorted by business categories.

Tweetag: Monitor Twitter from your iGoogle or Netvibes page in a tagcloud of your favorite keywords.

Twitangle: Rate and tag your friends so you can filter by rating or tags to find thoseessential Twits.

Twalala: Lets you filter streams related to particular keywords or usernames permanently or just until the shouting stops.

Twitterless: Takes Qwitter one step further and tells you when people stop following you and graphs your follower history.

Twitree: Displays your followers in a tree structure, complete with their latest tweets.

Doesfollow: Enter two user names and find out if they are following each other.

FriendorFollow: Helps you see who’s following you but you aren’t following back and vice versa.

Tweetworks: Allows you to create groups and view threaded discussions.

Tweetparty: Create groups and send direct messages straight to your team simultaneously.

Tweetstats: Graph usage and trends for your own posts or friends.

Tweetcube: Share files up to 10mb via Twitter.

TwitterFeed: Feed your most recent blog posts title directly to Twitter with a link to the post.

MrTweet: Helps identify those followers you need to follow but haven’t yet and view the influencers in your network.

Twits Like Me: Finds people with like interests on Twitter based on your updates.

TwitterFriends: Quickly view your network by who’s active, who’s not and basic stats on activity.

LoudTwitter: Posts your Tweets to your blog.

Tweetlater: is a good way to tweet your blog posts when you can't do it personally

*posted by Janet Fouts - Social Media Coach

How to avoid Fraud & Chargebacks - Part II

Ok well, last month I ranted about the fact that I had a few charge backs in one week that got mighty expensive (Beware of Fraud - June 15, 2009). In the end, I did not get that money back. The credit card company sided with their customer and removed the funds from my account. Now I completely think that they did the right thing. Their customer should not have to pay for any purchases that are made with stolen credit cards. But shouldn't the responsibility be with the credit card company and not the merchant? It's not my fault that I could not catch the fact that it was a stolen card. I have all the security in place. No transactions are accepted unless they have all the information:

• Name on the card matched 100%
• Billing address matches 100%
• Expiration date matches
• the CVV number matches

And I cannot get my baskets back... so why is the responsibility on me? So I contacted the credit card companies to plead my case, and pretty much didn't get anywhere. I was transfered several times and no one would give me a straight answer.

This is 100% unacceptable to me. So I did some research and found a few things that I'm going to try and wanted to share. I haven't used them for very long so I can't comment on how "great" they are yet - I will make sure to do so after I have more information. In the meantime, I figured I would share with the class to see what you think.

The First thing I did was sign up for a membership at Merchant 911. It's Free and has some search tools to help you do research as well as a ask questions, share stories and more.

The next thing I did is buy fraud screening from PreCharge. It does the research for you from checking Real-Time IP Validation to network pattern recognition. It's only $0.10 a transaction. I'm going to try it for a few months to see if it helps prevent fraud. It has a money back guarantee so it's worth a shot.

Hopefully these tools will help with charge backs and I can live a stress free life.... yeah right! :)

Adding Facebook & Twitter Widgets

Today, Facebook added a new feature to Facebook pages: A Facebook Fan Box. This new feature will let you add a widget to any website or blog. (See mine on the right side bar).

To add this new feature:

• Go to your Facebook Page
• Click "edit page"
• Click the "add Fan box to your site" in the Promote your Page section on the right
  
• Copy the entire script
  
• Go to your blog or website and paste it where you would like to show it.

Advantage of having A Facebook Fan Box

The main advantage of having a Facebook fan box is that your visitors can become Fans immediately as long as they are already signed into Facebook. Before this it was a two step process where you had to take people to your Fan page and then convince them to click on the “become a fan” button

What I like about this is that readers can see immediately what content is being shared on your Fan page and who the other members are. This way people are more likely to come back to your blog, engage with your content and be able to quickly scan your fanpage stream without having to visit Facebook :)

Oh Yeah.... there's more...

You can do the same with Twitter (again, example on the right). To do this follow these steps:

• Go to the widget section on Twitter
• Click the image of the application you want to add the new widget to
• Click "Continue"
• Select the number of updates you want and a title
• Click the Icon to go to your application
• Follow the directions to add it to your blog or website
  

Do you offer live chat?

Some people wonder - "Why offer live chat? Why not just provide a phone number for customer's to call?"

