Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Internet marketing –your key to online business success

In the recent few years internet marketing has matured from the buzzword to the byword of online business community. Internet marketing has brushed aside the conventional marketing tips and tricks and maneuvered businesses to get customers galore.

As it’s apparent from the phrase itself ‘internet marketing’ means leveraging the benefits of internet to promote and sell one’s product online. However, in this course of promotion it’s necessary to increase website’s overall visibility on the internet.

It is unreasonable to define internet marketing in a couple of words as it means different things to different people. In essence, internet marketing is a much broader domain that entails various other marketing models.

Experts categorize internet marketing into six primary sectors i.e. search engine marketing, search engine optimization, link popularity and link building, content development or copywriting, directory submission and website submission on the search engines. Other features that can be leveraged for successful internet marketing are PPC an acronym for pay-per-click and e-mail blasting.

Thus, internet marketing is a multidimensional concept that with the ingenious unison of aforesaid components can do wonders. Internet marketing entwines the creative intellect (like copywriting, designing) and technical expertise ( SEO and Link building) that facilitates business’s overall growth on online media. In a nutshell it builds and promotes the services/products online.

Copywriting can be rightly termed as the essence of internet marketing. It is the most essential tool at the end of marketers that propels customer’s buying action. While the importance of other components cannot be denied, copywriting remains the lifeline of internet marketing.

So once your site is live on the web, with results driven internet marketing methods placed strategically, the success is on the cards. Thus the bottom-line remains, if you want to mark a global footprint, internet marketing is your mantra to quick success.

Monday, August 3, 2009

State Websites Failing To Provide Details On Stimulus

While some states have created solid websites to provide information about their portion of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), most are failing to effectively educate taxpayers about the impact of economic stimulus spending, according to a report from Good Jobs First, an economic development research group.

"Many states are failing to support President Obama's vow that the Recovery Act will be carried out with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability," said Good Jobs First executive director Greg LeRoy.

"By failing to use broadly available web tools, they are making it more difficult to measure the success of ARRA in mitigating the effects of the recession."

The report evaluated the general ARRA websites that all states have created and graded them on transparency on a scale of 0 to 100.
Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First, Executive Director
Greg LeRoy
Good Jobs First
Executive Director

Six states score 50 or better for their main ARRA site: Maryland (80), Colorado (68), Washington (63), West Virginia (60), New York (53) and Pennsylvania (50). Thirteen states score 50 or better for their highway reporting, led by Maryland (75), Washington (73), Colorado (65) and Nebraska (60). The average score for the ARRA websites is 28.

Five states that scored very low on providing specifics on how ARRA money is used include Alabama, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kentucky and Vermont. Illinois received a zero and only provided nation figures on its website and nothing on how much is being spent in the state.

"Given the Recovery Act's high profile, we expected better results, but most state ARRA sites simply do not measure up," said Philip Mattera, research director of Good Jobs First and principal author of the report.

"The challenge is not insurmountable," he added. "States such as Maryland, Colorado and Washington are doing a very good job in conveying vital information about stimulus spending and are leading the way in establishing best practices for state ARRA disclosure."

source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/07/30/state-websites-failing-to-provide-details-on-stimulus


Saturday, August 1, 2009

Generate MLM Leads Online

Network marketing has officially entered into the 21st century with most people finding qualified prospects and network marketing leads online. But how do you find these people that are eager to join your home-based business?

That’s the million-dollar question and the answer is simple. You have to find an online marketing system that works for you.

Most network marketers are told the same thing when they get started and that is to write a list of 100 or more names and to begin calling the people on that list to find new customers or new representatives. While this is a great strategy for getting started, the problem with it is the fact that most people run out of people within two weeks, leaving their pipeline high and dry. And the thought of speaking to strangers to add names to the list seems absolutely horrifying to most people.

source:http://moniques-home-based-business-tips.blogspot.com/2009/05/free-network-marketing-information.html

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Free Network Marketing Information-No Cost MLM Business Exposure

All of us desire to get exposure for our mlm business opportunity. Not only that, we want it to be effective and yet cost very little. Hmmm. How can we do that?

Thankfully, we have Tom, Big Al, Schreiter to help. Today's free network marketing post is about how to get no cost exposure for your business.

How to get no-cost exposure.

Want more prospects?

Create a riddle that is challenging and viral. For example, if you sold nutritional products, you could create a test like this:...

source: http://moniques-home-based-business-tips.blogspot.com/

Free Network Marketing Information-Get Endless MLM Referrals

Today's free network marketing information post hails from Tom, Big Al, Schreiter's "Big Al Report." The tip that he offers is so easy that ANYBODY can do it, even the shyest person!

Embarrassing, but you have to try.

A few days ago at dinner I was demonstrating how easy it was to get referrals. I pointed out that we would want to get some "blue" personalities, as they would lead us to more prospects quickly.

How do you find "blue" personalities?..........

source: http://daytoday-lifeschool.blogspot.com/


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Free Network Marketing Information-3 Ways to Generate Traffic to Your Site

Many who decide to put up a website and make a living online have the idea that traffic to their site will not be a problem. "If I build it, they will come." It seems to be a popular approach for a lot of webmasters.


The sad truth is that traffic doesn't just show up at your website without some planned, consistent effort on your part. They aren't knocking your front door down just because you have a fantastic looking website. This is true whether you are in mlm, direct sales, affiliate programs, etc. Today's free network marketing information tip covers 3 quick ways you can generate traffic to your site.


Someone once said: "Running a business without advertising, is like winking in the dark. You know what you are doing, but no one else does."


If you are needing more traffic to your site, here are three specific approaches that are guaranteed to work:


BUY SOME TRAFFIC-


One of the fastest ways to get some traffic is to buy it. Google AdWords is one of the better known and largest place for you to throw some money at this traffic issue........

source: http://moniques-home-based-business-tips.blogspot.com/2009/06/free-network-marketing-information-3.html

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Free Network Marketing Information-Stop Complaining!


Today's free network marketing information tip has to do with mindset instead of marketing. I believe that with the right mindset, marketing and sponsoring will naturally become easier!

I have to admit that I have fallen prey to some of these thoughts. The thing to do is to get rid of the thought as soon as it comes and get back to doing what you need to do to build your business.

Need help with this? Let's see what Tom, Big Al, Schreiter recommends!

This #!*@! business doesn't work!!!

