Monday, January 10, 2011

Facebook is Dead! Social Media Marketing Top 5 Predictions for 2011

"Facebook is Dead" - Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2011

Facebook is a nice Social Media toy!  Facebook is not very nice! Facebook is disruptive! Facebook is annoying!   Strong remarks huh! 

The problem with Facebook is that it is not a tool that lets you engage with clients or potential clients.  A good social media marketing tool allows for proactive and real engagement with people.

So what is good about Facebook.  I call it the law of large numbers.  With over 500 million users and 53% of them active, I look at Facebook as being able to "touch" large numbers of users. 

Engagement though, is another issue. Facebook does not lend itself to practical engagement, or establishing a on-on-one relationship with potential clients. Which is what you want to do with a practical social media marketing tool.

So what are the Top 5 Social Media Marketing tools you should use, other than Facebook, that will have an impact on your business in 2011?  Lets count them down:

5. Foursquare.  Although it is not suitable for all types of businesses, Foursquare has done it's homework and has become a tool for businesses that are frequented by clients. It is an free, high-impact, engaging tool that can bring in new clients and keep them coming back.

4. YouTube.com and Video.  Youtube and other video sites such as Metacafe get indexed on Google and other search engines faster than your web site. You must have a Youtube video chanel and add at least one video per month.  Videos should be no more than 4-5 minutes long and the description and tags should have relevant keywords to your business.

3. MerchantCircle.com.  One of the best local directories on the web, other thatn Google Places, Merchant Circle allows you to list your business for local searches, connect to other local businesses and invite your friends and business contacts. Merchant Circle is listed on Google search engine result pages often.  You must be on Merchant Circle in order to be more competitive in your local market area.

2. PRLog.org. Social media press releases are the best kept secret in social media. A posting on PRLog will get indexed very quickly. Social media press releases are free and easy to send. They are one of the most effective ways to get your business showing on Google.

1. LinkedIn.com. Amazingly, I find many professionals are not on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is one of the most professional and useful social media sites. I rank it well above Facebook as a marketing tool for your business. LinkedIn has two very practical tools for proactively marketing your business, Groups and Answers. These tools if properly used will dramatically increase your engagement with potential clients. LinkedIn is a must for any professional.

By utilizing these 5 tools correctly you will dramatically increase traffic to your web site and engage potential clients, making 2011 a profitable year for your business.

Manny Sarmiento - New Media, New Marketing, Inc.
http://www.nmx2.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mannysarmiento
http://www.facebook.com/newmedianewmarketing
http://www.twitter.com/nmx2

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Create a Social Media Marketing Machine

Create a Social Media Marketing Machine

By Miami Phillips

Social media marketing. What the heck is that exactly?

As someone who has been marketing socially for years I can tell you there is no one single answer for that.

This we know. Many people are dramatically changing their lives by earning amazing incomes from home by following some simple steps.

We can define marketing as "using words and images to sell products or services".

So basically marketing is sales in print. Of course, now we use audio and video as well as text, but we are still doing the same thing. That is we are convincing someone to buy or do something!

Social marketing is simply using the power of 'social' sites to do the exact same thing.

Social sites include any site where people gather in a group and offers an opportunity for a marketer to introduce products and services.

Anyone can do it - and they do! Unfortunately, most do it badly which hurts those of us who know how to market correctly.

There are unspoken and unwritten rules concerning marketing that most marketers ignore at their peril (no business = no profit!)

My purpose is to help you (if you are interested) sidestep these challenges as best I can and show you the path to creating an income providing a sorely needed service - great marketing.

Social media marketing can greatly improve your bottom line - but if not done correctly can hurt you just as badly!

Here are 3 ways NOT to use social media marketing...

1. Do not use social media marketing to make false claims or false statements. This is a bad idea anyway as almost anything you say on the Internet stays around forever! So do not write things you might ever want to retract!

2. Make sure you follow up on your marketing. Many failures attributed to social media marketing are actually failures in the original creators to take advantage of the many tools available to document what is working, where it is working and with whom. Armed with this information it is much easier to target your next piece of marketing.

3. Ensure your marketing is omnipresent. It is much more challenging to get your message heard if you broadcast to multiple social media platforms at once using tools readily available. For instance pingfm.com will broadcast your short messages to all of your social accounts at once.

Here is the good news. Social media marketing has not been taken over by the big guys - yet.

But they are coming. And when they figure it out - the little guys will be sucking hind you know what!

So if you are thinking this is the time to take advantage of a phenomenal opportunity that will only come once in a lifetime - you are absolutely correct. And I suggest you get to it!

About The Author

Coach Miami Phillips helps smart business owners, entrepreneurs and work-from-home businesses take advantage of the incredible opportunities available online through his popular blog at [http://social-media-marketing-machine.com]Social Media Marketing Machine.

He is also a lifelong personal development seeker helping people find their way through life and the web. [http://www.miamiphillips.com]Find Happiness. Visit the site for a free book "Three Steps To Finding Happiness Now".

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Create-a-Social-Media-Marketing-Machine&id=5505874] Create a Social Media Marketing Machine

Posted by:   Manny Sarmiento - New Media, New Marketing, Inc.