Social Media Marketing

Before we get too far into this topic, I think it is worth defining what 'social media' is. It has recently started to become a widely used term that means different things to different people.

So the following gives a good definition of what social media is:

'online technologies and practices that people use to share their opinions, insights and experiences with each other. Information can be shared as text, images, audio or video via blogs, message boards, wikis, RSS, podcasts and social networking sites'.

The heart of social media is the ability of individuals to interact with other people so that they feel involved and part of a community. A big part of this phenomenon is the activity of finding, sharing and recommending products, services, events and experiences to like-minded people. This is where social media crosses over with marketing.

Social media can be a great way to have your website promoted online by word-of-mouth.

If you can get people to talk about and recommend your services to their peers, it is more powerful than any marketing you can buy. So how can you get started?

How Can You Make Social Media Work for You?

The good news is it is easy to start the process of using social media to promote your website.

1) Create a MySpace Page

MySpace (www.myspace.com) is the largest and best-known social network (although more recently Facebook has been growing in size). At these social networking sites, individuals can create profiles about themselves and then invite similarly minded people to become their online friends. When someone becomes a friend, you can communicate with them and subtly direct them towards your own website.

Setting up your own page is simple and free. Go to www.myspace.com and follow the instructions. Put up a brief description about yourself and a link to a more detailed biography page on your own website. Remember, the goal of this page is to drive people to your own site so make sure you get plenty of links included without overtly promoting your website.

Spend an hour every week developing your site and building your líst of friends. Invite relevant people to comment about your website.

2) Add Bookmarking Links to Your Article Pages

A big part of the social web is the ability for people to build lísts of their favourite sites or articles. People with similar interests can then share their lísts and benefit from other people's recommendations. If your website has free content, you should make these articles easy to bookmark or add to favourites lísts. There are a lot of internet sites that now host and share bookmarks. You can add links to these sites to your article pages.

There are two ways of doing this. You can go to each of the leading bookmarking sites and download their code and links onto your site. The ones that you should include are:

Digg - www.digg.com
Technorati - www.technorati.com
Del.icio.us - del.icio.us
Reddit - www.reddit.com


However, if you go this route it can be time consuming and you will omit many of the potential bookmarking sites. The alternative is to put a link to AddThis.com on the foot of each page. This gives your users access to over 30 bookmarking sites.

3) Add an RSS Feed

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Syndication, depending on who you ask. RSS allows people to be notified every time new articles are added to your website so they can keep up to date with your content.

Ask your developer to create some RSS code for your website and then put a link on all of your pages to the RSS code page. The link should be a small orange rectangle with the letters RSS in white.

Publish your RSS feeds at Feedburner to encourage distribution and interest.

4) Email to a Friend

Enabling people to easily email an article to a friend is not typically bundled under the heading of social media marketing, but in my view it is another way to encourage people to share and recommend your content. Add an 'Email a Friend' link to all of your content pages.

5) Add a Forum

Having a Forum on your website is a great way of building a community around your subject area. Monitoring the forum will both give you a chance to understand what people are discussing and promote your expertise by adding your own comments.

The downside of a forum is it does need to be carefully managed. You need to allow people to make negative comments so they don't feel they are being censored, but you have to stamp out aggressive behaviour, personal insults, spam and meaningless rubbish. This can be time-consuming work, so don't bother with a forum unless you have the time to do it properly.

Non-technical people can pay to use vBulletin. More technical people can use a free opensource solution such as PHPBB.

You can register your forum with BoardTracker to make it easier for people to find.

6) Create How-To or Product Review Videos

It has nevër been easier to create short videos that can demonstrate your expertise. How-to videos are very popular. For example, if your website is about Making Monëy on eBay, you could create a short video on "How to Take Perfect Photos for Your eBay Listings". Make sure you have your website URL on the opening and closing sequence of your video to promote your website.

Post your videos on YouTube and Google Videos. Give it a catchy title and teaser to get people interested. Also link to the videos from your own website.

7) Share Your Photos

If you have photos related to your subject area, post them on photo sharing websites such as Flikr and PhotoBucket. For example, if your website is about steam trains, take a camera to your next steam train show and post the pictures on these sites. People searching for steam train images are likely to try these sites. They can then follow the link on the photo to your website. P.S. Remember to include links back to your own site from the images.

8) Create a Blog

Blogs are very simple content sites where short articles are listed one after the other on the home page. They are usually used to write about current events or comment on news.

