I'm a beginner network marketer. I've joined an MLM business. What's the best social media strategy for a beginner?

A good social media strategy for a beginner might be learning how to promote your business or product on your timeline, while you are learning other facets of marketing. You can be setting up a business page and getting an audience and enough likes while you're learning. 

Using social media to get yourself out there is a good social media strategy for a beginner. Self branding is something that can propel you significantly in your business world. You can become known as an authority figure in your niche.

Social signals are human interaction metrics on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, Medium, etc. Some examples of social signals are: likes, dislikes, shares, votes, pins, views, etc. which commonly help to showcase popularity and affinity for a specific piece of content.

Social signals have become an important factor in a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). You know ... that page that you see when you search for something on Google. You put in a keyword or keywords, hit submit, and Google brings back their results. There was a time when the results were based almost entirely on anchor text links, backlinks, keywords, and a few other traditional SEO factors .... but now social media is here and things are changing.

6. Authority Rules!

You probably already know that “influencers” are sought after as sponsors because they are so, well… influential. But why does everything they touch seem to turn to gold in the eyes of their followers? We find in the answer a very interesting cognitive bias known as the halo effect. Psychologists have found that we are likely to judge a person’s opinion based on our overall impression of him or her.

This explains why “influencers” seem to have the Midas touch. Since they already have an established reputation, anything else they involve themselves with is seen in a better light by association. This is why a testimonial from an influential person is one of the few alternatives that can help you boost the effectiveness of your social proof. You can use a notable person in your industry:

A head shot for a profile pic is fine, and maybe some kind of a lifestyle image for your header is fine too. You are not advertising your business, but you are letting your visitors know that the way you present yourself means something to you and that you want to be taken seriously

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Yes,  you absolutely can use social media for creating leads and contacts, but it must be done right to be effective.

You have access to an unlimited number of people in any niche you want… a networking event on steroids. There are some Do’s and Don’ts if you want to get followers. You don’t want to annoy people and you don’t want to waste time and effort.

It all starts with Knowing Your Audience

If you are trying to put something in front of people who couldn’t care less about you and what you do, you are most likely doomed from the start. Make sure there is some kind of common interest with your potential prospects

Determine Your Goal

Are you looking for customers or trying to engage people with you in a business, or are you looking to just connect now for future possibilities? Maybe you only care about social engagement right now to get your Facebook reach numbers up. Or maybe you just want to expose your brand and make people aware of something. Maybe you are promoting an event or a charity of some kind. Whatever it is, know your goal so you can construct your approach.

Create a Content Strategy

What delivery methods will you use?  You have options … primarily videos and blog posts but there are many different formats and styles of both videos and blog posts…. and you can get creative with your Timeline posts as well.

Provide Valuable Content

You have a strategy for delivery, now you must provide value. Posting good high-quality content that someone can use and benefit from in some way, is essential. Without it, you are going nowhere. So figure out what kind of content you will post and publish. But mainly just offer value. Educate people … keep them informed of interesting events and news and updates. Conversational type posts are best. Get people engaged and others will chime in. Have a lead capture page you can direct people to so you can capture their contact info to send them more value. And mix it up … don’t publish the same things over and over. Variety is best.

Improve and Complete Your Social Media Profiles

I see so many new social media networkers fail on this, which is silly because there’s really not a lot to it. Just provide some info about yourself. Often times the first thing a new visitor will do is check out your profile and your “About” section to see what you are all about. If you don’t have a decent semi-professional profile picture, for example, your visitors might just keep right on going.

Do You Have An Advertising Budget?

Spend some money – After working so hard to create high-quality content you want it to be seen right? Consider some sponsored posts and some paid advertising on Facebook. Learn all about Facebook Ads and about Custom Audiences and the different styles of ads, and so on.

Offer Something Valuable That’s Free

You can set up a lead capture page right inside of Facebook. Offer something of value to trade for an email address. Build your list and contacts right inside Facebook. By knowing your audience and connecting with those targets, you will get premium leads that convert.

