Social Media

Are you trying to maintain a social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media sites, and discovering that there aren’t enough hours in the day to read everything that the thought leaders and social influencers in your sphere are saying, let alone search for mentions of your products or services? But you’re terrified that if you start skimming – or worse, skipping! – posts you’ll miss something crucial.

If This Then That (abbreviated IFTTT) is the perfect solution for social media overwhelm. It allows you to specify different rules for each social media platform that you are following. You can have it automatically alert you via email or text message based on who is posting, or on keywords that are used in their post.

This is an excellent way to find out who is saying something about your company anywhere in social media. Set up an alert that references your company name, or the name of your major product. Whenever a happy customer tells their friends about their experience with your company, you can follow up asking for reviews, referrals, or additional sales. Whenever a disgruntled customer tells their friends about their experience with your company, you can follow up with immediate damage control, doing whatever it takes to turn an unhappy customer into a raving fan who will tell everyone how you fixed their problem.

You can also identify the thought leaders and social influencers that you wish to get closer to, and get alerted whenever they mention something in your area of knowledge. You can jump right in with an insightful comment or helpful suggestion to a problem they’re having, and immediately be recognized by their other friends and followers as someone of value.

Other ways people are using IFTTT are to automatically update their status in Facebook when they receive reviews from clients or are tagged in other people’s photographs. They can receive text messages warning about weather conditions that are likely to cause traffic slowdowns. If you use a webmail service such as Gmail, you can set the system up to automatically create new records in your customer contacts database when request for information forms arrive in your email.

Since the service is currently free, many people are also using it for personal situations as well as business. Some examples include notifying you of when new streaming video becomes available on Netflix, to record a history of rain for your location, or to track the music you listen to through a service such as Scrobbled.

Best of all, if you are part of an internet marketing agency that performs social media services for other companies, you can use IFTTT to convince them that they are your number one client, with dedicated support. After all, whenever anything about their company appears in the social media, you’re on it within a matter of minutes.

Thanks!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

The Internet Marketing Academy

http://www.internetmarketingacademy.com

(Image Creative Commons by webtreats)

Have you heard of Pinterest yet? Are you using it? If you’re not making use of this social network marketing channel, your business will shortly be left behind as your competitors who are using Pinterest surge past you in sales, customers, and online influence.

The concept behind Pinterest is fairly simple. You create what is basically an online pin board, to which you can pin pictures of things you like. These can be product photos, captured webpages, or photos of people or places. You can create multiple pin boards, each of which collects a certain category or theme of things that you like. People who follow your pin board are able to view the images you’ve pinned to your board, comment on them, and even re-pin the images to their own boards.

This is an extreme simplification, but it’s the general concept. At this point, you may be wondering how it can possibly be a useful marketing channel.

Where Pinterest differs from a standard pin board is in what happens when you “touch” one of the pinned images. On a standard pin board, you can pull out the pin and pick up the image it was holding – and now you have an image in your hand. On Pinterest, however, when you pick up an image (by double-clicking on it), you’re taken to whatever webpage the image is linked to. So for a product photo, you may be taken to an online retailer where you can buy that product. The captured webpage image would take to you that webpage. Photos of people or places may take you to a fan site or personal webpage for a person, and a tourism website or travel agency may be linked to the image of a place.

If the pictures are particularly beautiful, moving, interesting, or captivating, they will be re-pinned onto other people’s pin boards. You can add words and other graphics to an otherwise interesting image to make it even more likely to be re-pinned. All of these other people are then doing your marketing for you, because any time someone sees the image on their pin board and “picks it up” by double-clicking on it, they’ll be directed to the website you selected.

How many people are viewing these pin boards? There are 11 million Pinterest users, making it the fastest growing social network ever. It is the #2 social network (after Facebook), and has more users than Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter combined. While the initial adopters of Pinterest were almost all women, as more and more people join, the ratio of men to women is trending toward parity. While it is an ideal way of reaching a female demographic, you can also use it to reach millions of men.

