Tag Archives: twitter

12 Social Media Rules of Engagement for Small Businesses

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Promoting your business on social media can be helpful in extending your brand, gaining visibility, and building relationships with your customers. Done right, it can be an inexpensive way to market your company.

But too many times I see companies plastering up a Facebook page just because everybody else is doing it. Or, they shoot out a few tweets and after a few days or weeks give up because no one is paying attention.

Is social media the right tool for your business? Here are some guidelines to help you use social media as a strategic marketing tool:

1. Have a purpose. Like any other marketing strategy, social media should be a tool that helps you meet a goal. You wouldn’t just go out and start buying ads without knowing what you want to accomplish, so don’t do it with social media. It might not cost anything to start a Facebook page, but there is a cost in time and that’s also a valuable resource.

2. Don’t sell. Social media is social. People use it to relate to one another and just like you wouldn’t walk into a party and start pitching your wares, you shouldn’t hard-sell on social media, either. There are ways to get people talking about your products or services, but you have to tread softly or risk losing your audience.

3. Be prepared to invest time and effort into your social media marketing. You will need to understand your target audience and how best to approach them. You need to understand what interests them, and know what it is you have to say that is valuable to that audience. Don’t post or tweet just to do it – make sure you have something to say or you will quickly be dropped by your readers.

4. Understand social media and use it yourself. There is no better way to understand Yelp, Chime In, Twitter, etc. than to participate and use them regularly.

5. Tie your efforts together and integrate them with your overall marketing strategy. You should not be doing something completely different online than you are doing offline. Avoid the split personality – don’t try to be hip and cool online if you are a traditional, conservative business offline. You risk damaging your brand and alienating online audiences who can see right through that.

6. Keep up with the changes. New sites are emerging all the time. Auction sites, gaming sites, photo sharing and music sharing – they are all expanding their focus to include building communities. Some of those communities are bound to include potential customers.

7. If you don’t have time to do it yourself, find someone who can. Often companies have younger employees who are well versed in social media and could, with guidelines, represent the company. There are many agencies that will help you with this.

8. Have guidelines. This ties in with #1 because your guidelines will be driven by your purpose. Establish guidelines for anyone posting on behalf of the company about what they can and cannot say. If you don’t want to put pricing on social media, say so. Be clear about what employees can post on their personal sites, as well.

9. Monitor constantly. Many experts in the field recommend that you start your social media adventure by listening first. Find out what your customers and others might be saying about you online. Once you are active in social media, be sure to set up Google Alerts and other tracking to monitor what is being said.

10. React but don’t overreact. If you see something posted about your company online that you don’t like, feel free to respond. But don’t get overly emotional about it, and don’t fire back. Respond with basic facts and a real desire to solve the customer’s problems – that will gain you a lot of credibility from anyone else who sees the exchange. And remember, one complaint is just one complaint, so don’t overreact.

11. Enjoy it. This is a new way to engage your customers and draw in new customers. People of every age are participating in social media, from teenagers to grandmothers, and it is a growing part of our culture. As you bring your business into the discussion, you may find raving fans who will provide recommendations for you.

12. Online marketíng is a tool – it doesn’t replace your other marketing efforts. Sure, a lot of what used to be advertised in print media is now online. But there is still an important role for all of the other marketing tools including public relations, direct m@il and advertising. Like your toolbox, each tool has a different purpose and you wouldn’t use a hammer to sand wood. Online (or inbound) marketing is a great resource that is very cost effective for businesses, but it must be a part of the larger marketing strategy or it will fail.

(view original source here)

Why Small Businesses Need BOTH Social & Search

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It’s an unfortunate question:

“Should we be spending money/time on search or social media?”

I’d like to answer that question with some data from recent surveys that address how consumers use search and social networks in terms of small and local businesses. And I’ll make the point that, since consumers use search and social so differently, the answer to that question is BOTH!

2012 Local Search Study

The 5th annual Local Search Study from 15 Miles, Localeze and comScore just came out a few weeks ago and, as always, there’s a ton of data to digest.

Here are the slides/data that stand out to me:

What kind of local business info do people SEARCH for?

local-search-study-1

When people search online for local business information, they want the basics — phone number, address and hours. Those three things are way above the other types of information they could need — website URL, directions, etc.

They’re also way above the social aspect, which is ratings and reviews. Search is primarily fact-based, not social/opinion-based.

How many people search on social network sites?

Not many. It’s a growing number, according to the Local Search Study, but as the image below shows, only 15 percent list social networks as either their first or second choice for searching local business info.

BTW, of that group, 91 percent say they use Facebook to find local business info, 37 percent use Twitter, 25 percent use LinkedIn and 14 percent use Foursquare.

So… very few people use social networks to search for local businesses, and many of the ones that do are using Facebook. They probably have “liked” their favorite local businesses, and search for their Pages on Facebook to see if there are any deals or specials, or to find their address/phone number quickly (as shown above on the first chart).

There was a Pew Research survey that recently made the same point: Very few consumers use social networks to search for local business information.

Why are so few searches done on social networks?