My new distributor was complaining: "This #!*@! business doesn't work!!!"

And my new distributor was right. The business doesn't work.

So I had to tell the new distributor a story.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

You look for the best car for you, and you purchase the car.

Then, you never learned how to drive your car.

You never take driving lessons, you never go out driving with your parents, you never read the owner's manual. You don't know what the pedals are like on the floor or where to put the key into the ignition.

The only thing you did was a couple attempts at "trial and error." You yelled at your car and said, "Drive! Drive!" And your car didn't drive itself.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

So now you looked for a network marketing business that is good for you. You purchased the business and joined.

But you never learned how to make your business work.

The only thing you did was "trial and error." You said the wrong words to a few friends and two cold leads.

And your business didn't build itself. Your business didn't work.

* You didn't come to Saturday trainings.
* You didn't do three-way calls with your sponsor.
* You didn't listen to my training CDs.
* You didn't come with your sponsor when your sponsor went prospecting.
* You didn't learn how to give a "One-Minute Presentation."
* You didn't learn "SuperClosing" or any closing skill.
* You didn't learn about the "Colors" . . . the four different personalities and how to talk to them.
* You didn't learn any effective "Ice Breakers" or openings.
* You didn't learn how to get prospects to beg you for presentations.
* You didn't learn any effective first sentences.
* You didn't learn how prospects make decisions in their minds.
* You didn't learn how to get unlimited appointments.
* You didn't learn how to stop sounding like a sleazy salesman.
* You didn't learn any of the "sequences of words" to communicate directly with the prospects.
* You didn't learn how to use the differences between needs and wants.
* You didn't learn where and how to locate the best prospects.
* You didn't learn how to create prospects instantly on demand with effective sentences.
* You didn't learn the sequences of words top leaders use.
* You didn't learn how to open a presentation.
* You didn't learn how to build instant rapport with anyone.
* You didn't learn how to use word pictures.
* You didn't learn how to talk directly to the subconscious mind of the prospect.
* You didn't learn why prospects tell you "No" when they should be agreeing with you.
* You didn't learn the first things you must say to cold prospects.
* You didn't learn how to locate and create leaders.
* You didn't learn why goal-setting doesn't work.
* You didn't learn how to motivate people.
* You didn't learn how to get your prospects' unconscious minds to work for them.
* You didn't learn how to use stories to bypass the two mind filters of prospects.
* You didn't learn how to quickly capture your prospects' imagination and attention.
* You didn't learn how to



Friday, July 17, 2009

Free Network Marketing Information-How Men and Women Surf Online

I came across this great article about the difference in men and women and their online shopping habits.

As someone who is mlm, direct sales, affiliate marketing, etc., I thought this would be very useful info. So, this is what today's free network marketing information tip is all about!

Marketing Online - Men and Women Use the Internet Differently By Laura Lake, About.com

http://marketing.about.com/od/internetmarketingstrategy/a/genderdifferences.htm

When it comes to marketing online, you must understand your consumers. This means learning what they look for, and how they use the internet. This can help you grab their attention and get your marketing message in front of the right audience.

It's also important to realize that when it comes to online habits of men and women - they differ. I know, surprise! In the past there has been a lag with women when it came to the adoption of the internet, that is no longer the case. Truth is, studies show that women under the age of 65 are quicker to use the internet than men. As women we love to use the internet for research, where men prefer to use it as an entertainment tool. Do you see how this information can help?

When we review studies that have been done on the different ways that men and women use the internet, we can gain a greater deal of knowledge on how to position our products online.

Let's take a look at what a past study done by Pew Internet and American Life showed, while this study was done in 2005 I still believe much of the knowledge is applicable and can be used today.

Men are more likely to use the internet to:

  • Read the news
  • Buy travel services or make reservations
  • Check sports scores and gather sports information
  • Stay updated on political news
  • Participate in online auctions, such as ebay
  • Write content to publish online
  • Download music
  • Buy and sell stocks, bonds and mutual funds

A Forrester study done in 2007 also showed that on the average men tend to stay online longer and devote more time to online entertainment and researching technical gadgets.

Women use the internet to:

  • Get health information
  • Read spiritual and religious information
  • Gain access and participate in support group websites
    • A few other interesting statistics that were provided in a different study done by Burst Media in the beginning of 2009 stated the following:

      • 62.3% of women use the internet as their primary source for information on the products they were considering purchasing.
      • 51.7% of the women studied use the internet as the primary way to keep in touch with their families

      As you can see men go online to be entertained and hunt down information, where women tend to go online to gather information that assists them in nurturing, themselves and those around them. Clearly while both men and women generally spend allotments of time online, gender stereotypes are prevalent in what they do with their time online.

      Putting it to Use: Think about who your potential customer is online. Is the majority male or female? Can you see how this information can assist you in not only where but how to position your product or service in order to increase the conversions you gain online? How will you use this information in upcoming marketing campaigns?

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Free Network Marketing Information-Are You Using These Strategic Internet Marketing Tips?

Finding the Right Internet Marketing Mix

How much of your marketing strategy should be handled online, which Internet marketing elements you use, and the importance you should give to your website, depends on the nature of your business, your budget, and, to some extent, your personal traits. All of these considerations are part of strategic Internet marketing decisions that help develop Internet marketing strategies for a business.

Using Offline Elements with Internet Marketing Strategies

Unless you transact business only online, for example if you are an eBay reseller, you will probably want to include some traditional offline marketing elements in your overall marketing strategy in addition to the elements in your Internet strategy in your marketing mix. Even those who conduct business only online might consider placing traditional ads in newspapers or magazines to bring prospects to their website to transact business online. Perfect examples of including offline elements as part of Internet marketing strategies are Expedia, Travelocity and Monster.com. While they are online businesses, they invest heavily in traditional advertising, including radio and TV advertising, to draw traffic to their sites where the actual business is conducted.

Develop Internet Marketing Strategies You Like

If you have a personal distaste for "spam", which most of us do, you may not want to include email marketing in your strategic Internet marketing plan. However, email marketing doesn't have to mean just sending out unsolicited messages to every email address you can gather. If you include a visitor registration form on your website, for example, or if you exhibit at trade shows, you have the vehicles needed to collect email addresses of interested prospects. You might consider creating a newsletter and sending it to these prospects on a regular basis as part of your strategic Internet marketing plan. Or, you might just set up a schedule where you periodically send an email to your interested prospects to see how they're doing, if you can be of assistance to them, or if their needs have changed since you last talked. So even if you don't incorporate email marketing into your Internet marketing strategy, per se, you are still using email as a tool to promote your business.