Learn How To Create Good Landing Pages

Create a new one for each social media platform. You can welcome your new friends and offer new fresh content. This is an advanced feature but it’s something to work towards.

Using social media for creating leads is pretty easy if you follow the Do’s. With the number of people using social media now, if you learn how to target and contact the ones you want to talk to, and the ones that want to hear what you have to say, you cannot help but make some positive things happen in your business.

by Brett Gurney

Striving for Excellence

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Why? Because multi platform marketing boosts exposure, leads, and sales.

So what does this mean really … what is a platform? Every different social media site, website, video host, forum, search engine, etc, is a separate platform, also known as a channel. So it stands to reason, the more platforms you are advertising on, the more exposure, and engagement, you will receive.

Multi platform marketing can lead to higher returns on your investment, regardless of what you are marketing. If you are not getting your message out to a broad audience and taking advantage of all the platforms available, you are going to miss at least some of the audience you want to hit.

Having said this, there are some challenges involved in marketing this way. We’ll cover those now.

Keeping the Message

Have you ever noticed how users personalities and mannerisms can differ across separate platforms? Those on Linkedin may be distinctly different from the people on Facebook for example. You might find yourself trying to conform yourself to these different types of people. In doing so, however, your delivery might change and that’s not necessarily the best thing. Let’s not lose the message in the process. We might be on multiple platforms, but we will be constructing a link among all our channels, creating a path to follow. Stay recognizable throughout, and keep the same message throughout.

Consistent Branding

It’s crucial for our branding to be consistent as well. The goal is to be recognizable at a glance. Think of the big brands out there. It doesn’t matter where you are when you see them, you know who they are instantly. That will be our goal as well, although maybe on a slightly smaller scale, it’s as important to us as it is to them.

Using Channels That Matter

Your audience might be diversified, but it’s not everywhere. If you know who your target is you can learn where they are gathering. Having a target audience doesn’t do any good if you are not putting your message where they are hanging out. This is a big part of getting conversions and results. Having the right people see the ads is as important as the ads themselves.

Learning How To Deliver The Message

We talked about it. Not all people are the same. They can still need and want what you have, but they may be more responsive to different methods of delivery. So while the message remains the same, the way it’s transmitted can vary. A quick example is Twitter with its 140 characters, Facebook with its very popular live feeds and videos, and Google search engines being good for blog posts, videos, and articles. There are many variations and some styles work better across alternate platforms. Learning how to re-package your content can have big advantages with multi platform marketing.

Knowing What Your Audience Wants

It’s important to know just what your audience needs and how they want to receive your message, if at all. What do they need to hear? Can your product benefit them? What are their hot buttons? Do you know their likes and dislikes? Do they have a problem that needs to be solved? If so, can your product or service solve that problem? It’s never about you…. it’s always about them.

Putting All The Pieces Together

Staying consistent and on point can be tricky across multiple platforms. But even though the platforms are different in structure and name with various formats, they still work together. Keeping a cohesive and well-balanced message and approach across your multi platform marketing will help your brand immensely. Your audience will recognize you and you will appear more organized and cohesive.

Good luck with your marketing.

by Brett Gurney

Striving for Excellence

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Linkedin is becoming more popular every day… it’s the business persons social media site and I know many of you have profiles over there… but do you really know how to use Linkedin for business…properly and with good etiquette?

In this post we are going to list in a very simple and structured way, the top 7 Do’s and the top 7 Don’ts of how to use Linkedin the right way, to benefit your exposure and your business.

LinkedIn Marketing & Etiquette : 7 Things You Must Do…

1. Personalize your connection requests – Default messages are impersonal and can be a tad annoying to some people. Get personal with your requests for better results. LinkedIn marketing only works if you do it right.

