Twitter autoresponders.  I love this topic because it is such a polarizing one.   Some people love them, some people hate them…and let’s just say those that hate them REALLY hate them.

What I am talking about here are what appears to be ‘stock’ messages that show up in your Twitter Direct Messages folder from the new Twitter users you just followed.

I’m sure you are familiar with these.  The better messages will say something like: “Thanks for following.  I tweet about sports medicine and have more information on my blog www.sportsmed.co.uk”.

The worst ones will say something like this: “Someone is saying something bad about you.  Click here to find out:www.whocares.com”.

Obviously the second one is straight spam, with the user probably involved in some affiliate program where they get paid for click-thrus.  But many would argue that both of these are spam, as they are auto-generated.

My thoughts?  Different strokes for different folks.  Personally I believe if you do not have the time to personally say hello to each new person who follows you, these auto-direct messages can be very helpful.  They allow you to get in front of the person and share exclusive information about yourself or your business.

My two rules?

1.  Make it Juicy. When I read a good auto message on Twitter, I will click the link, reply and all the rest.  It will drive me to action.  So if you choose to go down this route, be sure to make it count!

2.  No Bait and Switch. Don’t lure the person with a message that doesn’t mirror what they will see on the other side.  Be 100% transparent…this approach always works beautifully online.

Now, how do you do it?  There are loads of services out there (free and paid) that will enable you to generate these auto-direct messages.  I’ve tried many of them and there are two services I would suggest.  The first is a paid service called SocialOomph.

SocialOomph (https://www.socialoomph.com/) is a pretty robust third-party agent that helps you handle many aspects of your social media campaign.  I’ll let you go through the site and check out all of the bells and whistles.  Right now I want to focus on how to quickly set-up an auto-direct message for Twitter.

Here are the quick steps:

1.  Register and/or login to SocialOomph.  When you register, you want to choose the service where you are able to send “Welcome DMs” to your new followers.

2.  Once you are registered and paid, go to the left hand side menu there is a button for “Social Networks”.  Click on that and follow the directions for adding your Twitter account.

3.  Now that you are registered, go to the left hand menu again, this time choosing “Direct Messages”.  Then click “Edit Welcome DM” and choose your Twitter account.

4.  On this page, first click the box next to “Auto Welcome”.  Then, in the “Send This Message” write your 140 welcome message (remember to follow my two rules above).

5.  Underneath this you have the option to “Auto Follow” which means that anyone who follows you, you will immediately follow back.  This can be tricky, so I would use this with caution.

6.  Last, I would click the box next to “@Replies Digest” to receive the email updates as it is a great way to track your engagement on Twitter.

The other site is called Tweet Manager.  It is a wonderful service, just visit them online and follow the very easy to follow steps that they provide.  It is much easier to use than SocialOomph and currently doesn’t cost a penny to use.

And there you go!  From then on in, your new followers will receive a welcome message.  Again, this method is not for everyone, so try it and track its effectiveness for your campaign.  Twitter marketing, like other social media marketing, is organic and can be tweaked when needed.

So where do you fit into the messy, fast and furious Twitter-verse?  Good question.

I think finding your way on Twitter does take time, research and a good plan.  But once you have these crucial elements a new question arises: how often should I tweet?

I love this question as it seems everyone has a different perspective on the correct answer. Some believe that it has to be based on time, others based on topic.  While both of these are good points, especially for targeting purposes, they really don’t answer the question “how many”.

Let me throw my hat in the ring and attempt to not only answer this question, but give you a quick template on how to do it.

I believe that consistency and a plan are both crucial to a successful Twitter campaign.  With every plan, I believe there should be a good mixture of activity so all of your bases are covered.  Twitter gives you a few options in terms of activity/interaction and I want to focus on the main venues here: tweets, mentions, direct messages and re-tweets.

