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Social Network Marketing - The Wave of the Future

An estimated $ 900 million are spent on social media advertising in the U.S. this year, and that number will hit $ 2.5 billion in 2011 - for advertising only. Millions more are in other social media marketing techniques, because sites like Facebook and some others are giving you more opportunities to your businesses to find potential customers.

Social media and networking sites are just the beginning - be smart, realize their full potential and recognize their advertising opportunities for businesses.

Facebook has recently added Facebook Ads system that has a feature where users can recommend products to friends. It is estimated that someone is 3 - 5 times more likely to buy a product if a friend uses and recommends it. Also, Facebook offers you to create your company profile. Microsoft, IBM, McDonalds and Philips are already among the well known names who have signed up.

There are also more traditional web advertising opportunities in social media networks. You can buy traditional banner ads that are placed at the top of the pages. You can also create flyers that can be targeted at a particular group of people. These are a good way of targeting a specific audience.

Facebook is just one example of a great social network marketing and advertising opportunity. YouTube and many other Web 2.0 sites also offer opportunities for commercial ventures, and provides revenue-sharing opportunities to contributors.

As Web 2.0 is growing, consumers expect a richer, more interactive web experience. In this sense, companies are offering an interactive and dynamic online experience provides users with combination of media: text, audio and video. Given the participatory nature of social network marketing, you can advertise your product or service free of online word-of-mouth or viral marketing, as it often called.
Marketers are trying to come up with original and popular content dedicated to a diverse client base.

All types of businesses, small and large, can use this opportunity by jumping on the social network marketing train. Since the effectiveness of the traditional advertising and marketing techniques are getting old fashioned, web 2.0 marketing is the future.

6 Keys to Success on Affiliate Program

People are always surfing on the net become so familiar with affiliate program. Many companies tried to improve theirs business through that idea. By implemented that idea could enhance market on the world. Improvements of internet made the world are like boundless. You can contact everyone by email, net conferencing or chatting.

Improvements of Information Communication Technology affect business marketing and company management itself. Many companies try to implement ICT for business management. Be carefully to choose company that implement affiliate program, it affect to your business future. Choose the companies that have good supporting system.

Although you have joined professional company through their affiliate program, but money is not as quick as come to your pocket without trying hard and learn much. Many new marketers complain that they felt have tried hard but as matter of fact, never gained anything from their business. Actually what are the false? There are 6 keys secret successes for new affiliate marketers should know.

1. Trying to learn much about your company program.
The weakness of one who joined affiliate program is laziness to know about the company. The company that have affiliate program should have training program. Without following the training how the successes come to you? You should be blind about your company. How can you promote and tell to anyone else about your business. The companies usually publish a Newsletter. You can get it as long as you have been a member. Try learning it! Implement it if possible.

2. Try to know about products that company sell.
Ideal affiliate program should have products to sell. It must be impossible that affiliate program without selling products. Try to know about many products that your company offer and learn about specific ness of the product. Enhance your business by offering to your family, coworker and relatives. Of course, you will get points. Evaluate about your everyday needing. Had better you do shopping by buying from companies shopping Mal.

3. Learn about company's facilities.
There are many company facilities that offer to their affiliate. Like free website, free marketing tool, free newsletter, free discussion board, free e Cards and others.

4. Maximize the company's facilities.
Before you go to others, had better you maximize your company's facilities so that you can learn how to market on line without spending much money.

5. Trying to contact up line.
Every affiliate program should have up line and down line. You should be ready to be leader for your down line. The wise steps for new comer on affiliate program are contacting your up line. You can ask about his/her strategies how to improve the program, how to get lead without spending much money and many others questions. You can also discuss with your up line if possible.

6. Trying to look for others free facilities on the net.
You can join mailing list, submit article to Ezine, banner exchange, publish ezine, join blogging. Have planning, staying passion and endurance to gain your target success. Don't give up before getting success on your hand.

Marketing an Internet Presence - Network is a Verb

VERB™ It's what you do.

To network does - not - mean to simply join a networking platform, create a profile, and passively expect magic to happen. It requires action. It requires reaching out. That's right - it requires effort.

I've talked to many people over the years that complain about not getting anything out of their membership to a given networking platform. When I ask, "What exactly did you - do - after joining the networking platform?" The response (all too often) is, "Do?"

There are millions of - inactive - members of networking platforms. Unfortunately, that translates into million of people that are not realizing the benefit of on-line networking.

Network: It's what you - do - that counts.

