Social Media 201
Archive for the ‘Online Business’ Category
Social Media Marketing – Why You Must Start Now
Jeff Alderson asked:
When you take the right steps to promote your website through basic social media channels, you’re tapping into a rather powerful force that can earn you links and tons of traffic. This practice is known in the online world more formally as social media marketing.
People that ignore the importance of social media marketing tend to come in three types – people who know nothing about the vehicle, people who don’t know how to use it and those who think there is no value in its use. The benefits of viral marketing, however, can disprove the latter class of people rather quickly.
The simple truth is that creating link baits and coming up with methods to gain popularity on social media sites can deliver big benefits, including:
* Traffic. These sites tend to improve both primary and secondary traffic. Primary involves the traffic that comes directly from a social media marketing site. Secondary traffic comes from referrals that other web sites create when they link to you after finding your content on social bookmarking sites.
* Quality links. When your content becomes popular on a site like Reddit, you will gain a ton of incoming links. Some might be relevant and some not. If your content is particularly good, you can count on a number of links that are relevant and high in quality. This, of course, results without having to buy any links, which can be fairly expensive!
So, what exactly does this all mean to your website in particular? Let’s take a look:
* Links matter. If your website obtains a large amount of permanent, natural links from trusted sites, your site develops authority. This means search engines will trust it. Should you take the time to set up linkbait and site structure well, you will start ranking and gaining visitors. Even a brand new site can gain links if a social media marketing site’s populace thinks an article or submission is worthwhile.
* Secondary traffic will increase. This happens when other sites link to yours because of your placement on the social bookmarking site. Secondary traffic can actually be more valuable because it tends to be more targeted. The social media marketing site is nothing more than a platform to get your voice heard. People that are interested in what you have to say will return and they will recommend your site in the process.
So, should you really fuss with social media marketing when there are other options like link exchanges, advertising and so on? Absolutely! Here’s why:
* Natural links. Go this route and your site will obtain natural links and tons of exposure. This is different from paid advertising in that it relies on word of mouth and genuine recommendations.
* You can strategize. The fact is social marketing can offer a lot of traffic on top of what the search engines provide. While it’s hard to control search engine traffic, you can control social traffic by strategizing.
* You can’t beat the price. Social media costs can be incredibly low. In fact, time is often the only investment.
* It doesn’t hurt other efforts. This kind of marketing is very community based. It will not interfere with other traffic generating efforts. In fact, it can complement other campaigns well.
While social media marketing will not earn you money directly, it can have incredible spin off effects. To be successful, your site needs followers. This type of marketing can help you increase your core base. Social media marketing efforts will drive traffic to your site, giving you the ability to grow loyalty, repeat visits and revenue.
This form of marketing is very valuable to bloggers, too. It provides a time-saving, effective means for generating traffic that doesn’t involve a ton of work. Focus in on excellent posts and push them through these services. This will save you from the effort involved in posting on a ton of other blogs or writing guest posts. Make social media marketing the lynchpin of your strategy and it will pay off.
Social media marketing can have incredible effects on any website. If you create valuable content and promote it wisely, you will have success. Social media marketing also works as well for those who sell products and services as it does content providers. It pays off greatly, so don’t delay!
social media marketing
When you take the right steps to promote your website through basic social media channels, you’re tapping into a rather powerful force that can earn you links and tons of traffic. This practice is known in the online world more formally as social media marketing.
People that ignore the importance of social media marketing tend to come in three types – people who know nothing about the vehicle, people who don’t know how to use it and those who think there is no value in its use. The benefits of viral marketing, however, can disprove the latter class of people rather quickly.
The simple truth is that creating link baits and coming up with methods to gain popularity on social media sites can deliver big benefits, including:
* Traffic. These sites tend to improve both primary and secondary traffic. Primary involves the traffic that comes directly from a social media marketing site. Secondary traffic comes from referrals that other web sites create when they link to you after finding your content on social bookmarking sites.
* Quality links. When your content becomes popular on a site like Reddit, you will gain a ton of incoming links. Some might be relevant and some not. If your content is particularly good, you can count on a number of links that are relevant and high in quality. This, of course, results without having to buy any links, which can be fairly expensive!
So, what exactly does this all mean to your website in particular? Let’s take a look:
* Links matter. If your website obtains a large amount of permanent, natural links from trusted sites, your site develops authority. This means search engines will trust it. Should you take the time to set up linkbait and site structure well, you will start ranking and gaining visitors. Even a brand new site can gain links if a social media marketing site’s populace thinks an article or submission is worthwhile.
* Secondary traffic will increase. This happens when other sites link to yours because of your placement on the social bookmarking site. Secondary traffic can actually be more valuable because it tends to be more targeted. The social media marketing site is nothing more than a platform to get your voice heard. People that are interested in what you have to say will return and they will recommend your site in the process.
So, should you really fuss with social media marketing when there are other options like link exchanges, advertising and so on? Absolutely! Here’s why:
* Natural links. Go this route and your site will obtain natural links and tons of exposure. This is different from paid advertising in that it relies on word of mouth and genuine recommendations.
* You can strategize. The fact is social marketing can offer a lot of traffic on top of what the search engines provide. While it’s hard to control search engine traffic, you can control social traffic by strategizing.
* You can’t beat the price. Social media costs can be incredibly low. In fact, time is often the only investment.
* It doesn’t hurt other efforts. This kind of marketing is very community based. It will not interfere with other traffic generating efforts. In fact, it can complement other campaigns well.
While social media marketing will not earn you money directly, it can have incredible spin off effects. To be successful, your site needs followers. This type of marketing can help you increase your core base. Social media marketing efforts will drive traffic to your site, giving you the ability to grow loyalty, repeat visits and revenue.
This form of marketing is very valuable to bloggers, too. It provides a time-saving, effective means for generating traffic that doesn’t involve a ton of work. Focus in on excellent posts and push them through these services. This will save you from the effort involved in posting on a ton of other blogs or writing guest posts. Make social media marketing the lynchpin of your strategy and it will pay off.
