Do you have a social media plan that you are implementing for your studio?

Consider this: Your studio is like a house in the middle of the desert. Your job is to build as many roads to that house as you can. You can’t expect to set up shop and then wait for people to drive by or go searching for you. You have to get in front of your market.

Social Media – Bigger Than Search?

Just like there are thousands of search engines, there are thousands of social media websites. However, there really are only a few big players. In search, it’s Google and Bing. In social media, it’s Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Foursquare.

Facebook is the Place to Start

In fact, in terms of traffic, it was reported recently that Facebook generates more visitors than Google.

And that means you need to use Facebook to market your studio.

You can do this in a number of ways:

• Create a Facebook page: See http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
• Use Facebook advertising: See http://www.facebook.com/advertising/
• Create Facebook groups: See http://www.facebook.com/groups

Pages and groups can be created for free, and they’re a great way to generate interest in your studio and keep people connected with any events or specials you are running.

Use Facebook to Find Just the Students You Want

Facebook advertising is right now a cheaper alternative to Google Adwords.

What’s special about it is that it allows you to target a very specific audience based people’s interests. You can create a highly focused ad that will appear only to a particular demographic. For example, you could just advertise to people who live in your town and are interested in playing an instrument. Or you could just advertise to mothers who have a child aged four to 12. This allows you to spend money only advertising to people who might be a good match for your studio.

You either pay each time someone clicks on your ad or you can pay based on the number of times your ad is shown.

You can set up how much you want to spend a day, and where you want to drive the traffic – to your Facebook page or to your own website.

If you’re looking for a way to get targeted traffic, this is by far one of the most powerful means of being able to do so. Yet remember, it’s only one of countless ways you can get traffic to your website on an ongoing basis.

SPECIAL
AutoPay for Free?

Here is a fantastic idea about making AutoPay pay for itself. It comes from an AutoPay user and I can’t remember who shared it (if it was you let me know).

In the AutoPay online Virtual Terminal you can set up email receipts that can go out to parents. This email can be customized so here is what you can do: Contact a local insurance agent (maybe you have a parent). Let them know they can “sponsor” (read advertise) your receipts. Your receipt might say: “Sponsored by State Farm Agent Sue Jones-contact Sue at 1234567 for all your insurance needs”.

Sue gets an affluent targeted base of prospects. You collect $25-$50/month (on AutoPay of course!). Great Idea.

MARKETING
Ways to Get the Media Interested in Your Studio

Media coverage is an important part of marketing strategy. It can help you attract investors, increase sales, gain visibility and build your brand.

Following are some ways to access media channels and connect with editors and reporters:

Websites That Connect Reporters With Sources

The best-known of these is Help A Reporter Out (HARO) atwww.helpareporter.com. The site links reporters and bloggers, news sources, and small businesses to tell their stories, promote their brands, and sell their products and services. HARO sends out emails with requests from magazines, newspapers, online publications and others. Other similar social media services that link reporters with sources are Media Kitty, FlackList and Reporter Connection.

Press Releases

Media outlets are literally deluged with press releases, so it’s important to ensure that yours is topical, is newsworthy and has a good angle. Make your release stand out by including a short video clip via a YouTube link or by adding high-quality photos. Be sure your release is well-written, factually accurate, and easy to scan with bullet points and rich content.

Build a Network of Media Contacts

One way to do this is to follow journalists on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. Start by simply chatting with them. As you build a relationship, you can offer commentary, suggest topics and even pitch stories.

Position Yourself as an Expert

The media look for experts to provide comments on, analysis of and insight into issues and topics. One way to build your profile and establish your credentials as an authority is to author a blog.

While getting press coverage from magazines, newspapers and broadcast media takes time and effort, for small businesses it is well worth the investment.

TECHNOLOGY
5 Tools from ‘the Cloud’ That Could Help Your Business

“The cloud” and “cloud computing” are two increasingly popular buzzwords in the tech world.

Cloud computing refers to documents, resources and applications that any device with an Internet connection can access. For example, you can log on to Photoshop.com and use a basic photo editor on the website. The act of uploading your photos and editing online is cloud computing. Accessing your email online with a service like Gmail or MSN is also an example of cloud computing.

Curious about what cloud computing solutions are available for your business?

Following are five popular tools for small businesses to begin using the cloud:

Skype: Skype isn’t just for chatting with long-distance friends. It’s a low-cost solution for conference calls and video meetings.

Dropbox: Dropbox acts as a shared server for a small staff, allowing users to store, share and download files from one online location.

Google Docs: This is free; is compatible with Microsoft Office docs; and allows users to upload documents, presentations, or spreadsheets, or create and share new ones.

Basecamp: This is an easy-to-use collaboration and project management tool. Users can share files, set deadlines on calendars, create templates, develop to-do lists and more.