1. Because social networks are not search engines.

2. Because habits are hard to break. If you’re searching for something, you go to a search engine, not the water cooler.

3. Because social networks don’t typically offer the kind of info that people are searching for. Refer back to the first chart — people often want basic contact info. Twitter, for example, doesn’t specifically have profile fields for that. (you could add your phone/address in the main business description, though.)

Why is social media still important for small/local businesses?

Because … brace for it … search isn’t everything. There. I said it.

Look, local businesses absolutely need to know how to do SEO. They need to create vital content that Google and Bing love, and that attracts visitors.

But search is mainly about discovery. After discovery, consumers want confirmation. And that’s where social comes in.

The Local Search Study showed how social networks influence consumer business decisions: 63 percent of those surveyed are more likely to use a local business if it’s visible on a social networking site. That number is down a bit from last year survey, but it’s still a big driver of consumer decision-making.

local-search-study-3

In the same study, 72 percent said they’re more likely to use a local business if one of their connections recommends it. The power of personal recommendation is strong, and that happens most successfully on social networks right now.

You could go to Google and search for “jewelry store,” for example, but sometimes you’d rather have the recommendations of friends that are not based on SEO, but on real-life experience.

I’m not suggesting local businesses have to throw all of their time and energy into social media. In fact, I’ve specifically suggested that Facebook and Twitter should not be your primary online asset. But I do think local businesses have to at least be visible and available on social networking sites — even if it’s just to reply to customers when they reach out.

So, to the original question — “Should we be spending money/time on search or social media?” — the correct answer is BOTH!

It’s not an either/or proposition. Search and social are so different that a successful online presence demands both.

(view original article here)

The Importance of Having Diverse Traffic Strategies

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It has been another turbulent month for website owners, particularly those involved in the realm of Internet Marketing.

March has brought the effective closure of ‘Build My Rank’ (BMR), along with the ‘laying off’ of thousands of people who relied heavily on the service they once to provided. The announcement made on their website basically acknowledged that the vast majority of their network had been de-indexed by Google. For those who don’t know, BMR provided a ‘private network’ of blog/article websites which were utilized commercially by people looking to develop back-link juice for their own website(s).

It was also interesting to see Google anti-spam spokesperson Matt Cutts acknowledge the latest victory and announce to the rest of the Internet black-hat world that they are firmly on the Google radar screen.

“Good to see at that it’s on peoples’ radar that they’re on our radar. :) ” was Mr. Cutts’ Tweeted response to the news that ALN, another popular back-link building network, lost 5,297 domains to de-indexing in 1 week.

To many of us who provide white-hat SEO services, this announcement comes as no real surprise. The fight against web spam has been building momentum for well over 12 months, and many of us believe that what we’re seeing unfold is just the tip of the iceberg, any pun WRT the Titanic being clearly intended.

While many ‘exposed’ webmasters scurry around wondering what to do to protect their crumbling empires, it should be stated that now would be a good time to rethink one’s strategy regarding search engine traffic.

What we’re seeing essentially is the removal, in a slow and systematic way, of any and all means of self-influencing the position of your website(s) in Google SERP’s. You weren’t ever intended to have the luxury of performing a few simple SEO steps to enable you to beat down your competitors in Google search results. It wasn’t ever meant to be that way. It was and always has been the simple rule that the Google algorithm should decide what is worthy of high SERP’s and what isn’t.

We are provided with performance benchmarks by Google which allow us to operate on a somewhat level playing field with others in our niche. Then we are told to “just go ahead and write quality content,” whereupon you will be rewarded from the skies. To some of us this is like a child being given a box of matches to play with, but told not to open the box.

The algorithm judges us, ensures we are in compliance and decides based on factors unknown just where we appear relative to others. The ‘directions’ we are provided with include -

* How and what to write, including the standards of our writing

* How and what we can allow to be copied/replicated from our site and where it should and should not be republished

* Encouraging people to interact with our websites, paying close attention to how long they spend reading pages, how many pages they look at and how often they leave having only viewed one page

* Providing ‘hooks’ so that people can talk about our websites in social media circles – Facebook, Twitter, Forums and Blogs (and now of course, Pinterest and G+)

* How quickly our pages should load, how easy our websites should be to navigate (read ‘crawl’)

We are given these performance benchmarks for those aspects of our operation we can influence and told not to focus on those we cannot. We are given optimum page-load times and bounce rates and told to write quality content. We’re encouraged to participate in social media circles and to develop online communities, even if we don’t want to, but never to spam or manipulate.

And as we march to the beat of the drum, slowly the Google algorithm is working in the background to remóve and level areas of performance which can be self-affected (read ‘manipulated’).

I’ve heard from many people who feel they’ve been dragged down a path almost involuntarily. They step back and look at their website and how it has been forced to evolve and decide that they’ve built a website to please Google and not their visitors/ customers. Bloated pages of content, blogs which are clearly out of place, poorly produced videos, links to social media sites which are not working in support of their business goals, design constraints observed just to please Google, so on and so forth.

