The Write Blog

Principles that have traditionally been used for search engine optimization are now being applied to a new wave of internet marketing techniques – social media optimization, or SMO. That’s using things like Myspace, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

But aren’t networks like Myspace only for the Generation Nexters? The typical Myspace encompasses a broad demographic, since Myspace is still currently the big kahuna of social networks. Should businesses use this Myspace thing after all, or just forget it?

The answer is definitely yes, especially if you already have a social media marketing campaign underway and you have a little time to dedicate to updating your profiles. Companies who feel that they don’t have enough time for Myspace, or that there isn’t a need for a business profile on Myspace should consider the following:

1. Word of Mouth

Any business revolves around one thing: relations. Today, most companies operate using traditional modes of communication, mainly telephones and email. And Myspace can be used as just another mode of communication to link with current, past, and potential customers. With Myspace, you build your community by adding friends. And then their friends can link to your profile as well. Features like bulletins are used in the same way as email – only it blankets your entire “friend” base at once. For instance, you can post a bulletin about a current promotion and have it appear on your entire community’s homepage as soon as they log in. By providing content that is entertaining and useful, you can start connecting and building relationships with clients using new, internet-based communication tools.

2. Search Engine Optimization

Search engines pick up Myspace pages – what better way to multiply your internet presence by having an page, in addition to your website, where users can go and check out your business.

3. Pictures and Video

Engage your target audience by uploading pictures of yourself, your offices, your products, your logo, and even printable coupons or whatever you feel is relevant – it will give your audience a better understanding of who you are and what you can offer. There’s also an option for you to upload video to your page. Myspace videos can become viral, meaning that if one user likes it, they recommend it to their friends, and then their friends’ friends, and so on.

4. Company Overview

Your Myspace profile is an extension of your business. You can customize your profile to match your company’s colors, and give users a detailed overview of your company and your product offerings. Having your business on Myspace allows you to market your brand to over 100 million current users.
Ultimately, the decision is yours: Only you know your business’ specific needs and your specific client demographic. Myspace may or may not be the right fit. For more reading about Social Media Optimization and to determine if Myspace is right for your business, check out Associate Content’s article, Using Myspace to Promote a Company’s Visibility.

Now that it’s being recognized as legitimate, everyone’s clamoring for social media marketing services. Savvy business owners are looking to social media marketing for higher website traffic, larger profits and the increased brand visibility everyone’s shouting from the rooftops about.

But what about online reputation management? That’s one part of social media marketing that sometimes gets lost among those other benefits, which are often perceived as being more lucrative. How could you possibly know what everyone’s saying about your company in the far-reaching corners of the Internet? What does it even matter? Well, it matters plenty. One disgruntled customer can now be heard far and wide, often negating the effects of all the money you’ve spent dumped into your social media marketing campaign.

Web 2.0 has given customers their voice back. It’s no longer David vs. Goliath when a consumer is mistreated or has an unpleasant experience with a company. Web 2.0 has evened the playing field and returned power to the consumer. Unsatisfied consumers won’t hesitate to log onto sites like Consumerist, hit the comments section, and start driving nails into your company’s coffin. Or they go to forums or networking sites and post negative reviews. If particularly vitriolic, one review can unspool the five positive reviews of your company posted directly above it. It might not be fair – that bad experience might have been the result of a bad-apple employee that has since been let go – but that review is there.

Blog and forum members visit these sites because they are particularly concerned with quality of product and experience. They’ve got a little bit of a watchdog complex in them. So when customers get on there and complain, they’re doing so to the most attentive audience possible.

What does this mean? You’ve got to fight for your reputation. And you need to be proactive about it. Start a customer loyalty campaign that encourages recent clients to post positive reviews, or at least search for and respond (appropriately) to any negative reviews posted. These responses can be vital, because it gives readers a chance to see that your company cares enough to respond to consumer complaints.

So if you haven’t started already, I highly recommend getting out there and claiming your company’s reputation and identity. That way, any negative review that finds itself posted will have less steam because your company will already be established as a clean, fair, and caring company.

Check out this post over at Duct Tape Marketing. I like what the blogger says about how everyone now has two brands: online and offline. The post lists 34 online reputation management sites and is extremely comprehensive. Check them out and get started on protecting your company’s most important asset: its image.

Recession, or no recession? I’m no economist, but even the experts can’t decide if we’re in one, beginning one, ending one, or if the economy’s just a little slow.

