Forget the fads these are the 30 essential things I believe you MUST understand or do in order to build your

r business through social media. And best of all - none of them will cost you a penny...

Robert Tyson

30 SOCIAL MEDIA HACKS

A CHEAT SHEET FOR BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com

INTRODUCTION FROM ROBERT TYSON

Dear Reader, The biggest force for change in the world in the last 10 years has been the internet. And the biggest change in the internet in the last five years has unquestionably been the rise of social media defined as web sites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts.

With their emphasis on user-generated content and the harnessing of personal connections, social media attract people in volume and with an intensity of interaction that is new. We spend our time interacting on Facebook instead on seeing friends in person. News stories not only break, but take on a life of their own on Twitter, rather than old media or even news websites. And YouTube is fast becoming a repository of all human culture and knowledge. And skateboarding dog videos. There are 850 million people on Facebook, 300 million on Twitter, and 150 million on LinkedIn. There are 3 billion views a day on YouTube. The numbers alone must tell you that theres a huge opportunity here. And, though some of the key players may change, the social layer is here to stay in our increasingly networked economies and lives. Why? Because ultimately people are social animals who crave contact with other humans and prefer to deal with people they like. Furthermore, because people are on social media to interact with people they know, the dynamics are different for businesses who want to succeed on these platforms. Out go dry, spunto-within-an-inch-of-their-lives corporate monologues. In come conversations, personality, and a premium on authenticity.

Copyright, Robert Tyson

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30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com Not sure its necessary to get involved in social media? Then prepare to watch your competitors eat your lunch! Social media is a massive opportunity for any business thats prepared to grasp and work at it and the good news is, its never been easier to build a business online with the wealth of free and low-cost tools available. But if you dont, rest assured others will. Dont have the time? This cheat sheet is designed to show you the 20% of social media resources, activities and tools that will give you 80% of the results: my top 30 hacks for getting to grips with, and building a presence, on social media for your business. Dont know what to say? Ill show you and explain the special secret that separates the really successful businesses from the losers in social media. Forget the fads these are the 30 essential things I believe you MUST understand or do in order to build your business through social media. And none of them will cost you a penny. Enjoy and dont forget to let me know what you think of this ebook!

Robert Tyson Editor, The Tyson Report www.thetysonreport.com

Email: robert@thetysonreport.com

P.S. Dont forget to connect with me on the following social networks: http://www.twitter.com/TheTysonReport http://uk.linkedin.com/in/roberttyson http://plus.google.com/103758968011277659103 http://www.facebook.com/TheTysonReport http://www.youtube.com/TheTysonReport

Copyright, Robert Tyson

dont forget to take useful notes in the margin

30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com

CONTENTS
Introduction from Robert Tyson ....................................................................................................... 2 Part 1: Get social media in 10 minutes ........................................................................................... 6 1. Discover the special secret of social networks ......................................................................... 6 2. Grow your social capital by adopting the sharing mindset ...................................................... 7 3. Show youre solid with a consistent presence .......................................................................... 8 4. Be authentic .............................................................................................................................. 9 5. Harness a powerful law: reciprocity ....................................................................................... 10 6. Warning: listen or be damned ................................................................................................ 10 Part 2: Build a rock solid foundation ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 7. Seize your valuable social real estate this instant! .................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 8. Dominate social and search with a consistent identity ............. Error! Bookmark not defined. 9. Get deep into the 850 million-strong country of Facebook ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. 10. Why Twitter? 300 million users and viral potential like no other .......... Error! Bookmark not defined. 11. Grab your own YouTube channel now and start narrowcasting .......... Error! Bookmark not defined. 12. Get on LinkedIn and do business ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 13. Get a search engine boost with a Google+ personal profile and company page ........... Error! Bookmark not defined. 14. Use HootSuite to rule em all ................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 15. WordPress makes your social life easy .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 16. Use these seven awesome tools to analyse your social media performanceError! Bookmark not defined. 17. Cant keep up? Use these mobile apps to save time ............... Error! Bookmark not defined. Part 3: Content is king ....................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 18. Creating original content easily ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 19. Share other peoples content .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 20. Google Alerts loves doing your homework for you ................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Copyright, Robert Tyson