If things aren’t bad enough, the FTC has joined the party. I believe they have a valid role in policing some aspects of the Internet, but there are FTC lead think-tanks currently looking into ways to add additional layers of control over what we can and cannot say, what we can and cannot do. And in the same way Google has taken to making a public spectacle of ‘networks’ who don’t play by their rules, the FTC have made some high-profile take-downs over the last 6 months or so, intended to send a shock-wave through the internet community.

Readers of George Orwell may be seeing some sage predictions unfolding before our very eyes.

What Can You Do About It?

It’s time to look at ways of breaking your dependence on Google and becoming more self-sufficient in the ways in which you attract visitors to your website.

There are alternative ways of attracting visitors and many which can be only marginally affected by Google.

Article syndication, eZine marketing, emáil marketing, ebook publishing are just a few which come to mind.

But it doesn’t come without some effort. In a sense, Google has made many of us lazy. We’ve started to take for granted the free-flow of traffic on the Internet and just assumed that we are entitled to our fair share of it. Google is a corporation with a board of directors and shareholders – we need to get used to the fact that it owes us nothing.

At a basic level we need to ensure that we make every visit to our site count. Have the courage to look at your landing pages and determine what you think, provides the optimal experience for your visitor. Try to envisage how the page would look if you removed Google as the overseeing authority. Would it still look the same graphically, textually?

Adopt a rolodex mentality to interfacing with your prospects. Do you make it easy for them to contact you? Do you provide an incentive for them to contact you? Do you provide an effective and organized follow-up strategy for your subscribers and contacts? You need to get the most out of each of your visitors and build lists of contacts and relationships which are immune to the whims of Google.

(by Carl Hruza – original article found here)

5 Ways to Get More Traffic with Content Marketing

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It’s the question I get more often than any other when I’m talking with business owners about content marketing strategy.

It’s the hook most online marketing teachers use to attract your attention and get you to buy their products and services.

How do I get more traffic?

There’s more — a lot more — to online marketing than traffic.

But if you can’t attract a critical “minimum viable audience” of traffic, you’re dead before you get started.

Here’s how to use content to get the attention of those all-important prospects — the men and women who are in the market to buy what you have to sell.

The content conveyor belt

Before we start talking about traffic, we need to talk about your overall content marketing strategy.

Smart marketing is “salesmanship in print” (or, these days, pixels), to use the classic copywriting definition.

And as any good salesperson will tell you, a sale progresses through predictable, natural stages.

First, you have to attract the attention of that prospect. That’s the piece we’re going to talk about today. No matter how brilliant your sales sequence, if no one knows you exist, you’re going to fail.

Then you have to engage that person’s interest. This is a particularly risky moment in today’s web environment, with millions of distractions competing for our attention.

As you keep delivering strategic content over time, engagement starts to turn into desire for what you have to sell. Whether it’s a product, a service, a charitable cause, a political candidate, or even the “sale” of an idea … we all have to spark this desire in our customers.

When it’s time to make a sale, you put on your copywriter’s hat and you provide the opportunity for your prospect to take action, turning a fan into a customer.

Finally, smart marketers won’t stop there — they’ll create ongoing customer-focused content so that one-time buyers can be turned into raving fans, who make repeat purchases and who refer you to their friends.

OK, let’s talk traffic

All of that sounds very inviting, but if you’re still struggling to build an audience for your blog, website, or email newsletter, it’s all still in the realm of theory.

So let’s get you some readers.

Strategy 1: Guest posting

Right now, this is probably the quickest way for most up-and-coming content marketers to find a larger audience — while building authority with potential customers and gaining SEO juice at the same time.

Smart guest posting means you create the best content you know how to create … but instead of the dozens of readers you have now, you find thousands (or even hundreds of thousands). Intelligently send those new readers back to your site, where you’ll have additional terrific content to share with them.

Strategy 2: The how-to video

What kinds of things do your customers want to know how to do?

Dye their hair pink? Take better portrait photos? Make dinner their kids will eat?

Successful businesses are based around solving customer problems. Figure out some problems that lend themselves to a how-to video. Launch a series on YouTube on how to solve a problem that interests your customers, and make sure it’s extremely easy for those viewers (and potential customers) to find your site.

The more competitive your topic, the better your videos have to be. In crowded topics, differentiate yourself with an interesting personality, a more effective technique, better production values, or all three.

Use YouTube videos for entry-level tips and strategies. For the more advanced advice, send them to your site … and possibly on to your products and services.

Strategy 3: The Q&A series

Q&A sessions — using webinars, teleseminars, or whatever tool is most comfortable for you — don’t just encourage engagement, they’re also a strong traffic builder. They’re easy for your fans and your network to promote, they’re inherently interesting, and they’re a great vehicle to show off what you know. They’re also an excellent way to collect topics for future content.

When you write about the questions your audience has, you’ll be writing the kind of content that gets shared — the kind of content that attracts traffic.

Strategy 4: Professional networking

Once you’ve put together a decent foundation of interesting material on your own domain, you’re ready to start a little professional networking.