The R-word strikes fear and anxiety in the heart of everyone – doesn’t matter if you’re CEO of a major corporation or self-employed entrepreneur. In a blog post titled “How to Market in a Recession,” John Quelch, marketing expert and Harvard Business School professor, writes about different marketing techniques to use during a recession.

But this is a hot topic, and it seems that a lot of bloggers have joined the marketing-recession dialogue. After surveying some various internet resources, here are my four top online marketing tips. Best of all, they’re free.

1. Focus on Content

This comes from Ian Lurie’s Conversation Marketing blog. So if you want to maximize your customer base, go over your content. Look at your website, pay per click ads, and even your marketing materials that aren’t web-based. Ian Lurie says that each page should be a “perfect sales letter.” Now, all writers know that perfection in prose rarely happens. So don’t be afraid: edit, re-write, change up your wording, pay closer attention to branding on your site – constant improvement and constant updates will get your higher up in search engine rankings and better conversion rates.

2. Use Time, Not Money

The genius thing about web 2.0 and social media marketing is that they’re free for anyone to use. But they do consume a lot of time. If you’re a small business owner with more time than money, start looking at how you can tackle these two beasts.

The easiest way to do this is to start blogging. Blog about your business, industry news, whatever (see our previous post about blogging). From there, you can move on to the more serious social marketing sites, like marketing via Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter profiles, or getting your blog readers to Digg/Reddit/Stumble your blog articles.

3. Know your customers — Track Results

Know who your customers are – and where they’re coming from. How is your cold-calling campaign holding up to your pay per click campaign? If you haven’t already, you need to research, quantify, and get some real numbers about which marketing techniques are working, and which aren’t. Then you can focus your time and marketing dollars accordingly.

Also, get to know your customers – or your potential customers. Who are they and what is important to them? Are they cash rich or cash poor? Is their business or industry recession proof, or are they at the mercy of the markets too? Understanding your clients’ situation can help you predict their needs and market accordingly.

4. Adjust Prices

In a recession, promotions like sweepstakes, mail-in-offers, and the like, don’t get as much attention as price breaks, according to John Quelch’s blog. So adjust your prices, offer more credit, give temporary price breaks to existing customers. A small cutback on prices now can help convert customers and create lifelong devotees, ultimately bringing in more money than the price cut lost.

Technorati Profile

So, you want to get your name out there, to be known, to market yourself to every possible venue. It’s easier than you think. With some strategy and a bit of research, you can delve deep into the social media marketing realm and produce significant results.

Just what, you might ask, is social media marketing, and how does it work? For starters, social media marketing is a way to embrace many of the web’s social facets and use them to promote your business or website. For example, you can blog, linkbait, post viral articles, and reach out through social networking sites all in the name of increasing traffic to your website. Best of all, if it’s done right, it can be extremely effective.

The question remains: Why is social media marketing important? In addition to just drawing traffic to your website, there are a number of reasons (not to mention benefits) behind this marketing strategy. Below, and in no particular order, you will find the top 4 reasons why you should adopt a social media marketing campaign.

1. Connect with your customer base. Say you begin a blog that relates to your website. Eventually, that blog will begin to attract a readership base, and your customers will be able to respond to these blogs. Or “hang out” with your client base on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn where you can personally interact with your customers – even on a one-on-one basis – and learn all about their needs and wants as it pertains to your company. Also, you can search review sites and forums to see what your customers are saying. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, you will have a solid grasp of their reactions to your products and services … which leads me to my next point.

2. Manage customer relations. When you are sifting through your customers’ reviews, forums, and blog responses, it can be exhilarating to read affirmative feedback on your services. On the flipside, it can be downright disheartening to read the negative stuff. But don’t fret. This kind of criticism can give you a chance to respond gracefully and show the consumer that you care about what they think. You may not be able to right all of the wrongs all of the time, but you can acknowledge each one personally. This way, your customer base knows that you care and are taking measures to create better results in the future.

3. Establish yourself as an industry expert. Publish articles and blog about anything and everything related to your specific industry. If your content is good and interesting enough, it is sure to be picked up by users of social bookmarking sites like digg, delicious, and others, then spread all over the Internet. All the while, you are not only gaining credibility but more hits to your website.

4. Show off your name. Saturating the internet with useful and viable content rich in keywords related to your business can help to bring a greater number of hits to your site. When a website sees regular updates and activities, such as that seen on blogs and forums, search engines will deem it trustworthy therefore ranking it higher in search results.