But there’s an interesting phenomena that happens every time I’ve presented. I get emails and phone calls from people saying, “I can’t make it to your talk, but would you let me know when you’re doing it again?”

One or two people have done this twice.

To which I say, if not now, then when?

Now, I’m not the only person who teaches this stuff. You can Google “social media marketing” and easily get several million hits. There’s lots of good stuff out there that will teach you how to blog, tweet, and Facebook with the best of them.

But you gotta start in order to get good. So, to get you started, I present: 

The Procrastinator’s Guide to Social Media Marketing.

1. Decide why you’re going to use social media for your business. Do you want to promote your book? Get booked as a speaker? Set some objectives. If you don’t have a reason to do social media, maybe you shouldn’t bother.

2. If you do have a good reason, then Just start. Read a blog on social media marketing. (Hey, read this blog!) Watch some videos on YouTube. Go to a class. Come to my presentation when I give it again.

3. Then, pick one social media site and create a profile. Work on getting really good at that one site. I’d suggest starting with Twitter. It’s only 140 characters at a time. Very low pressure!

4. Spend 15 minutes a day tweeting. To really save time, use Hootsuite to schedule your tweets throughout the day.

5. Follow interesting people in your field. Respond to questions, ask questions, converse. Have fun.

There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

So, yes, you do need one if you want to give people a reason to pay attention to you as you sell your book or your services. What makes you different from the other people who write and talk about in your field? Why should anybody care?

Try this exercise is creating your USP:

My fitness coach, Carol McAnally, always reminds me to be mindful as I’m trying to perform specific exercises. You don’t get good results if you just flop your way through a routine in order to just get through it. So, I try to remember to “drive my kidneys into the exercise ball” as I do crunches and pay attention to form. Slowly, I’m beginning to get it.

By the same token, it’s important to be mindful when you’re marketing online. Keep a list of your marketing objectives next to your monitor as you network on Facebook, load your advance Tweets into Hootsuite, or write your latest blog post. What do you want to accomplish?

That being said, I’m one of the biggest offenders of succumbing to BSO (Bright Shiny Objects) syndrome. I’m always chasing down rabbit holes, all in the name of research. I do learn a lot of good stuff, but it sometimes results in wasted time and missed deadlines. Not good.

So, here are some of my strategies for staying on track:

I allow myself some “play time” to catch up with friends and family members on Facebook, twitter and the like. Usually I combine this with watching tv or on my lunch hour. Last week  I had a long, fun chat with a high school friend and caught up with my cousin’s wife on Facebook.

During work hours I have a post-it of objectives next to my monitor that has a cryptic list of marketing objectives. As a consultant to self-published authors, my primary objective is to establish my expertise in online marketing and self publishing. So most of the comments I make are related to those topics. I automatically send a tweet to Twitter and post to my wall on Facebook when I update my blog. My blog is also on my LinkedIn profile. I comment on my friends’ status, and pass on articles that I find interesting. I also have Google Alerts relating to marketing and publishing that gives me plenty to comment on and write about.

Does this take hours every day? No, for the most part I spend about half an hour to an hour a day on social networking sites and checking the feeds for my alerts in Google Reader. Can it be done is less? Absolutely. I spend more time because I enjoy it! And, it’s my business to spend time doing this.

I’ll be presenting a talk “Social Media Marketing in 15 Minutes a Day,” on March 25 at EduCyber in Wheat Ridge, CO (my day job.) You can sign up at EduCyber’s web site. I’ll also be presenting that talk at CIPA College in Denver on March 27. CIPA is the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. The college runs from March 26-27. It’s everything you want to know about self publishing. Check it out!

I’ve seen several of my clients blank out once the new blog is set up and it’s time to add content. Adding to that question of what to write is the “What if I do it wrong?” fear. There is no way to do this wrong if you’re taking the time to think about what you want your blog to be about and give yourself space to find your voice.

Then there’s the “what if I offend someone?” fear. Well, shoot, you can do that anywhere. Why stop at offending online? Seriously, sooner or later we all offend someone. What’s worse is being afraid to say anything for fear of offending.

You’ve already given your business a personality that reflects you. You’ve chosen a name for your business, a logo, colors for your website, letterhead, and a mission statement. Your blog name and content are just an extension of what you’ve already done.

Do you need to have all of this figured out and carved in stone before you first post to your blog? Heck, no. If we had to do that, we’d never get anything written. Your business focus and interests within your field will change over time. So will the tone you take and how you express yourself.

If you’re writing in a way that doesn’t really express your personality, your shiny new blog is going to become a chore  very quickly. Write about what you care about and what your readers care about. Give your opinions and show your passions.  That’s how you’ll stand out from the Blogging by the Numbers crowd.

There’s a few things wrong with selling this way.

1. It’s old-style selling. Nobody on Facebook or any other social site wants to be sold on anything.

2. It’s really annoying when you tweet or post that 6 times a day.

3. It’s really easy for the rest of us to hide you on Facebook or unfollow you on Twitter because that’s all you post.

People buy to solve a problem they have. If you have a solution to their problem and they know and trust you, they will buy your book or service. No pain, no sale.