I thought the same thing and then one day, I was shopping online from work and had a question. I could not call from my desk because we were having phone issues that day and of course, I forgot my cell phone at home :). They happened to have online chat which was perfect for what I needed. If they did not, chances are, I would have moved on and not bought anything from them. So I got to thinking, how many customers am I loosing because I don't offer online chat? What if a customer is at work and doesn't want their co-workers to know they are shopping? What if a customer is def or does not like to use the phone?

So I decided to do some research. There are several live chat software you can choose from. Some are free and others have either a monthly or yearly fee but they all offer FREE trials so you can figure out which one works best for you. These are the ones that were recommended to me while doing my research.

• ClickChatSold - Features - Prices
  
• PHPLive - Features - Prices
• LivePerson - Features
• ProvideSupport - Features - Prices
• Volusion - Features - Prices

I've been using live chat for a year now and have found it quite helpful. I love the fact that I can help several customers at once, whereas if I was on the phone, my customer would get voicemail and most likely hang up.

It's great for multi-taskers! :)

Send your Customers a special Thank You

So, most of you know that I was part of the local Chamber Expo last week. It was a HUGE success. I met some great people and was introduced to some amazing new businesses. One of which I wanted to talk about today.

In order to provide my customers with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, I send an email to each customer individually after the gift has been delivered. In this email, I let them know the time and date of delivery as well as offer them the chance to let me know if they were unsatisfied in anyway with the product, quality or service. I find this is a great way to rectify any issues my customers may have - as well as get some great testimonials :). I also add all my social networking links at the bottom of the email to let them know how to find us.

I always felt like I needed to do more to keep MyGiftBasketIdeas.com in their minds for their next gift basket needs but couldn't think of anything fun & unique.

Well.... during the Business Expo.... my prayers were answered...

Meet SendOutCards.com!

This is a remarkable service that will send personalized Thank You cards for you. They have hundreds of cards available, and depending on what package you buy, you can do everything from upload your logo, add images, even have the entire card in your very own hand writing!

I wanted to test out the service before blogging about it to make sure that it was as good as they promised. And it really is. I had a card sent to my house and it looked awesome. I am so happy that I found this service. I've already sent 10 cards this week!

If you would like to give it a try, you can contact rich@richcordle.com. He will walk you through the process and available packages.

Let me know what you think :)

What are HubPages?

If you own a website or a blog, Hubpages is something you have definitely heard about. Promoting your main website using hubs is essentially an effective method that many website owners use successfully. If you haven’t tried your hands at Hubpages, now might be the good time to get down and dirty.

What are Hubpages? Hubpages is a collection of articles or hubs, as they call them, and help you earn revenue as well. After registering and becoming a member you can write your own hub and promote them as you want. If you mention your main website in your hub or profile, you would want to promote your hub which will indirectly promote your website. Marketing your website using hubpages is a natural optimization of your website in search engines. Make sure not to spam your hubs or others. Spam is taken very seriously, and you may end up having your account banned.

How to use Hubpages? You can become a member of hubpages by registering and conforming your email. Once you become a member, you are all set to start hubbing. It would be convenient for other hubber to know more about you if you summarize the contents of your hub in your summary. It will give them the idea about what your niche is and why they should keep coming back to read your hubs. Hubpages can be browsed by hub ratings such as “What is Hot”,”What is New”,”What is best rated”. There is a topics tab that can b used to browse through popular categories and subcategories. If your hub appears in What’s Hot category, you will end up driving lots of traffic.

What can you find at hubpages? Hubpages has lot of traffic and people form varied interests and hobbies.

You can find discussions on Gift Baskets, How to Build a Gift Basket, etc

Why use Hubpages? Hubpages can be very motivating. It helps to:

• Promote your website - Hubpages are an excellent way to get relevant traffic to your website. You can place direct link to your website. It also helps your website in making it search engine optimized, because of hubpages’ own great web presence. You can promote your hubs using social bookmarking and media marketing websites like delicious, digg and stumbleupon. The best of all, you can track your daily visitors by plugging in your Google Analytics code.
• Make Money - Yup, that’s true. Hubpages lets you add your Adsense code. If any ads are clicked in your hub, you will paid commission for that click amount. You can also use affiliate accounts like eBayand Amazon. If you wish to use eBay and Amazon ID, you are required to have commission Junction account. You need to apply and activate for these accounts before you start using them.