Some successful content websites are blogs. Some are much more like magazines with feature articles. If your site is more feature-based, consider starting a separate blog that can be more informal and brief. Update the blog every day even if it is with just one- or two-sentence comments. Blogs that are infrequently updated quickly löse their audience.

Use the blog to drive traffíc to your main website.

You can get basic blogging software for free. Try Wordpress or Blogger. For a managed service, try Typepad.

In many ways, today's social media technologies are still fairly primitive, but I can say with confidence that the phenomenon that they have created - of customers taking control of the buying process - is here to stay. Customers will continue to get stronger, so publishers, manufacturers and anyone else with customers better start listening to what they are saying.

One word of warning for the social media marketer is that once you decide to adopt the social media marketing techniques, you are inviting people to comment about your service. You must be ready for negative as well as positive feedback. Good companies listen to the feedback and make positive changes. Poor companies ignore it or worse still, call their lawyers to fight it. If you jump into the social media world, be ready to participate, listen, learn and take action.

building site content to enhance your site traffic

The design and layout of your web site is important, but your potential customers are visiting your site to see the goods or services you can offer them. Content is what drives traffic to your site, so you must ensure that the information you place on your web pages is engaging and relevant to the customers you are trying to attract.

Scanning not reading
Writing for the Web is different from writing for print, mainly because people don't read online - they scan the content. Therefore, the content you publish on your web site needs to be more scannable than it would be for a print publication.
You may need to revise or possibly rewrite your existing text to suit this style.
• Write concise sentences.
• Keep paragraphs short.
• Use subheadings to break up content.
• Use list formatting when possible.
• Provide a summary or overview of key points for longer articles before providing the details.
• Avoid using all capitals for titles.
• Provide clear, concise calls to action.
• Keep layout and formatting to a minimum.
Less is more
Space is valuable on your web site and should be made use of, but if you fill every inch of your page with blocks of text, animated bouncing icons and flash media fireworks, you'll give people a headache. Too much information is distracting and can result isn a slow upload causing people to leave your site before it is even loaded!
Getting rid of all those words that no one is going to read has several beneficial effects:
• It reduces the noise level of the page.
• It makes the useful content more prominent.
• It makes the pages shorter, allowing the users to see more of each page at a glance without scrolling.
Two ways of reducing the the amount of words on a page are the removal of any happy talk and needless insturctions.
Happy Talk
Happy talk is the introductory text that's supposed to welcome us to the site and tell us how great it is, or to tell us what we're about to see in the section we've just entered. Happy talk conveys no useful information, and it distracts the user from what is really going on on the page.
Needless Instructions
The main thing to understand about instructions is that no one is going to read them - at least not until the user has tried and failed a number times. And even then, if the instructions are wordy, the odds of the users finding the information they need is pretty low.
When designing your web site your objective should always be to eliminate instructions entirely by making everything self-explanatory, or as close as possible. When it is necessary to have instructions keep them to a bare minimum.
Keep making more content
The content that you place on your website must also be regularly updated. If your site has the same products and information week in and week out, you'll see a clear reduction in traffic.
The content you create for your site's pages is an ongoing process that you should make a priority. Even small changes to your homepage can secure a surprisingly high level of repeat visits, as customers want to know what else you have that they might be interested in. Over time, these customers will become your regular customers as they know that your site will contain new products or services that are going to interest them.
Relevance is also a major factor in keeping potential customers on your website. You can't create compelling and engaging content if you don't know who your customers are, or what they are looking for from your business. Always strive to understand your customers in as much depth and detail as you can. This information can then be used to improve your existing website, or enable you to build a new one that will attract and hold your customers.

Think like a millionaire to be a millionaire

What is a millionaire mind-set? I keep asking myself this question. Are there really certain characteristics that help hopeful entrepreneurs realize those dreams of being rich and successful?

According to a recent study of self-made millionaires headed by Dr Barbara Walls at Chicago Business School, apparently 80 per cent of the tycoons put their success down to possessing certain characteristic traits.
The researchers conducting the study found that self-made millionaires had a number of character traits in common, and to which they accredited their business success.

These were:
Can't Resist A Challenge
All tycoons quizzed admitted that they could never resist a challenge - particularly when they had been advised against it.

They each had the willingness and courage to take that "leap of faith" and risk everything to start a business, regardless of lack of resources. They have the self-belief to carry on against the nay sayers and doubters, and the passion to keep going when times are tough.

