If you already have a youtube account, you are not off the hook! Take this week’s time to go through the settings of your existing account and make improvements.

Your first step is to go to http://www.youtube.com and click “Create Account” in the top right corner. Remember that you’ll be stuck with your username and it will be visible to everyone – make it some variation of your name or your business name. Next, youtube will ask you to create or link to an existing google account. (This is a change since google purchased youtube.)

After you’ve finished creating your account, start playing around with your settings. I often get asked the difference between a regular account and a channel – every account has a channel built right in. You can modify yours by going to “Account” in the drop-down that appears under your username in the top right corner, then “edit channel”.

How To Create a YouTube Channel is a post from: Laura Roeder

In the video above I reference this video, which shows how to update all of your social networking profiles at once.

How to Automate Scheduled Updates Across All of Your Social Networks is a post from: Laura Roeder

3 Ways To Create Social Proof From Social Poop

Ahh… Social proof. It’s all the rage these days.

Actually, it’s always been the rage. We just didn’t use that term as much as we do now. Whether you’re sick of hearing those words or not, they’re kind of a big deal.

I’m sure I probably don’t have to tell you too much about the importance of social media. After all, you’re here at Laura’s blog so you’ve probably already come to the realization that social proof is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can ever have for your brand or business.

And you probably already know that the best way gain this coveted social proof is by either…

• Planning a trip around the world to knock on everyone’s front doors, meet them face to face, and hopefully be able to instantly strike up a conversation that proves valuable, interesting, and relevant to them.

• Plan out a social media campaign and put that puppy into action.

I think I’ll go with the second one (Although traveling the globe does sound nice).

Ooo… I Smell Poop

I bet you want to know what social poop is don’t you?

Have you ever been cruising around your Tweetisphere and stumbled across a picture of some logo and all the tweets are promos and deals. They’re following 10,000 people and only have like 500 people following them back, and of those 500 followers maybe 50 of them have actually chosen to follow the talking logo without using an auto follow system.

If you click on the link in their Twitter profile, it takes you to a blog that’s spitting out the same information. Or better yet, it’s a blog that’s loaded with ads for just about anything you can imagine. Or maybe it’s actually a decent looking blog but every post is about you buying a product from them.

What do you do when you get to one of those? If you’re like me, you say “What is this sh… poop?” and click the back button.

Is this you? Maybe not that extreme, but are you doing some of this and calling it your social media campaign?

I hate to break to ya, but that’s not creating any social proof. It’s creating a big ol’ pile of social poop.

It Happened So Fast

Unfortunately in my world (the ecommerce marketing world), these types of social media campaigns are the norm. These are also the same people that say social media doesn’t work. That’s like filling your coffee maker with tea leaves and saying “This coffee tastes terrible”. Of course it does. You didn’t put in the right ingredients.

It’s easy to fall into the trap too. We all realize the importance of social media and how it plays a vital role in gaining social proof. The problem is when we start mapping out our plan and something snaps. We start to over-think and over-complicate things. Before we know it, we’re lost.

Remember we NEED that social proof, so we can’t just give up. We start to look around and see what everyone else is doing. With so many ecommerce sites doing the same thing, it has to work, right? Why would they all be doing it if it didn’t?

And SNAP! You’re in the trap.

You see how easy it looks to broadcast the same thing over several social media channels. The thinking here is usually “If I can get my messages in front of 10,000 people a day and just 1% buy something, that’s a good day”. That’s very true. That would be a good day …if that ever happened.

It’s Too Hard To Be Me

What is it about our brains that makes us think that being ourselves is so much harder than trying to come up with phony online business personas? Why are we afraid to show our personalities in our business?

Think about your favorite online shops and sites. Why do you like them so much? Is it because they blast you with so-called limited time promotions that will still be around next week? Or, is it because they provide you with valuable, relevant, interesting information? I’m guessing it’s the later.

I’m willing to bet that’s why you keep coming back to Laura’s blog, and I think we can all agree the she has plenty of social proof to back her up.

And POOF… From Poop To Proof In 3 Steps

The good news is if you’ve fallen into this stinky trap, it’s not hard to get out and start creating a loyal audience. If you’re just starting out you’ll know how to avoid the poo.

I’m an ecommerce guy, so I’m usually teaching this to folks who run or want to start an online store, but these 3 things are crucial for any type of online business presence.

1. Be Yourself – Seriously people. What could possibly be easier than being yourself? If you don’t want to show every part of your personality, that’s fine; but pick a part that you like and run with it. You can only fake it for so long until you burn out and quit. I know you’ve heard this before because Laura teaches this so well in every course she offers.
2. Stop trying to get a sale with every piece of content you put out. This is hard for lot of people. I’m not saying to give out everything for free. Be strategic in the content that you create. Make it informative, engaging, and relevant with no strings attached. And yes this goes for you ecommerce sites. If you sell roller skates, create or find some great articles about the health benefits or styles of roller skating. You can literally find information to talk about forever once you start thinking like that. You can still add links to your stores product (when relevant) in the blog posts. If the thought of writing new blog posts makes you sick, there are plenty of ways around that too. Just ask Laura. (I see a lot of videos around here. Hint Hint)
3. Keep That Conversation Going. By conversation I mean email. WAY too many ecommerce owners think that there’s nothing left to do after the sale. This is oh so wrong. This is where the real profitable relationship begins. It’s vital to stay in contact with your customers if you ever want them to come back again. Let’s face it. There are 1,000,001 stores online. No matter how awesome your service is, you’re forgettable unless you become a part of your customers life. This isn’t hard at all. It could simply be by letting them know about a new blog post or even a new blog you found that’s relevant to your industry. Simple informative things. NOT crazy sales emails with pictures all over the place. You know what I’m talking about. Sales and promotion are fine, but in extreme moderation.

If you follow these three steps I promise you will see a difference in your audience. Yes it is more work than creating poop, but it’s business. You have to put forth the effort if you want to see real results.

The great thing is that all these things are doable for those who only have 4-5 hours a week to work on their business.

So what’s your take?

Are you a pooper or a proofer? Tell us in the comments how you’re creating social proof for your business/ecommerce, or how you haven’t.

Andy Fogarty is somewhat of a mad scientist when it comes to ecommerce sites. Not really, but he does know what works and what doesn’t and he uses that knowledge to help others create simple, effective, and profitable online shopping carts that won’t eat up all their time. He’s a freedom fighter and also the author of The Entrepreneurial Daddy where he gives tips and guidance on being a husband, father, and business owner.

How To Create Social Proof In 3 Simple Steps is a post from: Laura Roeder

This video shows how to add your LinkedIn, Facebook Profile, Facebook Page, and Twitter accounts to HootSuite so that you can easily send (or even schedule) updates to all of your social networking profiles at once.

Click Here To Read The Transcript

Save Time on Social Media: Update All Your Profiles at Once with HootSuite.com is a post from: Laura Roeder

Find Links to Your Website on Twitter with BackTweets.com is a post from: Laura Roeder

How To Set up Google Alerts in 60 Seconds is a post from: Laura Roeder

How To Use Your Own Domain on a Free Blog (Domain Forwarding) is a post from: Laura Roeder

Click Here To Read The Transcript

How to Pull an RSS Feed from a Twitter Search is a post from: Laura Roeder

How to Start a Discussion on a LinkedIn Group is a post from: Laura Roeder

Click here to view the embedded video.

Amy Porterfield Shares How To Schedule Great Content and Information For Twitter, Facebook and Your Blog is a post from: Laura Roeder