If you have not considered utilizing social networking websites to leverage your Internet advertising dollars, you may be missing a tremendous opportunity. Follow these following steps so that you can establish profiles on MySpace and Facebook in an effort to market your business online:

1. If you are looking at utilizing either of these sites, the first step is to log in and create a free profile. This will only take a few minutes to do and you can find the sign up page on both of the home pages to these websites.

2. Once you create a profile, you will need to customize and add information. The more information that you can create in your profile, the wider audience you will have. These sites are designed to connect like-minded people and the more personal that you can be in your profile the better.

3. It is advised that you customize your profile so that it stands out from the rest of the online users. You may choose to pay someone to design your homepage, or you may choose to locate a free option. Either way, the more unique that you can make yourself, the better marketing opportunities you will have down the road. Consider using colors, bold headlines, a screen name that is descriptive rather than only your name, adding videos and embedding text links using some basic html to make your profile unique. Both websites offer specific and detailed instructions on how to add any of these customized features to your web pages.

4. Start marketing using your customized MySpace or Facebook URL. Each site will give you a direct link to your profile page. This can be used on your business cards, your email signature or on any other marketing techniques that you utilize.

5. In addition to adding your profile link to some of the basic marketing techniques that you already may be using, the next step is to start building your “Friends” list on both of the websites. To do this, it is recommended to start with your existing contact or leads list. Send out and email and let your list know that you have a new profile, asking them to add you as friends. In addition to this, you will want to manually add as many friends as you can find on both sites. This is simple and straightforward - when you click on someone’s profile picture, it will have a link that says, “add me.” The other person will get an add request and can choose to add you or not.

One of the most important things to consider is that, if you are adding someone to your profile that you do not know very well or at all, send a personalized message. For example, you may say, “I noticed that you are in the network marketing field and I thought that we may be able to share some ideas. I have invited you to be my friend.” By adding a personalized note, you will have a larger number of new friends than without it. This is important, as it can take a substantial amount of time to initially build your friends list.

Once you have added your initial batch of friends, you will want to regularly update your list.
One of the best things about these social networking sites is that by adding one friend, you are actually adding an exponential number of friends. You will have access to add the friends of each newly added friend to your profile. For example, if a newly added friend has 50 friends in their profile, you will be able to go through and select potential friends of theirs to invite to be friends of yours. So, imagine how many people you will be able to add if you spend time on this task regularly.

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If you are not sure how to improve the page rank of your websites, one place you can turn to is social media marketing. Internet marketing services can counsel you in this new form of Internet marketing. But some rely on old standbys, tools to improve your page rank that most Internet marketing services will direct you to because they are familiar.

For example, most Internet marketing services assist web owners with web marketing tools like article marketing and press release marketing. Internet marketing services are starting to learn that social media marketing is critical to survival in today’s newly competitive market. What is social media marketing?

The Ins and Outs of Social Media

If you find a qualified Internet marketing services company, find out how they can get you started in social media marketing. It is an invaluable tool web owners should include as part of their web marketing campaign. Social media marketing involves the use of branding and communication through social media networks. These are active websites where participants communicate with each other and share information online in a community-based forum.

You have probably heard of some of these websites and not realized they were social networks. Some good examples of these networks include sites like YouTube, Flickr, Squidoo, Facebook and similar websites like Del.ic.ious. These websites are at the forefront of modern technology.

Powerful Networking Tools a Click Away

Some of these websites have been around for a long time, but not every web owner has realized what a powerful web marketing tool many of these websites could be. You can use any of these websites as a powerful web marketing tool because customers browse these websites on a daily basis!

These websites have the power to let users bookmark your site. You can launch your marketing campaign and brand, and get people promoting and talking about your products and services for you. You can participate in each of these social networks and build your brand; you can increase your link building efforts: the choices are up to you. The best way to get involved may be to first work with Internet marketing services providers to learn more about how social networking sites work and then figure out how you want to present your company in this new media forum.

Some companies set up a profile on one or more of these websites and then present themselves to the public in a casual way. You can decide for example to create a video for your company and share it with the public. The opportunities for creative communication are endless.

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We hear about this generation a lot, but just who are they? Born between 1977 and 1998, they’re different from any generation we’ve seen before, and they’re now entering the work force in droves. They’re the result of a movement to make children the center of everything, and sometimes we don’t know what to do with them. They’re more confident than any group we’ve seen before. Add to that their use of cell phones, the Internet, and other electronic forms of communication. It’s the first bunch of young people to grow up completely online, and marketing to them is a different ball game. They tend to be team-oriented and band together to date rather than going off alone. They work well in groups, and that can be a marketing strength on your part. They’re skilled at multi-tasking since they studied while other things were going on - a good reason to use cross-media marketing to increase web traffic. They played a sport, attended school, and were involved socially. They believe strongly in a green world and have positive reactions to anything that is good for the environment. With regards to work, they like structure. They respect positions and titles and seek a relationship with their bosses. They need to be mentored and they like personal attention.