Thanks!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

The Internet Marketing Academy

http://www.internetmarketingacademy.com

(Image PhotoMorgue)

With the social network media buzzing about Google+ and Google+ Local, I decided it was time to delve into this new and constantly evolving scene and find out what it means to Internet marketing. Google+ Local has replaced Google Places and in the process added some features that will impact the way your business is found locally and what they see when they do find you.

This new feature in Google+ is a more personalised way to search for businesses than the traditional web search. When you log in to your Google+ and go to the new local tab you are taken to your local home page. Here, you can put in your location when you search and also choose whether or not you want to see results based on reviews and people in your circles.

The results are where you see the new and improved Google+ Local. All of the basic business information is displayed along with a new Zagat score and reviews from locals, people in your circle and people like you, based on your profile. You will also see pictures more prominently and a Google Map with the listings.

So, now, you simply have to put Google+ Local to work for you and your business. First, you have to understand that Google+ Local is indexed pages and this will be the basis of your online marketing strategy using these pages. As indexed pages, query results will be both stand alone pages and pinned results that are controlled by Google.

Whilst this does mean that Google will have editorial discretion on the content of pages, and they will display competitors’ ads on the bottom of the pages, it also means that as the business owner, you have a role in controlling your content, and need to employ SEO tactics. You should constantly monitor your listing on Google+ Local and use this in other online marketing strategies.

My first suggestion is to create local ads for Google+ Local to showcase your business. These are called express ads and will bring more traffic to your website .Much of that traffic is going to be local traffic that converts to revenue.

There is more to Google+ Local and Express that adds more value to your ads. Express ads not only show up when your business type is queried, they can also appear in the “Sponsored Links” section of Google and Google Maps search results.

If this sounds alien and you, like me at times, need a visual, imagine that you are searching for accommodations for your next holiday. Your query in Google+ Local will return results that are not only relevant to my search but will include reviews from people in my Circles if there are any and any results that are based on their input.

As a business owner, what you have to understand is that Google+ Local will impact your business regardless of whether or not you get involved in marketing with Google Express. All it takes is someone on Google+ to post a review or comment about your business and that will travel from Circle to Circle and ultimately across the Internet when your business is queried.

My suggestion to you is to take time to walk around the Google+ landscape and see what it is for yourself. If you choose not to get involved, you will only have yourself to blame.

If you have used Google+ Local in your marketing campaign, I’d love to hear from you. Use our comments section to share your success or lack thereof with others, and we can all learn how to improve our online marketing.

Thanks!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

The Internet Marketing Academy

http://www.internetmarketingacademy.com

(Image by Bruce Clay Inc)

Today we shall continue our series looking at some of the niche communities in the social marketing world. By calling them “niche communities,” however, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that these other social marketing channels don’t provide ample opportunities for you to garner attention for your business. Quite the opposite is true. Focusing your marketing efforts on a niche community rather than, or in addition to, the major markets, such as Twitter and Facebook, could be the very thing to jumpstart your business brand.

In this installment, I’d like to introduce you to Instagram. Instagram is a mobile photo filter app for iOS and Android devices with more than 50 million users. It enables users to take a regular photo and, through the addition of a digital layer, give it the appearance of a professionally edited one. For instance, Instagram has filters that enhance certain colours, filters that allow you to enhance the focus on one part of the photo and blur the rest, and filters that allow you to give the photo a vintage look.

Because Instagram is primarily a mobile app, you’ll need to download it onto your iPhone, iPad, or Android device in order to get started. To create your account, launch the app and click “sign up.” You’ll be asked for a few bits of information, including your email and a username, and you’ll be able to upload your business’ photo or logo. You’ll then have the option to import your Facebook and Twitter contacts, as well as any other contacts you have stored on your mobile device who are also using Instagram.

It is important to connect Instagram to your other social networking accounts as it is a relatively isolated app on its own. Connect it to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, and so on by going to “Profile Tab” and then “Edit Sharing Settings.” From there you’ll be able to choose the networks to connect with Instagram. Every time you upload a photo to Instagram, it will give you the option of sharing to these other networks.

