25 Ice-Breaker Questions To Post On Social Media

Ever wonder how to connect, engage and create meaningful social media conversations? Or how to break the ice on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus?

Sure you have! It’s only natural.

We all want to connect — to establish relationships that matter. But times have changed.

Social networking has revolutionized the way your business is making connections.

With traditional networking, you had to dress up and go to a local event if you wanted to meet someone. With the advent of the Internet, that necessity faded away.

Today, building relationships is as simple as logging into your favorite social network. In fact, it’s one of the driving forces behind Facebook.

At Facebook, we build tools to help people connect with the people they want and share what they want, and by doing this we are extending people’s capacity to build and maintain relationships. – Mark Zuckerberg

So, what’s the secret to creating genuine business connections, no matter the social network?

Preparation. That, and a combination of networking skills, common sense and a little practice.

With questions, you can dig deeper, gaining insight into the people sharing space within your social media world.

But where do you begin? And how do you reach out to someone new, start a conversation and extend it beyond meaningless chitchat?

It’s simple. Ask questions!

That’s right. Prove that you’re more than just the posts and tweets you’re pushing out.

To help you get started, I’ve launched my new eBook that includes a back-to-basics approach to relationship marketing. In it are 100 social media questions and a step-by-step to help you get the conversation started.

And the best part? It’s FREE!

The questions included will:

 

• Offer real insight into the people you connect with online.
• Create beneficial relationships for both parties.
• Give you a deeper understanding into how you can best support your community.
• Encourage referrals through targeted information.
• Open the door of opportunity and business growth.

Want a sneak peek? Below are 25 of my favorite questions that you’re probably not asking, but should.

And — to help you get to know me better, I’ve included my answers below. Take a look!

25 No-Fail Social Media Questions

 

1. What is the best compliment you have ever received?
2. What movie could you watch over and over again?
3. Are you a cat or dog lover?
4. Where did you grow up?
5. What is the best thing to do in your hometown?
6. What is your favorite pastime?
7. Who do you admire the most, and why?
8. If you could run away for a day and do anything you want, what would you do?
9. What was the last thing you geeked-out about?
10. If you could retire tomorrow, what would you do?
11. What does your perfect pizza look like?
12. What is your favorite ride at an amusement park?
13. What is your favorite knock-knock joke?
14. If you could star in any TV show throughout history, what would it be and who would you be?
15. If you were a superhero, who would you be?
16. What is your superpower in business?
17. If you were in a band, what instrument would you play?
18. If you could adopt a baby or an animal, which would you choose?
19. It’s your perfect night – are you snuggled up with a good book on the couch or spending a night on the town with friends?
20. Tea or coffee?
21. What is your favorite flavor of Jelly Belly?
22. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
23. If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
24. What is your favorite time of the year?
25. Would you rather hike a mountain or lay on the beach?

 

25 Social Media Answers

 

1. You’re exactly the same offline as you are online. (love this!)
2. I have several movies, but “Love Actually” is one that I can watch no matter when it’s on or what I’m doing at the time.
3. If you’re connected to me online, you know my love of dogs. I have two Chihuahuas and am a huge pet rescue advocate.
4. In beautiful, sunny Southern California. It’s my home in every way.
5. I love where I live and choosing just one favorite is almost impossible. But, I’m always drawn to the water. Spending time at the beach makes my heart happy, especially when there’s a sunset involved.
6. Hanging out with my favorite people — that would be my hubby and two pups. At the moment, our favorite place to hangout is an amazing gourmet pizza joint around the corner. It has the most beautiful outdoor patio and a big wood stove for the perfect pizza. A glass of wine and my three boys equals the best night for me.
7. My mom and dad. They are both the hero’s of my life. I’d be nothing without all that they instilled in me from the moment I was born.
8. Drive north along the coast and soak in the view.
9. Meeting Pat Flynn. I’m a huge fan of Smart Passive Income and totally geeked out when I met him this last week at the speaker party for Social Media Marketing World in San Diego.
10.  Build another business. I love a challenge.
11. Interesting that my top 25 involve pizza. My favorite pie is fig, prosciutto and arugula. So delicious!
12. Any rollercoaster.
13. Knock knock.
    Who’s there?
    Doris.
    Doris who?
    Doris locked, that’s why I’m knocking! (insert groan)
14. I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball is everything I aspire to be — funny, witty, smart, self-deprecating, inspiring and brave. But most of all, humble. She’s quoted as saying, “I’m not funny. What I am is brave.” (humble)
15. Wonder Woman. I mean seriously, who doesn’t want a magic lasso and invisible plane?
16. Connecting the dots strategically.
17. The guitar. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play. Eddie Van Halen inspires me!
18. Animal. Specifically, every Chihuahua that needs a forever home.
19. A good book.
20. Coffee in the morning. Tea in the afternoon.
21. Hands down — popcorn. But yes, I did have to pull out the bag to taste test.
22. Peanut butter. or Pizza. or Macaroni and Cheese. or Bacon. I’m a free spirit that can’t be tied to just one food and you can’t make me.
23. Italy. I’m married to a 100% Italian and would love to see all that makes the country (and him) amazing.
24. Spring. Everything is new, fresh and ready to bloom!
25. No question about it. I’m all about the beach.