Your Budget and Your Internet Marketing Strategy

Of course, your budget will also determine the components you use in any of the Internet marketing strategies you might develop. A website will require you to choose a domain name and register it and to purchase web hosting services for your website. Both items are deeply discounted, in fact I recently saw an offer for domain name registration for only $1.99 per year - provided you also purchase other services, like hosting, which is now also available for less than $10 per month.

Once that's done, you'll need a design and content for your website, which you'll either need to provide yourself or pay to have a web content professional and/or web designer handle it for you.

Once your content and design are in place, you'll want your site to be found, so you'll want to learn about search engine optimization (SEO), which is an important part of strategic Internet marketing, whether you do it yourself of pay someone else to do it for you.

Ideally, if you pay to have web content written for you, that content should be optimized for search engines when it's written. Likewise, you or your web designer should know something about SEO because how your site is designed can enhance or limit your site traffic, and in the vast majority of cases, SEO should be a significant part of your Internet marketing strategy. In both cases, you may pay a bit more, but you'll save time in the long run.

Once your website is up and running, you'll either need to maintain it yourself or outsource the duties to an independent Webmaster to do it for you.

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC), like Google AdWords can be easy on your budget because you can specify how much you're willing to pay when someone clicks your ad and how much you're willing to pay per day. You can also specify whether you want to include your ad only on search pages or on other websites related to your keywords. You can set geographic and time of the day restrictions on when and where your ads run. Plus, PPC ads are fairly easy to activate and suspend whenever you need to do so, they're easy to update and they provide near real time tracking benefits you won't get with most other elements in your Internet marketing strategy. You can also use images and/or videos with PPC advertising, which may be more cost effective than placing banner ads on other websites.

On the other side of the coin, you can use pay per click ads to make money with your website, through programs like Google AdSense, Yahoo Publisher or Microsoft AdCenter.

Tracking the Results of Internet Marketing Strategies

Let's face it: the average home business operator is not awash in cash. If you're going to be spending money on strategic Internet marketing initiatives, you'll need to track how effective they are. As you do so, you'll discover which Internet marketing strategies work for your business and which do not. And, you can learn from the mistakes you make in your Internet advertising campaign to improve your skills and enhance your success. Knowing what's worth spending money on and what isn't is very helpful in developing Internet marketing strategies as your business matures.

Strategic Internet Marketing Needs to be Flexible

Keep in mind, in most cases, patience is a true virtue when it comes to tracking the success of a strategic Internet marketing campaign. Search engines aren't likely to find you overnight and your strategies may not generate revenues right away.

Because you'll have literally millions of competitors who are also engaging in strategic Internet marketing, it will behoove you to keep on your toes and be ready to make necessary adjustments in your Internet marketing strategies when appropriate. However, some knowledge, some capable assistance, and a well-managed strategic Internet marketing plan can increase your chances for success.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Free Network Marketing Information Tip-Monster presentation tip


I think you are going to love today's free network marketing information tip.

As we all know Tom, Big Al, Schreiter is a marketing genius. Today, we're gonna learn what we need to do to give a "monster presentation" tip.

Monster presentation tip.

Thirty-seven years ago I went to my first opportunity meeting.

All I can remember from that meeting are two testimonials given by distributors.

The first testimonial was by a nun. The second testimonial was by a distributor who told how his father never believed he would be successful.

I don't remember the compensation plan, the product features, the corporate history, the slide presentation, or even the faces of the main speakers.

All I remember are the two testimonials.

The lesson is:

Don't get too worried about the details in your presentation. Your prospect is only going to remember one or two things. So why not give your prospect memories of a powerful product or opportunity testimonial?


Monday, July 13, 2009

Free Network Marketing Information Tip-How to Integerate Twitter On your WP Blog



If you are a entrepreneur who has been on the internet for any amount of time, I am sure you have heard of the social networking site Twitter and of the blogging platform, Wordpress. Today's free network marketing information tip will be on how to integrate Twitter on your wordpress blog.

As most know, Twitter is a micro blogging platform that has caught the attention of the main stream media. You share your thoughts, insights, knowledge, tips, and interesting article sources using 140 characters or less with your followers in Twitter.

It is not a marketing platform but you can effectively use it to establish your brand and promote your products and services indirectly.

If you are planning to spam your Twitter followers with your blog post URLs and affiliate links, you will not go anywhere. Your followers will un-follow you quickly. You will not get new followers.

Twitter is like any other social media site. If you share information and insights about your niche by filtering them from hundreds of blog posts published every day, you will provide value to your followers.

If you find valuable information in your niche, share them with your followers and their number will increase.

You can also use Twitter to post latest news, hot trends in your niche, links to funny pictures, humorous video links, and other interesting things.

You have to post almost every day, preferably couple of times a day, to keep the number of followers growing rapidly.

If you are using WordPress blog platform for your blog, there are few tools you can use to automate your Twitter activities. These tools will help you use Twitter for promoting your brand.

First, you need to integrate the Twitter feed into your blog and encourage your blog readers to tweet your blog posts in their accounts.

Use TweetThis WordPress plug-in to encourage your visitors to tweet your blog post. TweetThis adds a Twitter link in every blog post you create. If needed, this plug-in will also shorten your blog post URL to fit the 140-character limit.

WPTwitp-ID plug-in adds a Twitter field to your WordPress blog comment form. When users posts comments, they can enter their Twitter user ids and the plug-in will create links to follow them in Twitter. You will be providing a service to increase the number of Twitter followers of people who leave comments in your blog.

Another WordPress plug-in called Twitter Tools integrates your blog with Twitter by pulling all your tweets into the side bar of your blog. You can also post new tweets from inside your WordPress blog.

TweetMeme Button helps retweet your post through out the Tweeter network. It also shows a count of how many times your blog post has been retweeted.

Tweeter Updater tool will send a Twitter status update to your account when you publish a post in WordPress.

You can find the web sites for these WordPress plug-ins by doing a search in Google. If you're not using Twiteer as a brand building platform, you should sign up for a Twiteer account immediately.

Hope you found today's free network marketing information tip helpful!