You can earn the trust of other bloggers in your niche the same way you earn the trust of readers — be nice, be relevant, be interesting.

Don’t just approach the owners of sites with huge audiences. Get to know the people who are creating interesting content at all levels — small sites, medium, and large.

Don’t bother trying to set up or join artificial schemes to promote posts. Instead, share the stuff you truly think is cool, and explain why. Be friendly and pay attention. It’s called social media for a reason.

If you struggle financially, upgrade your social skills. Money flows through people.

~Steve Pavlina

Strategy 5: Get real

A lot of online marketers ignore the possibilities of finding traffic in the offline world. (You know, the part of your life that isn’t Facebook, Google+, or Twitter. I realize this is a weird idea.)

If you’re selling business-to-business, look for trade journals and business newspapers you can place articles in. Depending on your business, direct mail can be a surprisingly good way to find new leads.

However you find them, entice those offline readers to your website with a great piece of content like a white paper, a how-to video, or a killer email autoresponder sequence.

None of this works if your content sucks

Remember, content marketing only works if you can create content that’s both entertaining and useful to your readers.

Make it user-friendly. Make it clear. Write about the problems your potential customers care about.

How about you?

There are dozens of ways to attract traffic with content. What are some of your favorites? Let us know in the comments.

(by Sonia Simone – view original source here)

5 Ways to Turn Social Media Feedback into Valuable Business Data

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Social networking sites are important tools for Internet marketers. These sites are a way for companies to connect with fans of their products and services, and this is becoming apparent as more and more people spread the word through social media. Through Facebook Likes, Tweets, Pinterest Pins, and social bookmarks, companies can get an amazing return on investment for social efforts. But how do you tap into the power of social feedback from your customers?

Not every social interaction can be directly tied to ROI, but there is no value in ignoring your customers. Many companies have Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts, but only a small percentage of these companies are using these tools to their full potential. According to a recent post on Mashable Social Media, 85% of marketers believe customer insight is the greatest potential advantage of social media, but only 6% of businesses are actually using social media to collect social feedback.

There are several advantages to social media marketing over traditional marketing methods. Social insights are real and organic, helping marketers escape from potentially contrived feedback methods. In the social world, there is direct access to honest opinions and criticism. Individual users can be very powerful with social tools, having the ability to break a brand’s credibility with an influential negative comment. With this in mind, I suggest these ideas to help your social media efforts.

Invest Time Daily:

Because social networking allows real-time feedback, an hour’s effort here or there will not be enough. The most successful companies monitor their social tools 24/7, and will strive to respond to all comments in a timely manner. 50-75% of social chatter about a brand does not require any action, but finding the comments that require resolution is worth the time investment. Fans and followers will say what they think about your company, products, and marketing efforts without being prompted, and social media tells you what is working – quickly and directly. When it is not, you have a direct connection to help resolve concerns. These conversations can help mold your social strategy and brand perception.

Be Diverse:

Did you know there are over 200 social networking sites in use internationally? In addition to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, there many niche-specific social networking sites. These topic-specific sites range from sports to gaming. Research the social networking sites that are related to your industry and create a comprehensive profile. There is little reason to be on a site like Twitter if less than 10% of your target market is actively using it. Use social bookmarking sites to follow industry trends by topic, and share bookmarked content.

Join the Conversation:

Engagement with customers and followers shows that you care about their feedback. Be authentic, and show that your brand has a personality. Ask questions, and respond to answers. Analyzing customer feedback and conversation can help you come up with strategy ideas that you would not create otherwise. Watch what is being said during product announcements to tweak how you do the next one. Find out what trends your followers like, and integrate those trends into your strategy. Follow and respond to your customers/followers reactions. Ask for opinions and you shall receive.

Recognize Loyal Followers:

When you have identified enthusiastic followers of your brand, tag them in Facebook posts and send @reply messages on Twitter. Publicly reward the people who promote you for free. Forge relationships with influential followers, and reach out to see if they are interested in a partnership as a brand ambassador. These brand ambassadors will represent the brand publicly in a positive way and educate consumers about a brand. Brand ambassadors appeal to the human side of the product, offering personal stories and opinions to their network of influence.

Consider a Social Media Marketing Firm:

If your company does not have the expertise or manpower to manage social efforts, consider outsourcing to a social media firm. With a social marketing partnership, experts will manage profiles, create content, assist with blog marketing, and provide the education needed to help you make the most of various social tools. When selecting a firm to help with your social efforts, be sure to choose a firm that will tailor a marketing plan to your company’s specific needs. With the right assistance, you will present the best image possible and help potential clients become an engaged part of your community.

(by Nicole Bullock – view original source here)

What You Should Strategically Do About Google+

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Even with the Wall Street Journal and other news services stating that Google+ is a ghost town and that users typically spend less than two minutes on the platform a month, I consider positioning yourself on Google+ a top priority. In fact so much so, that I wanted to make sure that all of our readers and clients knew my feelings about how to use Google+ and its importance for organic placement for the future.

First, let’s talk about the actions you should take immediately.