2. Have a profile picture – this is common sense right? I personally won’t connect with anyone who doesn’t have a profile picture. I want to connect with other professionals. A slew of images come to my mind in regards to those who don’t bother to show themselves … I won’t mention them.

3. Personalize your recommendation requests – for the same reasons. If you want recommendations back then get up close and personal. Show others you mean business and that you are not playing.

4. Keep it professional at all time – there are other social media sites more tolerant of games and romance…keep it professional on Linkedin if you want to benefit from it.

5. Turn off notifications when updating your profile – this applies more to multiple updates in a day. Let’s not make it annoying for people. If you find yourself making a lot of changes then turn off the notifications you don’t want to blast people.

6. Send a welcome message – one that provides value. You will get their attention and you will brand yourself as a serious person that is professional and courteous.

7. Nurture relationships – regularly. Creating and maintaining relationships is the name of the game. That’s what it’s all about. Continual communication is what sticks in people’s minds. Brand yourself through repitition…but always keep it business, professional, and valuable!

7 Things You Must NOT Do…

1. Don’t send spammy messages to your contacts – It’s the worst thing you can do in any Social Media platform. No “here’s my link buy my stuff” or any variation of… that’s cause for instant removal…and you will get removed. Your LinkedIN marketing should not be abusive or intrusive. Leave that for the amateurs.

2. Don’t over-post – multiple posts daily may not be the best way. Any more than one you better make sure it’s some darn good content.

3. Don’t ask people you don’t know for recommendations – it’s just lame and looks desperate. Instead concentrate on posting high value content and you’ll get the recommendations.

4. Don’t comment negatively in groups – or anywhere for that matter… it’s whiny and pathetic and no one likes whiny.

5. Do not post self-serving content in groups – groups are not for spamming your business…groups are for conversation, ideas, thoughts, input, asking questions, and providing answers. The goal of the content is to provide value and help. Are you seeing a pattern yet… value, value, value.

6. Don’t ask people to like your facebook page – again… lame! You shouldn’t even do that on Facebook… post your content and if it’s good content with value people will like the page simply because they like the page.

7. Don’t ask new connections or people you don’t know to endorse you – they don’t know you why would they endorse you. Introduce yourself instead and provide some good content… you’ll get your endorsements. Endorse others and they will endorse you back.

So …there you have it. LinkedIn marketing can be hugely beneficial if you treat it and your connections as you would want to be treated. With respect. Use common sense, be polite, provide good content and solutions to problems that people in your target niche may have, and you’ll be just fine. You’ll learn and fine tune as you go. These are general tips and techniques but if you follow them you’ll be looked at as a responsible and a professional marketer.

by Brett Gurney

Striving for Excellence

P.S. Stay tuned for more Internet Marketing Tips & Techniques and guides to building the brand of YOU.

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Are you having trouble recruiting new people into your organization?

Do you feel like you’re working harder and harder but getting nowhere fast? Are you pitching first and asking questions later?

In this post we are going to talk about a shift in the way you do things that might turn it around for you.

I’m sure you’ve heard some chatter about relationship building … but maybe you feel like “how I’m going to build my business if I don’t tell people about it?”. Well the good news is that you can tell people about your business, and yourself,. and a lot of other aspects of relationship building, simply by telling stories … this is the non-evasive, non-salesy approach. Stories sell, and communication with storytelling can hit hot buttons and get into people emotions. Stories touch, and they teach. I’ve always said show me a good story and I can use it to build a team or an organization.

Do you have a blog? …are you struggling with what to write? Storytelling is one of the most effective purposes for a blog. Tell stories about you, your products or services, and your business.

Here are 6 different kinds of stories you can tell, as well as some great tips for storytelling.

Stories About How You Got Started… you probably already have an About You page, but you can also get into more specific stories about your journey to where you are in your business. Anything that comes to mind…challenges, strokes of luck, coincidences, hard work that pays off, etc …. you get the idea. Or you can storytell about life experiences that relate and that led you to engage in your particular business.