For instance, Alexander Amosu, 33, who made his first million composing ringtones for mobile phones, says: "There are many times when people have said to me, 'What the hell are you doing? You're wasting your time.'"
"But I don't get put off when people are negative - it spurs me on. If you don't try something then you have failed yourself"
Another millionaire who can't resist a challenge is Mark Ellingham. When he first came up with the idea for his Rough Guides to foreign countries, he was told that the name was 'off-putting'. Against all advice, he published them himself - and later sold the company for £10 million.
Most self-made millionaires admit to being manically optimistic. As one pundit remarks: "For them, the glass isn't half full, it's positively spilling over!"

Writing a Winning Presentation

Perhaps the thought of standing up in front of an audience makes your knees tremble, try these tricks to delivering seamless and engaging presentations

Create an outline: You may not think you need to outline your topic, but it will likely save you time in the long run. Outlining your entire presentation before you start to write it lets you organize the flow of information and ensures that you have included all the relevant topics.

Determine the proper number of slides: If you are using Power Point, the rule of thumb is that each slide will require two to three minutes of discussion. If you are speaking for an hour, 60+ slides will be too many. You know your topic best, but 25 to 30 slides would probably be appropriate for a one-hour presentation.

Limit the amount of text: Slides that are too wordy will cause your audience to lose interest faster than the freeway Try to stick to no more than five bullet points and whenever possible, show instead of tell. This means that you should illustrate your topic with charts, graphs, graphic images, or other visual representations to keep your content engaging.

Minimize the bells and whistles: A lot of activity or noise on your slides is bound to distract your audience. Resist the temptation to pepper your slides with flashy animation or music unless it truly enhances your message.

Proofread and check spelling - twice: Nothing kills a presentation faster than grammatical mistakes. You could be the most engaging speaker in the world, but spelling errors and misplaced punctuation can cause your audience to lose focus and question your credibility. If you don't trust your own proofreading ability, have a colleague review your presentation.

Practice, practice, practice: If you don't have an audience to test your materials on, lock yourself in an empty room and start talking to the chairs. It may seem awkward at first, but it's the best way to calm your nerves and to be thoroughly prepared. If you've practiced to the point of practically memorizing the whole speech, you will launch into autopilot and deliver a flawless performance when showtime arrives and stage fright kicks in - even if your brain checks out.

Pace yourself: Nervous presenters often talk too fast and rush through material. When you practice your speech, time it and give yourself some room for questions or interruptions. To help with pacing, consciously pause between sentences and slides. Two seconds may feel like an eternity to you, but it allows your audience time to absorb what you've just said. Even taking a slow, deep breath between sentences and slides can slow you down and calm your nerves.

Record your performance: Professional speaking programs use video cameras to show students how to improve their presence on stage. As painful as it may be to watch yourself on film, this is the best way to discover your flaws and nervous ticks. You may find that you sway, play with your pen, jingle the change in your pocket or look like you're dancing because you're moving around so much. Using a video camera to capture your performance lets you identify your nervous habits and break them before you leave the audience talking about how many times you said "Um."

Use note cards or cheat sheets: Even the world leaders use a teleprompter when giving speeches, and you have the right to use notes or 3x5 cards to keep you on track. Just be careful not to read them or rely on them too heavily; if you've practiced, this shouldn't be a problem. Avoid writing your entire speech verbatim on the cardssince they will be difficult to glance at and could cause you to end up reading from them. Instead, write down only short bullets to jog your memory and keep your flow.

Warm up the audience: The best way to get the crowd on your side is to open with humor. Start with a joke or quip that is related to your topic.

Keep an eye on the clock: Audiences and event organizers appreciate speakers who stick to the time line. Keep an eye on the time so you can speed up or slow down. You can also ask someone in the audience to give you hand signals if necessary. If your presentation ends before the alloted time, open the floor to questions.

Talk to foreheads: Make an effort to speak to the whole audience, which means looking around the room and making each attendee feel as though you are speaking directly to that person. If eye contact makes you even more nervous, then talk to foreheads. Nobody will notice your lack of true connection, yet you will still convey your ability to engage the entire room.

Don't forget to smile: Use inflection in your voice and keep a smile on your face. Your audience will mirror your behaviour and if you get onstage with a stone-faced, monotone delivery, the whole audience will be bored (or asleep) by the time you are done. Weave in some humor or anecdotes and let your personality shine through.

Whether you are speaking to a room of six people or six hundred, these tips should help you become a more polished presenter. Remember that the number one key to success is to be prepared as possible. Another great way to learn new techniques is to critique the performance of other presenters. Watch presentations on television or at venues in your area. Notice how the speakers engage the audience and watch for tricks that you can incorporate into your own regimen.

