Social media is a great way to blog marketing

This is a Guest post written by Amanda Thomas. If you would like to write for TechieMania, check our guest posting guidelines.

The internet has shaped our world in so many vast ways. In advertising alone, the web has allowed businesses to reach target audiences with only a click of the mouse.  Now interactive exchanges create ongoing productive dialogues with social groups that can serve to promote, shape and change today’s digital marketplace.  Social media marketing opens many doors when looking for a new avenue to reach consumers. In this type of marketing, bloggers strive to create the most engaging content to develop online conversations which can provide websites with additional exposure.  Here’s a look at some general  ideas for leveraging social media to help market your blog.

New Visitors : 
Getting more interest for your blog isn’t as simple as just creating various social media profiles, however. Social media marketing often requires a more active approach than just passively creating an account with a profile page and hoping that your audience will find you. Leveraging the various social media sites to find new visitors or to find yourself a few fellow bloggers that share the same topic are a good way to bring in more visitors to your blog. When it comes to social media site, using Twitter to gain “followers” is one strategy, though you can also use Facebook as another common medium, both of which are used throughout several different demographic lines. Depending on the type of blog you have, you may want to offer instructional media, which would either require photos or videos. Keep this in mind if you end up branching out with YouTube, Flickr or Picasa as you can use these sites to provide images of products and testimonials.

Repeat Customers: 
While you can reach out to new visitors with social media, you can also utilize these sites to help establish a rapport with your existing loyal visitors. Even if you have a very basic blog, allowing user generated content can help reward your visitors by allowing them to feel that their voices are being heard too. Social media sites can offer an even greater potential for user generated content as they often allow other users to provide feedback and even referrals that would have otherwise been overlooked. Having a lot of user generated content about your blog signals to Google that a lot of people are linking to your blog because of a buzz-worthy post, and therefore helps with search engine optimization. At the very least, user generated content will allow you access to feedback from your visitors who can provide a unique and personalized persepective about your blog.
 

Design: 
Your blog’s design is very important because not only can it make the difference of first impressions with your new visitors, it also serves to help make the navigation process easier as well. Make sure that your blog is easy to navigate and that any of the social media icons you may want to present are noticeable but not obnoxious. Though it is certainly commendable to find creative ways of incorporating an RSS feed icon or social media button like a Twitter bird into your site’s design, you want to make sure that it doesn’t go completely unnoticed.

Convenience: 
Another thing to keep in mind is that most of your site’s visitors will want to have some convenience when it comes to bookmarking your site so adding widgets to your blog such as Facebook “Like” buttons or Digg buttons will help make the bookmarking process easier and quicker. You don’t have to bombard your visitors with social bookmarking buttons, but having a few to the sites you use the most for marketing should be sufficient. Also, removing the hassle of extra steps can improve your blog’s usability. For instance, having YouTube videos on your blog posts for your visitors eliminates the extra step of going to another website, so it might be a good idea to imbed the video on your post as well as providing a link to it.
 

When to Ask for Help:
 If you are running a blog that has a considerable following, or maybe just has great potential but cannot seem to get the attention it needs, you may want to consider consulting an internet marketing company to help provide the extra social boost that you need. Although it may not show, many non-profit organizations and personal blogs take this approach, much the same as businesses do, because the increased traffic often results in greater revenue. Whether you’re trying to make money online through personal blogging or e-commerce, sometimes a little professional help is necessary to get the ball rolling.
Are you using Social Media Marketing for your blog? Do share your experience with us, here in the comments section.

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do you know. what is online business?

In this story a business founder discuss the business issues they faced and how they realized that to solve these they really needed to establish a true Online Business...

"Having started our business we looked at the market place and discovered that for our business we would need to invest in a number of software packages to support our bookkeeping and accounting, our customer relationship management (crm) and our employees in sharing calendars, projects etc. 

Most of the business software available was designed to run on a PC or Server within our private network with access limited to when we were in the office. We discovered to allow access to our mobile employees or home workers we needed a Virtual Private Network or "VPN". Although we had some IT expertise we really didn't want to have to set up a VPN as it seemed complicated and had the reputation of being unreliable and too slow."

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
"We had plans to allow our customers to access certain information on our network. We wanted to allow a few selected customers collaborate on the design stage for our next product releases. We also wanted to allow our customers to be able to log any issues on a Help Desk system. When we looked at the market for software we found that web based CRM systems mostly offered only internal features like contact management, lead tracking. We needed the ability for our web based CRM to give customers different privileges or access rights."

