For many years, I’ve been a strong advocate for health and well-being in my personal life.  I’ve helped friends and family on their way to healthy and healing through offering holistic approaches and  remedies for improving their life, as well as, personal recommendations for businesses that I know are serving to help people.  For the past 18 years, I’ve merged my passion for wellness with my professional expertise in business coaching and online marketing through helping numerous chiropractors, therapists, holistic retailers and other health and wellness professionals with their websites and social media channels.

There is nothing that has given me more personal and professional joy than to help those who are doing so much to help others have a better quality of life.  For this reason, my team at Virtual Business Solutions and I are offering exclusively to Health and Wellness professionals an opportunity to have their website and social media channels assessed for FREE.  There’s no catch – this service is 100% free.

My team and I are online marketing experts specializing in websites and social media. We do not offer complimentary assessments often so, be sure to sign up soon! We will review what you have online and provide feedback on how you can improve your web development, copywriting, brand identity and online marketing.

Sign Up for the Complimentary Assessment Call

Thursday, November 3rd at 7 pm EST

Businesses interested in having their website reviewed, will need to sign up by Tuesday, November 1st

I always tell my friends and colleagues in the wellness industry – “you keep doing what you do best and let me do what I do best!”  Don’t waste your valuable energy trying to figure all this out; use your energy toward helping other people.

We look forward to you joining us on November 3^rd at 7pm EST !

Blessings in Health and Happiness,
Laura Gonzalez

Laura Gonzalez is the founder of Virtual Business Solutions and a professional business advisor and online marketing consultant for Natural Health and Well Being Industry. She is passionate about natural, healthy living and has been learning about natural ways to improve health for the last 18 years.

Many times you will post a picture on Facebook and think nothing of it.
Well, here is a great example of sharing a picture with a message and how in just two days it was shared, commented and liked by more than 66,126 people.

The message or CONTENT behind the photo  was what made this photo so powerful.  It wasn’t that the model was naked, it was the MESSAGE behind the photo that made this picture go viral.

Here is the copy that was with the photo which was featured inFrench Elle Magazine:

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

“Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I’d rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn’t enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: “How amazing am I ?! “

(The girl on the picture is French model Tara Lynn)

As I type this blog post, the photo within a few minutes reached much higher numbers with whom it was shared with.

So, the story isn’t over with how many people will be reached by one photo.

How to Protect Your Photo if You DON’T Want the World to See It

Granted, there are pros and cons of using a photo on social media. For this French model Tara Lynn, the great advantage of her photo going viral is she gained more exposure and more people know her name which is important to her career.  However, if you don’t want your photo to be shared then make sure  you select who you want to share it with when you post it.  Viewers can download the photo and re-upload the photo as public so, if you don’t want something to reach the world then don’t post it on social media.

Being tagged in a photo is another good example of people that you don’t know seeing your photo and your profile. You can make sure your  wall posts are secure and only your  friends see it;  however if you don’t  want people to know your birthday especially your full birthday with the year  make sure that is hidden otherwise you could be letting 66,000 people know your name and the state you lives in, the month and year you were born, etc.

How You Can Tap Into the Social Media Power with Your Photos

If you are a business and have a product,  putting the product in a fun scene that would create conversation and viral appeal.  Pictures are a great way to share your product or service and get people familiar with your business. Crafting a creative and unique message (humorous, inspirational or relatable) to go with your photo will boost the viral power and make it something that people will want to share with their friends.

Also, if you are the owner or CEO of your company, show a smiling or welcoming picture of yourself to give the company a face to the business.  Often times, relationships get people to buy from you.  It is all about people marketing

UPDATE:
Three days after this photo was originally posted 500,000 people interacted with this photo by sharing it, liking it or commenting.

I am the person who fills in the blanks.

Hand me a piece of white paper and I will color it with popping, striking, inspiring words.  Send me to your website and I will create the who-what-where content that tells the world about your unique company.  Log  me in to your social media pages and I will customize your profile then post to your followers on your behalf.  Ok, hold on a minute...

Can you do that?  Do I want you to do that?  Can you really be my voice?