 

Your Turn

 

What question do you like best? Pick one and answer it in the comments below!

 Read more here:

http://rebekahradice.com/social-media-questions/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rebekahradice%2FAltC+%28Rebekah+Radice%29

Are You Using Pinterest For Your Business? If Not, Here's How

www.mashable.com

 

 

Net-worth can indicate many things, from strength of investment, how heavily something is trending or just how imposing and significant a particular app or social media platform is becoming. Thus, it’s worth taking note of the fact that Pinterest is now valued at $11 billion. It might seem like a casual, disposable tool, but more and more, it’s been as heavily relied upon in social media business tactics as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ (although the days may be numbered for that last one). You might wonder exactly how a service that seems to be largely geared towards hopping online and sharing information about your favourite restaurants or a fascinating article about how to fit your exercise routine around your 9-5 has become so significant.

 

You’d be surprised, though, Pinterest gets more web traffic, pound for pound, than any of those other heavyweights, apart from Facebook. The reason it makes so much sense for businesses is because it’s a marketing playground. It’s far easier to engage people through visual content than almost any other means and Pinterest gives you a wide range of options to explore. Creative marketing is essential in the modern business world and no other social media platform suits it better, if you ask me. That in mind, here is a handy guide for making Pinterest part of your business’s social media arsenal.

 

Getting Started

 

Obviously before you do anything else you’ll actually need to set up an account. You’ll need to select the ‘join as business’ option. All you’ll need to give it at that stage is an email, business name and business type, after that you're asked to select a set of interests and Pinterest builds your home page for you.

 

 

Once you have that done, take the time to explore the Pinterest Business Centre (business.pinterest.com) to see a more comprehensive spread of all the resources you’ll have at your disposal. Log as many relevant interests as you can in this early stage and really take the time to study other pages to see how best to promote your pins. Whatever content you post on your site, make sure you go into the site host settings and add a ‘Pin It’ button/’Follow Me’ button so that readers are guided to Pinterest in the same way that they would be to Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

Once that’s all taken care of, make sure to really synergise everything, use your other social media accounts to guide people to the Pinterest one, you can like your Pinterest to your Facebook and Twitter in account settings, meaning that everything which you share automatically crops up there as well.

 

 

Now you’re ready to start pinning, but lastly make sure that you look at the ‘Pin Etiquette’ guidelines, it will show how to make sure any content you Pin or Re-pin is credited and source-checked.

 

 

Build an Active Network

 

Like any other platform, building an active, organic web is absolutely key. In this case that means building up a wide range of boards to pin on and following as many other relevant accounts as you possibly can. With the pins themselves, make sure they’re easy to find for anyone who isn’t already in your network, more or less anything text-based that appears on a board or pin is searchable, so make use of key words as often as you can (within reason, don’t just have the word ‘cake’ over and over again as a description, it’ll come up on searches for sure, but you might end up looking a bit insane).

 

Pinterest feeds (especially among businesses) move very, very quickly and it can be easy for your posts to get buried, so make sure you have several posts going out every day. Not everything needs to be a product promotion or event listen or whatever, even pictures of the office team, motivational quotes, anything that keeps the current flowing. Remember, even if the pin isn’t directly promoting your business, it’s still coming from you and other users will take notice of that. Keep them spaced out throughout the day though, rather than doling them out in big lumps. Pin on weekends, too.

 

To help your cause further still, use Pinterest’s Rich Pins function. This will allow you to include more information on each pin, as well as mapping it to a specific format (app, movie, recipe, article, product or place). With the benefit of this, the context and purpose of each pin will be that much more targeted and more visually appealing.

 

Outside of your own stuff, keep an active dialogue open with your connections. Comment and like just like you would elsewhere, tag interested parties when you pin something relevant to them or even find something they might want to look at elsewhere. Perhaps most importantly of all though, keep track of your pins, if you type in www.pinterest.com/source/(yourwebite) you will get a rundown of all the pins and repins from your site. No other platform offers this service in such a streamlined way, take advantage of it.

