Social Media Marketing Plan

So you run a brand and you’ve decided to dive into the world of social media. Before you hop in that rocket ship straight for Facebook and Twitterland, and start sharing things all willy nilly, consider the effects a calculated social media marketing strategy will have on your efforts. Like any business decision, it’s important to have a clear flight path that outlines the who, what, where, when, why and hows. Social media is no different!

Ask yourself these questions before planning out your social media marketing strategy.

1. Who is my audience?    In order to even begin to put a strategy together, it’s essentially important to have a target audience in mind.  Males, schoolteachers, or children are not specific enough of a focus. Generally, there are 3 major things you should identify when defining an audience: demographics, interests and needs. If you can point out the exact demographics of your target audience, understand their interests, motivations, but especially their needs, you will be able to reach their beloved news feeds.
2. Which platform is my target audience on?   Before you can share content with your newly found audience, you need to know where it is that they are sharing and receiving content. Platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are extremely common, and are considered a “must” for brands to participate on. Now, however, these social networks are becoming more defined and their user base is becoming more and more unique with different ways to engage with them. Not all brands belong on Facebook, and attempting to build an audience on there could be a waste of dollars. Instead of being on absolutely all the platforms, do the research on who is using which networks, and post accordingly.
3. What are my short vs. long term goals?   Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your brand’s social media presence. (Unless you commit a social sin and buy some fake followers!)  Clear short and long-term goals should be a foundational first step. Short-term goals should be measurable things such as “get 10 new followers each week for the month of May” or “increase Facebook engagement by 50% in a month.” Whereas long-term goals are more about positioning: host a Twitter forum, or to secure 25% more new business deals via Twitter. You’ll want to make sure that you are continually evaluating your short vs. long-term goals, and adjusting them as you go.
4. What is my budget?   Sharing content on Pinterest and Facebook may be free, but extending the reach of your message through advertising will take a few dollars, research, and time. Identify a reasonable budget before you start planning a social media strategy to help better visualize where paid ads will be and exactly what they will look like.
5. What are my competitors doing?   Peeping out what strategy your competition is utilizing is a must. A brand can learn a lot about the playing field simply by observing what the industry’s top 3 competitors are doing. Take note of which networks they are on, what type of content they’re sharing, and how their fans are interacting with them. Is there anything you can duplicate, or possibly do better? What isn’t working for them? Take much needed time to scope out competitors’ social media strategy, and then move in for the kill!
6. What types of content do I need to create, according to the platforms?   The component of a brand’s social media strategy that will set it apart from others is the original and creative content. This can be in the form of a blog, YouTube videos, photos for Facebook and Instagram or how-to’s for Pinterest. While you’re creating content and planning your social strategy, take into account that some content works better on certain networks than others. For example, the Facebook algorithm prefers images to links, so sharing high quality photography on Facebook makes sense. A network like LinkedIn however, is better suited for industry news, brand stories and thought pieces, as opposed to stunning visuals. Align your content with the proper networks to have the most effectiveness!
7. What types of content should I be curating and sharing?   Another part of a social media strategy involves curating content from other sources to share with your network. This content should be highly informational and useful to your target audience. You should also always provide your own take on the piece in conjunction with sharing the link itself. Let your followers know what you think about the content and add to the conversation. You might be surprised at the engagement you receive!
8. How will I engage with the target audience?   Social media is less about the followers and more about the engagements. That’s why determining how you will actively engage with the followers you’ve amassed is extremely important. Instead of outright asking for likes or retweets, ask your followers to share their own stories with you or to submit photos to a hashtag. To get your followers to engage with you, you must present them with a good reason why they should. Provide an incentive like new information, exclusive content, or even a social media shout out. Think of social media as a two-way street between you and your followers, and your social media marketing strategy will grow and thrive!

Utilizing social media should be part of every business plan, but it should also be done right. Take the time to plan your social media marketing effort so that the time you spend in the future isn’t wasted. Get to know your audience and predict what they will want to learn more about based on your interactions with them and what’s currently happening in your industry. Just be sure to keep evolving your social media strategy as your influence and audience grows!

ref. to business2community, google/search, msn, socialworld

3 Most effective ways for online lead generation

Online lead generation is a concept that comes from the traditional marketing where you have to attract and capture the attention of your target audience in order to generate sales for that product or service.