Having been a ghostwriter for several clients, I can honestly answer yes and no.

Here’s the Thing…

Social media is about connections and genuine conversation. Savvy social media users can spot a poser from three news feeds away.  Outsourcing your social media content garners legitimate apprehensions especially if you don’t connect with a content writer who can capture your voice and doesn’t have social media or SEO (Search Engine Optimized) keyword experience.

The truth is you know your business and your customers better than anyone else.  Companies like Starbucks and Dell have full-time employees who monitor their social media sites, post content, engage with customers and have millions of  followers to show for it.

And, then…there are companies who do not have the luxury in their human resources budget to hire a full-time social media strategist or writer. For these folks, outsourcing provides real solutions.

Why Outsourcing Might Work for You

Your Staff is Stretched As It Is

Social media is not a magic wand, but merely a tool in your marketing plan and customer service outreach. You have to use it properly to see results.

So, who is going to be the tool-master in your company? Your choices might be the business owner because he/she knows the company better than anyone else.  But, chances are he/she is too busy dealing with the day-to-day demands of the company.  The Marketing Director  is another choice, but having worked for small businesses (and been a Marketing Director myself), that job is best described as wearing many hats and several – preferably, running – shoes.  Ok, so what about the intern who assures you he understands social media because he’s had a Facebook page since he was 13 years old? Hmmm.  Social media know-how, check. Marketing experience, not so much. Even if you have the best intern in the world, unless you plan to hire him after the internship then you will be right back in the same position in six months.

Outsourcing to a solid marketing company or copywriter will provide you with qualified and talented resources who understand the best practices of social media, how to use SEO keywords and will devote time to your online customers on a weekly or daily basis.

You Don’t Have Time To Learn Social Media (let alone keep up with the never-ending changes)

Ok, most social media platforms are  pretty easy to figure out…heck, even a 13 year old can do it.  However, it’s a different playing field when you use social media for your business than when you are making weekend plans with friends.  If you do not have time for the learning curve, bring on board an expert with client references, a proven track record and an actual – not virtual – background in marketing.  This person should possess a strong social media plan and strategy that is in line with your company’s mission and vision. Social media is not one size fits all.

Outsourcing Your Content Isn’t the Same as Outsourcing Your Voice

A copywriter’s primary job is understanding the facts then finding their client’s voice (or the voice they would like to represent their company) to tell their story.  Can it be done? Of course.  This is a good writer’s prize skill. In the same morning, I wrote website content speaking to high school football players for a recruiting company then switched gears and posted on Facebook about sipping a new blend of tea on behalf of an international tea company.

How do you choose the best content writer for your company?

1) Interview a writer the same way you would interview an employee.  View him or her as an extension of your team, not as a vendor providing a service.

2) Ask to see a full portfolio of their work. This will give you a flavor for their writing style, as well as, show how adaptable they can be with a myriad of industries and topics.

3) Ask them to write sample posts for your company.  This is how I work with my clients.  I submit 30 posts a month in advance and they give feedback.  This gives the client security knowing what will be on social media and gives me  ownership to post content that is timely for their audience without having to get daily approval. Of course, there is flexiblity in this as unforeseen events arise that the company can respond to on social media.

The qualities of a good writer

Now, this is just a matter of my opinion and what has made the difference for me when I’ve successfully posted for clients.  As a writer, it is important to:

• Be A Good Listener – Hear what your client is saying on several levels about their company.  What is the feeling/attitude/viewpoint of the company? Listening is the crucial step in picking up a client’s tone and voice.
• Be Well-Researched – I spend a significant amount of time  researching a company, their industry, their competition and their target audience’s needs and wants.  You have to know what you are talking about before you can write a single word.
• Be Authentic -  Write from the heart. Be excited for your client and the product or service they are providing.  Take it on as if it’s your own business.

Help Them To Help You

Whatever your goals may be for your company’s social media campaign – gain more exposure, expand your market, launch a new product or all of the above – be very clear with your marketing company or content writer about what you want and don’t want posted on social media.  An outsourced content writer will bomb  if they do not have knowledge of the company’s overall marketing plan, upcoming promotions or more than one company contact person to correspond with on a regular basis.

