When used right Social Media is a key financial marketing tool that is cheap and has recurring effect since all the comments in the blogs and pages like Facebook pages are always there as evidence of success for new fans, clients and members to see.

Below is a quick list with a bit of descriptions to help us understand how these social media and networking sites can befit you and your firm or organization. These are also some of the new or popular social sites that you can use to make more audience for your business or personal blog faster. Here we go.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Stumble Upon
• Flicker
• Mezee

If you look at these prospective social media marketing sites, you will realize that I have listed them according to how popular, effective, user friendly they are in descending order. And so to group them together we quickly need to understand what you can achieve using these networking sites. Press releases- Like promotions and prices changes. These is possible with LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter as long as you provide free quality content and the audience does not perceive that they have been oversold to. Brand reach-How people respond to certain new released service, products or info, in the market. You can use Twitter and Facebook for these with the help of Tweetdeck. Advertisements- since the latest social media roomers are that when traffic from the above listed sites is put together is bigger than China’s population.

This way you will get great audience you can’t get advertising in Google in weeks. Brand social justice-Redirecting misinformation that is normally done by malicious fans or agents hired by competitors. Recruiting-You can initiate a viral word of mouth that can give you a thousand qualified candidates in a day. Good examples are like LinkedIn and Facebook. Source of reliable intelligence-You subscribe to a competitor’s page to always be the first to know what they are releasing or planning. I believe that everybody knows how these can be useful when in a competitive market. Social Networking: This should have been number one to me since public leaders, celebs and representative want to use social interactions and social connections to let their fans and prospects know a little about themselves.

As Facebook and twitter can be very popular, videos and pictures are not part of the center of attraction. That is where Flicker, Picasa and Mezee.me come in. You can share, learn and archive a lot. Catch the early birds in small and new chat sites like Mezee since you will be found easily and as a matter of time, be popular and you can remain popular as opposed to starting afresh in near old major sites like Facebook. You will need to be like Nike or Coca-Cola to be popular outside these networks and also use lots of efforts. But this is not to say that Facebook and other major sites should be avoided.

Written by Ludwing, full-time web entrepreneur.

Here are some tips

Publicize Your Account and Follow Others

The first step in effectively tweeting your brand is getting people to read your tweets, and to get people to read your tweets you need followers. So how do you achieve this? First off, make sure you publicize the fact that your company has a Twitter account, and give your customers an incentive to follow you; for example, you could tout specials or discounts that are only available to Twitter followers.

Another way to gain followers is simply by following other Twitter members. Any friends, acquaintances, businesses etc. that you follow open you up to more people seeing your account and following you in return.

Respond to Your Followers

The whole idea of social media is that it’s based on interaction, and when people participate in it they generally expect some sort of back-and-forth. If people ask you questions or make comments concerning your brand, respond to them! It lets followers know you care, and allows you to start a dialogue that could help you figure out what you can do to provide a better experience for your customers. It also gives people an incentive to follow you; if they see you’re responsive to their questions/concerns via Twitter, they’ll use it as an avenue of correspondence

Interesting Profile/Background Image

Your profile and background images are the face of your account; people will glance at these and make a split-second decision about your brand. You want a profile picture that represents how you want to be perceived, whether it’s fun and zany, hip and youthful, or professional and respected. You can also customize your background, which is a good opportunity to insert imagery related to your brand and get your name/logo into people’s brains even further.

Share Content Relevant to Your Brand

You have to give your followers a reason to be interested in what you have to say; otherwise, they will not have an incentive to follow you anymore. Keep it interesting by posting links and content related to your brand, and make sure that it’s actually fun and engaging stuff. Posting special deals and discounts for your followers is another good way to keep them coming back for more. You can post updates about your business, but just be sure you are not spamming your followers.

Have a Nice Website to Direct Your Followers To

Having a following on Twitter does not mean much if you don’t have a good-looking website to send them to. You need a website that looks nice, functions well, and makes it easy to buy whatever you are selling. If you need help setting one up, there are companies out there that specialize in small business shopping cart software and all the other various ins and outs of getting your site up and running. Madeline Marshall is a writer living in Northern California.

This has not necessarily lead to good social media practices however. There are still companies that engage in poor social media management and poor social media strategies. This article will outline three of the biggest social media strategies that you need to avoid if you plan on entering the social media world.

After reading this article you should be able to understand what turns consumers off and how you can avoid doing that with your own social media strategy.

