by Francois Muscat | Mar 8, 2010 | Articles
In the past I have written a couple of articles on the importance why businesses should partake in social media for their company.
The main focus point of social media is not to increase sales even though it could be one of your objectives, but to increase your visibility and credibility by participating in conversation online. The sales will follow after you have established yourself as the expert in your industry. What a mouthful!!! If done correctly and the effort is put into it, the sales will follow. Social media takes time and dedication.
Social Media is all about building relationship and to become more visible online. You can also build trust and credibility by participating in social media. Be the expert in your field. Find below a couple of advantages of Social Media.
Social media lasts longer than traditional media
Social media can attract and hold the attention of targeted users via social networks. Usually these users have grown numb to traditional marketing and advertising where you do not force participation. With social media you are engaging your consumers in a way that encourages trust and increases message retention.
It is viral
Social media is viral and can reach wide targeted audiences in a short amount of time with the least costs involved than traditional marketing. This is a substantial opportunity and threat for communications professionals. While this can reap tremendous growth if used and implemented correctly, it can also have negative viral outcome for businesses that aren’t properly prepared to deal with it.
It is interactive
Through the use of social media, businesses can now communicate and get immediate feedback from users and customers encouraging a process of dialogue between all the parties. Enabling comments on a blog can result in a positive impact for many businesses to gain valuable customer feedback from their industry.
Increased visibility
Social media holds a favourable position for visibility as it has been blended into our daily online lives. What is the first thing you do when you go online? Go on Twitter? Facebook?
Social media has its advantages and at the same time, if done incorrectly, could also have its disadvantages. Contact us if you require additional information regarding the advantages of social media and social media marketing (SMM) or leave a comment below.
by Francois Muscat | Mar 5, 2010 | Articles
We have just opened our UK SMX Internet Marketing summit here at the Crowne Plaza in Birmingham.
Sophie Toms presents the benefits of using the Google content network to grow a business.
She presented how we can decide how we want to advertise our companies on relevant content networks that consist of 1000s of websites & blogs in the Google Network.
An interesting statistic is that the average purchaser makes over 12 searches before making an online purchase.
Content is a great way to compliment your search activity as it can deliver a good ROI for your business.
The content network can reach over 88% of the UK market.
Google also sells display & video ads on the content network. Businesses can hand pick the most relevant sites that allow you to target your market.
1) Handpick individual sites
2) Target a complete category
3) or contextual targeting
Use placement targeting to handpick individual sites or sections of sites that you want your ad to appear. Good for branding & awareness is what placement targeting can do for you.
Category targeting is where you advertise on specific broad range of sites like News, recruitment etc.
Contextual targeting is like an extension of search advertising
Visitors to content network websites can see ads that are relevant to your products and match the contents of the page.
Bidding can be done on cost per thousand, cost per click or cost per acquisition. With cost per acquisition you can set the maximum that you wish to pay to get a customer.
Sophie gave a great presentation on how WSI Internet Marketing consultants can use the content network most effectively.
She presented a step by step approach on how to use the Google Wonder wheel and the keyword tool to build your campaigns.
Success Reports:
- Average advertiser has an average of 4% lowers spend that just search
- Media advertisers see 25% more conversions when combining search & content network
- Advertisers are getting better conversion rates using the content network
Getting British Businesses online
There are over 1.5 m business that don’t have a website. Google is starting an initiative to get 100,000 businesses on line with a website.
In May there will be a “getting British online week” and Google will provide tools to get more out of their websites.
These are for the small SMEs who haven’t thought about getting online before.
The message is to get online for free and get up & running in 20 minutes.
A great presentation.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 10, 2010 | Articles
Blogging is another form of social media and it is an effective way of expanding your network. With a blog you can broadcast your messages to targeted people that you could not have reached any other way. A business blog allows you to market your business and yourself.
Businesses are quickly adopting blogging as their latest online marketing tool but is it really the best answer for them? Find below a couple of things you should consider before getting started with a blog.
Who
Whom do you want to reach with your blog? If you are focused on local business, you want to reach potential customers in your local area. Use community names in your blog.
How old is your targeted audience? If they are 60+, you might only have a small number of people that will read your blog. If they are under 50, then there’s a very high number who already read and responds to blogs.
Why
What is your motivation? Why do you want a blog? If you enjoy journalling and writing, then blogging will be a natural creative outlet that will fit into your lifestyle.
If you prefer going to the doctor over writing, then blogging is not for you.
Before you get started with your blog, also consider things such as the restrictions in what you can say on your blog. Some companies are regulated and restricted on how they can advertise and promote themselves.
If you deal with military secrets or financial products, then blogging might not be for you.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a avid promoter of blog development and social media marketing but it isn’t the best answer for every business.
by Francois Muscat | Jan 30, 2010 | Articles
Hello Fellow WSI Internet Consultants. It’s all systems go for the my training session on the 9 & 10th February in San Antonio.
The venue has been confirmed and it is at the Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk.
Book now on our Intranet on GNS.
See you soon
by Francois Muscat | Jan 26, 2010 | Articles, Business Opportunity
I have been asked when the training in San Antonio will be held by a number of ICs.
Just to confirm, it will be on the 9 & 10 February. The venue will be confirmed in the next day or two.
Here is what attendees will receive when attending the training
- A step by step guide, template and real examples of my Competitor Analysis Report
- All the slides and narrative that I use in my Sales Folder
- Example monthly reports and templates that I use when visiting my clients
- A mind map of the ideal IC website
- A real example of a Digital Media Plan that I sell to my clients
- The spread sheet templates of the Online Marketing & Competitor Analysis budgets
- Numerous presentations that you can use for small seminars
Hope to see you soon
by Marelise da Silva | Nov 27, 2009 | Articles
If your Blog is getting hardly any traffic and you find yourself getting stuck for Internet Marketing Blog Post ideas, then it is a good idea to pay Google Analytics a visit to see what is driving traffic to your site.
Look at the organic keywords that have been harnessing traffic to your site and then search on that keyword and related keywords. If Google thinks your Blog Post is good enough to rank on a competitive keyword then you should carry on Blogging about that keyword and its related keywords.
3 Things to consider before you carry on Blogging
- How many hits are you getting? Don’t worry about the keywords that only give you a few hits in a month, rather focus on your top 20 terms
- The quality of the hits – A bounce rate greater than 70% is not a good thing. It means that people aren’t getting what they came looking for and Google will notice this too.
- The economic value of keywords – Investigate how much your organic keywords are worth in AdSense or other affiliate programs.
If you listen to Google, they will help you make more money.