There are obviously multitudes of ways one can take action and reach out. You can reach out directly to specific individuals through personal messages/emails or indirectly by posting blogs on topics of common interest, subject matter expertise, etc., or starting a club/forum around a common interest, subject matter expertise, etc. They all require action.

Many of us belong to some on-line networking platforms but all on-line networking platforms are not created equal.

I believe so strongly in the power of building an Internet Presence by leveraging on-line networking that I built a website just to discuss specifically how to do this.

Happy Networking!

Ron Bates

Methods of Website Promotion

Promoting a Website is not an easy task. New Website Developers may have the impression of building a Website and sales are generated. This is far from true. There are millions of Websites. Within those millions, there are bound to be competitors. To rise above, or obtain a portion of the market-share, developers need to utilize an effective promotion campaign.

Establishing a Website is not much different than a brick-and-mortar business. Open a Deli in the heart of a City and millions of potential customers will pass daily. In contrast, open the Deli in the suburbs, and there would be one quarter of the potential customers. Obviously, the City would be much more expensive to get started and maintain, but the revenue should provide for the added expense.

The same holds true in Website Promotion. However, the landscape is different. There are no streets and sidewalks customers have to use. Therefore, our businesses need to be found by customers in a variety of places. It needs to be brought to the potential customer, or viewable from wherever they may be lurking.

Where do we start with Website Promotion?

One of the topics sweeping the developer's world is Optimization. The internet will naturally bring potential customers, if the site is optimized properly. Computers work hard on matching relevant information. This is a huge benefit to e-business owners.

Before promotion begins, or altering existing efforts, understand the Internet's backbone. Why has the World Wide Web become popular? Most should agree, information retrieval rules. Internet users don't have to sit down and watch television waiting for local weather. They don't have to wait for news of interest. They don't have to drive to find the best prices. They don’t have to look through cook-books to find a recipe. They don't have to talk to salespeople for a car. Today it's all on the "information" super highway.

As a developer, focus on information delivery before beginning promotion of a Website. If a page can be divided into two topics, make two separate pages. Over-use of graphics can present problems too. While it's nice to make a Site pretty, most people don't care. They want the information or products they are seeking. Sectors such as art could be an exception, but for the most part, lots of graphics are a waste. People read on the internet. Give people something to read, not just something to view.

Promotion Budget

If launching a new campaign, it may take time to decipher an effective budget. There are simple variables that should be considered with budgeting. Given the potential scope of a Website, advertising should be devoted to different areas of the site. For example, paying to promote the free portion of a Website is not logical. In contrast, a free forum may sell advertising. The advertising segment of the site should be exploited.

There is a simple formula to develop a budget. If a site is new, it takes some research and investment to draw an accurate conclusion. Put simply, consider the following; how many potential customers are required to make a sale? From each sale, how much profit is generated? Of the profits, how much is invested into advertising? This identifies the value of potential customers. If ten customers make one sale, and ten dollars are allocated towards advertising, each customer is potentially worth one dollar. However, room for growth could be made by reducing the value of a potential customer or increasing the advertising contribution. A competitive sector may force reduced profits rather than reduced value of potential customers.

Comprehensive budgeting could be applied to aspects of the business. Promote each aspect as a unique entity. For example, a Website that sells music and movies could have separate budgets for the segments. This could reveal vital information to the survival of a business. Implement effective models that assist in tracking expense and results. This is fairly simple with website statistics and tracking tools.

Free Traffic Promotion – Keywords and Phrases

When it comes to free traffic, it's about information retrieval. People utilize tools that provide information accurately and quickly. These tools rely on the developer's interpretation of a Website or page (On-Site Optimization). What is the Website or page about? What phrases are people looking for that want to use this site? Information retrieval is a complicated double-edge-sword between people surfing the web and people creating the web. When the people creating the web do not create clear and focused pages, people surfing the Web cannot find them.

Free traffic is a gift from creating user friendly pages, clearly focusing on a specific topic, and the result of promotion efforts. It stems from a good balance. While free traffic primarily comes from Search Engines, it also comes from referring sites. People will write about a Website in blogs, forums, or on their personal pages. People will add links to Sites they like.

If developers hunt for free traffic, problems can arise. Hunting for free traffic has made developers try tricks that got the site removed from Search Engines. This can present a big problem as they are a large source of free targeted traffic. Keep free traffic in mind while promoting a Website, but don't make it the focus of promotion. It will come naturally over time. Take it as a gift and an acknowledgment that a Website has been optimized well, presents clear information, and is promoted in the right places. Although some may argue the point, don't anticipate quality free traffic to begin immediately. It takes extensive thought, advertising, and planning for this to happen, especially within competitive sectors.

