Social Media Marketing: 4 Reasons To Launch Your Social Web Campaign Now!

Social media marketing is the hottest “business reality-show” that’s generating leads for businesses of all sizes. As every business owner knows, leads are the lifeblood of their companies. Getting a consistent flow of profitable leads today is hard.

At a time when customers use social networking to search, discuss and explore new ideas and opportunities, “Companies have no choice. This is where their customers are going,” reported USA Today on August 27, 2009.

Advice on how to implement various social media marketing opportunities like Facebook, Twitter, Delicious and others abound. However, like any media campaign, you need to make sure your social media program is strategic, measurable and encompasses the entire spectrum’s of opportunities that are right for your business.

Four key reasons social marketing will lift your business prospects are:

• You can easily dominate your market at little to no cost. Because social media marketing is SEO on steroids, it has the ability to reach across all the important places for your niche on the Internet.

• Using the right content distribution and management strategy will get you a consistent flow of quality leads.

• You have control and can literally get started within hours if you want. Even better, you don’t need to go through a sales rep or purchase process.

• You can leverage expertise and become an authority in your niche with “followers” in social media groups. You business will be the “first call” when customers want to learn about products and services in your niche.

Bill Bean, president of Green Planning & Coaching noticed right away how adopting social marketing, “changed my approach to marketing completely! I had a website for 2-1/2 years that never brought in a single lead because I had no mechanism to collect email addresses of visitors, no analytics and no promotion through social media. I just launched my new website—and I already have prospects signing up for my newsletter. Amazingly, I’m also already getting responses to blog postings on LinkedIn and other green community sites I learned to participate in.”

Never in the history of consumer selling have companies, from one-person shops to multi-national corporations, been handed such an effective, low-cost opportunity to carry out promotional efforts. Learn how to leverage this effective new tool for your business or you will soon be left behind.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to GenNext Media LLC. today.

Social Media Training and Analysis: Social Marketing Success in Only Two Easy Steps

Proper business marketing requires having a system for your content development and proper keyword use. Read below for some valuable tips.

Content Development

If you want a successful small business, you will need to have a set of certain marketing strategies in place. The first part of your marketing plan should focus on content development. Is it fresh and relevant to what people are looking for today? There are sources you can check, like Twitter and Twitturly.com in order to find out the latest trends charted for the day. Use these sources to incorporate imperative information into your content. It is important to follow the trends so that you are always on the forefront of what people are searching for. Are you offering something for free? Use your social media tools to give away such things like free information and reports, or coupons and special discounts. Items like these are great at grabbing the user’s attention, building your credibility, and leading to a sale.

When you are distributing your content on the web, the first thing to take note of is that your copy is search engine optimized. Your content needs to be written in a very specific manner so that Google can easily find your relevant article when keywords are typed into the search engines. When the keywords are strategically placed, your content will be among the top of the list and ensuring you more website traffic.

It should be noted that this web marketing strategy can be abused and therefore, work against you. Search engines are more advanced than they were several years ago, and merely stuffing the content with your keywords in inappropriate places will not get you more website traffic. The spiders that search for relevant content are able to find informative and well written articles while sifting out the ones that are simply packed with keywords but provide no substantial information.

Keywords

If you are looking for the right keywords to add into your content, you first need to do some research. Do a search to find out what other web surfers are using in order to find information on your page. This also works for phrases you want to include in your content. When you collect a list of relevant keywords, you can then implement them into your copy. Take note that they need to go in specific places: title, teaser, subheads, and sprinkled throughout the meat of the content. However, be careful not to go overboard on the density and get banned as a spammer. You need to make sure the keywords fit seamlessly into the copy without compromising the integrity of the information.

This system of online marketing is incredibly solid. If you follow these steps and develop a system that works for you, you will be able to manipulate the social media tools to work to your greatest advantage. It requires research and skillful writing, but when done correctly will increase your internet visibility and thus get your more traffic to your site.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to GenNext Media LLC. today.

