Top Five Social Media Questions - What is Social Media?

How can I use Hootsuite for Social Media Management automation? 

Hootsuite is an social media automation platform that can help you reduce the time it takes to post, monitor and increase social media performance.

Hootsuite can help you manage multiple accounts and post on dozens of social media sites at the click of your mouse.

How can I capitalize on the best Social Media Strategy?

Knowing the best performing social media sites for your target industry can optimize on the use of those tools to grow your business in the most reasonable time and budget.

Which are the best Social Media Sites to start with?

LinkedIn and now Pinterest are the best tools for most businesses. Facebook for most is overrated as a social media business tool.  Twitter of course can perform well to increase the ROI of your business.

How to write a blog and where do you find readers for your blog?  

Blogger is a simple tool for creating and writing your first blog. Sharing your blog and blog postings with your social media followers is a great way to increase readers and improve the performance of your blog.

How can I convert social media followers into customers?

To convert social media follower into customer use a capture mechanism that works well with your social media sites. For example you can incorporate your Constant Contact as a tab on your Facebook page to capture leads.

To learn more follow us on this blog or go to our website below.

I wish you well and great Social Media Returns!

Manny Sarmiento - CEO
New Media, New Marketing, Inc.
http://www.newmedianewmarketing.com 

Social Media Certification: Should Your Social Media Strategy Include It?

What is Social Media Certification? Online certificate programs have sprung up all over, but does a good social media strategy include social media certification?

Social media jobs are growing rapidly and social media management salaries are growing along with social media management positions. According to a Career Builder Salary article, republished on New Media, New Marketing's blog, a Social Media Manager's average is $106,160.00.

I've seen social media certificate programs priced from $97 but what they offer are online courses that show you how to open a Facebook account, or other nonsensical subjects.

A good social media management certification program, besides showing interested parties what is social media, can improve employability and increase their income.

"Our Certified Social Media Marketing Specialist (TM) program teaches real social media management skills and can lead to getting better social media jobs or, with our emphasis on entrepreneurship, starting a lucrative social media marketing business" - Manny Sarmiento

Yes, Social Media Marketing Certification should be a part of your social media strategy and your life. The New World of New Media and New Marketing will undoubtedly include the skills you can acquire with a real, practical, social media marketing certification educational program. 

Whether you are looking for a better paying job, or interested in starting an in-demand, lucrative Web 2.0 business, Social Media Marketing Certification is the way to go.

I invite you to explore our Certified Social Media Marketing Specialist (TM) CSMMS(TM) program at www.CertificationInSocialMedia.com. My Certification program is real and teaches you the right social media strategies and skills. 

Manny Sarmiento - CEO
New Media, New Marketing, Inc. | manny@nmx2.com  
530 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301

http://www.nmx2.com | http://www.certificationinsocialmedia.com  

Social Media Jobs Salary Guide - Social Media Certification Program

Social Media Jobs Salary Guide

Introducing the new Onward Search Social Media Jobs Salary Guide - a comprehensive look at the best US job markets, the most in-demand social media jobs, and the corresponding salary ranges for each profession. This free guide makes it easy to take your social media career to the next level, so download it below, link to it and share it with your fellow social media pros!


© 2012 Onward Search

Social Media Certification / Social Media Professional Association

Get Certified in Social Media Marketing at SMPA (TM)!

The Social Media Professional Association (TM) SMPA is proud to announce the launch of their Social Media Marketing Certification program..

 

The Social Media Marketing Certification program is a live, instructor based, 26-week curriculum, designed to prepare professionals in practical Social Media Marketing skills. Students receive Certification in Social Media Marketing along with the skills necessary to become well equipped for Web 2.0 jobs.

 

The Social Media Marketing Certification program also focuses on existing business owners and entrepreneurs to aid them in growing or starting new businesses in the Social Media and Mobile Web marketing fields.

  

Social Media Marketing Certification students receive their credentials from the Social Media Professional Association (tm) SMPA, who certifies that they are capable to prepare, manage and implement real, viable, positive ROI, social media marketing campaigns and programs.

 

Graduates from the Social Media Marketing Certification program receive a Certification Diploma, membership in the Social Media Professional Association (tm), access to training programs, webinars and seminars, and listing in the Social Media Professionals Listing page of the SMPA website.

Visit the SMPA website for more information and to enroll in the Social Media Marketing Certification program.

SEO Search Engine Optimization - Even a Caveman Can Do It!

"The New SEO (Search Engine Optimization)  - Even a Cave Man Can Do It!"
by Manny Sarmiento – President / CEO of New Media, New Marketing, Inc.

The New World of SEO means that you can optimize your own website and blog, resulting in high search results rankings at zero or minimal cost. Yes, even a Cave Man can get to the top of Google without extensive experience or expensive investments! Let me show you how....

Old school SEO meant having to pay tons of cash to “SEO Experts” who promised high rankings on Google, Bing and Yahoo. Unfortunately, they didn’t necessarily fulfill these promises. What made it possible for these so-called “SEO Experts” to charge you tons of cash was the ignorance of business owners, CEOs and the like.

This ignorance and lack of knowledge is still widespread. Most business owners are still bombarded by ads for SEO. Some of these SEO firms can get you results by making suggestions and changes to your website. So, don’t discard all those emails you receive.

   Personally, I don’t like paying for SEO, internet marketing services and social media tools. Especially, when there is no need to do so. The following information on SEO will make it possible (with no guarantees – sorry!) to get to the top of the search engines by optimizing your websites on your own.

