How Passing On Great Content Improves Your Social Media Presence on the Web
Mothers used to say “Would you jump off a bridge if everyone else jumped off a bridge?” when they were trying to convince their children not to succumb to peer pressure. Well, you might not jump off a bridge, but what you should do is follow the leader when passing on great content around social media websites. You will improve your social relationships and increase your company’s online presence at the same time.
There are several ways of sharing content and different kinds of content to share. On Facebook, for example, you can spread other people’s posts to all your Friends by pasting it into an update and reposting it. Otherwise, you can comment on it and it will appear on your profile page for anyone to see who visits there. On Twitter, you can ReTweet other people’s content across the social network to all your Followers.
The kinds of content you might want to pass on are endless. Links play a big part. You might pass on links for blogs, websites, news stories, press releases or videos. The kinds of posts you might want to share with others are endless. As long as the post is interesting, informative, funny or outstanding in any way that meshes with your brand image, it is a good choice to send on to others. ReTweets are the same way. Send along tidbits and links that you find fascinating or helpful.
When your Friends or Followers see that you are passing on their material, they will be thrilled that their ideas and choices are having such a wide impact. By the same token, when your Friends and Followers get passed-on messages from other people from you, they will see you as someone who is deeply involved in the social network rather than just using it as a megaphone to announce their business. They will accept you more fully as a part of the group.
When you engage your social contacts by sharing other people’s content with them, you establish a rapport you cannot get by spouting your own messages incessantly. It is a much less aggressive means of engaging your target market. Your social relationships will improve, your presence will grow, and consequently, your business will pick up. Believe me – your mother would approve.
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Social Networking and the Art of the Question
Sometimes people get the idea that social networking websites are great places to rant and rave about anything and everything that gets them excited. A more subtle approach is to ask questions instead. You will find that when you make inquiries, you will likely get a powerful response. There are all kinds of questions you can ask.
1. Ask for advice. It is best not to make the question directly related to selling, but you could involve your business in some way. For example, you could ask the question, “Should I have a New Year’s Eve party at my office?” A question like this is encourages people to give their opinion, which most people like to do anyway. It prompts them to share facts about themselves or their past experiences. This is a real opportunity to get to know your Friends better, and maybe learn something about their habits as consumers.
2. Ask an intellectual question. When you ask someone their interpretation of a book, play or even a movie, they get the opportunity to show how intelligent they are. Believe me; they will love you for it. Remember to treat all their intellectual musings with respect, giving them more good feelings about themselves, and consequently, about you.
3. Ask a technical question. If you are having problems understanding something technologically challenging, do not hesitate to ask people on your social networking site for bits of instruction. Not only will you have a chance to learn something important to you, but you will also have a chance to improve a relationship with someone who may prove to be a valuable asset in the future. Remember, though, that not everyone that purports to be an expert on technology really knows what he is doing. The best solution is to hear the instructions, consider their validity, possibly do some more research, and try them out for yourself. You can tell a Friend that you learned something to go along with his advice, but never tell him that his advice was worthless.
4. Ask a silly question. People like to hear from you when you ask interesting, humorous little questions to brighten their day. You will often see a string of responses coming from one small question if people find it funny enough. It makes them laugh and enjoy the day a little bit more. Take every opportunity to improve the lives of your Friends.
You can learn about your Friends, learn from your Friends, gain a loyal following, and enhance your persona on the social networking sites you use. It all starts will a simple idea. Master the art of the question and you will bring people to your virtual door.
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Change – An Important Factor in Any Marketing Plan
It is possible that the first thing you did when you started up your business was to set up a basic marketing plan. You probably considered your mission, your current business situation, your target market, and your competitors. You might have come up with ways to entice new customers, deal with operating and advertising costs, set financial goals, and retain customers once you had them. However, many people forget the fact that change is a constant in business.
A good way to keep an ear to the ground when it comes to change is to stay on social networking sites and pay attention to the chatter. Notice the trending topics. Figure out what is important to people that was not a consideration when you started your business.
Take special care in noticing the changes in your target demographic. Look for ways in which your target market has become more technologically advanced, more health-conscious, or more interested in the arts. Always be aware of what excites your target audience so that you can take advantage of that knowledge to interest them in your company and your products.
It is also important to note whether your target market has changed in their expectations of your products. Do not be afraid to comment on a posting at a social networking site to inquire what people think of your industry. You might not always like what you hear, but you can always use the information. This is a good way of finding out misconceptions that you need to address, although you might want to bring them up in a different forum.
