Me

For the past few months, I have been continuously trying, reading and testing different tricks that work in social networking sites. Honestly speaking, it would have been easier to track and document results, if they would have stayed a little stable. But as Google evolved its algorithm, social networking sites like Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn also evolved their platforms. I quite didn’t get a chance to track all the three networks, but I have a few pointers that I think would help gain good audience on Facebook.

• ·         Timing is everything

It is very necessary to use the insights provided by Facebook. It gives you a great a detail about the people who like your page. It also gives you a great amount of detail, as to what kind of content does your audience responds to. Now, here’s how to use these details. Once you have a rough idea of the age group and the geographical location of most of your audienc

e, share a new post at the time when you think they will be using the networking site most. For example, if I speak of Indians in the age group of 25 years to 40 years, then they are mostly on Facebook after 5pm or 6 pm, that is, after their working hours. So I’ll share a new post mostly after 7 pm.

For the second part, that is, what kind of posts generates the most response? Once you narrow down to the keywords and key mood setters, just keep fishing for similar stuff. This will keep the people hooked to your page. And gradually they will bring in more traffic. I believe it is human nature, when we see someone comment, like or share from one page, others get curious and do give at least a visit to the page. All you need to do is post the right content at the right time regularly.

• ·    Never Ignore your audience

It is not at all a bad idea to share a freebee or a thank you note with people who like your page. You can easily get their profile details from the page admin panel. If you have a store and do provide coupons, then it would be great to send some over to people who like your page. As a vote of thanks! This will keep them interested in your page. This also adds a personal touch. And people like to relate with real people.

On the other hand if you cannot provide any tangible coupon or similar gift, then I really don’t recommend a thank you note. As I have seen not many people appreciate it. So unless you are very good in writing a thank you note, I advice you avoid it. What you can do then is to thank people for all the likes and shares on our posts or when your page reaches a crucial point like 100, 500, 1000 likes.

• ·         Don’t shy off from the camera

Now I am sure that you must have noticed that pictures and videos are displayed on walls with prominence. So don’t leave a chance to share a picture or video. With the new option of Facebook, to add a picture to your post, I am sure you can find some great pictures to go with your post. People react more to pictures and videos. Most of the social media experts I have read from, have confirmed that it is a good idea to share videos and pictures. Take it from your own experience; what catches your attention the most on your wall, a simple post with just words or a post with a picture or a video. Now apply the same for your post! Here I would like to mention, Social Media Examiner and Mashable, whenever they post something, it is accompanied by a picture!

• ·         Don’t  Forget the description

Now I like to consider this, as the boring stuff, as it requires thinking and working on the admin panel. While creating the page, I have seen that most of the pages have a blank short description and a descriptive long description. Now, this is wrong! Short description is the place which fills up the space below your pages profile picture. And I needless to say is very important. What I suggest is that you write a small description with most of your keywords and which describes your services or page well. Now just because you need to place your keywords there, doesn’t mean that you spam it with just keywords. Dawn your creative hat and write few good sentences!

I hope these help you to gain some organic traffic. Do write if you have any other tricks!

Gone are the days when marketing companies were dependent on photo-shoots for newspapers, magazines and the print media. Now is the time and age of video marketing. Video marketing means that the companies show their products on the screens of TV, film…

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The explosion of online marketing and the rat race to rank high on search results; people devoted a lot of their resources in getting their sites rank high. The search algorithm engineers, who were responsible for bringing quality content to explorers, revamped the algorithm. As most of us would be aware, the first explosion to search engine experts and site owners was Panda from Google.  As a result of the new algorithm, some very big and expensive sites were d-ranked (so as to say).

Panda laid emphasis on the content. The algorithm was designed in such a way that it ranks sites with regular updates of quality and original content. Apart from this, what is noteworthy is that it also vouches for various SEO activities. For example, experts often look to get backlinks as a part of the link building activity. The algorithm studied these backlinks and considered only those links which were relevant. So say as a result of your guest posting activities, you got a link from a photography site for your construction site. Wanna guess how Penguin would react to it. We have a lot of cases that when such links are more, then the site is demoted.