- Tie your preferred Google account with Google+

- Lock down your business name as a Google+ Business page

- Lock down a business page with your most important short keyword phrase

- Link your Google AdWords program to your Google+ account user name

- Implement Google +1 on your blog and your website

These important first steps can easily be done by you. If you need help, please ask us for it as what will be happening with Google+ in the near future is very important to your online visibility.

Second, let’s talk about what Google+ and +1′s are.

Google+ is a social platform. It is not like Facebook, but more like Facebook and Twitter combined. However, it is much more important than any of the social networks we know and use now.

You could consider Google+ like a voting and popularity network but one that has the ear of Google. Anything you do on Google+ will most certainly impact your website’s organic placement and Web Visibility in the future. Google has said as much in their releases. Google has already started showing social results from your Google+ network in their personalized search results.

What this means is that for people and businesses that embrace Google+ early and start building their network now, there will be strong benefits for their updates and links; activity will be shown in your personal and expanded network’s search/ social results.

+1′s are Google’s versions of votes. If you like a page, like an ad, like a blog post, like a Google+ comment, you vote it up using a +1. What is crucial to understand is that a +1 is tied to your Google+ activity. These +1 votes will impact your visibility and placement on Google in the new Google Search Plus Your World results.

Third, let’s talk about Google Search Plus Your World.

In mid-January, Google rolled out an important change to their search index. They named it Google Search Plus Your World. In my industry we call it Search Plus. Google stated that they will be using activity, updates, Google+ activity, and +1 activity in the search results that they deliver to you personally and to those in your Google+ network.

What is interesting is that even if you are logged out of your Google account, Google is still tracking your activity. Of additional importance, is the announcement that the social related results that will be shown in the Google.com index are personally selected for you and WILL contain Google+ activity across your Google+ social network.

That means if you start building your network now, your information and website could be appearing in search results for a very broad network of readers and potential prospects. As this activity comes from your personal network, just like a word-of-mouth referral, links to you and your profile will most likely carry more authority and legitimacy in the eyes of potential clients. Everybody weighs a reference by a fríend about a business more than a written review found randomly on the Web. This will be the real impact of Google+ and +1′s in the very near future.

Fourth, why should you take the actions mentioned on this page now?

Based on this new focus for Google, you need to start flowing through search and social activity into your Google+ and +1 bank. If you don’t have accounts, Google can’t tie the activity to you specifically.

If you wait to tie up your business page and top keyword phrase, you may find that someone else has tagged it; locking you out of words and phrasing that will be very important to your Google presence in the very near future. Even if you do nothing yet with these new accounts, they will be tied to you so that when you do want to use them you can.

Fifth, why is this so important?

All of the actions to take and the information in this article are important because the business that is driving this action is Google. As Google owns 65% of the online search market, to be positioned well on Google means taking full advantage of what Google considers important. It is very important to understand that Google+ is not Facebook. Google considers Google+ and +1′s integral to the new face of search and how search results are shaped and delivered. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is just a social network. These new Google offerings are very important and should be embraced quickly and completely for your future organic placement benefit.

Don’t wait beyond 30 days to take the actions we recommend. When Twitter first came out many clients did not move into the platform because they considered it just a time drain. For the clients we work with that embraced Twitter early, many have networks of followers well over 2,500 active users; allowing for some serious marketing action and site promotion. Our é is that Google+ is by far the most important new social network to have come out in the last three years. Don’t miss your chance to stárt now so that you can take full advantage of the future possibilities.

(by Nancy McCord – original article on sitepronews)

The 10 Best Social Sites and How to Use Them

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There is no doubt that social media marketing has taken the lead in marketing online strategies. Social media sites have exploded and continue to grow in number and popularity. If you own an online business, it can be very difficult to know where to begin in this extensive marketing arena.

There are dozens and dozens of social sites and more popping up all the time. I have compiled a list of the ten best social sites with which to get you started. I have chosen these sites by my own professional opinion and by actual popularity.

1. Facebook – Facebook has an estimated 850 million users! This is the most popular social site and my favorite as well. Facebook is very versatile in what you can do with your page. Be sure to open a business account and also read the rules for businesses. Fill out your profile completely. Add images and videos to your page to make it more interesting and interactive. Visit your page every day and post helpful information, links and resources. Answer all comments promptly.

2. Twitter – Twitter has 200 million estimated active users. I like Twitter because it is quick, easy and effective for marketing your business. You simply add tidbits of information, new product info, sales and/or specials, links, motivational quotes, etc. and tweet! Keep your tweets professional and beneficial to your followers. Don’t tweet things like what you’re having for dinner or what movie you just watched. Get involved with other tweeters and participate!

3. LinkedIn – LinkedIn now has over 150 million estimated users. The thing I like about LinkedIn is how you can participate in groups that interest you or will benefit your business. Join groups and be sure to participate in the discussions by offering real and helpful information and advice. Follow their guidelines on how to completely and effectively fill out your profile.

