There are various reasons to use Twitter or send a Tweet, but here we will discuss ten reasons that you should Tweet.

1.     It is a great place to set up meetings with your business acquaintances. You can send those Tweet messages straight to their laptops or even cell phones. Twitters are known for giving their friends ‘on the spot’ Tweets or quick messages using this social media.

2.     Great way to report to others who aren’t in attendance of your event. You can keep co workers up to date, minute by minute on the happenings of that seminar. You can report to those not able to attend, the most prevalent activities of the event.

3.     You can meet people with your same interests and likes. You can meet your next friend or simply join others in online groups. There are so many groups that maintain their connections through Twitter, there are social, political, and literary groups.

4.     Your business can grow and learn from your instant customer interaction. You can create a Twitter account with your business name. Post frequently to those who follow you and receive you your clients interaction immediately, aiding in product development.

5.     Grow a network, creating great business to business relationships. Networking is the heart of most organizations and even yours can benefit from networking online. You can meet those who might have the ability to take your business to the next level.

6.     Lead your followers to your site, gaining more website traffic. Within the messages of your tweets, you can give out your url and generate traffic to your website. You can tweet them and place a quick url within the message, leading to your site.

7.     If you find someone on Twitter.com, who services you may need, interview them. Each profile has the details for that person or even for a company. You can give them your details within the tweet and begin interviewing.

8.     As your followers list grows, you will be in their list and get exposure as people will add you too. The more people you add, the more people will add you, meaning they will have to take a quick peek at your profile reading your information hopefully generating more interest in your product or services.

9.     Read up and learn some great news. You can follow news tweets from some of the major news reporting organizations through Twitter. You can follow those industry specific news groups as well or industry leaders according to your field.

10.  Send out product updates to clients or those who can become customers, giving the scoop on what your company is up to. If you have a new release or version of your product, it will be your followers on Twitter.com that want to know that will spread the word, increasing interest and sales.

Obviously, there are other benefits to joining and creating a great following on Twitter. Being a twitter, may help you learn more about your industry. How valuable would it be to have one of the leaders of your field as a Twitter friend?

While social media marketing sites are great tools to use for your business, you need to spend ample time updating and getting updated. If you have a virtual marketing assistant, you can have them sign you up and maintain your Twitter following. Your virtual marketing assistant, can keep up with ongoing conversations with your followers. They can make sure your followers are lead to your website and answer their questions. If you don’t have time to tweet, hire a virtual marketing assistant to do your tweeting for you.

Virtually yours,
Linda Belan
Your Outsource Solutions, LLC

If your company has decided to take the plunge of becoming part of the mass social media highway, join in. Take the slow route until you get the hang of it or you can actually be ushered in by a virtual marketing assistant. A virtual marketing assistant or VMA will guide your business into the social media marketing world.

There are many types of social media sites like those that carry the news topics. These sites will contain articles on the most current headlines of the day. There are sites that allow you to place videos and photos that you want to share with the public. You may already be aware of those sites that are made for socializing with friends, meeting with classmates, or even business associates. There are those social media sites that allow you, and others to bookmark those sites you think are worthy of being renowned, called bookmarking sites.

Your virtual marketing assistant should be highly proficient on how to get around these websites and will actually upload your photos, create your profile and keep them updated for you. This may bring in more business as you are now in constant contact with people who are clients or potential clients. If there are any leads for business that can be generated from the web, it will be your virtual marketing assistant who can pull them out of the internet for you. If you are willing to go it alone without any assistance, you can still benefit from social networking.

There are five more advantages that you might gain from social networking such as:

1)    Build the power of your brand name. You can use social media websites to increase the power of your brand and its popularity.

2)    Offer client support through the social media. Through the social media networks, you can interact very quickly with followers or friends who are interested in your product or services.

3)    Not as expensive to advertise, unlike traditional forms. Social media websites are actually free, relieving you of some of your advertising costs.

4)    Gain customer input on product updates and changes. We are moving rapidly into the days where customer input in the product is essential to product development. It is the social media sites that can help you retrieve their opinions and quickly!

5)    Learn new insights on you target audience. Those who research their target audience are considered smart in the business world. It may be the social media sites that help you learn even more about them.