You may or may not like Hubpages but you definitely would not want to ignore this social networking platform if you are planning on making money

10 Steps to Finding Your Target Market in Facebook

Everyone is talking about social networking, and many claim social networking to be the panacea for all of your marketing ills. Marketing on social networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter can help you boost the size of your email list and help you grow your business. The key to success with this strategy is making sure that members of your target market are in your network.

Facebook is very strict and very particular about how its participants contact each other. Facebook limits the number of new invitations that can be sent in a given day or week. The exact number is a Facebook secret and unknown to the public, but if you exceed this secret amount you can get booted from Facebook. However, I think if you stick with no more than 10 per day, you will probably stay within their limits. Secondly, you are permitted only 5000 friends in Facebook, so if you're successful in this strategy, you may ultimately need to create a waiting list of friends

How do you find your target market in Facebook? Whether you're an experienced social networker or just a newbie, here are 10 secrets to growing your target market network in Facebook:

1. Update-to-date profile and/or Fan page: Before you begin a "friending" (i.e. request to become another's friend), be sure that your profile is up-to-date with an accurate description of what you do, your interests, and your contact info, including your web site URLs. If you have multiple businesses, invite people in your appropriate target market to become fans of your niche-specific fan page.

2. Follow the gurus. Follow leaders in your field/industry and "friend" them. Anytime you make a friend request, include a personal note, as that will improve the likelihood that they will accept your request. Say something like, "I'm a big fan and have been on your ezine/blog list for several years. I'd love to have you in my network in Facebook." Once they have accepted your invitation, make comments about their status updates to help you get on their radar and in front of their networks.

3. Friends of friends. Take a look at the people in the network of your industry leaders, as they are probably part of your target market as well, and send friend requests to those of interest to you. When you friend someone that you only know by association, send a personal note as well, like "I discovered your profile in 's network and would like to get to know you better by adding you to my network."

4. Use groups. Look for groups that may contain your target market. In your search for groups, use keywords that describe your niche, your industry, your geographic area, the interests of your target market, or whatever other terms you might use to find members of your target market. Join and begin to participate in the group so that they begin to get to know you. Then peruse the member lists for good prospects, sic as the members you've connected with or have gotten to know. Since you won't be able to view the profiles of the group members because they aren't in your network, much of your decision-making about whom to friend may be based upon appearance or how you might be connected to them via other friends in your network.

5. Check your lists. Friend people that you already know from your high school, college, alumni associations, and places of employment if they fall within your target market definition.

6. Facebook-recommended friends. Facebook typically recommends friends based on your current friends list when you log into your profile. I've found these recommendations to be pretty solid. Take them up on their recommendation and add those folks to your network.

7. Add by interest or industry. Do a people search by job title, industry, geographic location, or interest. Those people with those terms in their profile will show up in your search, and you can request to add them based on common interests.

8. Build the relationship. Once you friend someone, you need to begin to get to know them and start them on the like, know and trust journey so that you become their top-of-mind expert in a particular area. Begin building the relationship by posting a quick "thank you" note on their wall, as well as a comment about something on their profile that interests you or in which you have in common. Watch for their status updates, as well, and comment on these when appropriate

9. Create a group. Once you've got about 500 followers, create a group for your target market. Provide the group with useful content and and ask questions to stimulate discussion and get the members to return to participate in the group. You can post articles, links to blog posts, or videos you have created. Invite group members to any free virtual or face-to-face events you're hosting.

10. Integrate into your plan. No marketing strategy works unless you consistently implement it over time. As a newbie to Facebook, you might want to spend as much as 60 minutes per day researching friends and participating in groups. As your network grows, you many spend only 15 minutes 3 times per week on Facebook. The key to success is to put this strategy on your calendar and make it a routine part of your ongoing Internet marketing tasks.

While social networking is an inexpensive marketing tool and can be effective in helping you grow your business, maintain your other marketing strategies, as well, and simply add this strategy to your marketing mix. A well-rounded Internet marketing plan that includes social networking and is implemented consistently will mean that your prospect well won't ever run dry.

posted by Donna Gunter from OnlineBizU.com

Top 10 Social Networking Tools

There are so many different tools & software out there when it comes to social networking. I figured I would give you a list of the top 10 – in no particular order :)

	Status Updates	Upload Photos	Upload Video	Add links	Add/Have Friends	Join Groups	RSS Feeds	Submit Articles	Mobile Updates	Send Email
Facebook	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
MySpace	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X
Twitter	X	X	X	X	X	X			X	X
YouTube			X		X	X
LinkedIn	X				X	X	X			X
Del.icio.us				X				X
Digg		X	X					X
StumbleUpon		X	X					X
Squidoo		X	X	X		X	X	X
HubPage		X	X	X	X	X	X	X

Facebook: Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. Example

MySpace: is a popular social networking site that offers MP3s, videos, blogs, photos, and profiles. In addition to this, the website also has an email system.