The content writer is not like the shoemaker’s elf who works on their own during the night.  To succeed and help you grow your business, they will need to feel and be viewed as a part of your team.

View http://www.facebook.com/VirtualBusinessSolutions to see the NEW Facebook Pages and see the new features and what has changed.

Today, Facebook announced an Upgrade for Pages.  For now, the upgrade is optional for fan pages, but it will be a requirement by March 2011.  You can go to this page to http://www.facebook.com/pages/status/ to Upgrade and/or take a Upgrade Tour all the fan pages you are admin.Here is a REPORT of all the changes:

• Photos at the top: The most recent photos that you post to the Wall of a Page you admin, or photos you tag your Page in, will appear here. This area will not include any photos posted by people who like your Page.

• Use Facebook as your Page: You will be able to receive notifications for your Page, view a News Feed for your Page, and like and post on other Pages as your Page (see ‘Use FB as Page’ below).

• Wall filters: Pages now have two publicly visible Wall filters-"Posts by Page" and "Everyone." Page admins will be able to view additional filters-"Most Recent" and "Hidden Posts.

• Email notifications: You can opt to receive notifications when people post or comment on your Page.

• Featured Pages and admins: You can feature other Pages your Page likes, or admins of your Page, in the new "Likes" and "Page Owners" sections on the left side of your Page (see "Featured Pages & Admins" below).

• Mutual connections: When people visit your Page, they will be able to view friends who also like your Page, as well as other Pages that both they and your Page like.

• Navigation: The content that you formerly accessed by clicking the tabs at the top of your Page can now be found in the column underneath your Page profile picture. The text in the box that used to appear in the box underneath your Page profile picture will now appear in the Info tab.

• Profile picture size: The profile picture size for Pages has been adjusted from 200×600 to 180×540

• Better Communication

Use FB as Page.

This new feature allows you to get notifications about activity on your page, see stories from pages you like in your newsfeed, and interact with other pages as your page

• Receive notifications when people interact with your page or posts
• Use the search bar to find other pages to like and comment on them as your page.
• You can go back to use Facebook as yourself anytime – just click Account and select your name.

Featured Pages

You can feature specific Page admins in the "Page Owners" section of your Page. To feature admins:

1. Click the "Edit Page" button in the top-right corner of your Page.
2. Select "Featured" from the left column menu.
3. Click on the "Add Featured Page Owners" button, and select admins to feature.

Featured Admins

Your Page can "like" other Pages, and those will be shown on the left side of your Page. To feature Pages:

1. Click the "Edit Page" button in the top-right corner of your Page.
2. Select "Featured" from the left column menu.
3. Click on the "Add Featured Pages" button.
4. Click "Add Featured Likes."
5. Choose Pages you’d like to feature. Note: you need to be connected to Pages from your personal profile in order to feature them on the Page you admin.
6. Click "Save."

Featured likes will rotate on the left of your Page

We give you the step by step guide to the NEW Facebook profile.

NOTE: Click MENU and Full Screen to view this slide tour BEST.

We also show you how to HIDE, adjust your privacy settings for your Facebook friend list.

NOTE: Click MENU and Full Screen to view this slide tour BEST.


Here is the 60 Minutes Interview with Mark Zuckerberg

How To Write Effective, Compelling and Correct Content for Social Media Information Boxes and Posts

What are you talking about?

You mean that little box under my picture on Facebook? The tiny little space on Twitter to write about myself? The “Description” box on my profile page? Yes, that’s what we mean.

I just write it, simple. Right?

Wrong.

Those small description boxes are powerful tools…if you write them correctly.

Don’t underestimate the value of those small description boxes and fall into the trap of filling the space with meaningless quotes or weak phrases. Those little boxes have the ability to reach a broad audience and convert a browser into a buyer.

Everyone, from advertising agencies to our 15 year old babysitter, has given us advice that we need to be on social media to be competitive and relevant in our business niche. Ok, we got that and have set about the task of setting up our pages. Now, wave your magic wand and wahlah! instant viral magic? Not the case, huh?

