Want to hear a real VA answer real questions? Everything from how to work with a VA to various tasks a VA can do for you!

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Are you on Facebook?  Twitter?  LinkedIn?  Most important question is,  “Do you have a social media marketing strategy?”. 

So many think that creating a facebook business page or twitter account or linkedin profile is social networking.   It is not.  If you created a page and haven’t done anything with it in months; if you created a twitter account and haven’t tweeted; or if you created a linkedin profile and have yet to join groups or post a discussion, you’re not involved in social networking.   

You need a social media coordinator. That person or company should ask you a series of questions and request valuable information to even begin the process.  There is a list of things you should do to become successful at social media.  Some of them are listed below.   You also want to contract a person or company that has their OWN facebook page, twitter account and linkedin profile.  After all, if they claim they are social media experts, they should be marketing themselves in the social networks, RIGHT? 

1. You should be asked to provide your website
2. You should be given your badge code or URL address for your social media site id’s to be added to your website AND email signature line. 
3. You need to provide a image file of your company logo or a professional headshot/profile picture
4. You should be asked a series of questions to figure out what your target audience is

This is just some of the information you should be asked when signing on with a social media marketer.

Social media is a great way to build brand, website traffic, sell products and much more.  Facebook is changing the way we market every day.  Make sure your social media coordinator is following up on all changes!  Our social media packages are reasonable and we offer more than just  “build a page” standards!  Contact us today to find out how we can help you become successful on social media networks!

If you’re thinking of having someone create a Welcome Landing Page, make sure you find someone who is keeping up with the changes. You will soon not be able to design your landing page using FBML static applications. Facebook is moving towards IFrame.  Existing tabs created with FBML will not be touched.

Read more at All Facebook

Now you no longer have to type the @ symbol to tag a person or page in a status update!!   It ONLY works when you use a capital letter, however, as it recognizes proper nouns!  Smart! 

To find out more, read up at All Facebook!

Looking for an affordable way to stay on top of social media without investing all of your time?  Check out our social media package and set up a free consultation with us to disucss your social media strategy.   A lot of people think you just need a facebook page…..What you need is a great team to not only build that page for you, but help you come up with the best strategy for that facebook page, twitter account or linkedin profile.  It’s not just about having a page!

Social Media Package:  All you need for spacing, facing, twitting and linking

Do you have a nice new Welcome Landing Tab, AKA FBML static application, for your business facebook page? Make sure you let your designer know about these changes that ARE happening on Aug 23rd so that they are prepared to deal with the width, which will now be a 520 pixel width. And the profile box is going away on personal AND business pages!  If your designer isn’t up on the changes, contact Independent Projects to help you fix it after Aug. 23rd!   Also, view our Social Media Packages!

I keep seeing so many of my facebook friends falling for the facebook dislike button.  With so many viruses out there that spread like wildfire through facebook, I’m certain to check out everything before I join a group, like a page, download an application, etc.  You can never be too careful.  Here’s some info on the facebook dislike button:

Facebook Dislike Button is a Scam!

Poor management is the single most deciding factor on whether a business succeeds or fails.

When a business becomes successful, it takes a life of it’s own. And as a small business owner running a successful business, you start to realize your juggling a lot more than what you may have originally anticipated.

Many business failures aren’t the result of bad economic times, but poor business management and administration. You must know where you and your business stand at all times, from planning to communicating, organizing and controlling, to directing and delegating.

Common Mistakes You can Make as a Small Business Owner:
–Contracting the wrong people
–Miscommunication or insufficient training (know your product and know how to delegate exactly what you need)
–Doing too much
–Misuse of time

When you find that it is time to delegate, you must be able to trust the person you are delegating to. You are letting someone else handle YOUR clients’ projects. It can be very hard for business owners to let go of the work, but when you find someone you can trust you can delegate at the drop of a hat, which leaves you more equipped to react instantly and decisively with confidence when problems arise. For small businesses one bad week can be fatal.