Stories About How You Work … If you lead or consult… storytell about experiences that have a direct connection with your work. Use examples of how your leadership and consulting have helped others progress in their business or life. Talk about the trainings you do and how it has positively affected others around you.

Stories That Teach … Some of the best stories are ones that include a lesson. Positive stories are always good for sure… but don’t be afraid to also tell the stories of struggle that ended well… those are more real to many people. Lessons learned let people know that it’s ok to not be perfect or an expert… that there are others who struggled and figured it out, and they can learn from those who went before them. Admitting to mistakes, but how you resolved those mistakes not only educates, but also shows that you’re human too.

Stories That Communicate Vision … expressing your passions and your reasons why you do what you do are important, and storytelling is a great way to do this. What led you to choose the field or company you are in. What is motivating you aside from money. What pushes your buttons and how did you get there. Let people know you like to share your vision in the hopes others will catch it as well.

Stories That Demonstrate Values … Tell stories that exemplify your commitment to integrity and why people would want to work with or partner with you. Let the know your values and that you are serious about what you do and that you respect the industry you are in and that honesty means a great deal to you. I like to express that this isn’t a game or a hobby for me it’s how I make my living, but at the same time iI don’t compromise on my values.

Stories That Overcome Obstacles … this is big… everyone wants to hear stories about overcoming obstacles and fear..why? … because everyone has them and they want to know if they can do it too. When you give examples of your climb, including the rough spots and the dips and valleys, this can give hope and inspiration to others. Hey if this person can do it so can I! So talk about it…. tell stories about it… how you overcame and what encouraged you to press on. Let others know there’s nothing they can’t do if they set their mind to it.

And finally… keep it real. That is what people want to hear.. no hype no fakeness. Be genuine and be yourself. Just tell your stories… no one elses but yours, that’s what people want to hear… they will know it’s coming from you, and you will make friends and create relationships that can lead to partnerships.

by Brett Gurney

Striving for Excellence

P.S. Stay tuned for more Internet Marketing Tips & Techniques and guides to building the brand of YOU.

P.P.S. If you find this information valuable please subscribe to get future posts delivered to your email, and please leave us a comment…thanks!

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Do you find yourself confused or unsure sometimes of the best methods for social media interaction?

Are you looking for social media methods that will get the most out of your social experience?

You’re not alone. We get a lot of requests for facebook and social media training, so we put this together, it’s a quick basics. There will be more training but this will get you started.

• Post Regularly and Often

• Develop Your Own Style and Be Consistent With It

• Don’t Just Post – Comment on Other’s Posts and Updates

• Communicate With Those You Have Something In Common With

• Be Yourself – Don’t Try To Copy Some Else

• Don’t Spam

Post Regular Updates – Consistency, and persistency will put you on the social media map. It doesn’t matter what platform or channel you are using – regular updates tell a fast story about the user. When I’m checking out someone’s profile to determine if it’s a person I want to connect with, the first thing I do is to see how active they are. I’m on facebook to connect, engage, and relate, and I’m looking for others who do the same. I’m also looking for others who will do the same with me. There’s really nothing more encouraging then when a person “follows” you… much more so than a simple “like”. Knowing that a person likes my posts enough that they are looking forward to seeing the next one, tells me I’m doing something right. I’m in this for business, and good business starts with relationships and followership. When a person posts regularly, they tend to look for others who post regularly… those are the people they can and want to relate with, and it’s also a great way to get to know someone better and faster.

Develop “YOUR” style – a definite result of posting regularly will be developing your own style that people can and will recognize. Nothing fake about that. Being unique shows people you are genuine and you speak from the heart…. that you are sincere and that you have beliefs and conviction in what you say. Copying and pasting others people s posts without altering to your viewpoint or style or words might tell people you are just in a hurry to post something, or that you’re not thinking for yourself. Leaders lead with conviction and they take the time to develop their own materials, opinions, and styles.