OK - that’s the target. How do you hit it with your marketing? First of all, they go to their MySpace and Facebook accounts three or four times a day. They send instant messages to friends and upload their videos to YouTube. What are they saying about your products or your company? You can sign up for Google Alerts to see what they’re blogging about. Get on the sites they belong to yourself. Get your name in front of them. See that your company has a space on social media outlets. Just don’t overdo the commercial aspects, or they’ll see right through you. Just let them know what you’re about and most particularly what you stand for.

Dialogue with them, making certain that you listen (read) as much as you speak (write). You can ask them to rate your products, for example, or comment on them and on you. Try to provide a socializing forum. However, be consistent, no matter what media you’re using. Don’t say one thing and do another or you’ll lose them quickly. Use creativity here. Come up with new ideas and new ways to reach them. Try to be meaningful and fun at the same time. It can work if you work it!

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Just a quick reminder from the folks at Majon International to all of our friends around the U.S. to take time out of your busy day and make sure to vote!

If you need to take an hour off work, ask your boss to take the lead of other CEOs and give you the time off. Here’s a YouTube video that encourages all bosses to set aside a “Vote Hour.”

Happy voting!

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When Tom Friedman called the world “flat” in his book, “The World is Flat,” he described a global universe that is very strange to most of us. Our neighborhoods are no longer down the street or even downtown; a person who has never ventured out of Germany can be “down the street” or “next door” through web links. Someone once asked me if I don’t get lonely as an editor and writer who doesn’t leave the office very frequently. My answer: “Hardly. I have this host of business associates, friends, and family members right here in my office. I can talk to them anytime I want via web links.”

Children coming of age have lived with this universe from the time they were born, so it’s not as strange to them as it is to the rest of us. Three-year-olds click web links and are able to watch cartoons. Teenagers are linked to their friends constantly and can carry on long conversations by texting, whereas in the past they were limited to a telephone. Teachers can’t be sure that the performance of any one student on a test is a measure of that student’s knowledge or ability because they can so easily get the answer from a web link on an easily concealed mobile phone in a pocket or on a lap.

We are quickly moving to a state where most of us have our own websites or blogs. We can insert web links on those sites to a universe of interesting and relevant other websites. Besides, we can carry on conversations with people all over the world - people we’ve never met before and people we could not have met except for the ability to link via the web.

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Yesterday, we covered several ways that you can promote your blog, which in turn will help with website promotion. Here are some additional suggestions:

1. Use all of the features offered by your software. If the blogging software you use allows you to tag your entries, by all means do so. Dividing your entries into different subject areas enables readers to find relevant posts and makes it easier for search engines to find you.

2. Syndicate your blog. Many people subscribe to blogs, so be sure to give them a way to do so. On a related note, provide readers a way to forward your blog posts via email to their friends and colleagues.

3. Include hyperlinks. When you are riffing on a story in the news or are commenting on another blog post, make sure to include a hyperlink to the original source. Having these links helps those you mention, who may just return the favor.

4. Use a blogroll. A blogroll is a list of sites or blogs that you think are great. Having a blogroll gives your blog more credibility with the search engines.

5. Write like clockwork. A blog loses its relevancy if the entries are dated, so set a goal for a certain number of posts per week and stick to it. Updating your blog two or three times a week is fine, but daily is even better.

As a closing note, your blog will look more interesting if you include photos or video. Blogging software walks you through the process, so don’t be afraid to add visual interest to your entries.

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We’ve been discussing the role that blogs can play in increasing your brand awareness, website promotion, and enhancing customer loyalty. But once you launch your blog, how do you promote it? Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Email marketing. Send out an email blast to your customers and potential customers announcing your blog and inviting them to read it and send you their comments. This helps with website promotion and with community building.

2. Use social bookmarks. Web 2.0 is all about social networks, so give your readers the chance to bookmark your blog. Including the bookmarking icons from digg, del.icio.us, furl, and others will help you get noticed.

3. Use blog directories. There are directories specifically tailored to blogs – Technorati is one such directory. Make sure that you register your blog with any relevant directories.

4. Offer to guest blog. Seek out bloggers who write on topics related to your primary topic, and suggest a trade. You’ll write a guest post for their blog, and they can write a guest post for your blog. Include a link to their blog in the post on your site, and they’ll do the same for you.

5. Participate in discussion boards. Contributing to discussion boards may be time consuming, but if you’re a valued member of another community, the chances are good that those members will read your blog – and patronize your site. When posting on discussion boards, make sure to include your blog URL in your signature.

Check back tomorrow for more suggestions on promoting your blog.