I’m not going to go into the details of how to use filters and borders here. You can find plenty of tutorials elsewhere on the Internet or you can just try experimenting with it yourself. Once you’ve got a photo you’re ready to share, simply check the green check mark at the bottom of the screen, and this will bring you to the sharing prompt. Enter a brief description of your photo, including any topic hashtags or @people mentions if you plan to share it via Twitter as the text of the description will be the text of the tweet. When sharing images for your business, be sure to optimise them to make it easy for people to find them. Use keyword tags in your descriptions to give them a greater chance of going viral.

Do you have a success story with Instagram? Feel free to share your thoughts with a comment below.

Thanks!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

The Internet Marketing Academy

http://www.internetmarketingacademy.com

(Image by J A Moutinho)

I’ve written a lot about ways to use social media channels to improve your brand, focusing primarily on Facebook and Twitter. I’d like to begin to address some of the lesser known, but no less important, social media outlets, as many of them may provide significant opportunities for you to generate traffic to your website.

Today we’ll look at StumbleUpon.

StumbleUpon is a social media bookmarking site that enables users to discover new sites that may be of interest to them. By setting up a profile and defining yourself according to categories that StumbleUpon allows you to “follow”, then subsequently “liking” sites that appeal to you (or “unliking” sites that don’t appeal to you), you are able to find new sites that meet your interests and tastes.

To get the most out of StumbleUpon, you need to be an active participant. You can’t just set up your account and profile, submit your site, and wait to be stumbled upon. Indeed, StumbleUpon has a set policy against using it as a free promotional service. If you want to use it strictly for promotional purposes, then you’ll have to sign on to their Paid Discovery program, through which StumbleUpon will place your site in front of users interested in discovering new sites in your category. You will be charged $0.10 per user click for the service.

If you’re will to put in some time and effort, however, StumbleUpon can be a very effective tool. Once you’ve sent up your account, personalize your page with a photo or logo, a description, and other requested information.

Then, you’ll want to submit your site to StumbleUpon, which you can do by going to the addition page on the platform. You can submit more than one page from your site, but don’t submit too many or StumbleUpon will consider this spam, and you will be penalized. On the addition page, you will be asked for the URL, the category or “interest” of the page, a comment about the page, and tags for the page. You can include up to five tags for each submission.

The next step will be to add a StumbleUpon badge to the pages of your website next to the Facebook and Twitter badges that you have there already. Do this in lieu of submitting too many pages to StumbleUpon yourself. Letting others submit your site to StumbleUpon is much better than recommending them yourself. StumbleUpon is a meritocracy, and when others vouch for you, it carries a great amount of weight.

Now become active on StumbleUpon. Join the communities that relate to your business and “like” pages similar to yours. Build your reputation as a savvy “stumbler” and your recommendations will be highly regarded.

StumbleUpon is just one of the many social media channels we will be covering in the coming weeks. With it’s seemingly endless array of niche categories and communities, it might be just the thing you need to bring new visitors to your site. Give it a go and leave a comment below letting me and other readers know what you think.

Thanks!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

The Internet Marketing Academy

http://www.internetmarketingacademy.com

(Image by Top Gold)

YouTube is, by any measure, one of the most popular sites in the world. In terms of page visits, it is the third most popular website. In terms of search queries, it recently surpassed Yahoo! to become the world’s second most-popular search engine. More than 10,000 videos are uploaded to the site every day, and some experts think that that number could actually be as high as 50,000!

Yet, despite these numbers, YouTube seems to get left off of most small business marketing campaigns. If you’re choosing to focus only on blogging, Twitter, and Facebook, then you’re making a huge mistake.

First, Engage

The golden rule of social networking applies to YouTube just as well as it does to any other site. If you want your videos to be watched, you need to engage with the community. Create an account, and search for relevant videos in your industry. Rate them, comment on them, and share quality videos via Facebook and Twitter. If you’re socially engaged with the social network, you’ll see that a lot more people will be watching your videos.

