Social Media Marketing (SMM) - For a 'Casual' Business -- By Venus Kumar Vij

Social media marketing has taken the garb of the present-day advertising. There is hardly anything that goes unnoticed at the hands of a social networking spot. The Netizens have added social networking to their daily routines and make sure that no buzz goes out without their knowledge. This trend is what has kickstarted the new epoch that is springing up at such a fast pace.

When was the last time you went to watch a movie without giving an ounce of information to your virtual social circle, and didn't discuss it even once when you returned? Quite a while back, right? As far as I have observed, it has become the trend among the masses to let the world know of the updates about us in digital formats like scraps, chitchats, comments and tweets. If this is the level of dedication towards the social networks, then why should the businesses lag behind? They, too, have opted for social networks to let us know of their latest tidings.

Social media optimization (SMO/SMM) works in a very sensible manner by making appearances at the spots where the target groups frequent the most, and what could be better than Facebook, Twitter, Digg and Reddit? An online marketing provider targets the concerned user groups and makes frequent appearances to fall into their sight.

The businesses can attain a lot of information about their consumer group by just keeping an eye on their online discussions. When a social media consultant for a leading chocolate company sees people talking about one specific product more than any other one from the same company, it is but obvious for him to believe that the product in question is better than any other. This little analysis boils down to two things

• The brand gets to know that the other products need to be raised to the level of the most loved one. They do it much in time, thus raising the sales.

• Those who have not had the best one wish to try it, thus raising the sales. Those who have not tried the new entrants wish to try them, thus raising the sales.

As is quite clear, opting for such a marketing package is a win-win deal for the chocolate company, and for the consumers too. This multi-utility status of social media optimization (SMO/SMM) stands true for every business house. It raises the sales to an extent much larger than what mere advertising could target.

Media has been conveniently split into three broad segments Electronic Media, Print Media and Social Media. When there are advertisements running across the TV screens and in the newspapers, why not do the talking on a universal portal? See what social media services have in store for you opt for an effective package... NOW!

The author is associated with SunTech online services Pvt. Ltd. which is a premiere online marketing company providing Website development, website designing, content writing, search engine optimization, social media optimization and online reputation management services.

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Top 5 Facebook Marketing Tools to Promote Your Events -- By Jonathan Reynold

Facebook is gradually growing to be a hot spot for event organizers. The social media surge in recent years encourages event organizers to use Facebook as a convenient and a steadfast tool of event planning and marketing. Over the past few years, the website has brought a series of tools and features that help creating a buzz of your event in no time, thus helping you attract a large crowd to the events. Here, we are talking about five most important yet unheard tools of Facebook that help taking your event to the next level. 1. Social Ticket Buying with Ticketmaster Facebook now offers an exciting tool for buying tickets for events right from its platform. The famous ticket provider of the London Olympics, Ticketmaster has collaborated with Facebook, which offers the facility of social ticket buying. It not only enhances your ticket sales, but also gives a significant boost to the social commerce. 2. Generate Guest List in No Time with GuestlistGen The newest addition to the marketing and promotional feature of Facebook is GuestlistGen. The tool allows you to generate a PDF of your event guest list within a short span of time and that too, right on the Facebook platform. To do it, you have to just enter your Facebook Event ID and the rest will be done automatically. 3. Analyze Event's Performance with Tuneo Tuneo is a tool that allows organizers to sum up polls to analyze the performance of the event. It is a kind of organizational tool that helps you track attendees on social networking site like Facebook. Tuneo seems to be a solution to save you from message overload. 4. Create a Buzz with WordPress Custom Tab Keep in mind that Custom tabs are the fundamental part of marketing strategy in Facebook. You can now use WordPress Custom tab application to customize a tab of your event page in Facebook. It is true that WordPress extends your capabilities and thus, helps you reach a large audience. Moreover, the WordPress Custom Tab is compatible with most browsers and devices. 5. Set up Custom Tab with Pagemodo Similar to WordPress Custom Tab, Pagemodo helps you to use and set up a custom tab in no time. Well, for large events, it is not that suitable, yet for smaller events, it is the best fit. You can even make the use of paid options, that allow you to set up a robust 'Like-gate' feature on your Facebook event page. At present, Pagemodo is known to be an amazing social media marketing tool. Use these tools today to make your next event a great success. Jonathan is a professional trainer. He employs latest technology for online class registration and online training registration that results in more attendance and ROI. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Reynold Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6941917

