Last week we begin discussing Internet marketing tools and strategies that start-ups can use to promote their products and/or services online. This week, we will wrap up the Internet marketing strategies. We left off on discussing LinkedIn groups, which are similar to forums.

Yahoo Groups

Speaking of forums, Yahoo groups are business-related forums where you can swap pertinent information and gain valuable business tips as well. As we discussed last week, you will be seen as the expert in your area.

You also want to join the forums where your target audience hangs out. By following their conversations, you can learn what keeps them up at night and come up with solutions to their business issues.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of some of the Internet marketing strategies and tools you can use to promote your business online and get clients as a result. There are several more online marketing tools available.

Internet Users

According to the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU), there are over 2 billion Internet users. With the world population at 6.8 billion and rising, almost one person in three is online. If you target your message correctly, you will reach your market within these global users. Everyone in the global market is not your potential clients. So, be sure to create your Internet marketing messages for your target audience.

Outsourcing

Unless your product or service offering is Internet marketing, it’s advisable to outsource your Internet marketing to experts in this area. Internet marketing is strategic and time-consuming. It will take your focus away from your core products or services.

When starting up your business, you will have enough items on your “to do” plate. There are virtual assistants that are experts in Internet marketing who are available for you to outsource your Internet marketing needs to on an ongoing basis. Internet marketing is continuous even after you are established.

As a start-up, have you used any of the online marketing strategies and tools mentioned in last week’s and this week’s posts to market your products and/or services and have you gained any clients through their use? We would love to hear. Leave us a comment below. You just might help some other start-up entrepreneur avoid the bumps in the road of Internet marketing.

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Internet Marketing for Start-Ups – Part I

Last week we begin the discussion on selecting specific keywords for instant Google rankings. We also covered which longtail keywords to choose for instant ranking. We left off asking the question how can your page ranked within just a couple weeks? We will now answer that question.

Most Pages Rank by Accident!

If the search term is competitive, you can bet that there are dozens if not hundreds of marketers targeting and competing for that term.

On the other hand, longtail search terms often have little to no competition targeting those terms specifically. A search term like “corporate chocolate baskets” will be far easier to rank for than “chocolate,” for example.

Most competing websites that rank for these terms are actually targeting another term, often a more general term and accidentally get the ranking.

If you on the other hand discover this keyword, find that the competition is low enough that you think you can rank for it, then you will have a very good chance of ranking well for that page rather quickly.

The Two Ways to Target Keywords

There are two ways to target keywords.

The first is to select a primary or even a secondary keyword and try to rank for that keyword. Unfortunately, high competition makes this method difficult to rank for.

On the other hand, you can select very specific keywords and focus on ranking for those keywords right away.

What’s great is that these two methods are not mutually exclusive. You can laser in on specific keywords for instant rankings while simultaneously building your rankings towards a higher traffic keyword.

This process involves doing very deliberate keyword research. The importance of selecting your keywords properly when you begin the process of marketing your website cannot be stressed enough. The difference between selecting good keywords and poor keywords is quite literally the difference between ranking well in the search engines and potentially not ranking at all.

Which keyword selection strategy do you use and has it worked for ranking your page? We would love to hear your comments.

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Internet Marketing – Keyword Selection Tips – Part I

Continuing our discussion on giveaways on Facebook, we have more tips of things you may want to watch out for to avoid your Facebook Page being taken down.

Liking a Page or Checking In

You see this on a lot of smaller fan pages, but if you take note you will never see it on a larger one.  Why? Because it’s against Facebook Terms and Conditions. Liking a Page or Checking into a Location cannot enter you into a promotion or giveaway. You also are not allowed to use the Like button as a means of voting. According to the terms, it is not considered a fair or reliable way to tally votes.

Using Facebook to Communicate

When you are informing an audience that you are running a promotion through Facebook, you can only communicate with them through Facebook. This means you can’t send them emails, give them phone calls, or even send them something in the mail. You MUST send them a message in some way shape or form through the Facebook system.

Moving on from Facebook we will be talking about YouTube in the next coming weeks. If you are new to video marketing, I highly suggest you check it out!

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The Rules to Giveaways on Facebook – Part 1

Many companies like to give away free items and discounts on Facebook for exchange of likes to increase their fan base. It’s no wonder they would; it’s a great way to encourage people to actually follow your company and maybe even get them hooked on your product or service.

But did you know that it’s actually a No-No with Facebook Terms and Conditions? Well if you didn’t, now you do! And you better make sure to follow them too or you might lose your profile completely.

