Category: Marketing

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Social Media Promotion For A Business Edge

In this rapidly progressing age, technology has made the world a global village.  The telephone allowed people in two different locations to talk together in real time.  Email further lessened the distance between people as the speed of communication increased.  In today’s modern world, one of the most popular means of staying connected is through social media outlets.

Social media sites entail an Internet-based social connection between people, allowing for a rapid and open exchange of ideas.  Social interaction online is enjoyed on personal computers and cell phones.  While these social interfaces initially began as what the name suggests, social outlets, businesses have discovered the power of an active social media presence online.

To become an active member on Facebook, you must open a business page or account, which is different from a personal account.  Next, get people to become fans of your business page by using Facebook advertising, interacting with individuals on this or other social site and directing them to Facebook, or using your own website to invite them to like your page.  Your business will make a better showing on Facebook if you can get more people interested in your page.  If you’re new to Facebook, take a look at the pages of your competition, so that you know what kinds of Facebook applications they’re using to elevate themselves.

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Twitter is another online wonder.  As a Twitter user, you can start posting “tweets” containing links to your business site to keep other users informed.  Your Twitter fans will immediately receive these tweets.  When they comment on them or retweet you tweets, it creates a virtual tidal wave of publicity for you.  Think of the business exposure you are being offered with a website boasting millions of users.

Another almost vital step toward online success in a modern world where social accessibility dominates is a company blog.  Getting a domain name is the first step.  Even if you are not going to write a blog immediately, take the steps to get the domain name for future use.

It is not difficult to write a business blog.  If you create it on your own, you will be able to choose the layout, design, and topic of the blog.  Any service that offers web hosting capabilities should be able to help you establish a blog through WordPress.  You can also do this yourself if you are computer savvy.  There are also numerous professionals who build and manage blogs according to customer requirements, if you prefer that route.  You will find pros and cons to each approach.

You’ll need to take a bit of time to determine how your blog will best showcase your business and attract and interest your customers.  You will always be able to make adjustments to your blog once you’ve determined how effectively it draws in people.

Participate on blogs within your niche.  Such activity encourages visits to your site.  To improve the odds of your success, you can visit sites such as Alltop.com and Technoratti.com to find relevant blogs that relate to your area of business.

Do not leave a comment without reading the contents on the blogs.  Take a few minutes to genuinely participate.  You’ll be able to draw more attention to your own blog if your posts on other blogs are insightful, well-written, and offer tangible benefits.  If your comments appear well-written and informative, chances are readers will be encouraged to visit your site.  You will also be able to make contacts with the owners of these blogs which can help the growth of your business in several ways.  Likewise, if your comments appear incoherent and unintelligent or you indulge in spamming, you are likely to frighten away any potential visitors from your site.

Social media networking, though once primarily computer-based, has today also spread to mobile phones, as new technologically enhanced mobiles make their appearance.  Two of the more popular social media formats for mobile devices are Yelp and Foursquare.  Yelp is essentially a city-wide directory to the best eats, shops, and similar venues, all featuring online discussions from locals.  Foursquare tells people what their friends are doing and where they are.  It is essentially a traveling Twitter.  These apps are still in the early stages as far as marketing opportunities are concerned.

Flickr and YouTube are examples of sites that have developed into social media marketing opportunities.  YouTube allows users to link to their sites from YouTube videos, or directly load videos onto their sites.  Similarly, you can lure people to your site through the use of photos on Flickr.  Both are widely being used by businesses, and have yet to reach their full potential.

Social media is around to stay.  Embrace the technology.  An effective Internet marketing strategy must focus on the effective utilization of social media platforms to compete on the regional or global stage.  Take advantage of the social media buzz to grow your business and become more visible on the Internet.

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Marketing Your Internet Business Like The Experts

The Internet is growing and businesses are jumping to get on board.  There is a lot of money to be made online.  The competition, however, is so intense that it will take a powerful marketing strategy to reach the masses.  The modern online marketer needs to be connected to the latest in marketing techniques to not only survive, but thrive online.

Before approaching their market, businesses must accurately and specifically define who that market is.  Establishing this niche enables a marketing team to direct its advertising efforts for the greatest return on their investment.

Every online business has a different focus.  Each business must assess the areas of concerns within their niche and adjust their company’s approach in order to best meet the current, though often changing, needs of that demographic.  For example, a weight loss niche may be discussing the latest media hype about a drug’s negative side effects.  The marketer should be offering reliable information and possible weight loss alternatives.  Companies dealing with alternative energy sources could present educational material for free to members wanting to free themselves from the grid.  By keeping on top of the major issues within a demographic, companies show a caring, understanding nature and a connection to real people and their needs.

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A previously popular strategy was filling sales pages full of hyped-up promises and veiled sales-speak.  Up until recently, this type of marketing was very effective and profitable.  Today, fewer and fewer people are falling for the old sales tricks.  A marketer can no longer rely on just hype to sell a product.  A sales page full of implausible promises and partial information will only turn visitors away.  Marketers who want to gain a strong base of savvy buyers will skip the spin and shelve the hype.

A better way to reach out is to make use of current trends in online marketing and technology.  Videos are a particularly useful form of marketing.  As they grow increasingly more complex, they involve the viewer in the onscreen action in interactive ways.

Even simple video productions results in a product that holds attention.  Viewers can garner a lot of information in a short time with little effort.  Videos statistically hold people on a site longer than text pages alone.  This increases the visitors’ exposure to the site and increases their likelihood of making a mental or emotional connection.

One of the most crucial components of a strong marketing plan is often overlooked.  It is the customer service department.  Site visitors should easily be able to reach a customer service representative at any time, at least to leave a message.  A business should present at least one of the following options to customers: email address, telephone number, chat room, and physical address.  At the very least, an email is essential.  When a customer writes the company with a complaint, concern, question or suggestion, the concerned person should immediately receive a reply.  The use of an auto-responder is becoming popular, but some less effective customer service departments lean on this option too heavily.  A follow-up email should be sent as soon as possible, and the concerns dealt with satisfactorily.  Failure to supply quality customer service will chisel away at a company’s customer base.

At one point the list was the main focus of marketers.  They would buy lists and send masses of emails to the list addresses.  Spam is no longer welcome.  Spam is generally filtered out of inboxes.  When it ends up in an inbox, disinterested viewers delete it immediately.

Today marketers encourage voluntary subscriptions to newsletters and other lists.  Marketers also encourage people to follow them on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  Any effort a marketer directs toward socializing within their niche, building customer relations, and building an organic list will improve a company’s overall customer base.

There is no upper limit on the number of people that can achieve financial success online.  A business that is focused on the changing needs of its demographic will be able to reach the people with what they need when they need it.  Flexibility is the name of the online marketing game.