Friday, July 10, 2009

International Debit Cards Rule

The international debit card is now the new authority in electronic payment transactions. It can be used for shopping, ATM transactions, cash withdrawals, and immediate banking. Around 80% of Americans now hold international debit cards and they now rival cash, checks and credit cards as the chief form of payment. With the international debit card, you are using your own money and not the issuer’s money.

International debit cards are also known as check cards. International debit cards look like credit cards or ATM cards, but act as cash or personal checks. International debit cards are said to be better than credit cards in the sense that they are a way of paying now and not paying later. When you use a debit card, your money is quickly debited from your checking or savings account.

International debit cards are accepted almost everywhere, including grocery stores, retail stores, gasoline stations, and restaurants. You can use your card in any establishment that has the brand name or logo of your card displayed. They are a better alternative to carrying cash or checks.

You might not even realize that you are already an international debit card holder. It has become common for banks to replace their standard ATM cards with upgraded ATM cards that have debit features. You may also receive via mail what you may think is a credit card but is actually an international debit card.

International Debit Card and Credit Card Compared
The main difference between international debit cards and credit cards are the same as the difference between debit and credit. Credit means add while debit means subtract. When you are using an international debit card the cost is deducted from your own bank account while when you are using a credit card you are adding to your liability to the issuer. Using an international debit card is just like having a quick transaction between you and the merchant.

When it comes to liability, one may say that credit cards are riskier as they tempt overspending that may lead to the holder having more debt than he can handle. The monthly fees are also quite hefty and material.

Things to Know About International Debit Cards
1. Obtaining a debit card is often easier than obtaining a credit card.

2. Using a debit card instead of writing checks saves you from showing identification or giving out personal information at the time of the transaction.

3. Using a debit card frees you from carrying cash or a checkbook.

4. Using a debit card means you no longer have to stock up on traveler’s checks or cash when you travel.

5. Debit cards may be more readily accepted by merchants than checks, especially in other states or countries wherever your card brand is accepted.

6. The debit card is a quick, “pay now” product, giving you no grace period.

7. Using a debit card may mean you have less protection than with a credit card purchase for items which are never delivered, are defective, or were misrepresented. But, as with credit cards, you may dispute unauthorized charges or other mistakes within 60 days. You should contact the card issuer if a problem cannot be resolved with the merchant.

8. Returning goods or canceling services purchased with a debit card is treated as if the purchase were made with cash or a check.

Get the 2-GetCash international debit card now. It is an offshore debit card that will provide you all the benefits of a debit card while at the same time keeping your money safe from being frozen.

Source

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Free Network Marketing Information-These Two Things Are Overated!

Now and again, I like for my free network marketing information tips to come from Tom, Big Al, Schreiter. He always has something interesting to say!

Today, we're gonna learn why these two actions that distributors do are really overated!

Cash incentives and prizes ... overrated!

You want your incentives to:

1. Motivate.
2. Be remembered.

When you use a cash incentive, that may be motivating, but it won't be remembered if it is spent to pay down a credit card bill. It will be forgotten just a few weeks later.

So how can we make our incentives better?

How can we personalize our incentives to inspire people to act?

Here are three quick incentive ideas to spark your imagination.

Example #1:

Distributor Joe knows that John and Mary should be at the next big Saturday training event. Mary is hesitant until Distributor Joe arranges a "maid for a day" to completely clean Mary's house. Total cost is only $60. Mary is thrilled with the maid and can't wait to sit back and enjoy the training.

What if John was hesitant instead? Distributor Joe could arrange a "handyman for a day" to do fix-ups and repairs around the home that John has been avoiding for years.

Example #2:

Distributor Joe knows that the local Marriott Hotel caters to business travelers and has many empty rooms on weekends. The hotel offers a "honeymoon special" for only $99 on weekends. A couple gets dinner and a room for Saturday night, champagne breakfast in bed, and can dance and enjoy the luxury hotel's services.

What a great romantic gift to remind a new distributor of the lifestyle and time with the family. Perfect for a sign-up incentive. And, this incentive will be remembered :)

Example #3:

Mini-cruise. There are several 3, 4, and 5-day cruises that cost barely more than a hotel stay. For some people, the anticipation of their first cruise is almost as much fun as the experience. And everyone remembers their first cruise. So when they look back on the cruise, they remember you for making it possible.

Bottom Line:

People really don't want money. They want what money can do. Be creative and make your incentive something inspiring and something they will remember for a long, long time.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

6 Things You Can Do Today to Drive More Traffic to Your Website for Free

Website (and business) marketing is not a one off exercise. Whether you have a brand new website or one that you’ve had for a while, you need to continue promoting it in order to bring you more visitors. You need to constantly work on it, fine-tune it, discard methods that are not working and implement new ones.

The following 6 methods are simple to implement and can be done for free by you today.

1. Email Marketing

Your first step should be to send an email to your existing clients announcing the existence of your website. You should also ask your customers to forward your email onto their friends, family and colleagues

Think Web Pages, not Websites

If you are starting a new business and don’t have any customers yet, send an email to people you know who may be interested in your offer.

Remember to email your clients every time you make changes, add new offers or features to your website to remind them to come back.

The next step could be to send your announcement to an opt-in email list. Opt-in email lists contain people or businesses who have requested to receive information about certain topic(s). There are many companies who can provide you with these lists.

Under no circumstance should you EVER send unsolicited email (spam) to people you either don’t know or who have not requested to receive your information.

2. Search Engines & Directories

Submit your website to as many search engines and directories as you can. (A search engine is a searchable database of websites collected by a computer program (called a crawler, robot or spider). When you enter a keyword, the search engine looks for keywords in its database, and any relevant records are displayed.)

Currently there are thousands of search engines and directories on the internet. Some of the main ones include Google, Yahoo, MSN. When submitting your website to the search engines, you can either do it manually by going to the search engine website and adding your URL (website address) or you can employ the services of a Search Engine Submission company, who will do it for you.

Search engines try to rank sites that contain good content higher, so you need keywords and phrases on your pages that best describe your service and products. For example, if you are a florist, use words such as “florist, online florist, virtual florist, wedding florist, florist in Sydney, florist on line, flowers, floral, bouquets, floral arrangements etc.” as many times as possible to ensure high search engine ranking. To find out what keywords your customers may be searching use Google’s Keyword Tool or Wordtracker.

Once you decide on your keywords, use them in:

(a) Your website’s domain name(b) The title of your page - This is displayed in the top bar of your browser window.