Promoting in Directories

One place to start promoting a Website is Website Directories. Most directories are organized by topic. Some are more comprehensive than others. In addition, there are "Niche" directories that focus on one topic. For example, there are directories for shopping, reference, art, and automotive sites. In contrast, there are general directories that provide all the niches.

Finding an appropriate place within a directory may be difficult. Directories can a large structure. However, a comprehensive structure benefits advertisers with targeting. Comprehensive directories enable developers' to classify a Website. For example, it maybe possible to promote a site the sells speakers, for cars, but only domestic cars, and ones that are late model. In addition, some directories may implement regional indexing. Targeting an index in a directory can be complex, but it can be a great benefit too.

Don't expect to rush from directory to directory and establish a bunch or references. Each directory is unique. Take time to understand how the directory is structured, what they expect as a title and description, and how the suggestion process works. Seek similar sites; take note of where they appear, and how they are described.

Directories are generally affordable solutions. Most Directories are indexed by search engines. They help search engines understand a sites focus. In addition, they are a reference point for some people. It may be a good idea to seek-out one or two directories a week, or as appropriate to a budget. Finding good directories will consume a lot of time. However, once a link is added, it will remain there for a long duration.

News and Media Promotion – Public Relations

Public Relations an important factor when promoting any Business. News and Media channels are the vehicles that convey information to the public. News about a business can make a huge impact on the public. Good news can make lots of people remember a business. Some developers release news about every change or added feature to a Website. Ironically, some developers never utilize this area of promotion.

There are a variety of distribution sites that will expose news releases to numerous channels, for a modest fee. In addition, most will offer free options. It may be a good idea to utilize free options for news that is not very important. For example, adding a "Calculator" to a Website probably will not gain much attention. However, anything that may be important to the public needs to be announced.

If it can be added to the budget, outsource public relations efforts. PR companies have knowledge of what the media likes and contacts that make them valuable. PR specialists can be found in almost every City.

Ezine Articles - Provide Rich Content

Writing articles is a powerful promotion tool. Some developers refer to this as "Viral Marketing". There are Websites that require content. Content brings them traffic. Traffic builds valuable ad space.

Article Distribution sites assist promoters with circulating articles. Many Ezines rely on Distribution Sites for their content. Post an article to a distribution site and the article is "up-for-grabs" to anyone. The article begins to circulate the internet like a virus. Everywhere it appears, reference is given to the author and their Website.

Advertising on the Web

There are a variety of reference websites. Generally, these sites consist of Forums, Article content, and Online Chats. They rely on selling ad space as the main revenue stream. While some reference developers are "trying to rich quick" there are sites that offer affordable solutions to promote a Website. With free traffic in mind, seek-out text link advertising venues. Look for sites that charge a flat fee. Sites that charge per click or by the impression usually mask links for tracking. This does not build good recognition with search engines.

Seek relevant opportunities for promoting the Website. If the allows people to buy tennis shoes, a sports reference and information area may be prove beneficial. Another might be a reference site about footwear. Trial and error will reveal good advertising sources for promotion. Regardless of the site being promoted, there are reference areas that are valuable promotion tools.

Promotion Summary

The internet moves fast in certain aspects. When it comes to Website promotion, it moves slowly. Modifications that are made to a Web Page are not going to be seen the next day. Significant results appear months later. The most important area of promotion, is keeping accurate records. Website promotion is complex. Developers need to consider on-site and off-site optimization, targeting, and ad construction. The right mix can provide a significant advantage over the competition.

Michael Medeiros has an extensive background in business and advertising. He is the proprietor of the Mjmls Classifieds [http://www.mjmls.com] ([http://www.mjmls.com]), which is an open-source advertising solution for businesses and individuals.
Author: Michael Medeiros
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Article Marketing

Article Marketing As A Free Traffic Method

Article marketing is an excellent way to get free traffic and highly rated back links. In the past few years it seems as though people have moved away from this free traffic method, but article marketing is as valid a traffic source as ever. Some may actually see this type Marketing as the best way to produce long term traffic.

Why is this such a great source of traffic?

When people go to the internet they are usually looking for information or entertainment. When one writes a great content and submits it to highly rated directories that can amount to and endless number of visits to your site.

One may remember that once you are posted on a directory that article and your URL is there for life. This makes for constant exposure to your site. The big search engines like Google also love content and will rank your website higher because of the links and keywords in your articles.

