The Death of Outbound Advertising - The Social Media Gold Rush and Twitter

We hear about the demise of this Internet phenomenon and the death of that social media platform from various pundits and prognosticators as they attempt to sound intellectual or just in the know. We even hear about the death of various forms of advertising and marketing as various Internet "gurus" and self-appointed inbound marketing "experts" attempt to validate their lofty status in an effort to improve their brand and sound "in the know." Lately, we have heard about the death of Twitter, with its high turnover rate and lack of retention, as high as sixty percent, the death of MySpace with the emergence of mini-blog phenomena, Facebook and Twitter, and the death and rebirth of network marketing, with every Tom, Dick and Web Prosperity citing Donald, Robert, and Warren as their authorities.

In an attempt to lend credence to their shaky, often tenuous arguments, the various authorities point to this indicator and that metric while all the time keeping a close eye on what the herd is doing. The herd! To paraphrase Mark Twain who said it best, writing in his notebook of 1904, if you find yourself siding with the majority, it's time to take a step back and think about the side you are on. In other words, it's time to "pause and reflect." Somewhat earlier, but on the same topic, Twain wrote in an unsent letter to Baynard Taylor, 1878, "When you set aside mere names & come down to realities, you find that we are ruled by a King just as other absolute monarchies are. His name is The Majority. He is mighty in bulk & strength...He rules by the right of possessing less money & less brains & more ignorance than the other competitor for the throne, The Minority. Ours is an Absolute Monarchy." The herd effect or herd ethic is incredibly powerful when it comes to advertising and marketing, exponentially so when it comes to Internet marketing.

The social media marketing phenomenon is a complex and difficult puzzle, a conundrum, neither fully understood nor tested, social media is an excellent example of the herd effect in full stampede. There can be little doubt that social media marketing holds with it the promise of untold wealth, if properly applied, its strategy carefully mapped out and implemented. However, the rush to Internet social marketing gold has novice and "guru" alike maneuvering, clambering, and even elbowing for the ultimate prize, Internet marketing gold. Not unlike the California Gold Rush or the race to acquire the untold and forbidden wealth of China throughout history, entrepreneurs are engaged in the ultimate Internet gold rush, pursuing the riches promised, yet rarely achieved, as many as sixty percent, and perhaps many more, going home broke.

Twitter marketing is the most recent phenomenon in the Internet marketing derby for online riches. There are a myriad of products available to automate, optimize, and monetize the Twitter experience and more created daily. Industrious marketers have created plug-ins of all sorts and kinds. Designers have created amazing landing pages and Twitter backgrounds with incredible graphics and impressive visual effects, many offered at no charge. Of course there is usually an upsell, for just a small price. After all, what self-respecting Internet marketer would forget the upsell? Others have created automated tweet functions to happily tweet the day away completely on autopilot, I still can't believe I use that word, "tweet."

Automated follow and unfollow applications are also available and make it possible to build massive followings, again on almost total autopilot. Twitter makes it almost imperative that members drop those pesky people who either fail to reciprocate and follow back or drop followers as soon as they reciprocate, a phenomenon called "pump and dump." You see, Twitter applies a metric, a ratio of following to followers, and if the ration is off, "the powers that be" will stop a person from following anyone else until they achieve nirvana. Well, at least until they achieve Twitter balance, the Twitter version of ying and yang, The Tao of Twitter! Being cut off from following others, particularly for the spammers, is a kind of Twitter death. Since the new mini-blog marketing phenomenon is viewed by many as a numbers game, the more followers, the greater the audience. The greater the audience, the more clicks on the links embedded in each and every tweet; and, the more clicks, the more conversions. Ultimately, tweets with links lead to clicks, and the more clicks the more conversions; and, the more conversions, the more sales. Or does it?

Interestingly, the data does not support this supposition, the logical next-step that links lead to clicks, and clicks to conversions, and conversions mean sales. What many Twitter marketers are discovering, and perhaps this is one part of the reason why the retention is so low, is the tire-kicker phenomenon. What I refer to as the tire-kicker mentality is explained best as follows:

o Twitter followers tend to follow like-minded people, other Internet marketers, coaches, soccer moms, whomever.

o Twitter marketers are marketing to other marketers who are interested in self-education.

o Internet marketers (a.k.a., Twitter marketers) can get all the free education they need by. signing up for another's offerings, taking full advantage of the free education and whitepaper resources.

o Internet marketers who find a good product will sign up as an affiliate and purchase it from themselves, rather than from the individual who initially referred them by way of the link in the original tweet.

The conversions and sales? Yes, sales are being made but, as many find out when offering Clickbank products, particularly Clickbank products offered to other Internet marketers, they are not being made by the individual initially responsible for the introduction of the product to the consumer. Additionally, most Internet marketing products, sold by other online businesses have little or no tracking capability if an individual decides to beat the system. The moral of the story? In this author's opinion, the opportunities to make a living as an affiliate marketer, even with a sizeable following, are limited, at best. The reality? Multiple streams of income is still the best approach. Social media in and of itself, and twitter in particular, may offer advantages as part of a total marketing strategy but if you plan on making a living solely from this sort of income producing methodology, you may be in for a bit of a disappointment.

So, what are the alternatives? What solutions are there for the Internet marketer bent on making a living from social media? One solution? Don't sell to Internet marketers. That's right! Get out of the Internet marketing niche altogether and offer products to the public at large, those not actively engaged in online business. Another solution? Create your own product and offer that exclusively. If you create a product that solves an immediate problem or does something better than a current application does, you can then offer that product to anyone, given the right advertising and marketing strategies. A third solution? Create your own company offering a unique service or one you feel you can do better, cheaper or with a different spin than the current online businesses are. There are other strategies for making a significant income online, and there are opportunities to cash in on the social media marketing gold rush, just not in the way many envision and not as quickly and not at the click of a link We will discuss the real value of social media and other social media marketing platforms in the next article in this series.

The transition from the old to the new, from an entirely "outbound" marketing strategy to an online focus has resulted in the formation of a new company, The Ultimate Internet Image, with offices in several states and more coming. The need for personalized marketing strategies, incorporating a synergy between the best of traditional offline marketing techniques and innovative and revolutionary new inbound, Internet marketing strategies have resulted in a company with one goal, excellence! For more information stop by our new blog at:
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Social Media Networking Websites You Should Know About - 7 Top Ones

Social media networking websites are popping up like crazy on the internet. They are fast becoming favorable with the search engines because they provide a consistent flow of new and unique content. Anyone can join these websites, as they provide a fairly simple and informal approach to an online, community-based, social interaction.

Social media websites provide a platform where people can meet to share information, build relationships, and even find new business associates. If you start sharing your expertize and give value, you can build up a large network of prospects over time. These people will do most of your advertising for you by spreading the word to their friends, families and other net-workers, if you play your cards right.

Here are seven (7) of the top social media networking sites that you should know about:

(1). Facebook - Facebook has now become the world's biggest social networking site. You can join and look for other people who share the same interests like you. What you want to do here is set up your online business profile and create a fan page for your business. Invite your customers and subscribers to join so you can easily alert them whenever you have any new updates to share.

(2). Twitter - This is a micro-blogging social networking site that allows its members to send out short posts to others, including the people who are following you. Just like how you encourage people to follow you through your tweets, you can also follow people who might be of interest to you. Remember it is all about providing value.

(3). YouTube - YouTube is the top video-sharing site on the internet and provides some unique ways for you to establish yourself online. Now that video marketing is taking over the web you can use this site to create awareness, build excitement, and command a powerful online presence. You can also have your links embedded in your video to get maximum leverage from your marketing.

(4). Digg - Digg is more of a news-sharing site where members can post links to their favorite news articles. It also allows them to make comments or to vote for the ones they like best. The key here is to get a good rating on an article that has a link to your website, this will generally lead to massive amount of traffic to your site.

(5). StumbleUpon - On this site members can check out and rate web pages, videos and photos. When you "stumble," the results that shows up are ranked based on your previous ratings and the ratings from other members. When other members give your site a good rating, your site could show up more often in their results which could lead to more traffic.

(6). LinkedIn - This site is probably the most popular social networking site for business purposes on the internet. It provides a conducive environment for you to find potential business associates, joint venture partners, and people who might be looking for your products and services.

