Free Social Media Marketing Plan: How to Gain a Following for Your Business Using Social Media Marketing Strategies

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Free Social Media Marketing Plan: How to Gain a Following for Your Business Using Social Media Marketing Strategies

If you are looking for a free social media marketing plan, then here’s some clever tips you can start using now to build and promote your business.

As the world of Internet marketing has continued to grow in importance and popularity, the world of social media has come more and more into play. Social media allows business owners to get their message out to their target audience very quickly because of the viral and social nature of the way information is being shared.  And here are some of the most clever ways that you can increase your following now using social media marketing:

A Free Social Media Marketing Plan That You Can Start Using Today:

1-  Social Networking Sites: The most popular Social Media sites being used today are without a doubt, Facebook and Twitter.  As a matter of fact, Facebook is now getting more daily visits than even Google, so if you can learn to master the use of this site in a balanced but strategic manner, in can be a great value to your business.  One thing you may want to do if you haven’t already, is to connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts and then also set up some groups and fan pages on Facebook that you can use to further enhance your online presence and marketing brand.

2.  Social Bookmarking: Another critical element to a free social media marketing plan would be to set up accounts with social bookmarking services such as socialADR and Digg, to create bookmarks for your content that can be viewed and shared by other users.  This is perhaps one of the most overlooked but also most effective strategies within the Social Media marketing world that can best help to propel your chosen marketing campaigns to the top of the search engine results!

3-  Keyword Research and SEO for Social Media: Probably the most important part of any online marketing campaign, especially a free social media marketing plan, would be to use strategic keywords and search engine optimization techniques to further ensure that your content will be found and rank high to be seen by your target audience.  Keyword research is literally, the absolute foundation of any effective online marketing campaign, but strangely also one of the most underused tactics.

The Importance of Using Keyword Research within Your Social Media Marketing:

Interestingly enough, many online marketers understand the basic idea and concept behind keyword research and search engine optimization but still do not put it to use the way they should.  The most important aspect to any effective and free social media marketing plan is that it should help to build and reinforce your online identity and company brand, get your message across to your target audience and build awareness for what you do by further increasing your list and your following online.  Using targeted keywords can really help to put your content right where your audience is looking to improve your exposure and brand awareness.

Where to go to Create and Refine Your Free Social Media Marketing Plan:

If what you are doing is not currently creating and driving enough traffic to your website and/or blog, then it is probably time to re-evaluate what you have been doing.  Always test the results from all of your online marketing campaigns as well as your free social media marketing plan and then continue tweaking your content until you get the results you are after.  Even then, there is always room for improvement!  The best thing to do would be to enroll in an Internet Marketing Mentoring and Coaching Center that specializes in teaching and training business owners with on-going live webinars on all the latest strategies for building and promoting a business online!

Next, to learn more of the top strategies for Social Media that I teach, please read my other article on a Free Social Media Marketing Plan , watch my Free Social Media Marketing Plan Video and connect with me on Facebook!

Social Media and Other Online Platforms: A Balance of Branding and Sales

admin    Social Media Marketing     Balance, Branding, Media, Online, Platforms, Sales., Social

Social Media and Other Online Platforms: A Balance of Branding and Sales

The 1980s are remembered for developments in business and technology, particularly computing. Remember your first big, clunky computer?  The 1990s are remembered for advances in technology, particularly the growth of the internet and online business. Wow, how things have grown! If the 2000s are to be remembered for anything (although it is still too early to tell) it will be for developments in communication and online communities – particularly the incredible power of social media.

Social media gives major brands and companies some serious power and clout, but it is rarely used as it should be. Commitments to quality are often let down and overlooked; and opportunities for branding, direct sales, or indirect marketing are often passed over without thought. These missed opportunities cost businesses, so preventing them from slipping away is essential for operating a smooth business.

Social Media for Branding:

A dollar unearned is a dollar lost. Businesses are often theorizing on the value of social media for their branding efforts, but few take action and put their foot down when they should. Billions of dollars are being left on the table, particularly as major brands move onto social media services, and the value of a social media-friendly brand still is not being recognized.

