Thanks for being a loyal visitor. Check back often for information on SEO!Managing all your social media platforms is sometimes overwhelming. With a little help from web-based tools, this can be manageable and time-saving. See below for some of the tools available for managing your social media platforms. This is in no way a comprehensive [...]
Selecting between Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn’t a case of measuring Return on Investment (ROI). There are big differences between the two approaches and the decision between either is reliant on different factors. There is a need to understand the differences before a last call is made on your [...]
1. Tell your company story. Though it may seem like simple advice, the story of why your company exists is a great place to start with a video. In contrast to the typically useless text on your company website’s about page, using a video gives you a chance to share the story of your business [...]
This is great for the new year because maybe it will get you thinking and doing!
Hi I’m David from twago.com and this is my first guest article on how businesses can use the Facebook “Fan Page“ function to really reap the benefits of their social media exploits. I‘m an enthusiastic post-graduate with a passion for social media and I hope that this article will interest you!
The importance of Social Media has grown to such a degree that it is absolutely vital for a company to be pro-active in establishing themselves on various Social Media platforms. In order for businesses to engage with their customers, and advertise their products and brand successfully with the market, it is vital to create a Facebook Fan Page. As the global fashion brand GAP has found out, a Facebook Fan Page can be a source of invaluable feedback but also unbridled criticism. Over 2,000 messages left on its Facebook page has led GAP to drop its logo re-design and stick with the old iconic design. This episode shows the effects that Social Media, especially Facebook, has had on the Marketing campaigns of many companies, including global giants such as GAP.
The message was clear, if companies and businesses become ever more Social Media savvy, and with Facebook companies can receive invaluable feedback about their marketing strategies that can be the difference between success or failure.
Facebook:
The move from physical advertising to social media marketing has transformed the way in which companies market their products and brand to customers. Facebook has over 400 million users and counting, and with the release of a motion picture film based (the Social Network) on the Facebook story, its popularity and membership base can only grow. The site represents an indispensible platform for companies and businesses to reach out to potential customers.
Why market your product on Facebook?
The advantages of marketing on Facebook are numerous namely;
. 400 million users: The largest Social Media network.
. Can advertise to customers directly through your “Fan Page“.
. Fan Pages encourage interaction between your company and your customers, which in turn produces customer loyalty and satisfaction.
. The feedback is instant, compared to a long-term analysis of a traditional marketing campaign.
. Facebook provides a platform for you to create a new, modern, engaging outlook for your company. Create a good-looking page, optimizing the use of text, images and video to ensure that you acquire as many “fans“ as possible.
How can a business utilize the Facebook platform? – Business Fan pages
With the creation of a Fan Page a company gains the ability to improve the recognition of your brand directly with your desired target market on Facebook. When customers become a fan of your company (join your Fan Page), you can update them regularly with new products and new campaigns. Moreover, being able to offer them benefits (special offers) builds customer loyalty to your product and can encourage the “fans“ to invite their friends to join your page which helps expand the popularity of your company.
Here is an example of the Nike fanpage:
How can you make a fan page engaging? – Facebook Applications
When your Fan Page has been created you can upload Facebook applications (apps) to interact and advertise your product and service to your fans (customers). A Facebook application is a programme that delivers content or performs a specified function, for example there are fun apps such as the popular scrabble and farmville apps played by millions. For business purposes there are apps that can be created for your Fan Page which can really drive your Social Media Marketing into new and exciting directions.
Key apps to be deployed on your Fan Page are:
Poll:
This app is self-explanatory and provides an opportunity for your company to gain feedback from your fans on products and promotions. This invaluable feedback gives the impression to the customer that you care for their opinion and wish to involve them in your brand, whilst also providing vital information that helps organise your overall Marketing and company strategy.
Promotions:
This app will grab the attention of a customer that visits your page, by creating a promotion that will become an exciting incentive for them to become a fan of your page and invite their friends to do the same. In order to use this app you must create an account with the developer WildFire, but once the account has been created your company can follow a simple step-by-step process in determining the length of the promotion, the promotional gift that will be on offer, the rules and conditions of the promotion and so forth. However, using this app is not free, and to publish a promotional campaign through the WildFire app will cost $5, with an additional $0.99c for each day that the campaign lasts.
Video Content:
In order to increase the interactivity of your company’s Fan Page and make the page attractive to visit, it is necessary to provide some video output on your page. This venture can utilise more Social Media platforms than just Facebook, such as YouTube. The best way to place videos on your page is to take advantage of the “Youtube for Pages app“ which allows your most recently uploaded (or favourite) videos on your youtube channel to be displayed through your fan page so that the fan does not need to leave your page.
