1.     Create a compelling story that resonates

You as a consumer and as a business person are completely inundated with information.  Whether you are checking your email, reading your favorite blogs, online magazines and websites, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, there is information everywhere.  You receive so much information on a day to day basis that you don’t have time to consume all of it.  When was the last time you had everything read in your RSS reader, or your inbox had 0 unread messages?  I’m guessing it’s been a while.

Your customers and your audience are also suffering from information overload.  Think about what you read – whether it pertains to your business or not.  It’s the stories that resonate with you the most.  Whether it’s a blog post on how to grow your business, or news relating to your favorite football team, or the heartfelt story of a mother reunited with her child.

More than any blog, PPC Ad, Facebook account, Twitter message, story matters on the web.

2.     Recognize that you are already social

No Twitter following?  No problem.  Just because you aren’t on the many medias of the web, doesn’t mean your business isn’t social.  You have customers, vendors, friends, advisors, employees, and perhaps a board of directors.  Chances are you and your employees are in communication with at least 100 people on a somewhat consistent basis.

Leverage, but don’t abuse the networks of your contacts.  Add value to these various networks and slowly bring the members into your online presence, whether that’s a blog, Facebook Page, Twitter, or LinkedIn account.

3.     Focus

Your challenge is to generate sales leads in 30 days.  If you work every hour of every day, including weekends, that’s only 720 hours.  I don’t know about you, but I generally enjoy sleeping for at least 6 hours a day.  Now you’re down to 520, and that’s not including family time.

You can’t be everywhere online.  You just don’t have the time.  Pick two or three online medias where you can add value to your target customer and grow your audience.  Develop a plan and put all of your eggs in 2 or 3 baskets.  Diversifying your investment is not the way to go here.

Once you build your systems and develop a rhythm for the platforms that you choose, you can then start to diversify your efforts.

4.     Build your sales funnel

You are going to be spending a lot of time and energy building a loyal audience for your business.  You need them to do something once they get to your website.

Here are some options:

• Ask for the sale if it’s a lower cost impulsive buy
• Have them sign up for a free trial
• Have them sign up for an ebook or white paper
• Have them sign up for an information packed webinar
• Or simply ask them to call for a free consultation

Set up your landing page before you even start to create content.  Analytics software has a way of dehumanizing website traffic.  Recognize that every visitor is a potential customer for your business.

I hear many business owners say “I only have 500 people a month visiting my site, how can I get more traffic?”  When I ask how many visitors became customers of the business, very often the answer is none.  What would happen to you business if 20% of all web traffic turned into a paying customer?   You shouldn’t be asking: “How do I go from 500 visitors a month to 5000 visitors a month?”  You should ask “How do I turn those 500 visitors a month into customers?

Treat your website visitors like they are people, not just a statistic?

5.     Ask for the sale

The final aspect of social media marketing is to ask for the sale.  This used to be a faux pas in the online world.  Luckily somewhere along the way, people realized that giving away free stuff all the time wasn’t a good business practice.

They’ve signed up for your white paper, or your free consultation, now you need to ask them for money.  You don’t have to be so blunt about it, but you still need to do it.

Giving away 1000 white papers looks good in Google Analytics, but if no one purchases your product or service, it won’t mean a thing on your financial sheets.

Learn how you can generate sales leads using social media by registering for our webinar “The 30 Day Social Medai Marketing Plan.”  Even if you don’t have a Twitter following, Facebook Fans, or Website traffic, you can still build sales leads using social media with this 30 day plan.