It is important to establish a solid online presence through social networking sites, particularly Facebook. Even when the company already has an official website… Why?
Simple. Because Facebook is more accessible than any official website you build ever will ever be. Don’t take it the wrong way, but you aren’t likely to win the website lottery and create the next Facebook. It (Facebook) gives a sense of social awareness to companies that would otherwise seem too corporate for people to check out , and a level of credibility to starting companies who have no website to speak of. A Facebook page allows companies to be more interactive with present and potential customers, allowing them to collect feedback for everything from service to contest mechanics. While it may seem dangerous because you can be given both positive and negative feedback, companies need not be afraid – Facebook is a tool that can be easily moderated. You can retain the best feedback and just hide the rest. This way, most potential customers will be able to read the positive testimonials of previous customers. Feedback adds another notch of credibility to a company, and will most likely entice potential customers who are reading it.
Furthermore, customers who are tired of traditional online marketing such as e-mail newsletters and web ads are looking to offerings through pages/groups on Facebook to have their questions answered. Having a Facebook page will give your business access to over 500 Million potential customers without having to buy e-mail addresses or other run of the mill web advertising.
Interaction isn’t limited to Facebook updates and wall posts though. A company can also use the Photos and Notes pages. When using the Fanpage, which is the recommended page for businesses (instead of a personal profile page), one can change the posting ability of fans which allow them to post photos, videos and links to the page. This way, potential customers will be able to see how other customers use the product or service. Again, this can engage the community to be more interactive as was successfully executed by Pampers’ Facebook Fanpage. Other companies like Ben & Jerry’s go as far as polling customers. This gives customers a sense of power with regards to their products, which in turn will give them a sense of ownership and acceptance.
Many companies develop and use Facebook applications to make their Facebook page more interactive and enticing to customers. Just look around groups on Facebook and you will be surprised with what ideas they have come up with.
Posted in Social Network Marketing by .
A forum is a place for an ongoing conversation about a particular subject. In a forum, you can share an idea, do a poll, get or give advice, or just discuss your favorite subject with like-minded people.
Forums are a great way to find your target market and interact with them. A forum can build community and a trusted network. These are meccas for creating that “know you, like you, trust you” factor and it’s free!
Forums have a group of contributors and a moderator that makes sure everyone follows the rules. As a member, you can start a topic that allow others to join in on the conversation. This two-way conversation is called a thread.
As an owner of a business, this is an incredible way to point traffic to your blog or website.
Every time you join in on the conversation, leave a small signature that tells a little more about you, and a link to your site. Don’t spam! Give great content on the thread that creates interest about you and if someone wants to know more about who you are, they can click on your link.
Here are five steps to help promote your blog or website in forums. Do this a little everyday and watch your visitors grow:
1. Goolge forums where your specific target market hangs out. For example, “stay at home mom forums”.
2. Read through the FAQ to know the rules of the forum.
3. Join the forum and read through discussions. Listen to how the group interacts and get acquainted with it’s
members.
4. Comment on threads and leave smart content and really add value to the discussions (no spammy talk here!). Be authentic!! People know when you are just there to take, take, take!
5. Leave your signature and a link to your site after your comment.
I have had some highly targeted prospects come through my sites from forums.
These people already know you and are more likely to leave comments on your blog. This is a beautiful thing when you have interaction from others on your site. This increases your visibility to search engines and creates activity that others want to be a part of. These visitors also become prospects that may want to know more about what you have to offer.
To Your Success!
Paula McKinney
Combining High Tech and High Touch For Network Marketing Success
http://www.Paula-McKinney.com
Posted in Web & Blog Marketing by .
Nov 10
22
FaceBook Ad Explosion Video Series
This is a simple, step by step, 6 part video series, that takes you by the hand and shows you how to quickly plan and setup your Facebook Ad campaign correctly. From; what Facebook allows and disallows, the basics of writing your ads, getting them approved, testing them, getting them to convert and building a community around your brand, to increase the viralness!