Solid Advertising Advice For Social Media Marketing By Tony Mena

Social media marketing is one of the newest and most promising methods companies can promote themselves. By exploiting the power of social media sites, a business can effectively promote its products and services with a relatively low investment. The following article will give you some useful tips on this kind of marketing. Social media is very popular, but you should enter it with a plan. Take some time to learn about SMM, how to become known, target an audience, and construct some form of it offline. Developing your game plan first will enable you to hit the ground running. It is very important that people comment on your content. Enable comments in your post options, but make certain they are closely monitored. You want to quickly remove hostile comments and spam. Host an online Q and A session to create interest in your company's products and services. This is a good way to get people to know about your products and services. Social media let's you interact on a personal level which is good for your business. Sprinkle your tweets with the names of people you know to be influential in the field. Make sure you write their user names behind the @ symbol. The mentioned Twitter user will get a notification that someone posted content mentioning them, and they might just decide to retweet your content or respond. YouTube is a great jumping off point to your other business endeavors. Millions of people visit YouTube daily, and your video could be the one they're looking for. Be sure to take the extra time and effort needed to build your YouTube profile in a professional manor. Describe your business well, and add links to your website or blog within your videos and profile. Notice when you are getting the most tweets or re-tweets on Twitter. Take advantage of that fact and schedule your messages to correspond with that timing. if you send messages through an automated service, make sure your tweets go out at the times when most of your followers are likely to be online. Check out your competition before creating your first Facebook page. Use their pages to get ideas of how to make your own distinctive platform. Your page should be very unique and appealing. Take full advantage of social media by sharing images, videos and articles from respected and popular online users. Doing so will add a sense of authority and build a more credible reputation. You can easily help establish yourself as another authority in your niche through your associations with these people. You will also be providing fresh, interesting content for your followers. This name-recognition will help you greatly in promoting your business. More companies are using social media as a way to market their products. If you use the tips and ideas in this article, your business can expand and grow by taking advantage of the increasing popularity of social media. Tony Mena The Network Warrior is a Networker and Marketer - Expert on mobile marketing - Shows you on http://tonymena.net how you and your company can benefit from mobile marketing and more... Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Mena Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6924080

Facebook Marketing: The Basics for Beginners -- By Kathryn Lively

I almost decided not to write this article, because my fear is once it hits heavy distribution most of what I have written here could be rendered obsolete. This is the risk you take in writing a guide to using social media or SEO techniques - what is valid now may not be in the future as sites and platforms change. With regards to Facebook, I doubt we'll see the last of major changes to the interface and they will allow businesses to use it for promotional purposes. That said, there are some basics a newcomer to the social network should know, and hopefully these tips will remain timely.

Profile or Page?

In the time I have worked with business owners to build their Facebook followings, I'm not surprised to see how many people are confused about concept of the Facebook page. Occasionally I'll get calls from clients asking for the "login" to their Facebook page and I have to explain that access is obtain through their personal accounts. To clarify.

1) A Facebook page can only be created by a person with a Facebook account.

2) The only people who can make edits to a Facebook page are people with administrative access. You can add as many administrators to the page as you wish, just make sure they are people you trust.

3) When an admin makes a post to the Facebook page wall, the post will read as having come from the page, and not the person who wrote it. At this writing, there is no way to change the functionality to make a wall post from an admin look like it's come from you as a person. This is why you want to be careful about what you post on the wall and how you respond to comments.

4) When you post to the wall of your Facebook page as an admin, the activity will NOT show up in your personal profile feed. I find many clients get confused as to what they believe people can see on their profiles. The Facebook PAGE is separate from your PROFILE or PERSONAL PAGE.

5) People you connect with via Facebook through your personal page are "friends." People who click the Like button on your Facebook business page are generally called "fans" or "likes." When a person "likes" your Facebook business page, they won't have access to your personal information unless you have also added him as a friend on your personal profile and granted that access.

6) As an admin of a business page, you can assume the "persona" of the page/business and comment on other Facebook business pages. You cannot, right now, comment in groups or on personal profile walls. You can, though, reshare a wall post from a personal profile.

This doesn't begin to scratch the surface of Facebook basics, but if you are new to Facebook hopefully this will give you a clearer picture of the difference between the business page and the personal profile. Most importantly, you need a personal account to maintain a page. If you delete your personal account, you lose the access.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Facebook marketing services and social media writing.