Comment on Other’s Posts and Updates – ok this is huge… bigger than I can say, for multiple reasons. First it tells your friends and contacts that you want a relationship and that you care what they say and feel and think. Creating relationships is what this is all about, and you cannot create relationships if you are always talking AT people, and not WITH people. Conversation is how you get to know others and how they get to know you, and this single fact alone with drive your business. And secondly, engagement is what Facebook looks for to “up” your Edge Rank score…and it’s your Edge Rank score that determines how far and wide your message goes. How many friends see your posts on their newsfeeds, and how long your posts “park” in their newsfeeds..so you see full engagement is crucial on many fronts.

Have Something In Common With Those You Connect With – I’m on social media to network, and the social media methods we use are primarily geared towards making friends and creating relationships, but mainly for business. So it makes sense that I look for others who have the same interests that I do. I’m very choosy who I connect with and who I don’t. It’s not about how many contacts you have, it’s about the quality of the contacts you have, and the engagement you have and get with those contacts…so therefore I treat it a bit as a target market. It would be different if Facebook didn’t limit the amount of friends you can have, but they do it’s just the facts. So this is something I must take into consideration, especially as I creep towards that limit. In fact there will come a time soon that a purge will need to be done, to make room for others more in stride with what I do and what I’m looking for. This is just good business sense.

Be Yourself and Don’t Be Shy – get comfortable and say what’s on your mind, but keep it positive for the most part. Don’t try and emulate others. I know sometimes when you see other leaders and those who get a lot of interaction to try and be like that person, and their’s nothing wrong with learning from others and having mentors, but you also need to show people who you are. This goes along with developing your own style, and posting regularly, but it’s also about getting comfortable which makes it easier to write and post in your words. This comfort level comes from being forthcoming and active, not from being shy.So just learn to let it flow just as if you were in the same room talking to people…keep it natural and not fake. It doesn’t have to be perfect just let it go and don’t be afraid to be funny or humorous if that’s in your nature.

Don’t Spam People’s Wall’s and Don’t Post Your Business All The Time – You might think that’s something you need to do to get your business out there but more times than not it will have the opposite effect… instead post high value and quality content. Educate, teach, inspire, inform, converse. Spamming will get you blocked, teaching will get you noticed. People want to connect and work with others who have something meaningful to say and to offer. This is an entire subject on itself, but just don’t link drop everywhere and DO NOT put your business on other people’s walls. That is their storefront not yours.

You’ll notice some mention of Facebook and while this post is about social media methods in general, Facebook really is our playground and where we spend the majority of our time networking for business.

We hope this has been of some help and that you get some value from it. We will continue training on social media methods with follow ups that get more specific.

by Brett Gurney

Striving for Excellence

P.S. Stay tuned for more Internet Marketing Tips & Techniques and guides to building the brand of YOU.

P.P.S. If you find this information valuable please subscribe to get future posts delivered to your email, and please leave us a comment…thanks!

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Are you spreading your message far and wide on Social Media?

Are you aware of the many ways to do this?

Social Media Diversification can help you grow your business and in this post we are going to share with you how you can benefit.

This will be a series. Today we will touch on Instagram and LinkedIn.

As you know Facebook has been the Social Media King for years… the almighty… but is their dominance starting to crack? They remain popular because everyone’s friends and family hang out there, but the marketers are getting frustrated over all the changes of the rules of engagement and content layout.

And so although according to a recent study they continue to be the favorite, trends towards multiple platforms are taking hold. 42% of online adults now use two or more social networks. Some are beginning  to feel diversification is the answer, and other sites are quickly developing a unique user base (teenagers on Snapchat, women on Pinterest, business executives on LinkedIn, etc.).

Social media diversification cannot hurt, and some say it’s the answer to a better more thorough use of time and resources. Getting the message out to a wider audience is the name of the game.

