Online Marketing Focus: SEO and Social Media

Small business owners have a wide array of marketing choices when selecting the right online marketing strategy to pursue with the goal of finding new leads that actually turn into sales. The most popular being paid advertising, SEO campaigns, and Social Media Marketing. Making a site that is streamlined to be attractive to the search engines through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most talked about tactics that drives traffic to websites generally through Google. It is always important to build a website based on proven SEO principals, but in today’s online world failing to engage with the community through social media sites is a big mistake.

Google now puts value on the number of shares, likes, +1’s, etc. that a site receives when producing its search results. Therefore social media campaigns also have an impact on a company’s search rankings for their desired keywords. A great SEO strategy with lots of backlinks is no longer enough to gain high visibility and traction online. The best marketing campaigns for a small business include a combination of both solid SEO principles and promotion of social media channels. Paid search advertising and banner ad space can get a new site the exposure it needs to reach customers; but it is usually way too expensive for most small business marketing budgets.

Basic SEO Principals

In order to get the most out of your social media campaigns it is wise to have a site built based on best practices concerning search engine optimization. The following are a few guidelines that are important for your web development team to follow when designing your site. But doing these alone will not drive the traffic you desire until you begin sharing your website’s content on Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere providing readers the opportunity to share, like or +1 the content you are distributing.

• Create a site map.
• Develop unique page titles, keywords, and page descriptions.
• Use keywords in headers and body of text, but don’t overdo it.
• Create backlinks, but use a family of similar keywords not just one or two.
• Include blog titles in the URL for the company blog

Of course there are dozens of other aspects for building a website with SEO in mind and so it is important that you have a web developer that is adept at SEO techniques when building the website. Many small business owners fall into the trap of trying to implement what they read about SEO strategies that pertain to affiliate marketing companies that are only seeking traffic through Google search and are not actively selling a product themselves or building a brand that customers will return to.

Social Media to Drive Traffic

Using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, and other sites to promote content about the business, products, and services provided should be the majority of your focus. Building a community of people interested in the industry the business is in, is much more effective than building thousands of links on irrelevant websites. Individuals that actively follow a business on Facebook or engage with the company on Twitter are actually helping to promote the brand to their followers and friends simply by engaging and having a discussion. This can be the best kind of exposure as the business is able to reach additional people that may have similar interests. By focusing on creating an effective social media marketing strategy the business has a much greater chance of being noticed by others that will take the time to write or comment either on the social sites, but also on their own blogs and other websites which can result in very high quality links. Building links is a huge part of any effective SEO plan and one of the best ways to get others to link to your content and discuss your brand is through unique and original content that is shared through social sites.

Make sure your site has the basic requirements that the search engines are looking for. Be sure to have a well-designed website and leverage social media to generate the high quality links and discussions that will really send traffic to your site. If you have the ability to create original content then you don’t need to worry about creating an intricate link building scheme as it will more than likely end up getting sniffed out by Google anyways. Small business owners are much better off spending their online marketing budgets building value for their community and actively participating in industry focused discussions throughout the web.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

Discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.

Effectively Integrating Your Joint Venture with Social Media

Developing an effective strategic plan to integrate your joint venture and social media is essential for growth. In nearly every industry, social media influence has led to major changes in how joint venture partners do business. Finding and communicating with their customers are the two primary goals.

The tools for a joint venture and social media

Over the last ten years businesses have increasingly diversified their advertising budget to include online resources. The first wave of change was creating appealing and informative websites. The last three years have seen the rapid integration of joint venture and social media profiles for products or services with these websites. For a business with a large product line and customers from all corners of the globe, using these tools are practically required. The building blocks of your strategy is a website featuring links to your profile on Facebook or Twitter. YouTube is also very helpful, especially when educating customers about a new offering. For a business-to-business focused joint venture, LinkedIn is an essential social media channel. One of the newest trends is geotagging your social media content.

Using social media to communicate with joint venture customers

Whether it is breaking news or building product buzz, social media has accelerated the sharing of information. It’s not an exaggeration to use the cliche “faster than the speed of light” when referring to how quickly a joint venture can send information. Governments and businesses continue to learn how important it is be ahead of the information curve about their organization. Over the last three years, we have witnessed how quickly word can travel thanks to social media whether it’s positive or not.

A brief mention of a “fly-in-my-soup” kind of experiences can spread within minutes thanks to the exponential growth of social media usage via mobile tools. If an influential user with a smartphone posts a complaint on Twitter, it is retweeted five times within minutes of sharing. And that is just the beginning. This is damaging for banks or blue-chip companies. But the average neighborhood shop or small business might find themselves severally hampered by a critical review or unconfirmed rumor. These types of joint ventures thrive on their reputation and a damaging social media image can hamper growth.

Facebook has become one of the top three search tools consumers use to learn more about a company’s product or services. It is also the first place they go online when not pleased with customer service or the product they bought. At the bare minimum you should set up a free Google Alert via email for the name of your product or service. Choose the as-it-happens option for delivery. The faster you respond to criticisms as well as compliments, the better.

