Don't Forget Forums As a Formidable Social Networking Source

Don't Forget Forums As a Formidable Social Networking Source

For many of us, the term 'social media' is practically synonymous with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

At the very least, we will tend to associate social media with analogues of these three big sites and generally we think of social networks as modern sites where you can log in and share pictures and status updates.

In reality though, the web has been social long before Facebook was a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg's eye.

When the web first exploded in popularity, people were already having discussions and debates about their favorite hobbies and interests but they were doing so in chat rooms and on forums.

And while Facebook and Twitter have more prominence now than those aforementioned chat rooms, they are nevertheless still out there and they still offer a lot of opportunities.

What are Forums?

A forum is essentially a message board, normally attached to a website, where people can post questions and get answers. Users must first create a profile and from there they can create or respond to 'threads' as well as doing other things like send private messages.

In other words, these act like the groups or pages on social media, providing discussion that is centered around a specific topic and where only 'members' get to contribute.

This is one of the biggest attractions of these forums - they have a 'VIP' feeling and tend to nurture a much more close-knit community. Many people will make friends on forums, or will even work together on joint projects etc.

The Advantages of Forums

So while forums are smaller than social networks, they are also much more targeted and the users tend to be very committed and passionate to the subject. This creates an ideal opportunity for you to gain exposure for your product or website if you post there.

The problem is, most companies have no idea how to use forums. They will simply create accounts, log in and then post their link like an advert. Bearing in mind how much of a clique the users of these forums become and how protective of their community they are, you can imagine that this is often met with disdain.

To succeed on forums then, the objective is rather to post links only after you've established yourself as an active member of that community.

To do that, you need to take part: by answering questions, by starting discussions and by finding things you find useful. Though it takes a little work, this can allow you to learn more about your target audience, to demonstrate yourself as an expert on your topic and to build loyal fans and even friends.

Once you manage that, you may even find that they actively help you to promote your business!

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Do Silly Names Sell Products?

Way back in the day (which is another way to say I don’t know when this happened, but it was at least 10 years ago) an online marketer recorded a bunch of videos to sell as a product.

The product had something to do with online marketing, but I don’t remember the topic. I also don’t remember who the marketer was, although at the time I think he was pretty well known.

What I do remember is that while he was recording, a dog in the background kept barking.

And thus, rather than go with a standard name for his product like the, “Get More Traffic!” product or the “Make Tons of $$ with Social Media” product, he called his video set…

“The Barking Dog Videos.”

My point here is simple: After all this time, I STILL remember that name because it was different from everything else out there at the time (or perhaps since, too.)

He could have rerecorded the videos to make them more “professional,” but if he had, I suspect his sales wouldn’t have been as good.

Not only did he have a catchy, memorable name – he also had a STORY that his affiliates could tell in just a few words.

In a nutshell: “Great product, silly name because of a crazy barking dog, check it out.”

I remember a tourist type of place with a huge gift shop and restaurant on a main road on the outskirts of town. I drove by it all the time, and regardless of what time of day it was, the place was PACKED with people.

The name of the place? “The World’s Worst Restaurant.” People stopped just to be able to say they ate at the world’s worst restaurant and shopped at the world’s worst gift shop. You know that when they got home from their vacation, they told their friends about the place.

Would they have told others if it was called the Magnolia Café? I don’t think so. In fact, they probably would have forgotten all about it after a week or two.

We might want to be “professionals,” but the fact is that being different, strange, weird and even fallible will sometimes win out over everything else.                                                                                           

Create great products with just a little bit of built-in gimmicks or craziness and see what happens.

Need help naming your product or business?

