Nowadays, a lot of people are already utilizing the Internet to start up their own businesses. These people make use of the latest technology and trends in order to stay up-to-date on the latest techniques to capture their target market. This is especially important for web marketing because the competition is strong, as Internet businesses cost quite less to start. Below are some SMB marketing trends that are popular nowadays.

Maximize Online Reviews

A study has shown that around sixty-three percent of users in social media have listed consumer ratings as their main source of acquiring data on products, services or businesses. About thirty-two of these searches are expecting to find information on ratings and review. If a website does not have them, common questions such as “Why are you not visible in search? Does no one trust your company? Has no one used your services before?” are asked. After asking such questions, most people will move on to the next business that has the information they are looking for.

Utilizing Cloud Computing

As the company RingCentral states, various cloud computing options will start going mainstream in the coming years, as a lot of SMBs are looking to save on cost and acquire access to technology and resources that they could not have otherwise. For people who are not familiar with cloud computing, this refers to utilizing a network of remote servers that are hosted through the Internet, managing and storing data instead of having it hosted in a local server.

Programs such as DropBox allow people to share files with each other without having to put it on a local server.  By using cloud computing, many SMB entities can keep their businesses running smoothly with an established infrastructure which they do not need to set up on their own.

Securing the Website

As more and more businesses have started using web-based services, more hacking attacks have been happening especially to smaller firms. SMBs are a major target for hacking because they believe these entities have weaker security measures installed. People can protect their companies by changing their passwords often and have strong firewalls set up.

Taking Advantage of Apps

Aside from just being fun and useful programs to be used in smartphones, these apps are now finding their way to businesses. A lot of SMBs have started using these apps in order to make their business run more efficiently and give them more profits. Applications such as Freshbooks, MiniBooks, and Quickbooks Mobile allow SMBs to make invoices, manage their balances and check on customer data away from computers. Other apps such as Expensify and Shoeboxed lets users track their purchase history and make expense reports as well.

Hello Tech Nick readers! I am excited to announce that I have joined Tech Nick as a web and social media content consultant. Thanks to the powers of LinkedIn connections Nick and I were introduced just as he was starting his search for a consultant. Nick has brought me on to assist in writing content for websites, blogs, social media sites and email marketing.

A Little About Me

I was born and raised near Flint, Michigan and attended Central Michigan University. I graduated in 2003 with a double major in journalism and Earth science and a minor in meteorology. (Flint, as indicated by the hand, is just north of Detroit. CMU is located in Mt. Pleasant, which is about one hour north of Lansing. And that’s your geography lesson for the day.)

A Little Bit About Social Media

I know, social media can be overwhelming. There are so many choices, so how do you know which are worth your time?

The three big ones are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you’re going to spend time building up an online network those are the sites on which to concentrate. If you own a business, then it’s important your business has a company page on LinkedIn. This is a great way to find “passive buyers” and share your business with others in the professional world. LinkedIn is all about professional networking, so save the “I just had an awesome date” posts for Facebook. Once you create a company page on LinkedIn, you can share updates about your company with your followers, describe what your company does and create a services page. This is a great page for really explaining the details of what your company does and offers.

LinkedIn isn’t just for business owners though! It’s for anyone who has a job, wants a job, will change careers at some point, or wants to expand their professional network. It’s an amazing, and FREE, tool. As I stated above, I found out about Tech Nick through LinkedIn. I posted that I was looking for a new position, and one of my connections emailed me about Nick and how he was looking for someone to help with content and social media. And here I am! I am also employed full-time and I found that position via LinkedIn as well.

Facebook is great as it allows you to connect with your customers or “fans” on a more personal level. Not to mention that it really appeals to the younger generation. Creating a page for your company or organization is just another way to communicate with your customers on a regular basis. If you’re more of an independent contractor, then create a page for yourself as it’s best to not invite clients/customers to be friends on your personal page. (While I’m on that note, be careful what you put on your personal page. No matter what your privacy settings are, there are ways to see anything you post on your page. Remember, this is your reputation on the line. Possible employers WILL look you up on Facebook, and so will many colleges and universities, other companies and competitors. So be careful what you post!)

