Socialmediamarketingreport k5z9beez17

Social Media Marketing Harness the power of social media for business

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The Ultimate Facebook Marketing Blueprint

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Chapter 1 - Social Media Marketing Introduction Social Media is a big buzzword these days, we hear it and see it everywhere. It's in the news, on the radio and even mixed in with our favorite television programs. The world is becoming more socially interactive every day. If you aren’t using social media marketing for your business it's time to start, because if you keep ignoring it your competitors are going to leave you in the dust.

Social media marketing is a phrase that’s used to describe marketing techniques used on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more recently Pinterest and Instagram.

This method of marketing online has become increasingly popular over the last few years and is fast becoming the go to method for any business that wants to quickly build their brand, attract a never-ending supply of new customers and increase their profits substantially.

What makes this type of marketing so powerful is that it allows businesses to interact with consumers on a personal level. This type of connection makes it possible for them to build a solid relationship based on the marketing principle of Know, Like & Trust (KLT), which translates into; if they Know you, Like you and Trust you they will buy from you.

It holds other benefits as well including giving business owners the ability to tap into the wants and needs of their consumers as well as gain valuable information about their marketplace.

From a consumer's point of view, it makes the business more real and approachable by allowing an open line of communication where they can ask questions and receive answers.

Many business owners ignore social media marketing because they don't realize how powerful it can be. Others don't fully understand how it works and some just think it's complicated, confusing and not worth their time.

If you fall into one of those categories it's time to change the way you feel about social media marketing.

Here are few startling social media statistics that might help change your mind:

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The average consumer spends a whopping 16 minutes out of each hour of their lives on some type of social network and they are much more likely to interact with you there rather than any other method, including the telephone.

Facebook over 1 million monthly users and is the number one network for sharing content. Of those users, about 75% of them access this social network from their phones. If you want people to spread the word about your business this is the place you should be.

Twitter has over 550 million users with the fastest growing demographic between the ages of 55 to 64. If you are customers fall into this category then this is where you'll find them.

YouTube reaches more US adults between the ages of 18 and 34 than any cable network. If this is your consumer demographic, you'll find them there and setting up a YouTube channel is free. Compare that to making a local commercial and you'll see the benefit.

The benefits social media marketing holds for your business are virtually endless and contrary to popular belief, it's not as difficult as you may think. You don't have to hire an expensive marketing firm or social marketing specialist to start using this powerful platform for your business.

All you have to do is start engaging with your consumers on the more popular social networks. It can be as simple as setting up a profile on Facebook and Twitter, then start posting.

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Chapter 2 - Social Media Marketing Myths And Misconceptions In the last chapter, we talked a little bit about the power of social media marketing. In this chapter we are going to go over some of the more common myths and misconceptions associated with social media.

One of the biggest reasons many business owners are reluctant to jump on the social media marketing bandwagon is because they have fallen victim to common misconceptions that lead them to believe that this type of marketing won’t work for them.

That’s why today we're going to go over a few of those common myths and misconceptions, so you can get those crazy ideas out of your head and finally take advantage of everything this powerful marketing method has to offer your business.

- Your customers don't use social media sites Wrong, people from all demographics use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter every day. Chances are your customers are too! Chances are even better that they use multiple social networks to connect with family friends and to network with coworkers.

- Social networks are only for young people Wrong, nothing could be further from the truth as I mentioned in your last issue a large portion of the people who use social networks are over the age of 35 with the majority of Facebook users being between the ages of 55 and 64 years old.

- The more social networks you join the better your chance of success will be Wrong, in fact it can actually hurt your marketing campaign. It's a good idea to explore a variety of different social networks and even set up a business profile on them. But, when it comes to concentrating your marketing efforts you don't want to spread yourself too thin and you'll see much better results by focusing your efforts on a few of the major networks instead.

- People over the age of 50 don't use social networks

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Wrong, if your average customer demographic falls into the a over 50 category you may be surprised to discover that over 56% of all Internet users over the age of 50 actively use Facebook, linked in and other social networks.

- Twitter is only good for celebrities and big brand names Wrong, Twitter is a fantastic tool for any type of business big, small, local or online. You just have to learn how to utilize it properly. Once you do, you'll be able to tap into its massive user base and build a list of avid followers more than happy to hang on and share your every tweet.