Instagram – Big Time Loyalty

Instragram is becoming a player. Stats show an incredibly high user engagement rate, especially when compared to facebook. More than half use it on a daily basis, while close to 35% do so multiple times daily. That’s huge for a smaller site and the usage is growing. So because of this high user engagement rate, they are being noticed by brand marketers. Marketers need images that wow consumers, and they need to create a strong relationship with a loyal following. Here’s some Instagram tips for seeing that happens.

• Choose photos that bring out the “feel and lifestyle” of your brand.

• Choose hashtags that are unique, simple and relevant to your brand. Avoid blending too many words into one hashtag (Instagram users love simplicity).

• Add captions that lend humor, wit and context to your photos.

• Link photos to your product pages to encourage consumers to go directly to your store or site.

• Reward your followers for viewing and sharing your pictures with a discount or a promotional code.

LinkedIn – Still Dominates The Higher Income Crowd

LinkedIn usage continues to be dominated by the higher income earners and college graduates, and has a high percentage of 50-64 year-olds. But smaller time marketers are now finding their way to the site. It’s well known as a place for business people to network, show off their expertise, and secure new business.

LinkedIn is a place to be taken seriously… here are some good tips:

• Start using LinkedIn’s sponsored updates. They are useful because they appear directly in a user’s news feed rather than on the sidebar, making for better interaction.

• Sponsored updates also have the same options as regular updates, such as like, share and comment. This will also create more engagement.

• Consider a company page and targeted updates. Targeted updates go out to a targeted LinkedIn audience, not to all of your followers like a regular update will do. You can tailor to the audience that is relevent to the message.

Women Spend More Time on Social Media—but not on Facebook

Women’s participation on social media is becoming more popular but surprisingly not on Facebook. They trend more towards blogs, Pinterest, and Instagram. It seems that although women are big on friends and family, they may be even bigger on coupons, promotions, and shopping deals. So it seems they mix those things together into one feed. The best way to intereact might be to humanize your brand along with a social presence.

Social channels feed off of each other and  Social Media diversification can expand your message reach with big potential to get more clients and sales. With some playing around and some practice you can leverage your activities into a well received brand across the board.

So get that message out there…get active, diversify, mix it up, and take advantage of all that the internet and social media have to offer.

by Brett Gurney

Striving for Excellence

P.S. Stay tuned for more Internet Marketing Tips & Techniques and guides to building the brand of YOU.

P.P.S. If you find this information valuable please subscribe to get future posts delivered to your email, and please leave us a comment…thanks!

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The post Social Media Diversification Can Widen Your Target Audience appeared first on Internet Marketing For Beginners.

Are you spreading your message far and wide on multiple Social Media channels?

Are you aware of the many ways to do this?

Social Media Diversification can help you grow your business and in this post we are going to share with you how you can benefit.

This will be a series. Today we will touch on Instagram and LinkedIn

As you know Facebook has been the Social Media king for years… the almighty… but is their dominance starting to crack? They remain popular because everyone’s friends and family hang out there, but the marketers are getting frustrated over all the changes of the rules of engagement and content layout.

And so although according to a recent study they continue to be the favorite, trends towards multiple platforms are taking hold. 42% of online adults now use two or more social networks. Some are beginning  to feel diversification is the answer, and other sites are quickly developing a unique user base (teenagers on Snapchat, women on Pinterest, business executives on LinkedIn, etc.).

Social media diversification cannot hurt, and some say it’s the answer to a better more thorough use of time and resources. Getting the message out to a wider audience is the name of the game.

Instagram – Big Time Loyalty

Instragram is becoming a player. Stats show an incredibly high user engagement rate, especially when compared to facebook. More than half use it on a daily basis, while close to 35% do so multiple times daily. That’s huge for a smaller site and the usage is growing. So because of this high user engagement rate, they are being noticed by brand marketers. Marketers need images that wow consumers, and they need to create a strong relationship with a loyal following. Here’s some Instagram tips for seeing that happens.