Internet Marketing For Small Business: Don’t Be Left Behind With Your Traditional Marketing Strategy

Attention Small Businesses: The old way of doing marketing doesn’t work anymore. Still relying on ‘advertising’? You’re sunk – unless you learn the new way of reaching your market.

Imagine a 28 year old starts a business competing in your market. You spent years building a brand and reputation in your community. One day, you realize it is all taken away by this person who became an “authority” overnight. This is going to play out with businesses all across the country over the next few years. So what can you do to stay relevant?

Some business marketing tips just aren’t all that successful anymore. What worked for Internet Marketing for small business a few years ago is not necessarily what is going to pull in the customers and the profits in today’s social media-dominated environment. In order to stay in tune with your niche and prospective customers, it is important remain current with your efforts—from marketing communications to brand strategies. Rather than allowing your competition to pass you by, you can update your marketing strategy and keep your business relevant.

The new, effective marketing for small business is a shift in focus from “advertising” to “engaging.” What this means is that you are getting in the middle of discussions that are happening on the social web, building relationships and attracting customers—not because you have the best ad, but because you are offering valuable information to these conversations.

You may hear reference to the “distributed web.” This is related to the fact that people are going to search engines like Google and Yahoo and even YouTube to find solutions to their problems. As customers become savvier, they are beginning to see banner ads and other forms of advertising as gimmicky and even scammy.

In fact, consumer studies show that 78 percent of customers value peer recommendations versus a small 14 percent who trust advertisements. A move away from this type of marketing to a more social method is your ticket to staying relevant and competing with the big dogs in your niche.

Because of this change in the online environment, you will see greater results for your small business if you focus on meeting these customers where they are. Utilizing content distribution and affiliate marketing are two simple and relatively easy ways to connect with your ideal customers and convert them into buyers.

How content distribution works

Content distribution is creating keyword-rich articles, audios and/or videos to provide quality content for customers and then distributing around the web in key places where your customers will be seeking information. The reason for the key-rich content is because search engine spiders are crawling around the web trying to find content that contains certain keywords.

You can find the best keywords for your business by utilizing free web tools, such as Google’s Keyword Tool, finding out what keywords your competitors are targeting and what your customers are plugging into the search engines. Once you have a keyword and phrase list, you place them into your titles, headings, tags and content and distribute them to a number of free article directories online. This is how you become a search engine spider magnet.

The search engines will find your content, place it into the search engine results, and the customers will eat-up the quality info you provide. Once you have established yourself as someone who knows your topic, the customers will then come to your business when they need a solution to a problem.

How to utilize affiliate marketing

What if you had dozens of people who knew your business and wanted to share it with others? This is basically every small business owners dream. Affiliate marketing can make it happen. Marketing 101 tells us that word of mouth is the number one best marketing method, and affiliate marketing is where it’s at.

Because people are more likely to trust recommendations over advertising, affiliate marketing is becoming one of the most effective methods for pulling in customers. The typical affiliate marketing program is based on the business owner paying affiliates who refer a paying customer to the business. Rather than having to pay people up-front for marketing on your behalf, you only pay when the customer makes a purchase. This is ideal for small business owners who typically do not have a lot of money to invest in marketing.

To ensure you have quality affiliates who will spread your message as effectively as possible, you can offer trainings and reports to keep them connected with your business. Furthermore, by doing this, you are creating loyalty and trust with your affiliates who will in turn do a better job marketing for you.

Is it possible to have free internet marketing? With content distribution and affiliate marketing it is. Thanks to a plethora of no-cost article directories at your fingertips and affiliates you only pay once you’ve made a sale, you can create a free internet marketing strategy that works.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to GenNext Media LLC. today.

Business Marketing: How to get More Clients and Bigger Profits Using New Technology and Applications

Good news for the internet newbie: To the swift go the spoils. Master social marketing, and you’ll dominate your niche.

Entrepreneur hopefuls who are seeking for ways to succeed in online business may finally have a more level playing field thanks to social media. Reduced costs involved with social marketing and the ability to interact with customers easily through new technology and social media applications, make it possible for newbies to jump in and quickly become a trusted authority in a certain niche. This translates to more customers and increased profits in less time.

