We have been pumping out a steady stream of content here on this site for quite some time.

I realize that we have quite a number of subscribers reading articles and posts via the Amazon Kindle. Which got me thinking about how many readers may not know how to connect with us online.

So here is a rundown of how you can get connected with the solid social media content we are pumping out online. There are tons of ways to connect but I’m breaking it down to the most effective ways for your business.

Folk Media Insider eMail Newsletter [START HERE]

If you are serious about using the internet and social media to grow your business, then the best place to connect is through the Folk Media Insider. This newsletter comes out at least once per week and has practical action steps and special trainings offered. Get signed up now.

Facebook Page

Our Facebook page is the place where real online marketing problems get SOLVED. A community of like minded business owners, marketing professionals and social media managers. Be sure to “like” the page and interact with the community we are building there.

Twitter

Ahh…. Twitter. Misunderstood by some – used effectively by others. Whatever your take on this platform Folk Media plays here too. So follow Folk Media on Twitter and don’t be shy about sending us an @reply to introduce yourself.

YouTube

Video trainings, insight and just a whole set of visual goodies live on the Folk Media YouTube channel. You can subscribe to the Folk Media YouTube channel and get any new videos once they are posted.

LinkedIn

Follow Folk Media on Linkedin. It’s a platform different from the others since it’s more focused on business-to-business. This is the platform we like to connect our community together.

Amazon Kindle Blog Subscription

If you own a Kindle Folk Media consider subscribing to the Folk Media blog on your Kindle device. Each time we post great training or resources you’ll have them delivered directly to your Kindle device.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter.

*Photo by xcode

Today I want to start a new sort of relationship with you and the rest of the Folk Media Insider Tribe.

Success in social media comes down to actually DOING something with all the great stuff you’re learning.

To help this along each week, we’ll send out an email with a learning element and an action step or “homework” assignment.

Of course you have to be ON the list to get this weekly email.

Read the email – do the assignment – and then post your response on the Folk Media Facebook page for peer accountability and feedback.

It will speed up your learning process and you’ll meet and interact with other like minded people.

Here’s your first assignment.

This is an easy one. Under this post write down your business name, website, a little about what you do.

Leave a comment below this week’s assignment.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter.

*Photo by ~Temjin

Inbound marketing can make a big difference in your business and sales. It’s the difference between having to pick up the phone and make sales calls and having your prospects and customers CALL YOU.

The goal when marketing your business is not to get your business name “out there,” it’s to get your customer’s name “in here.” This is called inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing vs. outbound marketing

Traditional marketing is sometimes referred to as “interruption marketing.” You literally interrupt people with your message.

Imagine this scenario…

You’re at a cookout talking with some friends, flipping burgers and chatting away. A new neighbor comes up to you and starts pitching you on a spatula his business sells. He demonstrates how superior his product when grilling burgers. And it’s true.

But he just jumps right into the middle of the conversation and begins to INTERRUPT you with his message.

You’re peeved right? How dare he start in like that.

Now consider this scenario…

You’re tasked with grilling for your cookout. You head to the local grocery store looking for charcoal, matches and hamburgers. On your way down the charcoal isle you strike up a conversation with the exact same neighbor. He finds out that you are grilling today and recommends his spatula. You get excited at all the benefits and order one from his website later that night.

The first scenario is an example of interruption marketing. You already know this style very well. Every TV show, radio channel and freeway billboard uses this method of advertising. They literally interrupt to force feed you advertisements.

Inbound marketing turns traditional interruption advertising on it’s head

In the new economy, smart marketers and small business owners need to find better ways to reach people. Inbound marketing offers an excellent solution. Interruption marketing is like hunting, while inbound marketing is more like fishing.

“Fishing” with a wide content net

If we continue with the fishing metaphor, you need to find a “hook” to get your audience to bite. We saw the hook approach in the second scenario above. You were already buying related products for grilling and along came your neighbor with some INFORMATION that showed you a better way to cook burgers. You got excited and ordered the product that night.

But to push the metaphor even further, he was only using a hook. It was a on-to-one marketing process and would not scale well for your business. Instead we should really be fishing with a large net. We will snag more prospects this way.

What is the marketing equivalent of a large net?

Online content.

Inbound marketing relies on an Internet content net to draw in prospects and customers. Content is what makes the Internet tick. The major online sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google use content to fuel their sites.

We also see the need for content on portable devices. With the recent uptick in sales of the iPhone and iPad – there is a vacuum for mass amounts of quality video, audio, text and photos to share on these devices.