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30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com 21. The minimalists content trick: repurpose and repeat .......... Error! Bookmark not defined. 22. Improve any article or blog post by a factor of 10 in five minutes or less .... Error! Bookmark not defined. 23. Create an awesome social media presence in 15 minutes a day ........... Error! Bookmark not defined. Part 4: Smart social tricks .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 24. Shoot a YouTube video and embed it on your website for instant engagement ........... Error! Bookmark not defined. 25. How to go viral while you sleep ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 26. Get automatic exposure with the Tweet Old Post plugin for your WordPress site ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. 27. Look dynamic with social widgets on your website ............... Error! Bookmark not defined. 28. Create your very own daily online newspaper with Paper.li . Error! Bookmark not defined. 29. Build your brand and retain social traffic with Visibli .............. Error! Bookmark not defined. 30. Just do it! ................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. A final word ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Copyright, Robert Tyson

dont forget to take useful notes in the margin

30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com

PART 1: GET SOCIAL MEDIA IN 10 MINUTES

1. DISCOVER THE SPECIAL SECRET OF SOCIAL NETWORKS
Id like to start with a damaging admission. Facebook, Twitter and, it seems, large parts of the regular media - would probably love you to think that you can sign your business up on social media and immediately generate a flood of sales. But Ill tell you right now: youre unlikely to have that experience. As I write, social media is NOT a powerful mechanism for making sales directly. However it DOES allow us to do something that is absolutely ESSENTIAL if we are to build business for the long term. What is it? Ill tell you. Social medias special secret is in its capacity to allow us to NURTURE relationships. Long before the prevalence of social media, author Bob Burg (http://www.burg.com) identified with admirable clarity how, before we can possibly have a good business relationship with somebody, that somebody must be satisfied of three things in their own mind.

They must KNOW us. They must LIKE us. And, they must TRUST us.

Know

Like

Trust

Know. Like. Trust. All must be present or we have no chance of building a strong relationship. Social media is perfect for allowing people to get to know us because virality means they can easily be exposed to us, and easily connect with us or our business to get to know us better (whether as our friend, follower, connection or fan). Used right, social media also provides a platform for people to like us, because we can help them, make them laugh, or expose different facets of ourselves. Above all, its when we interact with AUTHENTICITY that people come to like and respect us, just as they would in the real world. And finally, social media is also ideal for building trust. Social proof of our value or the lack thereof is part and parcel of the social media experience. Do my friends like or follow a Copyright, Robert Tyson dont forget to take useful notes in the margin

30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com business? How many followers or fans do they have? What do their interactions say about them? All these questions can be answered with a few clicks, because social media is played out in a totally transparent environment. Where social media can excel is in helping potential customers to know, like and trust you it almost never is in closing the sale then and there (where other channels like face-to-face or email will do a better job). THIS is the special secret of social networks and getting people to know, like and trust you through your genuine efforts has to be your overarching goal too.

2. GROW YOUR SOCIAL CAPITAL BY ADOPTING THE SHARING MINDSET

All over the web, you can see certain businesses who have jumped on social networks, and are very active, posting numerous updates. But theyre failing miserably. Oh, people know them alright but they dont like them. In fact, those businesses may even be developing an active dislike amongst many potentially perfect customers. Theyre getting social media very wrong because they havent discovered one simple yet vitally important - concept. If all you do is shout about yourself YOUR business, YOUR products, YOUR offers - no-one will want to listen. Its like being stuck with the bore who only talks about themselves and how much fun is that? People care about themselves and their needs, not yours. Social networks like Facebook have been likened to a bar environment somewhere people go so they can relax and see their friends. Would YOU want a salesman jumping down your throat in that setting? Realise that when you constantly flood your social channels with desperate-looking buy now messages, you are actually turning off potential customers and getting further away from a relationship. They wont like you. And with one click, theyll silence you forever (that is, stop your updates appearing in their personal stream). But you CAN promote your business on social media very effectively, without doing this. Heres how Heres the important point. Note it well. Lock it in your brain. Take it to your grave.