- The more often you post the better results your campaign will have Wrong, many business owners feel they have to constantly monitor and post on multiple social networks every day to achieve good results from their campaign. However, statistics show that posting too often can actually lower your overall results. A general rule of thumb is to post once a day to help maintain active engagement.

- Negative comments on social networks controlling your business Wrong again, while no one likes negative comments about their products or services the bottom line is if someone has something bad to say about your business they're going to post it online. When you have a solid social media presence, you can take control of the situation and get ahead of those negative comments. Show your consumers that you are willing to handle these things in a positive, timely manner and you will gain more loyal followers than you will lose.

When it comes to using social media marketing to raise brand awareness, increase consumer engagement and to promote products and services online there will always be a few pitfalls. Just like with any other type of marketing you have to take those negatives with a grain of salt and move forward. Because the rewards are too great to ignore.

I hope I've done a little bit to help alleviate some of the negative myths and misconceptions that may be preventing you from taking advantage of everything it has to offer.

Make sure you look for your next issue soon. We will be talking about a few different networks that are perfect for marketing your business.

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Chapter 3 – Social Media Marketing Networks In the last chapter we talked about some common myths and misconceptions associated with social media marketing. In this chapter, we are going to take some time and talk about a few different networks that are perfect for marketing your business.

When you hear the term social networking, a few sites immediately come to mind. Even though there are hundreds of social media, bookmarking and networking websites online. When it comes to marketing, your business your focus should be on the top social networking sites because dominate a much larger part of the market than all the others combined.

Let's take a quick look at some of the top social networking sites and what they have to offer their users.

- Facebook Billions of people use Facebook every day to keep up with friends, share photos, links, videos, and to learn more about the people they meet. It provides many different avenues of communication allowing members to connect in a way that is convenient and comfortable for them.

It provides users with a sense of community by offering groups, pages, applications and games that make networking with friends, family and colleagues easy and enjoyable, making it one of the top social networks online.

- Twitter Twitter is another popular social network that uses a micro-blogging platform, which allows users to follow and connect, by posting short messages of a 140-character's are left.

Savvy marketers amass a large list of followers and feed them short yet effective updates throughout the day. This micro format makes creating in a content much easier than other forms of blogging and social networking. You can quickly post your marketing message from anywhere using your computer, tablet, laptop or phone. Twitter can be a social marketer’s dream come. T - Pinterest Pinterest is still the new kid on the block, but is rapidly climbing the ranks to become one of the most popular social network online.

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What makes it so appealing is its visual nature. This virtual pinboard makes it easy for users to organize and share all the beautiful images they have on their computers are find on the web. Businesses can use pinboards to show-case products, share helpful infographics, plan events, and even organize an online catalog of sorts.

- Instagram This strictly mobile network is taking the world by storm. It is one of the fast growing social networking platforms to date. It boasts members in the millions with the users posting an average of 40 million photos every month. Business owners can harness the power of this network by posting timely photos of themselves, their business and happy customers using their products.

- LinkedIn This network was developed specifically for business networking and is a definite must in any social media marketing campaign. It is an excellent place to connect with other business owners in your industry. Business owners can create a profile, add their resume and build a list of followers. Another important aspect of this powerful network is that members can recommend and endorse each other, which helps build strategic alliances and you a solid online reputation.

- Google + As the name implies Google + is Google's very own social network and while it's not as popular as some of the other social networks we discussed it still holds a very important role in any social media marketing campaign.

- Flickr This social network also revolves around photo sharing. Users create accounts and fill them with their favorite photos, and other users can leave comments. Flickr photos can be commented on, tagged, edited and shared, facilitating communication and networking purely through photography.

- Digg This social network has been around for a few years and isn’t a household word like the other networks listed above, but don't count it out. What makes it unique is that it revolves around sharing media and news with other users in the community.

Businesses can harness the power of this social network by adding a “Digg It� button to their websites to help in encouraging social sharing of their content.

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As I mentioned above there are hundreds of social networks online and this list has just scratched the surface. You should definitely explore each of them individually. You should also look for other social networks that you can use to spread your marketing message to the masses, because you never know which one will work best for you until you try.

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Chapter 4 – Getting To Know The Social Networks In the last chapter, we talked about the some of the different networks good for marketing your business. In this chapter, we are going to discuss importance of getting to know the social networks you plan to market on.