4. Google+ – Google+ is one of the newer social sites, but it already has an estimated 65 million users! I must admit, I have not done much with Google+ as of yet, but I do like the format and versatility of the site. Be sure to add the +1 Google feature to your website so people can click it to show they like your site. This will help you in the ratings. Again, be sure to complete your profile and spend time daily or at least weekly on your Google+ page.

5. Pinterest – With over 10 million active users, Pinterest is growing in popularity very quickly. Pinterest has come up with something a little different. You are given a pinboard to add visual items such as photos, graphs, videos, etc. Pinning helpful visual information is a great way to attract people to your pinboard. You can add comments as well. People respond more to visual items than just words so get over to Pinterest and start pinning!

6. Ecademy – Ecademy has over 17 million users. Ecademy is a membership site for business owners to connect, help and grow with one another. There are paid and frée memberships. Take the time to build relationships with other business owners. You can start your ówn clubs, write blog posts, and participate in discussions. This site is more involved than some social sites and will take more time to learn to use effectively.

7. YouTube – YouTube has an estimated 300 million users. YouTube is a video sharing site. Making an effective marketing video to share on YouTube can have a dramatic effect on your site traffic. Show your expertise with instructional and informational videos. You can also present slide shows to market your products and/or services. Set up an account and start uploading those business growing videos.

8. StumbleUpon – Despite a “stumble” in growth, StumbleUpon is now growing in popularity and has an estimated 20 million users. StumbleUpon is a social site that allows the users to share interesting and helpful websites. You will need to be an active user to reap the benefits from this site.

9. Ryze – With less than a million members, Ryze is not the most popular of the social networking sites but it can be effective. Ryze is similar to LinkedIn in that it is a place for professionals to grow, connect and help one another succeed. Join networks that target your business and network with other business owners.

10. Blogs – Blogs are very popular social sites and there are lots of them. Search for blogs that target your niche and become active with guest posts, comments, etc. Participating on blogs can help you make connections and get traffic you might not have gotten. Also, if you do not have your blog yet, be sure to get started. I would recommend WordPress, but there are other blog services available.

If you are a business owner, you really cannot avoid social media in this marketing age. So rather than ignore it, you need to study it, learn it and participate in it. Once you do, you will find it to be a very enjoyable and beneficial experience!

(by Terri Seymour at Site Pro News)

21 Warning Signs You’re Becoming a Social Media Snob

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Ever think you might be starting to take social media a little too seriously?

Sure, it started out innocently enough…

You were hanging out with family and friends, cracking jokes, sharing cool ideas, and having some good old-fashioned fun on Farmville. You know, pretty much like everyone else online.

Without even realizing it though, your perspective began to shift.

The more time you spent on Facebook and Twitter and Reddit and YouTube, the more it sucked you in, and after spending literally thousands of hours involved in online communities, one day it hits you:

Somehow, somewhere, you got… serious.

You started counting your retweets.

You worried about your engagement score on Facebook.

You sneered at companies who abused your attention with gimmicky marketing campaigns.

Not because you’re against advertising, necessarily, but because that’s not what social media is about. It’s about connection and authenticity and building movements of people who genuinely love your brand.

Some people don’t get it. They’re so frantic to make a buck they pervert everything social media is supposed to be.

And so, without even realizing it, your perspective shifts again.

It becomes a battle of us versus them

On one side, you have the few people (like you) who “get it.” On the other side, you have the masses who don’t.

Not that you would say this publicly, of course. You scorn the legions of clowns who call themselves social media experts, and you believe anyone who sets themselves up as superior to anyone else is an asshat.

But secretly, you feel superior.

You’re not a better person or a smarter marketer or anything like that. You’ve just been around, and you understand what’s going on.

What’s more, you enjoy hanging around other people who “get it” too. You enjoy talking about what’s next. You enjoy being one of those people who pushes the frontier of social media forward.

And anyone who disagrees with you is a moron.

Does any of this sound familiar?

If it does, I have news for you. You might be on your way to becoming a genuine Social Media Snob.

I know this, because I’m one too. So are most of my friends.

And frankly, it worries me.

You could argue “us versus them” thinking is natural. You could argue it’s necessary. You could even argue it’s smart, especially if you’re one of the leaders of “us.”

But it’s also dangerous, because often without even realizing it, you become disconnected from “them.” You stop understanding their perspectives. You see the world in a completely different way.

And in this case, “them” is the majority. There are hundreds of millions of people who don’t “get” social media, and there are only a few tens of thousands who do.

Whenever the minority gets disconnected from the majority, problems happen

Just look at the U.S. Congress, who has the lowest approval ratings in the history of the country.

They think they get it, but they don’t. They live in a reality distortion field called Washington DC.

What worries me is that we’re building our own reality distortion field, and one day, we’ll be just as out of touch. With some of the leaders in social media, I think it’s already happening.

And I think we need to be very, very careful.

In our industry, you don’t just lose your swanky office on Capitol Hill when you get it wrong. People vote with their check books, and the ones who get voted out go bankrupt.

Snobbery may be natural, but it’s also dangerous. If we want to stick around, I believe we need to guard ourselves against it.

So, how can you tell for sure if you’re a social media snob?

