Hi, I'm Mom, the Social Media Intern

It’s Friday! Another week has flown by and on Fridays the guys in the office are using their breaks to get outside and ride their new “office” longboard. Although they are getting pretty good at it, I can’t watch. They even tried to convince me to give it a try, but since the only thing that I do well on wheels is my office chair, I declined. We ordered Domino’s pizza for lunch through their AWESOME ecommerce system on their website. Yummy pizza, fun to order and watch the progress, and it was here in no time! Funny though, it didn’t last long… longboarding must work up an appetite!

So, the boss (my son) threw me under the bus today and is having me compile a Search Engine Optimization Checklist to publish on Adrenaline Commerce’s website. This is a little overwhelming, to say the least, but I am plodding along trying to absorb the process. First you compile a list of key phrases that you use to describe your business, then measure them…the scope of it all is HUGE! I think the best way to really understand it is to dive in and rather than read and write about it, perform the searches and analytics.

Do I sound like I know what I am talking about?!

I will soon, I promise.

I am reading INBOUND MARKETING by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah of Hubspot and they explain inbound marketing so clearly for a social media intern like myself. The traditional “brochure-like” website is compared to a small town with one road through it, a customer may stop once on the way through, look around and enjoy the scenery, then leave and never return. With the use of inbound marketing, a website can be more like a big city with airports, train stations, bus stations, and many highways and roads leading into it. The more inbound links, social media followers, blog subscribers, and traffic, the more of a HUB your website becomes. This makes perfect sense!

I also attended an online webinar presented by Sazbean on “Crafting a Social Media Strategy”. I was unclear as to how to begin an inbound marketing plan and the webinar outlined a clear procedure to get started, set goals, and how to determine content strategy and implementation. I am excited to get going!

It also makes me happy that this new turn marketing has taken with social media is much more “politically correct”. Businesses are getting to know their customers and publishing content that WILL benefit them. Slamming your competition is considered poor taste. Even better, using social media for marketing is GREEN!

My next challenge is to learn about and understand inbound marketing and how to develop inbound links. All of this information is slowly sinking in and making sense to me, but the scope of social media is overwhelming. I believe this is going to be an ongoing process, there will ALWAYS be more to learn. We are creating an inbound marketing resource for Adrenaline Commerce followers/customers (and myself!) and I am trying to absorb as much as I can. 

My goal in this blog is to share as I learn and to get the word out that if an unemployed “MOM” can become an expert in social media, anyone can! I know there are a lot of you out there who are my age and ready to retire, are unemployed, or just ready to learn something fun, and this could be it!

On another note, it is Friday afternoon and after a week full of learning, listening, and reading about social media, my brain is on overload. I sometimes feel like I have a shut off switch that goes off at 4:00 Friday afternoon and from that point on it is a struggle to be productive. I bought a new bike on my lunch hour and I can’t stop thinking about taking it for a nice long ride….T.G.I.F!!

I wonder how many business owners are as completely in the dark about social media and inbound marketing as I was? I am not currently a business owner, but I can see how someone who is not familiar with social media could start a website and think “this is it, I have hit the bigtime!!” and then be sorely disappointed when their sales don’t improve.

Social media and inbound marketing are all about driving customers to your website and it is *FREE ADVERTISING! I highly recommend learning all you can as fast as you can. I have learned what Search Engine Optimization is, about using keywords, and the importance of creating strong inbound links. The world of advertising has changed thanks to DVR, email spam blockers, and telephone caller ID (to name a few). We can shut off or avoid advertisement but at the same time millions of people are searching the web every day. What better way to advertise than to have your website appear on those searches!

*Free, but there is a HUGE effort required and SO much to learn, if you need help, Adrenaline Commerce can help!

I am listening to the second course offered on Inbound Marketing University titled “SEO Crash Course to Get Found”. This is my third attempt at this course and I am determined to get through it and understand it this time. I marvel at my son and his generation’s ability to listen to loud music, talk on the phone, fly a remote control helicopter around the office, AND work on the computer…productively - all at the same time. I have to put on a headset, turn up the volume, close my eyes, and concentrate on every single word, and even then I need to back it up and repeat a section every now and then.

As the social media intern for Adrenaline Commerce, LLC, inbound marketing is important stuff - building inbound links for your business, using social media for link building, using search engine optimization to direct traffic towards your site, etc. I have a feeling that it may take a few more attempts for me to truly understand all of it. In the meantime I am going to turn up the music, phone a friend, and see if I can borrow one of those helicopters.