One thing to remember when you write an article is not to write bad content. Try to write professionally, correct spelling, grammar, and informative. Don't just write to write. People will not visit a website if you have poorly written your content.

How does one write and get published?

The best way to do it is to go to a site like EzineArticles.com and read the way others have written. When you post there will be a template to enter in your content so that the submission will be easy and done correctly.

So get out there and start reading article and writing some of your own. Watch the traffic start to trickle in.

Social Networking Sites: PerfSpot

A Review of PerfSpot
Main Features

****Excellent
***Very Good
**Good
*Fair


SOCIAL NETWORKING SITEPerfSpot
OVERALL RATING***


RATINGS
Profiles***
Security***
Networking Features*** / ****
Search** / ***
Help/Support** / ***
Legitimate Friend Focus** / ***
DEMOGRAPHICS
Minimum Age to Join13
Percentage of users Under 1832
International Communityyes
Multilingualyes
Advertisement Free-
PROFILES
Profile Editor (WYSIWYG)yes
Custom Skinsyes
Customize Code (HTML or CSS)-
Personalized URL-
Photosyes
Max. Photo Size3 MB
Post Commentsyes
Friendsyes
Blog/Journalyes
Applicationsyes
SECURITY 
Privacy Settingsyes
Block Usersyes
Report Spam-
Report Abuseyes
Safety Tipsyes
NETWORKING FEATURES
ChatRooms-
Instant Messagingyes
Tags-
Bulletinsyes
Groupsyes
Groups (Number of Categories)100
Create a Groupyes
Forums-
Mailyes
Grab/Copy/Share Photosyes
Mobile-
Musicyes
Music Videos-
Commercial Videosyes
Personal Videos-
Gamesyes
Classifiedsyes
Events-
Books-
SEARCH
By Nameyes
By Email Address-
By School-
By City / Zip Codeyes
By Interests-
By Keyword-
Browse Without Membershipyes
Technical Help / Support
eMail Supportyes
FAQ-
User Forums-

Social Networking Sites: Orkut

A Review of Orkut
Main Features

****Excellent
***Very Good
**Good
*Fair


SOCIAL NETWORKING SITEOrkut
OVERALL RATING***


RATINGS
Profiles***
Security****
Networking Features**
Search* / **
Help/Support***
Legitimate Friend Focus****
DEMOGRAPHICS
Minimum Age to Join18
Percentage of users Under 184
International Communityyes
Multilingualyes
Advertisement Freeyes
PROFILES
Profile Editor (WYSIWYG)-
Custom Skins-
Customize Code (HTML or CSS)-
Personalized URL-
Photosyes
Max. Photo Size10 MB
Post Commentsyes
Friendsyes
Blog/Journal-
Applicationsyes
SECURITY 
Privacy Settingsyes
Block Usersyes
Report Spamyes
Report Abuseyes
Safety Tipsyes
NETWORKING FEATURES
ChatRooms-
Instant Messaging-
Tags-
Bulletins-
Groupsyes
Groups (Number of Categories)28
Create a Groupyes
Forums-
Mailyes
Grab/Copy/Share Photos-
Mobile-
Music-
Music Videos-
Commercial Videos-
Personal Videosyes
Games-
Classifieds-
Events-
Books-
SEARCH
By Name-
By Email Address-
By School-
By City / Zip Code-
By Interests-
By Keywordyes
Browse Without Membership-
Technical Help / Support
eMail Support-
FAQyes
User Forumsyes

Social Networking Sites: hi5

A Review of hi5
Main Features

****Excellent
***Very Good
**Good
*Fair


SOCIAL NETWORKING SITEhi5
OVERALL RATING*** / ****


RATINGS
Profiles*** / ****
Security*** / ****
Networking Features** / ***
Search** / ***
Help/Support**
Legitimate Friend Focus****
DEMOGRAPHICS
Minimum Age to Join13
Percentage of users Under 1824
International Communityyes
Multilingualyes
Advertisement Freeyes
PROFILES
Profile Editor (WYSIWYG)yes
Custom Skinsyes
Customize Code (HTML or CSS)-
Personalized URLyes
Photosyes
Max. Photo Size2 MB
Post Commentsyes
Friendsyes
Blog/Journalyes
Applicationsyes
SECURITY 
Privacy Settingsyes
Block Usersyes
Report Spamyes
Report Abuseyes
Safety Tipsyes
NETWORKING FEATURES
ChatRooms-
Instant Messaging-
Tagsyes
Bulletins-
Groupsyes
Groups (Number of Categories)22
Create a Groupyes
Forums-
Mailyes
Grab/Copy/Share Photosyes
Mobile-
Music-
Music Videos-
Commercial Videos-
Personal Videos-
Games-
Classifieds-
Events-
Books-
SEARCH
By Name-
By Email Addressyes
By School-
By City / Zip Codeyes
By Interests-
By Keywordyes
Browse Without Membership-
Technical Help / Support
eMail Support-
FAQyes
User Forums-