(7). Delicious - Delicious is a very popular bookmarking site where its members can save links to their favorite websites, blogs, articles, or other resources, and share those with other people. The power of this is that you can comment on each other's links, and these in turn link to your personal profile which should have your website link. Generating traffic here is all about getting busy making lots of comments.

Social media networking sites are taking over the internet and could become the driving force behind all major promotions in the near future, but there are some things you need to pay close attention to. These are sites where members gather to socialize, not to listen to sales pitches, and if you go in there and start advertising your products or services you will be ignored like the plaque. The goal here is to make friends and build relationships.

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All About SEO and Social Media

In recent years, social networking sites particularly a very popular one, have reached the zenith of their popularity, or probably not yet since their members are eternally increasing and in a very rapid manner. Almost everyone now who has accessed the internet has one or two profiles set up in any of the many social network websites. And this signing up trend has started a new and rapid way of transferring information, communicating, and meeting new people, in fact social media has opened another quite wide avenue for marketing people's products and if you are into internet advertising and have not yet recognized the potential that social media has in selling, then hurry up because the slots are being filled up.

With the internet being made available almost everywhere, people located even in the outskirts can now be reached by online advertising, people who normally only see new products via the television and if an advertiser cannot afford that type of media, then these people will not know that a certain product that they may need exists out there. But now that internet is present, the power of search engine optimization is now upon this new territory, and aside from that, another new field has opened new opportunities for online marketing using SEO and that is social media.

And now that this is everywhere, in some areas even becoming pore popular than the search engine Google, online marketers have been adjusting their strategies and to more SEO/social media friendly tactics. And these online advertisers have realized that there are underlying as well as apparent gains in coalescing the marketing tactics and the SEO strategies.

There are a diverse number of ways to effectively combine these two items and it can range from optimizing social media presence using the search engines (pertaining to a specific ad page on any of the social media networks) to collating relevant links onto your social media network ad account. And the advantage of social media on this end is that if you have identified you target audience, you can set up parameters that are only available on social media and send out your ads specifically to this group of people.

This process minimizes the audience targeting time and enables the advertiser to really identify which demographics they are really targeting, not some random ad burst that is sent to sites that you assume is regularly visited by people who would be interested in your products or services. Keep in mind that if you have useful and interesting content, you can maximize its exposure and turn it into a money-making link by posting it on social media networks.

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How to Use Social Media in Network Marketing

Whenever I hear someone say they don't think network marketing online works, it makes me cringe... but then I reach out and help them understand that when properly worked - without spamming, any business will work.

Most people just haven't been taught proper network marketing skills. People join opportunities every single day because they think of it as some gold rush, before they ever even understood how it works!

Look at how many network marketers have zero personalization in their tweets and posts on forums - just sell, sell, sell. It's such a turn off that people quit following them and then they go shouting that socialization doesn't work.

You want to succeed online, right? You would prefer not to have to pay an arm and a leg advertising to do that. But you're so busy trying to sell yourself online that you're missing out on one of the best revenue streams possible - and it's 100% free and easy to use!

Aside from simple peer-to-peer customer referral sales, there are also dozens of powerful network marketing joint venture opportunities waiting for you on social networking sites. But how do most JVs come about? Between friends - between people who get to know each other on forums or get introduced through mutual acquaintances.

If you learn to use web 2.0 correctly, you're going to meet the right people. You're going to have them promoting you (with no advertising cost to you), and you're going to be approached with some JVs that you would never have had if you'd avoided how to use social media in network marketing because you mistakenly feel it didn't have any value.

There are four major social networking opportunities that I don't want you to overlook - Twitter, Facebook, Forums and Offline marketing. Hopefully you'll see that all four of these don't require a lot of time, yet they have a strong impact on your target audience.

Take time to cultivate followers and friends organically. If you find someone who you'd like to follow you, then follow them first and interact with them a few times. You'll grow your numbers that way, and it'll mean a lot more to your conversions because that follower will have a genuine interest in what you talk about.

Just be you.

Don't push or force people to respond. Let those who like you, friend you (and your links) and those who don't normally move on to someone who does suit their needs. With this approach, you'll appeal to a wider audience because others will respect it and grow closer to you.

? 2011 Regina Baker

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How to Leverage Social Media Network Marketing Without Making the Top 4 Blunders

Mistake #1 Not Having a Social Media Presence.

Social media sites including the top dogs Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and the other 160 others considered in the category are a must for participation by network marketers. If you have not created a presence yet, do so, but plan a strategy so you do it right.

You may already have a presence but only on a personal level, which is great. Now you want to leverage that presence so that the time spent can help you get leads for your business. If you spend too much time socializing and not building your business, perhaps you are not serious about building your business? A network marketer that has not yet opened up accounts is in a good position to leverage them for added traffic generation to their primary business opportunities and other websites.

Mistake #2 Thinking that they are just prospects to recruit into your business.

You want to position yourself as someone who has a lot of value to offer. All your participation and contributions should be with a tone of helpfulness, usefulness, support and sincere desire to know the other people better. Give without any expectation to receive anything in return. The last thing you want to do before you develop any kind of "relationship" is to pitch them your business. You will never succeed doing this. This is akin to bugging your friends and family when you first started in MLM. Remember how successful you were?

Be careful because people can read between the lines and know when you are not being genuine. Honesty is the way to go. Don't sabotage your efforts by faking to be someone you're not. And certainly do not have someone else post messages pretending to be you.

The smart way to leverage social media marketing is to keep your business opportunity link in your signature box when at forums, or withing the member profile areas. Dont pitch your company directly in the posts. Sure, you may gain recognition as very knowledegable about network marketing, but never come out and say that your company ranks #1, best compensation plan, etc.

Mistake #3 Failure to leverage the power of social media.

Social media is a trend happening right now. Consumers are no longer interested in old school forms of corporate advertising. They want to be able to develop a dialogue with the business that they frequent or support if given the opportunity. Select only several of the top sites. Don't feel you have to have accounts for dozens unless you can monitor and track your leads to see if it's worth it.

Avoid setting up accounts with nothing in your profiles. This is a big message that you don't care, so don't bother opening up an account if you're not going to maintain it. Keep learning about the different features available on the various social media platforms and you will improve your efficiency and skill so that it is not as time consuming as when you first start out.

There is a huge difference in seeing a post with an actual photo of the member. Real pictures are the best, but if you are concerned with being "identified", or concerned about privacy, select an avatar or other image that conveys something positive so people will get a positive impression even though you are not sharing an actual image of yourself. The default avatar simply says that you don't care enough about being part of the group to bother.

Another strategy is to set up accounts with different user names in case you have more than one niche that you are targeting. For instance, if you are a network marketer with a weight loss product, you could participate in weight loss and fitness groups and talk about health and fitness, showing you are knowledge and share useful advice. You could also set up another profile that paints you as a marketing expert, knowledegable about lead generation, copywriting, keywords, etc. This may require extra effort, but is something to consider to better leverage having a presence on social media sites that are popular.

Mistake #4 Not Posting Frequently

Consistency is key to creating fresh content and keeping your followers engaged. Set up a practice and be disciplined with posting daily. It doesn't have to be a lot, but try to respond to people as much as you post content on your sites. Add to your profile pages, making them more interactive for your visitors. Do something every day and mix it up. If you are pressed for time or want to be efficient, you can add content to your blog and then have it automatically posted to your social network sites automatically.

If you have a blog, which you should, frequent blogging is just as important as posting to your social network sites. Fresh content using keywords is another way to leverage the web.

Well, there is probably more than four mistakes mentioned above if you read closer. But here is the take away key message for network marketers: Start now. Take action. Do it thoughtfully. Make it meaningful and provide value to others. Posting messages with the reader in mind is the proper mindset to have in the social media circles because in the end, it benefits both of you.

John Stuart Leslie is a Network Marketing Professional and Coach assisting people market effectively online to generate more leads, get traffic, convert leads and attract others to their business. He also is his own webmaster for all his sites.