Social media marketing can have incredible effects on any website. If you create valuable content and promote it wisely, you will have success. Social media marketing also works as well for those who sell products and services as it does content providers. It pays off greatly, so don’t delay!
social media marketing
The 5 Steps of Social Media Marketing
Maurice Ramirez asked:
Entrepreneurs are using the newest internet trend, professional social networks. Services like LinkedIn, Konnects, Ecademy, Plaxo and even Facebook provide professionals the opportunity to meet and collaborate with colleagues worldwide. These professionals fall into two distinct groups who utilize social networks:
Those for whom the emphasis is on the word “network” Those for whom the emphasis is on the word “social”
Those who emphasize the word “network” seek to promote and expand their business. Those who emphasize the word “social” seek to promote and expand their Christmas card list. Social Media Marketing is the systematic approach to using social networks and other “Web 2.0″ and “Web 3.0″ technologies as a part of an all inclusive marketing plan.
“Begin with the End in Mind”
Steven Covey’s 5th7 Habits of Highly Effective People) is one of the truisms of planning regardless of the purpose of the plan. The rapidity with which the field of Social Media Marketing is changing, new sites debuting, new functions and innovations make any treatise listing specific services obsolete before it can even be printed. However, when the social networks are viewed as tools the emphasis shifts from recommending specific sites to defining goals.
Goals vary from business to business and professional to professional, but the identification of goals is key to determining what characteristics are needed in a social network. Further, once a social media marketing program begins to meet with success, a deluge of invitations to other networks will begin to arrive. A prioritized list of goals will ensure that the social media marketing plan does not suffer “mission creep” by pursuing unrelated social networking opportunities.
Boundaries, Budgets & Bull’s-Eyes
The rule of cellular operations is that leadership sets the boundaries and budgets and allows the team charged with achieving the goal to “hit the Bull’s-Eye” on their own by any means that respects the boundaries and budgets sets. This form of leadership is used in all manner of situations that require high achievement in a rapidly changing environment. Special Forces teams, SWAT teams, corporate crisis teams, even medical resuscitation teams and Emergency Medical Services operate in this micromanagement-free manner.
Step Two: Set boundaries and budgets that govern the efforts expended in social networking while allowing the social networker “hit the Bull’s-Eye.”
Most professional social networks offer a free and one or more “premium” memberships. In most or all of those with “premium” memberships, it is possible to “earn” free premium upgrades by recruiting new members to the network platform. With all these incentives, it is only necessary to spend money on professional social network membership if a specific paid premium membership function or service is needed to achieve the goals set in step 1. This does not however mean that social networking is free. Most successful business social networkers agree that success requires a minimum of 40 hours per month spent building the network and communicating with network members and online contacts. The biggest area of budget bloat is time spent networking online.
Be very critical of the time spent on social media marketing. Time has a definite value in real dollars and time spent on social media marketing must provide a real and measurable return on investment. It is all too easy to spend endless hours enjoying the many “features” of social networking sites. Whether answering posted questions and earning the tag “Expert” or racking up endorsements and testimonials, every minute spent online must have a purpose, must contribute to achieving the goals and must provide a return.
Create a Cult of Personality
Once the goals, budgets and boundaries are set, it is time to begin networking. Whether online or in person, the most important tool of the social networker is dialogue. Online networking must include direct and individual communications with every member of the network. This is the process that separates those using social networks to expand their business and those seeking only to expand their Christmas list.
Every time a new member joins the network, that new contact must receive a personalized email welcoming them to the network. This mandates that the new contact’s network profile be read and the contact’s interests made the focus of the email. The process of customizing the welcome to the new contact has a side benefit to the business because it forces the business to define its relevance to an ever expanding and ever deepening market demographic described by the social network developed online.
Step Three: Communicate and connect, don’t just collect.
The object of the entire social media marketing effort is to build a network with a personal bond and the ability to refer paying customers or become paying customers themselves. This means the network members must become raving fans even before they make a buy or refer decision. Those who have been networking in real life for years know this is much harder than turning a satisfied customer into a raving fan. Unlike in person networking, online networking limits the level of interpersonal exchange and thus “likability.” A social network makes the transition to raving fans because of the personality of the network leader. Use the regular communication with network members as a “personality conduit.”
It’s Called the “Web” for a Reason
The highest accolade for a business person using social networks as a professional tool is to become a “meta-leader.” Based on concepts taken from disaster healthcare and emergency management, the “meta-leader” is a bridge for communications across industries and a role modeling leader within their own business. In social networks, whether professional or personal, this is a truly pivotal role because as a “network node” the meta-leader is the point at which multiple individual networks begin to overlap. The meta-leader is the connection and the conduit for all these networks and even across social networking websites.
Step Four: Attract Like Minded People, Then Lead Them
The key to becoming a meta-leader in a market niche is to become a gathering point for other online professionals and their respective networks. All the professional social networking websites have the ability to create clubs, or groups, or collectives. By volunteering to create and manage such a group the meta-leader becomes the point of convergence for everyone interested in the topic.
Time to Get Real
Once the goals are set, the network built and the like minds have gathered, it is time to expand into the non-virtual world. The popular term for a social networking group meeting outside of cyberspace is “In Real Life” or simply “Live.” Virtually all local chapters of online professional social networks have a “Live” meeting. This is where meta-leadership changes a list of network members into life long business relationships.
Step Five: Make it Real in Real Life
Depending on the local culture and networking traditions as well as the subculture of the online network, a traditional “dinner and drinks” networking event may be in order, but a “picnic in the park” or a “burgers and baseball” format may be more appropriate. The key is not the surroundings, but the opportunity for people who have built an online, but nonetheless real relationship to put a handshake, or a hug, to the profile and prose.
Online professional social networks and social media marketing are the newest tool in the entrepreneur’s business success kit. Properly used, it promises business expansion and profit growth.
Country Wine
Entrepreneurs are using the newest internet trend, professional social networks. Services like LinkedIn, Konnects, Ecademy, Plaxo and even Facebook provide professionals the opportunity to meet and collaborate with colleagues worldwide. These professionals fall into two distinct groups who utilize social networks:
Those for whom the emphasis is on the word “network” Those for whom the emphasis is on the word “social”
Those who emphasize the word “network” seek to promote and expand their business. Those who emphasize the word “social” seek to promote and expand their Christmas card list. Social Media Marketing is the systematic approach to using social networks and other “Web 2.0″ and “Web 3.0″ technologies as a part of an all inclusive marketing plan.
“Begin with the End in Mind”
Steven Covey’s 5th7 Habits of Highly Effective People) is one of the truisms of planning regardless of the purpose of the plan. The rapidity with which the field of Social Media Marketing is changing, new sites debuting, new functions and innovations make any treatise listing specific services obsolete before it can even be printed. However, when the social networks are viewed as tools the emphasis shifts from recommending specific sites to defining goals.