So, as you can see, there are several ways that you can communicate with others on Twitter.  First, think about how much time you will be able to dedicate to marketing on Twitter everyday.  Maybe you have a couple of hours (lucky you) or maybe just 20-30 minutes a day (which sounds realistic).  Using this time frame, consider how many actions that you will be able to complete during this time and create a daily plan.

While this is a bit more practiced and could be labeled “not spontaneous” I think when you are a busy person (which I know you are) you need to tick things off your daily list with great speed.  If you don’t, then things probably slip away from you and end up in the dreaded “Ah, tomorrow’s another day” pile.

Here’s a sample of how many “tweets” and other Twitter activities that I would suggest you execute on a given day with a little description of the importance of the activity:

Tweets (2): These come directly from you/your company and will contain content that is engaging, entertaining and/or educational.  Share links, photos, videos, quotes or updates pertaining directly to items that you target market (followers) will enjoy reading and will be eager to share.

DMs/Direct Messages (2-5):  These messages are sent privately between two Twitter users.  If you have a relatively small number of followers, these do not come in fast and furious.  They will once you begin to amass followers on a daily basis.  Take 2-5 of the DMs that you receive and send a personal response to the Twitter user.  This will help you get in front of your followers yet again and add that “personal touch” that many miss on Twitter.

RTs/Retweets (2): These are tweets from another Twitter user that you are sharing with YOUR followers with the click of a button.  I suggest finding two influential Twitter users in your product/service category and RT (share) their tweet with your followers.  This is a great way of getting in front of that influential person, while also sharing good solid information with your followers.

@replies/Mentions (2):  When you type @ in front of a Twitter user’s name, your tweet will be shared within their main Twitter stream.  Choose two influential people and tweet them about something that they have shared, or even something that you have seen in the media outside of Twitter – anything on topic.  This is a great way to connect with influential people in your niche and will help you connect with more quality members of your target audience.

So my total for the 20-30 minute Twitter user is a consistent 8-10 per day.  As your Twitter following begins to grow, you will need to spend more time as you will receive more mentions, RTs and DMs.  By the time this happens though, you will be in a groove and will be able to handle everything that comes your way.  When you do this everyday, you will hit your stride and after the first month won’t even need to worry about the number of Tweets that you put out.  It will become second nature and the whole process will become organic.

Another good thing to mention is that there are tools such as TweetDeck and Hootsuite that can help you schedule your Twitter activity so that you don’t always need to be in front of the computer when your Tweets go out.  Be aware that you should not depend on them 100% as it is helpful to keep a watchful eye on the live activity on Twitter.  Also,  sometimes these sites will go down for maintenance….and you could make you lose all of your scheduled activity.  Just keep an eye on your actual account so that you are not shocked when you check back and see that your scheduled Tweets did not go out for the last two weeks.

I hope this sheds some light on how to get your act together on Twitter.  If you can tweet more than this, do so!  If you can’t, don’t!  It is all about consistency – so only bite off what you can chew.

Over the years I have been compiling a list of online marketing sites from my friends, colleagues and just plain old excellent sources in the wonderful world of marketing.  I was taking a look at it the other day and thought that I would share it all with you.

Here are some of THE BEST resources when it comes to marketing your business.  Click and read any combination of the following blogs and be dazzled.  Let them know I sent you and if you like what you see, make sure to subscribe to their RSS feeds.

Without further ado…..here’s the list (of course, my favorite is the first one!):

Go! Media Online: http://www.gomediaonline.com

B2B Marketing Insider: http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com

TrueYouMarketing.com: http://www.trueyoumarketing.com/

Read Write Web: http://www.readwriteweb.com/

Emergence Marketing: http://www.emergencemarketing.com/

MarketingProfs: http://www.marketingprofs.com

Traffick: http://blog.traffick.com/

Marketing Interactions: http://marketinginteractions.typepad.com/

Michel Fortin: http://michelfortin.com/

Smart Bloggerz: http://www.smartbloggerz.com/

How to Change the World: http://blog.guykawasaki.com

Social Media Explorer: http://www.twitip.com/

Neuromarketing: http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/

Marketing VOX: http://www.marketingvox.com/

Influential Marketing Blog: http://www.rohitbhargava.com

The Brand Builder Blog: http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/

