Amazingly enough, these seven habits fit perfectly within a social media campaign.

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1)      Be proactive. There are two types of clients who need help when it comes to social media: those with enlightenment who know the benefits and those in crisis. Obviously, it’s best to be the first rather than the latter. Knowing social media is the most affordable way to reach your audience and your potential audience is the right direction to head when being proactive.

2)      Begin with the end in mind. This is what we identify as purpose. What is your purpose for being on Facebook? Your purpose for Twitter? Blogging? Videos? Contests? Once you have your purpose, your end result becomes more of a reality.

Become a brand ambassador on Facebook.

3)      First things first. You need a solid foundation of a website before you move forward with social media. That’s so important, I’m saying it again: You need a solid foundation of a website before you move forward with social media. Having 6,000 visitors a day go to your website means NOTHING if you do not convert them into warm leads.

4)      Think Win/Win. This pertains to conversion forms on your website (you know, the boxes in which people leave their names and e-mail addresses for newsletters or e-Books.) In this win/win situation, think e-Book. Give them something of value (like an e-Book), for their something of value (like a name and e-mail address.)

5)      First to understand, then understood. It’s a basic business principle – understand their needs before you say you can help them. Forms are a great way to understand your website’s visitors and potential customers.

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6)      Synergize. This is certainly a way to handle your brand management. Let’s say you have an irate customer who decides to use a vehicle like Google or Yelp to “get justice” and rant about your business or service. They’ve gotten your (and the world’s) attention. Foster that critic to appease him or her and you’re on your way to developing a potential brand ambassador.

7)      Sharpen the Saw. If there’s one thing this economy has taught us, it has to have been not to keep all of your eggs in one basket. Much like Covey teaches us to develop physically, spiritually and more, we, too, must develop our business using a variety of tools (not just social media) to assure our success.

Jay Rodriguez is founder of JayRodChicago.com, a social media company based in Chicago. He can be reached at (312) 515-9459.

Become a brand ambassador on Facebook.

He pointed out that Bebo was bought in 2008 by AOL for $850 million and the business went downhill. Why? Bebo failed to innovate and now faces a shut down this year or a sale.

How fitting that this happen to a social networking site in the day and age of social media. The message is clear:

Re-invent or die.

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What better time to re-invent your company’s offerings than a time where inbound marketing is taking over. It’s a time where the cost to relay a message to consumers is at an all-time low when businesses opt to use Facebook, blogging, Twitter, YouTube, e-Books and more instead of a full-fledged outbound marketing campaign like newspaper ads, TV and radio.

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The time to re-examine and re-package your offerings is now and the vehicle choice, though complex in its parts, is simple: social media.

Jay Rodriguez is founder of JayRodChicago.com, a social media company based in Chicago. He can be reached at (312) 515-9459.

Become a brand ambassador on Facebook

Take that age-old saying and apply it to the modern day business world and you have come up with the best slogan in social media that really sums up how successful your business will be. As businesses venture to broil the perfect concoction of reaching the “right audience” and affordably engaging that “right audience” in a productive and profitable conversation, there’s one slogan that comes to mind that can be used in every presentation or consulting session done on social media:

Relationships matter.

Yes, LinkedIn’s slogan deserved its own line of text.

Now, not everyone participates in LinkedIn because it is not intended for everyone. Moreso, I would venture to say that a percentage of those who use LinkedIn may not even know that’s their slogan. Just because it’s not as widely used as Facebook and Twitter doesn’t mean its principles are not as widely important.

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“Relationships matter” is one of the simplest, yet most powerful statements for business and for life.

Essentially, what we’re trying to do in social media is develop these relationships with current and potential customers. We nurture the relationships to build trust and accelerate the business process.

We contact new Facebook fans to find out why they followed us, what they do and how we can help them. We follow new Twitter followers and engage them in conversation. We blog to show expertise and to start conversations. All of these lead to better relationships. Better relationships lead to increased trust. Increased trust lead to more sales. It all boils down to nurturing the relationships that matter.

