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

Search Engine Optimization Training Offered in Miami

New Media, New Marketing and the Doral Chamber of Commerce present, Search Engine Optimization SEO Seminar: "How to Get Your Business Found on Google", December 28th, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Search Engine Optimization SEO Seminar

"How to Get Your Business Found on Google"

December 28th, 8:30 a.m.

   Free Afternoon Social Media Seminar with Prepaid Attendance

   85% of consumers are looking for goods and services online. Are they finding you or your competitors? How can you make sure they find you without the expense of paid searches? In this seminar you will learn how to set up and optimize your new or existing pages for the three major search engines, Google, Bing and Yahoo, including the URL, also known as domain name, and other parts of a search engine friendly web design.

   You will dramatically improve your search engine (SEO) results with what you will learn in this seminar. In this seminar we will cover the following topics:

• What Google and the other Search Engines are looking for in your web site

• How to choose a web site designer and how to make sure they do a great job for you Comparing html site to Flash, PHP and design platforms for web sites

• Options available for designing web sites yourself The basic mechanics of building a web site that the search engines like All the web site elements required for good SEO

• How to read the "Source" of a web site How to find the keyword that people are actually searching for

• How to submit your web site to the search engines Which tools work to help increase your web site rankings

• How to incorporate Social Media Marketing strategies with your SEO strategies for maximum search engine rankings In the last part of the seminar we will examine and critique your web sites live

Who should attend this seminar?
- Online Marketers
- Marketing Executives
- Web Developers
- Product Managers & Brand Managers
- IT Programmers
- Business Owners
- Business & Marketing Consultants
- P.R. Professionals

Attendees can register at http://www.nmx2.com/search_engine_optimization_training.htm



Location:

Fairfield Inn and Suites Miami Airport - 4101 NW 11 Street, Miami, FL 33126
Fee: $27* by December 26th / $47* after December 26th / $57.00 at the Door /

*Includes free afternoon Social Media Seminar with prepaid attendance only. Register for free afternoon session here: http://www.nmx2.com/search_engine_optimization_training.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j22S4aAct0g

Using Social Media Effectively

Using Social Media Effectively

By Biba Pedron

Today social media is everywhere. When you hear about a company and you want to know more what do you do? Personally, I look them up on the web. Most companies have an online presence. So why don't you have enough online presence? If you're a solo-entrepreneur or small business owner, you need to have a profile and be active on social media. How else are we to learn about you in this day and age?

Something must be holding you back. Do you understand how social media and social networking function to get you business? Are you comfortable getting clients or communicating effectively behind the screen?

With more than 500-million users on Facebook, more than 50 millions on Twitter and 70 millions on Linkedin, it is time to sit back and learn about integrating social media into your marketing plan. The biggest advantage of social media is that it is free, even if you just start your business you won't need a big budget to promote your products or services. It's well worth the time to spend to really understand how it works. Working with a coach is the most timely and effective way to learn how to use social media to turn your contacts into clients at a rate you can be proud of.

I always suggest to my clients who are new to social media to sit down with a daily plan and spend just one hour a day (at first) to attain a routine. After they perfect their routine, just 15 minutes a day will be enough to keep the client flow. If you use your time strategically you can just spend a few minutes a day keeping up with the three major sites.

The Six Effective Online Marketing Strategies:

1. Have an effective profile. People should immediately understand who you are, what you do and what the benefit is of choosing your products or services over someone else's. Think about a visual and text based elevator speech. Developing a great pitch will keep clients interested in using your products or services.

2. Join groups related to your target market. Look for Facebook Fan Pages, Linkedin Groups and other online networking groups related to your target market. Check the profile of the members and invite at least 20 people a day. Yes, you can do this in just minutes! I will show you how.

3. Send a personalized message. When you invite people don't just click on the invite button to send the, by default message, which just says something like "I would like to add you to my network." A personalized message should mention that you are in the same group, which shows that through similar interests you could have synergy in your businesses. How can you help them with their problems? Ask them!

When contacts accept your invitation, again send a personalized message with more info about you, how to reach you on other social media sites and always finish your message with your call to action. What do you want them to do next?

-visit your blog or website

-sign-up to you mailing list or newsletter

-sign-up to your free offer if you have one (and you should definitely have one)

-sign-up for a consultation

-call you

What ever is the next step, let them know.

4. Post at least twice a day on your page, you can use ping for example to save you some time. The same post will be distributed in each of your social media pages in just one click. (See, I told you just a few minutes!)

5. Drive people to you blog or website. You want potential clients to learn more about you and to join your list.

Remember that your "friends" or contacts on Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter don't belong to you. If your Facebook account gets hacked, you run the risk of losing all of your contacts. Now if you drive your contacts to you mailing list, you will never loose them and you will be able to communicate with those contacts on a regular basis for years to come.

6. Be consistent - whatever you do, don't stop after a week or a month. You must be consistent in your daily tasks on social media, the same as you must be consistent in your marketing. That's why I ask for one hour a day from my new clients, to make a non-negotiable routine.

Just like face-to-face networking, social media results don't happen overnight. Your hard work will become effective if and only if you are consistent, invite people continuously and contact people on your list a little every day. When you communicate on a regular basis and give valuable information clients will be ready to buy from you, not from your competitors.

Using those simple tips, your contacts will know you, like you and trust you, and this loyalty will convert to paying clients.

To get more tips like these ones to grow your business with proven offline and online networking strategies, download your Biba's networking kit at http://www.theconnectionqueen.com/

Biba Pedron helps solo-entrepreneurs to network like pro, by teaching them highly effective follow-up systems to maximize their networking and social media results.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Biba_Pedron



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Posted by Manny Sarmiento - http://www.nmx2.com/ http://newmedianewmarketing.blogspot.com/