Social Networking Sites: Friendster

A Review of Friendster
Main Features

****Excellent
***Very Good
**Good
*Fair


SOCIAL NETWORKING SITEFriendster
OVERALL RATING*** / ****


****Excellent
***Very Good
**Good
*Fair

 


SOCIAL NETWORKING SITEFriendster
OVERALL RATING*** / ****



RATINGS
Profiles*** / ****
Security***
Networking Features** / ***
Search****
Help/Support***
Legitimate Friend Focus****
DEMOGRAPHICS
Minimum Age to Join16
Percentage of users Under 183
International Communityyes
Multilingualyes
Advertisement Free-
PROFILES
Profile Editor (WYSIWYG)yes
Custom Skinsyes
Customize Code (HTML or CSS)yes
Personalized URLyes
Photosyes
Max. Photo Size2 MB
Post Commentsyes
Friendsyes
Blog/Journalyes
Applicationsyes
SECURITY 
Privacy Settingsyes
Block Usersyes
Report Spamyes
Report Abuseyes
Safety Tips-
NETWORKING FEATURES
ChatRooms-
Instant Messaging-
Tagsyes
Bulletinsyes
Groupsyes
Groups (Number of Categories) 
Create a Group-
Forumsyes
Mail-
Grab/Copy/Share Photos-
Mobile-
Music-
Music Videosyes
Commercial Videos-
Personal Videosyes
Games-
Classifiedsyes
Events-
Books-
SEARCH
By Name-
By Email Addressyes
By Schoolyes
By City / Zip Codeyes
By Interestsyes
By Keywordyes
Browse Without Membership-
Technical Help / Support
eMail Supportyes
FAQyes
User Forums-

Social Networking Sites: Bebo

A Review of Bebo
Main Features

****Excellent
***Very Good
**Good
*Fair


SOCIAL NETWORKING SITEBebo
OVERALL RATING*** / ****


RATINGS
Profiles*** / ****
Security****
Networking Features***
Search**
Help/Support***
Legitimate Friend Focus****
DEMOGRAPHICS
Minimum Age to Join13
Percentage of users Under 1854
International Communityyes
Multilingual-
Advertisement Free-
PROFILES
Profile Editor (WYSIWYG)-
Custom Skinsyes
Customize Code (HTML or CSS)-
Personalized URLyes
Photosyes
Max. Photo Size2 MB
Post Commentsyes
Friendsyes
Blog/Journalyes
Applicationsyes
SECURITY 
Privacy Settingsyes
Block Usersyes
Report Spamyes
Report Abuseyes
Safety Tipsyes
NETWORKING FEATURES
ChatRooms-
Instant Messagingyes
Tagsyes
Bulletins-
Groupsyes
Groups (Number of Categories) 
Create a Groupyes
Forums-
Mailyes
Grab/Copy/Share Photosyes
Mobileyes
Musicyes
Music Videosyes
Commercial Videosyes
Personal Videosyes
Gamesyes
Classifieds-
Events-
Books-
SEARCH
By Nameyes
By Email Addressyes
By School-
By City / Zip Code-
By Interests-
By Keyword-
Browse Without Membership-
Technical Help / Support
eMail Supportyes
FAQyes
User Forums-