• – Spamming

This is the worst of the worst. If you want to turn your potential customer off, this is exactly how you do it. What exactly constitutes spamming? It is simple really. If you are interacting with the user in a way that they do not want to be interacted with, that is spamming.

We often think of spamming as sending unsolicited sales emails, but it can extend beyond that. For example, sometimes businesses will send tweets or Facebook messages to individuals that are completely unsolicited. It is OK to do this if you are honestly reaching out, but if the message is entirely sales based in nature, this is spamming.

Not only is spamming annoying, but it is also illegal. In the United States, Congress passed a law that regulates spammers. If you engage in spamming you could end up facing a very heavy fine.

• – Copying Content

Being original is hard. On the Internet, being original is absolutely necessary for success. So how do some people get around this’? They simply copy others content. Not only is this low down and dirty, but also paints a very poor picture of your company’s brand.

It seems that there is story after story in the online news blogs of companies getting caught either copying content, or not giving the appropriate credit where credit is due. Users online are very loyal and respect fair and equal business practice.

Avoid copying content at all costs. It may be difficult, and it may take more time than is convenient, but creating original content to be shared the via your social media channels is the quickest way to success.

• – Selling

Consider the following: why do people love YouTube? Is it because they can watch funny videos? No, they can watch funny videos on TV. Is it because they can watch more variety of programming’? No, satellite TV has hundreds of channels. People love YouTube, like they love the Internet in general, because advertising online is not so “in your face”.

Seth Godin, a popular marketing author, called it “permission based marketing”. Essentially, the Internet has managed to maintain a softer approach to marketing. If you are a business that uses social media while still using the old tactics of “in your face” marketing, you will stick out like a sore thumb, and not in a good way.

Users will run away from you faster than you can upload a YouTube video. Internet users do not like being sold to. One of the worst things you can do for you social media strategy is to focus on selling when you should be focusing on connecting.

By avoiding these three social media strategies, you can also avoid some of the conundrums that have befallen other businesses. Stay true, stay relevant, and your customers will love you for it.

Ludwing Hernandez is an experienced blogger, Community Manager at Mezee online chat. Follow Ludwing on Twitter @Mezeeme

1. Your Blog Can’t Have a Personal Profile

It’s surprising how many businesses who join Facebook fail to realize this first point. It goes against the terms of service to create a normal Facebook page that promotes a blog, or any other type of business or organization.

Instead, Facebook allows you to create a Facebook page, which is actually better suited for business in the first place. It gives you the ability to make a customized welcome page, obtain as many fans as you can, and customize it with various apps. You can add a store, a contact form, and videos. Once you have over 30 likes, you have access to Pages Insights, which offers data about how well your content and page are performing. None of this is available if you just set up a normal profile and name it after your blog.

2. Your Blog Needs a Loyal Following

Is Facebook the only place to get a following for your blog? Of course not. That said, Facebook is one of the best places to obtain a following, especially if you’re on a shoestring budget. Advertising is typically out of the question, and traffic typically only comes from the search engine if you have already developed a decent following to begin with.

The advantages of Facebook are twofold. First and foremost, there is a conversation taking place about the same subjects that you discuss on your blog somewhere on Facebook. You can use Facebook’s search feature to find pages on these subjects, and join these conversations.

If your contribution is particularly insightful, interesting, or entertaining, people will start to remember who you are. They will eventually start to pay attention to you and “like” your page. If your page regularly hosts interesting discussions and shares provocative content, your subscribers will continue to pay attention to what you have to say. They will visit your blog when you post new content, leave comments, and spread the word by liking or sharing your content on their own walls.

3. Your Blog Needs Authority

For various reasons, you want your blog to be seen as an authority in its topic. The obvious benefits are that other sources will be more likely to mention you, and that people will be more likely to share your content and keep coming back because they trust you. A less obvious reason is that if your site is seen as an authority, it is more likely to be found in the search engines.

Facebook is a great place to build authority, because it is an excellent place to network. The old saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” is in many ways truer today than ever before. It’s still important to offer trustworthy information, of course, but in many ways this is just a stepping stone to gaining the recognition of the top bloggers in your field.

Use Facebook as a way of finding the most influential people in your niche and building relationships with them. This helps you build trust and authority in a way that isn’t otherwise possible.

You can also improve your blog’s authority by using Facebook to answer questions about your subject matter. The more helpful you become, the better your reputation will be. This reinforces the idea that you really do know what you are talking about, and that your opinion matters. Always remember that Facebook is as much a customer service tool as a marketing one.

