Don’t worry, peeps. I got your back this time.

In this piece, I’ll talk about how you can get started getting some of the action from social media. They’re all pretty easy once you get started. Check it out:

Step 1 – Know Your Folks

Who are the people you want to work with? What are their needs and wants? Identify the answers to these questions and you’ll know how your audience thinks and feels.

As soon as you’re able to identify with your audience, make sure your PROVIDE what they need and want. How, you ask? Blog posts, trivial messages and statuses on your social media places. This will pretty much serve the impression that you’re out there to help them, thus, you gain their trust – something important if you want to leverage social media for your business.

Step 2 – How Does Social Fit?

So you figured out what the audience wants and needs from you – now what? Well, find out how your social media presence can address those needs and wants. Informative posts and links to blog posts aren’t enough sometimes so you have to step it up a notch by adding in a little engagement and customer service.

From a business perspective, you ought to be thinking leads and eventual sales. That’s good. But never forget that you’re also building a brand here – you’ll need to engage and build relationships in the long run if you want ambassadors for your business.

When finding out how social fits, always remember to put your audience on top of your priority list – in social media (and perhaps in other aspects of business as well), your relationship with your audience will determine your success.

Step 3 – Be Everywhere

In this case, not literally – just be where your audience is at and you’ll be fine. Also, always remember that after registering in a social networking site, build an audience from there. I mean, that’s the whole point of being everywhere: Having the capacity to serve up some helpful content everywhere.

A lot of Internet marketers have made the mistake of just claiming their spot in different social networks, but not really making it a point to serve up content from there.

Big waste of time, if you ask me.

Step 4 – Familiarize Yourself With the Scenery

Get informed and know what’s trending in the social media scene! Think of it this way: You’re a soldier who needs to get upgrades for his weapon aka social media. If you don’t get those upgrades, you’d run out of ammo when you need it most – or worse, you don’t get to serve your audience the value they need, rendering your business DEAD.

Step 5 – Put up a Content Calendar

This one’s relatively easy – trust me when I say this, but all you’ll need is a computer, a spreadsheet application and a keyword tool. Oh, and you’ll need an Internet connection as well.

Here’s the thing, a content calendar is simply a schedule of posts for your social media places and blog posts. So, put in a little bit of what you know about your audience and find out their most distressing questions and pains.

Now, if that ain’t enough, use your keyword tool to search for relevant phrases that your target audience can identify with. Next, do a Google search with the same keywords and questions and get the top 20 blogs that address these needs or answer the questions.

From there, subscribe to each blog’s RSS feed, put each in your email client and upload the links in your spreadsheet. From there, you can literally associate chat ups with the links and continue providing value by actively engaging with your audience through that post.

Sounds simple enough, right?

Sure. I’ll make a video with detailed examples. J

Step 6 – Engage, engage, engage!

Keep talking. That’s right. You wouldn’t want to bore your audience with your content. Get to know what’s in their mind too!

Get them to talk about themselves and what they think about the several sub sets of your niche. Remember, these are the folks you want to hear feedback from – the folks you want to serve stuff they’d actually pay for.

So quit talking about yourself and let your audience do the talking.

That’s about it for this bunch of social media shiznit you might want to take note of. Do it yourself!

Start a little mindmap about how social should fit your needs and your audience’s and get that content calendar up and running. No better time to start than now, folks.

Photo by HowtoWriteaJournal 

That’s right, peeps. Attention is the first step to being a known authority in your niche (well, after getting your audience’s permission to market to them). In any case, if you want your audience to keep paying attention to you and what you have to offer, you need to be unique.

Unique in such a sense that you’re actually giving them something they need and want. In this little post, I’ll talk about the 6 laws of social media magnetism and how you can leverage them to work for your business’ bottom line – to capture your audience’s attention and keep them there.

Check these guns out:

Thou must knoweth what is upeth

First off, as a social media guy or girl or community manager, you should always know what’s up. By that, be updated with what’s happening in your niche. More than that, know what your audience wants and craves for. Be relevant.

Always keep in mind too, that being relevant doesn’t only mean knowing what’s up with your audience. It also entails being able to address what they need. Think of posts or statuses that concerns or needs their opinion. When they respond, think of these responses as data you can use to come up with something useful for your audience and, in the long run, for your business.