Twitter: is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Example

YouTube: People post videos on YouTube and watch and comment on the videos others have posted. The videos can be anything from a simple rant into a cell phone camera by a frustrated teenager to a favorite sports clip Tivo'd off of ESPN - and everything in between. Example

LinkedIn: is the world's largest professional network with over 40 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals. Example

Del.icio.us: Keep links to your favorite articles, blogs, music, reviews, recipes, and more, and access them from any computer on the web. Share favorites with friends, family, coworkers, and the del.icio.us community. Example

Digg: is a social news website made for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the Internet, by submitting links and stories, and voting and commenting on submitted links and stories. Example

StumbleUpon: connects you to everything new and cool on the Web. The Web site allows you to skip around the Web, stumbling upon random, cool and interesting Web pages that have been submitted to the StumbleUpon community. Example

Squidoo: is a hand-built collection of half a million pages built by people just like you. Squidoo is about finding people when you care what they know instead of who they know.

HubPages: is a collection of articles or hubs, as they call them, and help you earn revenue as well. After registering and becoming a member you can write your own hub and promote them as you want. If you mention your main website in your hub or profile, you would want to promote your hub which will indirectly promote your website. Example

Another tool for Twitter...

Twellow has made it easier to find Twitter users you are interested in following. That is what Twellow has been about from the beginning, and this simply highlights the fact that the Twellow team is always looking for ways to improve the service.

There is a new feature on search results pages that shows any categories that might match your search terms. This is designed to make it easier to find profiles you are interested in, as well as let you see if there is a category that matches your interests without needing to scan the entire list of categories on the "All Categories" page. This will make Twellow easier to use and understand for a lot of people.

Twellow now has over a thousand different categories available for browsing and searching. What this means for Twitterers is that they have a great resource for finding Twitterers related to topics they are interested in. This makes Twitter more useful in my opinion, when you look at it from the "microblogging" perspective - meaning you're reading tweets for information as you would blogs.

The Twellow team is always adding new categories. A good way to keep up with what has been added is to follow Twellow on Twitter, where the new categories are regularly mentioned. If there is a category you would like to see in Twellow, but it not there, you can simply contact the team, and there is a good chance they will add it. Twellow makes Twitter more useful, I made sure to register and so should you :)

This info was originally posted by Chris Crum (WebProNews)

Tweet Tweet

So what is Twitter anyway? In a nut shell, it is place where you can update your status and let everyone know what you are up to, share links & funny antidotes and anything you can think of in 140 characters or less :)

It's actually rather limiting and not as interactive as Facebook. You can send someone a message or add a mobile image (with a 3rd party application) but that's pretty much it. So why use it?

.......Because it's another great way to get your name out there.

So.... how can I utilize Twitter for my business? Well it's funny you should ask because I was just about to tell you :) This is how I set up my Twitter and how I've been using it.

Do you have a Twitter Account?
If not, just go to http://www.twitter.com and create one. Follow the steps and add your business information. Make sure to add some personality to it :)

Setting up your Profile
You can change the background by going to "Settings/Design" on the top right hand corner of your screen. Here, you can select one of their default backgrounds or upload an image. Of course, that wasn't good enough for me, so I solicited the help of PimpMyTwitter.net. For $73, they will create a background masterpiece. Ask for Barbara, she is the lead developer and owner - and she ROCKS!

Checkout her work:

• GiftBasketGuru
• OhMyDogSupplies
• SEMGroup
• HornDog
• IslandChick

How to get Followers
In order for people to see what you are posting, you need to build a following. These are the steps I took to get my posse :)

a) Click the "Find People" link on the top right hand corner. Search for keywords that pertain to your business - like gift baskets, for example. Click the profile that has the most followers. If you click their "followers" button, you have instant access to all their tweeters and you can start following them. 9 times our of 10, if you follow someone, they will follow you back.