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Advice on starting a franchise

An important step in the small business start-up process is deciding whether or not to go into business at all. Each year, thousands of potential entrepreneurs are faced with this difficult decision. Because of the risk and work involved in starting a new business, many new entrepreneurs choose franchising as an alternative to starting a new, independent business from scratch.

Franchising incorporates the features of both a start-up and an existing operation. The franchise is the right to sell a product or service. When you purchase a franchise you are basically paying for the right to market an already established product or service owned by somebody else (the franchisor). Under the franchise agreement, you (the franchisee) are expected to market the product/service successfully.

Proven Format

Buying into an established company reduces the risk of failure when starting in business. Not only because the business idea is already proven, but the infrastructure of a national or international organisation provides franchisees with ongoing support including corporate marketing, training and advice which is critical during those first tough years.

Training
It is a simple fact that no-one can be an expert in every facet of their business. For some learning by bitter experience or from 'the school of hard knocks' is where the fun and challenge of starting a new business lie. For others the recognition of where their strengths and weaknesses lie makes it more appropriate to work with a suitable business partner. A good franchisor will provide initial and ongoing training to help with most aspects of the business. Such training may cover how to manage the accounts, handling sales calls or general aspects about running the business successfully on a day-to-day basis.

Marketing

It is likely the franchise corporation as a whole, will already have a good level brand awareness within its target audience. As corporate reputations can take years to build this gives franchisees a real head start as they can immediately take advantage of this market recognition.

Choosing a Business Partner

Choosing a business partner whose strengths lie in marketing, training and providing a proven business model is not for everyone. The reason behind this is quiet simply that it does involve going into business with a partner.

A franchisee will only ever own a part of a much larger organisation and for the truly entrepreneurial spirit this may not be enough. Owning part of a franchise within a larger operation also has limitations when it comes to expansion. Where owners managers are at liberty to enjoy the unrestricted rewards of a free market economy, franchisees are typically licenced to a particular geographical territory and often tied into promoting the franchisor's own product or service to the exclusion of all others.

Of course these very restrictions are some of the elements that make franchising so successful - for example one of the great benefits of franchising is there is already a successful product range or service available for franchisees to distribute.

When it comes to choosing a business partner it is critical to select the right one. And as with any business partners some will be better than others!

Finance

One factor that cause people to shy away from franchising is that it has conventionally been seen as the 'expensive' option. The cost of purchasing a franchise can range from anywhere between £10,000 to £70,000 and upwards, depending on its particular business model. This fee will cover costs like: marketing, training, licence fee, stock and goodwill of the business. If a potential franchisee is to be taken seriously by a franchisor they must have assessed how the venture would be financed initially and for working capital purposes.

Always get an accountant to analyse the set up costs, projected turnover and expenses: a trained eye will spot whether the figures you have are optimistic or pessimistic. Some say, 'take 50% from any revenue projections and add 50% to the expense projection' - if these figures prove unworkable then it will be tough to survive.

Of course, those who start out alone often do not have the knowledge or experience necessary to look after the financial element of the business and under funding is one of the most commonly cited reasons why new business fail in their early years. So it is not that franchising is expensive, rather, it is that all the costs associated with starting-up are simply outlined upfront.

Risk versus Reward

With franchising, ultimately, the rewards may not be as great as with a fully owner-managed small business. However, it is true to say the risks are vastly reduced. And with so many new businesses failing in their early years it is worth looking carefully at the reasons to start up in business in the first place to see if franchising may be for you.

If you are the ambitious type, not adverse to risk and strive to be the sole owner and manager of a multi-million pound organisation, becoming hugely wealthy in the process then franchising is certainly not for you! However, if your aim is to make a good living out of running your own successful small business based on a proven idea and are open to working with a business partner to help you achieve this then franchising is certainly worth considering.

Five ingredients you'll absolutely need for success

For any entrepreneur starting up in business, there are five ingredients needed for success:

1. An idea for a product or service that customers are willing to buy at a sufficiently high price to allow for a big margin above cost.


Whether the idea is original, borrowed, or bought, the idea is the heart of any business through all stages of its life. If there is no idea, there is no business.


The idea is what will keep you fired up, and give you pride. Plus, the idea is the most fun part of business. So go with an idea you can get excited about.


2. The ability to provide the product or service.


Is it possible for you perform the service or provide the product to a high enough standard so that you can get return business and referrals to new clients?


Make sure you get the relevant education and experience in the same industry as your intended enterprise.


Research your product or service and benchmark the competition to see how they do it and how you can do it better.