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Social Media Networking - The Key Factor Behind Communications Today

With the world getting busier day by day, the importance of the role of the social media networking is increasing at a rapid speed. People today favors to be in touch with others through online with the help of the Social sites mostly rather than meeting someone face to face, chatting over the phone or sending mails. The ancient and traditional methods of sending good wishes and passing information through letters in post have been replaced almost completely by the e-mail services. In fact, in the very informal matters, one today loves tweeting, or scraping one instead of writing a very formal e-mail.

The various means of social media networking that are like prevailing everywhere and with everybody today are Digg, Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon and LinkedIn etc. What one needs to do is simply to register with these social sites and then get connected with all his friends. The members, in most of these sites can get in constant touch with their friends and can send fast messages easily. Writing a few words in the scrap book or the wall of one friend is enough in the name of sending messages. The three most important aspects that are related to this trend are:

Creating a kind of awareness among the members of a group or that of the whole registered members of a particular site towards any current issue is easy. These social sites have several advantages over the means of communication nowadays. People, mostly, youngsters use to be in constant touch with each other through these sites and hence, connecting more than one person at one go gets easier.
Promoting a message or a particular product too gets easier through such sites. So, the demands of the advertisements published here are more.
Everybody irrespective of any boundary or cast owns the right to express their opinions and do the required modifications in the respective account/s in these sites.

The concept of the Social media networking has gained such a huge popularity today that the scopes of this service are growing higher every day. Even people are seen to be getting this marketing training and in fact, books on the same too are out in the market for the interested people. Marketing through these sites is becoming a trend in every business having either a blog or a website or even an email ID.

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5 Benefits of Social Media Marketing For an Internet Home Based Business

Social media marketing is something new in the business scene, though it is extremely useful if put to work properly. Let's say you have an internet home based business, and you need to get the word out. There are a number of ways that you could spread the word of your products, but how far will that word go? Television advertisements and billboards will only go so far, and by now, you probably understand that you need to do some internet advertising. The only question however, is what type of internet advertising.

Many people have turned to social media marketing simply because of the benefits the service offers. There are a number of different social networking sites out there, and all of them allow advertisement on a certain level so long as you do not abuse it. That being said, let's talk about a few of the benefits related to using social media marketing for your internet home based business:

1. You will gain quite a bit of exposure due to the number of people that use social networking websites. Though you might start out small, you will most definitely grow to be a larger business, drawing in clients and spreading the word.

2. You can spread word of your business in virtually any way that you see fit. For instance, you could choose to utilize viral advertising, or you could go with a standard advertisement. Either way, you are sure to be noticed by thousands of people.

3. You can be a member of several different social networking sites at once. This will give you quite the advantage as you will be able to advertise on a number of different fronts. You will gain the maximum exposure, and will undoubtedly sell your product.

4. Advertisements can come in many forms, and when you are doing your advertising on a social media site, you can actually advertise through games. The best part about advertising through games is that you get a chance to spread your ad virally, through something that people can fall in love with. This is one of the greatest perks associated with social media networking.

5. Social networks have many users, and those users have their own network of friends. Through that, you will be seen by many different people, and there is a chance that some of them will buy your product. The ability to share, and see information on different user's profile is something that you can use to your advantage. Best of all, it's free!

These are just a few things that you need to know about social media networking. It is free, and it is an effective way to get your message across. Once you start using it, your internet home based business will soar, and you will wonder how you ever did without it.

Aviroop Nag is a recognized expert in doing research and reviews of the most profitable internet home based business ideas in the industry today. Click here to visit his website.

Google "Pay-As-You-Perform" Model for TV Ads Will Give Insights for Marketing to Social Media Sites

Google essentially has its own TV network now, or at least access to its own network through its deal to sell Google TV Ads on EchoStar's Dish Network. EchoStar feeds 120-odd smaller cable TV networks with programming and advertising. How Google works out its collaboration with EchoStar will give internet marketers valuable insights into how Google will move towards monetizing YouTube. How Google does this will give give both large and small online marketers valuable insight into how they can best tap into the vast potential for online marketing though social media sites such as YouTube, MySpace, FaceBook and del.icio.us etc.

Perhaps Google CEO, Dr. Eric Schmidt, and the folks at Google Research need look no further for a model on how to monetize their potential cash cow, burgeoning social media networking behemoth YouTube, than the business model they are undertaking with EchoStar. Figuring out how to make YouTube, which is experiencing near-exponential growth, generate additional revenue for Google's already burgeoning bottom-line has been targeted as Google's top 2008 priority, as Schmidt confirmed in his April 2nd sit down interview with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo.

With EchoStar, Google is figuring out the metrics and mechanics that will allow them to sell TV ads "based not only on price but on how well quality advertising performs", according to the anlaysis in May 5th's copy of Advertising Age. Lower-quality advertising will essentially be penalized by paying higher prices for the same slots than higher quality advertising as judged by audience response to the ads. Google is working its way through the mechanics of measuring how many viewers watch the ad spot, how many watch it through to its end and how long audience members stay with the ad before skipping forward through EchoStar's video on demand format to resume watching the next segment of the programming they've tuned in for. Using this model for Google's TV Ads "could go a long way toward answering who is responsible for bringing viewers in and who is responsible for retaining viewers" - production companies and networks who bait the hook or advertisers who reel in the catch, according to Advertising Age. The beauty is, that for YouTube, Google already has the basics of measuring click-through rate in a media they cut their teeth on.

Once Google gets the model for pay-as-you-perform ads on EchoStar worked out (and if I were a betting man - and I am, I would venture that is happening before the mechanics of the EchoStar collaboration is fully worked out for pay-as-you-perform commercials), users and advertisers can probably expect a variation on the same model to be rolled out to monetize YouTube for Google. Teenagers are a much more interactive audience with each passing year. They actively search out the medium that provides them with the entertainment they want. Aficionados of YouTube are already clicking on videos of the world's most entertaining commercial "commercials", whether they originate in Europe, Japan or South America.

Every year on Super Bowl Sunday there is almost as much buzz about the newest, most entertaining commercials that will be making their debut on the year's biggest TV-buy as there is about the game. It is Madison Avenue's biggest bonanza of the year, with companies wait-listed to pony up the US$2.5 million for a 30-second ad. Here in Canada, where many U.S. commercials making their Super Bowl-debut are pre-empted by Canadian networks because of the effect of restrictive governmental regulatory protectionism, there is most often disappointment that the best and most entertaining of the U.S. paid commercials are cut and viewers have to wait for these same commercials to make their way to regular network programming. Many never do, at least in Canada.

"The idea of TV Ads is predicated on the notion that TV is becoming more like the internet," Advertising Age analyst Abby Klaassen observes. Immediately prior to this year's Super Bowl telecast, snack food giant Frito Lay stepped up to the plate with an interactive promo where users created the content for their ads and the viewing audience voted the advertising spots generated up or down in order weed out the top five viewer picks. When, not if, Google figures out how to monetize YouTube, expect interactive content where Google inserts its paid ad areas on YouTube. Don't be surprised, however, if it costs more to put up under-performing ads that do not hold audience attention span based on their click-through rates than it does to put up popular ads whose content appeals to YouTube's younger, techno-savvy demographic. Google's work with EchoStar already shows that they are hip that internet users, particularly users of social media sites like YouTube, do not want to be the passive TV audience they once were and will resist overt marketing ploys in favour of ad content that entertains while giving a sales pitch or call to action. However Google monetizes YouTube will give us all valuable feedback on how social media sites can best be utilized to reach this valuable consumer audience. Once pay-as-you-perform is firmly established, it will be a barometer for the tastes of the audience frequenting social media sites.

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The Story of Social Media Marketing and Why You Should Be Doing It

Today, a new 'parallel' world has surfaced right in-front of us. Knowingly or unknowingly, we all are a part of it - the internet. The internet has provided the lonely with company, and the socialite with a new set of even more friends!

The result? A parallel society in which we all bask, share and enjoy!

What started out as a simple communication channel, fast transformed itself into a space that is now known as the internet. Interestingly, the internet was not the same as this when it was conceived; the basic idea of 'sharing' has been kept intact but the forms and the resources have morphed and outnumbered the number of users even!

Some analysts put the number of pages at more than the number of people in the world! Quite naturally when you have such a resource at hand, you need to think in terms of business and that is where the importance of social media marketing comes into play.