As of now we are living in a modern world where everything is going online and that’s the reason why the importance of lead generation marketing can’t be ignored. Now it is very important for the companies to make their digital presence because buyers are looking and searching for them through search engines and social media.

So the 3 effective ways for online lead generation can be considered as a low cost, durable and long term solutions for customers.

1. Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is always a primary strategy for the leading marketers because it gives tremendous results in terms of online leads generation. This might be because of the consumer involvement that searches for the particular product or service every day. Major portion of SEO lead generation techniques is through Organic searches, improvement in ranking in search engines can results in a more visibility to the global visitors which results in more leads generation.

Multinational Organization uses many SEO techniques to became spotlighted but the most effective, result oriented and customer centered approach that marketers put their emphasis upon is content marketing. SEO methods are cost effective because you don’t have to pay any money for advertisement and for clicks.

2. Social Media Marketing

Presence in all the digital mediums is very crucial in order to get success in online lead generation and for that social media plays a very vital role because you actually participate and talk to your customers, you develop relationship with them. Companies can share their latest developments with the customers and in return customer’s queries can be resolved with absolutely no cost.

Social media is a very comprehensive communication channel; Organizations are now using social media for MLM lead generation, which means that the companies are using your friends, relatives or somebody you know to refer the product and services. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are a free where Organizations make their pages and link it to their websites to start interacting with consumers. Social media pages and websites are updated regularly and traffic is gone through social media to Companies website which eventually results in Lead generation.

3. Email Lead generation

Email Lead generation is an old but effective method which is sometimes underestimated, but leading companies gives it lots of importance. This is because it’s a personalized method where you can interact with the customers individually and can convince them buying your product or services. Surveys also indicated that email marketing also effects positively on consumer buying behavior, because its sets up their minds before they go for the shopping.

One of the major benefits of Email lead generation is that it can get you to the specific targeted audiences which are more likely to be your customers because of their interest, likeness or age etc.

These methods of online lead generation discussed above are used excessively by most of the successful organization of the world, these methods are considered economical, effective and produce long lasting results.

7 Steps to Internet Marketing Success

7 Steps to Internet Marketing Success

Internet marketing success is attainable if you think about your site and where you are going. You have to target the right people and also get in touch with the right parties for whatever it is you want to market.

Are you aware of what you’re trying to do when making your online marketing plans work as well as they should? Your path to Internet marketing success does not have to be as complicated as you might think it could be.

The fact is that you can easily do more with your business marketing campaign if you simply take a look at a few important steps with regards to making your marketing campaign a little more proficient.

1.Consider What You Want to Do

You have to start by thinking carefully about whatever it is you are actually trying to do in your online marketing project. Your project should be more than just something that is capable of bringing in more business. It should also be used to get other people to know more about whatever it is you want to promote.

A huge part of Internet marketing success involves not only getting people to visit your site but also with getting your visitors to see what you are like and who you are trying to target. You can’t just go with a regular procedure for online marketing. You have to work extra hard to attain Internet marketing success. Part of this involves thinking ahead with regards to what you actually want to do in the long run.

2.Take a Look At Your Site

Sometimes all the marketing tools that you use might not be enough to help you attain Internet marketing success. You might have to consider the content on your site just as well. The fact is that people will be more likely to want to visit your site if you can prove that you have content that is worthwhile and of interest and value to anyone who visit your site.

3.Get Into More Places

You might have an easier time with getting closer to Internet marketing success if you market yourself in more places. For example, you can market yourself in places like blogs through guest posts or forum posts. You can also get into a variety of directories when seeing what you’ve got.

You clearly have to find multiple places when it comes to promoting yourself. This leads perfectly into the next step.

4.Who Are You Targeting?

You have to think about doing more than just getting the word out in any general place. You also have to get the word out in places where your target audience is more likely to be located in. You should think about the people who are more likely to visit your site and take advantage of it before you market it in certain places.

You clearly have to think about who will come to your site above all else because the people who do come onto your site are the ones who will be more likely to actually buy things from it.

The targeting process will involve a review of what your traffic is like and who is coming to your site. You can use this through an analytical process or by using an analytics program to see who’s coming to your site and therefore who you should be targeting in particular.

