Brand marketing is one of the most important factors within the business world nowadays – especially over the internet which is the most popular way of corporate marketing.

Although Facebook is therefore one of the most powerful companies to use for the above, they are also constantly struggling to find a plan to sustain the investors’ needs.  It must therefore make use of a media platform on which brand want to advertise.

As Facebook is now standing 900 million strong, they have full confidence that they will keep their customer base as well as build new relationships every single day. Their marketing strategy has obviously proven to work as they push users to buy sponsored stories.  Facebook strives on its users making use of good content and not fast and cheap advertisement.

There is also a type of marketer called Greenfield outlines and is just SOL although it aims to claim the entire marketing world.  They have a no care attitude and see it that if you are not already part of their campaign, you can keep those calls coming. This type of customer service will unfortunately cost them their reputation in the long run.

Facebook’s strategy, on the other hand makes use of click through averages that are strong and typical of a good marketing strategy.  Their pay per click advertising method on their search engines are proving to be very successful as their 900 million users can’t be wrong.

There is also another side to Facebook and that is that people are mainly attracted to the features of Facebook being to keep in contact with their family and friends.  They will be less likely to be interested in your sponsored stories.  So people do not visit Facebook for professional reasons.

But it has been proven that Facebook is a very diverse platform.  In the business sense it can be compared to and sometimes outdo other powerful corporate marketing platforms available today.  It then has the added bonus of users being able to also make use of it for their personal reasons.  For this simple fact Facebook will keep on going strong and be visited by hundreds of thousands each and every single day.

Whatever your doubts are on internet marketing, one thing is for sure and that is that platforms like Google and Facebook are here to stay.

Source: mashable.com

The problem is that not all business owners or managers actually have the time to manage the SEO campaign or afford an internet marketing company to manage and maintain the company’s internet marketing and PR campaigns.

Small businesses operating their own online stores have to use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to drive traffic, convert visitors into customers and make money online.  This becomes a catch 22 situation as, the smaller the budget for internet marketing, the less growth the website will show and the less people (possible customers) will visit the website.

That is why we have put together some tips on how you can drive your SEO to make money for you with your online company.

• Content is King

The more content you have the more visible you will become as more people will be coming across your information and content while doing an internet search.  As simple as that.

If you feel that it is a huge mountain that you have to conquer, you could always ask your staff to each add content every day.  Depending on the size of your business, you could always employ one or two staff members who write and submit articles on your business on a permanent basis.

• Make use of Google Authorship to personalize your  content

When you make use of Google authorship you are giving your content an identity.  This means that, when you write an article, it will refer to your company name as the author of the article.  The more people see your author name, the better it will stick in their thoughts.

The more your brand name or services pop up, the more people will get to know you, and therewith you will become more well known among users.  As soon as you are more well known, they will feel that you are here to stay, making it more comfortable for them to purchase from you.

• You should constantly strive to improve your service

There are things within the management of your SEO that you should know at all times like how fast your web pages are loading and whether your CSS is compressed.  If you do not know this, you should definitely improve your service by using a SEO based performance system.

In this way you will be on track constantly regarding all the details of your website’s performance and it will then be much easier to rectify any problems that could lead to less than perfect performance.

• Make your content more locally targeted

Generally, unless you are capable of delivering service across the world, it will generate more possible clients than just visitors if you target your marketing to your local market.

By basing your marketing on your target area, it will be more likely to generate sales as someone looking for a service will find it more convenient to make use of local business and not have to drive hundreds of kilometres to purchase a product.

Source: mashable.com

Timeline, since its existence is here to stay and that is the only fact.  By switching to timeline you are not doing Facebook bad, you are just adapting to their improvement in technology and customer service. But the question is also if a marketing strategy was easier before Timeline.  Well it actually was but if a business has been seen to work over a long period of time could only better its service through making use of Timeline.

Here are some tips on how to use Timeline as successfully as you used Facebook.

While on Timeline, pay a much attention to your existing fanbase as you would when originally on Facebook.  Although there are extra and different tabs, the basics are still the same.  Keep it simple and stick to the basics and you can use Timeline with as much success as you did Facebook.

Don’t measure your success by the amount of fans you have.  Don’t make your main focus to gain as many users as possible, but rather focus on serving them successfully.  If you have thousands of fans but none of them engage in your page or cause, it will be worthless for you to run the page in the first place.

Before switching to Timeline, do your research and try to know in details all its advantages as well as disadvantages.  Some of its advantages are that it allows you to tell your company history from day one, there is room for large content and this allows for all visitors to get to know your company on a much more personal level.

Also know that you will have to neaten up your Facebook page before switching to Timeline.  Timeline, upon first viewing it, should have a clean and neat look and definitely have history on clients you had served, assisted and gained.

One must remember that Social networking is something that takes time as it is something that must constantly be updated and edited with new content, information and images.  Remember that building a good page is not all its about – maintenance is very important in the way that you have to get your readers to stay interested and visit your site regularly.

As mentioned, building a reputable Facebook page takes time but with the help of Timeline and the correct knowledge thereof, you will be able to keep your page fresh, updated and interesting to all your fans.

