The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing

So, in the late, late nights that I’ve spent making sense of and organizing Social Media Marketing, I’ve been able to find nothing that outlines strategies or fundamentals of Social Media Marketing. “5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO).” After 20 days and much buzz in the blogosphere, it was expanded into 17 rules, with additions from all over the online marketing and business community’s thought leaders. And yet, while it’s an absolute must-read, there’s still no strategy outlining the fundamental strategies or tactics of Social Media Marketing.

That’s what I’ve racked my brain to figure out and this is what I define as the Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing.

The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing

Any and all forms of Social Media Marketing tactics fall under at least one of these five forms of action. Often the same channel will incorporate two or more of these:

1. Declaration of Identity
2. Identity through Association
3. User-initiated Conversation
4. Provider-initiated Conversation
5. In-Person Interaction

Identity-based Interaction is your declaration of your value, who you are, and where you can be found. Your customer happens upon your online identity that you, as a provider, define and declare. This is anything from your About Us pages on your blog or website, to your MySpace profile, to your Naymz profile. Here, there is very little interaction outside of your own declaration, but this becomes critical in defining how you can benefit your marketplace.

There has been a recent outcrop of websites created purely for this function. An expanded business card, if you will. Most also include the opportunity to link to your other forms of presence online, bringing together your presence in one place…well, kind-of. They include:

• Naymz
• Ziki
• ClaimID
• SuprGlu
• LinkedIn

Association-based Interaction is your customers’ opportunity to associate themselves with you and you with your customers. Most obviously, this is accomplished through things like becoming “Friends” on MySpace, you and your customers’ BlogRoll, or through their social bookmarking. This is your customer wearing your company’s logo proudly – Like Andy wears his Beatles shirts.

The most explicit form of allowing for this ability is through social bookmarking sites. I say this, and not social networking sites, because this is the sole function of these sites. Make it easy for your customers to bookmark your site, blog posts, etc with their favorite tool.

• del.icio.us
• Furl
• blummy
• Ma.gnolia
• StumbleUpon
• BlinkList

User-initiated Conversation is your users’ opportunity to create their own declarations or questions, and your opportunity to respond. This is your opportunity to be there and cater to them. Here, you serve your customers.

Perhaps the most cut-and-dry examples of this lie in messageboards, forums and “groups” sites such as Google Groups, Yahoo! Groups, community sites, etc. So, how do you find these conversations? Andy Beal’s Online Reputation Monitoring Beginner’s Guide. Here, he walks you through, step-by-step, how to find out what conversations are being initiated by others online.

In order to get directly involved with your customers, the most well-known example of this is “GoogleGuy” on the WebmasterWorld forums, is through your users’ forums, and sites such as:

• Yahoo Groups
• Google Groups
• AOL Groups
• MSN Groups
• Topica EMail Lists
• Kaboodle Groups
• Eurekster
• tribe.net
• Ning

Provider-initiated Conversation is your chance to find out what your customers think, feel, love and hate about your product. Ask them. Challenge them. Present yourself to them, but do so respectfully. As much as it’s an opportunity for them to tell you what they love and hate about your product, it’s also their choice whether to do so or not. Be kind. Be respectful. Appreciate their time.

Although it’s not a primarily online company, there is one company that has made this their culture. Seeking feedback and input from its customers 24/7/265. And it is: Current.tv. There’s little-to-no format, except for about half of the content is contributed by its users. If you haven’t seen it or don’t have digital cable, find someone who does and watch it. Do that this week, you won’t regret it.

Social networking strategies for connecting with your customers can certainly be complex, tricky and cumbersome, so I’ll be writing up strategies in the very near future to hopefully assist on those fronts. In the meantime, find your customers and interact with them here:

• Myspace
• Bebo
• Friendster
• Consumating

In-Person Interaction is the pinnacle form of interaction with your customers. You’re interacting with them online, why not in person? Does it get better than that? This is where relationships are built and authentic conversation is had with so much more input, feedback, collaboration and communication. I had a seven hour conversation with a good friend last night. It was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had about so many things, and I could have never had that quality of a conversation online. Nothing beats face-to-face.

Get out there. Meet your customers. Let them interact with other customers. Build your community. Go to conferences…better yet, organize your own gatherings.

To help this along, coordinating, managing attendee status, etc, there have been several sites that can help in either finding local events or coordinating your own:

• Meetup
• BarCamp
• Evite
• Upcoming
• Eventful

Final Thoughts

One thing about social media marketing: It’s complicated for two reasons: no one has created a structure to work from, and there’s so much overlap in functionality of different sites, that it can be quite confusing as to a site’s single purpose because…well…there usually isn’t a single purpose.

Don’t let this hold you back. Get out there. Spend time with these sites. Sign up, Use them, meet your customers, talk to your customers, and LOVE THEM.

How to Use PPC in Affiliate Marketing

Because of its flexibility, affiliate marketing has become a popular method of making money online. You take a number of different approaches in marketing as long as you are good at it and you can still make money. After reading a few tutorials and trying out a few tools even very inexperienced individuals can dive into marketing. However the definition of success is very broad and is often seen as limited for marketers that constantly rely on free advertising techniques to get the word across. Using paid advertising methods may expand your income while reducing your overall effort levels. However there are several paid advertisement techniques as well and some are quite costly. Pay-per-click can be a great way to begin, since this technique makes it easy to control your costs. Here are the basics on using PPC to properly fuel your affiliate marketing.

Pay-per-click is closely related to search engines’ search results, that are generated by the users. Use the search engines to research pertinent information on your topic to tailor your use of PPC. If you type a word on Google or on another search engine, you will get a lot of relevant and popular responses. Using the PPC program will allow you to get into the list of sponsored links in the search engine which bypasses the need for extensive search engine optimization. The research process’ chief function is to test out various search engine inquiries. Your advertisement to your affiliate site will only appear if the keywords match and bidding on keywords costs a certain amount.