We all are aware of the social network bubble that’s been inflating. It gained momentum with Facebook, and now we have a plethora of networking sites. People regularly share information that is useful or entertaining on these sites. With its new algorithm, Penguin, Google engineers have tried to incorporate this fact onto their search result. Giving importance to articles and sites shared on these networks, highlights that they are placing more and more emphasis on the explorer’s opinion.

So what should you do?

These changes have not only made it easier for explorers to search for quality content, but if you pay attention, it has made it all the more easier for site owners. If you want to keep your site ranking high and in circulation, all you need is presence on these social networks and share your knowledge freely.

Penguin and Panda give importance to original and informative research and what is gaining popularity amongst the masses. Now there is a fairly easy way to achieve these targets. As a man of the industry, you will always have something that you can share with the crowd. It could be a general advice, an important announcement, a press release or a video. The key is to keep your site dynamic. Instead of posting everything at the same time, store the information that you have and supply it in installments. Update your site with articles, announcements and videos regularly. I don’t say that you should post something every day, but there should be regularity.

The post should be informative or entertaining, either ways, make sure your site is connected to your facebook, twitter, linkedin, and the charade. Make it a habit, or hire someone to write article regularly about your niche and post it on your site and on other blogs as guest post. A word of caution, make sure that the site where you post your article is also related to your niche, or has some column related to your niche.

These days it is pretty common to have company page on facebook and all other networking sites. It is necessary that all the posts that you publish are shared onto your pages. Regular updates on your page also highlight it in the networking sites search results.

A simple way to highlight your page is to increase activity through it. Like other pages related to your niche or comparative industry. Regular share and like posts by others and by people who have liked your page. Try to post as many pictures and videos as you can, as they are more highlighted on the timeline. It is easier to draw attention and to make information viral through pictures and videos.

I hope this post proves helpful and if you have any input or suggestion, please feel free to comment or write to me at ankit.offshore@hotmail.com.

Marketing campaigns are designed to generate visibility and lead for an organization. As with any tangible marketing campaign, social media marketing campaigns are also designed based on target audience and product. The only difference here is the visibility. Social media campaigns have a greater visibility and are vital in taking the organization to every house.

With rising competition, small, medium and large companies are running after the multi-level marketing, which seems to have become the buzz word. As they are working on tangible marketing strategies already, they often plan their social media marketing approach with different goals. What most people fail to understand is that with the advent of social media, the scope for selling a product of service has just increased. And marketers have few more tools to play with while promoting their product. Bigger firms with their enormous budget and humongous human resource pool are able to overcome this short sightedness, but small and medium business houses often fall prey to such mentalities.

Social media should be considered from the planning stage. Every marketing strategy should include social media, and it should be driven with proper patience and deterrence. Insisting on large number of hits to one’s social media page without monitoring the relevance is what destroys the purpose. For example, when we plan for direct marketing, we analyze the target audience, their behavior towards the product and then we consistently hit people who are interested ignoring those who don’t pay much attention.

Same goes with social media, instead of looking for just traffic; a good social media campaign should consider all the resources and should be evolved so as to attract people who are advantages, minimizing the ignorant ones. This is a time consuming process, but it is better to pay earlier rather than regret later. I have always believed that every social media campaign should be designed in hand with other marketing campaigns, like every hoarding one place should highlight the social media campaign, and the social media campaign should definitely mention the hoarding. This will not only bring uniformity, but would be easier for the target audience to identify. And when working on social media, don’t just concentrate on facebook because it is hot, it should include blogs, g+, linkedin, twitter and all. Just flush the eyes of the buyer with your information. Make yourself omnipresent!

Is the recession really over? Do you really think you are on the top of your market? These are some questions that some of still ponder over. And with the advent of the technology, there is always something new to conquer and something new to invest on. But is the time and money that is spent on these conquests really profitable?

With Facebook become a rage and Google launching its own version of the platform, it has become absolutely necessary for business to have a virtual presence. It not only attracts more clients, but also helps in keeping the faith of the existing ones.  But it is not as easy to mark your presence here as it is easy to create a profile. And it is not about having just a page or just a website.

Like any marketing campaign, Internet Marketing should also be planned and instead of just launching at the whims and fancies, to achieve a positive rate of return it is very necessary to plan internet marketing strategy.