Here are a few more points you might want to take note of as well:

You need written approval from Facebook

That’s right, unless you have been using an application box on your Fan Page, you MUST have written permission from Facebook before you can conduct a promotion or giveaway of any kind if it’s being administered on Facebook. This means that if you are actually running the giveaway on a blog or another website, but just advertising it on Facebook, you don’t need written approval.

Ineligibility

Facebook states that the following individuals are not eligible to enter promotions or giveaways:

Less than 18 years old, from a country embargoed by the USA, from Norway, Sweden, India or Belgium, can’t have a prize that is considered a dairy product, giveaways where you have to purchase a product or complete a lengthy task to enter.

Obviously, the Terms and Conditions are a bit more in depth than this, but it sure is a good start and some of the major points that should be taken into consideration.

Don’t forget that Facebook Terms and Conditions are always changing. This is one reason why consulting a specialist is always helpful. As a professional in this field, it’s our job to keep up to date on the most recent changes to help keep your page up and running.

What else you think you might be missing? Check back next week to find out.

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One of the beneficial components of LinkedIn is the ability to add your additional contact information.  You can also add a link to your professional website, blog, and your Twitter account. This will enable potential clients and employers to examine your skills in managing social networking and social media marketing, as well as give them multiple avenues to reach out to you.  You are also able to add more personality to your profile and invite others who share a common interest to further connect with you. Potential clients and employers will be able to view more details on how well you manage your social networking skills, as well give them even more insight in how you may be an asset to them.

Getting Good Recommendations

One of the best ways to get a good recommendation to share on your LinkedIn profile is to simply ask. If you’ve had an employer or a co-worker that you have impressed with past work, do not hesitate to contact them for a good recommendation. Limit the people you request recommendations from to only previous contacts. Once you have grown in your network and had more opportunities to participate in group discussions and have your name out there, it may open more doors for recommendations. When asking for a recommendation, make sure to inform the person you are requesting one from that you do not wish it directed to any specific person or business. This allows it to be used freely for LinkedIn.

Check back with us next week as we take a look at creating a Facebook professional page.

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Moving on for a moment from LinkedIn Groups let’s now discuss LinkedIn Company Pages. Being one of the newest additions on LinkedIn, company profiles have not only provided an avenue for employees to connect to one another, but to also advertise your company to its potential audience. Available for about a year now it has opened up the business networking experience quite a bit. Company profiles allow brands to list services, publish videos, create promotions and most importantly, get endorsements from their customers.

Developing your Company Page on LinkedIn should be taken just as seriously as any other advertisement.

Probably single handedly the most important page within the Companies sections would be the Overview Page, because it is the first impression one will get of your company on LinkedIn. This Page will have a general description of your company, list of connected employees, as well as your social networking updates.

The general description typically at the top of the page is one of the areas you will have the most control over. This is where it’s important to know your 30 second elevator speech. You want to write content that is not only short and to the point, but gets the attention of your target audience. Throwing in some SEO helps as well. You also have an option to upload a photo with the description. It is best to upload either a company logo, or some other kind of signature image. Make sure the image is of high quality.

Next you see the network/employees. This shows how well connected the company is and who works for you. Other than seeing just people who work within, you also see people that are openly affiliating themselves with the business. This can be great publicity for companies. Many even give their customers rewards for connecting on LinkedIn.

Another item you will see on the overview page is social networking updates. This gives viewer a real time look at your social networking on other platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc). This is where it becomes important to keep engaging and talking to your audience, and why it’s important to keep your fingers in all the social networking pots.

This is obviously a bit of an involved topic, so check back next week for more information on LinkedIn Company Pages.

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As we discussed last week, building a network on LinkedIn is only the beginning of a successful LinkedIn marketing plan. Once you have firmly established your place on this social networking giant, it is time to push it a step further with the Groups feature. There are two sides of this feature – creating groups and joining groups. We discussed joining groups last week. This week we will cover creating groups.

Create a Group

Once you are familiar (and comfortable) with the Groups on LinkedIn, you will be able to take your marketing plan even further by building your own Group. Doing so will help to increase your own social network dramatically. It will also allow you to build a stronger reputation in your own industry or market.

Keep in mind that simply having a LinkedIn Group is not necessarily enough. You need to be the “face” of your group. Stay actively involved in the discussions, post credible and reliable information, and don’t just make it about your own product. Make the people in your network feel that they are important because they belong to something.

As your LinkedIn Group grows, you will be able to add Group Managers to help you moderate the discussions and activities. What many people don’t realize is that a lot of social network users really want to feel involved in something important; therefore, they will be willing to moderate a group for no compensation at all.

Use the Manager’s Choice (Featured Discussions) feature to highlight your own articles or marketing pieces for yourself. Don’t forget to feature discussions from other users as well – again, so you don’t appear to be too zealous with your own marketing plugs.