Many business owners think that they know everything they need to know about social networking. When in reality they don't fully understand how these sites really function or how they can maximize the results from their social media campaigns.

The first step, in making the most out of your social media campaigns is to familiarize yourself with the online community that you plan to use in your campaign. This part is easy, simply take some time to examine the site, look through the terms of service, check out the features and definitely utilize any tutorials they have available. This is an important step, which most people ignore before they jump in and start socializing.

While it may not seem like a big deal, taking the time to explore what the site has to offer can help you make the most out of your social media campaigns as well as and help you avoid any mishaps or problems that come from being uninformed.

This is especially true when it comes to reading the terms of service. More often than not people quickly agree to these terms without actually reading them. The terms of service often outline what you can and cannot do within the social networking site itself, especially when it comes to advertising.

These rules and regulations may have an impact on the type of marketing materials and content you can post, including pictures, videos, and other media.

Many social networks will terminate your account if you are found violating these terms in any way. By reading all of the rules and regulations for the site, you will be able to avoid making any costly mistakes and ensure that you can use the site without fear of being removed.

Another benefit of taking the time to get to know the inner workings of the network before beginning your campaign is uncovering features and services that can help make navigating and managing your account easier and more effective.

There are so many applications, plugins and third part tools that can be used to help enhance user experience on most social network that are often hidden beneath the surface so you have to look for them. For instance, there are apps that allow you to run contests, quizzes and surveys.

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There is literally no end to all of the different tools and third party apps available that can be used to increase consumer engagement, monitor, manage and track the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Bottom line, by taking the time to explore and learn as much as you can bout the social network you are planning to market on will give you a definite advantage of your competitors.

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Chapter 5 - Social Media Marketing Rules For Proper Engagement.

In the last chapter, we talked about getting to know the social networks your marketing on. In this chapter, we are going to go over a few important social marketing rules, for proper engagement.

With the massive popularity of social networking it’s no big surprise that every marketer on the planet has flocked to them in hopes of increasing their profit margins. This is because they understand what a powerful tool they can be and that they offers a world of opportunities for smart business owners who take the time to learn how to utilize them effectively.

The majority of business owners follow the rules and utilize social media with only the best intentions however, you will still find some who behave unethically in hopes of exploiting consumers for their own personal gain.

While these unethical practices may bring in some nice profits quickly at first, they can go bad and end up hurting or even destroying a business just as fast. That’s why it’s important to follow the rules and play nice when promoting your business, products or services on social networks.

Let's go over a few basic practices you should follow: - Respect Privacy When using social media marketing as a tool to promote products and services it is important to participate in the community. This is not an open invitation for you to start contacting everyone within the community with your marketing message.

Randomly contacting them and sending them private message before taking the time to interact with them publicly is considered spam, they will take it as a personal invasion of their privacy, which will end any possibility of converting them into a paying customer. If they report you which many people are happy to do it may even end up getting you banned from the network forever.

- Be Professional To utilize social networking sites effectively as a marketing tool it is vital that you be professional and honestly when interacting with other members of the community. The key to success with social marketing is taking the time to get involved in the Page 12

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conversation, so you can position yourself as an expert in your marketplace. Never misrepresent yourself or your business and always treat people with respect.

- Contribute, contribute and contribute!

When it comes to achieving bankable results with social marketing campaigns, it is important that you take time to contribute to the community. Avoid the temptation of continuous marketing to fans, followers and group members on social networks, instead publish quality content, be helpful and encouraging engagement.

Trying to push your products and services in this type of social setting will ultimately backfire when not done correctly and more importantly, you should never deceive, mislead, exaggerate or provide less than accurate information about your business or the products and services you are promoting.

Now I'm going to share a few examples of unethical practices in social, so you can avoid making critical mistakes.

A prime example of a common unethical tactic is misleading the public by pretending to be just another customer leaving a comment in hopes of boosting the popularity and sales of a product. Unethical marketers will set up multiple social profiles on various networks and create fake conversations designed to dupe the public into believing their products are more effective and popular than they really are.

While this may be tempting, chances are you will be discovered and it will end up doing more harm than good in the long run. Besides, as we discussed before it's can ruin your reputation, damaged your credibility and literally destroy your business.