Plan your Business Growth

It was not very long ago when the internet was new to many, and people would use it to send mails. It was only the 'soft' power companies which would then advertise on sites and e-mail programs for upgrades and stuff - and that too in very small numbers. With the introduction of Google, the scenario completely changed and a similar model was adopted by many to cash-in on and from Google's success story.

Soon after, launching a business meant market surveys, promotional activities and aggressive marketing. Companies were trying to rope in the number of internet users for their brand promotion; still there was not enough 'aggression' in aggressive promotion.

Then came the new kids on the block - Social Media.

It changed the whole concept of socializing and communicating. Chartbuster social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Orkut amongst others created a rat race wherein every company, individual and person was trying to earn a few bucks off the internet.

That was the beginning of Social Media Marketing - it is in use since then. Though critics might prefer to call its growth stage to be in the 'nascent' zone, growth figures and turnovers suggest otherwise. True, newer technologies and better algorithms keep appearing every now and then, but it is the growth that is booming even more and shows no signs of stopping or even pausing for a moment.

Big corporate houses realized the potential of social media marketing, zeroed in and converged their efforts and brains to optimise this and make use of it. After all, internet is where the most activity is - today.

From news to socializing, social media has taken new proportions with this marketing model for it. Free advertising and brand exposure has lead individuals and organizations to tap into this in a better manner and exploit this fully.

If you want to run your business successfully, you need to realise that a simple 'real-world' marketing strategy won't do.

An online presence on one or all of the social media networks today, is as important as proper infusion of finance into the business.

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The Social Media Conundrum

If you're wracking your brain thinking of ways to boost traffic, get more people and more business - but - have run out of steam and ideas, we have the perfect solution for you, social media marketing packages. Let's face it the time has come to wade into the waters of personal media. It's the latest trend and a growing one at that. Do you really want to miss out on the bandwagon and be left sitting by the side of the road wondering why your competition has more traffic than you do, makes more sales a month than you thought were possible and has a booming client base? Answer is: no, of course not.

This wonderfully chatty trend has multiple potentials that you might not really be thinking about. Right now you may have a certain reluctance to share personal details about yourself and your hobbies, likes and dislikes. (Facebook). Maybe you think no one could really care what you are doing and how few words you can use to tell them (Twitter). That's the unpolished beauty of the whole social marketing fad - the personal details that give a potential client, business partner or recruit an idea of the "person" behind the suit or website.

And that leads me to another point. Your website, although no doubt the product of long hard creative hours to tweak it and make it reflect your business, what you offer and other business type things, does not give surfers an idea of the "who" behind the site.

It's a well-known fact that people prefer to deal with those they know, or feel they know and like dealing with. The only way people can get to "know" you is if they have a chance to find out who you are, what you like, what you think and how knowledgeable you are in your field of expertise.

Although websites are still good marketing tools, they do not have the same buzz about them (even with flashy graphics and interactive forms) as social media marketing sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Social is as social does, and being social and talking to people one on one is what will get you business - guaranteed.

Now you might be thinking, "Who the heck has time to keep up with three big social media marketing sites?" Good question, and one we definitely have the answer for as well. We're excited to be introducing a new service for our clients who want more personal social media marketing exposure. The best part? We offer three packages to choose from and they will all save you money over traditional advertising. No kidding!

How good is that, to get a package deal for the big three social media marketing sites that will boost your online presence within no time? That's something that will work directly on your bottom line. Used in conjunction with your website, watch what happens to your statistics. Watch your business grow as more and more people get to know the "real" you.

We're offering three packages designed with your needs in mind: one for the beginners who just want to get their feet wet and test the waters; an intermediate package with just a bit more help and services than our beginners program, and the full package for those already aware of the significant benefits of social media marketing and who want to get right down to business.

We're competitively priced because we know you will be saving money on your traditional advertising and marketing methods. This couldn't come at a better time when you consider the tough economic crunch we're facing. This is devastating for everyone, but more so for business owners who are struggling to stay afloat.

Social media marketing offers you that extra special edge for a good price and a good return on your investment.

Linda Belan, owner of Your Outsource Solutions, LLC. Our goal and objective is to offer affordable administrative, marketing and social media marketing services to busy coaches, trainers, speakers, authors, entrepreneurs and internet marketers. Please peruse our web site for more information at http://www.youroutsourcesolutions.com

Advertising Strategy - Social Media Options

The digital world is growing. The old newspaper is becoming part of the senior culture and many of today's younger folks aren't even relying on these means anymore. It's all about seeing things in their digital form, and this includes reading the news, books, and so many more things that used to occur in the form of traditional paper literature. Where are the young people and where are they spending their time? They are on MySpacem Twitter and Facebook. Advertisers are finally starting follow them. This is the future market.

With this tend continuing, you can gain some great benefits from informing yourself about this new way to advertise.

Money is the first topic to educate your self on. Understand that Face book advertising can be a low cost means of reaching a lot of people. Setting up a fan club, does not cost you anything.

If you are in the market to buy advertising space face book offer you the opportunity to pay only for those "clicks" that land people at your advertising page. This way all you pay is for the people who actually read your advertisement. Unlike the newspaper where most advertising in never even considered.

If you are just trying to get a free place these social networking sites can provide it. If you wish to do more at a low cost these site offer some great opportunities.

Another point of which you should be aware is you can target your advertisements. Most social sites will let you pin point based on likes and dislikes, age relationship status and much more.

In this the site have done the hard work for you. When a person signs up they input all the data. So all you really have to do is to know the type of people that like to uses your produce. This is easy because you already know who your best customers are. In just a few minutes you can be directing your message to just those people. If you don't know a little market research will be richly rewarded.

The last thing to remember is that your space is not limited to print you can use pictures and videos. The opportunities are really only limited to your imagination. If you can do something that is great. You may find that the whole network will buzz with it. This means that a lot of people will be advertising friend to friend for you with out you doing anything.

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Social Media Network Advertising

Are you looking to build a social network advertising campaign? First important step for you is to understand how and on what basis these networks exist and operate. They form and thrive based on the close relationships and mutual friendships developed by people with common interests who come together on the platform to collaborate and co operate.

Anyone interested in marketing through social media network sites should fist understand the nature of the community and what makes them tick. Once you understand the pulse of the members you will be able to position you campaign suitably. The communities on the social media network consists of people who share common personal or professional interest in the product, service or information that you have to offer on your website. They come together to discuss, share, collaborate and co-operate in discussions, questions, answers and ongoing debates about related topics. You can comment and join in the conversation by posting relevant information from your side too.

Each network channel will have certain set of rules that may or may not be obvious but is easy for you to figure out and follow. It could be something like the endorsements on Linkedin, the RT and hashtags on twitter and the Facebook's like etc.

You cannot always be posting and conversing with others with a sales pitch. If you concentrate only on advertising through the platform you will be considered spam and people will not like it.

Even if your main objective is to be able to advertise through the network channel, you cannot blatantly do so. You must know how to strike a find balance, when to talk about your product and services and when to interact with others on non-sales related subjects and add content to the discussions.

You would have to build and create your own identity first and get acceptance and followers from amongst the group who will recognize value in what you have to say. You would then be able to focus on and choosing where you want to be and what you want to say comfortably and get people to hear you.

Once you have the pulse of the community, you will be able to with your identity be able to draw conversation to your products and people who are users and those that are interested will naturally start talking about your product and discussions will grow giving you enough publicity.

One cannot sell through a direct sales talk on the social media network. It works with engaging people who are informed buyers and new comers by involving them in discussions and exchange of their feelings, impressions and opinions.

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Marketing - Social Media

Since the rise of internet and the rise of marketing social media several years ago, people have been using it more and more for both business and pleasure. Businesses have taken advantage of the internet to reach more customers than they have ever been able to before. In recent years, the use of social networking sites have become more and more popular, allowing companies another outlet to advertise their goods and services. Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and MySpace, just to name a few, are visited by millions of people each day.

Because of this rise in the use of social networking sites, a form of advertising known as social media marketing is becoming very common. When people log in to these sites, as they are often doing multiple times a day, they see numerous advertisements for different products and services, and are many times given a direct link that will lead them to a website offering the products or services. This is much more effective than a billboard that is difficult to see while driving, or a newspaper advertisement that can only give so much information. If a person is led directly to a website, they can probably find out most of what they want to know just by searching the site.