Make a Great Video

The next step is to create a quality video. This, I believe, is what turns most small business owners off of YouTube. But it’s actually much easier than it seems.

Start by looking at your competitors videos. What format are they using? How are they telling their story? Look at the composition of the videos in your industry that you think are the most effective, and try to emulate the best aspects.

One word of caution – don’t make the advertisement obvious. YouTube users don’t want to feel like they’re being sold to. They want to be educated and informed. A quick product mention at the end, or something to draw your watchers back to your site will suffice.

Optimize for YouTube

Much like you would optimize a website to make it more easily searchable, you need to optimize your videos to make them more easily searchable on YouTube. As I mentioned before, in excess of 10,000 videos are uploaded every day. If you don’t optimize your video, it will be lost before anyone even has a chance to watch it.

Like website SEO, YouTube SEO is all about metadata and titling. Do your keyword research, and make sure that your title incorporates your target keyword or phrase. Likewise for the rest of the metadata – descriptions, tags, keywords. This is what gets your video watched instead of the thousands of others with similar content.

Now get out there and start marketing your business on YouTube. You have the numbers – it’s the second most popular search engine in the world. You have the tools – the keys to getting your video watched are community engagement, great content, and metadata optimization. So start your video marketing campaign today!

Thanks!

Sean

Internet Marketing Academy

As we have discussed, including social media as part of your online marketing campaign is critical to getting the maximum exposure for the least amount of money. Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter are all great resources for online marketing. Once you have become established in these arenas, it is time to consider a blog as well. While a blog is not strictly a social media, it does have a lot of the same elements through the comments option.

What is a Business Blog and How to Get Started?

For those not familiar with the world of the blogosphere, a blog is very like an online diary. When a business hosts a blog it is important to have one person write the content and it is a good idea to post their picture as well. Blog topics should include industry news and events along with daily activities. A blog is a great place to discuss changes and advancements with potential customers. Blogs should be updated on a regular schedule, preferably daily, but not less than weekly. Starting a blog is incredibly easy, and it can be incorporated into an existing website. The topic choices are endless, since it can (and should) cover both things specific to your company, like new sale offerings, and industry wide information, like regulatory changes.

Building Loyalty and Providing Expertise

A blog is a great way to connect with customers by providing information about the industry you represent. If you offer accounting services, blogging about the different types of book keeping services and financial tracking you provide can show people what you do. It also gives them an in-depth look at different aspects of accounting. By showing your expertise and responding to comments, you generate a sense of trust in potential customers. Providing the latest industry news helps keep them engaged and interested in the services you provide. Hair stylists might post pictures with the latest fashion trends, while hardware stores might talk about new power tool options. Regardless of the topic it is important to always post information that is current and that shows a depth of knowledge that you would expect from an expert.

Using a blog to expand social media marketing campaigns should be next on your list. Much like social media sites, blogging puts you in direct contact with a wide variety of potential customers. You have the opportunity to get their attention and prove your expertise. When customers acknowledge you as an expert in your field, they will be more likely to choose your company the next time they need yoru product or service.

Thanks!

Sean

Internet Marketing Academy

Internet Marketing Training – Internet Marketing Course – Internet Marketing Blog

Social media is now a top marketing opportunity for many growing companies. There are almost a billion people involved in some form of social media, which makes this an ideal marketplace to offer products and services. Don’t get caught up in only marketing on Facebook either. Although it is the single largest opportunity, it is not the only one out there. Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and YouTube are just a few of the other very well-known Social Media sites. The vast array of opportunities for a free connection with potential customers make social media web sites an ideal opportunity to incorporate them in your overall marketing strategy.

More and more companies are recognising these options, without doing the proper research to make the strategy successful. Jumping in to sink or swim is not the best option. It often leads to failure that is difficult to recover from. Before choosing to enter the social media marketplace, do your research. Figure out which social media site will best market your product or service. Always have a plan before you jump into a marketing push.