Relationship building with your customer

The ongoing integration of your joint venture and social media communication is a key method of building relationships with your customers. Allowing your customers to have the opportunity to join a dialogue with you is a great way of building trust. Consistent and quality content shared via social media allows your joint venture to quietly stay on the radar of your potential customer. Perhaps they do not need event planning help today, but what about next month? If they read on Twitter your party planning how-to tips regularly, then when they need the services of an event planner, you might be the first call.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.

Capitalizing on Social Networking for Joint Venture Marketing

Nearly everyone has a Facebook or MySpace page today, and unless you have been living in the Dark Ages of late, you have probably “tweeted” someone through Twitter. Social networking is all the rage, and now businesses are beginning to understand the value of effectively using social networking tools that literally reach millions of potential customers every day.

This article will discuss how to use social networking in your JV marketing strategy to link up with an even broader potential customer base.

Options in Social Networking

One of the biggest draws to social networking in JV marketing is the number of options in social networking today. Some of the choices include:

• FaceBook

• MySpace

• Twitter

• YouTube

One of the most popular options for professionals today is LinkedIn, which is primarily used to market one’s abilities for the job market. However, businesses are also tuning into the advantages of marketing their business through this social networking site as well.

Another option is to find a niche market website that specifically works with businesses or business owners like you. For example, the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur attracts small business owners with the opportunity to read blogs and post comments regarding running a business today. There are also blogs like Networking Effectively, which is designed to help business owners utilize the latest technology in social networking to the benefit of their bottom line.

Tips for Effective Marketing

Perhaps you have thought about posting your business on Facebook or Twitter, but you are unsure how to use the sites effectively to market your company. We have a few tips to help you navigate the world of social networking with professional savvy:

• Think about your audience as you are designing your social networking accounts. Are they young and hip, motivated by trendy purchases?  Are they professional yet cutting edge, looking for the best technology?   Make sure your social networking account is in line with your target audience, as well as your current branding strategy.

• Get the ball rolling with a topical discussion about your product or brand, and listen to what others have to say. You may gain a wealth of information regarding what prospective customers are looking for and how you can effectively reach them through your JV partnership and your advertising campaign.

• Provide real time information about your business, including current promotions and specials going on in your store. Social networks are the perfect way to cross promote your joint venture.  You might be amazed at the level of traffic you receive when shoppers begin to sniff out a deal.  Think about creating JV combo packages exclusively for patrons of the social networks.  When you build relationships online, you build them for your business as well.

Using social networking to build a business is a free marketing strategy that is already proving successful for many business owners today. While a JV partnership is a good beginning to finding a broader customer base, the use of social networking by you and your JV partner may increase business exponentially. Social network websites appear to be the wave of both the present and the future for profitable business owners.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Why Your Joint Venture Should Join Google Buzz

A sound joint venture marketing strategy includes an entry into social media. Millions upon millions of people sign on to social websites every day. Are they going to find you? At the very least, you should have a strategy and presence on the most popular social websites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. However, Google has entered the social media arena with their new “Buzz” social platform. Here is why you should get on board as well.

Create a Google Account

Your JV business should have a Google email account. Even if it uses a domain email (i.e.: info@yourbusinessname.com), you can set up a free account on Google’s Gmail system. Ideally, you would want something like “yourcompanyname@gmail.com”. That email account can then be used as your Buzz account.

Start Following People and Businesses

Right now in its early stages, Google Buzz is much like Facebook was when it started. It focused mainly on people and individual networking. However, Facebook has expanded to become a networking hub for businesses. A business can set up a “fan” account and collect followers just like an individual.

Google Buzz is already growing in popularity, and businesses are taking advantage of the additional social networking opportunities from a reliable host. Start building your Buzz network. Those you follow get notification and can follow you back. Thus, the more you follow, the more likely you’ll get a following in return.

Post Creative Content

A status update once in a while will not build a loyal following. However, using the tools available at Google Buzz, you can promote your JV in creative ways. Write blog articles. Take colorful product photos. Produce high-quality video content. All these can be seen or viewed easily in your status updates.

Get Recommended

The nice thing about Google Buzz is that it uses the same technology Google uses for its Adwords links. Google Buzz takes a look at the content that gets the most attention and brings it to your attention first. You can get the most relevant updates from your contacts and vice-versa.

Also, Google Buzz looks at the type of content you post and read. It will make recommendations to you based on your usage. This is also good news for your JV business. The more your JV Google Buzz accounts gets noticed, the more likely it will be recommended to others, and your network can grow without you lifting a finger.

Social Media SEO

Google now is using Google Buzz updates in their search results. The items you post to your Google Buzz account can affect your SEO. Use it wisely. Post keyword-rich status updates and blog posts. Use keywords for your photos and videos. The more relevant your Google Buzz posts are, the more likely it will get noticed in search results.

