Easy Twitter for Business

Some people just do not understand how to use Twitter. When most people think of it, they think of “what people are doing”. From a business perspective, it is not much different from that. However, using it for business is much different than telling people you need to go shopping or that it is snowing outside. This is precisely the wrong way to use twitter if you really want to get a good amount of followers and convert followers to customers. Below are the keys to having good success on twitter for businesses and how it can be used.

Give Your Followers Regular Updates

As mentioned above, I am not talking about updates as in that you are twittering from the restroom or that you are about to run the kids to school. You updates must be targeted to what your followers are interested in. For example, I have seen some radio stations do a good job by telling their followers about the popular bands coming to town for a concert or the new albums that are being released. That is what their followers want to know. They could not care less about what song is currently being played, which I have seen some radio stations do.

See, what you must understand is that your followers often receive these updates via their phones or email. It is more annoying than interesting to see a radio station send you a message every time a different song comes on. So regular updates are good, but in excess it can be a problem. So keep this in mind.

Twitter Can Help You Find New Customers

There are a lot of good companies out there on Twitter looking for new business. The way that others are doing it is that they are interacting in conversations that deal with a topic that they specialize in. For example, a website design company might search the twitter database for topics dealing with website design. Whether it is people just looking for suggestions, or maybe even searching for a company to do work for them. When they enter into these conversations via searches, answering questions, those people might follow them and eventually become customers.

Put a Personality with the Name

Almost all Internet Marketers will tell you that people really want to put a personality to a business name. In the long run it makes them feel much more secure about their purchase. This is particularly true about people who are just now moving into an industry. For example, I have been in web development for a while now. I know who the good web hosting companies are. However, when I first got in I remember spending countless hours looking for just the right company. I still ended up picking a terrible one, but that is beside the point. When you make yourself available and speak with people on a personal level than just through a website, they will be much more inclined to buy from you. Not only this, but your existing customers will have a new way to discuss things with you, not just through a support ticket or an email. You may find that your clients who follow you will be much more loyal to you later on down the road when you speak to them as a friend, and not just as someone who wants to sell them something.

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Social Marketing for Ecommerce Shops

Social marketing is one of the many methods that people use to really establish their business. So what is it? Social marketing is simply a fancy name for getting outside of your ecommerce website and establishing relationships in an effort to gain business. So for example, if you own a website that sells soccer jerseys, you maybe visit and interact with people who might be interested in those products. Spend time on coaching forums, find other coaches in the area and speak with them, interact and gain their trust is the key here.

This may sound like a lot of work for very little reward. However, I want to tell you a success story before you toss this to the wayside and forget about it. I am a big fan of scuba diving and when I first got into it I was really talking a lot about it on forums and things. I was looking for equipment, I was reading reviews, I was interacting with other scuba divers. I noticed there was one person lurking around always answering questions, was extremely helpful, and also sold equipment at fair pricing. I ended up driving down to his store just to buy from him. While I am only one person, there were hundreds of people buying from him based on his interaction and good service that he was offering through the scuba diving forum. It ended up about a year later I saw him on CNN money.com where he was stated as having one of the top 25 fastest growing web businesses. His small little company quickly became one of the top scuba diving shops nationwide. His business is bringing in several million dollars per year right now. It all started with word of mouth an interaction of others who would be interested in his product.

While you may not be as successful as he is with social marketing, you will definitely see other benefits to it as well. Most people want to buy from companies who have a personal feel to them, but also from those who know what they are talking about. If you have a good understanding of the products you are selling, then you are very likely to establish yourself as a leader in the industry. When people think of you as such, they will be more inclined to listen to you, and buy from you.

If you are still unsure of exactly where to go to get started, then you should not worry too much. I mentioned the power of social marketing through forums above, but forums are not the only platform that you can use. As far as the internet goes, Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace are equally as good platforms. The key here is to go where the people are that might be interested in what you are selling. You do not want to jump in there and just start advertising. Introduce yourself, maybe throw in a link to your website every now and then if you think people are interested in what you are saying, but interaction is more important than the actual link. Eventually, people will come to you rather than you going to them. This is simply an act of making the first step to becoming more visible and establishing friends within a community that can refer you other customers.

