Archive for November, 2009

Facebook Marketing

November 16th, 2009

Facebook Marketing 101

By Ron Jones, Search Engine Watch, Nov 16, 2009

After you’ve mastered the basics of Facebook and set up Facebook fan pages for your business, it’s time to promote your fan pages and identify ways to be found in real time search results.

Is customer loyalty important to you? Have you ever wondered about which sources provide loyal visitors who will repeatedly return to your site?

Chitika analyzed the browsing habits of 33 million unique visitors during September. They found that Facebook provides the most loyal visitors, with 20 percent of those who originate from the social network in turn visiting the site they landed on four or more times in a week. Other notable social media sites include Digg at 16 percent and Twitter at 11 percent.

This should help you feel better about the time you invest marketing on Facebook. Now let’s look at some ways to promote your Facebook fan page.

How to Promote your Facebook Page

A promotion is a good way to reach out to your customers and make them aware of your new Facebook page. Offer a discount or prize drawing for customers who become fans.

Let your fans know that you would like them to share their feedback on your products or services. Be prepared to receive this feedback, good or bad. This should be a given with any type of social media marketing strategy.

When your customers (or fans) interact with you on Facebook, their friends will see those comments on their news feed. This is one way to leverage the power of Facebook as a viral marketing tool. This should attract more fans and prospective customers.

Engagement and Conversation

Many people are fixated on the goal of acquiring new fans. You can’t ignore this metric because the more fans you have, the more successful your campaign is, right? Well, not exactly.

The real goal is to engage your fans in conversation. If you don’t communicate and converse with your fans, then your fan page will become dormant and fans will disperse to other interesting sites.

You must commit to spending time doing this. Set aside the time to read through comments and other posts from your fan base. Many businesses create a fan page with the mentality that “if you build it, they will come” and don’t invest the time to interact with their fans, a lost opportunity.

Facebook provides some great tools to help you engage with your fans. You have the ability to send videos, photos, messages, or links to each fan.

Each time you send out one of these communications, you show up on their personal newsfeed. This helps to keep you and your products or services top of mind with your fan base. Be careful not to “spam” them. Spread out your communication pushes and make them meaningful and relevant.

A cool feature of Facebook is that it also gives you the ability to segment your audience by region, age, and gender. This helps you send the right messages to the right demographic group. Learn who your audience is and plan your messaging strategy around those groups.

Facebook also provides a helpful reporting tool called Insights. This tool helps you understand the various types of content your fans enjoy interacting with.

Also, because you’re encouraging open and honest conversations, you might find that you occasionally get some objectionable posts. Facebook provides tools to help moderate and even block users. But you should plan on how to handle this ahead of time and communicate to your fans up front so they understand the policy.

Regardless, use these tools sparingly. If fans feel their comments are being edited or you’re watering down the Kool-Aid, then it’s less likely they will engage in future conversations.

Being Found in Real Time Search

One advantage to search marketers is that search engines are working with Facebook and Twitter to integrate updates into their search results. Getting found in real-time searches is another strategy for promoting your fan page. Let’s look at some useful tips that should help you show up in these real-time searches.

Keywords: This is always the place to start. If you’re doing SEO or PPC, then you probably already have a good handle on your targeted keywords. If not, start with keyword research. Include your targeted keywords in your content, updates, and especially your titles. Make sure everyone who updates your Facebook page has a keyword list handy so they can use these keywords as much as possible.

Research and converse about relevant and interesting content: Take time to “listen” to what people are talking about on your fan page and other sites. Then you can post content that will interest your fan base. Ask a question to spark a relevant and timely conversation. Discuss current events and news if these are relevant to you and your targeted keyword set.

Many followers: More followers means it’s more likely your content will spread virally and be shared. This also helps generate more impressions of your content.

Call to action: You might be surprised sometimes by the power of a simple invitation. Invite people to “act.” Ask people to share the content with others. Include buttons like “retweet” or “digg” that help them do this easily. Doing this gets you one click away from showing up on another site and being promoted for more viewers to see.

The principles discussed here can also be used for other social media sites. If other principles have worked for you, please post your experiences below.