Well, you can’t, but there are warning signs.

Here are a few that immediately come to mind. No single warning sign damns you on its own, but if you find yourself nodding to many or even all of these, you may be in trouble.

  1. You can quote your traffic stats, but not your bank balance
  2. You’ve spent more than 5 minutes trying to think of something witty to say on twitter
  3. You know your Klout score by heart
  4. You talk about cool things, but you never seem to do cool things
  5. You worry about how the use of emoticons reflects on your personal brand
  6. You refuse to promote affiliate links, even for products you love
  7. You know how percent feedback is calculated on Facebook
  8. You are annoyed that LinkedIn doesn’t display your true number of connections
  9. You unfollow your friends because they don’t tweet your posts
  10. You share quotes just to get a little attention
  11. You’re so inundated with email you’ve started to ignore people you don’t know
  12. You write posts about social media snobs (oops)
  13. You are so angry with one of the social networks that you are rooting for it to fail
  14. You have nothing for sale, and you look down upon those who do
  15. You only comment on the Facebook walls of celebrities in your niche
  16. You refuse interviews because they don’t have enough followers/fans/subscribers
  17. You spend more money on redesigning your profiles than you do on advertising
  18. You no longer read your blog comments
  19. You believe information wants to be free
  20. You ignore the endless, silly questions from beginners
  21. You can’t remember the last time you thanked your fans

So, what’s your score?

Personally, I’m guilty of 11. Not exactly the King of Social Media Snobs, but I’m definitely a member of the club.

But here’s the thing:

Once you’re aware of your snobbery, you can take steps to counteract it. I don’t believe you can get rid of it, per se, because some people (like me) will always be a little bit snobbish.

You can stop it from becoming a problem, though. Because you see, social media snobbery is only dangerous when it’s not accompanied by an equal degree of empathy.

And therein lies the solution.

The antidote to snobbery is empathy

Or, more specifically, empathizing with the people who annoy you the most.

Irritated by a popular blogger in your niche who posts advice you know is rubbish?

Subscribe to their feed. Read every post they write. Do your best to understand exactly where they’re coming from, and why they believe the way they do.

Getting a little tired of beginners asking you the same questions over and over again?

Tough. Schedule two Q&A calls per month, and force yourself to listen.

Feel like everyone else in your niche is selling crappy products?

Buy a few. Go through them, and ask yourself what can be improved and why. Even better, go into customer forums and listen to what they are saying.

Don’t just complain. Make your niche better.

The big lesson here isn’t just to listen. It’s also to care. You have to want to understand.

Here’s why:

The marketer with the most accurate thinking wins

You want to be the top dog in your market?

It’s not about having more subscribers. It’s not about your engagement score. It’s not everything that changed this week on your Facebook page.

It’s about understanding your market better than everyone else.

You have to understand your audience. You have to understand your competitors. You have to understand your own position.

The greater your understanding, the more accurate your thinking, and the more accurate your thinking, the more power you have.

That doesn’t excuse you to ignore other fundamentals like building relationships, publishing great content, or building a quality product. Those are still essential.

But all other things being equal, the marketer with the most accurate thinking wins.

And you know what?

That’s good news.

You can ignore all the stupid stuff that doesn’t matter

You might’ve heard the saying, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff.”

Well, that’s mostly true.

In business, there’s only one thing I’ve found that really and truly matters:

Helping people.

The more people whose lives you change with what you’re doing, the better off you are. So, focus on the things that help you help people.

Like building an email list, for instance. That’s important, because it allows you to follow up and continue helping people over time.

Promoting products you believe in is a good idea too. Sure, recommending crap to earn a quick commission is wrong, but if the product is awesome, and it would genuinely help your list, then you are doing everyone a disfavor by not promoting it.

The same goes for selling your own products and services. Yes, you could give it all away for free, but ultimately, your ability to help people is dependent upon having enough money to pay your bills.

In fact, the more money you have, the more you can expand, and the more you expand, the more people you can help. By that logic, refusing to charge for your products and services is hurting not only you but all of the people who will never know about you because you’re freaking broke.

Is this making sense?

I hope so, because the truth is, I’m really and truly concerned with where social media is headed.

Folks are getting so self-righteous. They sit there with their iPads and lecture the world about the proper way to use social media, and most of what they’re saying has no basis whatsoever in reality. It’s just smoke and bullshit.

As the small minority who “gets it,” we owe our audiences more than that.

They deserve to be listened to.

They deserve to be cared about.

And most of all, they deserve to be given advice based on solid evidence.

In other words, we owe it to them to be real.

If that makes me a snob, then so be it. I’ll hang my flag high.

So, I guess that leaves only one question …

Who’s with me?

(by Jon Morrow – view original source here)

Brand It: Four Ways to Brand Your Business via Pinterest

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What do Chobani Yogurt, Drake University, and Oreck Vacuums all have in common? They are all rock stars at leveraging Pinterest to brand their business. Each plays to their unique demographic – Chobani dedicates their pins to delectable treats, Drake boasts boards of beer pong best practices and study guides, and Oreck features re-pins of furry friends that their vacuums will be cleaning up after – just to name a few.