(c) The heading of your home page.

(d) The first paragraph of your home page.

(e) Meta tags - Keywords, description.

(f) Titles of your graphics.

While it is important to use keywords as much as possible, it is also important you use them only if they are relevant and do not sound awkward. If you spam your keywords, you may be penalized or even banned by some search engines.

If this all seems too overwhelming, you can employ the services of a Search Engine optimization company, who will make your website’s content more search engine friendly to make it rank higher.

3. Link Exchanges

Find websites whose business complements yours and add their website to your links/resource page. Then contact the company and ask for a reciprocal link. For example if you are a wedding dress designer, you could contact businesses that sell wedding cakes, jewellery, flowers and also venues, celebrants etc. By doing this your website will become a valuable resource for your visitors, since it will provide information they need. They may return to your site over and over to find more information.

On the other hand, you will have visitors coming to your website when they follow a link from your link partners.

Results in search engines are determined by the material you have presented on your site and by other off-page factors such as how many other sites link to your site. The more links you have pointing to your site from relevant websites, the higher your site will rank.

If you need help with this task, you can employ the services of a Link Exchange Company. They are generally inexpensive and can save you hours of time.

4. Email Signature

Every email you send should have an email “signature.” This is text that is automatically attached to the bottom of your email message. This text can be used to publicize your business. You can include your name, business name, email address, street or postal address, website details, phone number, fax number, company slogan, description of your company and its products/services. You can set up different signatures for different purposes.

To set up your signature using Outlook Express:

Step 1: Select Tools > Options from the menu bar.

Step 2: Click “Signatures” .

Step 3: Make sure that you select “Add signatures to all outgoing messages” - within the “Signature settings” section. It is up to you whether you would like your signature to appear in “replies” and “forwards”

Step 4: Click “New” (you can change the name from “Signature #1″ by clicking “Rename”) - within “Signature” section:

Step 5: Type in the text that you would like to appear at the end of your email messages - in “Edit signature” section:

Step 6: If you’re happy with this, click “Apply” and “OK”.

5. Office Stationery & Merchandising Materials

It is extremely important that your website is included on ALL your office stationery so that customers can see it over and over again. That way they are more likely to remember it. If you’ve just had your letterheads printed, you can always add your website address on your wordprocessor, when printing your correspondence. For brochures, business cards etc, consider having small labels printed up. Your office stationery should include not only your website address, but also your email. Consider adding your details to:

• Letterheads
• Business Cards
• Flyers
• Brochures
• Labels
• Packaging
• Merchandise bags
• Catalogs
• Invoices
• Fax headers
• Display units

6. Set up a Blog

A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. Blogs are typically updated daily or weekly and can easily be managed by you. They provide a way for you to communicate with your customers directly, give you an increased presence on major search engines, allow you to stay ahead of your competition and so much more.

You can easily publish the following information in your blog: Articles, Media releases, Industry news, Surveys - so you can get feedback from your customers, Testimonials, Product reviews, Interviews, Case studies, Links to complementary businesses, Frequently asked questions and problem resolutions, Inspirational quotes, Research findings, etc.

Blogs give you an increased presence on major search engines, like Yahoo! and Google. If you use Blogger(Google’s Blogging Tool), every message you post creates a new page on Google so in a very short time you could have a lot of pages pointing to your website, bringing you lots of new visitors.

Don’t be scared to try some of these marketing methods - you have nothing to lose!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

9 Tips To A Sizzling Successful Summer Garage Sale

garage-sale-tips9 Tips To A Sizzling Successful Summer Garage Sale

With the temperature heating up outside now is the time to sell your guilt by clearing the clutter in your home. The saying is “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”. You can start organizing clutter and make money at the same time. The way to do this is to have a Sizzling summer garage sale. If you can, have a street or neighborhood group sale that is even better.

It is very important to figure out why you are having a garage sale while clearing the clutter.

·Is the goal to make as much money as possible so you can take your dream vacation?

·Or is the goal to get rid of as much stuff as possible to make some spending money for your vacation?

Your goal should be one or the other to have a really successful garage sale as these two goals aren’t necessarily compatible with each other.

Okay you have been busy going through your home organizing clutter now it is time to have the sale and get rid of it:

1. Have everything prepared and ready to sell the night before.
The morning of the sale is too late to prepare because people will be there bright and early to start buying.

2. Advertize well, if you live in a small town advertize in your local paper, also Craig’s list and other places on the internet.

3. Make good signs directing people where the sale is: Make them Big and Bold, only put the address and arrow pointing the direction to the location on the posters.

4. Identify who is selling: wear a bright apron, hat, or a tag saying “I Work Here”.

5. Price EVERYTHING People don’t like to have to ask how much something costs. Buy colored dots and put dots on everything. If you are selling everything in a certain area all for the same price—on a table or in a box have a sign saying “everything in this box is 50 cents”. If you don’t want to put the price on every sticker make a BIG poster with the color of sticker and the corresponding price. Have a couple of these posted in prominent places.

·(yellow sticker) $1.00
·(blue sticker) .25 cents
·(green sticker) .50 cents

6. Have some free items to give away. My friend got some free magazines which she enjoyed looking through one evening so you never know what someone will take.

7. If you are selling clothes—hang them up or at least separate them out on a tarp on the lawn. You could hang them between two sturdy, heavy ladders that have a clothes line strung between them or string a clothes line between trees.

8. Don’t over price items. Price to sell– Don’t guilt the buyer. Never say “it’s never been used”—people don’t care—don’t price based on sentimentality. The buyer doesn’t care that it is important to you. Don’t be a stalker—don’t follow customers around.

9. Have plenty of change! Start the day with $10.00 in quarters and $20.00 in one dollar bills, 5 $5 dollar bills and 4 $10.00 bills. You can keep your money in a cash box, or a shoe box, but if you do someone should watch it at all times. A fanny pack could be used for money instead.

10. A good time to hold the sale is from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. It is really busy the first couple of hours. After 2:00 traffic really drops off. Anyone who shows up after 2:00 tell them prices are slashed to 75% off. Or make everything free, or give them a grocery bag and tell them everything they can fit in the bag is only $1.00. You may get rid of everything but for sure will have less stuff that you have to cart off to your local charity.

Have fun, visit with the people who come and reap the rewards from clearing clutter.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Small Business Bailout?