SmartBlog on Social Media: http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/

SEO MOZ: http://www.seomoz.org/blog

Search Marketing Standard: http://www.searchmarketingstandard.com/

Social Media Darwinism: http://pauldunay.com/

AdPulp: http://www.adpulp.com/

Jason Keath: http://jasonkeath.com

Yoast SEO Blog: http://yoast.com/cat/seo/

Majon International’s Official Internet Marketing Blog: http://www.majon.com/blog/

Stokefire: http://www.stokefire.com/blog/

Dominique Hind’s Collective: http://dominiquehind.wordpress.com/

Conversionation: http://www.conversionation.net/

Design For Users: http://www.design-for-users.com/

Small Business Search Marketing: http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/

Conversation Agent: http://www.conversationagent.com/

Get Elastic: http://www.getelastic.com/

twitip: http://www.twitip.com/

Chris Brogan: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/

idaconcpts: http://idaconcpts.com/

Marketing 2.0: http://www.marketingtwo.net/

blogstorm: http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/

REEL SEO: http://www.reelseo.com/

Zero-G Creative: http://zerogcreative.com/blog

Steve Rubel: http://www.steverubel.me/

HubSpot Blog: http://blog.hubspot.com

Jay Baer’s Convince & Convert: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/

Conversation Marketing: http://www.conversationmarketing.com/

We Are Social: http://wearesocial.net/

WindMill Networking: http://windmillnetworking.com/blog/

Branding Strategy Insider: http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/

Brian Solis: http://www.briansolis.com/

Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That! : http://www.damniwish.com/

HigherVisibility Blog: http://www.highervisibility.com/blog/

The Search Agents: http://www.thesearchagents.com/

Mint Blogger: http://www.mintblogger.com/

The Future Buzz: http://thefuturebuzz.com/

ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/

Doug Haslam: http://doughaslam.com/

Marketing TechBlog: http://www.marketingtechblog.com/

copyblogger Blog: http://www.copyblogger.com/blog/

ShoeMoney: http://www.shoemoney.com/

Jim’s Marketing Blog: http://jimsmarketingblog.com/

Chris Baggott’s Email Marketing Best Practices: http://www.exacttarget.typepad.com/chrisbaggott/

PR Squared: http://www.pr-squared.com/

Drew’s Marketing Minute: http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/

Webbiquity B2B Marketing Blog: http://webbiquity.com/

Duct Tape Marketing Blog: http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/

Marketing Pilgrim: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/

Compete Pulse: http://blog.compete.com/

Ypulse: http://www.ypulse.com/

Jonathan Volk: http://www.jonathanvolk.com/

Dose of Digital: http://www.doseofdigital.com/

Brand Architect: http://www.collings.co.za/

Chris Moody: http://www.chris-moody.com/blog/

Bad Pitch Blog: http://badpitch.blogspot.com/

MarketingSherpa: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/

ChasNote: http://chasnote.com/

Wonder Branding: http://www.wonderbranding.com/

Church of the Customer Blog: http://www.customerevangelists.typepad.com/blog/

Wired PR Works!: http://wiredprworks.com/blog/

Media Bullseye: http://blog.customscoop.com/

Content Marketing Institute, Joe Pulizzi’s Blog: http://blog.junta42.com/

Mari Smith: http://www.marismith.com/mari-smith-blog/

Seth Godin’s Blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

WebInkNow.: http://www.webinknow.com/

Ingrid O. Catlin: http://www.ingrid-catlin.com/

The Social Media Marketing Blog: http://files.scottmonty.com/

Insights & Ingenuity Blog: http://insightsandingenuity.com/blog/

TopRank Online Marketing Blog: http://www.toprankblog.com/

Success Works: http://www.seocopywriting.com/

Eat Media Blog: http://www.seocopywriting.com/

Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/

Straight Talk with Nigel Hollis: http://www.millwardbrown.com/Global/Blog/StraightTalk.aspx

Writing on the Web with Dr. Patsi Krakoff: http://writingontheweb.com/

Since its inception at the end of 2011, Google+ has grown astronomically and stole the spotlight by snagging more headlines than any of its competitors.