There was once a time when new business owners had to fight their way to the top and take a beating from competitors, but social media has changed all of that. It is a new game now, and if you can learn the ins and outs of successful social marketing, you can dominate your market.

Attract and convert customers

One word can describe the best philosophy for getting clients: relationship. If you can connect with your prospective customers, engage them and create loyalty, you are in an excellent position to convert prospects into paying customers.

But how do you build these valuable relationships? The answer is to go where your customers are. Use simple online research to identify a number of social media sites where your customers hang out. Search for forums, message boards, blogs and social networks where these people are asking questions, posting reviews and building relationships. Once you have found these sites, join in on the discussions. By posting thoughtful questions and valuable information to help others, you can become a part of the community.

It only takes a handful of quality communications with a group to become a valued member. When you become known as the person who brings something worthwhile to the table, you begin to establish yourself as a person of authority on the topic or niche. Then, and only then, can you begin to share your business subtly—through a signature link or a product mention.

Rather than approaching these social communities from a seller’s perspective, you approach them from a relationship perspective, which allows you to earn the right to present your products and services in time.

Create bigger profits

In order to increase your business profits, it is important to get past the mind-set of doing anything and everything for one sale. Instead, your focus should be on the repeat customer. After all, it takes a lot of effort, communication and sometimes money to convert that one customer, so why not make it worth your while?

The way to maintain the connection with the customer is to communicate continually. Consider sending out a monthly e-newsletter to stay in touch with customers in order to keep you fresh in their minds. That way, when they think of something they need, they will come to you instead of the competitor.

Make your marketing communications more than just a sell message. Offer something of value—a whitepaper, special report, e-book or video—to build rapport with your customer list. By sharing with customers information they desire, you are further solidifying yourself as the authority on the subject in their minds. This way, they click on your link and visit your site when they are looking for solutions.

Business marketing is so much more than it used to be. Rather than pumping money into ads that may or may not work, social media technology and applications now provide you with low-cost methods that in many cases are far more effective in reaching customers and increasing business profits.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to http://www.gennextmedia.com today.

Lead Generation: Social Media Marketing Makes It Affordable!

Small companies seeking the competitive advantage to tower above competition now have an incomparable marketing tool for lead generation business techniques with low-cost social-site marketing.

How does it work?

Let’s say you’re a green builder. When you share good advice in an article or upload videos on your weblog demonstrating how to use repurposed materials for contemporary design, homeowners looking for ecologically sound innovations will take note.

Before long, your info-packed videos and articles draw hoards of homeowners because your innovations make sense in avoiding enviro-waste, while lowering home remodeling costs.

When you tie this in with the comparative advantages of harnessing solar, wind and geothermal resources, you take a further step in comparing them to conventional housing costs over time—and convince your audiences how affordable green living is, especially in a recession.

Your blogging will clearly:

• Present cost-effective solutions calculated over the long haul

• Offer alternative comparisons to overcome misperceptions

• Integrate innovative ideas—home maintenance energy tips that are low-cost, xeriscaped landscaping, etc.

• Invite skeptics to comment with witty point-counterpoint ideas. You’ll find, too, that is a great strategy to start discussions on your weblog by inviting comments from other points of view

By blogging your expertise, you fulfill the three primary requirements to brand your green marketing leadership in your niche:

1. Unique service and products

2. Consistently delivering excellence to satisfied homeowners

3. Communicating an ongoing presence in the community.

That’s all it takes to get started—a simple social media marketing strategy using business blogging and social networking with groups such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Social linking makes communication instantaneous and fun hanging out, while generating mega leads that are ongoing—all at the same time. Are you also into saving money and time? Then, start blogging!

Lead Generation Business: Sing, Ping & Ding with Social Marketing!

Lead generation business is big time Internet marketing for small businesses today. It’s a simple 3-step flow to: 1) sing, 2) ping and 3) ding! your way to increased visibility that promote leads.