Social Networking Sites: Facebook

A Review of Facebook
Main Features

****Excellent
***Very Good
**Good
*Fair


SOCIAL NETWORKING SITEFacebook
OVERALL RATING****


RATINGS
Profiles***
Security****
Networking Features*** / ****
Search**** / ****
Help/Support****
Legitimate Friend Focus****
DEMOGRAPHICS
Minimum Age to Join13
Percentage of users Under 1836
International Communityyes
Multilingualyes
Advertisement Free-
PROFILES
Profile Editor (WYSIWYG)yes
Custom Skinsyes
Customize Code (HTML or CSS)-
Personalized URLyes
Photosyes
Max. Photo Size4 MB
Post Commentsyes
Friendsyes
Blog/Journal-
Applicationsyes
SECURITY 
Privacy Settingsyes
Block Usersyes
Report Spamyes
Report Abuseyes
Safety Tipsyes
NETWORKING FEATURES
ChatRooms-
Instant Messagingyes
Tagsyes
Bulletinsyes
Groupsyes
Groups (Number of Categories)23
Create a Groupyes
Forumsyes
Mailyes
Grab/Copy/Share Photosyes
Mobileyes
Musicyes
Music Videosyes
Commercial Videos-
Personal Videosyes
Games-
Classifiedsyes
Eventsyes
Booksyes
SEARCH
By Nameyes
By Email Addressyes
By Schoolyes
By City / Zip Code-
By Interestsyes
By Keyword-
Browse Without Membership-
Technical Help / Support
eMail Supportyes
FAQyes
User Forums-

Social Networking Sites: MySpace

A Review of MySpace
Main Features

****Excellent
***Very Good
**Good
*Fair


SOCIAL NETWORKING SITEMySpace
OVERALL RATING****


RATINGS
Profiles****
Security****
Networking Features****
Search****
Help/Support****
Legitimate Friend Focus***
DEMOGRAPHICS
Minimum Age to Join14
Percentage of users Under 1833
International Communityyes
Multilingualyes
Advertisement Free-
PROFILES
Profile Editor (WYSIWYG)yes
Custom Skinsyes
Customize Code (HTML or CSS)yes
Personalized URLyes
Photosyes
Max. Photo Size5 MB
Post Commentsyes
Friendsyes
Blog/Journalyes
Applicationsyes
SECURITY 
Privacy Settingsyes
Block Usersyes
Report Spamyes
Report Abuseyes
Safety Tipsyes
NETWORKING FEATURES
ChatRoomsyes
Instant Messagingyes
Tagsyes
Bulletinsyes
Groupsyes
Groups (Number of Categories)34
Create a Groupyes
Forumsyes
Mailyes
Grab/Copy/Share Photosyes
Mobileyes
Musicyes
Music Videosyes
Commercial Videosyes
Personal Videosyes
Gamesyes
Classifiedsyes
Eventsyes
Booksyes
SEARCH
By Nameyes
By Email Addressyes
By Schoolyes
By City / Zip Codeyes
By Interestsyes
By Keywordyes
Browse Without Membershipyes
Technical Help / Support
eMail Supportyes
FAQyes
User Forums-

9 Tips for More Effective Facebook Marketing

By Brandon Cox

Facebook is NOT welcoming of the marketing efforts of its users; and often, family and friends on Facebook are ANNOYED by marketing efforts. Both of those statements are undeniable. So trying to "market on Facebook" requires good sense, strict moderation, and an understanding of how Facebook might work for marketing purposes.

Personally, I rarely post any marketing messages on Facebook. I post them on Twitter frequently, but I also try to make sure that 75 - 90% of what I post on Twitter is either personal interaction, plugging good free content, or plugging other people's stuff. I do think, however, that monetizing my content on even free social media platforms is perfectly acceptable. Why? It's simple. Even though the platforms are provided to me for free, I'm also providing the content that allows the network to exist. If nobódy posted on Twitter, they'd be broke.

So again, in moderation, with good sense, and with a priority on relationships over sales, marketing across these platforms should be an acceptable thing. Now about the good sense part.

Why is it That Social Platforms Are So Effective for Marketing?

People are social, by nature, so they love recommending stuff they like. Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms have a rapidly expanding user base. Authenticity is demanded as people will give honest and public feedback. The platforms are accessible and easy to use by design, even by people with few technical skills.

For the most part, marketing across social platforms is free, but doing it badly can cost dearly.

Why Is Facebook So Important to Messaging and Marketing?

With 500 million (and growing) unique users worldwide, Facebook is the number one social networking site in terms of activity and subscriptions. What started as a garage initiative by Mark Zuckerberg has now become the biggest phenomenon on the internet.

A user interface that allows for quick communication and the ability to create fan pages and groups at the clíck of a button are what make Facebook extremely popular. Another important reason for its immense popularity is the wide variety of social applications that have been developed and made available within the Facebook environment.

Facebook provides a wide variety of avenues to communicate with the audience, which opens up an entirely different world of possibilities to have a fruitful dialogue with customers. Some of these methods used popularly by marketers are:

Advertising: The first, which is the most obvious one, is advertising on Facebook. The difference, however, is the fact that you can create an advertisement in a matter of minutes and also specify the details of your target group in terms of demographics and types of discussions where you want your advertisement to appear.