Don’t forget!
Keep updating content (either through videos, information entries, promotions, polls) to ensure that your Fan Page remains fresh and interesting to your fans. Search the millions of apps that are available on Facebook in order to configure the perfect Fan Page for your company.
Connect with JaxWorks today and their FaceBook Fan Page…Good luck!
The great thing about Twitter is that you can tweet from your mobile device and most people do. Twitter has seen an extreme amount of growth in the last year and more and more Twitter users are finding new ways to stay connected to Twitter 24/7. This means using our mobile devices to engage and participate on Twitter. Access via our mobile devices enables us to engage with others, even while we are out and about. All you need is your mobile phone and an application that allows you to tweet.
There are some individuals who prefer to tweet via SMS or using the mobile Twitter site and both of these are great mobile tweeting options, however others especially those new to Twitter prefer applications that are installed on their mobile devices.
There are many applications available, but today I’m going to focus on the most popular for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Palm.
iPhone
Twitterific – One of the most popular Twitter applications for the iPhone.
TwitterFon – A personal favorite of many because of it’s simplifed navigation that allow a user to jump from on area to another.
Blackberry
UberTwitter – Gaining in popularity, but many complain of the drain it has on the battery.
Twitterberry – Most popular application for Blackberry users.
Android
Twidroid – Most popular full-featured Twitter application for the Android phone.
When I’m talking to business owners and marketing directors about Twitter, I always here “I just don’t have the time.” Managing your social media takes time but there are many tools out there to make it easier. When I post to my blog, this blog will automatically go to FaceBook, Linked In, and Twitter. It’s great…I kill 3 birds (tweet?) with one stone!
If you can just commit 15 to 20 minutes to social media marketing, including using Twitter and Facebook you will begin to see the positive marketing impact it can have on your business.
Here are some tools that will make your life easier.
TweetDeck is your personal browser for staying in touch with what’s happening now, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and more.
With TweetDeck anyone can tweet like a Pro. Customize your Twitter experience with columns, groups, saved searches and automatic updates helping you to effortlessly stay updated with the people and topics you care about. See what people are saying about you and join the conversation by tweeting, sharing photos, videos or links directly from TweetDeck. We like to think of it as air traffic control for Twitter.
Connect with your Facebook and MySpace friends directly from TweetDeck by updating your status, posting photos or videos, commenting, liking and groups your friends to make it easier to follow only those you really want to see what your friends are doing by creating columns for each of your groups of friends.
It’s true business transactions are transpiring in the Twitterverse. Individuals and businesses are connecting every day on Twitter. The sale of a product or the scheduling of a service is not uncommon across the daily Twitterers. There are even companies finding that perfect job candidate on Twitter. Talk about amazing!
People are more and more using Twitter for business transactions, the sale of products, scheduling services, and finding candidates for jobs. Are you participating in Twitter for these opportunities? Nielsen reported that in a 12 month period from February 2008 to 2009 Twitter grew their unique visitors by 1,382%. This brought their user base to 7 million, so let’s put this in perspective. There are 7 million people out there that you could be prospecting to. Interested? I knew you would be, so how do you start finding those prospects that have an interest in your products or services?
First of all, don’t offend and lose prospects.
1. Be willing to give other people information and knowledge in your area of expertise. Provide information that they can use while maintaining your personality and unique persona. Just don’t give them fluff: put meaningful information out there that they can really use. Solve problems, answer questions…you get the idea!
2. Don’t spend all your time promoting your products or services. That is annoying and unattractive to followers. At best they will ignore you, at worst they will “unfollow” you.
3. Once you say something, it’s out there for everyone to see, so be sure you use common sense when tweeting. You don’t want to say anything derogatory or inappropriate about anyone. This also turns people off and they will not consider buying your products or services.
4. Don’t repeat the same message over and over again. Give your followers new and informative information…don’t spam them!
5. All social media is about interaction, not about plugging your business or self promotion. Interact and form a relationship with our friends, customer, colleagues, and prospects. Treat them like you would treat a friend!
So, now that we know how to act, how do we find prospects?
That’s it…now get out there and Tweet!
Twitter Search
I’ve taken so long to get all these Twitter posts out and I apologize but let’s look at how to use social media in your marketing strategy. There are so many companies, and when I say companies, I mean both the large companies as well as the soloprenuer out there that are beginning to think social media marketing is about getting rich quick, or it’s the quick fix to small marketing budgets that will pull them through the recession with little or no effort.