An experiment is always worth more than inaction. Discussion on social media’s branding abilities will only take companies so far. With the low cost of social media efforts, an experiment with social media branding can generate huge returns, all with a relatively minimal level of risk.

Social Media for Search Engine Optimization:

SEO consultancy (and in-house efforts) was once the domain of spammy content and low quality link generation efforts. Low-cost websites were set up, poorly planned information was thrown at them indiscriminately, and marketers shot out as many links as possible. Despite being somewhat effective, the old world of SEO is packed with inefficient models and outright unethical business models.

However, social media has given SEO a new life. The old “SEO is spam” cliché is no more, thanks to the developments of social media. Each new social media asset is another opportunity for high quality outbound linking, and every social media conversation is another opportunity to spread links that actually add value.

With Twitter tweets and You Tube videos appearing in Google’s standard search results, the divide between search and social media is likely to become even smaller. Marketers accustomed to spam-style SEO tactics are in for a new surprise, while businesses that depend on high-quality social media receive a well-deserved SEO boost.

Social Media for Sales:

Social media is not a good sales platform, but it is a good resource for generating future sales. The sales process is made up of many parts, and generating prospects is one of the most important. Marketers that were once dependent on direct lead generation have a new platform available to them, particularly in open social media platforms like Twitter or MySpace.

The greatest news is that social media is still in its infancy. Businesses that are built on lead-based sales models have nothing but good news to look forward to. As social media develops further, sales models will be refined, micro-networks offering great sales potential will grow greater, and marketers can look forward to a platform that is refined, sales-friendly, and willing to be marketed to.

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The Power of Social Media

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The Power of Social Media

Nobody is unaware of the social media today, it’s effect on the web and the real world simply can’t be ignored.  It’s impact on the internet has changed the way we look at the internet today. As internet used to be only the source of information, now it has become the mode of entertainment and best way to communicate with friends and new people. Social Media consists of not only the websites which allow friends/ fans making but also the sites which allow bookmarking and sharing services. The domain of social media sites is expanding day by day and making the world more & smaller. Earlier were the days when it was considered as wastage of time by many people, as now the times have changed and people look at it with a great tool to connect more & more people.

It has made it’s space in everyone’s life whoever uses internet so if we say that it has become more or less a part of life, the it won’t be wrong. As the popularity of social media increased, it uses increased too and people have exploited it in every manner. Some of it’s benefits are connecting to new people, stay connected to your pals etc. But it has proved to a boon for it’s one use i.e. “Popularity“. Celebrities have started using these sites to increase their brand value and their fan followings. Today almost every star & celebrity is on “Twitter”. Twitter allows the celebrities to connect to their fans directly and people to their “ICONS”. When the celebrities exploited it companies also started using these sites as a great tool for their own popularity. Today, one can see almost every company will have their account on “Twitter” and a page on “Facebook“. These websites not only make fans/ friends to increase the popularity but also generate huge amount of traffic to the respective websites. If you’ve got a site with good matter in it then it’s not sufficient enough. You can generate a huge amount of traffic from social websites which again increase your website popularity. As I already said social media does not consists of website which offers friends/ fan services but also with online bookmarking and many other websites which are again a great tool to generate traffic on your website which in turn helps in search engine optimization of your website.  These websites make your website globally seen and your company names a Brand name. Not only this but these websites also helps you to know what’s happening all around the world and what other internet people are interested in. To get your website optimized in social media is also known as social media marketing.

As, we’ve seen that social media marketing is important for a website in all the terms. It not only generates traffic but also helps in popularity of your website globally. Many companies offers smm services claiming low cost and good results but only some of them have achieved success in this. WeDealsIndia.com is one of the companies which provide professional smm services. We provide different packages from social media marketing and also offer the services of customized plans. Our client can choose the services he/she wants so that the charges can be according to the package designed. Other services provided by us include bulk sms, sms short codes, link building, article submission etc.

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Social Media Marketing For Online Income

admin    Social Media Marketing     Income, marketing, Media, Online, Social

Social Media Marketing For Online Income

Among the many ways of making money online, there are a few that make use of what regular internet surfers already have to start generating income. Paid blogging for instance, is a very appealing online money making prospect to someone who owns and maintains quality blogs. But there is one other thing that virtually anyone who regularly uses the internet can engage in to reel in some extra income: social media marketing.