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5 Free Twitter Tools You Need To Use For Your Business -- By Pam Lawhorne

 This article is from the freely accessible content source at Ezinearticles.com.
We/you can use these for content in your blogs while you learn to write your own.
It is one way you do online stuff related to your goal of online income, in order to learn what you are doing.
This is a way for you to 'Be' an online marketer while you are still learning how to 'Do' it.
As you develop your online skills you will start 'Having' that online income

Be, Do & Have - that is the pattern for the Law Of Attraction to work for you

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Article Begins Here

Thank you Pam Lawhorne

There are many, many tools available to you as an entrepreneur, using Twitter to promote yourself and your business.
From tracking your influence to market research, from mobile phones to alternate interfaces - it's all there. And best of all, many of these tools are free.
Here are five free tools you can use to help build your online business.
TwitterMail - Use Email To Post Tweets
TwitterMail is especially useful for people who have phones that can send email, but don't have an app for Twitter.
Basically, TwitterMail allows you to send an email to post to your Twitter account. You can specify when it'll be posted  such as 4 hours from now.
This can also be a very useful tool for posting to Twitter from an HTML form, a PHP script or any other email generated on your server.
It's much simpler than learning the Twitter API.
Twitscoop - An Alternative Twitter Interface, With A Unique Cloud
Twitscoop allows you to send tweets, receive tweets and manage friend requests without ever having to leave the page.
Unlike Twitter, where you're constantly loading and reloading, Twitscoop saves you time by never needing to reload.
In other words, it's a faster, free, alternative Twitter interface.
In addition, Twitscoop also features a unique Twitter cloud that can help you keep track of all the most talked-about topics in the twittersphere.
Retweet Rank - How Many Retweets Are You Getting?
I love this one! Let me ask you a question: When you send out a tweet, how many people in turn tweet that out to their friends?
How does your "retweet-power" measure against other Twitter users?
Retweet Rank can tell you. You don't need an account, all you need to do is go to their site and type in your username.
Twitter Grader - How Influential Are You?
Want to know how you stack up against other Twitter users overall? Twitter Grader can show you.
In addition to stacking you up against other Twitter users, it'll also offer brief suggestions for improving your Twitter account.
Qwitter - Know Who Unfollowed You!
Ever wondered who clicked the Unfollow button? Ever wonder how many unfollows you're actually getting?
Just because your follower count is going up doesn't mean people aren't unfollowing - you could just be getting more new followers.
Qwitter will send you a daily email, showing you exactly who unfollowed you.
This can be enormously useful both from a personal perspective  such as knowing if someone influential is losing interest.
Plus it can also help you from a statistical perspective  such as finding out your average follower retention rate.
These are a few free yet useful tools available to entrepreneurs who want more visibility online.
Why not give them a try today? It won't cost you anything and can save you hours in the future.
I hope that this information has been helpful to you and if so I'd love to hear about it!
Please leave me a comment letting me know at least one tip that you plan to use immediately because you're know it will make a difference in your business.
Have an amazing day!
Pam Lawhorne

I teach entrepreneurs and business owners how to use social marketing to increase their income while building their brand and their business.
For additional tips and training, please visit http://www.pamlawhorne.com

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9 Twitter Tools That You Shouldn't Be Without -- By Justin Hanus