As you spend more time with your newly formed LinkedIn Group, you will find yourself growing more and more accustomed to the features and how to use them to your advantage. Take the time to familiarize yourself with what you can and cannot do as you steadily build the number of members in your Group. Of course, remember to take time to actually get to know your most active participants and keep yourself available to everyone in your LinkedIn Group as a potential mentor or for networking opportunities.

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Building a network on LinkedIn is only the beginning of a successful LinkedIn marketing plan. Once you have firmly established your place within the virtual walls of this social networking giant, it is time to push it a step further with the Groups feature. There are two sides of this feature – creating groups and joining groups. This week we will discuss the benefits of joining LinkedIn Groups.

Joining Groups

Start this phase of your LinkedIn marketing plan by joining existing groups. This will allow you to get a feel of how the people within the network communicate with each other, find hot topics for discussion and, of course, it gives you instant access to a larger group of people for your own network.

Take some time to explore different social groups as you familiarize yourself with this feature. This will allow you to “test the social networking waters” so you can discover how your different networking ideas or plans work with different groups of people.

Build your LinkedIn reputation by actively participating in existing discussions. Get your name out there so people know who you are. Once you have built up your “name” with your participation, try starting some discussions of your own. You will often find that having a strong following on any social network will bring more traffic to your discussions. Of course, this can always be enhanced with a compelling discussion title and the content to back it up.

The key thing to remember when joining a Group on LinkedIn is that you must not just be a name in the list – you must be an active, participating member. You will not build your social media reputation by being another “name” in the crowd. You must make your presence known.

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LinkedIn is another great resource for marketing your business, product, or service. Unlike other social networking sites, LinkedIn specifically targets professionals, entrepreneurs, and the like to network right on their website. It takes the social aspect of networking to a completely different level.

Build Your Network Day-by-Day

Building your network on LinkedIn may appear to be a little overwhelming in the beginning, but it doesn’t have to be. Start out small by connecting with people you already know. With a user base of more than sixty million, it is usually a safe assumption that most (if not all) of your colleagues are on this social networking site.

Once you have connected with people you already know, start reaching out to existing customers. If you are advertising your LinkedIn profile on your homepage and other social media outlets (such as Facebook and Twitter), you are probably already receiving connection requests from your customers.

As your network grows, start attracting new contacts by searching for people who may be interested in your product or service. This is also a great way to build business relationships with other companies. Incorporating non-competing businesses into your network is a great way to get more exposure.

Remember, a hearty network takes time and effort to build, and you will only get out of it what you put into it. You need to be prepared to devote a good amount of time to building your presence within the LinkedIn site. However, you will find that the investment of your time will have a solid pay off in the end as long as you stick with it.

To Your Marketing Success,

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We haven’t always had the social media advantage in marketing but the truth is that people have been using this business approach for centuries. As long as there has been a product to sell, entrepreneurs have been marketing it to their friends, family, and colleagues. Take the social marketing and mix it with today’s technology and you have Social Media Marketing. This marketing style is created from a blend of classic advertising and social networking.

Why does it work?

Marketing with social media is essentially word-of-mouth advertising. People are much more likely to purchase a product or try a service that is recommended by a friend or family member, because they have backed it with their own experience. This recommendation increases the product’s reputation in the eyes of the potential buyer (your target audience).

With today’s social networking tools your simple “word” can travel around the world at the click of a mouse or the push of a button. This means that word-of-mouth advertising can now reach far off lands without any extra effort.

Where do I start?

It doesn’t take a huge contact list to strategically execute a solid social networking marketing plan. All you really need are a few friends and contacts who are willing to spread the word about your product or service. Chances are you are already using social networking tools to keep in touch with your friends and family. Start there. It is important to remember that your colleagues may have no idea that you have a product to market until you make it known.

A few tips to get started:

Don’t be shy. You can’t expect others to spread the word about your product if you won’t do so yourself. You can only be as successful as you will allow yourself to be.

Don’t be afraid to try cross-advertising. If you have a friend or colleague who is marketing their product through social media, try working together. Give their product a mention and have them do the same for you. You could double your exposure effortlessly.

Offer incentives. This is a great social marketing tactic because it benefits both sides. This is a common marketing plan used by people who sell products through home parties. When the invitations go out they include a line such as: “bring a friend to receive a free prize!” This social networking plan is not only simple but it could easily double the attendance of the party.

Marketing with social media or Social Media Marketing “levels the playing field” for entrepreneurs and small business owners providing them with the opportunity to market their products and services inexpensively. However, it is time-consuming. Outsource it to your Virtual Assistant, which will give you more time to focus on your clients and building your business.

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