For most people, the answer might be both.

As a small business owner, you probably read about the importance of social media networking in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. You might even have a Facebook Fan Page for your business.

All these networks are wonderful to generate more contacts, to gain more visibility for your business and expand your contacts. However, many small business owners also realize that once they have all their profiles set up, participating becomes an incredible time-draining activity with no specific or direct or measurable benefit for their business.

Here are 3 key points to help you make the most out of this important social marketing activity. Make sure you:

1. Plan it!
   As with any marketing activity you perform for your business, make a plan that includes not only objectives but also an action plan. Set specific goals to ensure your social networking happens for a reason and will help you get more leads and/or clients.
2. Schedule it!
   Allocate time for your social networking activity. You don’t need to be available all the time. If you participate you must realize social media implies a two-way communications channel. You will have to respond and be active, but organizing this will ensure you make the most out of your time on these social networking sites.
3. Automatize it!
   There are many great online tools to systematize several parts of your social networking communications. Familiarize yourself with the tools available and implement the necessary ones to make your time on these networks a productive one. Better yet–hand this task over to your Virtual Assistant!

Remember the saying: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

RESOURCE: One of my favorite social media guides: Mashable.

Promoting your website can take some effort and money, you don’t want to just anyone to visit your site. Instead, you want a specific audience that is interested in what you have to offer.

It is important to generate high volumes of traffic to a website. However, if it is not your targeted market, what’s the sense of getting people who won’t find what they are looking for to visit your site?

You can build a steady stream of traffic to your website that are targeted and likely to bring you sales. ¿Are you performing these activities to achieve your goals?

1. Know your target customers and make sure that all your advertising campaigns are targeted at these customers. This means that you must use all the necessary keywords which define your potential customers in all your advertising campaigns. If you are using Google Adwords, your advert must specify the targeted customers. If you are writing articles as a way of promoting your website, your articles must contain the keywords for your niche.
2. List your website with top search engines and directories in categories that suit your niche. If your website is about selling products or services that relate to making money online for example, get your website listed under this category on relevant websites. This means that people who are looking for this specific information that relate to your website will easily find your website.
3. Advertise your website in relevant forums and online groups. The more you know about your potential customers, the better you will know where to find them. This means you can go to the relevant forums or online groups where your customers are and you can advertise your website there through having your website URL in your signature when you make posts in these forums. People in forums that related to your niche are targeted customers who have high potential to buy from your website.
4. Write articles that are rich with your keywords. Your articles get picked up and published by many websites, e-zines and directories. You can therefore quickly have thousands of back links pointing to your website. It is therefore important that all your articles have several of your keywords so that when people type these keywords on search engines while looking for information, your website comes up and ranks high on these search engines. This drives targeted traffic to your website.
5. Use your own e-zine and other related e-zines to advertise your website. By publishing your own e-zine, you already have many prospects who are interested in what you have to offer. Make sure that your e-zine has new content and gives away some free report or e-books to your subscribers. Make sure that your website URL is added in all your e-zine publications. Identify other e-zines with a readership that matches your target niche market and advertise your website in these e-zines.
6. Research and look for other web sites where your target customers visit and inquire about advertising your website on these websites.

The six tools outlined above can help you generate targeted traffic to your website. If you want to increase your conversion rate and boost your sales, you need to have targeted visitors on your website.

If you don’t have time to do all these activities, a virtual assistant will be able to help!

As you probably know, there are tons of interesting, effective and proven marketing techniques and strategies. But for men, there’s an easy one that’s often overlooked: Dare to talk as much as women do.

Why do I say this?

Because women really care about relationships. They are naturally inclined to talk about anything and everything, and readily share knowledge and contacts with their friends, colleagues and clients. They are born networkers, and this natural disposition is definitely a marketing asset.

Once you understand the importance of relationships, of creating true bonds, establishing trust and rapport with your prospective clients will come much more easily. When relationships are established with people who have come to know and like you, more word-of-mouth referrals (often the prime source for new clients) will come your way.

Effective networking is about the relationships you create. There are many ways to network online and offline, but remember–none of the marketing techniques or strategies will be as effective unless you are out there talking to people.

Dare to talk as much as women do!

RESOURCE: LinkedIn Answers is a great place to network. You can ask and answer questions, and recommend links on topics being discussed. You get to know people by their opnions and expertise, and, of course, increase your LinkedIn contacts at the same time.