Yesterday I posted on Twitter that I’m tired of the big guys getting bailed out.

How about if they just gave each American 1,000,000 instead?

It would stimulate the economy like nobody’s business!

I was surprised nobody fired back at me with basic economics arguments or anything at all really.

I guess my post was lost in a sea of tweets…

It got me to thinking about how many of my clients are small business owners and they, like every other American are having some difficulties these days.

In fact, I haven’t been blogging because I’ve been out there selling much more than I usually do.

My conversations with potential clients in the past few months have mainly focused on how they can get new business during the economic crisis.

Some consider their advertising to be the number one vehicle and are finding their company resources too low to continue on.

Others see the effects of their website being open 24/7 and want to improve upon conversion by updating their sites.

It is true, your website is one of your most valuable resources.

People are doing research online and at home before venturing out to purchase.

With a website, your presence is open and available even when your business is closed for the day.

Really?

Yes, really.

In fact, let me go have a peek at our analytics so I can give you our numbers – BRB!

OK, I’ve got the data in front of me...

According to our analytics, over the past year 41% of our website visits are occurring after our regular business hours. We are open 8:00 – 6:00 pm PST and quite a large amount of traffic is coming when we aren’t open for business.

What does this information tell us?

People are shopping on their time – not ours.

We receive many contact inquiries from our website contact forms when we aren’t open for business. These are qualified sales leads that are waiting for us in the morning when we begin our workday. Many of these contact inquiries throughout the year have converted into sales.

Who wouldn’t want that?

Maybe if the government was cutting you a check for YOUR bailout you wouldn’t want it…but I doubt it.

What do you think?


Saturday, July 4, 2009

The CMF Ads

“CMF Ads provides low-cost advertising with high benefits for publishers. With a stable economy where every credit is paid for, CMF really is Changing Marketing Forever!”

For bloggers, its another source of money. Yet the modus operandi is similar to other popular advertising networks, the cost of advertising is relatively lower as compared to other networks. I think the network is still on its infancy.

If you haven't join the program yet, here is how CMF ads work:
1. Publishers sign up, add their blog(s), and add the CMF Ads widget. Advertisers sign up, and add their site(s). Publishers can receive ads and also place them. Advertisers can only place ads, they cannot receive them.
2. To advertise, you need credits. Credits can be purchased, or earned. 1 credit is worth $0.25.
3. Once you have found a site to advertise on, you click the Advertise link and confirm the ad purchase. Then the publisher decides whether to approve or deny your ad. If the ad is approved, it will run for 30 days.
4. Multiple ads can be placed on a blog during the same period of time. Larger widgets can be used to display multiple ads. Currently the widget can display 1, 2, 3 or 4 ads at a time.
5. If there are more ads than ad spots, a random selection is chosen from the ads that are running. This is why the ads are so affordable - you share the ad spot(s) with other advertisers.
6. Once an ad has run for a full 30 days, it will be removed from the relevant publisher. When this happens, the publisher will receive 100% of the price paid for the ad.
7. Publishers can either re-use credits for advertising on other sites, or sell the credits to CMF Ads for 50% of the purchase price.

Are you running CMF ads? Is it working for you? Please post your comments here.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Tweeting for business: tips from 140 Characters Conference

This might be the week that people not in the know stopped proclaiming they don't use Twitter because they have no interest in hearing what other people ate for breakfast.

As Iranian discontent broke out last weekend, mainstream media coverage was somewhat lacking, and what they're calling the "could-be" revolution was broadcast to the world via Twitter. This point was driven home by the audience at the 140 Characters Conference, a Twitter conference created by Jeff Pulver in New York this past week.

I gained a lot of Twitter insight at the conference, and hopefully offered some as well during the session I presented on Twitter and small business. There was a lot of good advice for entrepreneurs and small-business owners.

The first I heard came from Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, the large Internet retailer, who is a prolific Tweeter. Hsieh, who has more than 780,000 followers on Twitter, told the crowd that using Twitter helps them find customers before the customer can find them. He also said if a business owner listens to the conversations on Twitter, you can find out what consumers want.

Hsieh says many business owners don't use Twitter the right way. They treat it like it's a traditional marketing method and do nothing but push their brand messages. Instead Hsieh advises, "Listen first and then listen and talk."

As an active Tweeter , I know first-hand that if you don't have a social media plan, keeping up can suck up a lot of your time. At Zappos (where much of the staff uses Twitter), they look for the ROI — return on involvement.

The point of Twitter is not to collect followers. It is to have a conversation. Twitter is your way to market your business to people you don't know for virtually no cost other than time. For Twitter to be an effective tool for your business, you need to be engaged and collaborative. It's also a great way to keep track of the news, trends, and even your competitors.

Someone (sorry, I can't remember who) at the conference said, "Twitter is like a telephone; every business needs one."

Thursday, July 2, 2009

12 Quick Tips To Search Google Like An Expert

If you’re like me, you probably use Google many times a day. But, chances are, unless you are a technology geek, you probably still use Google in its simplest form. If your current use of Google is limited to typing a few words in, and changing your query until you find what you’re looking for, then I’m here to tell you that there’s a better way – and it’s not hard to learn. On the other hand, if you are a technology geek, and can use Google like the best of them already, then I suggest you bookmark this article of Google search tips. You’ll then have the tips on hand when you are ready to pull your hair out in frustration when watching a neophyte repeatedly type in basic queries in a desperate attempt to find something.

The following Google search tips are based on my own experience and things that I actually find useful. The list is by no means comprehensive. But, I assure you that by learning and using the 12 tips below, you’ll rank up there with the best of the Google experts out there. I’ve kept the descriptions of the search tips intentionally terse as you’re likely to grasp most of these simply by looking at the example from Google anyways.