As the site continues to grow, it continues to define itself as a major player in the social media marketing arena.  NOW businesses too have the opportunity to throw their hat in the ring with Google+ Pages for professional purposes.

While to some it may seem straight-forward how to use Google+ Pages for business, many are confused as to how to set up brand marketing on the site.

Much like Facebook – Google+ has some ground rules that you have to follow.  Remember before Facebook Pages, how many companies registered their business under a personal profile…and when Facebook Pages was implemented, were left out in the cold and had to start over?  Thankfully Facebook has fixed this problem and now those who were out in the cold can transfer their info over to an official Facebook Page, but what a pain, right?!

Google+ moved quickly on this front in order to trounce this confusion and to get users started using the Pages quickly.  But the question remains: if I am marketing my business in Google+, do I use a Google+ Profile or a Google+ Page?

Here’s the skinny.  The best way to get the most out of your time on any social site is to follow the guidelines that are presented when you sign up.  If they are asking for your first and last name – its a personal profile.  If they are asking for your business name and website – it’s a Google+ Page.  Pretty straight-forward right?

Here’s a little curve ball for ya…in order to create a Google+ Page, a personal profile must be presented.  Yikes!  What do I do now?

First, don’t worry.  Think of your Google+ Profile as you would your LinkedIn profile.  You can list your interests, achievements, work and educational history, as well as social media links and lots more.  Update your profile and interact on Google+ as if you were on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter in a professional way.

Now on to  your Google+ Page!  This is pretty much a similar format to your Facebook Page, Company Twitter or LinkedIn Company Profile.  Here, updates will be in your brand’s voice and carry information that your company wants to share to engage your audience.

So to keep it short and simple, use both profiles to market yourself and your business on Google+, as this will give you two areas of coverage.  Not interested in having your personal details connected?  Keep your personal profile sparse.  I think it is best to fill everything in, but everyone is different.  Here’s one way to look at it; The internet is a pretty open place, you can find out just about everything and anything about someone – so rather than hide behind your business, be transparent!  Although there may be some good reasons that one may not want to be the spokesperson for the company’s

Google+ or LinkedIn page, the trick here is in how you manage your privacy settings, and what content you put online.

I was listening to an online radio show from the UK yesterday that said that of 300 hiring firms, almost all of them had ‘researched’ social media sites regarding individual candidates – the takeaway from that should NOT be negative…rather – solidly build, manage, and populate your social media sites, and they will be your living resume!  (And if someone is interested in speaking to you about a job offer – they will usually contact you utilizing your offline contacts!)

Once you have yourself setup – dive in!  The conversations are lively and you will be able to connect with lots of interesting people and drive brand awareness like never before.

One industry that my firm is doing more and more business with lately is the healthcare industry.  All areas of this field – from recruiting, hospital groups, medical facilities and clinics, to individual physicians and practitioners – seem to be jumping on the social media scene.  With the Age Wave and Baby Boomers demanding better, cutting edge, state of the art care – their ways of learning, communicating with their practitioners, and telling their friends about that care will advance too…and social media is the vehicle!

As we are always ones to keep up with the latest and greatest in marketing for all business segments, we have been compiling a list of resources to use to keep up to date with all the trends.

I shared this list with a healthcare client of mine and they went through the roof and suggested that we share it with all of you.  As you can guess – I loved the idea!

So below is a list of all of (my) favorite healthcare and medical marketing websites and blogs that have the sharpest and most informative content to help those in healthcare market their businesses more effectively.

Enjoy and make sure if you like the blogs, let them know I sent you!