Try these brand name generators:

Shopify – Generate business names and check domain availability instantly. https://www.shopify.com/tools/business-name-generator

Oberlo – This is a platform that helps drop shipping businesses, and they also have a name generator tool you can use for any purpose. https://www.oberlo.com/tools/business-name-generator

Within the Flow – They say you can get your business name in just 3 seconds. (You might want to take a little longer than that, but hey, who knows? Your first attempt might also be the best. https://www.withintheflow.com/business-name-generator/

Namelix – Generate a short, brandable business name using artificial intelligence. https://namelix.com/

Panabee – Search for domain names, app names and company names. Red broken hearts mean the name is not available and full blue hearts can be yours. https://www.panabee.com/  

To Your Success Online

Steven Morton

Founder-Marketing Mastermind Tips

https://www.facebook.com/pg/stevenmorton1964/posts/

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4 Distractions That Drain Your Focus on Your Goals

There are plenty of distractions in the modern world. They take away your focus and your energy and can stop you from having the life you want. If you’re not hitting your goals, maybe it’s time to look at your main distractions and do something about them.

Here are the most common distractions that are likely stopping you from living your best life.

1.     Social media

It won’t surprise you to hear that the biggest distraction for most people is social media and the hours it eats out of the day. Take a quick look at your Instagram feed or Facebook, and before you know it, you’re mindlessly scrolling through what looks like other people’s perfect lives.

It’s time to take stock and decide how much of your life you want to spend watching what other people are doing. Set some boundaries about when and how long you will spend on social media. Take a look at your “friends” and see if they're people you want to know. 

2.     Smartphone

Smartphones are great tools, but they can quickly become a huge distraction. Look around and see how many people are walking down the street with their eyes glued to their phones. Think about how long you can go without checking your phone. Try leaving your phone in your purse or your pocket when you go out for a meal. Leave it at home when you take the dog for a walk.

Another tip is to cull some of the apps on your phone. Work out what you need and delete the rest. And remember mobile games are one of the biggest time-sucks. Think about how you want to use your time and be strategic about how you use your phone.

3.     Online watching

How much time do you waste watching meaningless YouTube videos or binge-watching box sets? These might feel like simple, relaxing things to do, but if you’re not careful, they can drain as much time as social media.

Keep focused on how you want your life to be and make decisions about how much recreational TV you want to watch.

4.     Negative people

Giving your time away to negative people can be damaging to your success. You can probably name the people at the office or in your life who drain you of energy and who take up a lot of time with their complaining, attention-seeking, and neediness.

If there are people around you who are undermining your chances of meeting your goals, you need to set some healthy boundaries and get out of their orbit. Look for positive, high energy people who will support you and cheer you on.

To Your Success Online

Steven Morton-Founder of Marketing Mastermind Tips

https://www.facebook.com/stevenmorton1964/

https://twitter.com/Marketing_Tips2

Is it Time for a Website Makeover?