1) Sing your company’s praises with happy customer testimonials on your website. Nothing beats converting leads to actual sales by using satisfied word-of-mouth referrals. Yet, this alone would not be effective in generating leads if no one came to visit your website.

How to get visitors to your website? Luckily, small business owners can now easily and affordably set up a blog using WordPress, Typepad, Blogger and other web services.

Once your blog is up and running, you start blogging or writing smart, useful and fun articles that show the breadth and depth of your expertise. Of course, you’d include links on your articles back to your website—and that’s how online surfers get to visit your domain.

Yet, that’s still not enough to get the mega hits you’d like to end up prospecting with. So, you’ll want to join social groups such as Facebook and LinkedIn (the leading social site for professionals and businesses) and the new kid, Twitter, with its 140-character microblogging “tweets” or posts.

Once you start telling friends and followers on your social sites about your posts, and they find your suggestions extremely helpful and they’ll start referring your posts to friends in their other sub-groups. Before long, your snappy posts have garnered you followers, legions of whom are keen to hear what you have to say with your updates.

So there you are—star of your own blogging show. A “pro celebrity” in your own right, effortlessly sending scores of visitors to your website, based on writing your heart out in your blog posts (also called articles).

They say love of doing what you enjoy doing eventually pays for itself, and this is clearly where singing your songs of expertise and authority will gain praise for your main website, as well, and generating leads.

2) Ping! As you keep up writing your articles, keep in mind you’re building up an archive of relevant pieces you can repurpose later on. Such as seasonal fall and spring tips for home maintenance. Such as seasonal holiday goodies your catering service never fails to surprise—from golden orbs of chocolate persimmons to frosted amaretto snicker doodles.

Each time you submit an article for publication on WordPress, it’s automatically “pinged” to search engines. And less your articles get to the bottom of the slush pile, be sure to sprinkle them with a light dusting of SEO keywords.

For example, it’s important to use SEO primary keywords in the title and first paragraph. Sprinkle in a few longtail (lower-ranked keywords) SEOs in the body of your article. That’s how search spiders will locate and index your article. The more you write, the more you’ll be noticed.

3) Ding! Statistics reinforce how potent this form of viral communication and info-sharing is:

• 79% of American adults used the Internet in 2009, up from 67% in Feb. 2005 (source: Pew Internet & American Life Project; October 8, 2009)

• 300 million Facebook members use 300,000 servers, and Facebook is on tap to add another 300,000!

You get the idea. Small business marketing strategies jumping on this new wave of online social media because it’s low-cost, easy to control for out-going content and most of all fun to implement and are head and shoulders ahead of competition in generating leads.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to http://www.gennextmedia.com today.

Business Marketing: Where Content is King and Collaboration is Key

Business marketing using social media networking places companies at a distinct advantage over competition. How’s that? Well, this marketing approach wastes no time and money in getting right to the heart of what customers want. Answers to questions they have in places like blogs, forums, search engines and product review sites.

Yes, you read right. Free marketing by answering the questions your target customers have in the places they like to hang out in online. They are discussing and commenting on their problems and possible solutions in niche communities all over the web. You have an incredible opportunity to be the company or person that is there when they need you most.

Where Content is King …

The win-win marketing connection is—real-life focus group activity on a massive global scale that reveals highly targeted information consumers are looking for. The goal is to become the trusted source of information. This is much more powerful than advertising.

The key is to determine what SEO keywords and phrases to use for your blog posts, articles, videos and other media you distribute in these social community sites.

Next, determine how to write your articles so they answer issues people are looking to solve and also satisfy shopping needs they’re trying to fill.

… and Collaboration is Key

Here’s how you hang out, Internet-style:

• Join social-site sub-groups that reflect your interests

• Chime in with good ideas, comment with your opinion, provide a sound analysis of the problem situation or simply organize disparate info so it becomes coherent by providing a context for further discussion by group members.

• Or, ask outright, “Who’s doing social marketing? I am, and I’m looking to interview anyone who’s interested for my blog.”

I tried out my strategy. Lo and behold, Michael Licamele, VP Marketing for TotalMortgage.com responded. We got to chatting. The upshot? We’re going to team up and write a book on how social media is a great business marketing tool for real estate!