Thou must keepeth thy audience entertained and give back-eth

So you’ve got your audience’s attention (you have the minimum amount). Return the favour by giving them all you can. It’s really a matter of coming up with the most entertaining and helpful ideas and sharing.

Give them VALUE for simply just being there. In this day and age where everything goes so fast, a few minutes of your audience’s attention means a lot. So don’t let this fleet away and make sure you keep giving them what they want.

Thou must always asketh for permissions

When you’re working in the Internet business, the best people you’ll work with are literally those you want to work with. The painful part of this is actually looking for these people. Even more painful, they might not want to work with you. Often because you didn’t get their permission to market to them.

Here’s a little example: Do you know why people change the channel or flee whenever someone’s trying to sell them something through an ad? It’s because they’re freaking annoying. As mentioned earlier, getting their attention is important – but this comes with a follow up. Get their expressed permission as well. Ask them to Like or Follow you. Get them to sign up for your email list. This is done through awesome content and the expression of your intention to get their permission. PERIOD.

Once you’ve done that, you may freely send in content that makes sense to them in given intervals. From there, you’re guaranteed they’re interested and that you have a reasonable amount of their attention.

Thou must be-eth the man/woman

To be the man, you gotta play the part. You need to know the ropes. You literally need to give them the advice they need whenever they ask for it. But that doesn’t mean you should know everything (though I have to admit, that’s a plus). It just means that you need to address their needs and concerns whenever possible. This builds up your influence towards them.

With enough influence, you can get more people’s attention and at the same time, it’s easier to sell. From an audience point of view, they’ll think you to be someone who can be trusted and whose recommendations should always be taken.

Thou must never miss thy mark

Consistency in Internet business means doing something good for your audience without error or missing anything of value. This means your blog posts, the quality of the value you’re shelling out, the posts you do on your social media places must always improve if not remain the same at all times.

It’s tough, but you know, this is a business. You’ll always find room for improvement. And believe me when I say this, the audience can be tough to please sometimes – even those that you already have a relationship with.

So do your best to improve or be consistent. You’re audience deserves it and so do you. A little piece of consistent excellence never really hurt anyone unless they allow it.

Thou must be everywhere-eth

Now, let me explain, when I say “be everywhere” that doesn’t mean “get that list from claim.io and register on all accounts” (though I have to say, I do that for some of my clients LOL). I meant be where your target audience is.

In any case, reserve Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn in the equation. These are the 5 major social networks (I’d include Google Plus but based on results… meh) that you’d want to be in if you’re looking for maximum exposure.

In any case, do some research as to where your audience is at. Here’s an awesome example: If you’re a person who specializes in knitting or crocheting freemiums and products, go to Ravelry. It’s a place where all the knitters and crochet-enthusiasts are at.

Be everywhere and maximize your presence by providing the value that your audience deserves.

That’s about it, peeps. The 6 laws of social media magnetism – the bottom line? Provide as much value as you can and answer your audience’s questions and needs. That’ll get you the attention and permission you need for your Internet business to prosper.

Photo by Talariaenterprises

No. I’m not going to start a revolution. By the Creator, no one’s being subdued or oppressed. I do, however, think that small local businesses deserve to be on the same spotlight as big brands. Of course, it’s going to take perhaps years and lots of money for a small business to turn into a recognized brand IF we’re talking conventional standards.

If we’re going to look at it from a higher perspective, it’s only natural for big, recognized brands to overshadow small brands and, at the end of the day, take over most of the profit. That’s natural, I assume. But I feel that small businesses shouldn’t take this lying around – it’s time for them to make a stand.

In this day and age, with the rise of business blogs and websites, the Internet can literally be known as the great equalizer. It’s also gone a tad bit more social these days which means that it’s literally involves more friend-making, interactions and the like. The social web has literally toppled governments, helped causes and change lives.

So if this is the case, why can’t it do wonders for small businesses?

Two words, folks:

FEAR and IGNORANCE.

FEAR is when you’re afraid (duh?) so much so that you couldn’t take flight. You’re literally paralyzed because for some reason, if you do something, you’d be whipped or slapped by FAILURE. That’s natural.

But if you think about it, why should FEAR stop your small business from being the go-to place for whatever you’re providing or the authority everyone trusts on a certain subject? Are you literally going to lose this chance over something as petty as the unknown? Get over it.