 

 

Tailor Your Content

 

All of this effort will be for not if the content your pinning just isn’t interesting or engaging. Remember that Pinterest relies on images and videos primarily, you have to present the revelent information in a way which is striking. Say you run an online magazine, making sure your articles have striking banner or featured images is vital, since when you pin it, that’s what your followers will see first. Strictly speaking, the human mind processes images much faster than written text, even more so if you make sure your images effectively ‘summarise’ your pin. Pinterest users interface with it just as much on mobile platforms as they do on desktop, so bear that in mind. Vary it between pictures, videos and SlideShare presentations as much as you can. The latter in particular is worth paying attention to, since it enables you to incorporate infographics and photo galleries without need to link away from Pinterest. There are image creation tools, like Canva and Pinstamatic enable you to build content perfectly suited to Pinterest before it even goes up.

 

Be as creative as you can with the promotion, too. If there’s scope to run some kind of completion, user poll or whatever else. It doesn’t have to be anything massive, but it gives your business profile an interactive element that will increase engagement and make you more memorable. You can post a ‘call-to-action’ pin description to immediately increase your engagement chances (as long as context allows for it). 

 

Finally, once you have content going out that’s well suited to Pinterest, keep an eye on what gets engagement and what doesn’t, track your recent activity and use that information to decide how/what to pin next. Think of it as an ongoing marketing experiment with live, by-the-minute stats. Make sure that you utilise SEO and Google Analytics to their full extent. 

 

That’s about all, the thing with Pinterest is that you will almost naturally fall into a flow when you start using it actively, so keep everything here in mind, sign up and get pinning!

 

http://www.socialsongbird.com/2015/03/how-to-make-pinterest-integral-part-of.html#.VRLlc-GGOYw

How To Craft A Headline That Attracts Your Audience To Your Content

Do your headlines capture the attention of the right people?

Need some good ideas to enhance your headlines?

A great headline gets your audience to stop, read and share your content.

In this article you’ll discover four ways to craft stronger headlines to engage your readers.

Why Headlines Are Critical

 

Every marketer is looking for ways to get his or her content noticed on social media. This is particularly important for small businesses that lack the budget to support every piece of content with advertising and other paid marketing tactics.

To capture your audience’s time and attention, you need a strong headline. As David Ogilvy famously said, “On average, only 1 out of 5 readers gets beyond your headline.”

Discover how to craft headlines that draw people to your content.

According to a Chartbeat study of a random sample of 2 billion page views generated by 580,000 articles, 55% of visitors spent less than 15 seconds on a page.

Another notable finding is that social sharing gets your content distributed, but not necessarily read. People who share content are only a small fraction of the people who visit that content, according to Chartbeat’s analysis of 10,000 socially shared articles.

9% of readers will interact with your content.

This data supports the social media participation 90-9-1 principle: 90% will lurk, 9% will do something small (such as share) and 1% will create content or participate.

Because you have such a brief opportunity to gain your audience’s attention, it’s important to have a strong headline that compels visitors to read and share your content.

Here are four easy ways you can improve your headlines.

#1: Demonstrate Value With Numbers

 

A 2013 Conductor study published on Moz researched what types of headlines resonate best with readers. The results aren’t a surprise: The top two performers were headlines that include a number (30 Ways to Make Drinking Tea More Delightful) and address readers (Ways You Can Make Drinking Tea More Delightful).

According to this Conductor study, headlines that include a number or address readers personally have the best chance of resonating with readers.

#2: Find Resources for Inspiration

 

Writing great headlines can be challenging, but you can get some inspiration by looking at the types of headlines that have worked for others time and again.

Check out Jon Morrow’s free ebook, 52 Headline Hacks, a treasure trove of headline ideas and suggestions, for a great resource. The author provides 52 headline templates that you can adapt and includes a short explanation of why these headlines have worked successfully for others.

One of Morrow’s most popular articles has an engaging three-element headline: How to Quit Your Job, Move to Paradise and Get Paid to Change the World.

This three-element headline by Jon Morrow helped make this an incredibly popular article people couldn’t resist.

 

For additional headline ideas, take a look at what’s working for your peers. Social sharing is one way to determine what’s working on other sites when you can’t see the actual results.

#3: Use Your Customers’ Questions

 

Marcus Sheridan recommends that you give readers the information they’re actively seeking. In other words, “They ask, you answer.”

For example, River Pools posted an article to answer a common question from customers interested in fiberglass pools. The key information is delivered right in the headline: How Much Does a Fiberglass Pool Cost?