The following are some great tips to help you get started on social media marketing:

Choose the Right Site

The first step is all about research. Visit the sites you are considering using for marketing purposes and find out how they work, who is the predominant user and what the most effective methods of making contact with potential customers are. Don’t simply pick the most used site either, figure out if the platform of each site will work with the strategy you are pursuing. Will Facebook, YouTube or Twitter best represent your company? Information is the key to avoiding a desperate sales pitch that will push customers away rather than reel them in.

Honesty is the Best Policy

After you have picked the social media site that offers the best way to connect with customers it is time to unveil your pitch. Keep in mind that sometimes a combination of social media sites is most effective so never box yourself in to only one site. Also, never lie to the consumer. With the easy methods available of sharing information through social media, a lie can hit your company hard and completely close that avenue of client building. Always tell the truth to potential customers and you will have much greater success marketing online.

Thanks!

Sean

Internet Marketing Academy

Social media marketing is the biggest rage in internet marketing. There are all kinds of courses and guides on how to make money with social media.

However, social media is not a “get rich quick” scheme. Here are 4 tips on how to get the most out of social media for your business

1) It’s All About Building Relationships

Social media is not about getting people to follow you on Twitter, friend you on Facebook, or link with you on LinkedIn so you can pitch them over and over again. The proper way to market to prospects via social media is to build a relationship with them.

Make sure you give a lot of value to your followers through value-filled tweets and blog posts. This positions you as an expert so when people are ready to buy a product/service like yours, they will think of you first!

2) Interact With Your Followers

Don’t just tweet and post on Facebook and leave it at that. People are going to want to interact with you by responding to your posts and tweets. Take the time to write back to your followers.

I’m not saying you have to respond to everyone–or spend all day on Twitter and Facebook. But respond to a couple a day so new people can see that you DO interact with your customers and prospects.

3) Get Followers On Your List

Try to get your followers and friends on your email list. Offer them a free report or send them to a squeeze page in order to get them on your list.

While having a Twitter and Facebook account with thousands of followers or “friends” is valuable, it is even more valuable if they are on your email list.

4) Get Personal With Your Followers And Friends

Choose things about yourself you feel comfortable sharing with your followers. Do you have twins? Have a favorite sports team? Interject these into your correspondence on Twitter and Facebook.

It makes you more personable and people will bond with you as a result since you are showing your personality.

Implement these 4 social media tips and you could build a herd of prospects and customers who will buy from you again and again!

Keep Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Internet Marketing Academy

Everyone knows Twitter has become the hottest thing online regarding social media networks. In this post yesterday, I gave you several mistakes you shouldn’t perform if you’re going to market yourself online using social media.

In this post I’m going to give you several tips that could help you boost your presence online using Twitter. Several things are etiquette tips, others are just general marketing strategies you can use.

1) Have a good profile

The profile should have your REAL photo and a good profile description. The best ones are ones that are customer-oriented (“I want to show YOU how to make more money online”) instead of talk about themselves.

2) Take them to a landing page with an opt-in form

When people click on the URL to go to your site, you really need to have some sort of opt-in mechanism there so people can get on your list. Offer a free report, free ecourse, or audio for signing up to a newsletter. I talked more about this in another blog post here.

This way you can build your list and make more money.

3) Don’t tweet 50 times a day with useless information

This is more of an etiquette issue for me, I do tweet a lot but with useful information including quotes or freebies. Some people go overboard and tweet ruthlessly telling the world what they are doing rather than adding value which can cause your audience to tune you out.

4) Mix up personal, helpful, and promotional tweets

If you reveal bits and pieces of yourself when you’re tweeting then your target audience could start bonding with you more.

For example if you’re a golf fanatic, then you’ll automatically bond with golfers. The more you reveal about yourself the more you’ll eventually connect with people in your target audience since you’re bound to reveal something almost everyone in your target audience will bond with.

In conclusion, Twitter is one of the best social media platforms you can use to create aa strong social media profile. However, you need to use it wisely if you’re going to get benefit from it.

Live, Love, Laugh!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Internet Marketing Academy