Goals vary from business to business and professional to professional, but the identification of goals is key to determining what characteristics are needed in a social network. Further, once a social media marketing program begins to meet with success, a deluge of invitations to other networks will begin to arrive. A prioritized list of goals will ensure that the social media marketing plan does not suffer “mission creep” by pursuing unrelated social networking opportunities.
Boundaries, Budgets & Bull’s-Eyes
The rule of cellular operations is that leadership sets the boundaries and budgets and allows the team charged with achieving the goal to “hit the Bull’s-Eye” on their own by any means that respects the boundaries and budgets sets. This form of leadership is used in all manner of situations that require high achievement in a rapidly changing environment. Special Forces teams, SWAT teams, corporate crisis teams, even medical resuscitation teams and Emergency Medical Services operate in this micromanagement-free manner.
Step Two: Set boundaries and budgets that govern the efforts expended in social networking while allowing the social networker “hit the Bull’s-Eye.”
Most professional social networks offer a free and one or more “premium” memberships. In most or all of those with “premium” memberships, it is possible to “earn” free premium upgrades by recruiting new members to the network platform. With all these incentives, it is only necessary to spend money on professional social network membership if a specific paid premium membership function or service is needed to achieve the goals set in step 1. This does not however mean that social networking is free. Most successful business social networkers agree that success requires a minimum of 40 hours per month spent building the network and communicating with network members and online contacts. The biggest area of budget bloat is time spent networking online.
Be very critical of the time spent on social media marketing. Time has a definite value in real dollars and time spent on social media marketing must provide a real and measurable return on investment. It is all too easy to spend endless hours enjoying the many “features” of social networking sites. Whether answering posted questions and earning the tag “Expert” or racking up endorsements and testimonials, every minute spent online must have a purpose, must contribute to achieving the goals and must provide a return.
Create a Cult of Personality
Once the goals, budgets and boundaries are set, it is time to begin networking. Whether online or in person, the most important tool of the social networker is dialogue. Online networking must include direct and individual communications with every member of the network. This is the process that separates those using social networks to expand their business and those seeking only to expand their Christmas list.
Every time a new member joins the network, that new contact must receive a personalized email welcoming them to the network. This mandates that the new contact’s network profile be read and the contact’s interests made the focus of the email. The process of customizing the welcome to the new contact has a side benefit to the business because it forces the business to define its relevance to an ever expanding and ever deepening market demographic described by the social network developed online.
Step Three: Communicate and connect, don’t just collect.
The object of the entire social media marketing effort is to build a network with a personal bond and the ability to refer paying customers or become paying customers themselves. This means the network members must become raving fans even before they make a buy or refer decision. Those who have been networking in real life for years know this is much harder than turning a satisfied customer into a raving fan. Unlike in person networking, online networking limits the level of interpersonal exchange and thus “likability.” A social network makes the transition to raving fans because of the personality of the network leader. Use the regular communication with network members as a “personality conduit.”
It’s Called the “Web” for a Reason
The highest accolade for a business person using social networks as a professional tool is to become a “meta-leader.” Based on concepts taken from disaster healthcare and emergency management, the “meta-leader” is a bridge for communications across industries and a role modeling leader within their own business. In social networks, whether professional or personal, this is a truly pivotal role because as a “network node” the meta-leader is the point at which multiple individual networks begin to overlap. The meta-leader is the connection and the conduit for all these networks and even across social networking websites.
Step Four: Attract Like Minded People, Then Lead Them
The key to becoming a meta-leader in a market niche is to become a gathering point for other online professionals and their respective networks. All the professional social networking websites have the ability to create clubs, or groups, or collectives. By volunteering to create and manage such a group the meta-leader becomes the point of convergence for everyone interested in the topic.
Time to Get Real
Once the goals are set, the network built and the like minds have gathered, it is time to expand into the non-virtual world. The popular term for a social networking group meeting outside of cyberspace is “In Real Life” or simply “Live.” Virtually all local chapters of online professional social networks have a “Live” meeting. This is where meta-leadership changes a list of network members into life long business relationships.
Step Five: Make it Real in Real Life
Depending on the local culture and networking traditions as well as the subculture of the online network, a traditional “dinner and drinks” networking event may be in order, but a “picnic in the park” or a “burgers and baseball” format may be more appropriate. The key is not the surroundings, but the opportunity for people who have built an online, but nonetheless real relationship to put a handshake, or a hug, to the profile and prose.
Online professional social networks and social media marketing are the newest tool in the entrepreneur’s business success kit. Properly used, it promises business expansion and profit growth.
Country Wine
Social Media Marketing – Easy and Inexpensive Publicity For Small Non-Profits
Crystal Smith asked:
If you run a small non-profit agency, you owe it to yourself to learn more about social media marketing. Social media marketing is an effective and easy way to promote and publicize your organization for little or no cost.
Social media marketing takes advantage of the social aspects of the Internet. How? Before we begin that discussion, let’s first start with an overview of the objectives of online marketing in general.
Online marketing has one main goal – attract visitors to your Website. To draw traffic, most organizations focus on improving their ranking on search engines like Google. There are many ways to boost your ranking, with paid listings, search engine optimization, and link building being the main ones:
Paid listings offer fast results but are prohibitively expensive for small non-profits. Search engine optimization (SEO) involves making your site really relevant to the keywords that pertain to your organization’s mission. It has no direct costs, but you may need to pay for the services of a search engine marketing firm to get decent results. TIP: The critical aspects of SEO are keyword research and large quantities of Website content, which makes it an important part of your marketing strategy whether you choose to use social media or not. A Google search on SEO techniques can help you learn how to optimize your site. Link building is a strategy to increase the number of links pointing to your site. The greater the number of links, the more popular and relevant your site is considered to be, and the greater the chance of a high search engine ranking.
Social media marketing goes hand in hand with SEO and link building. It can help you increase the content on your Website and generate tons of links to your site. The synopsis below explains how.
Social media marketing is based on participation in various online communities/meeting places, like blogs, article databases, and social bookmarking and news sites. Each time you participate, you can create a link to your site. You can use blog entries and articles to fill out the content on your site, making it even more relevant in the eyes of the search engines. And you can do all of this for next to nothing, especially if you know some Net-savvy volunteers with a flair for writing.