Accounting & Bookkeeping  
"Our Accountant used a software package that although was efficient for them was not at all user friendly for the average business person. We were given 2 options, either send all receipts and invoices directly to them or install and learn how to use this accounting software. In addition, the accountant was located some way from our office and this meant we could not easily discuss our finances without meeting our accountant. We wanted to be able to have private and secure online accounting where we could collaborate with our accountant on a conference call looking at the same numbers. We also employed a lady part-time to manage the bookkeeping, the lady had just had a baby and wanted to work from home, so again we needed a private and secure online accounting system. We also had established a small branch in another country and wanted to establish a multi-national company Cash Flow forecast, Profit&Loss and Balance Sheet. This global view would give the management team a view on the company's true financial position while still delivering to the needs of individual country accounting and tax regulations."

Remote Working for Employees 
"Over 50% of our employees needed to either work from home or are out of the office meeting with customers. We looked at using MS Outlook and MS Exchange as the way to share calendars, tasks and information between employees. Although this was effective, we wanted to manage our calendars so that we could record and bill time spent working on billable customer projects. This really highlighted the fact that we needed our business to be an online business."

A Real Online Business Solution!  
"When Microsoft released Sharepoint 2007 a web based collaborative technology, we realized we could really build a secure & private online business which would allow us to easily expand nationally or internationally. Our challenge was to ensure we built something end user friendly for our customers, suppliers and employees. We identified that to be end user friendly we would need to avoid the mistakes that many accounting software companies had made in trying to build a web based CRM from their accounting software. We also identified that if our employees would not use it the whole exercise would be a waste of time. So we designed this online business software firstly supporting our employees and customers and then our accountant! Today we have an online business which is able to grow as we grow, is flexible and utilises the popular MS Sharepoint technology platform. Between 2007-2009 we have refined this Sharepoint online business software platform and now released this, it's called FOX-SBA and it's now available for the benefit of businesses worldwide."
- Stephen Pye, Founder, On Quota International

The online business solutions below offer a variety of choice and will support delivering on your business needs. Typical examples include small businesses needing to offer employees remote working or an international business wanting to quickly establish a connected international remote office.

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notable differences business mindset

As I’ve been able to travel and meet marketers all over the U.S. and in other countries, I am always interested in learning how companies are viewing the value of their social media efforts.
 
Marketing investments should be predicated by more than chasing the competition, satisfying someone’s ego or acting solely on a gut feeling. A good handle on goals, resources and target audience help determine strategy and tactics as well as how outcomes are measured. This is the case with even the most fundamental of marketing programs. With that kind of basic framework, implementing and measuring value from social media shouldn’t be that different.
 
Because so much actual marketing is tactical, many companies see social media simply as another of those tactics and evaluate one-off promotional efforts for ROI without considering the bigger picture. It’s very much a situation of not seeing the forest for the trees.
Imagine this scenario:
 
A competitor’s YouTube video is getting significant play amongst the Twitterati, on industry blogs and even a few mentions by traditional media. The CEO sees this, asks the VP of Marketing where things are at with social media and the VP tasks the Marketing Director with creating a “viral” video.  The Marketing Manager engages an outside “social media expert” at an advertising agency to create a video that will show how edgy, clever and innovative the company is.
 
A YouTube channel is created, the video is uploaded and ads are purchased to drive traffic.  A SEO consultant is hired to help the video “go hot” and submits, votes, rates, reviews etc with their network to boost social sharing of the video with the hopes that there are enough social signals for the video to hit the home page of Digg, Delicious along with getting ample play on StumbleUpon, Reddit and maybe even a few prominent blogs.
 
The video gets shared, Tweeted, voted on and submitted, much to the satisfaction of the Marketing chain of command. The stats are reported to the CEO:  Video creation cost: $15k. Video advertising cost: $5k. SEO promotion: $5k. A total of $25k is spent on creation and promotion of the video.
 
The return?  12,000 views on YouTube, 100 comments (mostly positive), 320 Tweets/ReTweets, 40 Likes on Facebook, 115 saves on Delicious, 35 comments on the blog post that embedded the video plus 6,750 unique visitors. Also, mentions on 4 industry blogs, 105 inbound links to the blog post from other websites/blogs and mentions by 3 industry publications.
 
Was it a success?
Many large companies wouldn’t blink at a 25k investment for an online video that returned the stats above. Plus the video will continue to see visibility since it can be discovered by search indefinitely (as long as its online).
 