Try to get a feel for your present and potential customers’ opinions about your customer service. If you realize that you are not serving your customers well, you can always change your policies. You can start a new campaign to take care of the people who buy products or services from your company.
That is the most important thing about staying on top of all the changes. Once you know what is changing, you can alter your course to make corrections. It is not enough to go on doing the same old things over and over. You need to keep your company moving in the right direction. By knowing all the facts, and rethinking the parts of your business marketing plan that are not working, your company will enjoy smooth sailing on into the future. Know when to change your course for smooth sailing in the future.
Sailboat by Andrew Schmidt
Fan Page Promotions – How to Captivate Your Fans and Followers
I have found it very helpful to use fan page promotions to create interest and buzz among my friends and followers on social networking websites. You reach out to them, and allow them the chance to interact with your business in a way that they will appreciate. All the different types of promotions benefit the potential customer in some way, and so they benefit you.
Coupons get customers interested in your products right away. I have found that putting a small, printable coupon on Twitter or Facebook has several advantages. For one thing, people will respond to the great deal you are offering, even if it is a small item or discount. Also, if a large number of people take advantage of your social media coupons, you know you are establishing an online presence there. If they do not, you know you have more work to do.
Another way to get folks interested in your fan page is to offer a sweepstakes where people can win a nice prize. The prize should be something worth having, or no one will spread the word about the great chance to get that prize. Since you do not have to give many prizes, you can give away only one large prize. Then you can add a few smaller prizes, perhaps a few of your latest products if they are not overly sizeable. People love a good sweepstakes and you get a chance to introduce more potential customers to your products.
It is always great when you can give away one of your products and get many customers who buy your products in exchange. One way to do that is to hold a contest. This usually involves having people send in a picture or video of something.
Holidays are fantastic times to have contests. For Christmas, you can have people send in pictures of their holiday decorations or videos of opening presents. For Halloween, they can send in pictures of their costumes. You can choose the winner or have people vote on the winner. Everyone gets excited, and your product gets exposure. Every time the message about your contest comes up, there will be a reminder of your product.
Fans do not always have to have monetary rewards to enjoy your fan promotions, either. Sometimes something as simple as a quiz or a trivia test will entice people to participate on your fan page. Make the questions out of the ordinary, and do not make the answers too simple. People often tell their friends to go to your fan page and try out the quiz or trivia test for themselves.
Getting your fans involved in contest, sweepstakes, quizzes, and getting coupons makes them more loyal followers of your fan page. I use these promotions often, to keep my page fresh and exciting. They draw more people in and make them glad they interact with me. For Christmas, have fans enter pictures of their holiday decorations in your contest.
Short Reports Gone Viral – Give Away Info for Your Marketing Campaign
Everyone thinks of video going viral, but just about any kind of content can do the same if it is compelling enough. Short reports have the potential to reach a large number of readers if you handle them correctly. Here are a few things you need to know.
1. A short report is a 7-10 page report you write that can be on any topic you choose. As long as it is informative and specific, it will usually fill the bill.
2. Write what you know the most about that is related to your industry. This is just another way to establish yourself as an expert.
3. Give your report a great teaser in the Introduction to get people curious enough to read more. Then, follow through with fascinating information and insights that they can get nowhere else.
4. Put the link to the report on your website and request people give their email information in return for the report, especially if you give it away free.
5. You can sell a short or special report, but it is often advantageous to give one away. As an Internet marketing device, its primary goal is not to earn direct money.
6. You should put your contact information on each page of the report. Put it in as a clickable link, in case the reader views it on her computer rather than printing it out to read.
7. Do not be stingy. Allow, and in fact encourage your readers to pass along your report in any way they would choose, as long as they include all your contact information.
8. Mention your report on your Facebook Page as an offer for your Fans. This is another way to encourage sharing.
9. Publicize your report through the regular Internet marketing channels. That means writing SEO articles about it for directories, blogging about it and even putting out a press release about the offer.
10. Be available to answer questions that you have not covered in the short report. When you do, begin establishing relationships with readers to gently convert them into customers.
All that being said; a short report may not have the viral potential of a video in most cases. Yet, you can encourage sharing and see it spread fairly quickly. If you have supplied uncommon details and information that is extremely helpful to your target demographic, your video can reach a large audience.