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You know that a blog would help with your website promotion efforts, but you’re at a loss about what to say. Here are some suggestions.

1. Go behind the scenes. A key aspect of Web 2.0 is community building. If you sell a product or service, you want to use blogging to create a community of customers and potential customers who feel connected to your company. One way to do this is with “behind the scenes” posts. What’s going on at your company’s headquarters? Maybe you’re celebrating an employee’s birthday, or perhaps you’re preparing to go to a trade show. Letting your customers peek behind the scenes is a great way to make them part of your “family.” One note of caution: Make sure that your posts don’t cross the line of propriety. If you’re not sure, here’s a litmus test: If your blog entry were broadcast on the evening news, would it embarrass the company? If not, you’re safe.

2. Give readers a sneak peek. What’s coming up for your company? If you sell clothing, what styles or fabrications will customers see in your next catalog? If you are a tax preparer, what are the top three new IRS Code changes that will affect your clients? If the people who read your blog feel like an “insider,” they’re bound to be more loyal. Don’t give away secrets though… Never post anything that you wouldn’t want your main competition to know.

3. Answer questions. You can invite your customers to ask questions, and answer them in your blog. Make sure to acknowledge the customer by name (if he’s given you permission to do so), and make the answer chatty and entertaining. You don’t want to come off sounding like a dry FAQ.

4. Offer opinions and commentary. If there’s a topic in the news that affects your industry, use it as a springboard for your opinions and commentary. As events unfold, keep readers posted about the latest details. A half-told story will keep readers coming back to hear the rest. One caveat, though: Don’t be divisive in your commentary, or offer opinions that will alienate a portion of your readership. You don’t want to turn off customers and potential customers!

Check in tomorrow, when we’ll talk about how to promote your blog, and thus your website.

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Yesterday, we noted that blogs can help drive traffic to websites, increase brand awareness, and act as cross-promotional vehicles. If you want to start blogging to promote your website, here are some basics you need to know:

Software: There are two basic kinds of software you can use – software that’s kept on your server, and hosted software that’s kept on another company’s server. If you want to have the software on your own server, there are several free an open source software packages available. The two most well-known packages are WordPress and MoveableType. There are many software services that offer blog hosting, so you don’t have to install software on your server – Blogger and TypePad are two such services.

Web-Based Interface: Blogging software almost always has a web-based interface. In other words, you don’t have to continually upload new pages to your server. You can simply type into the web interface, or copy and paste your entry. The software then rebuilds your blog “database” so that it displays your entry.

Features: Software features vary, but typically you have a title field for the headline, a body field for the main text, and a post date that displays the date and time you posted the entry. Usually, you can create categories for blog posts, save drafts, post date blog entries, and so forth. Most blogging software allows you to enable or disable pings, trackbacks, and comments from readers. Even if you enable those features, you usually have the option of moderating comments, so you can approve or delete each comment. Some software also allows you to enter keywords, and provide readers with a URL of your entry that they can use in their own blogs or web pages.

Site Integration: Even with hosted software, it’s fairly straightforward to integrate a blog into your website. There are a variety of blog templates you can use, and you can usually adjust the colors so they match those of your site.

Now that we’ve covered the technical side of blogging, tomorrow we’ll discuss what to say in your blog.

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Last week, we discussed the phenomenon broadly referred to as “Web 2.0,” and how the ways in which Web 2.0 features like wikis, user reviews, multimedia, discussion boards, and interactivity can be used in website promotion. This week, we’ll talk about the aspect of Web 2.0 that has arguably had the greatest impact on the new face of the Internet: blogging.

Unless you’ve been living on a remote island, you most likely know that blog is short for “web log.” A blog typically consists of content that falls into the category of commentary/opinion, news, or a combination of both. Blog entries are usually displayed in reverse chronological order, and have a less formal tone than traditional web copy. Blogs can also incorporate multimedia, such as video and audio, or can forego text altogether, as is the case for video blogs, or vlogs.

Blogs were initially viewed as a way for individuals to have a voice on the Web. Eventually, blogs gained influence, and today are seen by many as augmenting the mainstream media and by some as supplanting it. It’s not uncommon for bloggers, acting as citizen-journalists, to uncover news stories, or dig deeper for the story-behind-the-story. When they do, the mainstream media often gives the story – and the blogger – a national platform.

But, what does this have to do with website promotion? Well, the ubiquitous influence of blogs spilled over into the marketplace. Those mainstream media players engaged in a bit of catch-up and almost without exception now carry their own blogs.

For the business owner who wants to stay on the leading edge of website promotion, blogging is a necessity. Blogs serve to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to websites, and act as effective cross-promotion vehicles.

To the uninitiated, launching a blog may seem daunting. In truth, it’s easier than you think. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss some of the basics about blogging, and how to get started.

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