Instead of the simple math of calculating cost per views, comments, Tweets, Likes, links, visits, mentions etc, I think there are some important questions to consider:
•    What was the business goal for the video?
•    Did the video reach influencers of customers?
•    Did the video reach customers?
•    Did the video influence behaviors that could result in business outcomes?
•    How does the video fit within other social media communications?
•    Will there be more than just one video?
 
On one level, the video will be reported and accepted as a success because of gross reach. In fact, it is definitely a success in that way. On another level, it’s debatable whether the video connected the brand with customers – either directly or indirectly. How much impact can one business video have?
 
Rather than thinking whether the video promotion was a success or not, one might first consider what goal the company is trying to achieve (besides having a video more popular than the competition).
 
This is the type of scenario that often typifies companies evaluating the value of their social media efforts.  Some go so far as trying to measure direct lead generation as a result of a video promotion like the one above. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it seems that social media marketing efforts would be far more effective when goals, customer needs and a plan for making a meaningful connection are intentional vs. leaving it to chance.  There seems to be a lot of causation statements being made by social media marketing folks when at best, they’re talking about correlation.
 
Social media marketing has a lot of measurement issues to solve and at the same time, there’s an opportunity for marketers to take a step back and put their social media tactics in perspective and try to see where they fit in the whole.
 
Sometimes it seems a little too inconvenient for marketers (and their agencies or consultants) to do more than spike social proof numbers to create warm fuzzies in the C-Suite vs. actually influencing measurable business goals.   Maybe its the real-time nature of the social web and the expectation of quick results that creates the rush.
 
There’s always a place for testing, but I’d be curious to know how often companies and consultants are executing social media tactics as pure tests without audience insight or specific goals. Some companies can probably make due with a “make it up as you go” perspective, but who has the time to see if that works vs following a methodology?

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women beginning of success

There is a step-change in the way businesses are promoting themselves. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin are seeing huge surges in registration, as businesses realise this is where they need to be to compete in today’s market.
 

So what are the main differences between standard marketing / advertising, and online Social Media?
 

Our old ways of advertising were all very one way. A website that people can view, adverts on the TV or radio that people can see and hear, leaflets pushed through doors that people will read. All very much saying here I am, and letting people absorb that message at face value.
 

Where Social Media differs is that it is all about relationships. It is about engaging with exisiting and potential clients and making them feel that they matter. Answering questions, sharing experiences, asking for advice, helping and listening are all roles that good businesses are taking on in order to build stronger relationships with their clients.
 

So where do we come in as women? This new business arena is very suited to women’s strengths. We tend to have a more natural affinity in wanting to talk, share and support and this is going to be vital to businesses as Social Media grows. It is often the case in the office that these softer skills can be dismissed as being weak and yet now more than ever, businesses will recognise and require support from women in order to build and nurture these vital relationships.
 

A real way to make a difference in the world of business and really start to shine for those abilities and skills that are naturally in our make up.

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attitude that should be applied to customer

We’ve established the value of content marketing here through many different posts. Most of the focus has been on creating value from content at the top of the funnel in a buying cycle. That’s where a lot of marketing dollars are focused and it’s an area of focus for the consulting offered by many online marketing agencies.
 

Content is the source of why search engines exist and therefore, essential for any discussion of SEO. Content is also the means through which brands engage customers on the social web through helpful information, resources, advertorial and even entertainment.
 

Another perspective to consider is that when brands and individuals share information on social networks and media sharing sites the outcome is content. There are many ways to be more effective with social content creation, sharing and engagement that marketers are not taking advantage of.
 

From an overall marketing and customer engagement perspective, all content is not created equal. Any kind of content isn’t appropriate in any kind of situation despite what recent content advocates would have you believe.  Since much of the focus of online marketing is on customer acquisition, many SEO efforts emphasize transaction or lead generation outcomes. That’s what they’re held accountable for. Unfortunately, search to purchase or social to purchase are not the only ways people interact with information online. Research before purchase as well as education and support afterwards are also important.
 

Being in the “brand as publisher” business is better than not creating any content at all, but it’s a much more effective thing to be purposeful in content creation & marketing according to the full customer experience. Seeing content engagement opportunities holistically can provide a company more ways to initiate, maintain and enhance customer relationships.
 

For example, in the context of online marketing, there are many different touch points during the customer relationship. Using the Buying Cycle model of: Awareness, Consideration, Purchase, Service and Loyalty, marketers can best plan what kind of content may be most appropriate to engage customers according to their needs.
 