The time in which it takes to see results from social marketing can vary. The scuba community is actually rather small in comparison to some other markets. So presenting yourself as a friend but also a leader within the community can take time. For some it happens quickly, others it is a much slower process. Always keep in mind here that you are interacting with potential customers and always act professionally. This will be beneficial in how others perceive you. A little leg work can go a long way.

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How You Can Take Advantage of Social Media Sites

If you have decided to jump on the bandwagon and join thousand of people using social marketing as a tool to grow their business, then you are on the right track. Social marketing has proven to be effective and sustainable in influencing the target market to buy your products and services. One of the most utilized strategies is by tapping on social marketing sites that are popping up everywhere. Of course it is necessary to choose only those that are reliable and good for your ecommerce business. Among the most popular social marketing sites today are:

• Flickr: It is perhaps the best online photo sharing site in the world. It allows you to showcase photos to friends, family and even to those you do not know. Launched 5 years ago, it now has more than 3 billion photos stored. It is a great site to promote your business.

• YouTube: This video social marketing site works wonders for any business. With YouTube, we can share videos for everyone to see. By uploading some videos, you will have people comment and share ideas on your page, which is a great way to understand your target market.

• Metacafe: It is the number 2 site for video social marketing. You can upload and share videos about your products and services so people will know who you are and what you have to offer.

• Digg: In this website, you will find everything you need- from articles, blogs, insights, etc. If you like to improve your marketing and sales, then you need to get started with Digg. This is especially helpful for those who are new to social marketing.

• MySpace: With the music and video now part of its package, MySpace has definitely become one of the top social marketing sites in the world. It has high exposure to most countries in the West and East. Asia is also quite into MySpace too. With so many people joining MySpace, it will be easier to find your target market here.

Social media sites are indeed very helpful in getting you on track with your business goals. In so many ways, they allow you to stay connected to your target customers through photo and video sharing, blogging, commenting, and many more. The important thing with social marketing is you need to be able to keep up with the demand. People feed you with information- they tell you what they want and what they do not want, and in return, they expect you to be able to address their concerns. As a good social marketer, you have to be ready for any challenges that come your way when you use these social marketing tools.

As any good social marketer knows, being prepared for anything is vital to the success of your business. If you can do this, if you can apply the techniques involved in the social marketing process, then go ahead and tell the whole world about your business. You will find that it is probably one of the best things you have ever done.

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Social Marketing: The Key to Success for Any Business

Social marketing is the use of marketing strategies to promote a certain product or service to the society using their ideas, behavior and attitude. For example, you can put a sign “Drink in Moderation” right below a beer ad. In a way, you are promoting the product and at the same time giving a sound advice to the consumer. Social Marketing was created in the 1970s as a means to gain more merits by seeking the society’s approval through identifying their wants and needs.

There are many concepts involved in social marketing. They will help us get a better understanding of why it is instrumental to the success of any business.

• Its main function is to influence people. By being able to find out what the customers want from the product or service you are offering, it will be easier to adapt to that and be able to manipulate the way they think in a positive way.

• The focus is not the marketer but the target customers. Reach out and talk to them, or hire someone who will do that for you. You base your marketing strategy on their wants and needs, and nothing else. It should be from the customers’ point of view and not from the marketer’s point of view because these two things can be entirely different.

• When you get a better understanding of the wants and needs of the customers are, put them into action right away. It should be applied in the product or service by highlighting the benefits. It can also have something to do with the price. You can ask yourself if the price is reasonable or competitive after putting into consideration the level of quality your products have.

• Promote products in places where people can actually find out about what you have to offer. Aside from promotion, your product or service should also be made available to people at any given time. You may have very good “influence” on the target market but the products are out of stock most of the time so, what good will that do?

• Monitor the market and be wary of competitors who may give you negative publicity. You have to be prepared to counteract such problems for your social marketing to be effective.

• The marketplace is constantly changing and so programs must be regularly monitored and management must be prepared to rapidly alter strategies and tactics.

Many sites offer social marketing opportunities for businesses such as Flickr, Wiki, Bebo and MySpace. With these sites, individuals and organizations can seek better ways to talk to people, understand their needs and at the same time market their products and services.

Sometimes businesses hesitate to accept the social marketing concepts for various reasons. But people should be aware that since the birth of this concept, many have succeeded in their businesses by simply using social marketing as a tool to gain more sales. The reason is simple- social marketing gives people what they want and need.

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