Source: mashable.com

Let’s look at the past, present and future of social media.

When most of use started working, the computer, nevermind the internet, was still at its beginning stages.  In fact, most of the work was still done by the good old typewriter and hard copy being plain old paper.  The only form of social was the telephone.  Scary thought, but it wasn’t even so very long ago…

The digital world then started to creep in with the audio tape being replaced by the cd, the large old boom box being replaced by the cd player, the walkman being replaced by a smaller a lighter version including not tape but cd player. The same goes for business with the old typewriter was replaced with the computer (first black and white and then colour screen) that included a keyboard on which you could type much faster.  It was such a wonderful innovation as all your files could be stored on a “stiffy” that could be taken out at stored safely.  And then …. the best thing ever…. email!  How exciting was it to type something and send it via the computer – and get a response almost straight away!

This is where the internet started and started growing as well.  The web became a place where you could (and still can) browse for absolutely anything or earth.  Also called the “information highway” it was truly the best invention of its time.  Along with this innovation, companies started seing the potential of advertising over the internet and therewith the corporate website was born.

As the internet grew, so did the options, with online shopping and banking becoming two of the most important factors of corporate internet liason.  All companies started advertising online and making the internet a big part of their service.  You could contact them via email and even get a quotation.  Generally, all business become much more interactive by using the internet as their form of PR.

But the future of it though is not certain as no one can tell the future.  One fact that stands out between all the uncertainty is that social networks and internet marketing has grown an exorbitant amount in a very short time and, if nothing else, is definitely here to stay.

Source: mashable.com

As the saying goes “the early bird gets the worm” – you should be seeing the potential in tuning in to this website as soon as possible – and this is how:

• This platform gives you many different options and looks to showcase your product.  There are a range of colours, themes, textures and fonts that you can choose to make your page stand out and be very interesting and unique.
• Make your brand more lifestyle conscientious.  Brands like “Whole Foods” are doing this by not merely marketing food but also marketing a way of healthy living. Give a more holistic approach to your brand through Pinterest.
• You can host competitions through Pinterest.  One of the competitions that were recently run on this site was for users to each pin up 20 images from the Pinterest page and email the URL of the image. Everyone worked together and it ended up being a huge success.
• You could get huge user involvement by asking all the users to pin up a photo of themselves while wearing or using your product or brand.  You can then pick the best and use it as a sort of a brand representative.  This will have the users getting involved on a large scale as everybody wants to be seen on the internet.
• Pinterest are most used by publishers as well as large magazines like Time and Today.  They are able to show behind the scenes photos of their staff and famous guests through pinning it up on Pinterest.
• L2 Think Tank has brought itself together by making use of industry leaders to assist brands to navigate the ever growing digital landscape.  It is a good business move to make use of other channels to curate the most important part of your business.
• Many large companies make use of Pinterest to pin up their favourite photos, happenings and clips from the previous week, making it more of a social platform for staff to discuss and make their week fun.
• As many corporate companies make use of as much graphs, info graphics and video as part of their coverage, it only makes sense to use a platform like Pinterest where you are able to combine any or all of the above along with your text and content to make for a more detailed and professional presentation.
• Pinterest is not just about pinning up pictures though, it is a platform where corporate companies can engage and make more use of images and video along with their content during meetings, presentations and all other business doings.

Source:  mashable.com

There are also very well known sites like Path, Pair, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Renren, Weibo and Youku are standing on par with Facebook where popularity is concerned.  And these are only the most used, there are hundreds of other social media platforms out there.

And you might think that you have seen it all, that they cannot get stronger and better.  But if you look at it, a few years ago you would never have though them to become as powerful as they are today.  The best news is that, they are still improving and expanding on a daily basis.  Here are some possibilities of technology taking them even further than ever expected.

One thing is for sure and that is that all of these companies are in constant battle over who will reach the limits of technology first.  They are focussed on becoming the leading media and experience network while others are battling it out to become the best enterprise market who has the highest valuation in its business.  But these companies are all worried about companies like SuperEgo as this company has started to control the identity market with a reward program as well as some recent acquisitions.

As Facebook and Apple are the two leading experience networks, they are still susceptible to other experienced creators to share their experiences.  This could lead to the possibility that some, or even all of these already powerful platforms to fuse together to create the most powerful social media platform ever.  Virtually no one will be able to exist without it.

One of these companies (in a small scale) has partially overtaken the social media world and is called Mirror.  With its support from government, businesses and civil society, almost everybody in the world is currently making use of Mirror through their smart phones. Virtually all communication is based on this company.

As no one can foretell the future one cannot say exactly what is going to happen to social networking and how it is going to expand, but it is certain that the basic tweet, post and blog is not all technology is about.  We are only looking at the tip of the iceberg here.

Source: mashable.com

The same will go for when you make your money through advertising.  It will be your goal then to get readers to subscribe to your RSS feed so that they return as soon as you have written and posted new content.

If you have a product to sell, your aim would be to get maximum exposure that will lead to sales.  And if you have an affiliate product, your aim will be to have readers subscribe to your email list so that you can send them information.