Here is a quick overview of the main tools used for social media marketing:
Blogs. Each blog posting has a unique URL, or Web page address. This means that if the blog is hosted directly on your site, every blog post will create a new page on your site, giving search engines more to work with when assessing your site’s relevance. To host your own blog you need a domain name, which has a monthly cost. If you host your blog elsewhere, like blogger.com, there is no charge, and you can still take advantage of link building opportunities by pointing to your own site in your posts or adding your posts to social bookmarking and news sites.
Social Bookmarking. Social bookmarking sites allow users to share their favourite Websites with others over the Internet. More bookmarks to a site mean more potential links. In the context of marketing, social bookmarking sites allow your organization to post every blog entry, new Web page and article you write, and create a link to your site for each one. Companies like addthis.com offer buttons for your site that allow visitors to bookmark your site with the click of a single button.
Social News. Social news sites are similar in concept to social bookmarking sites. With a free membership you can start submitting your articles and blog posts to news sites. These sites have a lot of traffic and can lead many users to your Website. Check out services like Digg and Reddit for more information.
Social Networking. Most non-profits and many businesses have a page on MySpace or Facebook. These heavily visited sites give you lots of opportunity to network online with supporters and volunteers, building your “brand” and inspiring people who like what you do to visit your site.
Article Writing. Articles are not a social medium per se, but I like to include them in discussions of social media marketing anyway. Article databases, like EzineArticles.com, give you a forum for posting detailed articles (as opposed to short blog posts) that relate to your organization. Articles allow links, so you can easily connect readers to your site. You can also post your articles on your own Website to increase the content there.
Although social media marketing takes time, it is well worth the effort. If you haven’t considered it before, I advise you to do so now. There is ample research available on the Web about social media marketing. Do some reading, then gather a committee of staff, board members and volunteers to plan a strategy that will allow you to reap the benefits of this no-cost marketing opportunity.
Country Wine
If you run a small non-profit agency, you owe it to yourself to learn more about social media marketing. Social media marketing is an effective and easy way to promote and publicize your organization for little or no cost.
Social media marketing takes advantage of the social aspects of the Internet. How? Before we begin that discussion, let’s first start with an overview of the objectives of online marketing in general.
Online marketing has one main goal – attract visitors to your Website. To draw traffic, most organizations focus on improving their ranking on search engines like Google. There are many ways to boost your ranking, with paid listings, search engine optimization, and link building being the main ones:
Paid listings offer fast results but are prohibitively expensive for small non-profits. Search engine optimization (SEO) involves making your site really relevant to the keywords that pertain to your organization’s mission. It has no direct costs, but you may need to pay for the services of a search engine marketing firm to get decent results. TIP: The critical aspects of SEO are keyword research and large quantities of Website content, which makes it an important part of your marketing strategy whether you choose to use social media or not. A Google search on SEO techniques can help you learn how to optimize your site. Link building is a strategy to increase the number of links pointing to your site. The greater the number of links, the more popular and relevant your site is considered to be, and the greater the chance of a high search engine ranking.
Social media marketing goes hand in hand with SEO and link building. It can help you increase the content on your Website and generate tons of links to your site. The synopsis below explains how.
Social media marketing is based on participation in various online communities/meeting places, like blogs, article databases, and social bookmarking and news sites. Each time you participate, you can create a link to your site. You can use blog entries and articles to fill out the content on your site, making it even more relevant in the eyes of the search engines. And you can do all of this for next to nothing, especially if you know some Net-savvy volunteers with a flair for writing.
Here is a quick overview of the main tools used for social media marketing:
Blogs. Each blog posting has a unique URL, or Web page address. This means that if the blog is hosted directly on your site, every blog post will create a new page on your site, giving search engines more to work with when assessing your site’s relevance. To host your own blog you need a domain name, which has a monthly cost. If you host your blog elsewhere, like blogger.com, there is no charge, and you can still take advantage of link building opportunities by pointing to your own site in your posts or adding your posts to social bookmarking and news sites.
Social Bookmarking. Social bookmarking sites allow users to share their favourite Websites with others over the Internet. More bookmarks to a site mean more potential links. In the context of marketing, social bookmarking sites allow your organization to post every blog entry, new Web page and article you write, and create a link to your site for each one. Companies like addthis.com offer buttons for your site that allow visitors to bookmark your site with the click of a single button.
Social News. Social news sites are similar in concept to social bookmarking sites. With a free membership you can start submitting your articles and blog posts to news sites. These sites have a lot of traffic and can lead many users to your Website. Check out services like Digg and Reddit for more information.
Social Networking. Most non-profits and many businesses have a page on MySpace or Facebook. These heavily visited sites give you lots of opportunity to network online with supporters and volunteers, building your “brand” and inspiring people who like what you do to visit your site.
Article Writing. Articles are not a social medium per se, but I like to include them in discussions of social media marketing anyway. Article databases, like EzineArticles.com, give you a forum for posting detailed articles (as opposed to short blog posts) that relate to your organization. Articles allow links, so you can easily connect readers to your site. You can also post your articles on your own Website to increase the content there.
Although social media marketing takes time, it is well worth the effort. If you haven’t considered it before, I advise you to do so now. There is ample research available on the Web about social media marketing. Do some reading, then gather a committee of staff, board members and volunteers to plan a strategy that will allow you to reap the benefits of this no-cost marketing opportunity.
Country Wine
7 Free Social Media Marketing Tools (That Shouldn’t Be Free)
Peter Lenkefi asked:
The social media marketing niche is full of hype pipers and hope dopes. Everyday I get a “product launch” email touting the latest WordPress plugin, software app or marketing system, promising BIG traffic or quit-your-day-job ROI.
If you have been around (the internet marketing scene) for even a few months you’ll know just what I am talking about. I am at the point where I am more interested in the way the product is being marketed than what the product is.
I have settled in to a few (mostly free) web 2.0 tools that make my social media marketing work.
So, shut up and tell you what they are already, right? Got it…
VIDEO SYNDICATION
The big gun in video submission is, of course, Traffic Geyser. This is a great service and, besides taking hours to set up and being priced on the high end, works very well at getting you and your silly videos plastered all over the web. However, recently I stumbled upon a free video submission service called TubeMogul that I like quite well, thank you very much.
TubeMogul allows for automated submission to the 12 big video sites all at once. The interface is super-simple. It allows you to add a title, description, tags and category setting to you video. And you can upload as many videos as you want for nada (FREE!).