As much as nine out of ten (if not a perfect ten out of ten) people who regularly visit the World Wide Web for leisure have social media networking profiles. Twitter, Facebook, Multiply, you name it. Many have multiple accounts on several social media sites. If they can turn their numerous accounts into extra income generators that make at least a few dollars and cents everyday each—that’s a pretty good start. Social media marketing is one of the more recent tools used in the larger industry of internet affiliate marketing. It takes advantage of the popularity of social networking sites to market ads and links for a plethora of goods and services—even just information someone would willingly pay for. All the owner of a profile would have to do is post some ads on his profile for anyone visiting it to click and follow.

Some people even create accounts on social media sites dedicated only to that particular endeavor. Well, with a network of several profiles like that each making a small amount of money—the culminated income can potentially be substantial.

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Hire Social Media Marketing Services to Gain More Exposure across Social Media

admin    Social Media Marketing     Across, Exposure, Gain, Hire, marketing, Media, More, Services, Social

Hire Social Media Marketing Services to Gain More Exposure across Social Media

There are ample of methods that can help you ensure the success of your online venture and social media marketing is one of them. Firms that offer social media marketing services allow business organizations to penetrate the online market with the help of some great tools such as videos, articles, banners, ads and the like.

These tools provide you with an opportunity to get in touch with a large number of people, build-up relationships and develop your own community of trustworthy clients and customers. Marketers, who make use of social media, generate higher exposure and more opportunities for their business. Statistics reveal that such marketers not only reap more benefits but also close more business deals by utilizing different social media techniques.

One of the smartest ways to flourish is to watch the techniques followed by the larger companies. Social media is the best platform to help businesses reach their business prospects. There are a number of firms that offer reasonable social media marketing packages. These firms help you in joining the forums and groups where your targeted audiences gather. Such firms also assist you in creating a healthy relationship with them. Hence you reach the client or customer with your information, products or services.

Millions of users around the world are active participants of social media. All you need is to contact a good social media firm that can help you in tapping the immense potential of these sites to your advantage. Such firms can also help you in fetching optimal traffic from social media websites. There are many social media firms that maintain a strong web presence. You can visit their websites for having a look at the kinds of social media packages offered by them. Social media marketing prices usually depend on the services that are included in these packages.

With ample of experience in this field, good social media firms manage and develop online social media campaigns that not only accentuate the client’s web presence but also facilitates him with a trustworthy customer base. They focus on finding out your target markets in order to generate optimal traffic and elevate sales.

SMM Tips –Top 30 Social Media Marketing Success Questions of 2011…

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SMM Tips –Top 30 Social Media Marketing Success Questions of 2011…

I guess the trap that most businesses fall into is that they kick off their social media journey without a M.A.P. (Massive Action Plan – a motivational expression created by renowned peak performance specialist and keynote speaker Anthony Robbins). If you want to skyrocket your social media influence, you must have a crystal clear vision of where you are, where you want be and how can you get there socially speaking.

To help you out, we have assembled the top 30 questions that you need to answer accurately for massive social media success. Enjoy!

Top 10 SMM Success Questions for Startup Phase

This is the hardest phase of all since you haven’t yet learned the ropes and will prone to endless trails and errors. That’s why; it is best if you could answer the following 10 questions prior to starting.

1. What is my social media campaign vision?

2. What is my number one SMM priority? (It could be corporate branding, customer acquisition, cost reduction, more leads or higher sales conversion rates. I can here you say: I want’m all! For starters, try to focus one SMM priority)

3. Is my goal timely and realistic? (A good way to find out would be reading case studies of successful SMM endeavors)

4. Who is my target audience? (Now, that’s a question that you MUST answer on your own and make sure to answer it correctly as it could make or break your entire SMM campaign)

5. What is the exact message(s) that I want to send my audience about my brand/services?

6. How can I build credibility and trust with my audience?

7. Which social media networking sites should I join? (The Bare minimum is Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn)

8. How can I constantly monitor and improve my social media campaign?

9. Who are my key competition and how can I outperform them?

Top 10 SMM Success Questions for Mid Phase

Now you started to get your hands dirty and determined your goals, target audience and key competition, it is time to ask yourself more in-depth questions.