Another critical mistake is publicly criticizing your competitors in hopes of making your product look more desirable. Bashing other people’s products and services, trying to make them look bad in the eyes of consumers often backfires and can have adverse effects. You may have end up losing more customers than you gain. Instead, point out what makes your products and services different and potentially better than the competitions.

While there are no set guidelines on ethical practices when it comes to social media marketing, it is very important to educate yourself as much as possible in regards to the networks terms of service as well as their advertising guidelines.

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Chapter 6 - Other Forms Of Social Marketing In the last chapter, we talked about proper rules of engagement. In this chapter, we are going to go over a few other forms of social marketing you can explore.

Until now we've only talked about the using the social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect and communicate with your marketplace. We have also talked a lot about what a powerful tool they can be for your business.

What we haven’t discussed are other forms of social marketing and how they can be included in your campaigns to help to build brand recognition, promote products and drive free targeted traffic to your websites, blogs and other social profiles.

By using multiple social networks in conjunction, you can literally create a never-ending trail of breadcrumbs for your consumers to follow. The ultimate goal is to draw them in and then lead them down the garden path to your order form.

As we know, this type of marketing has grown rapidly over the last several years and has fast become one of the most cost effective and profitable types of advertising. You can’t fight the facts, it’s cheap, easy and most of all effective.

Savvy marketers are fast learning how to take full advantage of this powerful marketing method to grow their business and make valuable contacts for the future.

Of course this also means making more money if you do it right. Let's take a look at a few ways to use social media marketing to make money online.

Blogging is a very strong way to combine various forms of social media marketing all in one place. If you do not have a blog you are losing ground to your competitors who do.

Social bookmark your blog posts to create traffic from social directories and as search engine bait for search engine traffic.

Be sure and use a quality blogging platform such as WordPress. They offer terrific plugins that makes social bookmarking a blog post very simple.

Social bookmarking gives you a way to get backlinks to your blog very quickly. You should be bookmarking to social directories such as Technorati, Digg, Stumbleupon, and Propeller.

Also go get a Twitter account and learn how to make friends and use it to drive traffic to your blog. This is fast becoming one of the top social sites online.

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Video such as You Tube is becoming a favorite way for bloggers to add some excitement to their blogs, but it is also much more than that.

For example, many affiliate-marketing programs now offer videos embedded with your affiliate id. that you can use to pre-sell a visitor before sending them to your affiliate website.

Many bloggers are also easily creating videos and putting them online on their blog. This is a very powerful form of social media that is giving your visitor what they want. Many people are a product of the TV generation and like to learn by watching as opposed to reading.

Discussion forums are a great place to make friends and sell products if you do it right.

They can also be an excellent place to create joint ventures and millions of dollars are sold online now because of these.

There is much more we could say about social media including social networking in places such as FaceBook, My Space, and many others. The bottom line is making money online via social media all comes down to finding a way you enjoy and then mastering how to use it to your business and personal advantage.

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Chapter 7 – Speciality Social Network Sites In the last chapter we talked about what social network marketing can do for your business. In this chapter, we are going to talk about social networking sites with a particular focus.

A social networking website that focuses on one thing in particular is often referred to as a specialty or niche specific social network. You may recall we touched base on this in a previous issue. These topic specific site often have far fewer members than larger social networks.

Although they provide fewer community members to socialize with, you will find that more have the same interests as you do. In that, a small number of internet users, with the same interests as yourself, is better than millions of members that you don’t have anything in common with.

If you are interested in finding a topic specific social network all you have to do is search for it online using the term "social network" and include a keyword related to chosen topic. For instance; if you want to meet people who like dogs do a search for "dog social network" and you will be presented with a list of social networking sites where people talk about their favorite canine companions.

Whether you are searching for social networking websites that focus on a popular hobby, religion, or politics, you are sure to find that you are looking for by including the right keyword in your search term.

In your search for specialty social networking websites, it is likely that you will come across Facebook or Classmates. Facebook and Classmates are both considered specialty social networking sites because they tend to focus on high school and college students, including those that are attending and those that have already graduated.

Both of these websites work to connect you with individuals that you are currently going to school with or those that went to school with, in the past. If you have already graduated, Facebook and Classmates are great when looking to reconnect with old friends or even make new ones.

