Modern Marketing Blog

I got an email the other day from a fellow virtual assistant asking me "how do I get clients? Where can I find them?" My answer was - don't waste your valuable time looking for clients. Use your valuable time creating a trail for clients to find YOU!

Huh? Are you shaking your head wondering what I'm on about...well don't. It's simple really. You see, "clients" are people just like you. They know what they want and they seek it out. Think about it - when you want to find something online what's the first thing you do? You Google it - right? (or Yahoo it, or Live it, or whatever search engine you use) The point is, you're looking for an answer to your question. 

A really smart and savvy virtual assistant will make sure her website gets shown high up in that Google search. But how? Well, the first and best strategy is to properly optimize your site for search engines using keyword phrases. The second strategy is to create quality content for your clients via content rich web pages and by blogging. The third strategy is to get involved in social networking like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and forums. The fourth strategy is link building.

Remember the movie "Field of Dreams" and the line "if you build it, they will come"? (or something like that) That's true on the internet, if done properly. Build a well structured, optimized website with lots of quality content, participate in social networking and the clients will come. It won't happen overnight because nothing decent ever happens overnight. But if you build it and nurture it, eventually, they will come.

My favorite thing to track in my web analytics are keywords. I am fascinated by the keywords people use that land them on my site. Today I found this keyword phrase in my HubSpot analytics: "what if you don't have a network on facebook". 

I thought it might be fun to write one blog post a week centered around a keyword phrase found in my website analytics. I'm not sure what to call this weekly event but for now it's called "the keyword blog post of the week". I'm open to suggestions so if anyone has a better name please let me know. 

Okay then, onward and upward. Here is the first keyword blog post of the week for January 2009!

I wonder if the person who typed those keywords that lead to my website ever found the answer to their question?  Of course I don't know what they totally meant when they typed those words into Google so I have to make my own conclusions. I conclude they wanted to know the obvious and the answer is: No, you don't need to have a network on Facebook. This is the official statement found in the help section of Facebook:

"It is possible to register for Facebook without affiliating yourself with a network, but why? Networks are so cool. Unaffiliated users will only be able to see the profiles of confirmed friends, whereas affiliated users will be able to browse profiles within their networks. If you're worried about who can see your profile, you can always control this from the Privacy page"

So there you have it folks. Straight from the horse's mouth. (so to speak ;))

Of course, I think it really depends on your motive for participating on Facebook. If it's simply to keep in touch with friends then perhaps you don't need a network. But as a business person who uses Facebook for business networking, my take on the whole thing is that you DO need a network on Facebook. It opens up your business' exposure to a greater range of people. True, it's a little haphazard and untargeted, but what the heck. There's no harm in allowing people in other networks to view your profile and there's no harm in you viewing the profile of others. If you're there for business it can't hurt to join a Facebook network and it can't hurt to make your profile public. Can it?

Let's save that for another post.