• Choose photos that bring out the “feel and lifestyle” of your brand.

• Choose hashtags that are unique, simple and relevant to your brand. Avoid blending too many words into one hashtag (Instagram users love simplicity).

• Add captions that lend humor, wit and context to your photos.

• Link photos to your product pages to encourage consumers to go directly to your store or site.

• Reward your followers for viewing and sharing your pictures with a discount or a promotional code.

LinkedIn – Still Dominates The Higher Income Crowd

LinkedIn usage continues to be dominated by the higher income earners and college graduates, and has a high percentage of 50-64 year-olds. But smaller time marketers are now finding their way to the site. It’s well known as a place for business people to network, show off their expertise, and secure new business.

LinkedIn is a place to be taken seriously… here are some good tips:

• Start using LinkedIn’s sponsored updates. They are useful because they appear directly in a user’s news feed rather than on the sidebar, making for better interaction.

• Sponsored updates also have the same options as regular updates, such as like, share and comment. This will also create more engagement.

• Consider a company page and targeted updates. Targeted updates go out to a targeted LinkedIn audience, not to all of your followers like a regular update will do. You can tailor to the audience that is relevent to the message.

Women Spend More Time on Social Media—but not on Facebook

Women’s participation on social media is becoming more popular but surprisingly not on Facebook. They trend more towards blogs, Pinterest, and Instagram. It seems that although women are big on friends and family, they may be even bigger on coupons, promotions, and shopping deals. They tend to mix those things together into one feed. The best way to interact might be to humanize your brand along with a social presence.

Social channels feed off of each other and  social media diversification can expand your message reach with big potential to get more clients and sales. With some playing around and some practice you can leverage your activities into a well received brand across the board.

by Brett Gurney

Striving for Excellence

P.S. Stay tuned for more Internet Marketing Tips & Techniques and guides to building the brand of YOU.

P.P.S. If you find this information valuable please subscribe to get future posts delivered to your email, and please leave us a comment…thanks!

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The post Social Media Diversification Will Expand Your Message Reach appeared first on Internet Marketing For Beginners.

Have you ever wondered if social networking sites were important to your business building efforts?

Do you think they are a waste of your time?

In this post we are going to give you the real facts…

Times are changing fast in the online and internet marketing world. What worked last year or last month may not work so well today. This puts everyone on a level playing field, and those who learn the new techniques will fare the best. So if you are thinking that because you once knew how to get ranked then there is nothing more to learn, or if you believe social media sites are a waste of time, think again because Google’s new indexing system says different.

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, Pinterest, and all the others now have a place in the “what matters” category. If you have been saying “it’s a waste of time”, or “who wants to sit around and chat all day”, or i just don’t get it” ….then it’s time to get it. No business owner or marketer wants to sit around and chat all day, but if you want to be where the action is…where there are more prospects for any biz than you know what to do with…then you need to “get it”

Social media content – videos, images, stories, ads and as well blogs, are now all being indexed by google. Those who are not utilizing these platforms are missing out on tons of free promotion for their businesses by being ranked higher at search engines. The more good quality content you have the better indexed you will be and it should not be overlooked or downplayed. The better indexed you are the easier it will be for your potential customers and prospects to find you. The more links TO your site (called backlinks), the more popular your site is viewed by search engines, especially if those links come from what are deemed as high-profile (authority ) sites. So you see we simply tie it all together.

So here is what you need to do immediately if you have not yet.

– Get a Google account and get it set up. Don’t skip things on your profile make sure all your important links are there.

– Start making as many connections as possible on the most popular social networking sites. You don’t have to become an expert at all of them right away, that can all come later…just get started.

– Participate – Don’t just scan and read … like and comment instead. Join in on conversations and engage with others. Become a participant and get yourself out there. Create a page for your business and start inviting your connections.