For a holistic editorial plan, here are a few types of content and methods of communication to consider:
Awareness:
•    Public Relations
•    Advertising
•    Word of Mouth
•    Social Media
 

Consideration:
•    Search Marketing
•    Advertising
•    Social Media
•    Webinars
•    Product/Service Reviews
•    Blogs
•    Direct Response
 

Purchase:
•    Website
•    Social Commerce
 

Service:
•    Social Media (ASB Virtual Branch is a great example)
•    Social CRM
•    Online Messaging (LivePerson)
•    Email
•    Search – After the sale queries on FAQ, Knowledge-base content
 

Loyalty:
•    Email Newsletter
•    Webinars
•    Blog
•    Social Network, Forum – community
 

In the development of a content marketing strategy, there are numerous opportunities to be more relevant and effective. Planning content that’s meaningful to the customers you’re trying to engage according to where they are in the buying cycle and overall customer relationship provides for more efficiency in content creation as well as the repurposing of content.
 

Holistic content marketing and editorial planning also helps make better use of tactics that transcend the relationship timeline like SEO and Social Media.  It’s especially the case with holistic SEO that content producers can extend their reach and visibility to customers that are looking – not just to buy, but to engage with brands in other ways.
 

By considering the content needs across the customer lifecycle, not just acquisition or conversion, companies can become significantly more effective and efficient in their ability to connect relevant messages and stories with customers that are interested. The result: shorter sales cycles, better customer relationships and more word of mouth.
 

How is your company leveraging content throughout the customer relationship? Are you coordinating a content marketing strategy that integrates SEO and social media? Does it make sense that the business of content strategy and promotion of content extends beyond marketing?

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The Top 10 Ways to Earn Money at Home

The million-dollar question that confronts every would-be entrepreneur is: What kind of business can I start? Here are the top ten ways to earn huge income while working at home.

You do not have to read many success stories before you start wishing you could work for yourself. The opportunity to be your own boss and the potential for high income are enough to entice us to venture on our own.  But what can you do? What kind of business would you be suitable to start? We have compiled the top 10 ways to earn money at home, enough to be a full-time self-employed businessperson!
 

You do not have to read many success stories before you start wishing you could work for yourself. The opportunity to be your own boss and the potential for high income are enough to entice us to venture on our own.  But what can you do? What kind of business would you be suitable to start? We have compiled the top 10 ways to earn money at home, enough to be a full-time self-employed businessperson!
 

1. Antiques   
The buying and selling of antiques has been and should continue to be a very productive business, financially, for those that do it.  Here, you only need an extra room in the house, or the use of your garage -- and you have an office! 
 

If you have a large home that has some antique furnishings, you might consider turning it into a showroom for your antique acquisitions and sales, providing you satisfy  any local zoning regulations. The interest in antiques will survive into the foreseeable future.  Many people choose to spend their free time on the weekends "antiquating" from place to place to try and pick up a few odds or ends and maybe a jewel or two.  If you know anything about antiques, this may be a great opportunity for you.
 

2. Baking  
Have you ever been told that you have a recipe that people would line up to get if they could?  Ever had anyone tell you that you should be selling those cupcakes you make? 
 

There are a number of success stories about people who have launched successful businesses by cooking at home and then marketing to local people first. You may specialize in on just one well-tried and tested food product; or you may innovate on a product that you created yourself and which has never been marketed before. Having perfected the recipe you then turn to packaging and marketing. Word of mouth on a good product may start to get restaurants or bakeries interested in acquiring your culinary masterpieces.  Then you progress to selling them statewide and you're on your way to a profitable home-based business. 
 

3. Bed-and-Breakfast Proprietors  
Have you ever stayed in a bed and breakfast and thought, "Hey, I can do this!" You probably went on vacation and simply chalked your thought up as one of those pipedreams one gets when they stay in a beautiful spot.  
 

Don't toss that thought away!  While it's not easy work as the hours can be long and it's usually a seven days per week business, it's often something that you can work into a daily schedule.  After all, it's merely an extension of doing the housework for family, right? More and more Americans are taking after Europeans and opening their homes to travelers.  
 

If you have an extra room or two since the kids moved out, you can start a bed and breakfast in your own place! Bed and breakfast popularity will continue as more and more vacationers and business travelers seek a different accommodation away from the predictability of the average hotel room.  If they enjoy their stay, many become "repeat" customers, coming back to the same familiar surroundings time and again.  
 