When it comes to getting the most out of your Twitter account, what are the tools that the masses are using to make life easier for them and/or gain a competitive advantage?
In this article, I'll suggest what tools out of the hundreds that are out there are must-have's when it comes to taking full advantage of Twitter.
1. Mentionmap
Looking for an application that can map out your Twitter connections visually, which allows you to keep track of what they're tweeting in an easier fashion? If so, Mentionmap is the tool for you.
2. Proxlet
Want to get rid of all the "noise" on your Twitter account from people you follow? Proxlet is a great tool that allows you to filter your network, so you can receive relevant tweets from only those who you really care about while muting the messages from everyone else.
3. Tweet Adder
How does Twitter on auto-pilot sound? If this sounds like "music to your ears", Tweet Adder is the perfect software to utilize to automate everything from following people based a on set of certain keywords to unfollowing people who haven't followed you back within a specific timeframe.
4. TLists
Are you into finding relevant information Twitter lists? If so, TLists is the answer for you. Searching the public Twitter lists has never been easier. TLists shows you which lists retweet compared to others, so you can gauge the authority and influence of each list.
5. Backtweets
Want to gauge how your Twitter activity influences your web site traffic via Google Analytics? Whether you are looking for impression stats of your posts or an alert notification when a Twitter user sends a message with a link to your web site, Backtweets can supply you with the information that you need to better assess the interaction between your web site and your Twitter account.
6. Twaitter
If you tweet the same information regularly and want an application to schedule your tweets so you can have it run non-stop then you need to take a look at Twaitter. Whether daily, weekly or monthly, Twaitter's calendar is second-to-none in streamlining your tweet schedule so you can save precious time and focus on other aspects of your Twitter account.
7. Tweriod
Do you need to know when your followers are most active on Twitter? Tweriod compiles all of your past tweets and that of your followers, and then analyzes them to present you with the days and times that your followers are more likely to be online.
8. BrandChirp
Need an easy application that allows you to find people whom you should be following? BrandChirp maybe the tool for you. Whether you want to search by location, keywords they have recently tweeted or by who they are following, BrandChirp can strategically give you a list of Twitter users for you to follow to enhance your network and reach.
9. SocialOomph
A great tool, SocialOomph allows you to send direct messages automatically to your new followers in addition to following people who follow you without having to do a thing. If you like automation, SocialOomph is the tool for you.

For more Twitter facts and tips, including how to manage your Twitter account on auto-pilot, click here: Get People to Follow You on Twitter.

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Social Profit Formula 2.0 Review - Pro's and Con's -- By Toni Young

It's no secret that social media sites are all revolutionizing the way we do business online these days. This brings us to the question of, "What is the Social Profit Formula 2.0 and how can it help you capitalize on this current trend we call social media today?"
Social marketing is undoubtedly among the best platforms to promote your business online. With that being said, it stands to reason that the more you master the art and science of using social media sites, the faster and bigger you profits should come in.
So what is the Social Profit Formula 2.0?
In a nutshell, Social Profits 2.0 is a cutting edge training system that teaches you what works and what doesn't when it comes to social media marketing today. It is a comprehensive blueprint that teaches you everything you need to know to get started making money and the information is well organized in six easy to follow categories.
The categories are as follows:

• In module one, you will learn a daily 20 minute technique for laying the groundwork of your social media money making empire. You'll also get powerful time saving software called the Status Syndicator to help boost your social marketing success.
• Module two will open your eyes to the power of micro blogging. You'll learn a fast and easy way to bring a flood of traffic to your site using Twitter, Foursquare, and other micro blogging sites. You'll even get a social media tracking tool so you can track real time mentions of your keywords.
• Module three reveals some content sharing and blogging secrets that can help you turn your blog into a cash generating machine. An added benefit is that it helps you get traffic and added backlinks to increase your site's search visibility.
• Module four gives you some social media secrets you can take to the bank! I'm talking about promoting yourself on social media giants like Facebook. Not only that, but you'll also learn the secret behind using sites like these for increasing your followers and popularity online, thus increasing your bottom line profits.
• Module five teaches you some killer video marketing strategies that are a must for any serious entrepreneur intending to capitalize on social marketing. You may already be aware of just how powerful video marketing is, but many marketers are completely in the dark when it comes to information on how to use video marketing effectively. When you learn this secret, you'll be able to instantly separate yourself from the masses of struggling marketers who can't make money online.
• And module six covers social media integration. You could be an expert on one or two components of social media, but without this vital skill, you could be left struggling. Indeed, social media integration is in fact the money skill that ties everything together.

On a final note, creator Don Crowthers is SO SERIOUS about his students succeeding that he not only promises a 100% money back guarantee if you don't profit from his course, he flat out agreed to just give you a check for $2500. And that's guaranteed.
How many product creators really stand behind their products like that?

So there is absolutely no risk on this one and it's not going to cost anything to check out the page below and learn more.
But I've got to warn you, this offer is only going to be available to a limited number of people so check out this page below before this offer gets removed.
Social Profit Formula 2.0 is getting a ton of buzz in the internet marketing community. This program may or may not be exactly what your looking for. If you would like FREE business advice, from a proven internet business coach then Toni Young is the person you need to speak with.