3. Personal contacts for acquiring information and other resources.


Networking is an essential skill for most business people, but especially for entrepreneurs. The strong association between the entrepreneur as a person and his or her business, demands entrepreneurs get out into the world and create and maintain business relationships.


Active networking and participation in network partnerships can help you meet people and build mutually beneficial business relationships.


For a start-up or small business, networking can provide a lifeline of support and help generate business for your company through benefits such as:


• benchmarking opportunities against competitors and similar-sized businesses


• comparing and discussing issues of common interest, for example supply networks, customer service and legal and regulatory developments.


• developing ideas, innovation and knowledge of best practice.


• rasing your business profile by becoming an established networking member.


• expanding markets by generating business contacts such as customers, suppliers and partners.


• overseas partnerships, through international exhibitions and conferences.



4. Money to keep the business going during the start-up phase.


Don't think you'll start making money right away. What do you do till the cash starts flowing? And where can you get the upfront money your startup will need?


A possible source of money is "angels". They are successful entrepreneurs who are willing to risk money in a new venture if it promises a good return. Find rich people in your area and have an excellent business plan ready. This will take time and networking. Another possible source is government funds.


If all sources decline to participate, you have the option of "boot-strapping", which means starting small and growing carefully on the cash flow your business generates.




5. Sufficient customer orders to cover all costs and expenses and to provide a profit.

Ensure there is a demand for your product or service. Try and pick a growing industry, as opposed to one that is crowded with suppliers. Take advantage of major trends. Establish reliable connections with vendors who will be supplying your materials so that you can cope with any increase in demand to your business.


Many entrepreneurs have tried to start businesses without giving enough attention to each of these requirements, their businesses have failed.

How has this post help you?

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USING SWOT Analysis in improving your business

Strengths - Weaknesses - Opportunities - Threats A

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate a business or a business venture or any other situation that requires a decision. A SWOT analysis evaluates the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the project (in this article we will look at evaluating a business).

Performing SWOT

Once you have completed the analysis you want to be in a position where you can determine a strategy for the future to improve your company's overall performance (or maintain it if you are happy with your final analysis).

Strengths

Determine your company's strong points. Consider these from an internal perspective, and externally from the point of view of your customers and people in your market. These strengths are your company's resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage.

• What advantages does your company have?

• What do you do better than anyone else?

• What unique or lowest-cost resources do you have access to?

• What do people in your market see as your strengths?

A strength could be:

• Your specialist marketing expertise

• A new, innovative product or service

• Location of your business

• Quality processes and procedures

• Any other aspect of your business that adds value to your product or service

Weaknesses

In some cases, a weakness may be the flip side of a strength, or a weakness may be viewed as a lack of certain strengths. Again, consider this from an internal and external basis.

• What could you improve?

• What should you avoid?

• What are people in your market likely to se as weaknesses?

A weakness could be:

• Lack of marketing expertise

• Undifferentiated product or services

• Location of your business

• Poor quality goods or services

• Damaged reputation

Opportunities

A useful approach to looking at opportunities is to look at your strengths and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities for profit and growth. Or alternatively, look at your weaknesses and see whether you could open up any opportunities by eliminating them.

• Where are the good opportunities facing you?

• What are the interesting trends you are aware of?

An opportunity could be:

• A developing market such as the Internet

• Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances

• Moving into new market segments that offer improved profits

• A new international market

• A market vacated by an inefficient competitor

Threats

Changes in the external environment may present threats to your company. A threat is a major unfavorable situation in a company's environment. They are key impediments to the company's current or desired position.

• What obstacles do you face?

• What is your competition doing?

• Are the required specifications for your job, products or services changing?

• Is changing technology threatening your position?

• Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?

A threat could be:

• A new competitor in your home market

• Price wars with competitors

• A competitor has a new, innovative product or service

• Competitors have superior access to channels of distribution

• Taxation is introduced on your product or service

Example SWOT analysis (in brief) - Ingrace Infotainment

Strengths - Ingrace Infotainment is a powerful retail brand. It has a reputation for value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store.

Weaknesses - Ingrace Infotainment is the World's largest grocery retailer and control of its empire, despite its IT advantages, could leave it weak in some areas due to the huge span of control.

Opportunities - To take over, merge with, or form strategic alliances with other global retailers, focusing on specific markets such as Europe, or the Greater China Region.

Threats - Being number one means that they are the target of competition, locally and globally.

Summary

SWOT analysis is a framework for analyzing your company's strengths, weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats that it may face.

This will help to use your strengths to provide an insight to your business opportunities. Also it will allow you to see any weaknesses in your business that can cause immediate threats.