Comparing Social Media on the Internet

If you're trying to do low cost marketing on the internet, one of the places people (or any variety of media sources) might recommend to you is Facebook, MySpace, etc. While all of these can be great, you can be shocked or pleasantly surprised with what they are used for and how you can use them.

Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) bills itself as "a social utility that connects you with the people around you". It once was popular only among geeky college kids, but now is popular with people of all ages. It's still a great place for college kids to hook up - most universities have a "community" and most of them are closed to only members of that university. But it's also a good Web 2.0 application for online marketing. There are applications that allow you to add a business card, share links to your website, photos, books you're reading, music you listen to and more. The clean layout is nice too. This is an excellent place to start if you're comfortable with social networking and want to have some fun with your page and your identity.

My Space (http://www.myspace.com) is billed as "a place for friends", but I have found it much more relevant for people who have a band or are 12. My Space has the ability to easily load up songs for a startup garage band and you can put your performance schedule on there as well. Beware though, the layouts are gaudy and the pictures and comments can be - well, "titillating". But this is almost a "must have" for anyone wanting to make it big in the music world. Most of the rest of us can really just skip it - unless you happen to have a lot of friends in bands. It's also a great way to get on the internet and spy on your 16 year old niece to make sure she's not pole dancing without your knowledge.
Linked In (http://www.linkedin.com) is the most serious and business-like network on the internet. If you're looking for clients, jobs or to hire someone this is your place. Hook up with former classmates, coworkers, friends in the neighborhood and post information about work experience, your company or any other networking information. It's a lot less easy to personalize, but far more effective if you're networking.

Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) is great for text messaging addicts. I find it's a bit too tied up in the minutia of people's lives for my interest, but if your family and friends are nuts about texting, this may be for you! I have yet to really enjoy this medium, but perhaps it's because I'm not a texter, so I'm reserving judgment until I have a teenager.

All of these networking tools have ways to control who adds you as a contact or friend and all can be private or public. All of them have ways where you have to verify how you know people and provide their email or some details about them that would make them want to add you.

The downside is that there are people who set up profiles and never really check them again. Especially in more "mature" (ahem) age groups. But some embrace them and have a lot of fun with them - adding messages, etc.

There are many other social medias out there, for people who work at home, Moms, Dads, single people, and people with lots and lots of specific interests - music, books, crafting and more. Those are great if you're networking among a specific group of people or if you just like finding people who have the same interests as you. However, this should wrap up the big "4" of networking - get out there and go public on the Internet! It's fun!

Find Mary-Frances Main on social networks at:
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/sharkeysday
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=630365837
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/widgetinc
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Sharkeysday

Tips for Newsletter Success!

We've been helping customers send newsletters for about 6 years now. I have learned many things, made many mistakes, changed providers (from Ezine Director to Constant Contact) and changed my creative approach many times.

However, several lessons have come out of my years of experience:

Keep them consistent

I really struggle with this but it's really important. You want people to expect your newsletter, but not to be harassed. Keep them newsy and informational. Find reasons to send them but provide useful content, not all just promotional ideas. Pictures are great!

Reviewing e-mail reports is key

By taking a look at undeliverable and bounce-back reports, you can see which of your subscribers corporate email systems block the e-newsletters. Contact them personally to let them know they're missing out on the issues they've requested.

When you operate a small business, it can be painful to look at the unsubscribe list. It's hard not to take it personally when you see names you know on the list. However, it's a great tool for tracking lost business and trying to win them back! (I'd suggest this in person and not through email! :-) )

Newsletters are relationships!

A recent Doubleclick survey of more than 1,000 Internet users found that more than 82 percent of them had made a purchase online during the past year as a result of some sort of advertisement they received through email. The study revealed, however, that people were much more receptive to email from companies with whom they already had a relationship.

Finally, remember that newsletters are just one tool in your marketing toolbox. If they are eager to hear from you, then the newsletters will work!

Think about what you would spend your time reading in your email inbox!

Important tips for a successful website!

Something that I think all of my customers have in common is that they have been given bad advice about websites at one time or another, so I thought I’d use my newsletter to give out some advice that might (or might not) fit your business. Here are things I think are really important to successful websites:

• Keep your site fresh and keep it fashionable! Even a new picture on the front or a color change, helps to show people that you are keeping your site up to date.


• Make the site a marketing tool. Think about why you have a site. Is it actually generating anything for you or your customers?


• Set up an e-mail program. This is a fantastic and inexpensive way to keep connected to your customers.


• Create an online reward for prized customers. This doesn’t have to be huge. Just give them something for coming to you.


• Speed loading time. There’s nothing worse than having people give up on you because it takes your site forever to load. Not everyone has a “state of the art” computer. Keep that in mind.


• Align the site to the organization and make sure your site reflects your business and who you are.


• Add testimonials or success stories. I think this is key! People may not believe you’re the best, but if they hear other people say you are, they might take notice!


• Being cutting edge doesn’t always mean cutting edge technology. Cutting edge technology costs money. For the same money, you could do other more cost effective things to generate business like Google Ad Words or supplemental advertising. “Flashy” sites mean the owner spent a lot of money NOT that they necessarily are making a lot of money. If you need to promote that type of image then do it but sometimes simple is best!.

I always tell my customers to start small You can always add on and move to other platforms (for shopping carts) but to put a lot of money in up front just because you think you have to is bad advice and I refuse to give out any of that!

Here's the second half! :-) Enjoy!

Part 2

10 mistakes you make on a website and 10 free marketing ideas!

This is the podcast I did for the Empresarias Group - Part One.

Part 1

Here's the handout I passed out at the meeting.

6 Points to a Successful Blog

This is an article from one of our past newsletters:

1. Choose a topic that you know, like, and are passionate about. This way you will never get bored and will keep your audience always interested and asking for more.
2. Open a Blogger account. It is free and easy to use. You can also use the free WordPress accounts or if you're more internet savvy install Wordpress and host it yourself. Blogger is owned by Google though and because of this, in my experience, you run higher onsearch engines.
3. Almost always post a picture with a blog entry! It adds interest and color. You can easily load photos free with Webshots or Flickr . They can be items, arty, family (crop and be artsy if you want) or whatever relates to your topic.
4. In your blog's sidebar, create links related to your topic. It looks bare without them and it creates more usable content for your readers.
5. Post, post, post! Two or three times a week is ideal. Once a week is the borderline minimum that I recommend to keep your audience engaged and maintain adequate visibility in the search engines. You can "pre-write" posts and post them as you go along. Most blog sites allow you to write drafts - post when you're ready!
6. Make comments on other people's blogs. They will most certainly come to your blog to say hi or see who you are. Community is what's most important in blogging and there are a LOT of blogs out there. Set yours apart from the rest!