This can be a long process when doing it manually. There are desktop applications that you can get to help you manager your followers:

• Hummingbird
• TweetDeck
• Twhirl
• PeopleBrowser

b) Create an account on TopFollowed.com. It grows your Twitter network slowly through reciprocal following. Everyone who signs up for TopFollowed automatically follows (and is followed by) other TopFollowed members.

c) Add your top keywords to the WeFollow.com directory.

Have FUN!
Now what? You have a profile, you have followers - what do you do now? Just have fun with it! I personally ignore tweeters that just post ads and/or sales pitches. Its boring and doesn't really make me want to follow them. You need to develop relationships with your followers, keep them interested and wanting more. Yes, I post sales pitches like everyone else but I also post great articles I find, videos, or I repost (RT) other tweets that I find interesting. I also make a point to start a conversation with 10 random people every day.

The important thing to remember is to be a LIVE person and not just a commercial :)

How to get people to become a fan of your new Facebook Page

Now you have a Facebook Page, you need to get people to become a fan of your page to generate sales. There are several ways you can do this.

1. Invite all your Facebook friends to become a fan.
Login to your Facebook page and click the "Suggest to Friends" link. A list of your friends will pop-up. You can either manually select friends or select all and send the invite.

2. Add your Facebook link to your newsletter
Do you send newsletters to subscribers? Add your Facebook Page link with an incentive to becoming a fan. Maybe promote a 15% discount code to all new Facebook fans.

3. Add your Facebook link to all your outgoing business email
I personally monitor all my customer's tracking information and send a follow up email once it's been delivered - asking if they had any issues with the delivery or quality of the product. At the end of the email, I have a link to my Facebook, Twitter & blog. This way, customer know that I am on Facebook and are inclined to check me out.

Word of advise: The one thing that you cannot do is send spam invites on Facebook. If you start randomly sending invites to people who are not on your friend's list - your account will be canceled.

So be creative and promote your new Facebook page in any way you can think of! You'll be glad you did :)

Pimp My Facebook Page Please

So, you've created your Facebook page but don't know how to make it look even better! There are many different applications you can use. To edit your Facebook Page, follow these steps:

* Log into your page and click the "edit page" link under your profile picture.
* Click the pencil for the application you want to edit
* Select "edit"
* Make any changes you need
* Save your changes

To add new applications like RSS feeds, new boxes, video, etc, click the "edit page" link again and go all the way to the bottom of the page to the section called "More Applications". Click the pencil and then choose "Browse More". You can browse applications by page, category or do a search. Once you find the one you want, click it and then click the "add to my page" link. If it does not have that link (it may just say add to my profile) it means that it is not yet available for Pages.

A great application to use is the FBML (do a search and you will find it) This is what I used to create the MGBI Team box, and all the extra information in my Boxes tab. This application lets you use basic HTML. What's great about it is you can use the same application over and over again. Every time you want to create a new box, follow these steps:

* Go to the edit page
* Click the pencil next to the FBML box and choose "edit"
* At the bottom, click the "Add FBML box" link
* Click "edit" next to the new link

and you have a brand new box to add information. You can do this as many times as you need to.

Every time you add an application, it automatically gets added to your Boxes tab. If you want to move things around, you can drag and drop it from side to side or up and down. If you want to move a box to your wall, click the pencil next to it and select "Move to Wall Tab"

And that's it! Now you are ready to Pimp your Page! :)

Check out mine for an example of what you can do...
MyGiftBasketIdeas.com - Facebook Page

Beware of Fraud!

I just wanted to share (and maybe vent a little) about a growing trend with online stores. I have had three charge backs in the last three weeks. This is when the card holder is saying that they did not make the purchase and filed a claim with their credit card companies. I use PayPal as my merchant service provider and their policy is to hold these funds until the issue has been resolved - which can take 75 days! So, I was out almost $1000 in charges.

PayPal sent me an email each time asking for specific information to help with the dispute - which I sent. Each purchase was different dates, a different credit card, different gifts and shipping addresses. I just received an email that one has cleared (after two weeks), two are still pending.

After reviewing these orders, I found a pattern and wanted to share to try and help others in avoiding these charge backs. This is what I found:

• The phone number provided was a fax number or not valid
  
• The order usually involves more than one gift (one had 5)
• The gifts are always my most expensive ones
• They always use Next Day Air or Saturday Delivery (one had $250 just for shipping)
• The Gift Card message is simple like : Thank You, Happy Easter, etc... no names
• One shipping address was a UPS store, the other two were actual addresses

This is what I do to avoid any more issues....