As a small business owner, you already have the tools to reach people who are already actively searching for content online. For the cost of a laptop you can begin creating a publishing operation for your small business that rivals your local newspaper.

How to use inbound marketing to get customers to call you

First, start publishing now. Become a consistent publishing source of value and information. There are thousands of opportunities for you to add value to your prospects via video, audio or text. Start using the tools available and start now.

Second, give away massive value. Look for ways to improve the lives of your prospects and customers. Use your publishing platform to INVEST in them. This is critical to attracting prospects to your business.

Finally, speak to people’s emotions. Don’t think, write or act logically. Instead focus on the emotions of your prospects. It’s important to stir up their emotional brain and get them excited about doing business with you.

Think about how powerful inbound marketing can be

What if you could turn your marketing on it’s head and get customers and prospects to call you? How would that impact your bottom line? Would you sleep better at night?

That’s exactly what you can do when you start using inbound marketing. You cast a wide content net and begin attracting customers without picking up the phone to make a sales call.

Today’s Action Step

Set up a blog for your business. You need a place to publish … a home base. Your blog is the first step to turning your business into a publishing force. I recommend you use WordPress as a platform. Stay tuned for more…

Now go take action.

This article is part of the Internet Marketing Basics series where we cover the fundamentals of internet marketing and social media.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

Online lead generation isn’t voodoo. To make money online you need a system to put your small business lead generation and marketing on autopilot.

With social media marketing and sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Foursquare it is easier than ever to create an online lead generation system.

“Who else wants a simple automated lead generating magnet that will attract customers for you 24 hours a day so you can lay down at night and let the system bring you targeted ready-to-buy customers while you sleep?”

Watch this video to learn how

Join Customers While You Sleep (click here)

Running a small business is tough. Having to worry about your cash flow, servicing customers and making sure you have enough business coming in is a constant struggle. I’d like to show you a simple system for making your small business lead generation and marketing automatic using internet marketing and social media.

The #1 Secret To Generating Leads And Money Online… Pretty websites don’t sell!!

Okay, okay – let me clarify. If you are a Hollywood starlet then yes pretty DOES sell. But I’m talking about your small business website.

Chances are, if you have a website, you paid a web design company to create a very good looking “pretty” website. The colors are amazing, the graphics flow and you might have even paid a little extra for flash and some advanced display features.

This is what we call a “brochure website.” It looks good, has all the right information BUT IT DOES NOT ATTRACT LEADS AND CONVERT THEM TO PROSPECTS.

The best thing you can do for your small business website is to create great content to attract visitors and then invite people to opt in to an email list for follow up.

To drive traffic to your website you can use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs. But how do you actually go about setting those things up?

We have a simple system that we’ve created that will give you one task each week for 52 weeks showing you the simple step-by-step actions you can do to turn your website into a lead attraction machine. You can join here…

Join Customers While You Sleep (click here)

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

*Photo By kamshots

I’m putting together a killer online marketing system that will turbo charge your lead generation and save you tons of time, stress, and money …

But I need your input so that it will meet the specific needs of YOUR business.

I want to know your biggest challenge, obstacle, or frustration with social media and internet marketing,  so that we can drastically shorten your learning curve and teach you the targeted things that will make the biggest impact on YOUR business.

I’m sure you are fully aware that your business MUST be online these days, but what is it in your business that causes you the most frustration or confusion?

Please answer this brief [takes less than 5 min] set of questions about
your business

Next week I’m launching a high value internet marketing and social media solution that will be a very simple resource to move your business onto the sales lead domination track.

It’s an online resource that you can hand off to your secretary, administrative assistant, intern or son/daughter college student who’s at home for the summer.

It’s not theory or training – it’s weekly action steps. And ANYONE can do them and get business results.

After speaking with a lot of small business owners and non-profits, here’s how the system will be set up. Each week one action step will be delivered via video accompanied by a simple fill in the blank style worksheet.

Each video is 10 minutes with one simple clear action step at the end. After just the first four weeks your business will have a head start to dominate your competition online. Plus we will have a live monthly Q&A call with all the users of the system.

Before we put the finishing touches on this system – I need to hear from you. I’ve got a simple set of questions that will take you less than 5 minutes to fill out.

It will be the chance for you to actually “design” the kind of system you’d like to see.

You can let us know the type of system you’d like to see here.

As a thank you for giving me your thoughts – I’d like to share my newest report “10 Mistakes You Are Making With Social Media That Will Destroy Your Credibility.”