With these social networking sites, people can become fans of a certain product or webpage, like a product, or join a group concerning the product. When one person on a networking site does this, the people that they are in contact with over this site can also see the advertisement, creating an effective and easy mode of advertising.

When someone has a product for sale on a particular website, it is very easy to let people know that something has changed. Anyone who has become a fan or follows the website will receive this information. Information can be given to patrons on a day to day, or even hour to hour basis very easily. It does not require the purchase of a new billboard, a new radio commercial, or a new newspaper ad. It can be done quickly and easily from your computer. A simple change to your website, and all those who visit it through social networking sites will see the change.

These days, people are using their computers for everything. They like to be able to find out about something, or purchase something, or just read something interesting from the comfort of their own home. Marketing Social Media is a great way for businesses of this day and age to attract people to them.

Fred Meek is an Austin, Texas SEO consultant. Austin Engine Optimization Search is a big part of what we do at MindBOX SEO Learn more or contact the author by visiting http://www.mindboxseo.com

CPA Marketing - Hunting For Prospects on Social Media Networks Like MySpace

You have to take your CPA marketing to another level and always be on the look out for potential goldmines online. Targeting websites that get a huge amount of daily online visitors is a great place to start and social networks like MySpace are now allowing advertisers to cash in on their huge database of members.

Advertising on MySpace is no different than using any other paid platform online, you target an audience and you set a bid price and you launch your campaign. It's pretty simple but there are some important details that you need to take into factor when promoting offers on MySpace.

First you need to really get targeted with your demographics, and when I say targeted I mean very targeted. You need to pick a CPA offer and do your research to find out what type of people are interested in what it is you are promoting. Next you need to narrow down your demographics in your MySpace campaign and set your bid prices very low with a daily budget that you are comfortable with.

If you are promoting something that is for a male audience than there really is no need to show your offer to females so make sure you uncheck that box. Also if you are promoting something for a younger audience like a video game download then you really don't need to target people 35 and older, do you get what I'm saying. Do your research and really know who your targeted market is before you start a campaign.

Let your campaign run for a few days and then check your numbers and see if there is anything you can do to make your campaign more profitable, start very small and once you see that you got a winner scale it up. Also try various banner sizes when you promote cause certain ones will get you more clicks than others.

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Social Media Marketing - Selling the Destination

When using social media marketing, it is often important to remember that we're selling them a whole package and not just a product. Don't focus too much on what your product does and what it promises to do. What you need to sell is how the results will make them feel better or do better after they use your product.

Believe me when I say that most people have an idea of how your product works. What they want to hear from you when you do your social media marketing is that how they will be rewarded afterwards.

Take for example the lowly hammer. You don't see people advertising the hammer as something that drives nails into wood, everybody already knows that. What you see being advertised is how great you'll feel after using it because of the ease it provides or how much money you'll be saving in the future because of its durability.

When using social media for marketing, you need to exploit what the network is offering. You already have the resources right there in front of you. Ask people who have already purchased your product to endorse it for you, I mean who better to convince other people that your product is great than those that have used it before right? Social media is like that, people love to hear what other people have to say.

That is the reason why people signed up for social media networks in the first place, interaction between people. It's supposed to be social and once you've integrated that into your campaign then selling the destination will be a lot easier.

I'd like to invite you to come check out more Social Media Marketing hints and tips at my website.

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The Realities of Social Media Marketing

Many people have tapped into social media networks to try and promote whatever they may want to be shared among subscribers. With the drive of social media marketing carrying the basics of advertising through multimedia or text, subscribers and web site visitors get informed of updates and promotions.

However, social media marketing is not just a mere switch that any promoter flips and expects so much in return. It takes a lot of things into consideration for one to successfully advertise and maintain a subscriber base. Here are some of the realities which one should take notice.

It is about time and money. Campaigning for a specific endorsement needs at least one of these. While popular social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, and other web sites allow free advertising and posting of items for sale or promotions, it takes a lot of time and continued effort for the publisher to be able to amass a sufficient crowd. In order to reach even thousands of subscribers, the author still has to manually search for the specific market crowd and sustain a timeline for campaigning.

It is earned, not paid. Social media marketing uses the existing subscriber database as the potential market for clients of any advertisements. As one of the subscribers promoting within the web server, the manner in which information is shared among others is limited by the system, not yours.

Therefore, the type of media which carries information is not paid and determined by the author. Any posting done is ranked just like other posts. What determines the drive for the sharing of information is based on the customers or subscribers.

It is about long term relationships. The most popular social networks did not spring up from just a fad or rush campaign. Facebook, Twitter, Multiply, and the like were seriously campaigned through a long period of time and eventually got on the successful side of social media marketing. Even if these web servers are already popular and known to many, not to mention the millions of subscribers and growing, promotions and updates for the improvement of the web sites don't ever stop.

Think of social media marketing as a romantic relationship. Without follow up and proper maintenance, it fails. Without updates and feedback between each side, it fails. Without variety and improvements, it fails. Whatever made up the relationship between each party, in this case the promoter and the subscribers needs a consistent checkup and monitoring to be able to provide a strong and lasting interaction.

These realities may also be pointers for future promoters and advertisers who wish to seek success with applied social media marketing. Popularity and long term play of marketed things are based on interests and feedbacks of the subscribers. While it may be true that promoters start the campaign, but the base subscribers are the main key players for social media marketing success and longevity.

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Advertising in Social Media Networks

Marketing plays a vital role in the way people are dong business these days. Its the only way you can be bale to tell people what you are really selling, so the way you market your goods matters a lot on how our business is going to perform. This has made people to use social media marketing as the way they can be able to market their products.

Many people perceive social media marketing as a very new concept on the market yet its main principle is to reach the right people who are supposed to sample out the products. This is a basic principle used by all other forms of marketing.

Any businessman would love his/her business to grow must market his/her products to the right people who he/she is sure are going to sample the products. For example a businessman decides to market female sanitary towels on a male targeted publication he/she wouldn't be bale to yield more on this.

But if he/she deices to market the same goods on a female targeted publication then he/she will be surprised with the outcome and how the sales are going to sky rocket. Marketing involves extensive planning and research in order to get the right outcome at the end.

Social media marketing beats all the other forms of marketing at this stage since it can be able to reach the specified prospects who are supposed to sample the products depending on the tastes and preferences.

The social media marketing makes it easy for businessman to reach the intended prospects faster and easier.

It also costs less to use this method of advertising compared to placing adverts on different newspapers which do not target the prospects that you would like to sample your products.

It is suitable for upcoming businesses and new entrants in the business world since it is much more economical for them.

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MLM Advertising Using Social Media

Using social media for network marketing advertising is one of the most effective business building practices available. In the past 5 years, social interaction media has become the meeting place for people from all over the world. Names like Twitter and Facebook have become a part of the world wide dialogue, as people share their lives and experiences with one another.

As a network marketer it is critical that your voice be heard in the social online conversations that take place daily. Today I want to give you some basic strategies for using social media to build your MLM business. MLM has been and will continue to be a business established on personal relationships. It is important that you keep this principle front and center in your social media activities.

To effectively use resources such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, you need to focus on building relationships. Building relationships is more than simply adding friends or followers on a social media site. You need to begin an ongoing conversation with the people you are interacting with. Learn about their lives, their business, their dreams. Ask them about the things that they are posting. Comment on things that interest you. Simply put...get to know the individual.

Secondarily, look for people who share your common interests, pursuits and ideals. There are groups formed around every type of interest conceivable. Interact with these groups, become a valued voice in the conversation. As you become valued in the eyes of the group, people will take a greater interest in the other areas of your life.

Lastly, begin connecting with your target audience. Look for people who you would like to see on your team. Look for those who are searching for the solutions you offer. Ask about their experiences, likes and dislikes. Share your solutions in a conversational manner, always setting yourself apart as a valued resource. A quick rule to file away....the more you interact, the more people will want to interact with you.

Social media is a powerful tool for MLM advertising. When used correctly it can aid in building a dynamic network marketing business.