Posted in Business, Facebook, Headline, Personal, Restaurants, Tools

Tags: Facebook, Social media marketing

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Is your business ready for search engine changes?

November 15th, 2009

Where Interactive Marketing Dollars Are Going

posted by Jason Falls in November 13th, 2009

Forrester Research has released a new report forecasting interactive marketing spend in the U.S. for the next five years. The report, authored by Shar VanBoskirk, is available in its entirety on the Forrester Research website.

The report details how certain industries currently spend, and projects how they will spend, on interactive marketing. It also offers some interesting insights for businesses trying to ensure they are either catching, or keeping up with the Joneses. VanBoskirk talks more about it on the Forrester Research blog for Interactive Marketing Professionals.

Current Interactive Marketing Spend – Courtesy of Forrester Research, Inc. (Click for larger version)

The chart above shows what Forrester estimates brands are currently spending on Interactive Marketing. Display advertising is banner ads and similar, standard ads on websites. The numbers aren’t all that surprising, but think about where the industry is when you think of these insights:

Display ads continue to dominate consumer goods and media and entertainment, among other categories. This despite the fact consumer trends indicate ads simply don’t work as well as other interactive areas.
The industries that have been using the web the longest – travel and hospitality – spend three times as much on search marketing as display ads and almost 30 percent of their overall budget on Interactive. That’s 10 percent more than any other industry.
Social media spend is last or second to last in all categories except business services. Social media consultants and agencies selling social media fall into that category.
Email marketing, the interactive version of cash cow direct marketing, appears to be almost an afterthought across the board.

It doesn’t surprise me that media and entertainment and consumer goods industries continue to buy display ads more than other Interactive media. They’re not only conditioned to buy ads to communicate their message and under the influence of media planning and buying firms who only make money when they buy them, but they’re the final bastion of people who don’t understand consumers have flocked to arenas like social media to get away from the bull horns of traditional marketing. Are they getting better? Probably. Do they have a way to go? Yep.

Travel and hospitality industries have a few years experience on these others and are spending a ton more on search marketing and a ton more total dollars. I’ll give you a hint, GPG folks … they’re onto something.

While the cost of social media essentially equates to labor costs, there should still be more dollars devoted to it across the board. I say this not because I want to make more money (though I won’t turn it away) but because social media — building relationships with your consumers — is the one interactive marketing method that is sustainable and cost efficient in being such. You’re investing in the lifetime of your consumers here. The dollars will go a lot farther.

And if you aren’t taking advantage of good email marketing, you need to stop what you’re doing and figure that piece out fast. Email marketing done right, delivered to the right audience and with the right message is still the best way to consistently reach people in the interactive space.

These are my ideas on how companies and industries should look to change some of these numbers. You’ll have to go purchase the Forrester Report to see if their predictions match up with what I’m recommending. (Warning: Forrester Reports aren’t cheap, but do come with a three-week, money-back guarantee.)

In the meantime, what do the numbers tell you? What surprises you? What seems odd? A penny for your comments …

Posted in Blog, Business, Headline

Tags: Bing, Facebook, Google, Twitter

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25 social media sites for entrepreneurs

November 1st, 2009

25 social media sites for entrepreneurs

Social Media DJ says this is a awesome list that is well put together.

September 2, 2009 | Jimmy Atkinson

If you’re an entrepreneur who has been seduced by social media tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, you may realize the benefits of using these basic tools to finding and staying in touch with business partners, employers and customers, along with learning new information.

If you’re late to the party, though, we’ve listed a variety of basic social media tools for networking – as well as a number of social media sites designed just for entrepreneurs. Some may be familiar, but some could be new finds. Through these sites, you can network, build a Web presence, place ads, find funding and more.