What’s wrong? What’s missing?

The problem is much of the advice given on social media is based on the assumption that you know how to write good copy.

Writing short content can be challenging – how do you tell your business message in just a few sentences or even less? It’s tough. But, it’s a big part of being on social media. Social media involves writing. Good writing. So, you really do need to say it right.

It is always surprising to us when we see companies using that space incorrectly. There’s been many times where we have to hold back the urge to call them and say, “You know, if you could just add in a few keywords here then you would be feeding the search engine better…” and so on.

Or, when we get hit over the head by endless posts about new products and promotions. We all understand that a business is selling us something, but we don’t want to know that they are…so, what else should you say in your posts to engage your target market?

Don’t worry. Even the big companies who have high-priced social media “gurus” on board to manage their accounts have used those spaces haphazardly or, worse, not at all. The biggest pitfall is assuming that your image or logo will be enough to sell ‘the click.”

The good news is that we have done all the work for you so, you can save time getting the information you need to move past “go” and onto “engage.” Here’s a “How To” class that really works. It’s called Social Media Content Writing Workshop. It’s simple, doesn’t take a lot of time, but will change the face of your social media pages.

And the best news? It’s Cyber Monday so, we are offering our Social Media Content Writing Workshop for HALF OFF the regular price! An unbelievable amount of valuable information at your fingertips for only $74.98. Simply enter code: cybermonday at check out.

http://virtualbusinesssolutions.com/Business-Online-Class-Solutions/Social-Media-For-Business-Workshop/flypage_new.tpl.html

Tell Me More!

A polished profile is crucial to the success of your social media pages.

We created the Social Media Content Writing Workshop with a recipe of 25 years of business experience, a library of insider information and our sincere desire to help the business owner succeed. Our team members have a strong background in both traditional and new marketing. The business owner can expect to leave the workshop with not only powerhouse Facebook and Twitter pages, but also a clear, concise and compelling message they can quickly use in other marketing efforts.

From brainstorming ideas to breaking down what you need to know about SEO keywords, this workshop is the complete resource any business owner needs to succeed in social media.

Our team copywriter helps the non-writer unmask the secrets of writing great copy. Even if you have a knack for writing, you won’t want to miss the valuable insider tips on the in’s and out’s of social media copy.

What You Can Expect:

• How-To Instructions & Formulas to easily plug-in your copy
• Examples of successful social media pages
• Guided audio with tips and expert advice access 24/7
• Simple tips & techniques to take your social media pages from average to amazing right now!
• BONUS material to help you identify your target audience
• BONUS material to help you zone in on your industry’s SEO Keywords

Workshop Includes:

• Social Media Short Copy – Those couple of sentences you read on social media sites are powerful tools. A polished profile is one of the most important aspects of your social media pages. Our customized short-copy formula will help you write your bio, information and description boxes (“About Us” and “About Me” sections) so they effectively connect you with your clients.
• Best Social Practices – Now that you have learned the nuts and bolts of social media, we will take you a step farther by showing you “how to” build social relationships for your business.

As a BONUS, we are giving away for FREE our 3 Part Social Media Series

Whether you are a novice just getting linked, friended and followed or you are already schooled in the ways of social media, this course will offer insights for both the beginner and advanced user. We show you all the options and insider tips for creating and effectively using Facebook and Twitter.

Not Sure if this Workshop is For You? Click Here to See How We’ve Helped Others!

“Just got off the phone with Laura Cole Gonzalez and Sharon Higgins of Virtual Business Solutions where they gave advice and tips on how small tweeks can make a BIG difference to your website and social media pages. Thanks, Laura and Sharon! Excellent feedback on my blog and social media pages!!” – Sue Seward, Online Marketing Coach, http://www.sueseward.com

Click Here for the Audio

Download the accompanying pdf

Still Not Sure? Try it Out for HALF Price!