It was inevitable that Google would enter the social website market. Make good use of your social media sites, and include Google Buzz in your mix. It could improve your JV SEO and overall Internet presence.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

5 Ways to Improve Your Joint Venture List Building Efforts

Does your joint venture have a website? If you are like most JV marketers, you do. Whether you market your product or service locally, regionally, nationally, or globally, a website is one of the most cost-effective marketing devices you can use. And one great way to leverage your online marketing efforts is to build a list of customers with whom you stay in touch.

Understanding List Building

List building is simply the efforts you use to create and grow an online customer base. Customers who agree to be put on a list provide an email address, or less often, a mailing address. This important contact can be invaluable when you want to promote special deals to return customers or offer your online customer list a first chance at a sale, etc.

Since an online customer list can be a great marketing tool for your JV, here are some great ways you can improve your list building efforts:

1. SEO – Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of making your JV website popular among major search engines. People are searching for your types of products and services every day, and they can find your website from a search result. A search engine might rank your website higher when you plant certain and pertinent keywords and phrases throughout your website. Use META tags to help search engines catalogue your site. Update regularly with blog posts or articles that use a reasonable density of important keywords (2% to 3% is the current targeted density). Top SEO ranking is essentially free marketing. Make sure your website can be found by search engines.

2. PPC – Another way to draw search engine traffic is by using pay per click (PPC). When you use PPC, you agree to pay a certain fee to a search engine every time an online user clicks your link. In return, the search engine puts your paid advertisement link at the top or beside search results where a search customer can easily see it.

3. Social Media – Use social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to gather “fans” and “followers” of your JV business. Your social media list can also become beneficiaries of special deals that you offer.

4. Free Download – When an online user visits your site, invite and entice them to sign up on your list in return for a free download. Giving something for free is a great way to convince people to give you their contact info. Make the free download something valuable, such as a buyer’s guide, a helpful article, or even an eBook with helpful advice.

5. Newsletter – Compose and send a regular newsletter to your list. At the beginning of each newsletter, you should invite the receiver to forward it on to others who they think could benefit from your newsletter or products. This is a great way to build your list from recommendations.

JV marketing takes many forms, and one of the most used forms is online marketing. Be sure you have a good strategy to build your online contact list so you can take advantage of return customers and recommendations.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

You Aren’t Marketing Your Business on YouTube? Your Competition IS!

If you write a blog and want to expand your audience, or a business that needs more customers (who doesn’t want that?) you really need to be creating videos and uploading them for people to view!

Your competition is taking customers from you that have no idea you exist if they are uploading video and you are not. If they aren’t producing video for YouTube or their own sites then you need to make sure you get those customers they are missing.

Compete.com lists YouTube with 85 million unique visits in July of 2009! Just imagine what it could do for your site if you happened to create a viral video that got 100,000 views… 200,000 views…. 1 million views! A certain percentage of those people would visit your site and a percentage of those would sign up for your newsletter or buy something from you.

Now if my math is right, and you get 1 million views for a video and only 3% of those viewers visit your site that is 30 thousand visitors! If 3% of those signed up or bought something, that is 900 signups or sales! Sound good to you?

I know it’s very difficult to get a video with 1 million views, but take a look at YouTube and see what videos are that popular. Why do they become popular? What is great about them? It’s not the production value, it’s not because they have celebrities or cost a large amount of money to create.

These videos are crazy popular because they are extremely funny, or cool, or amazing for some reason. The videos can be planned out, but wildly popular vidoes are not outwardly selling anything, there is no pitch. If you want to create a viral video you cannot be selling in the video, let the video sell for you!

There’s an old saying from my door-to-door sales days “Sell the sizzle not the steak”. Well what does this mean to you? If I’m selling plant food for gardeners, do I tell them how wonderful the fertilizer is and how many nutrients are in it? NO! I am not selling them fertilizer, I am selling them BIG TOMATOES, that’s the sizzle!

Give for free something of value in your video. We are a camera repair shop and can’t make videos about how to repair every camera, but your customers are looking for something regarding your business, so find out what it is and give it to them!

Teach them something, give them information they are looking for, entertain them. [If you become an authority on your subject your customers will happily tell others about you].

No need to spend thousands on professional video production, but they must be easy to watch and understand.

• Make sure your camcorder or digital camera records good quality video, and no it doesn’t have to be HD quality for YouTube!
• Use a quality microphone. Poor audio will drive away most viewers, guaranteed.
• Use a solid backdrop, don’t show your cluttered basement or office or bedroom unless this is part of your presentation
• Write a script or at least notes regarding what you want to say
• Practice and view your results before publishing it. Ask others for opinions and feedback!
• Yes, you will hate the sound of your own voice, but that is how you sound to the rest of us so don’t worry about it.

Just go for it, things will get better as you go!

Now I’m off to try and figure out what my customers are looking for regarding digital camera repair for their Sony, Canon and Nikon cameras and then just give it to them.