MLM advertising using social media is a powerful strategy for building your MLM business. Carl Willis offers Facebook training for network marketers to teach you how to utilize this powerful tool of social media.

Are Your Social Media Efforts Hurting Your Business' Credibility?

Many businesses have, by now, ventured into the world of social media in one form or another. But have those efforts paid off; I can most assuredly say that in most cases, it has likely hurt their credibility.

Below are 6 Tips that will make sure your efforts grow your business and don't undermine your strategic goals.

1) Choose the right network: There is no value in being the first to market on a social networking site. So you haven't missed the boat. Ask your customers or search for their email addresses before dedicating the time to set-up a page for your business. The main goal of social networking is 1) to engage your current customers and 2) entice new ones.

2) Make the commitment: Social media networks have an overabundance of small business profiles that were created and updated for a short period of time, only to have the administrator shortly thereafter lose interest for whatever reason. Social media is not a quick fix and certainly takes a level of commitment to generate the desired result. If you don't have the time or the patience, it is better to not have a profile, than to have one that is incomplete or not cultivated.

3) 5 times per week: Update your profile, change your status update, or ask a thought provoking question at least 5 times per week. This is a minimum! Try not to exceed 3 updates per day because you are trying to engage and stay Top-of-Mind, not monopolize their day. But you must continually bring something to the conversation if you want your followers to pay attention to you.

4) Add value: Utilize links, highlight non-competing businesses that are of interest, post comments that naturally elicit responses. Unless it is part of your business culture, stay away from partisan posts. And not everything you highlight or comment about has to do with business. Just be interesting.

5) Listen: Nobody likes the person at the party that won't stop talking and only talks about themselves. Don't be 'that guy.' Social media is a two-way street. Listen to your fans. Comment on their posts; be sure to respond to them when they comment about you or your posts. Engage your customers and they will reward you.

6) Speak as an individual: Do not use stuffy language and don't present info as though it was filtered through a copywriter or lawyer. Speak with your voice. No one wants to talk to a company; they want to talk with the individual behind the logo.

7) Do not 'collect' fans: It is not a contest to see who has the most followers or fans. Do not 'blast' invites to the world if the people that you are targeting are not strategic targets for your business. Smaller can be better in terms of your following, if you keep those people engaged and interested. This will grow your following in a slower more methodical fashion. But this will help you determine what is effective and help you develop your 'voice.'

This is just a 'jumping off point,' but if you can follow these simple tips, your small business marketing efforts in social media will be much more effective. If you have a profile that does not adhere to these suggestions, it is not too late to change. Institute these for a few days and you will see a drastic difference.

Nicole Emerson
Marketing Communications Director
Gabriel Standard
http://www.gabrielstandard.com

Social Media Marketing - Social Media Marketing For Growth

Every businessperson knows that he should be able to come up with a good marketing plan to make the company earn more.  However, there are individuals who could not care less.  All they want is to just wait and see if there would be clients knocking on their door.  On the other side, you would find people making the most of the internet since they view this as one means that they could effectively market the company and the services available.

Online shoppers prefer products that other individuals recommend.  They do not usually buy what they see in the advertisements rather rely on what others tell them.  Once they proved that the product is worth buying because a friend said so, then they would purchase it.  This behavior is part of the Social Media Marketing.  However, you have to understand what Social Media means first before you include the word marketing in the phrase.

When you talk about media, usually this is the news and print.  Marketing on the other hand, is the means on how you would be able to let people know about the company or services offered.  Social Media means that the users themselves create the information or some sort of advertisement seen over the internet.  The companies or manufacturers do not have any part in this marketing means.

Some common forms of social media are social blogs, internet forums, podcasts, videos and even pictures.  Anything that can serve as proof will do.  The people would still notice and listen what you have to say about a particular product.  Just look at the various social networks.  Notice that almost all of the users have their own favorite playlists and videos.  This means that the users are now becoming active participants in Social Media.

When using this Social Media Marketing in your business, you could use twitter to have a wider target audience.  At least in using such websites, you would not have to worry in threatening the people in doing business with you.  Asking help from professionals like Startrankingnow will be able to create a blog that would make the consumers feel that they have to read what you place there.  Regularly posting interesting topics about your business without blatantly advertising a product or service makes them want to read more.

In writing blogs, be sure that you do not talk too much about yourself.  People would not want to read about a businessperson too conceded in talking about himself.  What they want to read is how you react to certain things relating to your business.  Caring is one crucial part of the Social Media Marketing so you have to prove yourself worthy of the user's time.  Just remember that you have to make your blog something that people can relate. 

Once you find a common ground between you and the users expect them to follow your blog.  Now you should have a bigger chance that some of these would contact you and begin to use your products or services.

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Some Useful Ways to Use Twitter - The Most Common Social Media Networking Site

Small business owners have formed a group in Twitter and are seen in large numbers than big business owners. This is a social media marketing tool that was known to very few people till last year and in less than a year it has risen with amazing versatility. There are number of ways and everyone using Twitter has his own reason behind it. Restaurant owners want to advertise about their specials and they are using this platform to drive customers to their restaurants.

According to social media expert, if you want to think and achieve big, you need to broaden your use of Twitter. You need to do few things and keep in mind some points so that you are able to market your business in a successful way on Twitter. Post often because short and frequent posts work best. It is ideal to tweet at least once a day and if you have something new and relevant, you can add more to it. You can use the various tools available on social media sties that are free and extremely brilliant and outstanding.

Twitter is basically a place where you can have conversation with many people. So, it is good if you try to converse in a natural tone and convey your message very naturally. Make your self as simple as possible and try to speak in one person. Do not hit people by straightforwardly asking them to buy your widget or so. Try to be subtle and yet convey your message smartly. Be natural even if there are few people who understand your tone initially. Last but not the least tip is to have fun in all these things. Do not take life seriously and think only about business and its development. If you will enjoy this social media way, you will be benefited in the long run.

You can also join us on our social media forum & We as social media guide are always here to share our expertise

3 Ways to Use Social Media in Network Marketing

Social media is the perfect marriage for the network marketing industry. I have known and met many network marketers who use mediums such as Facebook and MySpace purely for their business and have seen great success. I have personally used the powers of social media to recruit as many as sixteen new distributors in one month. With that said, this article will attempt to discuss some of the more powerful strategies of social media for advertising network marketing.

Social Media Strategy 1 Get friendly! After setting up an attractive profile and getting up pictures of yourself, it is time to get out there and meet people. Social networks is like a big party, or business after hours and so needs to be treated the same as if it was in real life and not on the internet. At a party you are mingling and meeting new people. You don't just go right up and say, "BUY FROM ME", because it would be wrong and an extremely useless tactic. Rather go find groups in your preferred social network, and start adding those people with the intent to REALLY network with them and get to know them better.

Social Media Strategy 2 Start talking! Update your statuses, write blog posts, and post pictures of things you are heavily interested in and knowledgeable of. It could be MLM your discussing, but it doesn't need to be. The important thing is that the authentic you is coming through so when you start speaking to your new found friends about business, they know you're more than an advertisement who is just advertising their MLM business. By being authentic people will trust you more which gives you more rapport and pull with that person.

Social Media Strategy 3 Call them. Yup. You heard that right. In some social network mediums such as Facebook, the social network actually offers a phone number service that you can use to call up your friends. If you have your friends segregated into groups such as MLM Group 1 or Network Marketing Friends Group, you can find that list of friends with all their phone numbers. Most network marketers are very accepting of a stranger calling them about their business, and most people who your product would help will most likely be the same.

Even with these strategies to set up your social media empire's foundation, you still need to understand the power of generating leads and making these leads, friends and lists convert into new distributors and customers for you. And that is where knowledge of internet network marketing tactics comes into play.

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Why Advertise on Social Media Networks!

Social media networking has a great role in bringing people together and thus it plays a major role in building a better and well networked world.

The Question: Why do marketers prefer social networking over other marketing methods and traits?

First Answer - How: The social media has become one of the best ways to market your product online and this is because most of the people log into them to get in touch with one another. The main idea behind this is to have your product in front of millions of people logging into such networking websites. Promotion in such a place is much better than advertising traditionally on the newspaper and TV.