Fan Pages: Facebook allows every brand, as well as individual users, to create fan pages for their favorite celebrities and their own businesses. Large brands have also created their official pages on Facebook that have a huge, immediate fan following world-wide. The fan page has immense utility to convey first hand information about the brand and also to collect immediate and frank feedback from your customers.

Branded Applications: One of the most effective ways to engage a user toward your brand is by creating an application; this could be a game or a contest, with your branding coming across subtly through it.

What makes Facebook even more exciting is the way it allows you to target your communication sharply just to the customer segment you want to attract. It also provides analytics and page insights that give good feedback and measurement on the activity done.

Facebook is envied by other platforms and internet companies because, at least for now, they own the social graph. If Google has mapped the Internet's URLs, Facebook has mapped the Internet's personal relationships and connections, and that's extremely valuable. Why else would a company with virtually no physical assets to speak of (other than offices, servers, and datacenters) be worth billions of dollars?

9 Tips for Using Facebook to Market a Message

If you're thinking about jumping into the idea of marketing (or messaging even without the goal of profit), here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Facebook, like any other online platform, has terms of use. Respect them or be prepared to be banned as well as criticized mercilessly.

2. Facebook is about relationships. You don't have a "relationship" with a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman - so don't be one on Facebook.

3. Being personal is everything. Successful Facebook marketing campaigns revolve around personality.

4. There isn't a magic formula for making any message "go viral." You can't control a virus - that's what makes them viral.

5. People like Facebook for entertaining stuff. In fact, entertainment is defined as "holding one's attention." Remember this.

6. Facebook ads are more personally targeted than ads anywhere else.

7. Being "liked" can work very, very well for your message. Being "unliked" (no, there's not a button, but it can happen) can bury you.

8. Facebook is in control. Always remember this and don't ever, ever assume its available tools won't change. They have and they will.

9. Don't build a business on Facebook marketing - or Twitter marketing - or newspaper ads, radio ads, TV ads, or leaflets dropped from hot air balloons. Build your business on a great product, a great message, and great relationships.

What did I miss?

About The Author
Brandon Cox is a Communications nut, a blogger, designer, web entrepreneur, and a Pastor at one of America's largest churches, Saddleback Church. And he loves helping people blog for income.

Internet Faxing

I would like to touch on the technology of what we call Internet Faxing or I-Faxing. I-Faxing is a method of transmitting messages electronically via the internet or IP addresses (like postal addresses for machines on the internet allocated by your Internet Provider). Much like e-mail has taken off in the business world (and outside of it), so will Internet Faxing and the concept of communicating for a minimal cost and without the use of paper.

So how does an office take advantage of Internet Faxing? Well let's firstly look at the application that I-Faxing is used for. Just like normal faxing I-Faxing allows us to transmit electronic messages from one point to another using the scanning technology in either a fax machine or MFD (multi-function device). The difference between a normal fax and this technology is that the cost involved with sending this data can be dramatically reduced.

I-Fax also allows the sender to reduce paper usage and the company's carbon footprint on the environment by taking advantage of I-Fax from desktop software that is associated with the module installed in the MFD. Given our commitment to a sustainable future, I-Faxing, Scanning, Emailing and other clever paper saving systems (including the simple double-sided print) are options that have become apart of our everyday life, without exception. The good news for businesses concerned not only with its carbon footprint but also operating costs and profit margins is that I-Fax can help you with all of these.  

Take the following as a working example:

Company ABC has an office in Melbourne, Australia with a multi-function device fitted with I-Fax and also has an office in Sydney, Australia (interstate) with the exact same configuration. The two offices need to communicate between one another for printed orders and invoices. Rather than sending normal faxes or sending physical paper via the postage either office can send a fax via the internet (I-Fax) without having to pay local or interstate phone costs. And depending on how the receiving station is set up the fax can either print out direct or can even be forwarded on to a local fax number in the other state (thus reducing interstate call costs to near enough nothing, excluding IP costs).

You can see with this type of technology how a company could save hundreds of dollars alone in faxing costs and improve the efficiency of its current system. I have had the pleasure of viewing many clients operate a well-oiled system with I-Fax and enjoy the speed and reduction in costs associated with this technology. You will find that even with some of the latest word processing software that I-Fax is now being incorporated for everyday use.

Have a look at your current system or if you are investigating a future system have a look at I-Fax options that are available and how they could benefit your organisation. This example above is only a small example of what can be done with this fantastic technology.

jonhillis.com.au

7 Steps to Building the Right Social Media Connections

By Angelique L. Rewers

Once upon a time, it seemed as though the number of "followers" or "connections" a person had on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn was akin to the number of votes they had for homecoming king or queen. It was the grown-up version of a high school popularity contest.