• KevinMD.com: http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/
• The Healthcare Marketing Exchange: http://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/
• Weekly Probe Marketing: http://www.weeklyprobe.com/category/marketing/
• MedTouch Blog: http://blog.medtouch.com/
• Dose of Digital: http://www.doseofdigital.com/
• Medical Marketing: http://blogs.estcomedical.com/
• Hospital Impact: http://www.hospitalimpact.org/
• KBM Group: http://www.kbmghealth.com/blogs.aspx
• Medical Marketing Blog: http://www.mednet-tech.com/newsletter/
• The Healthcare Marketing Community and Blog: http://healthcaremarketing.ning.com/
• ePharma Rx: http://blog.intouchsol.com/
• Healthcare.Marketing: http://hospitalmarketinganas.blogspot.com/
• Quaintise: http://blog.quaintise.com/
• Health Care 3.0: http://healthcareandthesocialweb.ning.com/
• ND&P
• Enabling Healthy Decisions: http://georgevanantwerp.com/
• Healthy Conversations: http://www.trajectory4brands.com/blog/
• Medical Marketing Blog: http://omnimedicalmarketing.com/blog/
• Gandolf’s Marketing Magic: http://www.gandolfsmarketingmagic.com/
• Medical Web Experts: http://www.medicalwebexperts.com/blog/
• HealthBlawg: http://healthblawg.typepad.com/
• RX MD Marketing Solutions: http://rxmdmarketingsolutions.com/healthcare-marketing-blog/
• Hospital Marketing Journal: http://hospitalmarketing.blogs.com/my_weblog/
• Health Care Leadership Blog: http://www.healthcareleadershipblog.com/
• Kru: http://blog.kruresearch.com/
• The Healthcare Marketer: http://thehealthcaremarketer.wordpress.com/
• Dan Dunlop: http://www.wellsphere.com/dan-dunlop/134463/posts
• Healthcare Marketing Success: http://healthcaremarketingsuccess.blogspot.com/

Are there any more that you would like to add to this list?

The honest answer is the fact that many of us have an aversion to the word PLAN.  It immediately scares and intimidates us.  Also, who knows exactly what needs to go in it and how you pull it all together?

Hard questions, but I think once you dive in and identify your goals and pinpoint your target market – you are ready to examine what is actually the toughest part, the marketing mix.  Sometimes we can get overwhelmed with so many options, but here are some of my favorites and ones that I suggest to get my clients.

These are a mixture of online and offline marketing tools – ‘mixture’ being key.  Notice that there are 10 items on the list, not 1.  A marketing plan includes a blend of different tactics….not putting all of your eggs in one basket.

1.  Email Blasts:  Email blasts are great for getting your information in front of your target audience on a consistent basis.  Make sure that they are packed with good information and that you schedule them on a regular basis.

2.  Article Marketing:  A great way to increase SEO and awareness is to share your blogs and articles on article marketing sites.  Make sure that they are keyword heavy and really show off your expertise!

3.  Advertising: While not an option for everyone, advertising in the media can reap wonderful benefits.  Whether it is a free ad placed in Craigslist or a two page center spread in Fortune magazine, advertising is a wonderful way to get your message seen.

4.  Social Media: PR is offline public relations and social media is its online sibling.  While a relatively new addition to the marketing mix, this powerful medium not only helps you engage on another level with your target market, but humanizes your brand.  It is a great way to engage your audience in real time.

5.  Content Marketing: This is a very important, while widely ignored, aspect of the marketing mix.  At the end of the day, if you have nothing to say or share – what reason does anyone have to listen to you.  Press releases, blogs, articles, blurbs, announcements and the rest need to be a part of your strategy so that you have enough wonderful content to push through your various channels.

6.  Public Relations: Another tried and true method of getting your brand name in front of the masses is through a media centric public relations campaign.  Using talk radio, television, newspaper and magazines to get your content and brand out there is a wonderful way to grab attention and get more people interested in you and your message.