This headline shares a popular question from customers. It’s something people want to know the answer to.

This headline above resonated with customers because it told them what they wanted to know. According to Sheridan, this article generated about $2 million in sales.

Keep in mind that you also want to avoid giving away too much information in the headline. For example, when the article, 27.7% of Senior Management Champion Social Media – Does Yours?, was first posted, it had a low click-through rate. Why? The headline gave away too much information, so readers weren’t compelled to click-through and read the article.

#4: Brainstorm Potential Headlines for Options

 

It’s easy to treat the headlines for your articles as an afterthought and use the first idea that comes to mind, but chances are your first headline won’t be your strongest. To find the best possible headline for your content, take some time to brainstorm potential titles.

Upworthy, for example, focuses on getting great headlines by asking their writers to craft at least 25 headlines for every article.

Upworthy asks writers for 25 potential headlines for each piece of content.

While you may not have the time or inclination to write 25 headlines for every article your write or every piece of content you create, try to brainstorm enough potential headlines to give yourself some different options. When you’re finished, review your list and choose the best headline for your article or content.

Five More Quick Tips to Improve Headlines

Here are five more quick tips for writing headlines that attract more social media attention.

1. Use your audience’s language. Based on your marketing and social personas, determine which words and phrases resonate with your social followers. Then incorporate them in your content.

2. Learn your audience’s pain points. As Marcus Sheridan advises, answer the questions that keep your audience up at night.

3. Be clear. Avoid using an attention-grabbing headline if it will muddy your audience’s understanding of the topic. Disappointing potential readers will make them less likely to read or share your content.

4. Test different headlines to determine what works best for your content. Where appropriate, modify and tailor your headlines for different social channels. At minimum, you can test headlines by posting the same content at different times on social platforms.

5. Track headline results. Measure what resonates best for your marketing goals. Focus on what types of headlines drive site visits, email registrations and sales.

Conclusion

When it comes to improving your headlines, pay attention to what works for others, but also make sure that your titles stand out in the social feed for your target audience.

What do you think? Have you tried any of these tactics? Do you have an example of a favorite headline to share? What’s your favorite headline tip for attracting social attention? Please leave your comments and questions below.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-craft-headlines-that-draw-people-to-your-content/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=GooglePage&utm_campaign=New&utm_content=SquareImage

Make Money Online With Little Investment

We all know that there are various “make money loopholes” or “push button softwares” available to buy that have the ability to generate money online, but there’s nothing better than a proven strategy that works. A detailed step-by-step guide which takes you from struggling to make a cent, to earning commission on autopilot for months on end.

Google Sniper by George Brown is exactly that. It’s a system that will take you through finding a niche, discovering high volume, targeted keywords and picking a product to promote, to setting up your Wordpress site and getting it indexed by Google. It really is the most foolproof system available.

Not only is it a well taught course from which anyone can learn, but the strategy actually kicks ass! It takes you on average about 2-4 hours to create a Sniper site which  includes everything from researching a niche to finding a product to promote (if you follow the steps correctly). After this, it really is all systems go…

As people we all value time over money right? Well a strategy that generates you a good deal of money but takes you 16 hours a day to operate isn’t a good one. Yes, you’ll make money, but you won’t have any time to enjoy that money. But Google Sniper really makes you commission on autopilot. It takes on average 2-4 hours to set up, then you can simply just relax. Why?

There’s no traffic generation involved!

● No PPC
● No Link Building
● No Social Media – No Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or anything or that sort
● No CPA
● No More Spending Time On Months Of Content Either…

It’s an awesome strategy, and it’s easy to learn.

Google Sniper really is a must for anyone looking to make money online. The 104-page Ebook guides you through the process, and is reinforced by the step-by-step walk-through videos. The monthly option of Sniper X also keeps everything up-to-date, whilst giving you even more strategies and tactics to generate more income from your Sniper sites.

But that choice is optional…

So with more success stories generated than any other make money online strategy, it really is a no brainer! 

If you'd like to check it out for yourself, click this link:   http://tiny.cc/onlineincome

How To Create Genuine Stories To Engage Your Audience

Authentic stories help powerful brands make deep connections with customers. But that high-level principle creates real-world challenges for content marketers. What is a powerful story and how do you tell it? I’d like to share four tips on how to tell stories that make connections and get results.

1. Find a moment

 

A moment happens at a specific place and time. No two moments are exactly alike. Think of your own personal stories, from a first kiss to a moment of triumph. What happened? Who was there? What did they say? What would we have seen?