To tell the truth, social media is about interaction, not hustling clients! When you interact, you create relationships; when you create these relationships, you create opportunities to share your products and services. This doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, consistency, and a genuine interest in the creation and nurturing of those relationships. If you aren’t willing to do that, then hire a consultant that will do it for you!
No matter what industry you are in, do it badly and you will destroy your reputation within the social media realm. You can save your reputation by minding your manners.
Social Media Marketing No-Nos
It’s not all about you and your business, so interact with others. Get to know others; don’t just try to sell and promote your products. It won’t work.
Spamming is not ok, ever. It’s true that spamming is becoming a problem in the social media networks, and we are being required to weed through it, just like we do in our email inboxes. Don’t spam followers; if they didn’t ask for it, don’t send it. It’s that simple! Permission marketing is key.
Inconsistency will lead to failure. You must be consistent when it comes to using social media. Participating once a month or once a week just won’t get the results you desire.
Want followers? You will have to be a follower. Just like you can’t open a storefront and think that customers will just show up, you cannot sign up and start off in social media thinking everyone is just going to come and follow you. You must be a follower. Social marketing isn’t about flying solo, participate.
It’s important to realize that social media marketing does work, but as with any marketing strategy, but you must find the right social media marketing vehicles that will work for you and your industry, as well as design the campaigns that will present you with the results that you desire. If you’re B2C, FaceBook is a great option. If you’re B2B, you may rather spend more time on Linked In. There are a lot of different things you can do to market and you have to find the right fit! Social media marketing is a low to no-cost marketing option, but you will need to invest your time. If you are not willing to do that, consider selecting another marketing option or have a company do your social media marketing. They can then create and implement your social media marketing strategy. If you decide to outsource, just be sure to select a company or a consultant that has an idea of what they are doing
Good luck in your endeavors and I’ll attempt to get these blog posts out more often. Thanks for reading and if you liked this post, please see below and share it with your friends!
Ever heard of Twitter hashtags? A hashtag is used to unite specific tweets about particular topics. It’s a way of organizing or grouping tweets together.
What does a hashtag look like?
It’s the tweets you see that contain the “#” symbol plus a topic or word.
An example that comes to mind is this evening, while watching Fox News, many people gathered together and united their post by including the hashtag #foxandfriends. This enabled the hashtags to be searched and allowed Twitter users to follow the conversation of others on Twitter regarding the popular news show. The same was true during the last presidential election.
Twitter Day 6!!
Twitter Hashtag Resources
If you are interested in what topics are being talked about on Twitter, there are a few resources you can visit to gauge trending topics that are being discussed. These sites include:
Hashtags.org is an extremely valuable resource when it comes to researching popular trends on Twitter. It provides you with information on how many messages were sent regarding a specific hashtag and within what time frame.
Twemes
Twemes is another popular site, because it provides you with information on what themes are floating across the Twitter cyberwaves. I’ve also found the RSS Feed feature to be extremely helpful when I want to follow a specific hashtag.
Wthashtag
Trying to find information on the history of a hashtag? Would you like more information about a particular hashtag on Twitter? Wthashtag is the place to go. It is a wiki tool that is generated by users that explains what a hashtag means, how you can use it, when it was first discovered, and a live stream of that hashtag. This is a great resource if you are doing research into specific hashtags.
Why Use Hashtags?
Hashtags can be useful when you want to create as well as monitor visibility on Twitter. This can be extremely beneficial when monitoring your company or your products. They can be used to categorize your Tweets according to topic or purpose.
Simply put, hashtags are a great way to organize Tweets and allow others to follow specific topics or events. Once you learn how to use them, you will wonder how you ever Tweeted without them.
Twitter Day 5!!!
Finally, day 5 – months later! Sorry this has taken so long,
Should we consider Twitter to be a marketing tool or is it just for people who have a lot of time on their hands and the need to fill their day?
Think of Twitter as a means to get instant public messages out to your audience, whether it is an audience of colleagues or potential customers.Twitter is becoming an increasingly important platform for online communication. TechCrunch reported that Twitter is receiving 8 million unique visitors per month and about 3 million messages are posted daily.
How can we use Twitter as a marketing tool?
Twitter As A Learning Tool
If over 3 million messages are posted everyday, are you mentioned in any of them? What about your company? This might be a good time to find out. Twitter provides a search engine that allows you plug-in company names, brand names, topics and even personal names. How is your buzz level? You can also find out the buzz level of other companies which whom you want to do business.
Today, I found out that a phone carrier made a customer unhappy and he Twittered about it. I learned that Weather Underground has some really cool iPhone applications and that the cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory is heavenly! All that was posted today! So, whether you are engaging on and participating in Twitter or not, someone may be twitting about you.