Jason M. Rodriguez is an Internet Engagement Strategist and owner of JayRodChicago.com.

Jay Rodriguez (312) 515-9459

Let’s take this opportunity to show how a wise business person would use their marketing budget in the day and age of social media.

Traditional media channels have their own variations in the social media world. The differences are cost, accessibility, eternal benefit and the indispensability of content.

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First, let’s look at cost. In this blog’s model, what would have cost a business $31,600 annually through traditional means would cost them $9,005 to send the same message via social media.

Now look at accessibility. If I want news, I Google it, and no longer need a print newspaper. Television advertisement? Haven’t seen one since I got my DVR. Radio ad? I listen to my mp3 or a CD in the car. “Junk mail”? That’s precisely where I put it – with the junk.

How about eternal benefit for my buck and indispensability of content? Let’s look at social media. An effective campaign using a variety of tools will draw traffic to your site and increase the credibility of your site in the eyes of search engines. That reputation sticks with repetition, as well. Only social media is more affordable and comes without the pushy ad salesman!

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Newspapers are thrown out or (hopefully) recycled within three days of being read. Television and radio ads are forgotten without expensive repetition and junk mail, well, you know how I feel. With the Internet, your information stays online and sometimes rides the popularity wave to remain there for years to come!

So, there’s my pitch in less than 300 words on why social media and inbound marketing will eventually replace traditional outbound marketing efforts. Now let me get to the crux of this blog.

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Here is a comparison of a traditional marketing campaign versus a social media and inbound marketing campaign:

Print                                      Compared to                                     Blogs

$750 per month                                                                             $220 for two blogs per month

Junk Mail                                                                                         Social Networking

$300/month (or $850 quarter)                                                       $425 Social Networking & coupon page

Television ad                                                                                   YouTube

$1,000/month                                                                                  $450 to produce and publish a film per month

Radio ad                                                                                          Twaudio (Twitter audio)

$600/month                                                                                     $45 per month/promotion

$31,600                                                                                 $9,005

Jason M. Rodriguez is an Internet Engagement Specialist and Founder of JayRodChicago.com – a social media, marketing and public relations firm in Chicago. You can contact him for social media consulting or creation, implementation and maintenance of your social media campaign.

I scoured social media sites in an attempt to get personable accounts of the earthquake as opposed to manufactured mainstream media accounts. Here's a taste of what I found:

YouTube

Here's a video of an average person's account of the quake.

StumbleUpon

This stumbler gave me every location detail (and even a map) to locate the quake.

Mobile Phone

Because of this social-savvy digital citizen, I was able to see the potential for mayhem at Disneyland

Twitter

There are all kinds of Twitpics out there. Here's already one of the more famous ones that went viral.

Facebook

Believe it or not, there are already several "Easter Earthquake" fan pages on Facebook. Responsible digital citizens will keep those of us who are not going to watch the news about this issue informed.

Click on the bunny for a link to the Easter earthquake fan page.

Suggest more digital citizen awesomeness of the Easter Earthquake below.

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Engage. Great. You have 10,000 followers. How many have you engaged in a conversation? They’ve reached out to you to follow you on Twitter or Facebook, but how many have YOU reached out to?

Look for new faces. There always comes a time where you look at your followers or fans and say, “Hey, I don’t even know that man or woman!” That’s because they’ve ‘gotten’ social media before you have. Reach out to those people. Find out why they became fans or followers. What do they do? Is there a way to work together? You’ll never know unless you turn the ‘new face’ into a new friend or colleague.

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Learn how you could improve. Social media is phenomenal for feedback. Make sure you listen to what people are saying about you by monitoring your brand name and responding to inquiries. You’d be amazed at what you think is your weakness and your customers think are your strengths!

Jason Rodriguez is an Internet Engagement Strategist and owner of JayRodChicago.com. Contact him to begin your social media campaign or to speak at your next meeting.