If anything, there’s no better time to start just doing it today. You have all you need in the form of blogs and people all over the Internet who give out information to help (*clears throat* me).

Speaking of which, another major show stopper for wannabe Internet businessmen is IGNORANCE – You think there’s way too much technology for you to handle? Please. I’ve had my share of tech trauma in the past four years and I’ve never stopped learning.

That’s the best thing about digital technology these days: It’s okay to make mistakes.

Besides, as mentioned earlier, you have people like me who can help you out. Why, just a few minutes ago, I was thinking of writing a blog post about registering for a domain for your very own spot in the World Wide Web – lo and behold, here’s one post that offers just that.

See? If you’re thinking you don’t have the time to learn this stuff, then go ahead and hire a VA. There’s a solution to every problem you can think of in the World Wide Web and often times, we make our own problems.

If you’re going to think about it really deeply, they’re sort of the same because each one is a product of the other. In any case, if you’re a small business and you’re able to confront fear and ignorance straight up their ugly faces, then congratulations! You’re now ready to kick it in the Internet. If not, then pay attention to the trends – it’s time you take a stand, friend. You deserve it.

Who wants a movie made?

I was thinking I could make a really good movie ala Paranormal Activity style. Maybe something more realistic but all the while exciting. In any case, I hope you’ve got some awesome movie ideas to share with me.

Cheers!

For the record, I’m not letting go of a Paranormal Activity type flick.

Simple.

Being able to work wherever you want without having to compromise important business processes. PERIOD.

What’s your definition of freedom from the 9 to 5?

Unlike oil or natural gas that can take millions of years to produce, time can never be made and/or destroyed. It can only pass.

Why am I telling you this?

Look at it this way. We’re all literally running out of time – and boy does time run so fast. Wouldn’t we want to spend it with the people we love?

The problem with the corporate, 9 to 5 world is that it takes away our time from the family. While it may sound harsh to say this, the corporate world takes that away from us – at least, that’s what we like to think. Some people would go as far as saying that society’s institutions have raised us to work for what we want. Even in the Philippines, the Filipino educational system was made so that its students may reach requirements.

It’s true ONLY because we choose that truth.

You see, I believe that we should work for what we want – we only get what we give, so they say. But what’s not true is that we’re stuck with not being able to spend time with family or friends. We always ALWAYS have a choice.

The freedom to work wherever and whenever you want is the promise of Internet marketing.

I’d like you to take a look at the three pictures below.

That’s a hot, handsome young figure up there, don’t ya think? LOL

I am proud to have worked in the Internet marketing industry for a long time to have earned such a perk. It’s not a walk in the park though and to be honest, I couldn’t have had made it without my two mentors (If you’ve been following my blog long enough, you’ll know who they are) – they’ve  given me both pain and inspiration to keep moving forward. Based on results, I’m pulling through – and I still have the time to participate in seminars, go out for coffee with some peeps and eat some cake.

Your key take away from this little presentation?

You ALWAYS have a choice. It’s really a matter of thinking up of a creative solution –  to me, a creative solution lies in just moving forward with both the pitfalls and promise of Internet business.

What’s your creative solution?

Oh, and to focus on the SOLUTION too.

Nuff said.

May this song remind you of the greatness we, the children of God, deserve.

As a special bonus, I’ve added a picture of me thinking!

YES! That’s right, folks! I do that too!
Confession: Because sometimes most of the time, I just rush head long into something…

ENJOY!

I figured, if I want to know myself, I’d have to look at my strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, etc.

I’d then have to focus on my weaknesses first, then strengths.

Wait… What?

Why Focus on Strengths rather than your Weaknesses

In a corporate world ruled by people with money and expensive cars and suits, weaknesses are something that need to be eliminated. They are something that bosses will continue to dangle in your face and slap you with to remind you that they have leverage over you (sorry, there’s this mental image that I can’t seem to get rid of – will walk in a field of daisies later on). Just like the old adage goes: We are only as good as our weakest link.

Maybe that’s why the world is miserable to some. Like it was some sort of oversized sphere that seeks to suck the life out of you.

In any case, when you focus on your weakness, you tend to be really… frustrated. I mean, let’s admit it:

We HATE to get out of our comfort zone. It’s not something that we want to do. If anything, we dread doing something that’s not in our schedule or in our habit lists.