7.  Video Marketing: Video is one of the greatest ways to engage with your audience.  After all, YouTube is the second largest search engine (after Google).  The biggest problem?  The myth that it is expensive and time consuming. As more and more videos hit the web, there are more companies coming along, offering seemingly cost-effective solutions.  Also, the technology for video is so advanced that you can even buy a couple pieces of equipment and hit the ground running yourself!

8.  Contests and Promotions:  These are very important aspects of your marketing mix as they drive traffic and interest like wildfire.  Make sure that these “customer grabbers” are part of your strategy and be careful to not overuse them!

9.  Podcasts: These are another one that, much like video, people tend to shy away from.  But with sites such as iTunes and BlogTalkRadio out there….it is simpler than ever before.  By following the instructions you can have yourself out on the airwaves in no time and into the iPods and speakers of your target audience.

10.  Events:  There are two sides to this one.  You can attend an event or hold an event.    Make sure to take part in events that are cost effective, not cost prohibitive.  If you are going to spend $15,000 for a three day exhibition, have the average customer bring you $150 and think you can score 5 new clients – skip it!  Brands like Sony and Simon & Schuster can handle it, but if you are a smaller business, make sure to do your homework and count the cost before!

This is by no means an exhaustive list.  There are many more things that you can throw into your own marketing mix.  In order to make the perfect marketing plan, look at the 10 items listed above (in addition to your own suggestions), put them against your strategy and objectives and then match them up with your budget.

As a lifelong marketer, I know how small these budgets can be.  Anytime I hear “marketing budget” I’m always reminded of something a fellow marketer said to me once. “My boss wants me to create a Taj Mahal campaign for 50 cents.” Pretty much sums it up right?

So start off with the least costly items and then add in the rest.  These are not written in stone so if something stops working, drop it and plug something into its place.  Just make sure to never replace a successful activity with an unproven one.  If your $25,000 quarterly advertising spend is garnering $100,000 in business…..keep it going!  I’ve known many companies to jump at the latest marketing activity to the detriment of their successful marketing activity.

To end here, planning is not something that should bog you down and is also not something that can only happen at the beginning of the year.  As the landscape for us marketers is constantly changing, be adaptable and be informed.  An educated flexible marketer is a successful one!

As my firm Go! Media handles many healthcare clients, the trend that we have seen when speaking with these various organizations is that many are struggling to get things off of the ground.  Whether it be red-tape such as writing social media policy and procedure clauses, dealing with HIPAA guidelines or just superiors who are reluctant to invest time and money in this ‘new med‘ – push back has been a common problem.

While time will force these problems to vanish, there are quite a lot of advantages to being an early adopter as a healthcare organization.  After extensive research, we have found many healthcare companies fall flat when it comes to their use (or misuse) of social media.

Here are a few of the reasons why healthcare organizations shouldn’t wait any longer when it comes to executing a social media marketing campaign:

1.  Facebook is not just for Starbucks.  With its millions of active users (and I stress the word “active”), Facebook has a sea of people that you can engage with from your healthcare organization.  These people are consuming information in every category, not just the mega-brands.  Everyone has their space on Facebook.  Even better, with Facebook Pages you can categorize your organization fully, and configure locations and other valuable information for your target audience.  Whether your business is local, national or international, Facebook has the ability to create real connections, support customer/patient communications and will help you let your audience know about any events, or exclusive information with just a few clicks.

2.  Your audience (and competition) is on Twitter.  The healthcare and medical community is not only on Twitter…they are active!  Doctors, medical companies, hospitals and many more are offering updates, event news, guidelines and much more on a daily basis.  Yet another massive and active community, Twitter is a hot spot for sharing information and you need to be in the mix!

3.  There is a LinkedIn Group to fit your needs….or 50! Just adding your hospital or company to LinkedIn is wonderful and important step…but what if you could also add an additional audience of 50,000 to 1 million+?  With LinkedIn Groups you can engage with potential customers/patients based on subject and location and get in front of them on a daily basis.  Now that is coverage!