Check it out at TubeMogul.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA SUBMITTING AND BOOKMARKING
Some of the new folks get confused here so let me briefly explain… Social media marketing calls for lots of “submitting”. One of the mainstays is submitting your post (your story, your article whatever you call your content) to a social media site.
There are really 2 types of sites for post submission. There’s the social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us and technorati which just want you to primarily submit a link and tag. There’s not much voting or browsing of these “bookmarks” going on after you submit.
Then there’s the social news sites like Digg and Propeller. These sites want your link and tags also but you will also need to provide a good description of you post and hope that other vote it up.
So, with that out of the way… On to the freebie.
I have used a few of the paid tools out there to automatically submit to both the social bookmarking sites and the social news sites and, in my opinion, the free tool at SocialMarker.com works better than all of them. You just input your post data, check the sites you want to submit to and arrow through the submissions. “That was easy!”
KEYWORD RESEARCH
Yes, I still do keyword research, I think it is important to keep track of your main keywords and look for variations as new topics come up. I use the free tool from the giant keyword service called Keyword Discovery. The free tool works great for bloggers who are not building 10,000 word PPC campaigns.
IMAGE EDITING
By far, the service I use the most is picnik.com. I always have to crop, resize, fix, etc. the images I need to use. This online editor makes it quick and easy.
VIDEO CAPTURE AND EDITING
Well, this may be a bit advanced for the new folks but just in case you are ready to stick your toes into the video pond, here’s a couple of free tools you’ll need.
First, you will need a good screen capture software. I like the tools from TechSmith, either Camtasia (V3 is free right now) or JingProject.
Once you have you fancy screen capture then head over to Jumpcut.com and start editing. This is an awesome free online editing software that should cost big bucks.
So, there you have it…
The list is not long but, trust me, these free tools will get you f-a-a-a-r in your social media marketing endeavors.
You can try lots of other similar free marketing software, tools and systems; there is an endless number of them that’s for sure.
This is what has worked (and continues to work) for me. Enjoy!
Beer Crafting
The social media marketing niche is full of hype pipers and hope dopes. Everyday I get a “product launch” email touting the latest WordPress plugin, software app or marketing system, promising BIG traffic or quit-your-day-job ROI.
If you have been around (the internet marketing scene) for even a few months you’ll know just what I am talking about. I am at the point where I am more interested in the way the product is being marketed than what the product is.
I have settled in to a few (mostly free) web 2.0 tools that make my social media marketing work.
So, shut up and tell you what they are already, right? Got it…
VIDEO SYNDICATION
The big gun in video submission is, of course, Traffic Geyser. This is a great service and, besides taking hours to set up and being priced on the high end, works very well at getting you and your silly videos plastered all over the web. However, recently I stumbled upon a free video submission service called TubeMogul that I like quite well, thank you very much.
TubeMogul allows for automated submission to the 12 big video sites all at once. The interface is super-simple. It allows you to add a title, description, tags and category setting to you video. And you can upload as many videos as you want for nada (FREE!).
Check it out at TubeMogul.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA SUBMITTING AND BOOKMARKING
Some of the new folks get confused here so let me briefly explain… Social media marketing calls for lots of “submitting”. One of the mainstays is submitting your post (your story, your article whatever you call your content) to a social media site.
There are really 2 types of sites for post submission. There’s the social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us and technorati which just want you to primarily submit a link and tag. There’s not much voting or browsing of these “bookmarks” going on after you submit.
Then there’s the social news sites like Digg and Propeller. These sites want your link and tags also but you will also need to provide a good description of you post and hope that other vote it up.
So, with that out of the way… On to the freebie.
I have used a few of the paid tools out there to automatically submit to both the social bookmarking sites and the social news sites and, in my opinion, the free tool at SocialMarker.com works better than all of them. You just input your post data, check the sites you want to submit to and arrow through the submissions. “That was easy!”
KEYWORD RESEARCH
Yes, I still do keyword research, I think it is important to keep track of your main keywords and look for variations as new topics come up. I use the free tool from the giant keyword service called Keyword Discovery. The free tool works great for bloggers who are not building 10,000 word PPC campaigns.
IMAGE EDITING
By far, the service I use the most is picnik.com. I always have to crop, resize, fix, etc. the images I need to use. This online editor makes it quick and easy.
VIDEO CAPTURE AND EDITING
Well, this may be a bit advanced for the new folks but just in case you are ready to stick your toes into the video pond, here’s a couple of free tools you’ll need.
First, you will need a good screen capture software. I like the tools from TechSmith, either Camtasia (V3 is free right now) or JingProject.
Once you have you fancy screen capture then head over to Jumpcut.com and start editing. This is an awesome free online editing software that should cost big bucks.
So, there you have it…
The list is not long but, trust me, these free tools will get you f-a-a-a-r in your social media marketing endeavors.
You can try lots of other similar free marketing software, tools and systems; there is an endless number of them that’s for sure.
This is what has worked (and continues to work) for me. Enjoy!
Beer Crafting
Social Media Marketing Tips – Video Submissions
R. Scott Hall asked:
It’s hard to believe that YouTube is only three-years-old. In such a short amount of time videos have changed the way we market products and communicate with friends and family. If you look at Google Trends you’ll see that as many people search for videos as they do shopping and news. So if you are an internet marketer, then, for social media marketing tips purposes, you absolutely have to include videos in your mix.
YouTube is the #1 video site, of course. It receives more traffic than Google and, because Google owns YouTube, the videos rank well in Google too. You shouldn’t limit yourself to YouTube, however. New video sites pop up every day and some of them might reach a target audience that matches well with your niche. Let’s take a look at some of them:
YouTube caters to a younger audience (18-24). Half have an income of $60K or more and half have attended college or grad school.
Metacafe is the second largest video site in the US. It focuses on creative videos from emerging talent and also established Hollywood performers. It gets 27 million unique visitors each month and attracts a heavily male audience with an average age range of 25-34.
Vids.Myspace.com has 10 million monthly unique visitors and is slanted more to females (57%).
Video.MSN.com reaches an older audience – more than half are over the age of 45. It gets 2.7 million unique visitors per month.
Google Video attracts a slightly younger audience than YouTube and the audience is mostly white (71%) and male (53%).
Dailymotion is set up for larger videos: 150 MB, compared to YouTube’s 100 MB and has a video limit of 20 minutes compared to YouTube’s 10 minutes. It appeals to a male audience (60%).