This realization lead me to an idea that just crazy enough to work.

Why not focus or capitalize on your strengths instead?

Let’s talk about the Internet business, in terms of selecting what niche you want to work with. If you want to hit it big in the online marketing industry, you’ve got to move fast and break things. LITERALLY. You have to constantly be aware of what’s going on in your market and the channels with which you market in. The Google Panda slap, Facebook’s Timeline change, Pinterest and a whole slew of other changes have made such an impact on websites that businesses are affected.

Now, if you’re focusing on your weakness with all these changes, it would be a real drag. You can’t get anything accomplished in excellence because while you’re learning what’s up with a niche that you’re weak in and how the audience reacts, you need to pay heed to what’s going on with the marketing channels.

But if you’re strong in one niche (in terms of knowledge and interest), then you’d have little to no problem when it comes to learning and sharing. You get to focus on what’s new and utilize these updates to your advantage.

That’s just an example, of course.

My purpose was to show you how you can make things work in all aspects of life – or at least, how I feel will really work out.

These are my strengths, listed from lowest to highest:

5. Inclusiveness

I accept others and show a high level of awareness towards people who are left out.

From someone who has, at the very least, made very little friends in high school (was part of a minority), yeah. I totally get why I want everyone in on whatever. It’s also a vision that I learned and now share from my LEAP journey – A world that works with no one left out is POSIBLE.

I mean, if we’ll think about it, we’re all fundamentally the same. Being in is the least we all deserve.

4. Activator

I am someone who’d do anything as long as I am given enough knowledge – I am often impatient.

Long story, short: Tell me how hard I’m going to hit the wall. Tell me whether I’d die or live. Let me know how fast I must go depending on what result you want me to create. But I WILL hit that wall! So tell me now… I’ve got a lot of work to do.

3. Positivity

I have an enthusiasm that infects other people. I am upbeat and I can get other people excited in what I’m about to do.

Perhaps of all my strengths, this is one I least agree with. But based on results, I guess if I’m myself, I’ll maximize my being a positive person. I also easily recognize other people’s achievements – when I affirm it, I need to have a really cool description about it.

I guess you can say that the Tavern of Heroes series is an example of how I want to affirm other people (true people).

2. Significance

I want to be important in the eyes of others – I’m independent and I always ALWAYS want to be recognized.

Okay people, it may seem like selfish but… oh what the heck, yeah. It’s selfish. But this is still a strength if you look at it the right way. I learned that I should focus too on making other people feel significant about themselves. I mean, I know how it feels to be in the spotlight – I’ve been under the banner of success many times. And for me to make this a strength of mine, I found that significance must be shared.

1. Competition

Yes, folks. I fight to win. I constantly compare myself to others. I love to measure my progress against the performance of others.

It can’t be helped. This explains why I always want to be in discussions and fights. But I’ve managed to humble this strength of mine and turn it into something that’s helpful primarily to me.

I have to compare myself against others with this in mind:

“If they can do it, so can I!”

Also, I have to keep in mind that my biggest competitor is not my brothers, my sisters, parents, co-workers, etc.

My biggest enemy is myself.

I have to constantly compare myself against what I was in the past. To be a better person, I need to learn from my mistakes in the past and apply what needs to be done for a better result.

What are your strengths?

I am speaking in this here event.

I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who believes in me. This may not be the highlight of my career yet. But it feels like I’m a step closer to my dreams and goals.

THIS IS IT.

Carlo Angelo Gonzales – Social Media Shiznit

I Go the Distance.

A good friend of mine wrote and sang it (dang! wish I had his voice!) .

It talks about how you can experience a greater, grander version of you. It only takes you to quit doubting what you can do and just let go! Here’s the lyrics and I hope you enjoy and share.

“I was lost in my reasons 
Doubted the power that I had inside 
I dwelled in my questions 
I never dreamed to ever know the answer was inside

CHORUS: 
So I raise my hands into the sky 
And surrender to the spirit inside 
From this day I’ll always sing of this love 
My Big, Big Love 
And I’ll trust in the power of love 
No chains can hold me 
No I won’t give up 
From this day I’ll always sing of this love 
My Big, Big Love.

 There’s something bigger 
Waiting for us to come along, the answer we’ll find 
There’s no time for questions 
When we surrender 
We’ll know how it is to fly.”

Check out their fan page, folks!