4.  YouTube is the portal for promotion. Using video as a promotional tool is a must in the healthcare industry.  Having the ability to illustrate what your company is capable of in addition to the skill of your team or products is imperative.  Now imagine having the ability to place this video on the second largest search engine out there: YouTube.     Fully branded and packed with information, this vehicle does nothing but build your profile, credibility and positive sentiment.

5.  Act now or be left behind. As there are many organizations that are understaffed or unable to give the appropriate time to either do the social media or even pitch the idea of a campaign to the CEO….the organizations are simply trickling in.  But this speed will begin to increase at a faster and faster rate.  By being an early adopter, you can gain more market advantage and make a splash as one of the first organizations in your area to have a wonderful Facebook Page, an active Twitter account, a linked in LinkedIn account and a sharp and slick YouTube page.

I like ending with number 5 as there are many healthcare marketers out there that have received a lot of push back on social media from their organizations.  But for every one, there are numerous others who are getting their campaigns approved and are launching effective social media marketing campaigns and claiming their social real estate.  My advice is to get your plan together quickly so you don’t miss the boat!

Need help making sense of social media for your healthcare organization…and want to get started FAST?  My firm Go! Media can help!  Get in touch with us to find out how we can make social media work for your organization while saving you time, money while delivering outstanding value.  You can reach us toll free on 866-926-2636 or via email at info@gomediaonline.com.  Our professional healthcare marketers can help your organization today!

What do all of these holidays have in common?  They are wonderful marketing opportunities for your business.

While some of you may already be sighing, thinking that “aren’t these commercialized enough?”  My answer: absolutely!  But that is not my idea here.  This is not about commercialization or fooling consumers into purchasing products or services that they don’t need or want.  What this is about is aligning your marketing message and position to the emotion of the season.

I know it sounds a bit airy-fairy, but by tying in your message to a particular holiday season you may see yourself grab the attention of a consumer who may have otherwise passed you by.

So look at your marketing materials and plan, then see what holidays are happening around the same time.  For example in the USA, Thanksgiving is universally known as a time of giving.  Perhaps in your email blasts you can send out 10 tips to giving back during this holiday season.  Or in your print advertisement you can give an exclusive discount to those who order before a certain date, then give a certain amount to a related charity.

Also, offering discounts and specials around the December holidays will really grab the attention of your marketplace.  While this is not an extremely shocking thought…do you know that many small business owners overlook this?  Offer solutions and helpful tips to making it through the holidays – you will be surprised at the response!  A great example was last year I took a chance and sent out an email blast not of marketing tips, but of holiday recipes that people could try with their families.  While, of course, I received some snarky replies, no shocker there right?  What was shocking was that 20% of the responses were extremely positive and, throughout this year, the dialogue continued with them week on week!

At the end of the day, it is good to tap into the emotions of your audience during each holiday season.  By offering them solutions to their problems, you will not only grab their attention – but you might just grab their loyalty as well.  While this may seem like a fairly elementary article, I really wanted to share it with you to drive home the effectiveness of this marketing strategy.  Hope it makes you think twice when doing outreach to your target audience!

I have always liked the end of the year though.  Not only because I have a deep love of Christmas (my favorite holiday), but also because it is a time of reflection: both personally and professionally.  Well, I’m not Doctor Phil, so no deep personal reflection tips here.  What I want to talk about is social media reflection: a look back at your own personal approach.

As an experienced, and weathered, marketer – planning and analyzation is the name of the game when it comes to creating the perfect equation for future success.  So every year, around this time, I try to schedule time out from my busy schedule to look back at the various marketing activities that our company did – in order to figure out what we need to plan for and execute in the coming year.

While I full marketing audit can take a bit of time, I want to give you some tips (or rather questions to ask yourself) to help you evaluate your social media performance and to identify what your plan of action should be for the coming year.  I want to present just the question, and leave the interpretation up to you.

#1.  What Was My Growth in Social Media?  Did I Even Measure It?