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Social Media Marketing 101 -- By Brian N Biesik

What is Social Media Marketing?
If you have an income generating website, and you want it to do well, then it is a given that you must promote it. As many people have discovered, one of the most effective ways to market a new business is through the use of social media sites.
If you're not familiar with the term social media, it basically refers to any of the popular networking web sites that are available on the internet. These sites include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Tumblr; just to name a few. All of these sites, and many others, are great marketing tools because they expedite the process of gaining exposure on the internet.
Through the use of social networking sites, you can instantly make your family and friends aware of your new website, product, or service. These sites create a spider web effect that not only raises awareness amongst your direct sphere of influence, but also amongst their contacts, their contacts' contacts, and so on. That being said, there is virtually an infinite number of people who can gain access and exposure to your web site.
Is Social Media Marketing Right for My Business/Web Site?
The beauty of social media marketing is that it is appropriate for virtually any type of business you can imagine. If you are skeptical, then I want you to witness the popularity of social media marketing for yourself.
If you have a Facebook account, as most people do, search for a local business...perhaps a local candy shop, ice cream shop, or flower shop. In most cases, you will find that these businesses are all equipped with a Facebook fan page.
Now, let's broaden our horizons...let's search for a huge, muti-billion dollar per year company on Facebook...perhaps Pepsi or McDonald's. As you may have guessed, these international corporations are also outfitted with their very own Facebook fan pages.
Keep in mind that Facebook is only one social networking site. Many people and/or companies are on every major networking web site that they can find. As previously mentioned, these companies realize that social media marketing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to promote new offers, and therefore grow their customer base.
My advice to anyone that is either starting a business or looking to grow their existing business is to become a member of as many social networking web sites as you can possibly maintain and update regularly (at least three to five times per week). Be aware that doing so can be a daunting task. However, if you are dedicated and committed to increasing your internet exposure, then you can grow your business exponentially.
How to Approach to Social Media Marketing:
When you first launch a business, online or otherwise, it is very important to give people a reason to see what you have to offer. Depending on your particular business model, you must determine the best way to entice people to look further into your product or service.
Many companies use promotions or special offers to encourage people to click on their links and to visit their sites. Social media marketing can be easily incorporated into such promotions. For example, let's imagine that you wanted to increase your visibility on Facebook. You could announce that once fifty (50) people "like" your fan page, then you will give away a prize (a product or service) for free to one lucky fan.
If you are a brand new business, and cannot afford to incur a promotional expense, then you can try to catch potential customers' eyes another way. When I first started promoting my new business through social media, I used a very straightforward and almost "in your face" approach. My posts would read something along the lines of... "Check out my new site," and would be followed by a link back to my web site. Although I did receive a few hits each day, mostly from family members and friends, it was nothing substantial.
I learned a long time ago that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get a different result. Therefore, I knew it was time to change my approach. I could not be more happy that I did so.
I began to generate traffic directly to my site through motivational/inspirational quotes and sayings. To be very specific, I would insert a motivational post onto my personal Facebook profile. As a tagline/signature, I would insert a link to either my Facebook fan page or to my main web site. I would also post the same motivational/inspirational message on my Facebook fan page and my Twitter account for my current fans and followers. This process just about doubled the number of interactions on my Facebook page as well as the number of hits on my web site in a very short timeframe.
If you would like to model this advertising approach, then please feel free to check out my examples on both Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/affiliatespotofgold ) and Twitter (@affpotofgold).

I wish you all the success in the world.
Affiliate's Pot of Gold
http://www.affiliatespotofgold.com

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Google+: What It Is and How Your Web Content Can Benefit From It -- By Julia E Spence

There's a new social network out. And it's claiming to turn the entire world of Google into a giant social Internet world. Invented by Google itself, it's directly rivaling Facebook, with the advantage of targeted network sharing. Google+ may offer social users a way to connect directly with your web content and share it to a group of their friends, encouraging the sharing of web content much more than Facebook.
 After one year of research and several delays, Google has finally launched Google + this past July (2011). The social project created by the search engine giant will allow you to access a Google + profile, view notifications, and share content instantly. Notifications are oddly identical to Facebook (a red number that increases with your new messages or notices).
 The Stream is the essential part of Google + that is very similar to the Facebook news feed. It allows you to share pictures, links, videos or locations. The best part about this new Facebook rivalry is that Google + allows you to share directly from Google. And instead of sharing with all your friends, Google + offers a new concept: to share targeted information with your various social groups. And to do this, Google + uses a system called "Circles." Google+ Circles is offering integration at every level, so you get to choose a lot more options when sharing information to friends. It builds on the lack of integration that Facebook offers in this area so that you can actually drag and drop your friends or family into groups and share content only with your selected groups. This is the perfect advantage for any kind of web content; people are more apt to share your web content with the greater options and choices they have in sharing.
 Every single aspect of Google+ has been created for the benefit and amusement of the user. When you remove a friend, a puff of smoke appears; when you take away a social circle, it rolls away of the screen. It's totally whimsical and fun. And instead of just photo tagging, you have a full html picture editor for every picture you upload. And instead of a single person video chat, Google+ brings "Hangouts" to the user: it's a way for a group of friends to connect rather than just a one-on-one chat.
 Complete with Google+ comes Google+ Sparks and mobile apps. The experts are saying that Google may just have nailed it with their network that competes directly with Facebook. If Google+ ends up with a larger amount of social users than Facebook, after the proper advertising, your web content may really have a chance of sprouting some wings.