Before you launch onto any networking site, you need to have a professionally created website which is well optimized and easily visible through any search engine. This will not only act as a showcase for your organization, but will also confirm your authenticity in the market.

Having a website is not only a necessity for multi-national and large business organizations, but in the 21^st century, it is a necessity for any business that wants to survive. It is no secret, if you are in the market and you want to survive, than you need to be abreast with the latest developments. Today, if someone plans to open a business venture, than he is ready with a plan for its website.

With the increasing popularity of the smart phones and e-pads, more people find it convenient to search for their requirements over the internet. And if you do not have a website, you miss such clients.

Here are some more stats to assist you make a decision:

• 26 BILLION online videos viewed per month in US alone.
• Online video is more than 60% of all internet traffic.
• Youtube is now the #4 search engine.
• 4 TIMES as many mobile phone users as internet users
• 33% of phones use high speed data services
• Mobile advertising has a 10 TIMES HIGHER click through rate than online advertising
• Mobile advertising has 8 TIMES HIGHER brand awareness
• Mobile traffic has a 6 TIMES HIGHER purchase intent than online traffic

But just to have a website is also not enough, it’s just the beginning of the story. You need to be trusted and respected. And to earn respect, your site should be well optimized, submitted in directories and easy to locate on the internet.

Once you are through, it is easy to mark your presence on the social networking sites. Remember, carefully scrutinize the marketing strategy, it’s the most important part.

Would love to know your views and comments!               

(Source: localmarketingstudio.com)

With the advent of Google Plus, marketers are forced to think about the evolution of the social media marketing scenario. Google Plus has not only brought the challenge of promoting the brands on its base but also has made it a challenge to make the earlier strategies a success on the ever evolving Facebook.

Google plus has not launched a platform specifically for business houses, and Facebook’s new Wall and Ticker, has brought forth certain facets need to be highlighted.

Though still in its crude and not too popular with people in my country, but still Google plus needs to be given some thought when one thinks of promoting a brand on the social media. My thoughts are that advertising on G+ will not only give exposure on the social media but will also highlight the product on the search engine. Though a proof of the same is still to be discovered.

As G+ has not invented a competitor of Page on Facebook, the path taken by the Mashable Team is quite recommendable. Instead of creating a page or a site for the organization, they have created a profile for the members and a circle for the team of Mashable. The CEO posts regularly under the Search Engine Marketing Spark. He is regular on his posts and continuously posts content related to the Social site and receives wide audience.

So the idea is that to get yourself selected for a Spark, as it is the next best option after pages. Sparks are a great way of interacting with the target audience. And this offers more wide range visibility and better reception. Now to get noticed through sparks you need to be regular with your posts. Post as much as you can and not just about your product, but interesting articles and competition details. The idea is to get people notice your content and to get them interacting. Ask for comments and perception about a recent product, or the idea for a new promotion. Keep the timeline ticking.

Something quite similar goes for Facebook also. With the New Wall, and Facebook analytics, it has become necessary to get not only impressions but also feedback to the posts on the page. The Auto Wall (as I call it) lists the stories of people with whom you have interacted earlier or have interacted most as top stories. It’s time to get those opinions flowing. You need to get people to interact more. Now if this innovation has made work a little difficult than Facebook also provides tools to assist.

Now the picture view on the Auto Wall is more prominent. The preview is larger and good pictures or interactive pictures are sure to catch the eye. Make those pictures more expressive and don’t just post pictures about the product, post interactive cartoons and bloopers in the office. Force people to like them, view them and share them and of course, comment on them.

Ask questions, as it not only gets noticed and is fun to answer but it is highlighted on Ticker and the Auto Wall. And a fun question or a simple question doesn’t take any effort, so mostly everyone who gets one answer it. People don’t just want to show their point of view about a question, they want to know their friends views also, and they start sharing. Giving you the exposure you have been working on.

KFC and Oreo have been using these tools very efficiently. They ask simple questions like “Whether you had Oreo today?” and post tempting pictures like the Popcorn Chicken popping, respectively.

These are few things that I have found useful, do write in or comment if you have other useful tips. Let’s grow together!