Do not Exceed your Budget

With pay-per-click (PPC) you will be able to customize and control your budget completely. The results of PPC are quite unpredictable even if you do some research so it is best to go safe on the budget just in case you do not get favorable results. PPC is all about trial and error along with some research. When the pay-per-click campaign starts generating returns, be sure to reinvest some of those returns into a larger ad budget.

Continue Site Optimization and Other Marketing Methods

Affiliate marketing strategies are unique in nature. Although PPC is a component of affiliate marketing, it is not a replacement. It supplements the affiliate marketing methods instead and you can get even better results if you still rely on search engine optimization. This way, you can get more search engine traffic and better ideas on what keywords to focus on.

Even if you do not spend much on PPC, you should make your investment worthwhile by making sure your website performs well. Remember that getting traffic from PPC does not guarantee sales unless you have something compelling to show to your visitors after they clicked on the link. The advertisement link should also be properly described to encourage the right people to click on the link. With a bit of practice and trial and error, you will see the good long term benefits of PPC.

source: http://www.articlesinventory.com

Google's Top Ranking Factors

In the world of SEO, it is imperative to track any changes in the Google machine, and to respond to them quickly and efficiently. By developing and maintaining one's knowledge of the search engine algorithms, there is a far greater chance of positive performance within the rankings.


It is not absolutely clear which factors Google prizes the most, but we have a good idea. The search giant certainly awards relevancy, accreditation and honesty, but how does this translate into web design and SEO strategies?

The first thing to note and to keep in mind, is the fact that sites should be tailored for human eyes, not search engine crawlers. Any hidden keyphrases or underhand techniques such as keyword stuffing will be discovered and penalties will be issued.


So, what can we do to drive traffic and rise within the rankings without resorting to black hat methods? Keywords are a hugely important part of any SEO campaign strategy, whether used in anchor text, in title tags, or in other meta information on the page. By ensuring that you have made the best use of your relevant keyphrases across your site, you stand yourself in good stead.


Of course, a period of keyphrase research will go a long way, and will provide you with crucial information regarding the popularity and potential of certain keywords over others. By comparing sets of keywords it is possible to determine which ones will work for a particular site based on the number of global and local monthly searches they generate, as well as the competition which exists for the terms.


In addition to keyphrase research and correct implementation, internal and external linking makes up 60% of any SEO mix, and is invaluable if you are to perform successfully within search engine results. Linkbuilding in the form of article writing and press release submissions are a great way to drive traffic to your site via the embedding of links complete with anchor text made up of relevant keywords.


These are just a couple of handy points to keep in mind when thinking of SEO web design. By adhering to the principles of relevancy and honesty, and by creating a valuable backlink profile, your site will benefit greatly, as will your bottom line.

source:  http://www.ArticleBlast.com

Top SEO Tips And Techniques Dont Miss Out

As many small bussiness’ feel the expenses of PPC advertising and lower visitor counts they now know how important it is to implement at least the basics of SEO. I also run a small electornical appliances business myself and play an active role in business forums and blogs. While reading through them you notice there’s a lot of uncertainty over what makes up ‘the basics’. 

Theres so much information on the net that contradicts the other that no one knows what advise to follow. I have made a general guide for small businesses and webmasters – sort of like a checklist and should they be followed then it will be of much use. Commitment SEO isnt a one time procedure – it isnt something that your gonna do for 1 month then leave it , its an ongoing strategy and the search engines algorithms change regularly so the techniques that you use today may not work tomorrow – seo requires a long term comitment. So be prepared to commit yourself to the process. Patience Search engine optimisation requires patience – it isnt a change your going to see over night – results can take the better part of a few months to see, this is especially true for the newer domains. Keyword research Do your keyword research from the very start. You can use free tools like the google keyword tool – look for high searched keywords and lower competition levels. Build a great website Every one wants to be on the first page of Google – Have a look at the first 10 sites – will yours fit in. Design a good website and make it look proffessional – Aim hi Optimise your pages Every one knows that onsite optimisation is only about 10% of the whole search engine optimisation procedure, but do they know how important it is? Just having an optimised page title can secure you a position on page one rather then page 10 – concentrate on your * title * meta descriptions * meta keywords * headings * alt text * keyword saturation and usage * internal linking Build Backlinks Link back to your website using anchor text backlinks. Use your keywords to link back to your sites pages which have already been optimised for those keywords. Try to get high page rank backlinks – this will pass authority to your site. Blogg and forum commenting Play an active role in your niche and look for quality blogs and forums – answer questions and be helpful – post backlinks to your website through your signitures and drive quality traffic. use Web 2.0 websites Use web 2.0 sites and social media networks to publish hubs and lenses which interlink with each other and point back to your site. your social media networks such as squidoo – hubpages – the blogger etc have their own search engines in which your pages will be found driving more targeted traffic – Google also loves social media. Article submissions Write quality articles on your niche subject and publish through article directories such as ezine and go articles – become an expert in your field and let your article readers feel confident in buying from you. drive quality traffic from your articles and get quality backlinks from your authors bio box. Free tools Make use of the free tools provided by google such as the google webmaster tools and the google analytics tools – the google trends tool is also a good tool to use for keeping up with global trends. Create unique and quality contents Create your own unique content rather then copy someone elses work and pasting it on your site. Google looks down on duplicated contents and penalises websites for this. With quality contents your writting with your visitors in mind who will stay loyal and become returning visitors – this builds trust and will reduce your bounce rate. There are many more techniques and the list can go on but sticking to the parts mentioned above alone will make sure that your SEO approach is correct and will get you to the top page.


source: http://www.formulabuff.com/