As you have read from Lauren’s and Suzanne’s past Pinterest posts, this social network is quickly becoming a major contender within its realm, as evidenced by a 429% increase of unique visitors to the site from September to December 2011 via 11 million monthly visitors, making it the fastest growing website to surpass the 10 million mark.

In this final piece of our three-part puzzle, I will be discussing how to take advantage of Pinterest’s potential to build your brand. Branding is all about the real estate you take up in someone’s mind and Pinterest occupies this real estate like no other social media tool. Allow me to discuss four monikers (similar to the site’s “Pin It” mantra) for successfully leveraging Pinterest’s branding potential.

Number 1: Start It

The largest and simplest way to brand your business with Pinterest is by simply starting. I mean it kindly, but the more you put in to the network, the more your business will get out of it. Create your profile, build your boards, and let the fun begin. Leverage the site to introduce new products, show off best sellers, and present your business directly to your customer. For example, Etsy showcases 26 boards that feature products from its marketplace including Gift Ideas, DIY Projects, and Etsy Kids.

Remember, like all social media sites, content is king. Curate your brand by featuring content that is applicable, pleasant, shareable and adds value to your brand. As Suzanne mentioned in her post, Pinterest has great potential for your internet marketing strategy, make sure you utilize keyword-rich captions for your pins. As appealing as “Awwwww” or “Cuuuuute” may seem as captions, it does not add to your credibility, creativity or SEO.

Number 2: Personalize It

Let me illustrate my next point with the archetype example of how NOT to pin. I am sure you are well familiar with the sleazy sales guy who is constantly pushing their product through your window after you slammed the door. Pinterest is not the place to be “that guy”. Nothing destroys value like the constant, straight-up sales pitch.

Don’t misunderstand my first suggestion, obviously there needs to do some self promotion, but there is a limit. One of the best statutes of social media is the 80-20 rule, and it is as applicable to Pinterest as it is with Facebook or Twitter. Let 20% of your content come directly from your site and pin/repin the other 80%. It is essential to share content from sources beyond your website and your brand.

One of my favorite fashion powerhouses, Nordstrom, does this quite well. For every product based board, there are boards for inspirations like NYC Fashion Week, and color palette ideas. Your boards should be a commemoration of things that invigorate your business, your best services, and specific stylistic representations of your brand.

Pinterest goes beyond simply featuring your products; it is an opportunity to interpret the lifestyle of your clientele. Feature your items together – not only does it make it easier to up-sell, it makes your posts look more organized. By doing this, you resonate with your customer’s needs.

By personalizing your brand, you humanize your business. Leverage a board to showcase employees with photos and bios, give a glimpse of behind the scenes of the office, commemorate special events, or provide tutorials. Additionally, Pinterest allows for multiple collaborators on their boards – having employee contribution not only adds to the human element, but builds office unity.

Number 3: Engage It

Next step: engage your customers. Respond to comments, feature their boards, run contests – the possibilities are endless. Pinterest is another venue for customer interface, so interact, socialize, and connect. One of the best ways to engage is to promote others’ pins through likes, comments, and re-pins. Pin images that flatter your brand and provide a diverse mix of images from your industry. ModCloth shares pins from bloggers and websites that share their mutual admiration for all things eclectic, and vintage.

As far as contests go, reach beyond the typical “Pin It to Win It”. Harness the creative power of your Pinterest followers. Engage your followers by asking their opinion on the next marketing strategy, comment on the new office designs or vote on the trends they most want to see in your next collection. Choose the winners by awarding points based on likes, comment and re-pins.

One final way to engage your customer base: add the “Pin It” button to your product pages to help your customers build the brand. For example, Etsy includes the “Pin It” button on all listing pages, alongside the usual “Tweet” and “Like” buttons, allowing their 55 thousand followers to actively participate in the content distributed on Pinterest.

Number 4: Learn From It

Pinterest also provides ways to do some quick research that is directly corresponding from your customer base. Every pin displays consequential information such as comments, “likes,” other images in the same board and more. However, the most interesting information presented is the exact URL from which the image was pinned. Remember, each of these images could have been pinned from any page your site. Pinterest conveniently collects them all in one place for you.

Want to leverage it? Type the following URL into your browser http://pinterest.com/source/”yourdomain.com” and replace “yourdomain.com” with your own web site URL . You’ll quickly be able to see the images pinned directly from your site with additional information like re-Pins and comments. Furthermore, you are able to understand how your customer perceives your product. Pinterest can give you a little insight into that by simply taking a look at the name of the boards that users have pinned content from your web site. You may see board names like “Products I love…”, “I Want”, and “My Future Home”. What are they saying about your product? If nothing is said, a simple pin/re-pin shows generated interest. Use this free information to your advantage!

Conclude It

Successfully making branding via Pinterest is not difficult, and there are multiple ways of leveraging it. It is now your chance to go and explore how your business can utilize the newest social jewel to brand your business. Get your free Pinterest invite today.

(by Hilary Biggart – view original source here)