This is not a season to be putting large prices on products and services that people need to grow their business. It is of great value to us to help other businesses succeed and rise above this tough economy. The best way we can do that is to offer our service at a price that everyone can afford. Our Social Media Content Writing Workshop with Bonus Social Media How-To Series is priced at only $149.96. These programs are valued at over $700 and even higher on other sites. In the spirit of Cyber Monday and for a limited time only, we are offering this workshop at an even lower price. Enter code cybermonday at checkout and receive the workshop for only $74.98!

This small investment will more than pay for itself when you are able to showcase your business on social media to millions of people.

What Else?

Once you make your purchase, you will instantly have access to:

• The Virtual Business Series 24/7 Online Learning Center – this is where you will find your Workshop and Series material including recorded audio from group calls, videos and screen captures
• Forum Board – this is where you are able to interact with our experts by posting questions and getting additional support
• 4 Tele-web conference group calls with the team experts

Sign Up for our Social Media Business Workshop Today!

Click here

p.s. Being web and social media experts, we are big fans of Cyber Monday and believe it should be at least a week long. Our sale begins today but ends soon! Sign up today to receive 50% off the regular price!

Marketing is changing and it’s changing fast. Social media sites may be ruling the popularity roost, but content is still King.

Whether it’s copy for your website, email newsletter marketing, blogging, social media sites or multimedia content development such as podcasts and viral video, you need quality content to drive business.  It is important for two major reasons: assuring a profession image and feeding search engines.

Business owners, such as yourself, can have such a hard time creating the copy you need because writing is not your area of expertise. You may know your product or service inside out and upside down, but crafting a message about your business that will connect to your target market is a wholly separate skillset. When budgeting marketing dollars for your business, it is imperative to set aside money for an experienced copywriter to create a compelling message that speaks to your customers.

Quality content is also crucial for your social media accounts.  If you think just setting up a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn account is enough, think again.  Don’t rely on your customers to keep the conversation going about your business. You need to complete your entire info section and explain your business with clear and concise words that highlight your business strengths. You also need to also write short copy for your posts and tweets.  That sounds easy enough because it’s only a few lines of text…or is it? Are you engaging your audience on your wall on Facebook?  If not, it may be the short copy you are posting.

Additionally, nothing drives  traffic to your website or social media pages more than powerful content.  You need to have a keen knowledge of Search Engine Optimized (SEO) keywords. SEO copywriting is an art which combines the power of the written word with the technological knowledge needed to guide the search engines to your website.

If you are wondering if you need a professional copywriter to clean up your Website and Social Media pages, answer these questions:

• When you tweet, are you using keyword rich words that will help your Twitter search engine ranking when people are searching your business subject?
• When you produce your newsletter, e-new or e-blasts, how many people visit and buy from your website?
• Are you providing relevant and timely information to engage your audience? Does your content establish you as an expert in your industry?
• Is your copy connecting the communication lines of ALL your online marketing?

If you answered “no” to all of these questions, then it’s time to consider copywriting solutions that will bring your online marketing the crowning glory it deserves.

Facebook has gone back and forth with how many Fans you need for your Business Fan Page to get this “pretty url”.

When pages first came out it was 25 fans, then they jumped to 100 and then 1000.  Many business owners sent in their feedback saying “Hey Facebook for business is also for the small business owner, don’t alienate us by making it 1000 fans.”  So they lowered it to 100.

Currently as I write this they have lowered it to 25 fans.  So if you haven’t ‘prettied’ up your Facebook  Biz URL go and do so today.

Note: Make sure when you  entering the custom business name you are doing it in the right area so that it creates your pretty  BUSINESS page URL.  You can also change your personal profile name in the same area so be CAREFUL.
Once you change it you can’t edit it.

Keep the name you use consistent with what you call your Facebook Business Page or what your domain name is.
Remember this is the url that you can also put at the bottom of your email signature on business cards, on a billboard sign etc.

Facebook at least offers the ability to get a pretty url for both your PERSONAL profile and your BUSINESS page but what if the social media site doesn’t offer that what do you do?

You can use URL shortening services like TinyURL or bit.ly to make short versions of the url link.