If you don't need to do any major renovations in the house to accommodate this type of establishment, you can be off and running with very little money invested, other than advertising and some new "guest room supplies".  If your dream is to buy a bed and breakfast somewhere in a vacation paradise, there are probably houses for sale that will work for this purpose

4. Childcare  
Due to the financial pressures faced by many families today, parents work outside of the home to bring in enough income to pay daily living expenses.  A single parent is obviously working but all too often, both members of a two-parent family are in the workforce. This creates a home-based opportunity.  Children must be watched, all day if they're not in school, or, otherwise, for a brief time after school before the parents finish work for the day.  Most parents want their children immersed in a more stimulating environment than is usual with the average babysitter. You can begin small at home, offering a more stimulating and educational environment setting for client children.
 

Caring for one additional child may not be that lucrative, but taking care of several children can certainly be a full-time, financially successful business.  Often, taking care of several children is made somewhat easier as the youngsters often will play together. You can do this at home for only a small investment in basic equipment and toys for the kids in addition to the advertising of your business
 

5. Computer Specialist   
The advent of the computer age has changed the concept of self-employment.  Having a computer at home has opened a number of opportunities for running your own business utilizing this equipment.  Companies everywhere are "outsourcing" work that can be done by someone else on their computer, out of their own home.
 

If you are a whiz in computers, you may end up working as a consultant, writing programs for companies.  If you are a beginner, you may find yourself able to obtain work as a writer, using your computer to produce copy that is easy to edit.  You can also keep accounting and payroll records for companies on your computer's database.
 

Word processing software can be used not only for writers but for those that can offer secretarial services out of their house.  Desktop publishing software can allow you to do newsletters for businesses and other organizations. If you can operate a computer, you can find work in the information age today.
 

Of course, the advent of the Web has opened a lot of business opportunities for the enterprising individuals. If you have skills in lay-outing and graphic design, you can be a website designer. Website designers earn significant amounts of money nowadays

6. Gardening
If you like working in your garden each year , it's a definite possibility for home-based employment.  Imagine clearing a little more space and growing more items that you can sell directly to the consumer. You can produce vegetables, bedding plants, bonzai tree, exotic plants, flower trees, herb, house plants, landscaping plants, orchids and many more.
 

Most produce stands will buy from you if your product is one of high quality.  If you enjoy gardening, this could be your ticket!  If you have some more land to use, do it! Plant what you can, when you can!  Contact your local produce stands to ascertain their buying habits.
 

You can even inquire about your own produce stand if you have enough product.  The more space you have on your land, the more likely you will be able to generate enough crops to run the business. People love homegrown vegetables.  They just do not have the time or want to be bothered doing it themselves.  That is your open door!  
 

You can also engage in selling other gardening products and supplies such as compost, earthworms, herb boxes, beneficial bugs, or drip irrigation systems.

7. Importer and Distributor  
There are a substantial number of products manufactured in other countries that can be bought inexpensively and sold in your country at a profitable level.  The Government and the formation of international trade organizations have made it easier to bring in other products from other countries. 
 

This is a business easily operated out of the home, depending on the types of stock you're carrying.  You may have to rent some storage space, but the capital required to start should essentially be limited to the products you're buying to sell here.
If you know the type of product you want to import and the market most likely to purchase your goods, you have great potential for a successful home-based business

8. Interior Decorator  
Interior decorating is a business that will require you to be mobile, constantly meeting with customers.  It offers flexible hours, a good variety of activities, and a very lucrative return. If you have a fascination for decorating a home, this could be your line of work. Many people do not know where to start when they are remodeling or buying a house for the first time.  
If you have the knowledge of colors and patterns and what looks good together, plus the expertise of knowing where to get materials and furnishings, this can be a winning home-based business for you. To be able to decorate a room so that it conveys the mood that  the homeowner wishes will be your goal. Strive for the skillful, personal touch in all you design
 

9. Photographer  
The sky is the limit here!  Armed with your trusty camera and some good advertising, you can do weddings, models, family portraits, passports, student photos, local newspaper coverage; almost anything that requires a picture! 
 

You can easily start this work, part-time, and work into full-time work based on your success and inclination.  Not much equipment is necessary to get going as a camera off the store shelf can often do the trick today.  Picking up a tripod and having a room sufficient for developing your pictures, and you're in business -- at home!

10. Sewing and Alterations  
Many people love to sew.  If you are one of them, consider offering this service out of your home.  When someone buys a new outfit, it rarely fits perfectly, meaning some kind of alteration must be done.
 

People look long and hard to find reliable individuals to do their alterations.  If you can sew, you are well on your way to opening the doors of this type of business.

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