I was on vacation in Cabo a few years ago and went to a time share pitch to get a discount coupon book for my hotel. On the surface, a guaranteed vacation every year might be a great deal. Except I wanted to buy a house, not a time share. No pain, no sale.

Rather than pitch everyone you can, look for people who really need your book or service. Work on establishing your expertise. Then, surprise! There won’t be any selling involved. People will line up to buy.

It’s a fun way to sell.

I’m really a social person. But sometimes when I’m on Facebook or Twitter I just don’t feel like chatting.

So, I lurk. Now lurking can be defined as “to stay hidden, ready to attack” according to Webster’s New World Dictionary. (Am I the only person left who still has a dictionary on her desk?) Anyway, I do the hidden part mostly. I would only attack if somebody tried to steal my coffee.

You learn a lot when you lurk. You can follow up on tempting links and be the proverbial fly on the wall if there’s an interesting exchange. I tend to do a lot of research on internet marketing this way. And, sometimes I just eavesdrop. I suspect a lot of people do.

Chris Brogan wrote about “social listening” a couple of years ago. He took the process a step further by suggesting ways that information can come to you, by using tools like Google Alerts, Technorati, and Twitter’s search feature. I’m always surprised when I talk to authors who don’t continue to monitor what’s new in their field after their book comes out. Aside from tracking when you or your book is mentioned, it’s a good idea to keep tabs on what’s new in your field. Who knows? This sort of monitoring could lead to additional articles you can write or products to create to add to your book sales.

Some simple steps to try:

1. Google Alerts are easy to set up to get info on your topic delivered to your mailbox.

2. Follow gurus in your field on Twitter. Use the search feature to find them, then follow them.

3. As an added step, if you like their tweets, check out their blogs and subscribe.

Happy lurking!

2. The thousands of how-to sites that tells you everything you need to know about marketing online, how to fix your plumbing, buy a car, cook your Thanksgiving dinner, and darn near anything else you want to know.

3. Google Analytics/Feedburner/free keyword tool Google may take over the world someday, but at least they’re giving us some useful tools in the meantime.

4. YouTube – another Google-bot, I’m grateful to YouTube for giving me a way to take a silly break in the middle of a stressful day. And for giving creative types with fevered imaginations a place to post their work. Anybody up on what Chad Vader, Darth Vader’s younger brother is up to these days?

5. Amazon.com – and other online shopping sites that I intend to use for my holiday shopping again, enabling me to skip getting up at 3 am on Black Friday to wait in line outside of Best Buy.

6. The online community – Who would have thought 20 years ago that you’d have “friends” all over the world that you’ve never met, but share hobbies, obsessions, and marketing tips with? Heck, I know more about my Facebook friends than I do about my next door neighbors.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For once, I feel I am in the middle of the new “latest thing.” (I am not an early adaptor. I’m still excited about getting an iPod shuffle last Christmas.)

I’ve wondered for a while whether it was such a great idea to be on so many social media sites that I never visit most of them. What’s the point of having all of these “friends” that I’ve collected and never made an effort to get to know? Do they even know who I am? Or care? I doubt it.

On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed several online conversations with people I actually know on Facebook and LinkedIn. I’m now in the habit of logging in to one or the other during my work day to see what conversations are going on, adding my 2 cents when I want to, starting my own threads. It’s become an added conversation in the day. (And when you work in an office with only 3 other people, your conversations can be someone limited.)

20th century marketing emphasized getting your message out to masses of people. This was a one-way conversation. New marketing via social networks emphasizes a two-way conversation where people actually communicate. One of the common concerns business people and authors voice is where do you find the time to communicate with all of these people on these networks?

Answer: don’t try to have so many conversations.

Wow, is that simple or what?

If you only pick one or two places to hang out, you’ll actually have the time to get to know some of these online “friends” and maybe they’ll become friends without the quote marks. They, in turn, will get to know you and what you do. If they like what you do, they will recommend you to others. You will get calls, and hopefully, business.

That’s not so hard, is it?

I got a book awhile ago on dog behavior called The Other End of the Leash. According to the author, if you want your dog to come to you, don’t chase them. In pack behavior, running at the dog means run away (or get your ass kicked, I suppose.) But walking away from the dog tells that dog to follow you.

I tried this with Maggie. It works some of the time. But, we think she’s kind of an alien being anyway, not a dog.

My newly minted “Lead, Don’t Chase” strategy for leashing my dog could very well be applied to social media marketing.

1. To attract followers, lead by giving good information, answering questions, and being an authoritative voice on your topic. Those interested in your topic and your information will likely follow you and perhaps become your clients or customers.

2. Do not chase your potential customers by constantly pitching your products and services. Like Maggie the unrepentent hound, they will respond by leading you on a chase and duck under the (figurative) dining room table to escape you at every opportunity. I can guarantee you will be frustrated!