12 Expert Google Search Tips

  1. Explicit Phrase:
    Lets say you are looking for content about internet marketing. Instead of just typing internet marketing into the Google search box, you will likely be better off searching explicitly for the phrase. To do this, simply enclose the search phrase within double quotes.
    Example: "internet marketing"
  2. Exclude Words:
    Lets say you want to search for content about internet marketing, but you want to exclude any results that contain the term advertising. To do this, simply use the "-" sign in front of the word you want to exclude.
    Example Search: internet marketing -advertising
  3. Site Specific Search:
    Often, you want to search a specific website for content that matches a certain phrase. Even if the site doesn’t support a built-in search feature, you can use Google to search the site for your term. Simply use the "site:somesite.com" modifier.
    Example: "internet marketing" site:www.smallbusinesshub.com
  4. Similar Words and Synonyms:
    Let’s say you are want to include a word in your search, but want to include results that contain similar words or synonyms. To do this, use the "~" in front of the word.
    Example: "internet marketing" ~professional
  5. Specific Document Types:
    If you’re looking to find results that are of a specific type, you can use the modifier "filetype:". For example, you might want to find only PowerPoint presentations related to internet marketing.
    Example: "internet marketing" filetype:ppt
  6. This OR That:
    By default, when you do a search, Google will include all the terms specified in the search. If you are looking for any one of one or more terms to match, then you can use the OR operator. (Note: The OR has to be capitalized).
    Example: internet marketing OR advertising
  7. Phone Listing:
    Let’s say someone calls you on your mobile number and you don’t know how it is. If all you have is a phone number, you can look it up on Google using the phonebook feature.
    Example: phonebook:617-555-1212 (note: the provided number does not work – you’ll have to use a real number to get any results).
  8. Area Code Lookup:
    If all you need to do is to look-up the area code for a phone number, just enter the 3-digit area code and Google will tell you where it’s from.
    Example: 617
  9. Numeric Ranges:
    This is a rarely used, but highly useful tip. Let’s say you want to find results that contain any of a range of numbers. You can do this by using the X..Y modifier (in case this is hard to read, what’s between the X and Y are two periods. This type of search is useful for years (as shown below), prices or anywhere where you want to provide a series of numbers.
    Example: president 1940..1950
  10. Stock (Ticker Symbol):
    Just enter a valid ticker symbol as your search term and Google will give you the current financials and a quick thumb-nail chart for the stock.
    Example: GOOG
  11. Calculator:
    The next time you need to do a quick calculation, instead of bringing up the Calculator applet, you can just type your expression in to Google.
    Example: 48512 * 1.02
  12. Word Definitions:
    If you need to quickly look up the definition of a word or phrase, simply use the "define:" command.
    Example: define:plethora

Hope this list of Google search tips proves useful in your future Google searches. If there are any of your favorite Google expert power tips that I’ve missed, please feel free to share them in the comments.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

SMB World Will Move Up

Interesting post by Mike Speiser on "Self-Service Nation: Why Targeting Small Business Is Good Business."

I'll jump to one (of 27 at this writing) of the reader's comments which I think says it all:

Focusing on supporting and recommending small businesses will create a much better world to live in and spread the wealth far more equitably.
Read more here.

Type of Business: Sole Proprietorships

So, since we discuss quite a few things about businesses, I've decided, why not let people know what type of businesses there are. What exactly is a sole proprietorship? Currently, it's one of the easiest businesses to start up. You're pretty much your own boss and you make the decisions that you feel would best benefit your company. There are many advantages and disadvantages to owning a sole proprietorship type of business, however, we will discuss these in a moment.

Sole proprietorship's make up 72% of all businesses today, according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. 72% of all businesses is a huge number! Even though their contributions in total receipts are not quite as much as their corporate opponents, they still bring in close to 950 billion dollars a year, which is a hefty chunk of cash!

This is the type of business that most average day people start up. It's very easy to start and end these types of businesses which gives a huge advantage to owning one.

My next post will define the advantages of owning a sole proprietorship and possibly the disadvantages as well. Don't worry, I will post both in due time. However, I feel I need to thoroughly go over each point so that you can get the feel if this is the type of business you would like to start.

Back to Business!

Well everyone, I want to apologize for not being active with my blog over the past couple of months. I'm going to be updating it regularly from now on though. I'm still going to be bringing you all great business and marketing tips. Now I think I'll also throw a little something else into the mix by bringing you some important business news as well.


I hope my readers aren't to dissapointed with me for my lack of motivation in the past to keep this going. But I am here to reassure you that things are going to change. I hope you all enjoy my future postings.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Business tips to help you engage customers, monetize your site and work more efficiently

On this blog, we usually focus on helping you make the most of the products we've designed specifically with IT departments in mind. But Google has lots of other tools that other parts of your organization (such as the sales and marketing teams) might find useful.

So, in this post, we thought we'd go through a quick summary of the wide range of Google products that can help you do business. We've grouped these tips into three buckets: methods to optimize your website, details about how your company info can get listed on Google properties and finally, ways to improve your business operations.

OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE
Tip 1: Help customers find you with Google Maps
Pinpoint your business by embedding a Street View image on your website to show customers your storefront, office, building, parking facilities or anything else at the street level, or provide interactive door-to-door driving directions with a simple gadget. For a complete store locator solution, check out Google Maps API Premier

Tip 2: Engage users when they visit your site
Awaken and strengthen the community that visits your website by enriching it with social features. You can choose from a gallery of gadgets to add commenting, ratings and reviews, opinion polls, and more to your site. Learn more

Tip 3: Help visitors find what they're looking for
Add a customized Google-powered search box so that your visitors can easily find what they're looking for on your site. You can choose to show targeted ads alongside search results and earn revenue while helping visitors find what they're looking for with AdSense for Search, or you can purchase Google Site Search to offer your visitors an ad-free search experience.

Tip 4: Earn revenue from ads targeted to your content
Google AdSense enables website publishers of all sizes to display targeted ads alongside their online content and earn money. Sign up for AdSense and get access to Google's vast network of advertisers. If you're already selling ads directly to advertisers, learn how you can better manage your online sales and ad inventory with one of Google's ad serving solutions.


Tip 5: Measure website conversions on your website using Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free tool to track how visitors interact with your website. You can set up "Goals" in Analytics to track how many visitors complete a desired action, such as submitting a contact form or making a purchase. This lets you see your website's ROI and optimize your marketing efforts. Check out this post for a tutorial on how set up Goals for your site.

Tip 6: Increase your conversion rates with Website Optimizer
Every web page has room for improvement when it comes to conversions. Testing a few simple changes with Google Website Optimizer can radically increase your site's conversion rate. Try it now.

GET LISTED ON GOOGLE PROPERTIES
Tip 7: Put your business on Google Maps
People search for businesses on Google Maps and Google.com every day. Make sure your business is easy to find and your listing information is up-to-date by visiting the Local Business Center at www.google.com/lbc. It's free, and with the new dashboard feature, you can see how popular your business is on Google, where people drive from to get to you, and how they search to find you. Check out this video to learn more.