It’s always a good idea to go over your business plan on a quarterly basis to re-evaluate the administrative procedures of your business. When you get to the point where you are ready to delegate, pat yourself on the back! Not only does this mean you’re successful, but it also means that you are aware you can’t do it alone and you are ready for a change!

Good Luck and Happy Planning

As 2009 comes to a close, taking a half-time break to reflect on your business is almost mandatory!

It’s no government secret that it’s been a tough year and a strange one in news. From Bubble Boy to the unexpected death of Michael Jackson to the bailouts to the media hype of the h1n1 virus and vaccinations. Oh.. and let’s not forget about the latest Tiger Woods scandal.

The media can be a big lesson for business owners. Expect the unexpected; don’t believe everything you hear and/or read; keep your nose clean; and always be ready to bounce back.

What lessons have you learned over the past year that you could share that may be an inspiration to others?

Are you setting goals for 2010?

Ever think about including the five core areas of existence into your goals?

Health, Wealth, Physical, Mental and Relations

I had a great meeting this morning with Brian Applestein from Donnelly and Steen, a Wealth Management company that currently has a total of 5 offices and are rapidly expanding! He brought up the five core areas of existence and how important it is to manage all five at the same time. I thought, “How true and when do we ever think about that when setting our goals”. We discussed a lot of great ideas during our meeting and his plans for 2010. One of his goals is to free up his administrative hours by outsourcing his admin tasks to Independent Projects, which we are very excited about and happy to do so.

As the owner of Independent Projects, I am very excited about all of my client’s goals and the expansion of this business.   Each client of Independent Projects has their goals set,  has the motivation to move on from this year and has their excitment back.  This is something that I haven’t seen or heard about in awhile. We are more than thrilled to be a part of their successes and even though we are here to help them,  each of them has taught me a little something as well.

We continue to grow our client base and learn as much as we can about life, business, the beauty of social media.  We are in this business to help other business owners succeed. 

Contact us if you would like Independent Projects to be a part of your goals for 2010.  And don’t forget to leave your comments about this crazy year.  You never know who you might inspire!!

What do you think about Virtual Marketing?  Where do you think Virtual Marketing will go in 2010? 

Well, Independent Projects has thought of a neat idea for a new way to promote your services in the Virtual Marketing world.  

How is your business card?  Does it stand out?  Does it explain exactly what you do in a 3 ½” by 2” card?  Are you proud of your business card?  And most important, is your website on your card?  If this answer is yes to these five important questions, then you might want to consider joining us in our Virtual Business Card Marketing Campaign!   

With more and more people going to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more, how convenient would it be to have YOUR business card out there in the virtual world?  We spend money on designing and printing the business card and then use that card to hand out in networking events, place ads in local papers and we give it to people we’ve recently met.  Personally, with social media exploding, we could be doing SO much more with our Business Card. 

Independent Projects has started a new campaign using the standard, but unique business card.  This is how it works: 

For $50, you send us your business card as a JPEG OR you can mail it directly to our office and we will create a JPEG by scanning in the card.  We will provide you with a URL link for your card and then we will post your business card to social media sites and groups/fanpages within those social media sites.  If your business is specific to your region, we will research groups and fanpages in your area that we think are important to your business.  

All of this for only $50.  When you think about the cost to run ad in your local paper for a week’s time, this new way of virtual marketing is worth the price.  We will also market your card for one month.  We will send you weekly reports on where your business card is posted and the responses we’ve seen from the posts, so you can track your progress with this campaign.  

Side Note:  If you don’t like the way your Business Card looks, but would love to jump on board with this marketing campaign, we can do a re-design and print.  Additional fees may also apply if you would like us to create a Facebook Fanpage, Linkedin, Twitter or other social media sites, however, this campaign can still be performed if you do not have accounts with all or some of these sites. 

Contact us today to find out more about this campaign!