These topic specific websites not only allow you to meet other internet users, but they allow you to meet those who share the same beliefs and views as you do. Here is another example by using a religious social networking website, such as HolyPal and JesusCrowd, you will not have to spend time on larger social networks searching for people who are the same religion as you, you will automatically be entering a community where the members share the same beliefs.

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As I mentioned above, there are a fairly large number of specialty social networks that you can find online. These communities are not just limited to pet lovers, religious followers, or those looking to reconnect with old classmates, as mentioned above. With the way that social networking websites have increased in popularity, it is safe to say that you should be able to find an online networking community, no matter what your interests are.

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Chapter 8 - Linkedin In the last chapter we talked about social networking sites with a particular focus. In this chapter we are going to talk about what LinkedIn can do for you personally and professionally.

So far we have touched base on several different social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter. Today we are going to focus solely on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a massive social networking site more than 140 million members from all over the world. What makes LinkedIn different from other social networking sites is that it is focused solely on making business connections.

While joining a network like LinkedIn is fairly easy to do, it takes a little more time and effort to turn it into a powerful networking tool that you can use to your advantage.

Today we're going to go over a few quick ways that you can take advantage of linked in so that you can make more connections, get your profile noticed and increase your visibility within the network.

One of the most important factors you must consider after joining LinkedIn is creating a compelling profile. You'll want to do this before you begin to connect with others. Within your profile you can post your resume, include your work history and share your professional interests as well.

Here is a quick list of some of the things you will want to make sure that you include: - A strong headline with relevant key words that describe your industry.

- A picture, remember people do business with people.

- Your contact information and preferences.

Here are a few things you will want to make sure that you don't include: - Contact information that you aren't comfortable sharing with the world.

- Any misrepresentations have yourself or your business.

- Anything that you don't want your fellow colleagues to see.

Once you have completed the perfect profile it's time to begin building your network.

You can start making connections by using LinkedIn's search feature to find members that you may already know or would like to get to know.

LinkedIn suggests that you only invite those you know or trust. It is a good idea to browse through the help center (http://help.linkedin.com) so that you can get a good Page 18

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idea of how the site works before you start making connections. This will help ensure the quality of your network and the results that you receive.

LinkedIn has many powerful features that can help you establish your professional profile, including: - The ability to ask and answer questions.

This feature allows you to participate in the network by asking questions and by answering them. By taking the time to answer questions within your network you can show off your expertise and establish a solid reputation. By asking questions you can receive advice from other experts in your field and make more beneficial connections.

- Recommendations Recommendations are social proof. When you recommend a colleague, business partner, or professional or they recommend you it can be mutually beneficial.

Recommendations are a great way to boost your Reputation within the network.

- Applications LinkedIn applications are a great way to beef up your profile. They can help you easily share, collaborate, poll, link and manage events from inside your LinkedIn profile.

- Groups LinkedIn Groups a great way to connect with other members. They can help you discover the most popular discussions and find the most influential people in your industry so that you can make strong connections and become an active part in your community.

While these are only a few of the features that LinkedIn has to offer, it is easy to see why LinkedIn is a social networking site that shouldn't be ignored. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn was created to be a communication medium for professional people, so why not take advantage of it for your own career.

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Chapter 9 - Google+ In the last chapter we talked about what LinkedIn can do for you personally and professionally. In this issue we are going to talk about Google plus and how it works.

Google Plus is Google's social network and provides its users with some very interesting features to help build their own social networks including, Google Profiles, Circles, Hangouts and Sparks. While it's still considered a new kid on the block is said to have over 50 million members already.

But how can you take advantage of this new social media platform for yourself? Today we're going to talk about a few great ways that you can get started using Google plus to your advantage right away.

- Set up your profile.

Just like with any other social network is important to take time to create a solid profile, so that other members can find you. Within your profile you will also be able to set up your preferences and privacy settings.

- Understand how it works.

You will also want to take some time to get to know how Google Plus works. Just like we discussed with LinkedIn, it is a good idea to go through the help section so that you can get a good idea of how the site functions - Create circles.

Google plus allows you to create Circles (much like groups on other social networks) these allow you to categorize your connections and selectively share information with certain people.

- Decide what to share.

The basic rule of thumb on any social network is to always provide value, so before you begin posting, ask yourself if it is going to be beneficial, useful or of value to others.

Even though Google plus makes it easy to share selectively between friends, acquaintances, family members and people you are following it is always a good idea to think carefully before you post.