Social Media Marketing Responses – A Long Term Strategy for Deeper Impact
Interacting with your target audience on the social media websites can be very rewarding, even in the short term. What you might not realize is that there are several long term strategies that you can use to create an even more lasting effect on both your audience and your business. One of these is evaluating talk and feedback to consider new products or services. Here is why you should do it.
1. Consider audience responses because the world is moving fast. At first you may discount this strategy. You might think that you have your products and services and you are not about to change them. If that is your attitude, perhaps you should reconsider. With the state of technology, the world is moving faster every year. Technology touches areas of business that would seem to have nothing to do with it on the surface. It pays to keep abreast of new developments in the world. They might lead you to your own development of new products and services.
2. Think about what people in your target demographic say because they may have more personal experience with your product than you do. This sounds ridiculous, but it is often true. As a business person you have your perspective. That perspective may be built partly on general product information from a parent company or a wholesaler. Of course, you will have experience with one or more products in your line, but if you have a large line of products it is doubtful that you have used them all. A consumer can explain to you how a small change to a product would solve their problem in a more complete way.
3. Look at your Facebook Fans as a giant, free focus group. You can create interest in conversations about new product ideas by using voting, contests and offers. Once you get people started talking, you can listen in and ask clarifying questions about the kind of problems people are having with existing products. You can learn a little bit about the products they would like to see in the future. You can discover their needs so that you can later use that information to come up with new products and services to meet those needs. Always speak in an informational, conversational and nonaggressive manner, and you will go far on your Facebook Page.
Bringing new products and services into being is not an easy task. It takes thought, consideration, research and input from people who are in a position to know what is needed. You cannot get every part of that equation from your Facebook Fans, but you can get information that will help you discover needs and preferences. Responding and listening to the responses of your Facebook crowd is well worth the trouble in the long term as well as the short term.
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Using Mobile Marketing Campaigns at Live Events
SMS mobile text marketing campaigns have been used lately to tap into the target audience of consumers who use their cell phones and smart phones almost continuously. Some companies have tried putting up billboards or using traditional advertising methods such as radio and TV to get out the word about the actions they want their audiences to take. As it turns out, there is a much more effective way, and that is to give out the information at a live event.
For example, you could start your SMS mobile marketing campaign at a sports event. During a break, whether it is halftime or between innings, you can make an announcement that there will be a contest or survey for people in the stadium who text a certain word into your special number. In such cases, you may get an overwhelming response that is greater and more immediate than with any other kind of SMS campaign.
The event does not have to be a sporting event, either. You can do mobile marketing campaigns at concerts, trade shows or any other event where a large group of people will be gathered where you can make an announcement. Relate your mobile marketing promotion to the type of event where it takes place.
One of the keys to making an event-based mobile marketing scheme work is to have memorable words and numbers for your audience to remember. You can put your word on the big screen if you are in a professional stadium that has one. Even then, you will get a bigger response it your audience can remember what they are to type into their phones.
The words you have them type can be very easy to choose. You can use simple terms from the sport or event where you are. Make them the very simplest terms, though. Even a person who knows very little about the event should be able to participate. For example, you might have people vote for their choice of four stadium foods such as hot dogs, peanuts, nachos or cotton candy. When they vote, they get a discount that they can redeem by showing their phone to a merchant. Then, display or announce the results of the vote to complete the participation circle.
You can get a big response from an onsite, event-based SMS mobile marketing campaign. People are usually in a festive mood already. They welcome the chance to join in a contest, survey or game along with the rest of the crowd. Mobile marketing at events is a great way to make contact with new potential customers and engage them in a direct way.
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Varied Internet Marketing – When to Spread Out for Maximum Exposure
One method of reaching out to potential customers is not enough to make it in today’s market. You will get much farther with your Internet marketing campaign if you spread your efforts across the web. Now is not the time to specialize in just article marketing or just in social media; now is the time to use a variety of tools to get your message out there.
Limit involvement with each marketing device to suit your capabilities.
If you do not have enough time or peoplepower to keep both a Facebook and a Twitter campaign going, choose one. The important thing is that you get a social media site covered with regular updates, photos and videos. Use different techniques available to you in attracting customers to your business and products on that site, but do not expect to have a large presence on every social media unless you have a large available staff.
