Just read an interesting post on Mashable called Should You Outsource Your Social Media Efforts? which talks about how…

The costs for social media support can vary widely — some social media consultants charge a flat fee per month for an agreed-upon scope of work, while others charge by the hour, at rates varying from $50 to $100 or more per hour. Whatever the cost, the bar for success will be set much higher when you’re actually paying someone to do it. Make sure you’ve established some measurable goals to ensure that your social media spending is moving the needle for your business.

They speak to measuring ROI which has been a topic I’ve been researching these past few months, and love their suggestions as a starting point:

• Fan base growth:
  Hitting 1,000 fans or followers over a set period of time
• Customer acquisition:
  Getting 50 redemptions per campaign on social media offers
• Support of direct marketing:
  Adding 200 names to your e-mail database per month
• Engagement:
  Achieving 20% participation by your fan base (e.g. Facebook “likes” and comments)

How are YOU measuring social media ROI?

By SHERRY HINMAN Special to Sun Media

“The key to a growing a small business? Have a plan! For a business of any size, it’s important to know what you’re about and where you’re going,” says Mark Drager, president of Phanta Media, a corporate video production company in Markham, Ont. He sees his company’s plan as being like something a general would use before a war, to rally the troops.

A traditional business plan begins with an executive summary to allow the reader a quick look without delving into details. The company overview follows, outlining the mission statement, goals and objectives, corporate values or philosophy and vision statement. Following is a description of the business environment, which looks at the market trends for the particular industry, as well as the company’s competition; then, a description of the company and company strategy, which outlines strategies about the industry, markets and competition.

Finally is the financial plan, which covers the position at the start of business and where the financial position is expected to be in the future. It includes an income statement (revenues less costs to show profits), balance sheet (record of the financial position at a given time) and cash-flow statement (cash in and out as it’s received and spent). A good business plan also includes an action plan, showing how the business plan will be carried out.

A business plan doesn’t have to fit the traditional model to be valuable, though. Drager says he would write a full plan if he needed it for bank financing, but instead he develops what he calls an annual vision statement. “This concentrates mostly on what the company will be like in the future. Where will we be in one year? Three years? Five years? It’s a two-page document that outlines aspects like the company’s vision, mission, positioning in the market, objectives and corporate values.”

It also gives staff and prospective employees a sense of the culture of the company, something that Drager feels is critical. “We use it as a recruitment tool.” Once they’re close to hiring someone, they share the document with prospective employees. “This is what we’re about. And this is where we’re going. If the person is not on board with it, then they’re not a good fit with the company culture.”

It can be difficult to write a business plan as you launch your business, because there’s a lot you still don’t know about where you’re heading. But it’s worthwhile. “If you don’t write it down, you can’t articulate what you’re doing as a company,” Drager says. “And you need to articulate your plan for staff, investors and clients. That gives you the confidence and allows other people to buy into your plan.”

Once the plan is up and running, it needs to be maintained. Sue Sutcliffe, owner/manager of aWEBthatWORKS, an Internet marketing company, feels one of the most important aspects of working with a business plan is a system to track your goals and objectives. “I look at my plan once a month and update it two or three times a year. I do this whenever we have a new project or new product, to see what’s working, and tweak it. Action items have to have a date associated with them, for example, achieving this much in revenue by a certain time. But we track a lot of other aspects, too, such as where customers come from.”

Drager does the same. “I do quarterly goal-setting, and the action items are specific, for example, to systems, marketing or accounting. Our quarterly goals are only for one or two of those, so that they’re achievable.” Goals may be related to revenue or about next steps for growth, for example hiring staff or opening a new office.

The process of updating the business plan is one Drager does himself, as president. “You’re driving it,” he says. “But you’re not in it alone.” So he shares the plan with staff and gets feedback. “Then everyone will make sure it happens.”

Drager’s advice about business plans is to “just do it. You won’t see the benefits if you don’t do it. And, unless you’re taking it to the bank, don’t struggle to make it perfect.”

— Sherry Hinman is a freelance writer/editor and owner of The Write Angle. info@thewriteangle.ca.

Toronto Sun | Last Updated: October 19, 2010 4:20pm

Just read Website Magazine’s article Facebook is the New Google which makes an awesome argument for businesses and organizations who’ve not already created a Facebook page to do so now.

Did you know that…

time spent on Facebook in the U.S. during the month of August surpassed the time spent on Google sites for the first time in history.