- Tagging.

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Tagging people is a great way to network or start up a conversation with another member. If you want to mention someone in a post, you can simple type the + sign followed by their name. The Google Plus smart search will populate their name as you type. The person you mentioned will then be notified with an e-mail that they've been mentioned in your G+ stream.

- Plus one button.

There's no doubt you've seen the Google +1 button on more than one website that you've visited recently. This button was actually introduced before Google Plus was launched. This button a voting system that lets other people know you like their content very much like Facebook's "Like" button.

Google plus allows you to share content, provide value and easily connect with other like-minded individuals. There are many reasons why you should consider using Google plus as a part of your social networking campaign. One being that it will allow you to take advantage of Google's authority for your own personal gain and that's something that should never be ignored.

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Chapter 10 – Social Bookmarking Sites In the last chapter we talked about Google plus and how it works. In this chapter we are going to talk about Social Bookmark sites and how they work.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, chances are you have noticed a very big trend online with social bookmark websites like Digg, Stumbleupon and Furl becoming extremely popular.

A social bookmark site is a website where people can save and store website bookmarks. In addition to storing bookmarks they can also be used to organize and manage their favorite places online into specialized sections like recipes, how-to lists, news reports and many more.

From a business point of view social bookmarking can be used to bring more traffic website, blog or even your social profiles. Another benefit of using social bookmarking is the fact that it can help you move up in the search engine rankings very quickly.

While each social bookmarking site is different the premise is the same. You submit a link to their network and it is shared throughout the member base and indexed in the search engines.

Let’s take a quick look at a few of the most popular social bookmarking sites on the Internet today: - Digg Digg helps you discover and share content that is the most relevant to you and those in your social network. One thing that makes Digg so popular is that anyone can submit a link (a Digg) then others can vote and comment on them. This rating system allows the users access to lists of popular stories that are being shared.

The number of diggs a story collects over time can affect how that story spreads and gains more popularity as it spreads more.

- StumbleUpon StumbleUpon is great for finding content that you may never have found on your own.

With their handy toolbar you can stumble through a variety of websites including your own with a click of a button. You will then have the ability to like or dislike the sites you have visited. Similar to Digg, this rating system allows members to find popular and relevant content quickly.

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- Furl Furl gives users the ability to save copies of any webpage, search within their personal archive and then share what they find with other members. Furl can be used to create personal shopping lists, real estate directories, job searches, student research papers, etc. This may just sound like a fancy way of saying bookmarks; but the thing about Furl is that you can access it from any computer, which means that your Favorites will go with you.

- Reddit Reddit is a social bookmarking Web site that works much like Furl and del.icio.us: you register a username and password, and then start submitting and sharing your bookmarks. Reddit is similar to del.icio.us in that users are encouraged to vote on the links and stories that they feel are deserving of being in the top spot, kind of like a popularity contest.

- Delicious Delicious helps you find cool and interesting content storage and then share it easily with other members of the community. Once you become a member of Delicious you can explore collections (stacks) created by other members of the community and share them as well.

Social bookmarking can be one of the easiest ways to promote your website or business online without spending a fortune on advertising. While it does take a little bit more time than other methods we have discussed it is one that is well worth exploring.

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Chapter 11 – Social Networking Sites In the last chapter we talked about Social Bookmark sites and how they work. Now, we are going to talk about using social networking sites to promote your blog.

Do you know what the main purpose of a social networking website is?

As we have discussed many times before social networking sites are online communities that make it easier for internet users to meet and communicate with each other.

Did you know that you can use social networks to promote your website or blog? Of course you did!

When it comes to promoting a website or blog, there are many who think that the search engines will do all the work for them. Search engines, like Google, Yahoo, and MSN use special algorithms that read the content on webpages and then use it to rank the website according to many different factors including; keywords, links in, links out, as well as many others including location and social status.

This means that you run a blog on graduating from high school in Pennsylvania, there is a good chance that your site will appear in searches done on Pennsylvania high schools. Although many blogs are successfully ranked in search engines, not everyone makes the grade.

Since most social networking websites work to connect internet users who have the same goals and common interests, there is a good chance that your online friends will enjoy reading your blog. But, before they can read your blog, you have to let them know that it exists.