After you fill out the questions you’ll be taken to a download page that has the download PDF on it.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

~Joel

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

*Photo by kevindooley

I’ve written before about the idea of creating massively valuable content for your website. It goes without saying that you need some specific tips on developing content. Here are five basics to content creation.

1) Keep it simple

Simplicity is bliss. Make your content simple to produce and simple to consume. We use Keynote and Screenflow on a Macbook Pro to produce simple training videos. Blogs are a great way to create and release simple content. We’ve used WooTheme blog designs and Thesis Themed blogs to make great looking websites on WordPress.

2) Make it actionable

Unless you are writing fiction or creating TV shows – your goal is to be more than just entertaining. You need to educate.  Beyond education is action. Get your audience to take ACTION. Without action from your readers/listeners/viewers you won’t have any impact on their lives.

Make your content actionable. Create “how-to” and helpful resources that can make a difference in the lives of your prospects.

3) Make it fun

Don’t forget to make your content fun. We love to learn and watch things that are fun. Think about unique ways to present your content. Is there a persona you can adopt that will entertain? For a great example of making content fun watch an episode of Mad Money with Jim Cramer on CNBC and you’ll get an idea of what I mean.

4) Keep it short

Online, two minutes of video is a long time. Five minutes is an eternity. Keep your content bite sized.

5) Make it valuable

Your content should be valued by your audience. Create valuable content and your readers and viewers will keep coming back for more. Plus they will share it with their friends.

Remember, content is the currency of the internet. Keep it simple, actionable, short, fun and valuable.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, and speaker who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

Stop looking at all the shiny tools and build something

I’m a huge proponent of a solid social media strategy before you jump in with both feet.

But…

It is better to start and adjust as you go than to continually wait until you have your perfect plan in place.

There are really two types of planning.

1. Knowing what you need to do and planning for it. (using solid data)
2. Not knowing what to do and TRYING to plan for it. (using hunches)

Sometimes you have to go off your hunches.

If you’ve been reading this blog and have joined us on our free training teleseminars you have 99% more social media training than most businesses. But you could read these articles for an entire year and there is no way you would know it all.

At some point you’ll have to start taking action for your small business and see what results you get.

Take what you have learned and sketch out a plan. Go from what you’ve learned here. You already know you need a blog, email list, Facebook page and Twitter profile. Set those up first.

Then begin to work on expanding the your presence onto more platforms.

Today’s Action step: Join other people in the same boat

I’d recommend that you get started – but also start networking with other people who are small business owners. We are pulling together a group of like-minded small business professionals over at the Folk Media Facebook Page. We’d love to have you join us and ask questions to your peers and our Folk Media coaches.

Join us on Facebook – let’s kickstart your business this month and begin to get you some marketing results and sales.

Now go take action.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, and speaker who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

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Photo By mysunshine

On June 11, 1962 Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin escaped from the most inescapable place in the United States… the federal prison on Alcatraz Island.

They entered the icy, shark infested waters of the San Francisco Bay around 10:00 pm using raincoats as a makeshift life raft. The tide coming in and out of the bay causes  dangerous currents to move around Alcatraz island.

The escaped men had three choices, either row against the current and fight their way to shore, do nothing letting the current carry them out to sea or USE THE CURRENT to get them where they wanted to go…

With social media, most people find themselves facing a powerful current of technology, public opinion and changing communications. In the midst of this powerful force, business leaders also respond in one of three ways.

Swim against the current and burnout

This is the default of most business people. They see other companies using Facebook and Twitter and make a conscience CHOICE NOT to use social media. It can sometimes seem like a moral issue with these people.

You ask them if they’re company has a Facebook presence and they answer with a smug expression, “what foolishness, that’s beneath us.”

Tread water and get swept out to sea

This response is actually more dangerous than the stubborn hard-headed “just say no” attitude.

By treading water, businesses are still making a CHOICE to do nothing. By doing nothing you are making a CHOICE to let opportunities pass you by.

Swim with the tide and use it to take you where you want to go

Smart business people don’t fight against powerful dangerous currents. They use the current to get them where they want to go. They swim and row along  along with the force and move diagonally inside the forward movement.

People who understand social media are rowing with the changes. They  have a pretty good idea of what Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn can do for their business. They may not have all the details in place, but they are at least moving and trying things out.

….The three men who escaped Alcatraz faced the same choices. No one knows whether they made it to the mainland or not. Their best chance of survival would have been to row with the current and somehow make their way to shore.