However, as these websites have now matured - and as entrepreneurs and business owners have figured out how and how not to use them - most everyóne has come to realize that it's not about the number of connections you have, but the number of right connections.

Just like in the real world, you want to make sure you're making the most of your networking time by connecting with those people that have similar or complementary interests or expertise and, therefore, create a mutually beneficial relationship - particularly when sites like Facebook limit your number of friends to only 5,000. In fact, many people who have large followings of the wrong people are taking the drastic step of deleting their connections and starting over from scratch.

Whether you're just getting started building your social media network or you're a seasoned pro, who's thinking about doing a major overhaul, here are seven steps you can take to help you build the right connections.

1.) Start With the People You Know. If you're still not using social media and are hesitant to get started, the best way to get your feet wet is by connecting with those you know personally: your friends & family, your neighbors, and your co-workers. But don't stop there; your network is likely a lot bigger than you might think. Don't forget about your former co-workers, your connections through professional organizations to which you belong, your clients or customers, members of your mastermind communities and even vendors with whom you've done business.

2.) Add the New People You Meet. Not so long ago (unless you were in sales), the majority of the business cards you collected at networking events, conferences, trade shows and other professional development opportunities probably went in the garbage can the next day. Today, however, there's no excuse for not taking a few minutes to extend the life of those connections by sending social media invites the very next day. Be sure to remind the person who you are by referencing something from your conversation or by providing a piece of follow-up information that you promised.

3.) Follow Your Followers' Followers. Check out the connections and followers of your colleagues, peers, friends, etc. On Twitter you can easily see who your friends are following, as well as who is following them. Facebook automatically provides suggestions of people you might want to add because you have a lot of shared connections. In LinkedIn you may need to ask your connection to make an introduction. In any case, if you have things in common with your networkers, it stands to reason that a good portion of their followers is also worth following. Just be sure not to "spam" your connections' lists.

4.) Broaden Your Reach. Extend invitations to people in groups to which you belong in both the real and online worlds, such as professional organizations. On LinkedIn you can connect with the folks you "meet" through LinkedIn Groups. And on Facebook you can make connections when you're invited to attend an event or when you join someone's fan page.

5.) Follow the Experts. We're constantly learning from experts in our respective industries. Why not reach out to these folks in the social media world? Maybe you've just read a great book. See what the author has to say on Twitter. Or maybe you've gotten a brochure for an upcoming conference that you'd love to attend but can't. Before you throw the brochure in the trash, search for the speakers' names on social networking sites and send them an invitation to connect. Let them know that you saw their session description for the conference and you're disappoínted you're going to miss it, but would love to keep track of where else they might be speaking.

6.) Do Some Digging. Don't forget to take the time to search for people who share similar interests as you or who would be an ideal customer for your business. Granted, this is the most time consuming of all the methods. But it will give you the chance to unearth new sources, experts and connections that will add value to your business and who you might not otherwise have ever "met." Be on the lookout for bloggers, reporters, and analysts who cover your company or industry.

7.) Invite Others to Follow You. To truly create an online "relationship" it needs to be a two-way street. One of the best ways to encourage others to follow you is by showing that you will provide value to them. In other words, be worthy of their time. Start by ensuring your online profiles are professional (i.e. no avatar photos) and accurately describe who you are, what you do, and what topics you're interested in. Provide content and commentary that matches that profile, is timely and doesn't spam. Promoting is fine so long as it's balanced with valuable content. Link to blog posts, videos and articles your followers would find interesting. Ask questions and provide insightful comments on other people's posts. Make it easy for others to follow you by providing "follow me" widgets on your website, blog posts, article archives, and podcasts.

Remember: It's not about the number of connections you have on these sites - it's about the quality of those connections. Today, people are looking for authenticity. They want to meet real people with real things to say who will add value to their personal and professional lives.

Are you doing something interesting to find valuable contacts on social media sites? Leave us a comment and tell us know what strategies are working for you!

The Queen of Clarity - Angelique Rewers, ABC, APR, harnesses her extensive experience working with Fortune 500 companies to help solopreneurs clarify their marketing focus so they can build a business that makes them happy and makes them money. If you're looking for simple, low-cost ways to boost your sales, get Free marketing *Brilliance!* now at: www.richersmarterhappier.com/brilliance_ezine.htm