Security!
I already have this set up on my site and noticed that it has prevented some thieves from using my store:

• The EXACT name of the card (including initials)
• The ENTIRE billing address needs to match
• The CVV security is enabled (this is the 3 digit code in back of Visa, MC, or Discover and the 4 digit code for AMEX)
• Phone Number is required
  
• Email is required
  

Some customers will not like providing phone number or email addresses. I add a little note during checkout to insure that their information will not be shared. I state that the phone number is required by UPS (which is true) and the email is so that we can send their tracking information (which is also true)

Now, for a little extra security - with all this information I have, if the order seems "shady", I can do a little investigating to make sure. I use anywho.com to check the number. If I can't find it, I call the number - if they answer, I make an excuse as to why I called. I also verify that the address is not a UPS store. I also look up the address in google maps and use the satelite view - this helps to see the exact location. If either of these are bad - I email the customer and ask for either a valid phone number, or a new address because we cannot ship to UPS stores. If they are thieves, they will not answer my email and I just cancel the order and credit the card.

I assume that the reason they choose the fastest delivery service is to get it to the destination as soon as possible before the credit card owner sees the transaction on their card. I get the UPS store, but I'm not sure how they are getting away with sending it to valid addresses. I saw a report on dateline once where scammers find unsuspecting people on dating websites and ask if they can have stuff shipped to their home.

In any case, these last few weeks have been an eye opener. The higher my Gift Basket Delivery site is ranked in all search engines (which is great) the more fraudulent purchases I'm going to get (which is bad).

Hopefully this vent-a-blog will help you to avoid having to deal with charge backs :)

Why you should be using Facebook!

Question: Do you want to start networking your business on Facebook but don't know where to start?

The first thing you need to know is you don't have to use your personal Facebook account to do it. I was hesitant to use Facebook as a marketing tool at first because I didn't want my customers to see all my personal information and status updates - I wanted to seem professional. So I did some research and found that I could create a "Page" that is completely separate.

So how do you create a Facebook Page you ask? When you log into your profile, scroll down to the bottom of the left hand column. There should be a link that says "Create a Page for my Business". Click that link and follow the instructions. If you don't see the link on your profile, you can also go here: Facebook Pages

Once you create your business page you can:

* Upload Videos
* Upload Images
* Create events (i.e. 15% off July 4th weekend)
* Create a discussion
* Add links
* And so much more!

Check out My Facebook Page to see what I did with mine. Also, become a fan and get access to great discounts - hint: We give away a free gift basket every month :)

Have More Questions? Just send me a note and I will be happy to help in any way I can :)

Welcome Friends!

Well hello there! :)

First I want to introduce myself. My name is Lisa Bevan and I've been in the gift basket industry for almost 3 years. I know that is not a long time compared to most. But I feel as though I have learned alot in these short years.

I was born in MA but my family moved to Canada when I was 5. I moved around a bit in Canada and after college, decided to move back to the US to start a new life. I ended up in Columbus OH, it's been almost 11 years now. My specialty is IT Consulting. Mostly building online applications and websites. Sound boring doesn't it? Well it IS! That's why I needed to find something new and exciting to do so I started my own online business. My company is called MyGiftBasketIdeas.com

Why gift baskets you ask? It all started Christmas of 2006. I needed to send gifts to my clients but was having a very difficult time finding what I was looking for online. This gave me an idea - if I'm having a hard time, how many other people are having issues finding exactly what they are looking for! So, 2 months later, MyGiftBasketIdeas.com was born! :)

When I was starting out, I was pretty much on my own. I had the knowledge I needed to start an online business (i.e. website design, SEO, adwords, etc) but I was green when it came to gift baskets. I would have loved to have had access to some kind of support system with experts that could answer my questions and help me find suppliers and things that I needed. Instead, I had to learn through trial and error. That's why when I heard about the Gift Basket Association, I was thrilled! I joined the same day and have already met some great people in the industry.

The owner of GBA, Debbie Pietro-Quintana contacted me and asked if I wanted to contribute to the GBA family by sharing my trails and tribulations of social networking. So here I am! :) I know this is a new concept to most of you, but trust me - Social Networking Works!

So that's it! I will be blogging several times a week on social networking and anything else you would like to know about selling Gift Baskets online. I hope you enjoy my rants... and PLEASE - if you have any questions.... big or small.... don't be afraid to ask... that's what I'm here for!