The escaped  men were never found but remnants of their makeshift raft were discovered nearby on the shoreline of Angel Island. It is plausible that they could have escaped by rowing with the current long enough to make their way to Angel Island.

So what is your CHOICE? Do you want to spend you time fighting against social media, do nothing with social media and get swept to sea or work with the current of social media to make things happen for your business?

Social media is here to stay and growing. This massive cultural and communications shift is an opportunity for your business to jump to the next level.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership and How To Use Social Media To Find A Better Job. He is a producer, author, and speaker who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter.

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*Photo By kashyap_hc

1. It’s free

Unlike other forms of media and advertising which cost money, social media is free. Social media does require creativity and effort, but no money. Of course if you are serious about using social media you’ll spend on human resources.

2. It builds legacy over time

As you begin posting articles and tips you are building a legacy for the future. Each piece of information you post builds on the last. Before you know it you’ve built an entire library of content that, if taken as a whole, is an an asset it itself.

3. Can help you brand your business as an authority

It doesn’t matter if you are using social media for yourself or your business, you can literally brand yourself online. The fastest way to do this is to solve people’s problems online. As you solve problems and help others you will become a trusted resource, which builds your brand.

4. Gives a personality and face to your business

Along with branding of your business, you have the opportunity to make your business human. Because of the social aspect of social media you can put a face to your business. You need to create a tone and style that people will begin to resonate with in spite of your content and products.

5. Your competitors are doing social media

Remember that every other business in your industry and market is facing the same opportunities and challenges with social media. Don’t be left behind.

6. You can empower your fans to help you spread the word

Because social media is easy to share, you are empowering those who know, like and trust you to be your biggest marketing force. Give them that power.

7. Be in control of the Google results

When you Google your business name what comes up? By having a strong social media presence you will control the search results much better than trying to pay a company to manage your SEO and search presence.

8. Great lead generation

Social media allows you to reach people where they are. You can reach out and connect with your target prospects through legitimate online social networks and groups. By jumping into the conversation you will eventually earn the right to invite folks back to your site. Over time you can create a lead generation machine and put people on your email list.

9. Access to leaders through social media

The barriers of phone, email and physical distance have been shattered with social media. Now you can talk directly to a big time celebrities like Ashton Kutcher or CEOs like Michael Hyatt simply by sending them a Twitter message. The world is flat because of social media.

10. Give customers a feedback loop

People want to feel understood. They want to know your business and the face of your business (see #4 above) cares. The conversation is happening with or without you. It is a good idea to give your customers a place to give feedback or they’ll create it themselves.

Download this article as a PDF

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership and How To Use Social Media To Find A Better Job. He is a producer, author, and speaker who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter.

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* Photo by Matt Hamm

Last week, Pepsi announced that it would not be running any Superbowl ads this season.  Instead, the major soft drink manufacturer has elected to undertake The Pepsi Refresh Project, a $20 million social media campaign.  The project focuses on user submitted ideas to make their communities a better place.  Bold move?  Is Pepsi wasting a huge amount of money?

I don’t think the move reallocation of funds is risky business.  In fact, I would say that it is riskier that other companies not employing the same course of action.  In a world that is steadily shifting towards social media interactions and Internet usage, the companies that do not adapt and shift will be left in the cold.  Pepsi is just leading the way.

On the other hand, if the project is not marketed in the correct manner, Pepsi might waste $20 million.  It is critical that the corporation inspires its tribe and leads a revolution.

Businesses and non-profits can learn a lot from Pepsi and their shift to social media.  Instead of marketing in the typical, and at times archaic ways, make a bold choice and undertake something that breaks the mold.  If you want to get noticed, one of the best ways is to revolutionize your industry.  Pepsi has shown us that it can be as simple as reallocating advertising funds.

No matter how the actual campaign turns out, one thing hold true – Pepsi has caught our attention.

Eric Alpin is a social media enthusiast, blogger, creative genius, and avid reader. Eric enjoys maintaining his website, ericalpin.com, editing and shooting video, reading, hanging out with his friends and girlfriend, and playing sports. Eric works full-time for a telecommunications company in the Baltimore, Md. area and is currently seeking his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

Get the book “21 Days To Twitter Leadership” The Step-By-Step Guide On How To Twitter, Get Twitter Followers And Position Yourself As The Leader In Your Industry In Less Than 10 Minutes Per Day.

*Photo By silent (e)