#2.  What Site Showed the Most Promise?

#3.  Where Did Most of My Web-Hits Come From?

#4.  Where Did Most of My Sales Come From?

#5.  What Site Gave Me The Most Amount of Engagement?

#6.  How Many Hours Did I Spend in Total Each Day?  Per Site?

#7.  How Many Contests/Promotions Did I Run?

#8.  Did I Receive Any Feedback?

#9.  Are The Groups/Pages/People I Am Connected With….Connected to My Target Market?

#10.  How Do I Feel About the Effectiveness of My Social Media Activity

Ok….lots of questions.  But the honest answers to these questions will help you not only identify where you should spend your time, but also where you should focus your attention.  Perhaps you are spending lots of time with no real results.  Perhaps you should look for outside help or outsource the activity to an expert.  Maybe you are spending 3 hours a day on Facebook, but LinkedIn is giving you the biggest returns.  Then perhaps more time on LinkedIn would create more returns.

You get the idea.  My point here is this is the perfect time to look back and get a grasp on how you handled this year in social media.  Why?  Because it is time to get your marketing plan together for next year, and your social media activity is a must to be added.  After performing an audit….and honest audit….of your performance, you should be able to identify how you should progress moving forward, in addition to seeing how you can incorporate the entire marketing plan into your social media assault.

Sorry to say this, but get planning!

One of the tough things about cooking and baking are that you have to constantly taste the goodies that you are making – which is an easy way to put on a few.  But, it is all about balance.  You can always add a few more minutes to your next treadmill run, right?

Ok, ok.  Enough with the talk about gaining weight.  Let’s focus on the matter at hand: peanut butter pretzel cheesecake.

Recently when my parents were in town, I wanted to make something special for a big family meal.  When cooking for other people, I tend to push out the cart when it comes to making rich recipes.  The main dish was my semi-famous macaroni and cheese (you grab that recipe here) with homemade pasta (and grab that one here).  So knowing how heavy that is, I wanted to make a tasty, but light, dessert.

This one takes a little time, but it is worth it!  Let’s get started.

*1 Large Bag of Regular Ole’ Pretzels

*1 Tablespoon Vanilla

*3/4 Cup of Creamy Peanut Butter (substitute crunchy if you want more texture)

*1 Cup of Heavy Cream

*6 ounces of Cream Cheese

*2 Sticks of UNSALTED Butter

*1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

The filling of the pie is an absolute cinch, so let’s start with the tough stuff – making that crust!

First pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Dump the bag of pretzels in a food processor and reduce it to a coarse dust.  Now you still want some chunks, so don’t make sand here.  If you don’t have a food processor, keep the pretzels in the bag and bash with a rolling pin.

Melt one stick of butter and add to the pretzel mixture.  Then toss in half of the brown sugar.  You want the mixture to be sticky enough to form on the bottom of the pan.  So if you need to add more butter, add it at a tablespoon a time.  Then press the mixture into a large spring form pan to form a crust.  Make sure that you have a solid even thickness.  If you have extra, save and use to garnish.

Now pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the crust browns.  Then remove and cool!

Now let’s make the filling.  Pop the cream cheese, 4 tablespoons of butter,  peanut butter, the other half of the brown sugar and beat together until it is light and fluffy.  My advice, use a hand mixer for this one.

In another bowl beat the cup of heavy cream and vanilla until it is stiff enough to turn upside down and still stick to the bowl.  When finished, incorporate it little by little into the peanut butter mixture.  Then you have the filling done!

When the pie shell is room temperature, evenly spread the filling into the shell.  Make sure to work carefully, as you don’t want pieces of the crust to mar the beauty of the cheesecake’s filling.  Then cover and refrigerate…still in the pan.

I think it is best to make this the day before, as it sets beautifully in 24 hours or over night.  When you are ready to serve, carefully take the pie out of the spring form and serve as is or with a bit of the extra pretzel bits sprinkled on top.    Enjoy!