The Basic Social Networking Tools

Digg: Create a news niche by uploading information that’s useful to you and to others who want your information. This is a great place to find like-minded individuals who are interested in your information.
Facebook: Not just for kids, this tool can help you create ‘Pages’ that relate to your business where you gather ‘fans’ like ‘followers’ on Twitter.
Flickr: Share photos of your products or services, staff, convention photos and get-togethers to show that you’re a pro and that you like to have fun as well.
Friendfeed: Create a private group for your company or colleagues to collaborate on a research paper, coordinate an upcoming event, or give status updates on the TPS reports. Or, use Friendfeed as an aggregate to feed from your other social networking tools.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the business social networking leader of the pack. While you may be tempted to use your business as the ‘name’ for your LinkedIn account, you might think about a down-the-road situation where you sell that entrepreneurial business. Be yourself at LinkedIn, state what you do, and put enough information in your profile to show that you own a business and that you’re a human being, too.
Twitter: Use Twitter to show that a real human lies behind your brand. Some social media pros suggest you use a photo rather than your logo for an avatar, but use what feels ‘right’ to you.
YouTube: This tool is a no-brainer for film companies, entertainers and politicians. But, you can use videos as how-to guides, information hubs and more to promote your business.

Enterpreneur-Specific Social Platforms

BizFriendz: Increase your online presence and your sales as well as develop new business contacts and partnerships through this social media platform. Earn money while you build your network through ticket sales for events you create and through first- and second-tier referral fees from others who join your network and use BizFriendz’ enhanced site features.
Biznik: If you hate isolation, need more clients and customers, want to raise your visibility and need help with certain parts of your business, then Biznik might be right for you. While LinkedIn provides a great venue to seek new work, Biznik is for sharing ideas online and face-to-face.
Cofoundr: This community for entrepreneurs offers a global environment for entrepreneurs to find co-founders, to build teams and to get advice. This is a public beta offering, so getting in on the ground floor might appeal to your entrepreneurial spirit.
DreamStake: This is a collaborative platform for “creative entrepreneurs” who want to meet up with other talented individuals with experience across a wide range of disciplines. Find funding, legal and marketing expertise and software and design development skills at this site.
Ecademy: Create new contacts and friends, market your business for Google visibility, share your knowledge for opportunities to meet others and build your business with unlimited advertisements in the Marketplace.
Entrepreneur Connect: Create a profile, share ideas and make connections without feeling pressured to self-promote (which is discouraged at any rate). You also can create or join groups to network, create dynamic business-to-business relationships and get your creative juices flowing.
Fast Pitch: Fast Pitch provides a “one-stop shop” for networking and marketing. Increase your online presence with a 60+ page manual that shows you how to use Fast Pitch to its fullest potential.
Go BIG Network: Billed as the “Biggest Community of Startup Companies,” this social networking site offers ways to build a business plan, find funding, services and mentors. Think of this site as a Grand Central Station for entrepreneurs.
PartnerUp: This is another networking site for small business owners that offers material on how to build your business, learn more about being in business and opportunities to find a new business and even properties for sale or lease.
Perfect Business: Get the education and resources you need to succeed in business along with a venue that promotes meeting thousands of entrepreneurs, both novice and expert. Use this site to find potential business partners, clients and mentors.
Ryze: This social media platform provides a free networking-oriented homepage for you to use to make quality business contacts, deals and connections with clients, peers and friends.
StartupNation: This is an entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur site that helps self-starters get off the ground, market and build a business. This site also welcomes franchise owners.
StartupSpace: Develop a profile page for your business and invite friends to network. You can develop a blog, a group and/or a discussion and upload and share videos about your business and interests at this social network platform.
The Funded: This is an online community filled with entrepreneurs who research, rate and review worldwide funding sources. Share terms of service sheets, assist others with finding start-up funds and ask for help for your venture.
Upspring: Use this social media platform to promote your company and to increase offline sales, to develop new B2B contacts and to profile your business for online visibility.
Vator.tv: If you want to expand your video exposure beyond YouTube, try this social platform on for size. This is a place for emerging companies to showcase and market their goods and/or services. Get feedback; join the community and share news while meeting new entrepreneurs and customers.
Young Entrepreneur: If you’re a young entrepreneur, join over 50,000 other members to discuss start-up issues and more in forums, through blogs and by private messages.
Xing: Manage your business contacts along with seven million other members to this site. You receive a profile, a personal home page and messages as well as special limited offers on travel, electronics and more.

Editor’s note: This story initially appears on The Biz-learner blog. See others like it at http://onlineaccountingcolleges.com/blog/