1. How effective is my current SMM plan in supporting my business goals?

2. Am I leveraging the best tools available for my social media campaign?

3. Am I carefully aware of what my audience are saying about my brand?

4. Am I effectively engaging with my fans/followers?

5. Do I attend to people’s questions/comments about my brand promptly?

6. Did I hit my target number of followers/fans? If not, what am I doing wrong?

7. How effective was my social media strategy so far and how can I further tweak it for optimal results?

8. Do I encourage more engagement and participation from my audience?

9. Do I have enough time for social media influence or should I hire a social media professional?

10. Am I generating a positive buzz for my brand?

Top 10 SMM Success Questions for Advanced Phase

By now you have already accomplished some of your SMM goals yet need to level up your game in order to cope with never-ending evolvements in the social media world. “The only constant thing is change” and social media is certainly no exception! As things get a bit challenging, you need to ask the following questions.

1. Am I really giving my audience what they are hungry for?

2. What if I received negative reviews or bad PR, what would be my plan “B”? (Sometimes having the worst case scenario mentality is the wise things to do. In other words, be proactive rather than reactive)

3.  AM I addressing my audience needs effectively?

4.  Do I have enough financial resources (in case you are using fee-based social media services/tools) to expand this campaign?

5.  Am I capable of measuring the ROI (return on investment) of my SMM in terms of lead generation and sales conversions?

6.  Where do I see my social media campaign 5+ years from now?

7.  Is my SMM time, money and effort brining me the desired results in terms of sales revenues?

8.  How often do I add the “fun” factor to my social media activities in order to engage more audience?

9. Do I give my audience enough attention and recognition?

10. How can I improve my overall strategy based on my audience feedback?

I couldn’t stress more on the utmost importance of answering the above questions carefully if you are after optimal SMM results. Jumping in the deep social media sea without enough planning means getting mediocre or no results! The more specific you are in deciding how you want to leverage SMM; the better your chances will be in meeting or even exceeding your goals. Good luck!

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12 Social Marketing Myths: How social media can assist you take your company to the next level

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12 Social Marketing Myths: How social media can assist you take your company to the next level