For above average web content, visit Express Writers today!

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Why You Need to Be Using the New FourSquare Social Media Network For Your Business --- By Carl Gerber

There is a new buzzword in Social media management, Geosocial Networking, and if you own a business that markets to the public, you need to take advantage of it. First of all it is free. And, second of all, whether you proactively use it or not, your company's reputation is being created by the networks users.
What is Geosocial Networking? Geosocial Networking is where users of iPhones, Droids and other mobile devices with GPS or similar location functions, inform other members in the network when they visit a business or use its services. Users can rate the business, for example, 'the food is great here at xyz restaurant,' and send out the message to all users in the network, sometimes thousands of people. The tips or reviews of the businesses pop up on network users' phones when they look up or are near the location of the business. This is free publicity for your business, and if people like what you offer, it is the best kind of publicity - word of mouth.
FourSquare and Gowalla are the most popular Geosocial applications, sometimes called location based services (LBS). The growth of users is staggering. In 2010 93 percent of people from the ages of 18 to 29 have mobile phones. 39 percent of people use location services like GPS on their phones. 73 percent of people use a mobile application to check in to social networking services. As of July 2010 there are two million users on FourSquare. There are 5.8 million businesses and locations on FourSquare. And, in June 2010 17 people checked into FourSquare every second.
That's a lot of potential buzz for your business.
Using FourSquare is relatively easy and at this time business registration is free. An added benefit is the statistics they provide businesses who are registered.
Facebook and Twitter are by far the most popular networking platforms. All businesses should have profiles on Facebook and Twitter, and a Fan Page on Facebook. If you have these they should be updated consistently to maximize your CRM (customer relationship management). Blogs are also a great tool to connect with your customers. A social media marketing company can be of great assistance in helping you create your online presence and maintain it properly.
Whether you enlist the services of a social media management company, or have someone in your company do it, you need to be proactive. Large companies know this (In 2010, Pepsi Cola pulled its ads out of the Super Bowl for the first time in 21 years, and instead used social marketing). Are you using the new social media to its greatest advantage in your company?

Carl Gerber has been pioneering internet technology for over twelve years. His biggest passion is Social Media Management and Marketing. He is founder of Social Media Pathways whose mission is assist business create and maintain a powerful presence and positive reputation for their services through this powerful new medium. Are you taking advantage of the new Social Media Marketing? Visit Social Media Pathways for tips, how to's and other great resources on how to negotiate the path of Social Media. Social Media Management Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carl_Gerber