Market Share Fact: According to a recent study released in 2010 by Experian Hitwise US, based on USA usage; Of the Market Share Google owns 7.03%, while Facebook owns 7.07%.
On the graph it shows Facebook increasing, as Google takes a steady path. This means as advertisers, you have a large reach for potential clients.
Problems Business Owners like you face: It’s obvious that many business owners like you don’t have a ton of time to market, but it is a necessity in order to survive your competition. If that is the case, then I recommend Facebook Ad Explosion.
Problem with Adwords: I’ve heard time and time again, that Adwords does not care about their advertisers that much, and never thought much of it until I saw it first hand. That was why I turned to Facebook Ads.
Fortunately for business owners online and offline, Facebook is extremely easy to use compared with Google Adwords’ complicated system. Not to mention that it is super, super targeted. It’s like the advertiser’s dream. Now that’s not to say that Adwords doesn’t work, because it does. But as times are changing, we realize here, that Facebook is indeed, where a ton of potential clients are.
Posted in Recommended Promotions Social Network Marketing by .
Nov 10
21
Quality Content Creation for Twitter
You’re probably cringing at the thought of having to create more content, but on Twitter, the content you need is only 140 characters long. And even being that short, you don’t want to overdo it. Very much like with blogging or website building, content is definitely king on Twitter. If people like your content, they will follow you and tell others about you. If they don’t, you’ll be sitting around Twittering to yourself.
Fortunately, the format of Twitter makes providing content really easy. You don’t even have to write all of it yourself. One way to generate fresh content is to read through the content provided by the people you’re following and re-tweet to your own followers the great content they have written. Or, as you’re reading through your RSS feed for the day, you can tweet about the news, interesting blog posts or controversies that are brewing in the blogging world. You should definitely share your thoughts and ideas in your posts, otherwise it is just a repeat of what your followers may have already seen, and they will ignore you.
So you’re probably wondering what kind of content should you be sharing, right?
• Information - If you know something, share it. You might think it to be of trivial interest to people in your industry or your customers, but it holds value to someone. Or it might be a piece of relevant news. Every little bit counts.
• Advice – As a business owner, you should know what your customers struggle with. I know that many people struggle with implementing their own social media strategy. Plus, many need help with creating their own business social pages. Sharing these tidbits potentially helps my audience. So, if you provide insight for your customers, they’ll love (and follow) you forever.
• Answers – Similar to advice, answers are a more direct way of helping people. Watch out for people asking questions about your field of expertise, product, or service. Provide the answers and they’ll remember you – particularly if you just saved them from hours of searching or paying someone hundreds of dollars for the five minute fix you provided. Just remember, don’t give away all the milk for free, otherwise they’ll never need to buy the cow!
• Updates - Again, I think it’s a good idea to have your blog posts tweeted as updates to your Twitter stream. There are plug-ins available that will allow you to automatically tweet the headline and a shortened link to your blog post. Of course, this assumes that your blog posts are original content and useful to others. If you’re tweeting spam, you’re followers are going to jump ship.
• Contests - Running a Twitter-only contest is a great idea. People love the notion of winning something. You can blend the contest with an effort to gather opinions from your followers. For example, if you need to know whether or not your customers will pay for a physical version of your digital products, send out a tweet and include an offer to give away a free copy of one of your products to those who reply.
• Personal tidbits - While it’s a good idea to give your profile some personality, you have to be careful with this one. Talking about a song you’re listening to, or something cool you learned today is fine. Telling us about your indigestion is not! Honestly, we don’t care what you ate for lunch either.
Now that you have some ideas for content, you can plan out some of the elements. For example, if you’re getting ready to launch a product, it is a perfect way to gauge interest. Announce that you’re taking beta testers, run a contest to give away a copy or two, and give out a few bits of information about the product to whet your customers’ appetites.
Posted in Social Network Marketing by .