Now think about this in terms of your brand. Every brand lives for customers as a series of touch points. A parent may have made a special meal using your product. An IT administrator may have cut request time in half and been promoted. Or in our case at Story2, a student may have just received an admissions offer from the college of her dreams. If you can put your customers at that moment where they feel what it’s like to encounter the best value of your brand, you’re one moment closer to connecting them to your brand.

In written and multimedia stories, the Adidas #mygirls campaign exemplifies the value of a moment with content about young women using Adidas products in contexts from mountaineering to field hockey to running. But the stories are not about selling the product. Each woman’s story starts with a compelling moment, illustrating the brand experience. “There was a massive pop, so loud it sounded like a gunshot reverberating through the training gym,” begins one story about an injured South African field hockey player. The moment links courage and determination with the Adidas brand but never hits the viewer over the head with that connection.

 

2. Use your authentic voice

 

The language of marketing is notorious for feeling artificial. Generic product attributes and abstract business-speak is forced. Believe us when we say no one really cares about “quality manufacturing” or “industry-leading service levels” unless they know exactly how that feels and believe what you say about your brand.

When using stories as a vehicle for content marketing, take this advice from the Story2 Moments Method®: Stand in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eye, and tell your brand story out loud. Do you believe it? Now tell a friend or family member face-to-face. Does it connect with the listener? If the answers are “yes,” take that authentic story in your voice and write it down.

In authentic storytelling there’s no need to “business-fy” it. GE Reports a Tumblr blog excels at this, sharing rich stories about inventors and users of high-tech industrial products. One recent example: a story about their scientific microscopes. One scientist on the team brought a bee’s leg from his daughter’s science project to test the capabilities of GE’s latest imaging device. The topic would have been a great occasion for jargon and product-speak, but instead it authentically sheds light on the passion behind the product.

3. Map it

 

A map is simply the arc from the beginning to the middle and then the end. When you want to captivate your reader, think like a Hollywood blockbuster. In these two examples, you can see how it works:

• Draw them in, like a magnet:

Story 1: Half the potatoes on the floor and the rest behind the stove … what was I supposed to do about Thanksgiving dinner now?

Story 2: Our CFO had just called for the fourth time asking for last quarter’s numbers, but our systems were still down.

• Raise suspense, with a pivot:

Story 1: “That looks great, but we don’t serve frozen food at holidays,” I told my husband as he stood there with the foil tray of FoodCo’s carrot soufflé.

Story 2: SoftwareCo’s representative sat next to me at my desk for an hour while he fixed the broken database queries. I couldn’t help grinning when I saw the numbers pop up finally.

• End on a memorable glow:

Story 1: We’ve had carrot soufflé instead of potatoes on our family’s menu ever since, but we still laugh about the look on my face when someone mentions anything scalloped.

Story 2: I was home that evening in time to tuck the twins in bed and read them a story.

Once you map the story, you can think of all sorts of ways to describe your current audience’s journeys and how its stories can help your brand connect with new people. Coca-Cola, as part of its truly impressive “Journeys” approach to brand journalism, does this in numerous ways. I was struck by a story told by a Coca-Cola employee who took up skydiving. The story uses a “magnet, pivot, and glow structure. And while ostensibly it’s about her personal experiences, it does a fantastic job selling Coke’s corporate culture and inspires the desire to work with employees like her.

 

4. Focus outward

 

You’ll notice that none of these points in the story map use wording like “I thought,” “I felt,” “I realized,” or “I learned.” That interpretation and analysis puts up a wall between you and your reader. 

 Experiment with different ways to present your thoughts and feelings using dialogue, sensory details, and physical descriptions. In our hypothetical examples, we used these details to show the reader how the high quality of a frozen food adds something to the customer’s life, and how reliable, diligent service helps software users get their job done with less stress.

Hallmark’s “Ideas” website section does a great job of this with stories about card-giving occasions mixed in with lifestyle tips, nicely aligned to using a card or gift to express the emotion in the moment.

In summary, these four steps, all built on the neuroscience of storytelling, provide content marketing techniques that literally synchronize your reader’s brain with your brand marketing content.

As our examples show, throw a few stories in the mix and see just how compelling brand messages can become.

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/03/creating-authentic-stories-customers/#.VP2-n-bTdLg.linkedin 

Will Online Marketing Work For Your Business?

This is an extremely difficult question to answer because there are so many complex factors involved. Specifically, the techniques you employ in your Internet marketing campaign as well as the execution of those techniques can determine whether Internet marketing will work for your business. 