Jeff is an Internet marketing consultant and content distributor for New York divorce lawyers, and He is also a passionate blogger who often writes about SEO, sharing his knowledge and experience in that field.

Many small merchants find conventional promotional mechanisms to be forbidding, mainly due to their high cost of use. Besides, they are also getting crowded as more and more enterprises continue using them. Image optimization is one way in which a small firm can optimize their online visibility without having to use more tedious and conventional efforts.

Images Related To Your Niche

This technique works by the use of images which are related to a particular niche/sector. You have to be diligent about optimizing associated descriptions, titles, photo tags and sets. This helps the images you use to appear in search engine results for the relevant terms. Doing this will help you rank above conventional brands and increase the exposure of your enterprise.

How to Optimize Your Images on Flickr

Do not forget to add links to the description of each photo you use. Despite the fact that Flickr enforces a no-follow policy to such links, they still remain visible to users. This means that such people can click them and get directed to the site. While search engines may not be interested, Flickr users will be curious to know what lies there. It therefore becomes important to have such a path to direct them there.
One can also use this platform to enhance the reputation of a brand by building photo testimonials. There is certainly no better way to build reputation than smiling clients using products or fans donning t-shirts bearing the name of a brand. You should encourage clients to upload photos showing them using your product. You should then tag your brand so that others can find them. This helps increase the goodwill of an enterprise and give it a good external perception as well.

Also, don’t forget that Flickr also accepts video uploads! The only requirements are that the videos must be maximum 90 seconds in length and 150MB in file size. Uploading your short promotional videos to Flickr is another great way to market your website.

Use Flickr to Find Content

You can also use Flickr to find content for your website. Stock photography sites have the disadvantage of prohibitive prices for images. An alternative would be to use the creative commons search tool provided in the platform to find relevant images. There are also advanced search options which one can use to browse through images meant for commercial uses.

Depending on the search topic, you can find numerous photos to choose from. You can also contact the owner of the image to make the necessary arrangements if you intend to use it for networking. Not only do you get free images, but you also get some free promotion when the person spreads the word about you using their image.

Brand Promotion

This platform provides merchants with an image-based method to promote their brand. With some effort and consistency, the platform can improve search engine rankings, expand your online profile and promote the business. It therefore makes sense to use Flickr to promote your brand in this era where online presence determines the success of a business.

About the Author

OnlineClock.net is the world’s original online alarm clock and free timers website, and they’ve been online since 2006. True to their words, Online Clock is also active on Flickr, and uses their presence on this wonderful web portal to improve their own brand’s popularity and visibility.

What is Klout?

Klout is a website that ranks users credibility by who they influence social medially wise. The scores are combined by the number of people who interact with you on your social media websites. For example, Twitter is added in by the number of mentions, re-tweets, and interactions you obtain each day. Even if you are active and have 1,000 or tweets and followers your score may still be low if no one interacts with you.

What Does Klout Tell Employers?

Klout basically shows off your influence on other people. If clients are looking for people who interact with other regularly Klout is the place for them to turn. However, if clients are looking for people who can write quality tweets and have a large audience Klout will not be able to help them out in this department.

Negative Feedback about Klout

Have you ever noticed one of you associates online deleted all their social pages one day? This is probably a result of finding out what Klout is. If someone does not know what Klout is or has a low Klout score it can make them look really bad in the eyes of some employers. In order to avoid the embarrassment and pain users will sometimes disconnect themselves from social media or start a brand new account.

Positive Feedback about Klout

Some employers depending mostly on Klout when it comes to whether or not they will hire someone. Also, there are social media users that think Klout helps them pursue their online goals – obviously they have average or exceptional Klout scores.

Overall, Klout can be a great tool if it is used correctly. It can be something that will win someone some extra brownie points but it should not be used to disgrace those who may not be ranking in at the tops. They way that a lot of people use Klout is what gives it a bad name when in reality it is a tool that we all could benefit from and track our social media progress.

This guest post comes from Victoria Heckstall. She is a freelance writer who makes money for a living writing on various topics ranging from social media to the simplest website builder.

What do you think?  Is Klout important to you?  Are you using Klout?  What is your Klout score?

Let’s say you want to target teenagers because your store sells the latest clothes and fashion accessories for teenagers. So, of course you especially want to reach that age group. What’s the best way to reach teens? It may not be enough just to have a website. An internet marketing company can help you to do a lot more and expand your business.

How to Reach Your Audience

For example, teens spend a lot of time on their cell phones and mobile devices. They chat and check for messages every chance they get. They use mobile apps and visit Facebook all the time. In fact, these days many of them are more comfortable going online than they are communicating other people in person.

