A big part of running a successful business is making sure that everyone knows about it. Unfortunately, though, that can be a lot easier said than done! If you want to make your business more visible, tap into the power of social media marketing and take advantage of these expert tips: Offer specials to your social media contacts If people know that they’re going to get extra discounts and perks by “liking” you on Facebook or following you on Twitter, they’re going to do it! And, in return, they’ll give you things that you would have a real hard time getting otherwise, like solid word-of-mouth advertising and repeat business. Show people that you’re genuinely excited A big problem that people have in social media marketing is posting something because they feel like they “have to”. Guess what? That lack of enthusiasm shines through, and it’s not a good way to get people talking about your business. Instead, make sure that – Read the full article
In light of the current recession and housing market downturn, real estate agents have to turn to new ways of creating and running their businesses. Social media marketing is one of the best, if not THE best way to do just that. The National Association of Realtors has a whole section of their website focused on social media for the real estate professional. The Field Guide to Social Networking for REALTORS® has eBooks, videos, and a ton of other resources to help you along the way. Facebook Ask around and you will be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of Facebook. Even if they don’t use it, they probably saw the movie last year about it! And it’s likely that most people you know are using Facebook and have hundreds of friends. A word of caution on catapulting yourself into this too quickly: mixing personal and professional can be a very slippery road. Keep your personal Facebook profile and create a Fan Page – Read the full article
So, you’ve finally decided to join the social media stream and now you’re looking for more creative ways to market your business. So far, you’ve built your Facebook page, a LinkedIn group, and your newly launched corporate blog is receiving a lot of positive feedback from readers. There is one more thing that can boost productivity: social media applications. These apps can boost your marketing efforts and make the process even more efficient. Here is a breakdown of the five most popular social media apps that you can use to accelerate your marketing success: Networked Blogs Join an online family of over 500,000 blogs and build an active community around your own blog. With the Networked Blogs Facebook app, you can: Import the blog feed to your Facebook profile Share your posts with a huge community of bloggers Gain massive visibility Promote your blog on Facebook The first step is to add your blog to the Networked Blogs via Facebook. Once you – Read the full article
Social media marketing can be very effective in driving traffic to your blog and website, as well as in enhancing the visibility of your brand and business. But if you’re looking to improve your results, here are some great tips and tricks you can follow: Target the right sites There are literally hundreds of social media sites you can use. However, no one has the time to effectively use all of them. The first thing you need to do is locate a few sites which will fit well with you and your audience. Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and Digg are some of the obvious popular choices since they send generally large traffic volumes, but to find sites that can send you high-quality, highly targeted traffic, look out for niche-specific and geo-relevant social media sites. Targeting general news and social bookmarking websites like Reddit or Digg can also be useful; once you have established a prominent profile, you can promote all manner – Read the full article
Social media offers endless possibilities for marketing and selling your product online. But you know that already. (And we must have been going on and on about it.) You know that Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and similar social media sites are great for E-commerce and online retailers – that, if leveraged properly, they can help you engage targeted communities, increase your online visibility, enhance your brand, drive traffic to your site, and maximize your sales opportunities. Now – hold on right there. Before you even think of getting started and unleashing your campaign unto the wonderful world of social media, you may want to be aware of the common mistakes that businesses – regardless of size – make. Mistakes that can make social media marketing a burden instead of an opportunity. Mistakes which you should at all costs avoid. Don’t throw yourself into social media without a plan or strategy. Some businesses think all it takes is to sign up on – Read the full article
There is a multitude of ways that a company can catch the attention of their target audience. More and more, companies are turning to social media outlets to gain the attention that they need for their brands to increase in popularity. These programs can be taken even a step further through the use of mobile marketing as well. The first thing to know about marketing through mobile services is that there are laws which surround this. You are not allowed to use leads which have been purchased as you have to have permission to send messages to clients. If you do not have permission, you face legal difficulties due to the FCC anti-mobile telemarketing laws. There are ways that you can make sure to have a lucrative marketing through the mobile market and a lot of it has to deal with social media marketing. This is because when there is a good social media marketing plan, you can reach new – Read the full article
Marketing Sherpa, a trusted resource that publishes useful news, case studies, and best practices data about Internet and integrated marketing, recently released the new Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report. It’s a robust guide that contains research, charts and tables, case studies, and trends in today’s ever-evolving Internet marketing industry. Over 2,000 marketers participated in the surveys conducted by Marketing Sherpa, surveys which covered topics such as strategy, forecasting, budgeting, integration with other marketing channels, social applications, and social media. It is meaty: 197 charts and tables, 14 chapters, 255 pages, and results from research conducted with 2,317 business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketers. The benchmark report also introduced a ROAD Map, which stands for the Research, Objectives, Actions, and Devices that businesses and marketers would have to determine in crafting and implementing a social media strategy. Because social media is continuously evolving, one has to consider this ROAD Map, which is meant to help businesses and marketers stay abreast of social media – Read the full article
More and more companies are realizing the importance of utilizing social media. However, finding the right social media marketing consultant or expert can be a daunting task. Due to the ambiguity of social media and lack of a formal means to measure competency, it seems as though nearly anyone can call themselves a “social media guru”. However, social media is more than sending out tweets or reading blogs. How can a company find an individual who can do more with social media than connect with friends? 5 Qualities of a True Social Media Expert Placing your online reputation in the hands of an unqualified applicant is always a risky situation; however, there are several distinctive qualities that mark a true social media expert. In order to find the most qualified social media expert, keep an eye out for the following indicators: 1. Passion: In general, you should look for an individual that has a passion for social media – they – Read the full article