5.Find Unique Ways to Plug Yourself

The problem with so many plans for attaining Internet marketing success is that there are many forms of marketing that just about everyone else has been using. You’ll have to think about unique choices for marketing if you want to actually be seen.

For example, you can plug your business by posting online videos through many video sharing sites. You can also create secondary Twitter or Facebook accounts with different marketing items that are somewhat relevant to what your business is about.

The things that you can use when finding ways to promote your site are very interesting. The sky’s the limit when it comes to marketing yourself so you should be certain that you think about all the different options you’ve got to choose from when promoting yourself.

6.Be Observant of Your Deficiencies

You can’t just assume that you’ll be perfect every single time you do something. You have to acknowledge that your work is far from perfect. You have to think about every deficiency on your site and your campaign so you can figure out what needs to be done in order to make it more proficient.

You especially have to be certain about your faults by taking a closer look at the ways of how your site is being promoted. Part of this includes thinking about what you could be doing and why you aren’t getting into certain strategies when trying to promote yourself.

7.Be Unique

No one likes it when someone is copying off of everyone else. You’ve got to be unique if you want to stand out. It should be done well so you’ll know what you are maintaining.

There are many ways how you can be unique and get to that point of Internet marketing success that you’ve always wanted. For example, you can start by creating new content that is special and specific to your site. Anything that’s new will certainly be welcome.

You’ve also got to make your own specific angle with regards to what you want to talk about. You can gear the content you make towards your business and why people should specifically take a look at your own business above all else.

These are points for Internet marketing success that should be utilized well enough. You’ve got to be certain that you know what you are getting yourself into if you want your site to be more visible and interesting to everyone.

   

Inspirational and Inspiring Gifts

Petey Paker writes his experience to motivate us this " a million dollar lesson"
A cab driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Motivational speakers charge thousands of dollars to impart his kind of training to corporate executives and staff. It cost me a $12 taxi ride.

I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on a client. Time was of the essence and my plan included a quick turnaround trip from and back to the airport. A spotless cab pulled up.

The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As he got in the driver’s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.

Well! I looked around for a “Candid Camera!” Wouldn’t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, “Obviously you take great pride in your work. You must have a story to tell.”

“You bet,” he replied, “I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my niche in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be.

I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day’s work and done it well. I evaluate my personal assets and… wham! I became a cab driver.

One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I could simply just meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXCEED the customer’s expectations! I like both the sound and the return of being ‘great’ better than just getting by on ‘average’”.

Did I tip him big time? You bet! Corporate America’s loss is the traveling folk’s friend!

Google rank

How does Google find your site and list it? Purely registering your domain on the Internet isn't enough.

Before it can include a site in its index, a search engine has to know that the site exists. One of the first steps in picking up traffic to your website is to get it indexed by major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. However, it does not denote that your link will appear on the first page of search results.

Although by submitting your site will get it listed in some search engines, it will not necessary get it into Google. As Google is the most popular Internet search engine with the largest index, if there are no links from other pages that point to your site, the site will not be indexed. Therefore, before submitting your site to Google, you need to get linked from other sites that are already in Google's index.

1. Make sure that your website is ready (i.e. no broken links, has enough unique contents, etc). Optimize your website for keywords that are highly related with your website content.

2. Create a sitemap file for your website. It contains the URLs for all of your pages in your website. Sitemaps are rarely clicked by most visitors, but they are vital as it helps search engine robots find all the pages on your website. You can use free online or offline tools available to generate your sitemap file.

3. As soon as your site is available on the Internet, you can submit your site to web directories such as webguide.sg and business.com.

4. Create an article that is relevant to your site and submit it to pertinent article directories such as Amazines.com. Be sure to include a link to your site in the article. The 'spiders' will crawl these sites at least once every week. It will find your links and eventually lead them to your website. If other people find your article relevant and use in their own website, you may also get new links and visitors from other sites, which will eventually boost your website ranking.

5. Join a popular, highly ranked forum site and create a profile with your site URL along with a short description in the signature. Each post will count as a link to the search engines!

You can use any of the above techniques to get indexed by Google and other major search engines. However, do keep in mind it will take a few weeks for your site to appear in the search engines.

Discover the tools and guides to improve on your internet advertising and search ranking knowledge.