On the other hand, if you are trying to reach a professional audience, you can still target Facebook, which is used by the general public, but you should also spread the word via the members of a social platform, such as LinkedIn, which many professionals subscribe to. You need to go where your audience is, and your Search Engine Optimization strategy should be planned accordingly. A reputable internet marketing company will offer several SEO packages to choose from and will often tailor their packages to your unique needs.

Website Features   

Once visitors find your website, it’s not enough for it just to be pretty. It ought to be easy for people to use, and of course, its content should be tailored to your audience. Obviously, the copy posted on a website for teens will not be the same as on one intended for senior citizens, for example.

You may also want to include what’s called a sitemap on your website. This is designed to help visitors navigate and find what they want more quickly, especially if there are a lot of links or pages on the site. A website that is poorly designed or difficult to understand will discourage visitors, no matter who your desired audience is.

Another feature SEO marketers employ on a website is blogging, either by the same individual or different contributors writing to express their opinions about products, services, or various issues related to your business. Another common method is to get other websites to link to your site.

As another part of your SEO strategy, it may make sense to have your website reviewed regularly to make any needed changes and to keep the information up to date. You want to make sure that visitors can find your website no matter what kind of device they’re using, whether it’s a cell phone, PC, laptop, or tablet.

This post brought to you by guest blogger Michelle, who enjoys blogging about how an experienced internet marketing company offering the right SEO plans can mean more business for your site.

Since they are not full programs, a bookmarklet can not access private information on your hard drive. They only take information from the page you are currently viewing and only when you click on it. Most bookmarklets are written with JavaScript. Many websites use JavaScript, so most computers have the updated version already installed to run these tools.

Bookmarklets are becoming more popular with social networking websites because they are safer and easier to use than a program, but still serve a valuable function. Pinterest has added a bookmarklet that lets users easily pin their favorites to their Pinterest board with just a click of a button. The QuickTagger is a bookmarklet from InMotion Hosting that lets you create special links with parameters to track social media links.

Pinterest is quickly becoming one of the most popular social networking websites. Users create virtual bulletin boards with their favorite items from around the web. Users can create multiple themed boards, so their favorites are easy to organize. The web page displays a picture from the pinned page, and many users find the visual display very appealing and easy to use.

Users can create a pin by repining an existing pin or by creating a new pin. To make it easier to pin new items, install the bookmarklet on your browser’s bookmark bar. When you want to pin a page, simply click on the bookmarklet button and a small window will pop up. You can select which board to pin it to and add a description.

The QuickTagger is a useful bookmarklet for web developers that use Google Analytics and social media. Google Analytics lets users add attributes after a URL to track different campaigns. These parameters are added after a question mark or ampersand at the end of the URL. You can add different parameters for different networks, accounts and campaigns.

This helps website owners see in their Google Analytics data which links yield the greatest results. If you post the same link to Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus, without using these parameters you will see a spike in views, but you will not know which link gave the best results. By adding attributes to the link, you can determine how much traffic your page received from each link.

To use the bookmarklet, click on the link on your favorites while viewing the page. Then add the necessary information such as the source, e.g., Twitter or Facebook; the medium, e.g., your user name or email address for that network; and the campaign. The bookmarklet will give you a new URL with these attributes to use for each social network. When you log into Google Analytics and view your traffic sources, you can easily see which links provide the best results.

About The Author

Juliana is a Social Media Optimization Specialist for InMotion Hosting – A Web Hosting Company based in Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @JulianaPayson.

This post is not going to encourage a bias. This post is only about acknowledging the Plus presence and presenting a case about the G+ advantage that Facebook needs to be alert and aware about.

1. Google Plus Unique Features

Plus came out with quite a few unique features but no doubt, that Facebook was quick to make its changes and win back the small number of people ‘thinking’ of leaving the site. Things like the Plus – Circles for privacy, were easily incorporated by Facebook with its drop down option to change privacy settings below a status. Yes, Facebook simplified the same privacy factor that G+ was reigning on. The way ahead, however, fB has to keep alert.

2. Geo Tagging

A feature introduced by Google Plus, quickly adopted by Facebook. It lets the user tag himself at various places that he is visiting. We must admit, Google Plus does a better job at it.

3. Video Chatting

Google is already set with the interface and hence, once again, leads or over shadows the Facebook attempt.

4. Huddle @ Plus

Huddle group chat feature, a winner.