If you’re not sure which video sites to use, there are video uploaders that will upload your videos to all the main video sites. Look for software or
membership plans that have testimonials and customer support. All you do is create the video and the uploading service will take care of the rest for you. Each video site has different requirements for tagging and descriptions and file size so it will save you a ton of time if you use a service like this.
If the thought of making a video intimidates you, remember that you don’t have to appear in the video. You can place an ad in Craigslist or look on elance to hire someone else to appear in it. Or you can do a Camtasia or PowerPoint type video that is a slide show of screen shots.
No matter what type of product you sell or what type of market you are in, video will work for you. Please feel free to let us know how videos have worked for you.
Homemade Spirits – Learning To Make Alcohol
It’s hard to believe that YouTube is only three-years-old. In such a short amount of time videos have changed the way we market products and communicate with friends and family. If you look at Google Trends you’ll see that as many people search for videos as they do shopping and news. So if you are an internet marketer, then, for social media marketing tips purposes, you absolutely have to include videos in your mix.
YouTube is the #1 video site, of course. It receives more traffic than Google and, because Google owns YouTube, the videos rank well in Google too. You shouldn’t limit yourself to YouTube, however. New video sites pop up every day and some of them might reach a target audience that matches well with your niche. Let’s take a look at some of them:
YouTube caters to a younger audience (18-24). Half have an income of $60K or more and half have attended college or grad school.
Metacafe is the second largest video site in the US. It focuses on creative videos from emerging talent and also established Hollywood performers. It gets 27 million unique visitors each month and attracts a heavily male audience with an average age range of 25-34.
Vids.Myspace.com has 10 million monthly unique visitors and is slanted more to females (57%).
Video.MSN.com reaches an older audience – more than half are over the age of 45. It gets 2.7 million unique visitors per month.
Google Video attracts a slightly younger audience than YouTube and the audience is mostly white (71%) and male (53%).
Dailymotion is set up for larger videos: 150 MB, compared to YouTube’s 100 MB and has a video limit of 20 minutes compared to YouTube’s 10 minutes. It appeals to a male audience (60%).
If you’re not sure which video sites to use, there are video uploaders that will upload your videos to all the main video sites. Look for software or
membership plans that have testimonials and customer support. All you do is create the video and the uploading service will take care of the rest for you. Each video site has different requirements for tagging and descriptions and file size so it will save you a ton of time if you use a service like this.
If the thought of making a video intimidates you, remember that you don’t have to appear in the video. You can place an ad in Craigslist or look on elance to hire someone else to appear in it. Or you can do a Camtasia or PowerPoint type video that is a slide show of screen shots.
No matter what type of product you sell or what type of market you are in, video will work for you. Please feel free to let us know how videos have worked for you.
Homemade Spirits – Learning To Make Alcohol
Google Gadgets & OpenSocial – A Social Media Marketing Toolset
Frank Stoczko asked:
If you have several different social media sites, such as MySpace, Imeem, Friendster, etc., the trick is to get them to interact with one another. It is difficult sometimes to keep up with friends who may be on different sites. Or rather, it was difficult until Google Gadgets and Open Social started their own social media marketing toolset.
Open Social is one of the most exciting things to happen to Google in a long time. This will allow you to build applications that will link many different websites to one API and will also allow the system to host other social applications as well. You need to have a bit of JavaScript knowledge and HTML, but Google provides you the tutorials to do this in their Open Social guide online.
In addition to Open Social, you can also use Google Gadgets to keep your marketing linked to your social networking sites. Google Gadgets can enable you to build a social application very inexpensively. If you are looking for a way to use social media as a marketing tool, Open Social and Google Gadgets are just the thing to help you achieve success.
Google Gadgets are bits of code that you can structure to your own website and use in links and signatures all over the internet. You can post links in many different places as your signature code. If your gadgets are created for your website, they will update as your website updates. One gadget can be put on all of your social networks to continually reflect changes in your website so that you do not have to do this by hand.
And by combining Google Gadgets with Open Social, you can use Social Marketing to its ultimate success. You can actually use one gadget that can virally spread across all of your different social networks through the Open Social application. This saves you time that can be spent taking care of business.
Combining Google Gadgets with Open Social, which has just become available to the public, is the best way to connect all of your social media sites together and keep them updated and connected to your website through a gadget.
Social media attracts billions of customers yearly. Years ago, the only social networking site was MySpace and a few others. Today, there are hundreds of different sites and more developing each day. Imagine being able to spread your marketing ideas across these different websites with one click of the mouse! Thanks to this new Google Technology, you can save a lot of time and reach a lot more potential customers on social sites by using Open Social. Adding Google Gadgets can keep it running without any more effort on your part.
If you want to promote your business or website on the internet through the effective means of social media, check out Open Social at Google and learn how to operate this user friendly program. This can be a vital source of marketing for your website.
Homemade Spirits – Learning To Make Alcohol
If you have several different social media sites, such as MySpace, Imeem, Friendster, etc., the trick is to get them to interact with one another. It is difficult sometimes to keep up with friends who may be on different sites. Or rather, it was difficult until Google Gadgets and Open Social started their own social media marketing toolset.
Open Social is one of the most exciting things to happen to Google in a long time. This will allow you to build applications that will link many different websites to one API and will also allow the system to host other social applications as well. You need to have a bit of JavaScript knowledge and HTML, but Google provides you the tutorials to do this in their Open Social guide online.
In addition to Open Social, you can also use Google Gadgets to keep your marketing linked to your social networking sites. Google Gadgets can enable you to build a social application very inexpensively. If you are looking for a way to use social media as a marketing tool, Open Social and Google Gadgets are just the thing to help you achieve success.
Google Gadgets are bits of code that you can structure to your own website and use in links and signatures all over the internet. You can post links in many different places as your signature code. If your gadgets are created for your website, they will update as your website updates. One gadget can be put on all of your social networks to continually reflect changes in your website so that you do not have to do this by hand.
And by combining Google Gadgets with Open Social, you can use Social Marketing to its ultimate success. You can actually use one gadget that can virally spread across all of your different social networks through the Open Social application. This saves you time that can be spent taking care of business.
Combining Google Gadgets with Open Social, which has just become available to the public, is the best way to connect all of your social media sites together and keep them updated and connected to your website through a gadget.
Social media attracts billions of customers yearly. Years ago, the only social networking site was MySpace and a few others. Today, there are hundreds of different sites and more developing each day. Imagine being able to spread your marketing ideas across these different websites with one click of the mouse! Thanks to this new Google Technology, you can save a lot of time and reach a lot more potential customers on social sites by using Open Social. Adding Google Gadgets can keep it running without any more effort on your part.
