Posted By Amanda Collins on May 28, 2011

I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately about the power of the blog. Thankfully, some understand how important it is to get yourself out there and talk up the fact that you’re an expert in your industry. But some wonder, “Now that I’ve blogged, do I have to go to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to post them all up there?” NO! There is a much easier answer. If your blog is on WordPress (and why wouldn’t it be?), it’s extremely easy to connect it to your social media world in just a few clicks.

For Facebook and Twitter, go to your Facebook account and look up NetworkedBlogs. Click the button to register your blog and then just follow the steps. You either need to install a bit of code on your site or have a handful of  friends verify your blog to make sure it’s from you, so content won’t feed right away. However, once you’re verified, this will automatically pull your blog over to Facebook. It can take anywhere from one to five hours for it to populate, but it will. When you’re linking to NetworkedBlogs, look for the link to post it on Twitter as well. This one app actually posts to two outlets.

Then head over to LinkedIn, and in the edit profile mode, add the application for WordPress. Instantly, your blog posts will populate on your profile.

Within 15 minutes, you can make it so your WordPress blog will show up in your feeds on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. It’s as easy as that! If you get a little stuck, let me know; I can set this up for you quickly and easily.

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Posted By Amanda Collins on May 9, 2011

The other day, I came across a call-out for contributions for a story entitled, “Is Your Husband Your Boyfriend?” I was intrigued and read the pitch to learn a little more. The reporter was pointing out that a woman may have a husband who does chores, helps with the kids, and fixes things, but does she have a boyfriend with whom she goes on dates and shares all that pre-marriage excitement? While that certainly is fodder for a more relationship-based blog, it also got me thinking about business relationships. Are we courting our clients?

The idea of dating your spouse can easily be applied to dating your clients (no, not in the unethical way). It seems that we often spend so much time getting clients that we forget to stay in touch with them or nurture that relationship once they’ve signed the contract. The thing is, it’s much easier to keep a client than to secure a new one. It follows, then, that we should be spending time wooing those people already in our database.

By the way, this isn’t just for the business owners. When I used to work in college admissions, we developed a number of programs to help students once they started school, instead of just in the application process. The idea of maintaining communications can apply to any industry, whether you’re in charge or not.

So how do we court our clients? In my world, it’s called drip marketing. Send a regular newsletter, interact through social media, drop a direct email, or mail a cute card. I met one business owner who sent smiley-face stickers to random clients just to brighten their days. If that works for you, I’m pretty sure the people on the receiving end would be appreciative.

I encourage you to schedule time into your week to reach out to your current customers and say hello. It certainly can’t hurt and it may turn into some wonderful benefits.

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