For brands, resistance to social media is futile. Hundreds of thousands of persons produce content for that social Web on the daily foundation. Your buyers take place to be utilizing it to get a lengthy time. Your rivals have embraced it. In situation your corporation just isn’t placing itself out there, it ought to be.But you’ll discover some recurring fallacies and misconceptions available on the market. Rather a few providers are discovering that these instruments don’t reside up to the hype, especially modest providers. You’ll discover a lot of issues that are not instantly obvious. Are you currently currently considering Twitter, Facebook, et al as component of one’s marketing plan? Prior to you leap in, maintain these myths in thoughts:1. Social media is cheap or free. Yes, a number of social media tools are totally totally free to use, for example Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, the social network building tool Ning, and content material materials aggregators like StumbleUpon and Digg. You will find many free of charge blogging instruments, too, like WordPress, Blogger, FriendFeed, and Twitter. But incorporating them correct into an organization marketing program requires time, skill, and dollars.2. You’ll be able to make a large splash in fact simply. Positive, occasionally this occurs. Social media is terrific if you’re by now a star, but there undoubtedly isn’t any these thing as an overnight sensation. As an example, tweets can drive traffic to articles, Web web web-sites, Facebook pages, contests, apps, videos, and so on. — this really is easier in situation your viewers presently cares about your model or in situation you possess a genuinely original item or notion that excites men and ladies to your extent that they desire to share with their buddies. On the other hand it takes a lot of time and dedication to preserve your content materials fresh.three. You will desire to be on all the large internet web sites. Most manufacturers which have succeeded with social media internet web-sites normally focus on just a couple of of them. Just for the reason that the media says it is cool to tweet doesn’t imply it has something to total together with your organization. Inside the occasion you strategy to regular social networks, don’t spread your self as well thin. The firms that choose their weapons properly and give it their all could be the ones that succeed inside the social space.4. In case you generate some factor that is excellent, people today will come across it. How’s that supposed to occur? Unless needless to say you will have the ability to drive traffic for the social media work, it really is akin to a tree falling within the woods with out 1 about to listen to it. Lots of tools can drive visitors, for example Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, blogs, and Search engine optimization, but phrase of mouth trumps all of them — 1 buddy telling another, “Hey, check this out!” is incredibly effective.five. It is for kids. Contrary to the notion that social media is for tweens, teenagers, and 20-somethings, older demographics are rapidly evolving into this region. In accordance with analysis by iStrategyLabs, Facebook experienced 276% improvement in customers aged 35-54 in 2009 and is its fastest developing section.6. You cannot create top high quality relationships on the internet. The thinking on this goes that it’s a waste of time connect with men and ladies on-line which you do not know in actual lifestyle — that it is a pointless physical workout that doesn’t result in lasting relationships together together with your model. It is genuinely really the opposite: Social media enables you to be cope with to face together with your target audience. Despite the fact that they don’t alter into spending customers, you nonetheless acquire beneficial insight into what they really feel and what they react to.7. It gives away content material and suggestions you should be charging for. Basically place: The significantly more you give, the a good deal additional you obtain in social media. You need to let go of the idea that all of the content material you produce is is proprietary, engage together with your audience, and encourage them to share what you’ve created.8. It is a fad. The drumbeat about social media has turn out to be deafening. But a lot of entrepreneurs stay skeptical, hesitating to create budgets and expend sources on the craze. But social media is really a basic shift in communication — it really is not just a brand new set of resources, but a new sphere of networking, communicating, living, and organizing. It has become intertwined in our lifestyles, so it’s here to stay.9. Anybody can do it. It certain sounds that way, doesn’t it? You will find a wonderful deal of males and ladies, from whiz kids to a great deal far more experienced entrepreneurs, who claim to become social media specialists. Some even portray on their very own as gurus. But how fairly several of them have produced successful social media initiatives for clients? To turn into successful, a campaign have to integrate social elements into all elements of marketing, such as marketing, digital, and PR. Principle is no match for knowledge, and the finest social media entrepreneurs now have a lengthy time of understanding incorporating interactivity, forums, viral video clip, apps, social networks, blogs, user-generated content material, and contests to the marketing mix.10. It’s a cure-all. Whilst social media is definitely a good tool for online reputation management, it’s not a panacea. Do not get so wrapped up within the idea of of the social Web that you just dismiss the other issues with your marketing strategy. Social media is an additional inside a lengthy checklist of tools you should leverage for model messaging.11. You are able to do it all in-house. You need technique, tools, contacts, and expertise — a mixture not generally discovered in in-house teams, who’re normally tempted to make use of the incorrect instruments or to reinvent the wheel… which leads to (you guessed it) lousy outcomes. How a lot of in-house teams have the knowledge to conceive and put into action a social media marketing campaign AND drive visitors to it by way of weblog marketing, Search engine optimization, Twitter, and so forth?12. Social marketing results cannot be measured. You’ll discover a selection of procedures and instruments you’ll be able to use for this, and additional turn into accessible every single day. You may monitor weblog comments, mentions within the media, visitors stats, Facebook followers, Twitter followers, feedback in your content material, real-time blog advertising outcomes, click-throughs to your Web web web site. The gear are readily available, as well as the amount of individuals who know tips on how to aggregate and interpret the data is developing.

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Is Twitter The Best Social Media Marketing Platform?

admin    Social Media Marketing     Best, marketing, Media, Platform, Social, Twitter

Is Twitter The Best Social Media Marketing Platform?

It seems that every time I open my email there is an invitation for at least one new social media network that has some revolutionary way to redefine my universe.

Some new networks are clones or adaptations of previous sites and target very specific segments. Twitter has taken the concept to the level of bumper stickers – short, simple and to the point. Just like a newspaper headline, you are able to get your message directly into the minds of your followers and provide them with links to more information.

As a professional Internet Marketing Specialist I know the power of the headline. Headlines need to encapsulate the entire story in the briefest possible way so that if the reader continues no further, they still have an understanding of the entire story, and have the option if continuing to find more information. With Twitter the information is provided with links, so that you can focus on creating attention getting “headlines” to drive traffic to your site or give a short synopsis of the story or product. With the number of media sources available it is the best that we can hope for with the apparent shrinking attention span of the human species.