If you want to promote your business or website on the internet through the effective means of social media, check out Open Social at Google and learn how to operate this user friendly program. This can be a vital source of marketing for your website.
Homemade Spirits – Learning To Make Alcohol
How to Use Social Media Marketing and Video For Online Exposure
Dan Dimit asked:
One of my favorite ways to get free targeted traffic to my websites is through video marketing. It’s not how many views you get, it’s WHO is watching. This is how you rank well on the search engines and drive traffic to your website.
When adding your “description” to the video, implement these in the following order…
First, type in your capture page address (or whatever website you want them to go to)… http://www.whateversite.com (Your Own Domain or affiliate link recommended.) The http:// and then the www. is very important particularly on YouTube because it turns the domain into a clickable link.
Second, on the next line after your website address…your phone number (EEK! YES, this is a business. That means you may have to talk to someone that has a question..stop hiding behind your website!) and name. Then write a few paragraphs describing your video…it’s kinda like a mini-article. what is it about? What are you going to cover? What are you helping the viewer find out? What problem are you attempting to help them solve? Don’t make it about YOU, make it about solutions to THEIR problems.
Third, after your description… add your whole related keyword list… this can be as long as it needs to be, as long as it fits. This is a keyword list you might use if you were providing a business opportunity…
MLM, Network marketing, (Top Producers Names so you can piggy-back off their success and popularity), (Other Home Business Company Names), Home Based Business, Entrepreneurs, Multi Level Marketing, Internet Marketing, MLM Training, Saving money on taxes, debt elimination, (your competition’s company names), Your own name, of course. You ARE trying to become your own BRAND, right?)
I’ll will admit that the keyword technique is a bit lazy, but it still works fine. In the future, we’re sure that the algorithms will catch this and you’ll need to make the whole description all real content, which is better anyway. You will hear us preach about this a lot. You should always keep your real name as a tag/keyword(or if you have a normal name, like Eric Green, turn it into a brand-able name, like digitalgangster-there’s a plug for a great guy…love and respect DG). This is how you can establish yourself as a brand on the internet.
Plus, when you end up on the phone with a prospect (What?? Talk on the phone?? You act like this is a legitimate business with work involved!!-duh!) and they don’t seem to know for sure if you’re an expert in your field, tell them to type your name into the Google search engine and see what happens…your name pops up with all kinds of articles, blogposts and videos…don’t worry, it won’t all be from you, either. Other people will pick up your great content and use it for their blogs, etc. I find my videos and content in the craziest places – Korean, Arab, and Polish websites! The main point is that you will be associated with multitudes of sites in your niche market. That looks really good in the eyes of your prospect.
Now back to why you want your competition’s company names as your keywords as well. There are thousands and thousands of people looking online for what you provide, we guarantee it. They may or may not have heard of you yet…They may have heard of your competition before hearing of you. What does any smart consumer do when they’re not sure exactly what they want yet?
They GOOGLE IT!
Let’s have an example: Okay, let’s say you’re an affiliate for the The Free Traffic Formula (congrats! You’re in a good spot!), and we have some really famous competition, like “Traffic Secrets VII”, or “Best Dang Ol’ Traffic Drivin’ Program” (Neither are real and we don’t want to front off our expensive and inferior competition. You know who they are, anyway) You make a title for your video like: “Is Traffic Secrets really the best program for you?” Or how about this one-”Why is that ‘Best Dang ol’ Traffic Drivin’ Program’ so DANG OL’ EXPENSIVE? Are there alternatives?”
Of course, someone will look up one of those programs on Google…what will they find? MY video comparing the two (mine and their’s) side by side.
We’ve used this technique countless times and it is still one of our best sources of people calling us with buying questions. Get creative to make it work for you!
Williger.com
One of my favorite ways to get free targeted traffic to my websites is through video marketing. It’s not how many views you get, it’s WHO is watching. This is how you rank well on the search engines and drive traffic to your website.
When adding your “description” to the video, implement these in the following order…
First, type in your capture page address (or whatever website you want them to go to)… http://www.whateversite.com (Your Own Domain or affiliate link recommended.) The http:// and then the www. is very important particularly on YouTube because it turns the domain into a clickable link.
Second, on the next line after your website address…your phone number (EEK! YES, this is a business. That means you may have to talk to someone that has a question..stop hiding behind your website!) and name. Then write a few paragraphs describing your video…it’s kinda like a mini-article. what is it about? What are you going to cover? What are you helping the viewer find out? What problem are you attempting to help them solve? Don’t make it about YOU, make it about solutions to THEIR problems.
Third, after your description… add your whole related keyword list… this can be as long as it needs to be, as long as it fits. This is a keyword list you might use if you were providing a business opportunity…
MLM, Network marketing, (Top Producers Names so you can piggy-back off their success and popularity), (Other Home Business Company Names), Home Based Business, Entrepreneurs, Multi Level Marketing, Internet Marketing, MLM Training, Saving money on taxes, debt elimination, (your competition’s company names), Your own name, of course. You ARE trying to become your own BRAND, right?)
I’ll will admit that the keyword technique is a bit lazy, but it still works fine. In the future, we’re sure that the algorithms will catch this and you’ll need to make the whole description all real content, which is better anyway. You will hear us preach about this a lot. You should always keep your real name as a tag/keyword(or if you have a normal name, like Eric Green, turn it into a brand-able name, like digitalgangster-there’s a plug for a great guy…love and respect DG). This is how you can establish yourself as a brand on the internet.
Plus, when you end up on the phone with a prospect (What?? Talk on the phone?? You act like this is a legitimate business with work involved!!-duh!) and they don’t seem to know for sure if you’re an expert in your field, tell them to type your name into the Google search engine and see what happens…your name pops up with all kinds of articles, blogposts and videos…don’t worry, it won’t all be from you, either. Other people will pick up your great content and use it for their blogs, etc. I find my videos and content in the craziest places – Korean, Arab, and Polish websites! The main point is that you will be associated with multitudes of sites in your niche market. That looks really good in the eyes of your prospect.
Now back to why you want your competition’s company names as your keywords as well. There are thousands and thousands of people looking online for what you provide, we guarantee it. They may or may not have heard of you yet…They may have heard of your competition before hearing of you. What does any smart consumer do when they’re not sure exactly what they want yet?
They GOOGLE IT!