With the cost of traditional advertising rising more and more people are flocking to social networks to promote their websites and blogs. Social networks are very powerful tool that when used correctly can achieve outstanding results and what makes them even more attractive as there is virtually little or no cost to get started. When it comes to promoting your site on a social network there are few things that work really well.

- Stay consistent.

When you are using social networks to establish a presence or your blog or website it's important that you stay consistent so that your audience will form a connection with you.

You can do this by regularly adding to and updating your status on the social networks you are a member of. this consistency will help ensure that your audience stays engaged and interested in what you have to say.

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The Ultimate Facebook Marketing Blueprint

- Always give back.

Providing value for your consumers is one of the most effective strategies that you can use especially on social networks. This will help you establish trust, gain credibility and build relationships that will lead to more traffic customers and sales for your site.

- Perform research.

Social networks make it easy for you to connect with your target audience, they also make it easy for you to keep an eye on your competition. By keeping a close watch on what your competition is to you will be able to improve your own social media results.

- Diversify.

Even though you may be tempted to focus all of your promotion on one social network like Facebook, for instance. It is important that you establish a presence social networks so that you can reach as many people in your target market as possible.

With the growing popularity of social networks more and more consumers are turning to them as a means to find information, products and services that they are interested in, so it only stands to reason that you should take full advantage of everything that they have to offer for your website or blog.

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The Ultimate Facebook Marketing Blueprint

Chapter 12 – Sharing Personal Information On Social Networks In the last issue we talked about using social networking websites to promote your blog.

In this issue we are going to talk about who is reading your personal information and why you need to know.

As we have discussed many times before, millions of people flocked to social networks everyday because they allow them to connect and share with other people across the globe.

While social networks are a great way to make online friends or start an online relationship, there is still a lot of misinformation when it comes to how they function.

That misinformation is largely centered on who can see their personal information.

Since a social networking website is often compared to a community, you would assume that only other community members would be able to read your personal information, right? In the real world, an unknown individual cannot just decide that they want to move into your neighborhood and live in your front yard, spying on your every move, so why should it happen online? If that is your way of thinking, you are wrong, in most cases. Unfortunately, many internet users are largely unaware of the fact that just about anyone can view their social networking profiles, including non-community members.

As previously mentioned, there are a large number of social networking websites that allow anyone one with internet access to view the profiles or profile pages of their members. In fact, the number is higher than you may have ever imagined. At the current time, just a few popular of the social networking websites that allow any internet user to view your profile include Yahoo! 360, FriendFinder, FriendWise, and MySpace.

With a simple click of the mouse, information that you thought was private is no longer.

That is why it is important that you examine what is actually posted in your profile or on your personal profile page before publishing it.

Although being cautious may take away from the fun of joining a social networking program, you are advised to be cautious. This cautiousness may help keep you safe.

When building your social networking profile or profile page, especially on a website that anyone can view, you are advised to carefully select the pictures that you post. If you post a personal picture of yourself, you are advised against posting your full name and, especially, your address. With a picture, your full name, and your address, an internet user with devious thoughts could spell trouble.

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The Ultimate Facebook Marketing Blueprint

If you are one of the many social network users who wants to display your information, you are encouraged to learn more about private profile settings. Private profile settings will limit the number of individuals who can view your website. Although your profile’s private setting may prevent other network members from seeing your profile, it will also prevent anyone else from seeing it. The only catch with doing this is that since other community members cannot see your profile, you will have to be the one to contact with any new friends that you would like to invite to your network.

In addition to joining a social networking website that allows you to set your profile as private, you can join a network that automatically has profiles set as private. These social networking websites include, but are not limited to, Orkut and Facebook. With Orkut and Facebook, your profile will only be seen by other members. In fact, Facebook also limits the members that can see your profile. This is done to help ensure your safety online. However, as with all other social networking websites, it is fairly easy for you to make online connections and friends, but, in a way, these private profile networking sites are a safer way to make those connections.

Now that you know exactly how social networking websites work and who can gain access to your personal information, you should know what you should and should not put in your profile or on your profile page. Although you are not required to change your information, you should at least think about it. As the old saying goes, you never know who is watching you.

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The Ultimate Facebook Marketing Blueprint

Conclusion I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to social media, and what it can do for your business. To take your social media marketing efforts to the next level, I strongly recommend you click the 'Next Step...' link below and check out Social Business Accelerator

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The Ultimate Facebook Marketing Blueprint