There is one way of doing this and it is to have a blog that converts.

On your blog, it is more important what you add to your posts than just what you say on your post.  Be sure to have a strong call to action as this will lead to more successful sales.

Make use of WordPress and Blogger as some of the blogging sites that will make it easy for you to install a theme and write your blog.  These are two of the main blogging platforms as many many people are using them on a daily basis.  While using it, make an effort to stand out by designing a blog theme first so that your blogs can be differentiated from the rest.

While designing your blog, be sure to use bold colours as this will further make you stand out.  Big red flashing arrows, although corny, definitely works as it is seen first.

Your most important information should also be placed “above the fold” as was done with newspapers when sold on the street.  As the paper was folded in half, only the top half was visible when placed on the shelf, and therefore was seen first. When converted to a blog page, it is the area that people will see first before starting to scroll down. In a grocery store, it applies to the products placed on the shelves that are eye-level, giving them more exposure.

All your important links and information should be placed at the top right hand corner as this is a marketing trick.  It has been found that the human eye travels at an “S” pattern, moving from middle top to right hand top before going down.  Design your page in this way and you will get more success.

Also, while designing your page, make sure to make some things unique.  Many times web designers work from a generic format and just edit your details into it.  Try to have your page designed from scratch and use only your themes, colours and fonts.  It might be a bit more time consuming and therefore expensive, but it will be well worth it in the long run.

Source: mashable.com

Well, there is good news.  Google+ has brought in some very interesting features and a re-design that is sure to give it a new look as well as a fresh approach.

Here are some of the changes:

• Generally Google+  now has a more subdued, modern and visually pleasing layout although it has been found that there is too much white space now.  It now gives more of a feel of Facebook or Twitter with a Google twist.
• The look is divided into three columns, with features like a whole new look to the navigation bar.  Instead of the overwhelming text base, it has now been replaced to include a column for customizable icons.  You can now drag and drop icons or hide them under the “more” tab.
• There is now a space for circles and searches.  It is displayed on the right hand side of the activity streams and are divided into five interesting topics of discussion along with its icons.
• It also boasts with an overview area where you can see details like how many times a post was commented on.  Called the “activity drawer”, it shows you exactly who did what when and where.

• Google Hangouts now has a page of its own.  Its focus is on community hangouts and not celebrities making it more personal.  This will make for more popularity among main stream users.

• It is now possible to add bigger images on display unless otherwise preferred.  Google takes a page from Facebook’s timeline and enlarges it for display along with quick facts about the user at the bottom of it.

• Google chat has now been moved to a better place being the third column in Google+.  Google chat can also be disabled if you choose to, as not many people like Google chat in the first place.

Source: mashable.com

After a study was done with Facebook users and using Facebook Reach, it was found that Reach was becoming a more popular feature than it used to be and signified how many people had seen your post.

Reach is a very important feature of Facebook and a good tool to have if you are looking for statistics on how often your page is being viewed and visited.  These are statistics that show which of your posts the readers are interested in as well as tips on how you could post them in the future to gain the maximum results.

Results on these tests have shown that by making use of plain text messages get 7.8% more views and when combined with posts get a 12.3% view increase.

These tests have therefore proven that the combination of images and text deliver a far wider range of viewers and gain interest from a lot more users.  This is obviously a good idea to use these tools as it can only improve your visitor base.

Source:  mashable.com

The same goes for the whole world today.  While waiting for the bus, waiting for your appointment or just relaxing, people are either texting, mms-ing or sending a business email on their smartphones, laptops or tabs.

Here are some reasons and proof that mobile social media is here to stay.

The point of social media is to share yourself – your thoughts, your fears and even what you had for lunch.  What good would it be if it is only heard three hours later?  Social media works on a real time schedule which means it is received as you type it in.  This feature has actually saved lives as people have tweeted when there was a robber in the house or when they had had an accident and was lying helpless on the floor.  Help could go out to them immediately through the live format of social media.

When mobiles and their features were first introduced, this feature had not been thought of and is becoming one of the most popular features of the application.

When you are on this real time basis with your contacts, it definitely causes for a more personal feel – as if you and the person were actually speaking.  Other than with the email system where you had to first download your emails and then reply, the live and interactive platform informs you as soon as you had received the tweet.

Before the social platforms exsisted, you had to save up before you could phone a family member overseas and also keep the conversation to the bare minimum as call costs overseas are very expensive.  You could email but once again there was the waiting time.

With social media, you could have a real-time conversation with anyone in the world.  It works on the same principal as a local tweet but has the advantage of being able to reach anywhere in the world at the same speed and quality.

Although this is such a wonderful innovation, there are still people who are thinking if mobile social networking is properly helping us make the right connections.  It has been said that people will now rather connect with a large group of followers, tweeters or friends than attempt the old style face to face conversation with a real human being.

Although the social network scene is obviously an advantage to communication for people, the hosting companies are always in the process of advancing their service and adding even more applications that could further simplify users’ lives.

According to the designers, the focus well be about context, frictionless sharing as well as push-notification driven user interfaces.

Source: mashable.com