Copyright, Robert Tyson

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30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com Social media is based on sharing. And people will love you if you will only share material of value. What is value? You provide value when you help the other person get what THEY want. This might be information, news, or resources that help them professionally, in their business or job, or satisfy personal needs, interests or desires. Brainstorm the type of value your ideal customer would like and that you can provide. You dont need to interpret it super-narrowly: If you sell handmade furniture for example, talk about interior design in general, about easy furniture care, about the materials you use and what makes them special. If youre a personal trainer, the value you can provide probably isnt just related to exercise per se, but also to diet, wellbeing, and the active lifestyle. If youre a pest controller, dont just talk about how people can protect their homes and outbuildings from pests, but give tips for homeowners in general. The key is to pinpoint your ideal customer, and understand whats important in their lives. Create your own valuable content around those ideas and share it, and/or collect and share other peoples useful content in the same area. If you do this consistently, then not only will your following grow but you will earn the right, in the minds of your connections, to promote yourself directly from time to time. Because they appreciate your useful content, theyll be receptive to hearing more of what you can offer (and frequently they will come to you for help without you even asking!). In any event, limit directly promotional activity to no more than 10% of your output.

3. SHOW YOURE SOLID WITH A CONSISTENT PRESENCE

A consistent social media presence says organised, dependable, diligent all qualities that are highly prized by potential customers. Of course, the reverse is also true a social profile with big gaps, or thats been abandoned altogether, says the exact opposite. Remember the overarching aim of your social media activities - to make it easy for people to know, like and trust you.

Copyright, Robert Tyson

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30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com That takes time and it takes consistency, so dont get frustrated if you dont see results overnight. Of course, you can strike lucky and generate business very quickly if youre in the right place at the right time. But you should also anticipate that it could take many months of consistent engagement for you to see the full benefit of engagement through your social media platforms. OK, its not known as a social brand, but Amazons a wildly successful internet business nonetheless. So take a leaf out of CEO and founder Jeff Bezoss book: Our first shareholder letter, in 1997, was entitled, Its all about the long term. If everything you do needs to work on a three-year time horizon, then youre competing against a lot of people. But if youre willing to invest on a seven-year time horizon, youre now competing against a fraction of those people, because very few companies are willing to do that. Just by lengthening the time horizon, you can engage in endeavours that you could never otherwise pursue. At Amazon we like things to work in five to seven years. Were willing to plant seeds, let them growand were very stubborn. We say were stubborn on vision and flexible on details.

(Source: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/ff_bezos/all/1) Rome wasnt built in a day. Be prepared for the long haul.

4. BE AUTHENTIC
Dry corporate-speak was accepted in the age of mass, one-way marketing communication. But it wont fly on social media (just as it wouldnt in any social situation). Use your authentic voice. That doesnt mean sharing every single detail of your life! People still care first and foremost about themselves and will quickly resent a stream-of-consciousness that tells them how youre going to the toilet now, making a cup of coffee, or going to bed. But a little bit of you will go a long way to showing youre a human being and helping your connections get to know you. For example, I like many, many different types of music but just lately I cant stop listening to metallers Judas Priest theres just something about them that I find helps the creative process! (In fact, Im something of a rock - and rock book junkie in general. Check out this blog post, The Guns N Roses School of List Building if you need further proof: http://thetysonreport.com/blog/2012/01/the-guns-n-roses-school-of-list-building/.)

Copyright, Robert Tyson

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30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com

5. HARNESS A POWERFUL LAW: RECIPROCITY

The principle of reciprocity is what effective use of social media is all about. By sharing what you can of value whether that be your useful content, or other peoples you help your connections get what they want. The ultimate result, if you do this consistently, will be that you get back everything you put in and more, because youre top of mind when people need the kind of products or services you provide, and because, through your good work, youve built up what might be termed social capital. In other words, people appreciate that youve helped them, so its only natural theyll want to return the favour. Pay it forward; GIVE, without hoping to GET anything, and in time youll reap the rewards.

6. WARNING: LISTEN OR BE DAMNED

As well as being a great platform for you to put your best foot forward, social media is of course a two-way communication platform a conversation. Take the opportunity to learn from your connections by asking questions and inviting input and discussion regularly. Many savvy bloggers or social media posters ALWAYS ask what do you think? at the end of a post, for example, and some even reward those who comment in an organised way. This is no accident they are deliberately inviting interaction in the knowledge that it builds bridges and stimulates interest. Comment on other peoples posts, and, when a post of yours gets commented on, be sure to reply.

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30 Social Media Hacks: A Cheat Sheet For Building Your Business With Social Media http://www.thetysonreport.com

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