Most of the social media sites have this short headline ability that can be used in the same way, but Twitter is the first site to slap the market “upside the back of the head” with the obvious power of the 140 characters available in each “tweet”. And if you can’t get it out in 140 strokes, is your message really going to be worth saying?

Twitter has also taking texting up a notch with the shortening of words, so you may have to spend some time “dcifrn” (deciphering) tweets. The downside to twitter is that for many users it is a novelty that is quickly set aside as not everybody wants to update the universe with a step by step breakdown of their life. What you notice pretty quickly is that the users who update the most frequently are businesses (especially media agencies such as news sites), marketing and public relations professionals, entertainers and politicians who may or may not even be doing their own tweeting. It is therefore essential that you target your tweets to followers who will be interested in what you have to say. Or, for that matter, what you have to sell.

So, yes…If you have to limit your marketing resources to one social media marketing platform Twitter is the one, but relax, most of the other sites are integrating direct connections with Twitter updates and can be cross posted.

No matter what form of marketing you engage in, you need the best education possible. An online university for internet marketers and community of entrepreneurs that will educate and guide you on your path to success is the best way to ensure that you reach your goals.

Wishing you every success,

Mike.

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SEO and Social Media Joining Forces

admin    Social Media Marketing     FORCES, Joining, Media, Social

SEO and Social Media Joining Forces

What Have You Heard?

Lately I have been hearing a lot of debate over what is exactly considered Search Engine Optimization and what is considered Social Media. Honestly, recently I have been feeling like the two have really started to come together and become the ultimate online marketing machine. To have an effective and successful internet marketing strategy you really have to use both in order to do so. Content Development, Link Building, Traffic Growth, User Engagement, the list could really go on about how SEO and SM can work together to boost up your ending results.

Below I will give quite a few strategies on how both SEO and SM cannot work without each other:

Content Development & Content Promotion

When you create unique content that has correct Title Tags, H Tags, Keywords, Keyword-Rich URLS, it will only take you so far. Of course your content can get you some good organic traffic and readers, but when you want traffic to be more exponential you need to promote it more and this is where Social Content Promotion comes in. Amplifying a Twitter account, gaining Facebook fans, interacting with Bloggers by commenting on blogs, answering questions in Forums and promoting other peoples content will help take your content visibility to the next level.

Link Building & Social Sharing

Link building comes in a number of different types of strategies. You could be building localized links, relevant links, high Page Rank (PR) links, traffic links, etc. But, from the social side of things you could be bookmarking all your content, submitting content to Web 2.0 sites that link back to you and even though Twitter and Facebook does not follow on their links, it can still have an effect because of the traffic that it brings to your website. Since Google and other Search Engines are indexing updates that are real time, status updates is actually considered a form of link building. Take for example; If you are a guest speaker for a web design Toronto company, it is one thing to get a link from their website, but to bring in live tweets, videos and living blogging can bring more viral links, than just one from the website.

Conversion Rate Optimization & On-Site Social Engagements

I personally feel that when you improve your websites usability and conversion rates it usually falls under the SEO strategy. How does Social Media help? Facebook and Twitter allows users to sign up on a website or blog by using their social media account. When you pull Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn updates it can keep users on your site a lot longer and read your updates and check your links.

SEO Strategy & Social Media Strategy

When you start to create your overall Internet Marketing strategy you need to have some continuity across all your tactics. If you are formulating your site and layout, you may want to find out ways how to bring social elements throughout the site. For example it is good to have a blog RSS feed, Twitter Feed, Facebook Fan Page Widget, Social Bookmarking Buttons, those all should be apart of your overall strategy of building good content while promoting it.

So, what do all of you think about the relationship with SEO and Social Media? Do you agree that they should blend together and work as a team? Have you noticed any other way that SEO and Social Media are interacting to form a marketing strategy?