Let’s have an example: Okay, let’s say you’re an affiliate for the The Free Traffic Formula (congrats! You’re in a good spot!), and we have some really famous competition, like “Traffic Secrets VII”, or “Best Dang Ol’ Traffic Drivin’ Program” (Neither are real and we don’t want to front off our expensive and inferior competition. You know who they are, anyway) You make a title for your video like: “Is Traffic Secrets really the best program for you?” Or how about this one-”Why is that ‘Best Dang ol’ Traffic Drivin’ Program’ so DANG OL’ EXPENSIVE? Are there alternatives?”
Of course, someone will look up one of those programs on Google…what will they find? MY video comparing the two (mine and their’s) side by side.
We’ve used this technique countless times and it is still one of our best sources of people calling us with buying questions. Get creative to make it work for you!
Williger.com
Social Media Marketing – Increase Website Traffic
Darko Veljovic asked:
Social Marketing
Social sites are very popular place where people collect and share content from anywhere on the web. Catch is if you find something interesting on the web there is a big chance that someone else using the bookmarking website will find it interesting, too. Use a tool called SocialMarker.com to submit to over 46 sites. Chose the group which is in your niche and post some content from your site or blog.
Social bookmarking websites are very popular with the major search engines, so if your blog posts can be found on these social bookmarking sites they will be noticed by the search engines as well.
OnlyWire.com
This is a social bookmarking service that allows you to submit your articles or blog posts to many social bookmarking websites at once When you create an account you’ll simply need to enter the title of the post, a short description, the main keywords that describe your post(tags), and the category that it fits
Stumbleupon.com
StumbleUpon works on the same premise as OnlyWire with difference that there is also a community component so you can add friends to your account and let them see what you’ve been bookmarking. You can form networks of people with similar bookmarking interest, and vote on sites that have been bookmarked.
BlogCatalog.com
BlogCatalog is a social community for bloggers. It is a blog directory where you can search blogs, connect with bloggers, learn more about blogging, attract more blog readers, participate In groups and discussions, find the latest tools for your blog or promote your own blog.
Digg.com
Submitting your blog posts to Digg.com is a high and rapid way for quality traffic. You can create an account to submit your posts which are then interpret and rated by it’s users. By submitting quality and helpful items you can make popularity and be promoted to the front page. Another advantage of Digg is that all information is equivalent when it is submitted. Blogs only become ranked higher by the people who vote for them.
Totally FREE Website content
Social Marketing
Social sites are very popular place where people collect and share content from anywhere on the web. Catch is if you find something interesting on the web there is a big chance that someone else using the bookmarking website will find it interesting, too. Use a tool called SocialMarker.com to submit to over 46 sites. Chose the group which is in your niche and post some content from your site or blog.
Social bookmarking websites are very popular with the major search engines, so if your blog posts can be found on these social bookmarking sites they will be noticed by the search engines as well.
OnlyWire.com
This is a social bookmarking service that allows you to submit your articles or blog posts to many social bookmarking websites at once When you create an account you’ll simply need to enter the title of the post, a short description, the main keywords that describe your post(tags), and the category that it fits
Stumbleupon.com
StumbleUpon works on the same premise as OnlyWire with difference that there is also a community component so you can add friends to your account and let them see what you’ve been bookmarking. You can form networks of people with similar bookmarking interest, and vote on sites that have been bookmarked.
BlogCatalog.com
BlogCatalog is a social community for bloggers. It is a blog directory where you can search blogs, connect with bloggers, learn more about blogging, attract more blog readers, participate In groups and discussions, find the latest tools for your blog or promote your own blog.
Digg.com
Submitting your blog posts to Digg.com is a high and rapid way for quality traffic. You can create an account to submit your posts which are then interpret and rated by it’s users. By submitting quality and helpful items you can make popularity and be promoted to the front page. Another advantage of Digg is that all information is equivalent when it is submitted. Blogs only become ranked higher by the people who vote for them.
Totally FREE Website content
Social Media Marketing = MLM 2.0
Todd Mintz asked:
For the first time in many years, I had the privilege (misfortune) to receive (be tormented by) a Multi-Level Marketing presentation (assault). There are many obvious reasons why I have a strong disdain for MLM…probably no different than anyone else
For the first time in many years, I had the privilege (misfortune) to receive (be tormented by) a Multi-Level Marketing presentation (assault). There are many obvious reasons why I have a strong disdain for MLM…probably no different than anyone else
Promoting and Marketing Through Social Media
Rina S. Archer asked:
Social media marketing has become the new wave of advertising. Using social networking sites allows a business or individual to reach a worldwide audience. Clients, customers, fans etc. are available using social media sites that expand the reach of the marketing message that you want to present to the world. The advertising can be as simple as posting to the wall of another users account a comment with your ad or website attached as a link.
Social media marketing is available online in endless formats that bring the world to your fingertips. All you have to do to become a part of the newest social networking sites is open an account and start choosing your friends. The more friends you accept the larger your market for your message. Now you can start to post links to your friend’s walls that will take anyone who clicks on the link to your message.
Social media marketing opens many different opportunities for just about anyone with a message. It is a great benefit to businesses or individuals who are just starting out. Networking is not a new form of marketing but with the invention of the Internet and the social networking sites that are widely available it gives a budding business or individual a marketing edge that in the past was not accessible. Mainstream media marketing has discovered the power of the social networking sites and has hitched their wagon to them. Opportunity has come knocking at your door. Will you answer it?
Beer Brewing 101
Social media marketing has become the new wave of advertising. Using social networking sites allows a business or individual to reach a worldwide audience. Clients, customers, fans etc. are available using social media sites that expand the reach of the marketing message that you want to present to the world. The advertising can be as simple as posting to the wall of another users account a comment with your ad or website attached as a link.
Social media marketing is available online in endless formats that bring the world to your fingertips. All you have to do to become a part of the newest social networking sites is open an account and start choosing your friends. The more friends you accept the larger your market for your message. Now you can start to post links to your friend’s walls that will take anyone who clicks on the link to your message.
Social media marketing opens many different opportunities for just about anyone with a message. It is a great benefit to businesses or individuals who are just starting out. Networking is not a new form of marketing but with the invention of the Internet and the social networking sites that are widely available it gives a budding business or individual a marketing edge that in the past was not accessible. Mainstream media marketing has discovered the power of the social networking sites and has hitched their wagon to them. Opportunity has come knocking at your door. Will you answer it?
Beer Brewing 101