You can purchase a domain name set up a 301 redirect to a landing page  “Find Me At”  with ALL of your social media buttons with direct hyperlinks.

You can use http://www.unhub.com for FREE  and set which site it lands on with ALL of your social media buttons and links on top.   Here is my unhub page which lands on my blog site   http://unhub.com/virtualbiz4u

If you need help with figuring out “How To” set up your pretty url on Facebook for personal and business feel free to take the Facebook For Business Online Class which will show you how.

Post what that new ‘pretty url’ is HERE so we can all fan your Facebook page.  If you have a hub account or a custom domain feel free to leave a comment too.  Tell  us a little bit about yourself  and what your favorite social media site you use most often.

What exactly is a “twebinar”? Using Twitter and a webinar. Participants in a webinar or even a teleseminar watch and listen from the sidelines but join in on the conversation before, during and after each Twebinar.

Participants can watch and listen to the Twebinar just as you would with a normal web based webinar, or teleseminar except with these added benefits:

• Other participants in the event can have conversation which is ongoing as participants ‘tweet’ ( ask questions, and/or discuss the webinar series on Twitter)
• Follow other participants and presenter to create networking and business relationships
• Presenter gets a feel  for what content to go over ahead of time if participants  ‘tweet’ questions ahead of time
• Presenter gets feedback  after the event and continues dialog and relationship
• Announcing Event  details can be ‘Retweeted’ and promoted
• Use hashtags to follow event before, during and after
  (The hash symbol followed by a tag is used to identify a topic on Twitter. Hashtags make it much easier to search for all posts on the same topic using the Twitter search engines.)
  Example @virtualbiz4u #twittertip or if it an upcoming webinar the initials of what the event is called

Anyone else have anything else to add that are the benefits of a Twebinar please leave comments below.

I happen to love FF #FollowFriday  because it gives me a chance to highlight the people I really enjoy following…people who make a sincere contribution. #Follow Friday.

You may have seen people use the hash # symbol in some of their Twitter posts.

The hash symbol followed by a tag is used to identify a topic on Twitter. Hashtags make it much easier to search for all posts on the same topic using the Twitter search engines.

Friday you nominate people who you think are worth following (perhaps the best new people that you’ve met over the past couple of weeks or your long time favorites).

To keep up to date with all the developments, on Friday, just use a service such as Tweet Grid or Monitter and search for #followfriday.  As the page updates, you will see hundreds or even thousands of people who recommend good people to follow on Twitter.
You can also just type in your search bar in on your Twitter page #followfriday.
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23followfriday

To take part, just post the Twitter usernames of people you recommend that other people follow, then add #followfriday to your tweet so that other people can find it.

I HIGHLY recommend you put why you recommend. This will make your contribution more valuable, you may want to group the people that you recommend into a certain category. For example, the top graphic artist or web developers  to follow etc.  Because this hashtag has become so popular some  people begin to ignore it seeing it as ‘noise’.  If you put the category or the VALUE of these “follow worthy” tweeters the effort you made will be noticed and received.

To Quickly Create your  followfriday list  you use a tool the twittertag project

How twittertag project tool Works

Tired of manually inputting names for Follow Friday tweets? Well do I have a solution for you!

1. Type in your twitter username.
2. The engine will scan the last 200 tweets, count the dups, and return your most active friends.
3. The results will display:#FollowFriday @friend1 @friend2 @friend3 @friend4…

The other idea to add to the #followfriday concept is to also add something in your Twitter bio that says see my  #followfavorites

Follow Friday provides you with three major opportunities to attract new followers;

First, if one of your followers nominates you as a good person to follow, this will create a certain amount of interest in your profile.  You are also getting a ‘referral’ and we all know in business getting a referral gives you the client already warmed up to your business.

Second, it will give you plenty of ideas of who to follow.

Third, as more people are tuned in to the idea of finding new followers, they’re more likely to follow you back.

Fourth, by seeing your name referred your name becomes familiar so even if they don’t follow you the first time they will eventually once your name becomes familiar to them.

So this Friday, make time in your schedule for Twitter and get ready to find a range of new, high-quality followers.