Jay Rodriguez, Internet Engagement Strategist

Here are four ways to take and maintain control of your brand online.

1] Learn Google’s affiliate authority sites for your industry. This can be a tricky one. Not all industries have the luxury of having a partner industry site hooked up with Google.

Just what is a partner industry site?

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Think GreatSchools.org. Think ServiceMagic.com. These are sites that when someone writes a review on those websites, those reviews are posted on Google automatically. So, if someone has something to say about a school, they go to GreatSchools.org and the review is posted there AND on your Google listing. Don’t think you have a Google listing? Think again. Your listing CAN be created by these sites without you even knowing it! Click on “maps” on Google.com and search your business. You’ve found your Google site. Now, see if there are any referrers to your listing. You may see some reviews from others sites. Those are the ones you need to have on your radar.

2] Launch a Google review campaign. Get your customers to write reviews about your business or service on Google. After you click on “Write a review” at your Google Maps listing, take that URL and link to it in your e-letter, or post a sign in your business to get people to write reviews. This is taking a proactive approach to positive brand reputation.

Twitter is the place for great social media content!

3] Launch a LinkedIn review campaign. Follow the exact steps in Step 2, only replace the word Google with LinkedIn.

4] Know the review sites for your industry. If you are in restaurants, Zagat.com and Yelp.com are two sites you will want to register and send customers to review. Attorneys have their own list of review sites. Same can go for your industry. Check it out.

Don’t forget about emerging sites like foursquare.com, too.

You know your online marketing has been lackluster. Make it a blockbuster and contact us

These are only a few sites and suggestions. If you have more, leave them in the comments section below!

Jason M. Rodriguez is an Internet Engagement Strategist with JayRodChicago.com. He can be reached at (312) 515-9459

The same questions can be applied to social media tactics. It’s fundamental. Don’t just jump on the social media bandwagon because “others are doing it.”

Here are six things your business can accomplish with social media:

Become a brand ambassador on Facebook

1)Increased web traffic. Let’s say your goal is to get a higher organic rating on search engines. (An organic rating is a nonpaid listing on search engines, like when someone Googles your name. You really should appear first. Well, what if they Google your industry and location? Where are you at? [ie. florist in Darien, Ill.] That’s when organic listings come in play) If your target is increased web traffic, then link building and social bookmarking would be for you.

2)Increased sales. There are hundreds of ways you can lead prospects to sales. These highlighted words are called anchor text, which lead to my contact page, which leads to a potential sale. In the lower left hand side of the page is a “conversion form” for a free white paper, which requires an e-mail. Why is it called a conversion form? We convert your desire of free information for an e-mail address. We use your e-mail address (with care) to send out our newsletter. It’s all in the process of converting your appreciation of this free knowledge into a sale.

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3)Increased Awareness. Letting people know about a new promotion, a new sale or a new product, etc. hasn’t been this affordable since Word of Mouth. Using social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube can raise an awareness of your brand at a cost of $0 to post.

4)Increased feedback. Let your customers speak. Social media is not a megaphone, it’s a telephone. Encourage feedback through poll widgets, Twitter, Facebook walls and more. Use that feedback to improve your product offerings. Plus, you’ll often find “feedback” tabs along the side of many websites now. Those are widgets that can go on any site. Maybe it will work for yours.

5)Increased conversation. Decide what type of conversation you want to have about your industry. Pick one? Great. Now create a cool hashtag for Twitter (ie. #beefchicago for great beef sandwich restaurants around town). I’ll use JayRodChicago as an example. We’re launching a video series of recommended social media tools beginning March 9. Our hashtag is going to be #SSMvideos or SimpleSocialMedia videos (Our Facebook URL is Facebook.com/SimpleSocialMedia – hence, #SSM). We plan on starting a conversation among social media professionals from around the world who will suggest their favorite social media tools out there. Try it for your industry, or even try it with your customers!