Spread your marketing efforts around when it is advantageous and time efficient. Article marketing is an example of a marketing method where it pays to spread your marketing around the Internet. It involves very little more work to submit to several different directories than it does to submit to just one. You can set up an account in seconds and start submitting articles right away. You should, of course, read the guidelines over once. However, the guidelines are usually very basic and commonsense rules. Once you have learned one set of guidelines, the rest come easily. Then, when your links come back to your website from many different sites, it improves your ranking in the search engines.
Use different media to spread the word. Use text, audio, video and images to tell your story about your business and products. Place them in articles, blogs, on YouTube, on Facebook and on your website. New media will attract the search engines more effectively, so change the content or add to it on a steady basis.
Always remember that, as you spread your message to all those viewers, readers and listeners, you need to include your own link somewhere in or with the content. When you do that, you are also aiming back in the direction of your own website. Your content has come full circle, and users who have interacted with and enjoyed it will follow it to your chosen destination.
Colorful Arrows by Vera Kratochvil
SMS Marketing – Text for Success
SMS marketing is not some mysterious formula for meeting all your business needs, but it can help you increase your profits. SMS is just Short Message Service; in other words, SMS refers to texts sent and received on mobile devices. There are several ways to use SMS marketing to gain website traffic, leads and sales.
1. Contests
Have a “fastest-finger” contest. The first person to text a given word to the SMS code given will win a prize. The prize might be a product you sell or something totally unrelated. The great thing about getting people involved in a contest is that they concentrate on the given word very hard to get it into the text as fast as possible. If the word to be texted is one of your brand name products or your current marketing slogan, that will stick in their minds. The depth of attention will be more than it would be with many other marketing methods.
2. Coupons
There are a number of ways to get mobile text coupons to your potential customers. All you need is a short, one-line ad to say, “Text [my word] to [my number] to receive a coupon good for [my product].” It could be in a flyer, a radio or TV ad or even on your business card. People can use SMS texts to get the coupon, and then all they have to do is show their phones to the clerk in the store to get their discount.
3. Voting
Voting by SMS can get your potential customers busy texting you very quickly. You can have people vote on what types of products they like best. Give them 4 choices; make sure you make selections from among the types of products you sell. Many people find polls to be fun and entertaining. You could mention that you will post the results of your poll on your Facebook Fan page to get them interested even more, thus increasing your social network at the same time.
4. Opt-In
You can use SMS to get people to opt-in to SMS or email marketing notifications. All they have to do is to send you a text with the right word to your SMS number. Then, to guide people to your specific products through SMS, you can text them with short news texts on the best deals you offer for that type of product. They will appreciate the insider information. SMS marketing can not only gain you leads, but it can also gain you customers and loyal ones at that.
Woman Reading Sms by Petr Kratochvil
Feeding the Beast – How to Make Sure Your Content Is Always New
Face it: search engines prefer new content to old most of the time. New articles will have more impact on your Internet presence than old ones. In fact, you should definitely update your blog and even your website regularly. Sometimes it may seem overwhelming to produce so much content, but it is essential to getting the most traffic to your website.
1. Use Google Alerts. Google Alerts is a special service that keeps you up to date on information that you request to be notified about. You will get an email when new websites and news results come up on the search results for the keyword you choose. You can ask for information on your product type, your industry or your target audience for instance. These Alerts will give you ideas to spark your imagination.
2. Get Information from Trade Associations. Learn the latest news about your industry from Trade Associations. Once you make sure the information is available to the public, you can use it in good conscience. You will find out about the cutting edge technology or new products that are being introduced. When you get the basic ideas from the Trade Associations, you can do your own research on the subjects and come up with your own conclusions and ideas about the innovations. Another topic for your blog or website is born.
3. Listen to your Social Network. You should both listen and post updates and other media to your social network. Perhaps the most important activity you do, though, will be actively listening to your Friends and Fans. Active listening means asking questions to clarify comments or adding your own expertise when appropriate. In other words, create a dialogue. You will learn where the heart and interests of your target audience lie, so you will be able to gear your content to fulfilling those needs.
4. Get help when necessary. Sometimes, you just do not have time to keep up with submitting and updating all the content you need to take care of by yourself. There are several ways to handle this problem. You can ask a friend or family member to help you. If you do, do not ask them to do it for free or they will surely come to resent you.
Another choice is to get employees to spend a small amount of their days brainstorming for new content ideas. Hire an in-house specialist to do the work at your office. A final option is to outsource your content production by giving an article write-up service your keywords and having them come up with new content for you. The Internet can seem like a beast that needs to be fed constantly, but you can handle it if you use the right methods.
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