Second Answer - Why: The social media or the networking sites provide global exposure to products & services and this is why most of the marketers opt for it. And with this, one can access and view the products and services within your social networks; and then you have very little to do in the name of your dream products' promotion on internet. One can click on the links of the website and also the videos posted against your products & services. The comments inputs feedback left by other users will help you get true evaluation of the product. So, this is why most of the marketers opt for Social networks rather than a professional network.

The improvement: There are lots of improvements and cooler aspects added to these sites which make it a great fun for people to use them. One would also find lots of applications embedded with it. People with similar interests can group themselves to create communities, where they would be able to discuss on topics of common interests. There are also ways to promote products or links that one finds cool enough to tell their friends. Thus, one would be able to become popular in the cyber world and this would give them a lot of positive hope on life. One most vital improvement by Twitter is the addition of SMS tweeting services across the globe. Recently Twitter has introduced SMS services in Australia.

The Future: These networking sites are not only used for making friends but also are used effectively to promote products and services. Inclusion of video sites takes it another high where personal videos either promotional or descriptive can be used. YouTube is the best option to do so! Social Networking 2010 is expected to have a great growth and lots of new users are expected to be added in it. Other social sites like digg, MySpace, blogger, LinkedIn, word press which are quite popular in connecting people together can equally be used for advertisements.

Advertising in Social networking sites has changed the whole perception of communication and promotion. In fact it has created a revolution in the field of marketing! With the added security in the social networks, promotion of your products is much safer and better and also a little different.

Sture is an Internet Marketing Coach. His passion in life is to create value for others with his ultimate Business Model that support him to create value for others. Irrespective of the Product line or depth in your business his Social Media guidance can really boost your business you are doing or the one you are about to start with him. **Business for Life** http://www.sturenyberg.com

Using Twitter, Facebook and Other Social Media Networks to Generate Leads to My Website or Business

One of the most important tools in modern Internet marketing is the social media platform. However, many people don't know how to get started or even, exactly, how these tools can possibly be utilized to get the word out about their products or services.

First of all, "social media" refers to networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. There are, of course, a myriad of smaller networking sites out there, but most people who use the Internet have an account on at least one of the aforementioned sites - in fact, recent studies have shown that participation on social networking sites is the second most engaged in activity on the Internet, only behind surfing the web in popularity!

A savvy business owner knows that where the people are, an advertisement campaign should be operating. Using social networking platforms as a basis for advertisements can be a little bit difficult, but once you gain familiarity with how they work and how to appropriately harness the possibilities that social networking platforms offer, you'll be off to the races!

Even better, the utilization of social media platforms is free. Here are some basic tips to get started on the path of using social networking to benefit you and your business.

First, keep in mind that social networking is based largely off of "friending" people. Many beginners try to friend hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of people at once, which makes them look desperate and therefore many people turn them down. Instead of "mass-friending," simply work off of twenty or thirty people or groups at a time. Wait for them to reply to your friend messages, and then build up your basis from there.

Remember to friend those who have similar interests to you, as they're more likely to respond to you. Also, before you make any sort of announcement on a social networking site, remember to ask yourself if it's an interesting post or not!

Do you need a strong social media marketing program for your business or more traffic to your website from social media? Contact U.S. Image Design. We are a Internet Marketing Company based in Atlanta but we can serve you Nationwide. Or if you need any form of internet advertising, give us a shout.

How to Use Advertising on Social Media to Reach Women

If you are in the group of online entrepreneurs and a majority of your niche members are mainly women in the age group 17-34, you have a very special group. Presently there tend to be numerous additional extremely distinctive elements regarding this particular group, however even though everybody may inform you it is too wide as well as generic a measurement to matter, sex is actually a good essential piece of your marketing puzzle - particularly whenever this comes to psychometrics (calculating exactly how individuals believe as well as comprehend).

You may have heard that you have to copywrite in a different way in order to reach out to women. Well, the same can be said about advertising. That is one reason why social media should end up being one of the very first locations you take into consideration, in the event that women are a large part of your client base or your target market.

Social media is the perfect opportunity for interacting with this specific market. Women tend to be the biggest market on social media usually - particularly on Facebook. To a large segment of women, even business conversation is relationship-driven at the core. If a female customer or audience trusts you, they are much more likely to pay attention - and make a purchase. And one really good method to build trusts is to actually focus on that individual, one-on-one, real time link supplied through social media methods.

However, the actual issue is that you cannot truly create lengthy letters to each one - there simply is not the time as well as you would end up working free of charge. Of course, you could instantly connect on an emotional level through responding to their tweets on Twitter, communicating with all of them through forums and hanging out with them on social networks. Also, you do not have to invest hours doing it either (even though it clearly is easy enough to do!) All it would take is a little communication each day... and after that as soon as you have established the link (or even constructed your smartly seo'd Facebook Page) may allow your social media advertising to take over a little bit of that time load.

It is absolutely essential to think sympathetically, to be able to engage your female readers with your social network ads. If you are able to get them to identify, feel or laugh... as well as entertain and amuse them sufficient enough to simply click on your ad... you will have, in one smooth leap, vaulted past the crowd of clever high powered ads created by experts that have overlooked that essential "relationship and connection" element.

One word of advice to assist your writing of social media advertisements: Men tend to be a lot more likely to appeal to left-brain "logic" terms associated with data, dimensions as well as the aggressive mach factor. Whereas plenty of women very capable of being macho and competitive, results appear to show that they choose a lot more intuitive conversation, using terms that bring up "feelings". A man is much more likely to perk up his ears at: "Does your car impress your friends?": A women on the other hand is much more likely to react on an empathetic level to: "Do you feel tired?"

If that link is strong enough, and if you are also trying to brand yourself, your event or your business, you will very easily be successful. (A case in point: Canada's Lilith Fair, began by musician Sarah McLachlan and her friends, and once regarded as a quirky chick thing' It is now recognized as a major social yearly occasion, and the majority of women on Canadian Facebook who observe Lilith Fair's basic ads understand immediately what it is all about, simple through the actual words "Lilith" on it's own.

However, everybody is actually unique - but data does appear to side with the "relationship/intuitive/feeling" strategy, when it comes to women. The actual moral is: Actually be sensitive to your readers' favored communication designs and your social media ads may assist your business growth to be a lot quicker.

Andre Arnett is a professional Internet Marketer and the author of the Marketing Guide Secrets blog. For more information on Social Media, be sure to drop by and get a free gift at Social Media.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is defined as the conduct of marketing, sales, public relations and customer service through the use of one or a combination of social networks, online communities, blogs, wikis or any other online collaborative media. Some famous social media marketing tools are Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, Wikipedia, Orkut and YouTube.

Social media in an internet marketing sense pertains to a collective group of cyberspace or web properties whose content comes from publications or posts created by users, and not direct employees of the said property such as the vast majority of the videos on you tube and the bast majority of threads on forum sites as well as the most of the tweets on tweeter.

Three Major Elements of Social Media Marketing

1. The Buzz

Make posts to attract the attention of other members or users. Create a buzz or newsworthy events, videos, tweets, or blog entries. Make sure they are interesting and are likely to captivate people who stumble into them. Catchy posts are likely to spread over the network like a virus. Buzzing is the core of social media marketing. It differs from the traditional methods of commercials, print ads, and press releases in the sense that other users become the medium for your marketing campaign. Members tend to pass something of interest to other users.

2. Fan Pages

Create of facilitate means in which fans or patrons of your brand, your business or yourself can promote a message of their own on multiple online social media venues. Create fan pages where they can talk about whatever they are a fan of.

3. Be Active in Conversations

Conversations are the lifeblood of social media marketing. The marketing campaign is controlled not by the organization but by the consumers themselves. Consumers can start or participate in conversation about a brand they are interested in. Respect of all users as well as confidentiality of private information should always be maintained.

Social level marketing therefor is a method of advertising that utilizes mainly social network service to increase the web presence of its products, services or the business itself. Increasing web presence means increasing the number of internet users seeing your brand. This ranges from simply advertising directly on social networking sites, viral marketing that spreads throughout the web, email, and word of mouth, or providing niche social networking sites focused around the item being advertised. Most social sites nowadays allow the creation of profile pages. Make utmost use of them, make them content information about your product. Create a fan page for your company, or much better for each product line. Such will facilitate conversations, arousing talk about your company and what it has to offer.