Additionally, the likelihood of your target audience using the Internet and responding to your marketing efforts should also be factored into the equation. This article will outline the potential for success in an Internet marketing campaign.

When is Internet Marketing Worthwhile?

 

In general, the answer to this question is always but the answer is much more involved. Sure, Internet marketing is worthwhile but as with any type of marketing it is only worthwhile if it is done well. For example, you can spend thousands of dollars on a television marketing campaign but if no one sees your commercials or your commercials do not reach your target audience and generate sales, the advertising was not worthwhile. So, perhaps a more appropriate answer to this question would be that Internet marketing is worthwhile when it works.

What is your target audience?

 

Before making the decision to embark on an Internet marketing campaign you should carefully consider your target audience. One of the most basic principles of marketing is to make sure that you reach your target audience. This is so important because your target audience is composed of the people who are most likely going to be interested in purchasing your products or services. It is much easier to sell your products or services to those who already have an interest in the products and services you have to offer than it is to convince those who are not interested in your products or services at all. As an example, consider a business that sells fishing rods. You will want to market your products to those who enjoy fishing either competitively or as a leisure activity because, with this audience, you are likely to find people who may be interested in purchasing a new fishing rod. It would make sense to place an advertisement for your business on a website selling bait and tackle or a website that organizes fishing trips in exotic locations. Conversely, it would not make sense to place your advertisement on a website selling telescopes because you are not likely to reach a large target audience there. There may be some stargazers with an interest in fishing but your advertising dollars and efforts would be better spent placing advertisements with websites more closely related to your business.

Analyze your competition

 

Conducting a competitor analysis can do a great deal to help you determine whether you should invest in an Internet marketing campaign for your business. This step is very important because it will give you a good indication if you should even begin marketing your business on the Internet. Hiring a firm that specializes in Internet marketing is recommended because they can conduct this research quickly and efficiently and will likely gain a great deal of valuable information as a result of their research efforts. If they determine that your business can benefit from an Internet marketing campaign, it is time to start thinking about how you want to advertise your business online.

Again, seeking the help of professionals can be an extremely worthwhile investment. If you are not well versed in the industry of Internet marketing, hiring a firm with a great deal of expertise in this industry can be very helpful. They can assist you by consulting with you to determine which marketing strategies will be most effective, designing advertisements for your campaign, helping you to orchestrate your Internet marketing campaign and evaluating the results of marketing efforts to determine which strategies are working and which are not.

Optimize your online marketing

 

The potential for success with an Internet marketing campaign is virtually limitless. The success you enjoy is only limited by your ability to promote your products and services and execute effective marketing strategies. Some of the marketing strategies you may wish to employ may include optimizing your website for relevant search terms, placing links to your website judiciously on the Internet, writing and publishing e-newsletters and using affiliates to promote your website.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most important aspects of any Internet marketing campaign. SEO is so important because it dictates the ranking of your website on popular search engines. Internet users value these results and are not likely to seek out websites that do not rank well with search engines. Conversely, high-ranking websites can enjoy a great deal of increased website traffic as a result of these rankings.

There are several elements to consider when attempting to optimize your website for search engines. This may include keyword density, prominence, META tags, titles and inbound links. Keyword density is one of the most common SEO strategies and essentially involves using relevant keywords often in the content of a website to demonstrate the relevance of these keywords to the website. This is important because search engines are likely to reward websites with optimal keyword densities with favorable search engine rankings in an effort to provide Internet users with the most relevant websites for particular search terms.

The prominence of keywords should also be considered. This includes how close the keywords are placed relative to the beginning of the website. The common mistake with this strategy is to believe the first opportunity to incorporate keywords is in the first line of visible text on the webpage. This is not true because search engines crawl the code of a website as opposed to the visible content on the website. This means that there are multiple opportunities to incorporate relevant keywords long before the actual visible content on the website. This might include the code for the title as well as the META tags. Business owners who realize the potential for incorporating keywords into the code gain an advantage over competitors who only incorporate keywords into the content on their website.

Inbound links to your website are also important in Internet marketing. Inbound links are links on other websites that direct users to your website. These links are important in an Internet marketing campaign. First of all, many search engines factor inbound links into their ranking algorithms, which means that inbound links can result in higher search engines rankings. Also, these links can be used directly by website users to access your website. This means that you can gain traffic directly from these links.

Do not spam

 

When it comes to Internet advertising, there is a fine line between great advertising and spam. Some business owners get carried away trying to get as much exposure as possible and can sometimes go overboard and wind up posting what is considered spam. Internet users who see your advertisement in a couple of key locations will likely notice the advertisement and may be compelled to visit your website immediately or may keep your website in mind for future use. However, Internet users who see your advertisement everywhere they look are likely to view your advertisement as spam. This can be harmful because they are not likely to visit your website because they expect it to not be worthwhile.