Twitter is another great tool for companies and individuals who want to get their name out there. Keep in mind that Twitter has a very short shelf life (meaning it probably won’t be visible for very long in someones Twitter feed) so it’s important to tweet often. I usually recommend tweeting at least once a day. Tweets get buried very quickly so it’s important to tweet often so your followers see what you’re posting. A tweet is limited to 140 characters, so try to keep your tweets to 120 or less to leave room for a re-tweet. What to tweet is often the issue. Think of Twitter as a micro-blog. One way to creative juices flowing is by reading the competitors tweets. Tweet about your products, or about sales you’re having. Tweet about industry news, or even interesting blogs or news stories you read.

Check back for more social media tips! In the meantime, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn!

Clients of mine are often frustrated with the amount of time that goes into marketing on the web and with social media. Blogging, keeping up with interactions, and planning communications can take a huge time investment and may produce little results at first.

This video is an answer to those who want to convert more leads from their marketing efforts.

In this video, I’ll cover topics such as:

• Not believing in puppies and rainbows
• Using calls to action
• The “Would I…” test
• Multiple levels of engagement
• Blog
• Be specific
• Embrace serendipity
• Reach out (but don’t spam)

If you find the video useful, you’re welcome to share it with others who would like to get more leads from the web.

If you would like to see this presentation given in person, you’ve got another chance:

On Thursday, March 19th 2012, I’ll be teaming up with Constant Contact’s Jeff Ferrazzo to   speak on this topic (along with Engagement Marketing and Facebook Marketing).

You can sign up for this free class using the following link.

http://eventactions.com/ea.aspx?ea=Rsvp&invite=0n3cnzj0f2nfkyzwh225gxm7nedhdpescr6g3m8zmbzsphxyh7d4

Now it’s your turn: how do you convert your web marketing prospects?

Leave a comment below with your favorite tip for turning fans and hits into leads and sales.

Downloads and Links:

Presentation Slides: How to get new clients off the web and into your office

Blog articles mentioned in the video:

How to find leads with Twitter Advanced Search

Politeness is the Enemy of Twitter Marketing

Email spam is the thing of the past as most spammers today are targeting social media networks. Spam is a huge bother, one can whittle away several hours filtering through unwanted messages.

But this is not the only drawback with spam messages. Spam, even the type cluttered on your social media account, can jeopardize the safety of your system and online identity. So everyone should take adequate security measures to protect themselves from this onslaught. A few helpful pointers are given below.

1. Advertising notifications

Almost every social networking site has activist campaigns and advertising movements that send out memos to people. The problem arises when they send out too many messages. There are several accounts on twitter which post only marketing messages anticipating that people searching for information will click on them. They do not have followers nor do they follow anyone else. People should subscribe to such accounts watchfully. The advertising messages on facebook are placed alongside quizzes.

2. Updates from applications

Game applications on facebook send out a lot of updates. You receive these updates from in your friends list, who have subscribed to such apps. A good way to stay away from these is to hide applications or block their feeds. Also, you should research an application thoroughly before subscribing to it. Reset the “apps and websites” section in facebook privacy settings by removing entries that look distrustful.

3. Make secure choices

Many links and posts on facebook and twitter have either videos embedded or promise rebates. So, one should not click on each and every link they come across. Be chary of short links with text alongside and report fraudulent accounts to facebook. Also, watch out for applications that request access to your profile.

4. Policies meted out by networks

Social media sites are coming out with strategies which will help to limit the flood of wires being sent out to people. Google+ has decided to disallow dead celebrity spokespeople from opening accounts on their site. Many tools like Captcha are being used to identify the person or brand operating an account. The anti spam strategies adopted by facebook and twitter target suspicious activities on their sites, such as accounts that send out messages to people not on their friends list.

5. User segmentation

This is a useful tactic used by marketers which prevents messages from turning spam. Segregating profiles based on gender, age, location and other characteristics comes in handy. All marketing communication should be then sent out keeping people’s interests and preferences in mind.

6. Hard selling by marketers

Marketers should refine their advertising propaganda on social network sites. They should avoid pushing products aggressively and opt for a softer approach with friendly dialogues. Holding open and informative discussions with audiences or using statistics and hosting plans to target them are a good idea.

Spam is a nuisance and frustrates people enormously. But, apart from this, there are many other malicious drawbacks of spam. It can threaten your online identity and transfer bugs to your system. Hence, taking adequate precautionary measures is an essential.

This article has been removed at the request of the author.