My partnering with Michael underscores an important cog in online marketing—collaboration is key. Collaboration makes it all work out in a highly targeted and interconnected global arena. Why? Because generating business leads is all about building good relationships.

There’s lots more business marketing tools for starting an online marketing company. You never know what you’ll discover, until you start trying different tactics.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to http://www.gennextmedia.com today.

Social Marketing Campaigns: 3 Secrets To Success With The Social Web

Social marketing campaigns are all the rage these days. Why? Generating cost effective, qualified business leads is tough in this economy and with media changing so rapidly.

Whether your business is service-oriented (such as accounting, legal, architecture, business coaching, executive recruiter) or a retail store (specialty coffee, health food store, wine store), you have a huge new opportunity to compete with any size business in any market. Social media marketing is effective, and for the most part, free.

Business marketing strategies have never been more affordable and cost-effective than with today’s technology and new web 2.0 applications, like social media.

Many small businesses are experimenting with social media marketing, but do not implement a strategic approach to a campaign. Many are flailing from one new tactic to the other based on the “flavor of the day”.

3 SECRETS to success that we know work are:

Secret #1. Become an expert in your niche.

Participate in communities that have your target prospects and add value to the discussion with your unique insights and knowledge. Use content that you create and give it away, free, to people who are looking for solutions your company provides.

Secret #2. Create a solid keyword strategy and USP.

Also, make sure you thread that through the various levels of your distributed content and the social web. You need to be aimed at “owning” the right market. You also need to leverage your strategy across all your social media efforts to nets your linking strategy across pages, articles, PR and your website.

Secret #3. Social media marketing needs to be implemented as a comprehensive strategy.

All the pieces work together to combine into a powerful marketing program that is part SEO on steroids and part huge reach lead generation.

The key is having a systematic approach to providing valuable information and ideas to the right communities across the web. So, rather than interrupting customers in their tracks and trying to get attention, your targeted social web content will be considered helpful and put you and your business in an authoritative position with customers.

This is the primary “secret” to successful social media marketing—providing valuable free info to position article writers as authorities. You’re also in total control of creating your own authentic content. On the obverse side, giving people a “freebie” actually enhances cultivating trust, to enable easier and faster sales conversions down the line.

Take the time to develop a social media marketing strategy for your business today. Winners and losers in the “new normal” will be dependant on a company’s ability to adapt to these new marketing opportunities.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to: http://www.gennextmedia.com today.

Marketing Promotions with Social Media: 5 Steps to making your promotion a social success

Good news: The herd of global Internet users is up to 1.5 billion. Bad news: If you don’t market to them in a way that seems slimy, they’ll stampede to get away from you. Read on to find out how to win their trust and loyalty.

With a reported 1.5 billion online users it is clear that the Internet is the place to be for business owners. More specifically, social media has emerged as the place where businesses are experiencing unprecedented connections with and responses from customers who want to be able to know and trust a company before handing over their hard-earned money.

To keep up with competition, it’s essential to tap into social media with your Online Marketing and Advertising promotions, but it must be done in a way that is appealing to customers, so you don’t come off has just another slimy salesperson.

Below are 5 steps to making your promotion a social success:

1. Ensure you know your niche and customers by conducting research. You want to make sure you are putting your time and energy into the right audience. Being able to identify your ideal customers and know where they frequent online helps you to get started on the right foot with your promotions. It is not going to be helpful to your business or your reputation to hit the wrong target market with your message. Instead, take the time to answer these questions: What customer problem am I solving? Who are my customers? Where do my customers look for information online? Listen to what your customers are saying and gain insights for keywords and phrases you can use to position your brand. By paying attention to customer discussions around the social web, you can also get excellent ideas for new products you can offer.
2. Build your credibility before attempting to sell. If you are excited about your product, you probably want to go to every social networking site available to spread the word, but it is almost guaranteed you will turn-off more customers than you will attract with this marketing method. You build your credibility by joining social sites and becoming a valued community member. This doesn’t take as long as you may think. By taking the time to answer some questions thoughtfully or start some meaningful discussions, you can quickly earn the respect of others on the site. Then, you will able to subtly recommend your products or services and sneak in a link!
3. Reveal your true self. Because the Internet has become such a social world, it makes sense that now is the time to let people in on your story. Let your personality shine through as you connect with others on various social media sites. In addition, you want to continue this theme with your business website and marketing communications. People want to purchase products and services from real people they can trust. So go ahead and get personal, sharing a little bit of your heart and soul. A passion for your business and what you do can be a major selling point.
4. Gear all of your marketing promotions toward the customer’s “what’s in it for me” mentality. A very common mistake business owners make is to spend all of their marketing efforts spreading the word about how awesome they are and how amazing their business is. Big mistake! People don’t want to know about YOU; they want to know what’s in it for them. How are you going to solve their problems? How are you going to meet their needs?
5. Keep it professional. While you definitely want to be a real person with whom customers can connect, it is important to maintain professionalism at all times. So, in other words, keep it clean, polite, and honest, and you can go a long way. You will also want to make sure your website is in great shape, so when the customers start coming (and they will because you have been working the social media!), they will find your site easily accessible and containing the information they are seeking.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to http://www.gennextmedia.com today.

Marketing Communications: Changes in technology, customer behavior and the economy will create winners and losers

Online marketing has been called a paradigm shift for business. Whether you’re an early adopter, or being dragged kicking and screaming, winning online depends on understanding what’s happening NOW.

It is no secret that the Internet and related new technology has changed the face of marketing communications. Much like the inception of radio and television affected business communications years ago, the Internet is turning marketing methods of the past on their heads and recreating the environmental landscape of buying and selling. History has shown there will be winners and losers in the midst of these changes, but you can stay on top by making sure your Online Marketing and Advertising efforts are current and applicable to today’s customer.

What is happening NOW in marketing communications?

Search engine optimization, video, social media, audio and RSS are just a few of the terms that are becoming an integral part of relevant marketing strategies. A shift in customer thinking and behavior has required business owners to leave behind old advertising methods and learn how to use these aforementioned tools to reach customers.

While ten years ago a banner ad may have pulled in the customers, today many customers will immediately view the ad skeptically. Replacing traditional advertising are customer recommendations and word-of-mouth through blogs, message boards and other forums.

In a way, this takes some of the financial pressure off of your shoulders, which is a relief in today’s fragile economic times. You don’t have to have deep pockets or break your revised budgets to purchase the big ads and flashy marketing in order to compete. Instead, you must know your niche well enough to provide the quality information customers are seeking. You also must learn where your customers are hanging out online, so you can join in their communities and discussions. We are transitioning to a new profession that takes dedication, insight, authenticity and smarts to succeed.

How can you become a marketing communications winner?

No business owner or brand manager wants to lose out on customers just because the world of advertising and marketing is changing. Good news–you don’t have to! In fact, you can thrive and see your business go to new levels if you implement an effective strategy that works in today’s market.

Below are three simple tips to help you find your way to success:

• Research in order to know your niche, your customers, your competitors and your keywords. Your research goal is to become an expert on not only your business niche but also your customers. You want to know who they are, where they go online and what words they plug into the search engines. Free search engines and keyword tools (such as the Google Keyword Tool) make this step simple.
• Get comfortable with the idea of using social media. If you want to connect with customers, you are going to have to tap into social media. By participating in blogs, networking sites and other online communities, you can work with your prospective customers on their level. These relationships can turn into dollar signs.
• Offer something of value to potential customers. Once you have made a connection with people online, you want to make sure you keep them engaged by offering them quality information and solutions to their problems. Doing this helps you to build rapport and trust as well as keep you in the fore-front of their minds when they are ready to buy.

Chris Marentis is a serial entrepreneur and recognized Internet Marketing expert having served as SVP at AOL and CEO of Clearspring Technologies. For more information on Online Marketing and Advertising, go to http://www.gennextmedia.com today.

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