Conclusion

 

In any Internet marketing campaign, it is important to carefully monitor the results of your marketing efforts and to make changes to your campaign as necessary. This is important because you want to make sure that your marketing efforts are paying off and the best way to do that is to evaluate the results of your advertising carefully. One way to do this is to place special coding in each one of your advertisements so that you will know which advertisements are generating business for you and which ones are not. You can use this information to decide whether you should modify the ineffective website or stop running those advertisements. If you decide to modify them, you will want to continue to monitor the results to determine whether or not the changes made the advertisements more effective.

http://www.compukol.com/blog/will-online-marketing-work-for-your-business/

Why You Must Market Your Business Online

If you are not already marketing your business online, it is time to start doing so. Although there are a few exceptions, just about every business can benefit from online marketing. There are so many advantages to this type of marketing. First of all, marketing your business online is extremely affordable. Other advantages to marketing your business online include the ability to reach a large target audience, the ability to reach potential customers all over the world, and the ability to customize the marketing for different sectors of the target audience.

The affordability of Internet marketing is one of many reasons why business owners are turning to the Internet for advertising. Advertising online is incredibly affordable, especially when you consider how many potential customers a business owner can reach with an online marketing campaign. Most methods of online advertising are quite affordable and some of them do not have any direct costs. For example, you may choose to market your business online by participating in industry forums and posting links to your website whenever it is appropriate. In this case, the cost of creating and maintaining the website is insignificant compared with the number of potential clients you could reach through online marketing. Additionally, the costs associated with posting links to your website are incidental. You could consider the cost of having access to the Internet as part of the budget but you probably require Internet access for other reasons as well so it is completely worthwhile.

Reaching a large target audience is another very worthwhile reason for marketing your business online. You may have spent a great deal of time and energy doing market research and determining who your target audience is. You may have also spent a great deal of time trying to figure out the best way to reach this audience. This is a very sound marketing principle but as it applies to marketing on local television, radio, and print media, it only allows you to reach a limited audience. However, when you take your marketing to the Internet, you automatically increase your potential target audience tremendously because you now have the ability to reach members of your target audience around the world.

This ability to reach customers around the world is another major advantage to marketing your business online. Regardless of where you live and operate your business, you have the ability to reach those who have an interest in the products you sell or the services you provide no matter where they live. This makes it possible for you to do business with customers around the world.

Likewise, the fact that the Internet is available 24 hours a day is also very beneficial to those who choose to market their products or services online. Shopping for products and services in person can be very difficult, especially for individuals who work long hours or those who work unusual hours. These working conditions make it difficult for those individuals to do business and to purchase the products and services they need during regular business hours. However, business owners who have an online presence are much more convenient because, unlike stores and calling centers, the website never closes. This convenience gives potential customers the ability to view products and services, compare these products and service with the ones offered by competitors, and make a purchase at any hour of any day.

Learning about Internet Marketing

 

Internet marketing is not overly complicated but it is also not a process in which anyone can excel without making attempts to learn more about the subject. Business owners who do not know a great deal about Internet marketing but who wish to integrate Internet marketing into their overall marketing strategy should carefully study the basic principles of Internet marketing before launching their online marketing campaign. Fortunately for those business owners, there are a variety of options for learning about Internet marketing. Those options may include online research, reading published books, and studying successful Internet marketing campaigns.

Researching Internet marketing online is one method that can be used to learning more about this topic. This type of research can be very informative and can provide the business owner with a great deal of advice and other information. However, it can also provide the business owner with a great deal of misinformation. When researching any subject online, it is very important to note that not all of the information available online is accurate. This may be due to a variety of factors including content which is written by those who do not have a great deal of knowledge about the subject matter as well as content which was written years ago and is outdated. This can be frustrating but fortunately, business owners can still learn from the Internet. This just means they should be more cautious about accepting information as accurate and may wish to verify the information they obtain before implementing an Internet marketing strategy.

Published books are another valuable resource for learning more about Internet marketing. There are a variety of books available that focus on this subject and provide a wealth of useful information. 

When selecting a book for use as research material, it is important to choose a book that received positive independent reviews. It is also important to choose books that were published recently. This is important because the Internet marketing industry is evolving continually and a book that was published only a few years ago may be outdated and may lack information on some of the new developments in the industry. The appeal of using published books to learn about Internet marketing is that you can keep the books on hand for easy reference when you launch your Internet marketing campaign.