Readers are urged to set goals, monitor progress with Facebook’s tools and analytics, make your page interesting and informative, reward your Facebook Fans with discounts and special promotions, update it as often as you can and promote it with Facebook ads, user groups of interest/useful toyour audience and “Find us on Facebook buttons”.

If your business is not yet on Facebook, contact me and I’ll have my team pillage your existing marketing collateral, create the new page for you, automate your news (from your blog), and send you a one-pager that provides you with tips to make it work harder, and instructions on how to manage your profile on this awesome marketing vehicle.  Why not expose your business to the over 500 million active users of Facebook – that check in at least once per week?

First, think about where you want to be in the next year or two; set your goals or objectives. Are you striving to get to breakeven, grow at a 3 percent rate, etc.?

Second, lay out the actions needed to accomplish that. How many new clients do you need at what average sale? What needs to be done to stop client defections? What do you need to do to get them to visit or call your business? What activities are time wasters? This process helps identify those factors that are critical to get right to ensure success.

Third, assign responsibility and a timeline for each activity. Look at what things you need to continue to do, what things you need to start doing, and what things you need to stop doing. The secret here is to work on only those things that are critical to your business’ success.

Fourth, set up an ongoing reporting procedure to ensure the plan’s execution and to hold those responsible accountable. Tracking leading activity indicators will tell you in advance what your results are going to be and what adjustments need to be made. If you are on your own, report to your CPA, attorney or other business advisor.

I found this and tons for on ROCG Consulting website, and understand the ROCG LinkedIn Group is jam packed with lots more. Check them out entrepreneurs!

Google keeps adding functionality to Google Analytics. I have a few goals set up, including visits to my speaking page;  time spent on the site, etc.  Way better than the traditional traffic reporting tools that typically come free with hosting.

We’ve assembled 7 wonderful speakers, that will talk to you about tapping into the power of creativity fun and play into your work, knowing your customer’s buying styles and personality, developing your marketing message so that it’s targeted to your ideal buyer, effortless marketing, healthy living strategies for optimum health, getting past limiting beliefs and into the zone and finally you’ll become expert on making the most of online social marketing…

Plus you get breakfast and lunch and have a chance to network and connect to our speakers and teachers directly.

Now, I know if you’re like me…you’re wondering…why should I attend a day like this?

Well first of all…if you sign up now…you save…our regular price is $149.00 (GST) per person…but now until December 31st, it’s $109.00 (GST) per person and it’s just $199.00 if you bring a buddy…

Second of all it’s a tax savings this year…in 2009…

Third if you invest in yourself and you plan and set goals, it makes you more competitive and gives you a slight edge over your competitors.

Fourth…when you get this kind of learning it makes you better able to serve your customers…plain and simple.

So if you want to learn more about this event…log onto the website and see what we have in store for you on January 16th…the link is below…just click on it…

http://www.smallbusinessbigideas.com/CreateIgniteandInspire.pdf

Once you’re on that site…you can see who’s speaking, what the day is about, and of course you can ask me any questions about the event.

I would love to see you out on January 16th…So Jump in…2010 is looking Great!

Your creativity is stimulated by three factors: first, intensely desired goals; second, pressing problems; and third, focused questions. The more you focus your mind on achieving your goals, solving your problems, or answering the tough questions a…bout your business and personal life, the smarter you become and the better your mind works for you in the future.

Brian Tracy

What happens when a group of women entrepreneurs start talking about their experiences as business women? Well, they start sharing some of their trials, their successes and what kept them going to achieve their goals.  Read Astoria Magazine article for more information on this.

YouTube – Network Marketing | Setting Goals by Les Brown.

Thanks to the team at Essential Communications for hosting yet another wonderful Success Night, and to Jason Dasti, Guerilla Marketers for a fun introduction to Social Media which inspired Peter Miller to poll the audience on how they socialized!  The poll showed…

83% of people polled use Facebook

50% of people polled use LinkedIn

Do YOU want to improve the relationship you have with your customers and prospects and touch them more often?

Are YOU losing market share to your competitors or because of the recession?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, social networking spaces are a quick and easy way to meet your goals.   First poll your audience – good customers, prospects and competitors – and find out where they like to network. Secondly design/implement a social media campaign that includes value for your VIPs in those spaces. Third, schedule time to ‘be present’ and network with your VIPs.  Do this, and  just like traditional networking enviroments your seeds will grow you and you will reap the rewards!

I’d love to hear about your social networking experiences. Where do you network? Facebook?   LinkedIn?    Youtube?    Blogging?   Twitter?
If so, look for me so we can connect!