5. Hangouts @ Plus

The Hangout features though not such a favorite yet, seems to be a good card for the future. People should find it suitable; once more people are on the site. When and if they arrive, that is.

6. Google Plus Games

Nothing absolutely unique here – per say. I mean, I am not a gamer, so I can’t really comment. But I can say that games played a great role in Facebook’s initial popularity. Those bored of Farmvilles and Cityvilles can explore ‘Sparks’ @ Plus.

7. Easy to Share

You watch something on Youtube, you can instantly share it with your circles. You write a blog on blogger, instantly pass it on. What’s on your RSS? Something interesting? Go ahead; push it to your circles.

The interconnected services provided by the Google brand, make it an easier platform to share.

8. Google’s New Privacy Policy

So now there’s ‘One Google, One Policy’ (doesn’t it seem like some SAVE mother Earth slogan ‘One world, one earth! Save nature’.) And although I don’t really think it’s that cool an idea, it’s still going to be applicable – making all your activities on Google services come under one bracket.

Everything you do on the Google network will be related. So, that’s a plus for those who use the net excessively. Your search will moreover be keep a secret; only between you and Google. Third parties won’t have this information.

9. Google’s Social Search

Google’s social search algorithm change ads to the Privacy settings modifications. Now, not only will there be one Google profile that has ALL your info, even your search results will be influenced by your interests and Plus activities.

In short, with Google’s backing, Google Plus is going to do ANYTHING but BACK OUT!

Image: Sean

For me, because I don’t sooooo love the ‘social search’ and ‘one profile’ thing so much (common! I might like to keep my interests private too!!), Google Plus will be something like a Virtual Dairy. I am going to hide all my profile info and simply make it a ‘personal’ space – my Google profile! – Like my home – only select shall enter. On the outside however, people aren’t going to be so thoughtful.

Knowing that search is influenced by Plus activity and all profiles so interconnected – people are bound to start sharing and using Google Plus. So, while that’s on, let’s wait and see what Facebook answers with!

Author is passionate blogger and a social media expert. She has worked with iNetZeal (which offers various services. Click here to know more about their new web development service) as a consultant and currently writes on SEO, SMO, and internet marketing based on her experience and expertise.

But just having a fanpage isn’t enough. The truth is, you are probably not properly engaging your viewers. Few pages do, relying on regular status updates when there is so much more to it than that. If you want to get more out of your fanpage, check out these tips on increasing your fan engagement on Facebook.

1. Use Fun Contests

Some of the most successful ways of generating communication between yourself and fans is to create fun contests for them to enter. For example, George Takei has taken this to a new level on his Facebook page by doing regular fan caption contests that get thousands of submissions by eager followers hoping to get a laugh from the actor and funny man. Make them want to engage with you by giving them a chance to win something, even if it is just a status update announcing that they reign supreme. But having a prize is a great way of further pushing them to enter.

2. Provide Fan-Only Incentives

Have you ever come across a fan-gate? This is a tab on your fanpage that automatically comes up when someone gets onto your page. It will say that you can enter a drawing, a contest or just get exclusive comment by liking the page. Some companies provide sales codes and discounts or free stuff to fans only. This is a simple way to get your demographic to connect. For example, TrueCar asks people to like their fanpage in order to enter into their Pick Your Prize drawing.

3. Post Regular Content

Status updates are crucial to keeping people interested and engaged with your page. But you should also be posting amusing, entertaining and relevant content for them to enjoy and share. Viral videos and pictures are especially great, as well as interesting links. If they share it with others the source of the original update (which would be you) is shared along with it, and anyone who clicks is taken to your post.

4. Ask Questions

When you do give status updates, they should provide a quick request for a user response. So instead of simply talking about what is going on, also ask a question to get the ball rolling. Users love giving their own experience. For example, if you have a sale on sweaters at your ecommerce store, ask along with the announcement when they can remember being the coldest in their life, and so could have really used the sweater. You will be surprised by the amount of responses you get, and because it comes up in the feed on the main page to their friends, you will draw others over to answer the same question.

5. Give Plenty Of Calls To Action

Anything that has ‘Click Here’ is one of the best tools you have on your fanpage. A call to action asks for the user to do something specific, such as enter to win a prize, share you around or like your page. Use plenty of them throughout the fanpage itself, not only in status updates but also in side tabs.

Conclusion

Are you doing all you can to engage your fans? Use these tips, and you will be.

Image Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Jessy is a social media writer for Life Insurance Finder, the free web-based resource for online life insurance comparison.