First, here is the history of SEO in a brief manner. When Al Gore invented the internet (lol) Yahoo dominated the SEO and Search engine universe. For $299 Yahoo would consider looking at your website and indexing it on their search engine. Since then the “SEO Experts” started appearing with all the illustrious promises of Search Engine domination. But recently Google changed, or leveled, the playing field. It is now possible for you to get incredible search engine rankings and appear at the top of the search engines without paying for it. Here’s how.

The SEO “Secret”
The “secret” to SEO domination on Google is… that there is no secret! Google only wants one thing. That you provide a real content, keyword-rich, target market, relevant website! If you provide a website that contains these four elements you will most likely appear high on the search engines, maybe even on the first page, in the first few listings.

As a matter of fact Google provides all the dos and don’ts for SEO on several Google produced resources. Here are a few:
•    Google Search Engine Guidelines
•    Google SEO Starter Guide
•    Google SEO Videos
•    Google Search-based Keyword Tool

These free SEO tools from Google can be found on www.nmx2,com/resources

The most important one of these tools is the Google Search-based Keyword Tool. This tool helps you determine which keywords or keyword phrases your target market searches for to find your type of business. Simply enter the keywords you believe your target market searches for and Google gives you “Keyword Ideas” that are relevant, actual searches per month.

With this Google keyword tool you will create a master list of target market keywords. You will then use these keywords in all of your website content, social media profiles and updates, blog contents, pictures, usernames, and any other online tools.

If your content is real and relevant to the search terms typed into the Google search box, Google will return the most relevant results in the search engine results page (SERP). This is the “secret” to appearing high in a Google search result. Not much of a secret, is it?
But What About the Panda Update?

If you’ve been paying attention to the web, you’ve most likely heard that Google “has a new update”. Google is creative with the names it gives it’s algorithm changes. Algorithm is a fancy name for the mathematical calculations and choices it’s servers use to determine relevant terms. If you are listening to what I am saying in this article, then you know to ignore and stop panicking about these updates. Because as long as you are providing real, keyword-rich, target market, relevant content and the user types in the correct keywords that your website is optimized for, your website will appear on a search result.

Another secret and truth of SEO and Google’s search engine is this: You may appear at the top of Google for one set of keywords and nowhere to be found for another set of keywords. This means that you must make a choice about which keywords you wish to use in order to have your website appear at the top of Google.

Search Engine Optimization SEO Mechanics and Website Structure Requirements
Search Engine Optimization is not just about writing real, keyword-rich, target market relevant content. Although this is the most important thing Google looks for, it is not the only thing. Here is a list of the most important mechanical things your website must have in order to appear high on the search engines. Keep in mind that even if the mechanics are good, Google gives no guarantees.

•    Keyword Rich Title Tag
•    Keyword Rich Description Meta Tag
•    Keyword Meta Tag
•    <H1> & <H2> with Keywords
•    Keyword Image Files Names
•    Keyword Image Alt-Tags
•    Internal Links & External Links with Keywords

Along with the mechanics of the website there are other important, off-website things you must do to improve your website rankings on Google and other search engines.

1.    Acquire backlinks to your website. Google will give your website “Google Love” for links back to your website from other, external websites. The more relevant the site is, the more Google “Love” you will receive and the greater the chance of getting ranked higher on Google. Links from irrelevant sites will not get you Google “Love”.

2.    Create and submit two types of sitemaps, an .html sitemap and an .xml sitemap. Google lets you do this at their Webmaster Tools website.

3.    Submit your website manually to Google, Bing and Yahoo. Yahoo is submitted on the same website as Bing, at the same time.

4.    Get traffic to your website and engage them when they land on your website. Do everything possible, online and offline, to get visitors to your website. You can acquire lots of Google Love by increasing the number of unique visitors and getting them to take actions on your website. The “Call to Action” is one of the most important engagement tools for your site. Ask your visitors to do something, such as, watch a video, fill in a form, visit another page on your site.

Other than optimization, the paradigm I teach my SEO students is that social media is an important tool for getting ranked on Google. Many social media sites, if properly keyword optimized, may appear on a search on the search engines. Below is a list of some of the best sites (currently) for SEO:

1.    Merchant Circle
2.    YouTube
3.    Yelp
4.    YellowPages.com
5.    SuperYellowPages
6.    Foursquare
7.    LinkedIn
8.    Blogger & WordPress
9.    Facebook Business Pages
10.    Google Plus
11.    Twitter
12.    PRLog

I’ve studied Search Engine Optimization extensively. I am also vigilant and research which sites appear on search results. I am confident that when you optimize your pages with the tools that I have given you, your website will appear when specific target market keywords are typed into the search box.

It is easier than ever to appear at the top of Google and the other search engine. A good social media strategy and campaign and play a major role in your Search Engine Marketing SEM results. There is no need to spend tons of money on SEO. Research your target market keywords. Use the master list of keywords you created in all your content and in the elements of your website outlined here. Create and run a strategic social media marketing campaign. The results will amaze you!

DIY-SEO Checklist
• Relevant, Keyword-rich Content
• Unique Visitors
• Relevant Backlinks
• Keyword Rich Title
• Keyword Rich Description
• Keyword Meta Tag
• <H1> <H2>
• Keyword Image Files Names
• Keyword Image Alt-Tags
• Internal Links / External Links
• Submit .htm & .xml Sitemaps
• Submit to DMOZ
• Submit to Google, Bing (Yahoo)

Manny Sarmiento – President / CEO
New Media, New Marketing, Inc.
www.nmx2.com 

Manny Sarmiento is President / CEO of New Media, New Marketing, Inc. 
Manny has taught over 500 Social Media, SEO, Internet Marketing courses and Social Media University.

Contact Information:
Carmen Lopez
New Media, New Marketing, Inc.
www.LinkedIn.com/in/mannysarmiento
www.nmx2.com / carmen@nmx2.com
(305) 450-4344 – Cell