Also do remember that social media isn’t about getting traffic, building relationships is what’s its all about.

Virtually yours,
Linda Belan
Your Outsource Solutions, LLC

The expanding reach of the Internet and growth of online collaboration tools have all changed small business outsourcing dramatically in the past 3-4 years. 

Let us take a look at 10 key trends for using independent contractors for projects and even ongoing staffing needs, and how they shape up in 2009:

1.  The “Outsourcing Life” is hip  

Popularized by the best seller The 4-Hour Workweek, more people are realizing that they can get their work done by someone else even if they are a solo entrepreneur.  According to statistics published by US Small Business Administration, 56% of US small businesses with 100 employees or less, have fewer than 5 employees. If your business is one with no employees or a very small number of employees, you may find yourself over-stretched for time, and in need of outsourcing in both your personal and professional life.  Driven by the economy and the need to watch expenses, more businesses will opt for contracting relationships and hold off hiring new employees as long as possible.

Small businesses are also continuing to push the envelope on what can be outsourced.  They are discovering elements that can be outsourced even in previously “core” activities. For example, an Australian small business we work with specializes in online marketing, but also uses multiple telemarketing providers to cross sell their product range to customers.     

How to benefit from this trend:

• Re-examine what you consider to be activities only you or your employees can do.
• If not the entire activity, can some parts of this at least be outsourced?
• Be prepared to invest some time up front in training your outsourcing partner.

2.  Have we met? Not likely! 

Trusting people you never meet face to face is gaining acceptance.  Use of Skypeconversations and social networks like Facebook and Twitter exemplify how people who have never met strike up relationships with each other.  These media are increasingly becoming the means for small businesses to reach out and establish trust based relationships with their outsourcing partners. 

A decade ago you may never have thought of outsourcing to someone outside of your local city or region.  Now it is commonplace to find vendors and independent contractors across the country or even across the world. 

How to benefit from this trend:

• If you are a vendor, establish a presence on the networking sites of your choice -LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter etc. to create an online brand presence.  Make it easy to be found and for customers to get to know you.
• Evaluate which mode of communication gives you the best results. Also take into consideration where your customers are located and how they prefer to be contacted. Sign up with Skype, or other email and Internet marketing tools.

3.  More power for the hour – new ways to price services

Payment schedules structured to incentivize success are gaining popularity.  Two common types of payment methods are “Fixed Price” (where the vendor takes much of the risk – this is often highly conflict prone) and “Time and Materials” (this gives the vendor flexibility in defining scope but is expensive and asks the buyer to micro-manage). 

We’re seeing pricing structures that combine the best of both.  For example, web page design will be fixed at a price per page.  Subsequent changes requested by the buyer are paid for using an hourly rate for the effort.  The combination pricing can save the buyer as much as 30% of the total cost and avoid conflicts. It also aligns interests of the buyer and the vendor. 

How to benefit from this trend:

• Split your project into 2 parts:  the part that is well defined and unlikely to change, and the part that needs to change as you see results of each phase.
• “Fix Price” the well defined part, while agreeing upon an hourly rate for the rest.

4.   ”We need to talk”

In real estate the mantra is “Location. Location. Location.”  In outsourcing the mantra is “Communication. Communication. Communication.”

Operational structures that clearly define responsibilities and establishing ways of communicating play an ever more important role in successful outsourcing.  Small businesses are realizing the importance of such rigor in defining operational structures. 

For instance, you might establish a regular review schedule to effectively manage a project and stay on top of progress.  This is preferred over putting a project out for hire and then going weeks without any status update.  Email, instant messaging and collaboration technologies make it easier to conduct frequent reviews.

How to benefit from this trend:

• When you outsource a project, establish a routine of daily or weekly status review calls based on project size.
• The duration of the calls again depends on the nature of your project, but typically 1 hour or less works best.
• This is important especially when you are working with a new provider.

5. Taking the relationship to the next level - outsourcing ongoing processes

Small businesses are opening up to outsourcing ongoing processes, in addition to projects.  Task (or project) outsourcing (e.g., file my taxes) is primarily a one-off activity while process outsourcing (e.g.,  manage my accounting) requires a relationship approach.  Process outsourcing also places greater responsibility on the vendor to become closely familiar with the client’s business and the client’s customers.