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6)Increased recognition. So you need to toot your own horn once in a while. Try PitchEngine. Our clients have had great success with them. The cool thing about social media press release sites (like PitchEngine) is you can include your videos, social links AND the news you have all in one location. Very useful!

So those are the six things you can accomplish with social media. We’d like to hear from you if you think there are more. Use the comments section below!

Jason M. Rodriguez is an Internet Engagement Strategist and owner of JayRodChicago.com.

Bad idea.

Social media undoubtedly can help your business grow financially and with a larger customer base, but without being prepared by a business consultant or a social media professional, it can make your brand look horribly bad.

Here are four ugly business faces that can rise to the surface of your campaign if your social media efforts are put in the wrong hands:

1)No focus. If you have no reason for being on a particular social media channel (ie. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, etc.), then that shows. How many of you are fans of companies and not hear from them at all? Too many of you! We cringe when we ask “Why are you on Facebook?” and the answer is “Because everyone else is on there.” Without  a purpose, you simply have a presence – and that is inadequate!

2)No foundation. You have a pretty website. Meaning, it looks wonderful and you spent thousands of dollars to make sure it “looks” wonderful. But, how functional is it? Do you have a landing page? Calls to action? Are you prepared to take online reservations or purchases? Can people use credit cards or shopping carts your site? You get the picture. Much like all the prep work that is done before you unlock the doors of your storefront, a lot of prep work needs to be done before you launch your website and any social media campaign.

3)Unclear message. All of your efforts on various social media channels need to collaborate with each other to one clear message.

4)Unprepared for growth. Picture this: You want to be on Facebook because “everyone else is.” You hire your nephew and by some odd chance, something gets picked up (popular) and you go viral. Your phones are ringing off the hook and orders are coming in quicker than you can fulfill them. So now, the world or your town or region knows what you’ve known for years: you have the greatest product out there. Only problem: your service is terrible because you’re unprepared for growth. Your reviews on Google and Yelp start going downhill and you’re back to the place you started.

Jason M. Rodriguez is an Internet Engagement Strategist with JayRodChicago.com. He blogs every Monday at www.JayRodChicago.com/blog. Subscribe here. He can be reached here.

Employees are an incredible asset to any company at which they are hired, but did you know that Bob in receiving edits audio for his band? Or Lucy, the head of human resources, took improv classes at The Second City? Or Cheryl has spent hours studying how to best optimize a video on YouTube as her Plan B in case you lay her off? : ) You get the picture.

Our Facebook Fans have more fun.

We, as a society, have become digital assets to companies and, responsibly, can use our reach on social networking sites as ways to draw people to your business.

Here are 3 ways you can incorporate employees in your social media plan:

1)Every social media plan needs a marketing calendar. Ask for employees’ input with the next marketing calendar. Though some are reading this and saying, “We’ll be lucky to survive past May,” you still need a marketing calendar. The reason? You need to know where you’ve been to determine where you’re going. What were your busiest times of year? What did employees feel like when they were contributing to the team during that time? Most importantly, what were customers saying about that time? Can those actions be re-lived in the near future? When? With a marketing calendar, you will have an answer. Add employee input to that mix and you’ll have a stronger marketing campaign than you’ve ever had before.

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2)Use social media tools to gather input. The first ones that come to mind are TeamBox and Google Wave. These are internal, idea-sharing websites (kind of like an intranet) that are free. Have talented workers that come in third shift and are not able to meet at the usual 9 a.m. meeting? These two tools are great at allowing multiple employees a chance to work together without having to be in the same room.

3)Go YouTube viral. Have a brainstorming session in which you can build teamwork and gather ideas for a killer YouTube video. Have fun with it, deliver your message and challenge your competitors to respond. Who knows? You may create a fun back-and-forth competitive atmosphere among businesses in your community.

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You undoubtedly have other great ideas for how to incorporate employees in your social media plan. Let me know below!

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