Finally, business owners can learn a great deal about Internet marketing simply by studying successful Internet marketing campaigns. If your business offers products and services in a particular niche, consider entering relevant terms into popular search engines and studying the websites of some of the highest ranking businesses. This can provide you with a great deal of insight into what these business owners are doing, which may be contributing to their success. Examining everything from their website design to their search engine optimization strategies and even the content on their website can help you to determine why they are more successful than you. You should also consider how they are marketing their website, which may include banner ads, affiliate marketing programs, or other types of advertising. Armed with this information, you can take the opportunity to implement changes to your own website and marketing strategy, which may help you to achieve a greater degree of success. Care should be taken to not copy anything directly from your competitors but rather to try to emulate their degree of success in your own way.

Conclusion

 

If you are a business owner who is reading this article and you do not already have a strong online presence, you need to immediately start learning more about the world of Internet marketing. This is so important because, if your competitors are marketing online, you may find that they are gaining a steady advantage and are becoming more appealing to potential customers. Before too many of your potential customers become loyal customers of the competition, it is time to start figuring out how you can market your business online and keep up with the competition.

http://www.compukol.com/blog/why-you-should-market-your-business-online/

What Are The Most Common Affiliate Marketing Mistakes?

 

 

Discover the 4 most common affiliate marketing mistakes to avoid Affiliate marketing is one of the most effective and powerful ways of earning some money online. Affiliate marketing gives everyone a chance to make a profit through the Internet. 

Many affiliate marketing programs are easy to join and implement. An affiliate marketer earns a commission on a regular basis with affiliate marketing. 

However, like all businesses, there are lots of pitfalls in the affiliate marketing business if you’re not careful. Committing some of the most common mistakes will cost marketers a large portion of potential profits they could be making everyday. It is better to avoid some of these mistakes now than be regretful in the end:

Mistake number 1: Choosing the wrong affiliate program

Many people want to earn from affiliate marketing as fast as possible. In their rush to be part of an affiliate program, they tend to choose every affiliate product available out there. 

Solution: 

It is important to choose an affiliate marketing program which compliments your business niche. Not every affiliate program will work for you. You need to be selective in this process. Just because an affiliate program works for someone else does not mean it will work for you. When choosing a product that is in demand (because every one else is using it) without actually considering if the product appeals to your own business niche doesn’t always work and isn’t a very wise move.

Mistake number 2: Not doing your research

When you’re searching for a particular affiliate niche market, find out what their commission profitability is.

Solution: 

 

Search on Google to get a feel of what is out there in terms of locating specific targeted keywords relating to your own business niche. Most sponsored listings are located above the organic search results. Check out their commission structure, such as: pay-per-sale & percentage programs, pay-per-lead, pay-per-action, pay-per-signup, pay-per-click programs, pay-per-call and/or pay-per-post. Find out if this is an affiliate program you can also offer your customers? You want your advertising efforts to be worthwhile to both your customers and business.

Pick an affiliate product that appeals to you and then research the heck out of it. Promoting a product you are more passionate about is easier than promoting one for the sake of the earnings only. 

Mistake number 3: Joining too many affiliate programs.

Since affiliate programs are very easy to join, you might be tempted to join multiple affiliate programs to try and maximize the earnings you will be getting. However, joining multiple programs and attempting to promote them all at the same time will prevent you from concentrating on each one of them. 

Solution: 

 

The best way to get excellent results is by joining only a few programs (2 to 4) that pays a 40% commission at least. Then give it your best effort by promoting those few programs enthusiastically. As soon as you realize that it is making a reasonable profit, then maybe you can now join other affiliate programs.


The technique is to test what works so that you can eliminate what doesn’t to make room for more.

Mistake number 4: Not buying or using the product yourself

 

As an affiliate marketer, your main purpose is to effectively and convincingly promote a product or service to your customers.

Solution: 

 

In order for you to achieve this goal, you must be able to relay to the customers which product(s)/service(s) work. This will allow you to provide your own unbiased opinion on the product. Therefore, trying out the product(s) yourself first before you sign up as an affiliate marketer, will allow you to see if it is really delivering what it promises. You’re a credible and living testament of the product’s advantages and disadvantages which translates into a sincere and trustworthy marketing campaign.

Avoiding the 4 most common affiliate marketing mistakes above will make for a better affiliate marketing experience. Remember, time is key. Take the time to analyze your marketing strategy and check if you’re in the right track. If done properly, you will be able to maximize your affiliate earnings.

http://fleetheratrace.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/4-most-common-affiliate-marketing-mistakes-to-avoid.html