– If you have customers encourage them to follow you via your social networks. They will appreciate the quality content you’re putting out.

– Get business cards and include your main social networking information on your cards. Give as many away as your can…. get the word out you are expanding your network.

– Include your social networking information and links on as many promotions as you can, online or off. Make it a habit so it becomes part of your routine to always leave your social footprints everywhere you go.

– Everywhere you network include a link BACK to your website – this is CRITICAL.

When doing searches, social results will always be clearly marked as such on Google’s SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). The returns will be accompanied by a heading “results from your social circle”. For traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it is just one more thing to compete with as far as website property. That’s why social networking is a much more of an important part of search than ever. Get on board now, Google will be announcing more changes to their new indexing system, so make the most of this information now.

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We all want the content on our websites, blogs, and social media platforms to rank high on the search engines right?

Statistics show that seven of the 10 most important factors for SEO optimization come from social media. Is this an area you are taking advantage of? Are you leveraging your time and efforts through social media channels to get yourself noticed online?

Here are 8 tips you can work on to enhance your rankings:

1. Have a content strategy – Establish your niche and your target market. Keep it narrow to set yourself apart from the competition and to create a certain target market. Ask yourself: What are my customers’ challenges?  How can I help them? – Create a solution to a problem. Determine what your target market can benefit from and provide that. What kinds of content will they like and what are they most likely to share.

2. Plan your social media marketing strategy – which platforms are you most familiar and comfortable with. Are your customers or prospects there? Don’t feel like you have to be all things to all people…or that you have to be on every single social platform. It’s best to perfect one or two first. Get some content out and see how she goes. Watch for feedback…likes and comments. Determine what is gaining the most attention… is it images? … surveys or questions? ….. or stories maybe. Informative content and educational marketing creates engagment. Check and adjust as you go.

3. Research Keywords – Study and learn what google is looking for now days. Read their Help pages and Google Keyword Tool. Learn to use relevent keywords. Keyword stuffing is no longer the way to go… there’s a big difference between “stuffing” and relevent responsible keyword selection. Too many keywords is not easy or natural reading. It needs to flow – that’s more important…and Google is more concerned now with quality content that relates to or fits the story.

4. Create relevant content – Determine what your customers or prospects want to hear and give it to them. Provide information and education related to what you are selling or to the message you want to get across. Don’t just tell people to buy your stuff, show them and tell them why they should buy your stuff. An informed person is more open to purchasing, and if you are the one doing the informing they are more open to purchasing from you. Lead in this way and they will follow.

5. Blog – Your blog is your hub and it’s where you want to send your traffic. Companies with blogs produce 67 percent more leads per month than companies without blogs. Add social share buttons to your blog’s homepage and, ideally, to the end of every post. Blogs are not static.. they tell stories…about you and about what you are selling. The story continues on a regular basis.People will re-visit your blog to find out what’s new and what’s happening. They want to be fed information.

6. Send email newsletters – Provide an opt-in form on your blog to generate subscribers. This will keep people in the know that haven’t been back to the blog in a while.Your newsletter can coax them back… begin a post with a “continue reading” link that points back to the blog. Be consistant so your subscribers come to depend and count on their weekly info, and provide relevent and good quality informative content. Include links to your social media channels in the newsletter as well.

7. Understand why content, social media marketing, and SEO work together – Search engines favor high value content and social media sites like sharable, linkable content. Combine the two and you will have a competitive advantage for attracting customers, whether people search on Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Some stats to consider:

• 70 percent of people would rather learn about a company through an article rather than advertising.

• 68 percent of internet users spend time reading content about brands that interest them.

• 80 percent of U.S. internet users interact with social media sites and blogs.

Once again the best practice is to be sincere, real, and a source of information. Create relationships by providing high quality content so people want to hear what you have to say. Offer solutions and assistance. And link all your sites, blogs, and social media channels together…and you will be found.

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