Advantages of Twitter Scheduling Tools

Chad Ochocino didn't have to pay $25,000 to tweet -- There are Free Twitter Tools to schedule your tweets
The NFL just fined Pro Football Social Media Guru, Chad Ochocinco $25,000 for tweeting. The league has an electronic communications blackout policy which prevents players from using electronic communications devices like cell phones and computers beginning 90 minutes before kick-off and lasting until the end of their games. While Chad quickly responded that the $25,000 fine equaled about two months worth of vehicle payments for him (in other words, so what), he could have avoided the fine by using readily available free tools.
These tools allow you to schedule tweets or other social media status updates for a wide range of sites including Facebook, Ping.fm, LinkedIn and Twitter. The more advanced services allow you to track your activity across several social media profiles as well as setting up tweets/updates in advance and scheduling them for delivery whenever you like.
Hootsuite (hootsuite.com) is my personal favorite. Hootsuite offers versions of their service that you can use via your desktop computer, ( using their free downloaded software), a web browser or smartphones like Blackberry and iPhone. They have recently introduced a new 'freemium' model where some more advanced features are now available for a fee but the free service works just fine for me. This tool is my favorite because it offers a very broad range of social media sites for integration, is simple and easy to set-up and allows me to update ping.fm which takes care of all my other social media sites with one click. It also offers the ability to schedule updates for individual specific sites as well.
SocialOomph (socialoomph.com) offers many of the same services as the other tools but also has additional integration tools for Twitter. You can use this service to automatically follow everyone who follows you as well as to send automatic direct messages to your new followers. This service is another mixed-model offering with some additional functions available for a fee but you can certainly try the service for free first.
Two more limited services are LaterBro (laterbro.com) and CoTweet (cotweet.com). LaterBro offers integration with Twitter and Facebook only but if you are only using those two social media sites, it might be worth a look. CoTweet (cotweet.com) integrates with Twitter and Ping.fm only so you will need to schedule any other social media sites through ping.fm if you select this tool.
If you only want to schedule tweets you can try Future Tweets (futuretweets.com), Dynamic Tweets (dynamictweets.com) or Tweet-U-Later (tweetulater.com). While these three Twitter tools are very similar, Dynamic Tweets will let you create a file of future updates and upload them at one time. And TweetULater will let you schedule Direct Messages in addition to tweets.
Success with social media marketing requires consistent profile updates as well as relationship-building interaction. While you could certainly outsource the interactions it is simple to use one of these automated tools to do a number of updates at one time and have them delivered over a period of time. A small investment of time up-front will pay off with increased online activity and interaction. And if you are a professional football player who likes to tweet a lot, these tools can certainly save you a lot of money.

Come join the conversation about online marketing. Visit http://www.allegramsinclair.com for more articles on social marketing techniques and tips.
From Allegra Sinclair, Online and Network Marketing Coach
© Copyright - Allegra M. Sinclair. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Allegra_Sinclair

8 Steps To Creating Your Social Media Marketing Plan

Creating and online marketing strategy is vital when making the decision to add social media to your marketing campaigns/plans. A plan is needed to assess the viability, know what steps you will need to take and to aid you in staying focused on your goals.
Your plan can also help you save time by ensuring you follow a systematic approach to the tie you will invest in social marketing and network. The social networking part can easily take you off track and eat up your time if you do not pay attention to the overall picture of what you are trying to accomplish.
Here are the basics steps to any social media plan we setup for clients:
Assess
Look at what is available in your market, what competitors are doing and find out if your customers in fact using these social media channels. These answers may help you determine the goals
Purpose
Define your main purpose for using Social Media and identify the various social media channels to use.
Goals
Set at least 3 SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals and create an action plan to help you reach these goals. What steps will you take to reach these goals.
Content
Create a plan for what content will be published - blog posts, tweets, facebook page updates, youtube videos. This plan should include the topic of content and also how often and via what channel it will be published
Keywords
Part of the content planning would be finding the keywords your customers use when searching for your service or product online. If your business has some technical jargon that customers rarely pick up on - it is unlikely that is how they will search online for the solution to their problem (your service or product). It is imperative to find keywords they are using and add these targeted key words into your content..
Optimize
Look at all the platforms available and link them together as much as possible to help you save time. ie. Link your blog to twitter and your facebook page so when a blog post is published it will automatically feed an update to the other networks. Be certain to make a flowchart so you understand what automatically goes to what network in order to avoid any cross posting.
Track
As much as you can track your results do it. Keep a record of your contacts/ facebook friends/page likes/twitter followers/linked in contact /newsletter subscribers and results on Google for your name, business and keywords. Check the results every month and see how it changes. Read your analytics on your website and adjust keywords/tactics to fit with what is working well or not form these reports. With social media marketing, businesses may set goals related to brand identity and levels of engagement.
Schedule
Take time to schedule in all the aspects of your plan and work at it to keep on top of it and following the plan. Stay focused and use your time wisely.
Following these steps will help you network much more effectively and in a way that does not find you looking up from your computer wondering where the last hour went. Stay focused!

Kathy Colaiacovo, is a Virtual Assistant whose firm specializes in Social Media Services but also assist their clients with many other business support needs; websites and maintenance, blogs, newsletters, ezines to name a few. Clients value this support in order to create the time needed to grow their own business.
Kathy invites you to learn more about working with a Virtual Assistant by inviting you to sign up for their monthly eNewsletter, you will also receive a complimentary copy of their Social Media Guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Colaiacovo