Who am I? I am who I am.

internet marketing specialist

Social Media Networking Tools and Small Business - What Does it Mean to You and How to Get Started

We all witnessed the fiasco that was United Airlines vs. Dave Carroll - and we all saw just how social media can impact business. It really put the whole array of social networking tools squarely in the mainstream discussions of business owners and entrepreneurs.

In the months following that, a whole lot has been written from self-proclaimed business gurus to internationally known media critics. My take here is a basic, nuts and bolts, plain English breakdown from a nerd/business owner.

Before we get to the plan, we need to define "Social Media". At its core, social media is a category or range of tools (including websites and widgets) that allow their users to connect with each other to share information or files. Just like connecting with people face to face, there are rules (etiquette) that differ from community to community and from social group to social group.

If you go to a business networking event to eat the food and race through the room handing out your business cards without actually connecting with anyone, whose fault is it that you didn't get any clients? If you go to an industry event for green business owners and start promoting penthouse condos starting at $2 million, whose fault is it if that doesn't net you business? Does it mean that networking doesn't work? No. Does it mean those groups are not bringing people business? No. It simply means your strategy didn't take into account the other people's needs and interests. You didn't use the tools and opportunities properly.

So how do you manage to get the most out of the time you spend networking online?

1. Take the time to develop your social media plan. Don't start something if you don't have the time to do it properly. You don't have to have every possible account all at once, leaving half-finished or abandoned business profiles littering the web. It just plain doesn't look good.

Realistically evaluate the time you are going to be able to dedicate to social media for your business. Is there someone in your organization who can do it better - and of course, someone you trust with your brand? Can you leverage content you are already creating and port it to these other channels? Are you reading and tracking or clipping news items for your industry anyway - where your list would be of value to either the public or others in your sector?

Investigate what people are already doing in your sector/industry. Find out if and where you are already being discussed. If you are being discussed, you have a natural point to wade into the discussion - but resist the urge to jump in with both feet until you have had the chance to: (a) calm down if what they are saying is negative, (b) consider your response and overall approach, and (c) evaluate the tools that are available to you.

An example: if people are talking on Twitter about how much your company sucks, then clearly, you need a Twitter account. Right now. That's not so that you can get defensive and start telling "your side" of the story, but rather so you can be seen to be interested in your customers and in getting their feedback (and not in a "why don't you say that to my face" manner). Remember, it's a conversation, not an argument.

Next you need to assess which tools are right for you. One of the fun things about social media is that even within a particular medium, there may be multiple tools that let you manage your profile - and some that let you span media (channels).

Imagine you search Twitter and no one has ever mentioned you. Do you need to use this particular social media tool for your business? It depends. Go back to your earlier findings. Watch the trending topics over the span of a couple weeks. Are people talking about key components of your sector? If your business is considered "green" then definitely. Health is another good sector. If you are in the entertainment sector, that's a no-brainer - you need to be there.

Check Facebook. Check Technorati. Do a comprehensive set of Google searches (or whatever your favourite search engine is). Where are your best customers congregating? What are they talking about?

Really, the only way to figure it out is to see what other people are talking about and decide if you can realistically contribute something of value to the existing community - or to create a community if none exists. Don't be afraid to ask your competitors to participate; that is how industry associations get started, plus it adds value to your clientele.

Beyond this, my suggestion is to ask someone who is using the tools for their opinions:

Are you happy with your choices?
What tools are you using to manage that account? Is it the main website or a third party add-on or application? Are you using anything to be able to repurpose that content elsewhere (e.g. embedding their tweets on your website)?
What is missing from this tool? I.e. in a perfect world, what features would you add?
If they were to start again, would you use the same tool?
How easy is it to switch and keep your content?

Some rules of thumb:

Plan to tweet (post to Twitter) at least twice daily, even if it's a retweet of interesting content someone else posted, or a link to a relevant news item.
Facebook Fan Pages are way more functional than groups (though I wish they were named something else). You can embed RSS feeds that keep fresh content going through without a whole lot of additional work (make that the landing page).
A really good original content blog post is going to take at least 45 minutes. (This one, which started out in my head as 5 simple bullet points, took over two hours.) You can use a mix of original content and pointing to news items of interest to build a comprehensive blog on a topic, or you can use your blog to be a news aggregator. In my experience, the former strategy is the better for keeping people returning to your site because the second strategy leaves you open to imitators, competitors, and things like Google News Alerts replacing your function (and doing it better). Additionally, new content makes your site valuable to other bloggers who can link in and send you more interested visitors.
Use aggregators, dashboards, and directory sites. Prep multiple descriptions of varying length for each project and have them at hand to cut and paste.
Look for interesting ways to reuse the content across platforms - we originally started tweeting on one of the sites as a faster way to creating a custom list of news items appearing on all pages of the site - editable by the entire team. It was easier to make a twitter account that all editors/writers in house could update (trusted, clearly) rather than have to train them on the CMS. Plus, if people direct an item of interest to us we can quickly retweet it and make it appear.

2. Social media is not an advertising channel. That should be clear from the first point, but I really want to reiterate that. Advertising is pushing your message out to the audience. "Marketing", on the other hand, is every single thing you do that interacts with your clients and potential clients and influences their opinion of you (including advertising). Social media may be part of your marketing plan, but if you start advertising through these channels, expect that part of your plan to fail.

3. Consume more than you create. Are you familiar with that adage in the construction/renovation industry "measure twice, cut once"? Well in using social media as a way to engage your market (notice that I didn't say "advertise your business"), the adage should be: post sparingly, monitor constantly.

To be a legitimate part of the community, you need to be reading and interested in the opinions and postings of other members - even if that is a select, high-end, few. Read what others are saying and comment: blogs, tweets, Facebook updates, LinkedIn news, etc. Use the search function. Find and save the links that let you track current hot topics of discussion. Using the tools properly and saving the search results as bookmarks will save you time and let you go straight to what interests you.

4. Social media is not a 9 - 5 proposition. Just because you are out and about on the weekend doesn't meant the conversation has stopped. There are tools that will let you have messages that are targeted specifically to your username sent to your cellphone - and let you reply by sending a text message back. Sure, it's fine not to be monitoring it in the middle of the night. But for days on end? Enlist a friend or hire and intern or a Virtual Assistant to check in periodically.

Monitor, monitor, monitor. I have seen so many large corporations (the kind that should know better - and that have employees to actually monitor this) start groups and let them get taken over by spammers in the discussion areas, comments, shared links. When you go to the trouble of advertising that you are cutting edge and embracing new technology, nothing say, "we really don't get it" louder than the same spam message posted in every thread and a links section full of affiliate program spam.

5. Separate your real world friends from your business friends. In my universe, Facebook is (primarily) for friends, LinkedIn is for business. Odds are I won't friend you on Facebook and you should not take that personally. My real-world (meat-space, IRL, whatever) friends span the gamut from hackers to drag queens. They all get along very well with each other when they mix, but they enjoy making double entendres out of almost everything I say or flat out making conjecture as to where I was last Saturday night. (For the record, I was in the new office space removing some built-in tables. Not very exciting.)

For a while I was using the Privacy Settings to give business acquaintances a very limited access version of my profile; now I just point them to LinkedIn.

If after reading all of this, you are still offended by that (because you really need to have 5000 Facebook friends to promote yourself effectively), then perhaps social media isn't for you.

Who am I to be giving this advice? My name is Gisela and I am Manging Director of pixcode - creators of NaturalHealthcare.ca, CanadaEventsCalendar.ca, CanadianFoodies, BusinessPartnerships, and Wellergize. Our blogs are on top picks in HR and Wellness including the Delaware Employment Law's top 50 Wellness, Women's Interests, and Work-Life Balance Blogs. We've just deployed an enterprise-wide Twitter strategy using CoTweet and are in the process of migrating to our new headquarters in conjunction with launching our new eco-friendly education space called GreenInstead.

I have personally been working with telephony and Internet technologies since the late 80s and developing in the web space since 1993. I am also a former Associate Director of the byDesign eLab at the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology (University of Toronto).