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Six Essential Social Media Tools For Business Success

admin    Social Media Marketing     Business, Essential, Media, Social, Success, Tools

Six Essential Social Media Tools For Business Success

1. Your Own Blog

RSS feeds are the proverbial backbone of the Social Web. You can only benefit from the exposure in the many RSS feed directories on the Web if you have your own RSS feed to publish on it. The easiest way to have your own RSS feed is to start a blog.

But merely starting a blog is far from enough. Your blog needs to be optimized and your blog post content must be kept fresh, engaging, and integrated into your other social media tools.

Free and nearly free blogs can be started using tools available through WordPress.com, Blogger, or Typepad. You can also install a blog on your existing site with tools at WordPress.org.

2. Get Your Facebook On

A Facebook presence can consist of both a Facebook profile and a Facebook page. They are different things and it is very important to know which is which.

Facebook profiles are for individuals, not a business. A business can create a profile for a key representative of the business, but not for the business itself.

Always take time to optimize your Facebook profile by completing it as thoroughly as possible with content that contains key terms that are relevant to the individual as a representative of your business. Be sure to import your blog and all your other social tools into your Facebook feed.

The Facebook page is for your business. A page can be created for a service or product business, a local business, or for an actor/artist/musician/writer, you name it.

Your Facebook page is like all first impressions: you want it to represent your business effectively. Below is a list of a few Facebook applications to add to your page that can help make your impression a great one:

Social RSS is an app that imports RSS feeds or blog entries
MyFlickr imports photos and images from your Flickr account
YouTube Box helps you add your video clips to your Facebook page
ShopTab is a great app for selling your products, but it has a modest monthly fee
Static FBML gets HTML code onto your page
Causes enables donation acceptance for your nonprofit business

3. Professionals Get a LinkedIn Account

While Facebook is for social networking, LinkedIn is designed as more of a professional networking site. It is, therefore, an essential tool for business – especially for those businesses that do B2B.

Since your LinkedIn profile may be the first impression someone gets of your business, you need to take time to optimize it. Fill in every profile section using your edited content and best key terms.

It is a good practice to add applications that enhance your profile. A must-have is the BlogLink application for importing your blog entries. Another good tactic is to join LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your business.

4. The Twitter Account

Small but powerful, Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows short entries of only 140 characters. Limited though it may be, it is a social networking tool that lets users interact with posts in “real-time.” It is an incredibly effective way to spread the word about events, products, and services, but you want to use it in addition to your regular blog, not as a substitute for it.

Tools like TweetDeck or HootSuite help keep your “tweets” fresh and plentiful. These tools let you post-date your tweets so you do not have to be in constant tweet mode. You can add several at one sitting and let the app post them at designated times. HootSuite also has an option for importing your blog posts as tweets.

Managing all of the people you are following can be problematic, but use Twitter lists to help minimize that issue.

5. A Flickr Account

The Flickr media community makes uploading and sharing your photos and other images very easy. It is a highly underrated social media tool. It is surprising to people how you can get such great exposure and enhanced search engine placement when you use Flickr wisely.

Per usual, the secret to good placement is consistent use of key terms in names, tags, and descriptions. When you add images to Flickr, rename your uploaded files so they include a few key terms that are relevant to the image and to your business. Be sure to include those same key terms for your tags and the image description.

Again, don’t forget to integrate your Flickr account with all your other social tools and be sure to add them as galleries to your Website or blog.

6. A YouTube Account

The power of viral video is undeniable. If your business makes use of video in any fashion, you have to get those videos on YouTube. Even if you don’t have videos of a product or a meeting or as a training tool, you can create a playlist of videos already on YouTube and reap the benefits of their popularity. Commenting on other videos can also glean benefits for your business.

And whether you have your own videos or have created playlists, you definitely want to import them into your other social sites or use them to embed a video gallery onto your blog or Website.

As in Flickr and any other image tool, you need to use your best key terms in file names, tags, and descriptions of the clips you add to these media communities.

Here is a presentation to help you initiate a realistic social media strategy for your business:

http://www.slideshare.net/deltina/social-media-and-web-20-fundamentals-webinar

Regardless of the tools you implement, remember: The Social Web is about interaction. Join or start a conversation whenever you can, today being as good a time as any.

Here’s to your success in the Social Web! Ready? Let’s do it.