Tip 8: Submit all of your content
Google can also help you reach out to the world by distributing your content on Google Web Search, Product Search, iGoogle, and more. Learn how Google’s free products can make your online investments go further with increased distribution, traffic and monetization.

IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Tip 9: Simplify your IT environment, encourage innovation and cut costs
Managing email and other messaging software with multiple servers can be a headache. By switching to Google Apps, you can enjoy 99.9% uptime and take advantage of Google's data center infrastructure to ensure your information is secure. With your systems online, new features are automatically incorporated and collaboration can be done at a fraction of the cost of existing setups. Learn more

Tip 10: Archive corporate email in a central and searchable repository
Many businesses rely on backup tapes or .pst files to serve as their email archive. Searching through these sources can be time consuming and resource intensive. To minimize your IT operating burden and protect your business from costly e-discovery projects, you can archive email on-line in a central and searchable location with Google Message Discovery. Learn more

Tip 11: View and style mapping data with Google Earth Pro
If your business has GIS (Geographic Information System) data then use Google Earth Pro to view this map data with built-in GIS data import tools. You can also share styled map data quickly with colleagues and clients with Google Earth as a backdrop, leveraging Google’s comprehensive mapping data to make quick, location specific decisions. Learn more

Tip 12: Easily locate ALL of your internal documents using the Google Search Appliance 6.0
Your company’s internal search system can be just as good as Google’s – and just as easy to use. The Google Search Appliance (GSA) provides universal search for business, indexing all company content in a customizable way. The Google Search Appliance can search intranets, web servers, portals, file shares, databases, content management systems, and real-time data in business applications – and serve it up to employees in integrated, easy-to-navigate results. The new version of the GSA – GSA 6.0 – which just premiered yesterday, can now search billions of documents and provides rich customization features.

Creating Marketing For An Online Business

You should be able to find several indispensable facts about in the following paragraphs. If there's at least one fact you didn't know before, imagine the difference it might make.
Within this article on creating marketing for an online business, we will look at how you can go about successfully marketing your online business.

Each business is different and the type of marketing that it will do online so you want to find some way test enough from their competition. This is a general rule no matter what type of business you are possibly looking importance, whether it be retail or online.

One of the great ways that can work in creating marketing for an online business can actually be sprint from your website. Develop a forum or discussion board on which different topics of importance to your customers are listed. People will wish to come back again and again to read what others have to say and this provides you with some great repeat traffic. This can help your natural search engine traffic in getting your page is indexed as well as provide some back link opportunities, which will help in marketing your online business. Within your forum, you are able to create marketing of some sort because it is your website. When these customers are ready to okay, they will think of buying from you first because of the niche between your website and them. Within this way, you have created a win - win situation for both parties. You will have developed a stable flagitious of customers while besides giving yourself the opportunity to grow your business due to the opportunities listed such as back links, search engine traffic, and being and heavily indexed.

Another good way to help in creating marketing for an online business is to give right away free wares.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on now have at least a basic understanding. But there's more to come.

You can advertise your free giveaways in many of the freebie forums that can be found around the Internet. There is great traffic to these websites and if you are able to divert some of this to your website, you entrust be much the better for it. If you are using free giveaways, make sure that you are receiving something in return such as the person's e - mail address because they have signed up for your newsletter. When you are using giveaways as a form of advertising, you'll want to make sure that you are able to bias some sort of return on your investment so keep this in mind when posting to the freebie forums.

The final way in which we'll look at creating marketing for an online business is to write good sales copy. This is going to be matchless of the simplest methods for you commit wholly possibly the tremendously effective because my improving what is written on your website, you will be able to convert augmented of your traffic and this will have a direct impact on your bottom line.
Each of these three ways of creating marketing for an online business can be very effective. By taking the time to improve your website, you leave find that this will have the greatest impact upon your zot line of running a website and an Internet business. If your website does not run effectively and frame customers in, then going out and working on bringing traffic in is a off-course cause.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.

The Main 12-Steps Social Media Program for Traditional Marketing

When talking to marketers who haven't yet seen the "social media light," I forget that this stuff is still pretty new.

When I wrote about the need for a social network like Twitter - several years before Twitter was conceived - I never thought that my days would be filled teaching veteran marketers how to build social media service offerings.

Based on my daily interactions with marketing agencies, I believe we've finally reached the point where convincing companies that they need to be using social media to build awareness, audiences, traffic and leads is almost over.

Now it's about being able to speak to them in terms they understand (rather than in terms our social media peers understand), to explain why a social media strategy is absolutely necessary.

A new e-book from Channel V Media (a HubSpot customer and partner) lays out a good plan for agencies and companies trying to develop a social media plan.

They've spelled out 12 key things you must consider when developing a social media program for your business.

It's a good handbook for in-house marketers, as well as agencies, who are still trying to figure out how to replace their piece-meal campaign-after-campaign approach with a full-blown social media program.

Here's the 12 Steps:

  1. Audience Identification. If you know who your audience is, you're already one step ahead of the game. The next step is to figure out where they interact online.
  2. Platform Development & Design. Figuring out how to engage and interact with this audience.
  3. Brand Campaign Integration. It's possible for a social media program to piggyback off a good brand campaign, but it has to be transformed into its cooler younger brother.
  4. Content Creation/Coordination. You must create a consistent message.
  5. Goal Mapping. In other words, how do you measure your success? Is it brand mentions? Traffic? Email sign ups? Leads? Sales?
  6. Brand Identity. Everyone that is engaging via social media on your team must understand your goals and messaging.
  7. Audience Attraction. Larger brands like to start spreading the word of their new, fancy and glossy initiatives at the outset, but if your social media program is good, your audience will find them on their own and the spread the word for you.
  8. Social Media Listening. If you don't know what people are saying about you and your products, their related interests and more, how are you going to interact with them?
  9. Community & Social Responsibility. Social responsibility is increasingly expected of everyone - and this engagement is an essential part of your online identity.
  10. Internal/External Community Engagement & Response. Be everywhere. All the time. It's up to you to let people know that you are listening, engaging, helping, and offering solutions.
  11. Brand Advocacy. Authenticity and transparency are such huge aspects of social media, your social media and management team must be 100% on board.
  12. Customer Service. Good customer service involves listening (within and outside of social media) and responding appropriately.