Use Twitter as a Bullhorn!
You can use Twitter to post news or updates about your company or products. Think of what’s valuable to your consumers and let them hear about it. You’ll be amazed how your following will grow.
Promote You
It’s not uncommon for companies to post promotions, sales, or specials on Twitter. It’s important to remember that Twitter is about conversation and breaking news, so be sure if you are posting promotional information that you make it conversational and personal. If I want an ad, I’ll look for one!
Create Brand Name
Twitter is a fantastic tool in giving your brand a voice and a personality. Being successful in Twittering, you will have to put forth your personality and a unique style. That’s what makes the difference and can increase your Twitter following and make it a successful marketing tool for you.
Let’s Tweet, shall we. Come follow me by visiting my Twitter profile!
Twitter can be a great way to promote you, your brand or your company. People and businesses use Twitter as a way to connect with fans and promote themselves to millions of people.
But how do you build up a Twitter following? These simple tips will help you get started.
Follow People. The number one way to gain followers is to follow people. Many Twitter users follow anyone that follows them, while others check to see if the profile is active before deciding to follow it. You can find interesting people to follow by doing a Twitter search. You can also find people on Twellow, a twitter yellowpages, by their businesses or region.
Be Active. Post messages daily or several times a day and make sure what you have to say is interesting and engages people. If you’re a business, talk about interesting things in your business. For example, if you are a restaurant, you could talk about the entertainment. Ask questions, post interesting tidbits, follow other people’s discussions, anything to keep you friends and customers engaged. There are ways to set up tweets for several days at a time. Check out 10 Best Twitter Tools, Plugins, Widgets for WordPress blogs to see some of the automatic tweeting sites. Also, something interesting is automatic posting of Google Alerts to Twitter as a way to gain targeted Twitter followers.
Promote your Profile. Add a link to your Twitter profile to your blog, website and as part of your signature in email messages and discussion forums.
Retweet. When someone tweets something of interest, retweet it. This is a great way to honor someone else’s great information and get it out there in the twittersphere!
Participate in Follow Friday. The Twitter community has many different customs, one of which is Follow Friday, whereby users call out some of their favorite people to follow.
Twitter is sometimes hard to navigate if you are new to it and don’t know the lingo! Here are some terms you may want to be familiar with when “Tweeting”:
10 Days of Twitter!
Tweet – A twitter post or update – this is known as a tweet.
@ – The @ sign is a way of referring to others on Twitter. You can use the @ sign to send a public message to someone or to refer to or talk about someone else in a tweet.. The @ is useful in helping you find those that are talking about you. For example @JaxWorksSEO means someone is talking to me or about me.
Retweet – Retweet means sharing a Tweet of one user with your followers. Proper etiquette is to use the retweet feature when sharing someone else’s tweet rather than to just post it as your own tweet. A Retweet looks like this RT @JaxWorksSEO.”
Reply – A reply is when you respond to someone’s tweet. It looks like this @JaxWorksSEO. For example you could say “@JaxWorksSEO I’m reading your 10 Days of Twitter blog” and that would be a tweet that is a message to me that I would see.
Direct Message – A direct message is different than a reply because it is private. You can only send a direct message to someone if they are following you. A direct message looks like this: DM JaxWorksSEO.
Hashtags or # – This is the most common term that people get confused by. Hashtags are words that begin with the number sign and represent a topic or an event. You can learn more about hashtags at Hashtags.org.
Follower – A follower is someone that follows you on Twitter. This does not have to be a reciprocated relationship – a person can follow you without you following them. However, it’s best if you follow your followers back, this way you can both engage with one another.
Blocking – Blocking is when you block a user and they are unable to follow you. You will also no longer see their tweets in your Twitter stream. This is different than unfollowing. When you unfollow someone, it means that they can still follow you, but you are not following them.
Un-following – Unfollow means that are not longer following a user on Twitter. They, however, can still follow you.
Tweeple, Tweeps, Twits, Twerson, Twitterai – These are people who are known as people, members and users of Twitter.Twitterverse – The ever-growing universe of twitter.
That’s it for now – have fun tweeting!
It only takes a few minutes to create your Twitter account so let’s get started! The most common question is often: “Do I name my Twitter account under my brand or my personal name?” This is something you need to think about before you begin, but I do discourage you from having more than one Twitter account to manage. This can get complicated and often difficult to keep going in a meaningful way. Only create Twitter accounts that you will have the time to manage, which means actively engaging in. The last thing you want is for someone to find a Twitter account either under your name or brand that is not active.
Follow JaxWorks!
Here are the steps to start tweeting!
