Marketing Maestro

Social Media Marketing Resources

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:41:00 PST

Earlier this week Koz Khosravani wrote an in depth article on Social Media Marketing Strategies and Benefit. As a follow up to that post I thought I would share some tactical resources that can help small business owners and real estate investors get started in social media. Of course the real value is learning how to use these sites and services to optimize your marketing reach and effectiveness.

Stay tuned for a series of Free Social Media Labs that I will be conducting in the New Year.

Feel free to use this list as a starting point as you engage in social media marketing. This is just a starting point as you will soon see there are many social media sites that you can use to engage with customers and grow your business.

Buy Domains you will need a website
Host your sites (so you can build a site with the domain you bought)
Most hosting companies will give you a Wordpress blog that you can install on the site. Set one up so you can start blogging.
I use The Thesis Theme for WordPress on my personal sites (the look and navigation of the site) it is very flexible and comes with a ton of support. There is a small cost for this theme but worth the money.
Set up a profile on Active Rain - If you are starting a real estate businesses (this is a real estate focused social network)
Set up a profile on Facebook (if you don't have one)
Set up a Facebook Fan page for your business
Set up a profile on Linkedin
Set up a Twitter account. I suggest use your own name or that of your business (people will find this profile which is what you want)
Create a Squidoo page for your business - basically a one page website and great for being found in search.
Set up a YouTube account (use your business name) if you plan (and you should) on creating videos to market yourself/business
Set up a Google alert for your name and your company name (you will need a google account to do this). This will deliver an email to you when the term you set up is used online.

A friend of mine runs a small business website and SEO services company. He helps entrepreneurs get set up online. Feel free to check it out and tell him I sent you...

If you have other sites you think are "must haves" or specific questions about the links above leave me a comment.

Get Social With Donald Trump and Trump University

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:38:00 PDT

by Josef Katz

Trump University is going social!

Coming soon, we have a seriously unique opportunity featuring Mr. Trump himself!

Here's the catch. To get in on the announcement you must be subscribed to our Trump University Newsletter. The newsletter is free, so sign-up today.

So let's talk about Social Media. On the Internet, conversations don't happen all in one place. They are all over the place. That's why Trump University is reaching out too.

Here's some terrific ways for you to get social with other Trump University members and fans, goal driven people just like you.

Facebook
Last month we opened the Trump University Facebook Fan Page. Facebook is the largest community on the Internet where all sorts of people share ideas, talk about what their doing, and celebrate victories. If you're not on Facebook you should be. And, of course, you should join the Trump University Fan Page.

Twitter
Twitter is all the rage. People are calling it the biggest thing since Google. So what's Twitter? It's a amazing live 24/7 conversation. Users jump in and out and talk about anything under the sun. The magic of Twitter is that you can follow almost anyone and anyone can follow your messages, called tweets. When people with the same interests all follow each other they become a powerful community. To get started, visit Trump University on Twitter. Also, try TweetDeck (http://www.tweetdeck.com) to follow the entire conversation live on your computer desktop.

The Trump University Network
That's right, Trump University has its very own social network. Sign-up for a free Trump University account to join in the fun. While some parts of the Trump University Network require a premium membership, there's lots of great free access too. This is definitely worth checking out.

The Trump University Blog
Now you know I had to mention Mr. Trump's blog. Not only do you get to hear from Donald Trump himself. You also get to read posts from lots of highly respected wealth building, business and real estate experts. You can even join the conversation that takes place in the comments of every post.

Trump University Podcast
What's a podcast? It's like an Internet radio show. Listen to Trump University's collection of podcast. Episodes cover everything from wealth building to real estate to business planning and personal growth.

What are your favorite Internet communities? Why?

Related posts:
Facebook Fan Pages Work
Twitting Around

See You On The Red Carpet

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:51:00 PDT

by Josef Katz

No, No, No I am not attending the Academy Awards (I think those past right...?) but I am attending the John Caples International Awards this Thursday evening. This is a big event in the direct marketing community and this year I was invited to attend...(OK you can buy a ticket too but invitations are more fun.)

My friends at Alloy Marketing are the sponsors of the first annual Student Campaign of the Year. This evening should be full of excitement since none of the finalist campaigns, companies or individuals knows the winners in any category.

In addition to some great networking opportunities we will hopefully get to see a lot of great creativity and interesting marketing campaigns.

See you at the after party.

Co-Marketing with Celebrity Apprentice

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:19:00 PST

by Josef Katz

We have the opportunity to use the excitement around the Apprentice to create marketing programs that build on the publicity from the show. Our goal is to try and ride the wave to help grow the business. This season we are trying a few new activities and many of them are “audience participation”. Here is a run down of what we have started and what is up and coming:

Donald Trump discusses why he selected each celebrity and the charity they are playing to support. This started last week on the Trump Blog and will continue until all the celebrities have been profiled.
The Trump University Facebook fan page and group will contain updates and discussion boards on the show. This is your forum to share your views about the show. Go at it.
Trump University's Twitter account will be Twittering during the show. Feel free to participate and twitter your comments with #apprentice in your twitter message.
Season 4 winner Dr. Randal Pinkett will provide a lessons learned segment each week on the NBC site. Randal is on the Trump University Entrepreneurship faculty and author of The No-Money Down CEO.
And once again we are bringing back everyone’s favorite quiz - The Trump Apprentice Challenge. See if you have what it takes and how you compare to Donald Trump. Take the test and share the results with us here.

We hope you enjoy the show.

Using Facebook Fan Pages To Market Your Business

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:00:00 PST

by Josef Katz

We have heard all the hype about Facebook but one thing every business should take seriously is setting up a Facebook fan page for their business. It took me a while to realize this and I have since corrected my ways.

A very brief history - As a member of Facebook and a fan of a few pages it seemed like a fun way to keep tabs on various companies and causes. It didn't occur to me at the time to set up a business page for Trump University. I didn't see the ROI at the time. After reading more about fan pages, understanding their place in the social media world and search marketing it was time to set Trump U up with a fan page.

Why create a fan page? Here are a few reasons:

Google finds the pages (and in case that is not enough here are a few more reasons...)
There is hype around Facebook for a reason. Lots and lots of people use the platform so it can't hurt to be where all the action is taken place.
It is a great way to create a two way communication channel with your clients and potential clients.
A fan page is a fun way to show your corporate personality.

Fast forward to Jan 09. I took about 30 minutes and set up this page:

Trump University Fans on Facebook Take a look and become a fan. If you have any feedback or thoughts please share them with a comment. It is fascinating to watch the page grow with almost zero marketing. If you have a business it is a fun way to interact with your clients, prospects and of course fans. In case you missed the memo... social media works!

Why become our fan?
Fans will be the first to know about special events, offers, opportunities to work with us and inside info we decide to "leak" etc. So check us out Trump University Fans on Facebook.