How to benefit from this trend:

• For the projects you are outsourcing, see if some of the activities you do before and after the project can also be done by your outsourcing partner.
• When outsourcing processes, evaluate providers for a strong understanding of the legal and regulatory issues associated with the process they would manage.  

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But, there are even more reasons you shouldn’t ignore the resources available to you, using social media marketing. Here are 5 top reasons you just can’t ignore social media marketing in 2009:

1)    Social media marketing services are free and that means advertising costs on the web through them, are cheaper than traditional marketing costs. If you are too busy to balance working and maintaining your social media sites. You can seek the services of a virtual marketing assistant, they can help your business grow. It is a virtual marketing assistant or VMA that will create your business accounts; they can upload your logo or photos, and can also interact with your clients. Most virtual marketing assistants are highly knowledgeable of the social media sites and can maintain them for you on a constant basis.

2)    Don’t ignore the benefits that social media marketing online will bring you. You can set up your business profiles on various social media websites. Followers can actually leave comments for you and you can interact with them. You will be able to answer questions for your profile visitors or respond to your visitors comments. Client’s opinions and responses online are becoming a normal way of aiding in product or services development, therefore increasing sales.

3)    Your can create e-zines for your company. You can create a listing of your client’s emails and maintain that list, for better customer support. You can send out your newsletters or e-zines monthly or weekly, gaining customer loyalty for your product or services.

4)    Social media websites are a venue that will enable you to keep up with your clients thoughts on your services and products. There are many companies now that maintain online blogs. These blogs are used to either give product features and updates, or in house interactions posts, or even product tutorials. They are said to improve customer relations with your clients. Those clients may or may not at all times be the friendliest in their conversations, but it may help to know what you do to deter those feelings.

5)     Social media marketing is the ‘now’ in marketing trends. Social media marketing is ‘hot’ on the web, it is the newest way for businesses to create great marketing machines. Those who market themselves with social media are building brand reputation, as well. It is said that, the clients that are most loyal to companies are those companies that involve them them and care about their opinions, all offered to us by the use of social media networks.

Virtually yours,
Linda Belan
Your Outsource Solutions, LLC

Well, we are living in the days of great social media networks, and they are free. This is a great tool that you can use to promote your book, albeit a very cumbersome task, especially if you’re already working on your next book. You have many options available, and have you ever considered hiring a virtual marketing assistant to help you promote your book through social media?

If you were to hire a virtual marketing assistant, they can upload your photo, maintain your profile and various other tasks. They can actually help to promote your book by submitting your book reviews to hundreds of other sites for you. They can get you noticed at newsgroups, book review websites and other relevant places on the web. A VMA can also help you to get reviews on your sites and even place testimonies from clients in places that will help to promote your product. They can assist you in maintaining an email newsletter after getting email listings for your book.

Hiring a virtual marketing assistant, is not the only way to promote your book online. It is just one, but there are other ways to promote your book online such as:

1)    You can create a blog. Your blogging site is great for your customers to interact with you and give their opinions.

2)    You can join social news sites. When you join social news sites, you can write articles and leave your book title in your profile, gaining more exposure.

3)    Create online ads for your book. You would need a marketing budget, but you could create a google account and it may be well worth it.

4)    Interact in social media sites, using your signature with book title. If you develop friendships and begin to post frequently, your signature should have a link to where they can find your work.

If you are looking for great ways to market your book online, you should make sure that you know your target audience. You should be clear about who they are and how you can reach them to make you sale. Having a message that will get across to them, about what and why you have written your book is often essential.

If you looking to create a web presence for your book; you must use various social media sites. Social media websites are a great brand building resource for your book. These sites are immensely popular and have hundreds of new members every day.

They are known to have at least 60 million new users this year alone and this year isn’t on its second quarter yet. Those who have access to the social media websites for business, have opened shop literally worldwide.

Promoting your book via social media sites, cuts costs, as these sites are free. The multiple benefits that social media sites provide for you to promote your book, is literally immeasurable.

Virtually yours,
Linda Belan
Your Outsource Solutions, LLC