8 Critical Reasons to Update Your Website I’m sure you’ve been on the hunt for a specific product or service and have come across a website that looked old and stale. What did you feel in your gut when you landed on it? What was your first impression? I’m guessing it wasn't good, and I’d also bet you didn’t buy anything. Much like your wardrobe, websites need to be freshened up from time to time. That doesn’t mean that you need to completely overhaul everything, but many business owners don't spend enough time keeping their most important marketing tool up to date. Here are 8 reasons you may want to consider a website makeover: 1. It doesn’t make a good first impression. That starter online business you built a few years back may be out of date now or come across as unprofessional looking by today's standards. You only have a few seconds to impress your visitors, so having a site that is appealing, engaging and professional is a must. Creating a fresh look and feel for your online business is a smart investment that will definitely pay off sooner rather than later. A more polished look can also help you attract and retain a higher level of clientele or reach a new target audience. 2. Your competition looks much better. You should have analyzed your competition as part of your business plan and should also be doing so on an ongoing basis as part of your marketing efforts. When you take a look at your competitors, are you relieved because you know your site is amazing, or are you blown away by how much more professional theirs looks? Your potential clients are comparison shopping. The Internet makes it so easy for people to compare before buying, putting the burden on you to keep your web pages inviting and easy to navigate. Notice how we set up one of our client’s sites for easy navigation and incorporated their brand colour into the headings and buttons. When you land on genieseniorservices.ca, you’ll quickly find what you’re looking for, without having to scroll through pages of content or puzzle over menu items. We can’t say the same for their competitors! 3. Your sales are suffering. There are so many reasons you may be losing out on leads or sales, so you can’t automatically think it’s a visual issue if you’re not getting conversions. That said, oftentimes a poor layout and content is what’s keeping you from converting visitors into loyal customers. A report by Stanford found that three-quarters of people judge a company by their web design. People aren’t going to buy from you if they don’t trust you. How you present your business to the world matters. 4. You haven’t updated your tech. If your site was built in WordPress or using a different content management system (CMS), you have to upgrade to the latest version of the software. Similarly, if you have an old shopping cart system (open source or a purchased system) that isn’t maintained by a web developer, you’re opening up your site—and your reputation—to hackers. By continuously installing the latest security patches, you can stop hackers from infiltrating your site and causing chaos. The more secure you make your web pages, the better protected against data breaches you are. This safeguards not only your info, but your customers’ info. It also keeps cybercriminals from sending spam or installing viruses via your server. 5. It's not mobile-friendly. According to Statista, mobile now accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. If your site isn’t mobile friendly, it could be costing you leads and sales. A website redesign can ensure your online business is smartphone- and tablet-friendly, with a responsive design that is a breeze to navigate no matter the size of the screen your visitor is on. 6. You’ve changed your focus. It’s natural for businesses to shift over time, as you develop new products and services, target new demographics or learn from your mistakes. Your target market should be the driving force behind what your web pages look like, and it should also influence the kind of content you offer. Your website makeover may include a new look and feel to match your changing marketing plan. Don’t forget things like incorporating updated credentials into your bio, adding new employee info or changing contact info after a move. Your best marketing tool, by far, is your website. It should be visited and adored by your audience! To reach this celebrity status, it needs to be the central focus of all of your marketing efforts. You want to be where prospects come to learn about you, to decide if they can trust you and to ultimately become invested in your brand. Learn how to optimize and nurture your site so that you can attract fans and drive leads and sales. Read "How to Make Your Website a Star" on our website. 7. It’s time to declutter. Over time, sites can become complicated, jumbled and less effective. Just like it’s a good idea to go through your closet and get rid of things you don’t wear anymore, it’s beneficial to keep your web pages lean and clean. An improved site structure is great for SEO (search engine optimization). A website redesign can really improve your architecture, image and page names, content and meta tags so that everything is more SEO friendly. Not only that, but your customers will appreciate the better user experience a simpler layout and navigation provides. They’ll more easily find what they’re looking for without being confused or distracted. Check out how real estate platform Zillow seamlessly offers people four options on their homepage: enter info into the search box, buy, sell or rent. The navigation is eye-catching yet basic enough to keep visitors focused. 8. Social media functionality is lacking. If your site was built a few years ago, you might not be optimally set up to connect with customers on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Adding social sharing buttons allows readers to share your content, which increases brand awareness and visibility plus SEO. Another benefit: you can instantly share offers and deals with customers who are ready to buy. At eVision, we love our social sharing buttons! They pop up on the left-hand side of our blog articles as well as under the date to make it almost effortless for people to share valuable content. There are so many advantages to doing a website redesign. An improved look and feel is more likely to convert visitors into customers, Google loves freshly updated pages for SEO, hackers aren’t as likely to get into your server...the list goes on and on! Don’t neglect your appearance online! Putting the time and energy into properly maintaining your web pages does make a difference—to your business, brand and customers. A professional web and marketing firm can transform your site into a powerful online sales tool for your business. Let eVision Media freshen up the look of your web pages to help increase conversions, make them mobile-friendly and boost SEO.

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How to Think About Marketing and Social Media in 2020

How To Connect With Big Names On LinkedIn To Boost Your Business

Boosting your business can be done in many different ways on social media, from advertising to joining groups and contributing, and from targeting a specific audience to trying to catch some big names.

Here are some of the things that you should bear in mind when trying to link with big names on LinkedIn.

Build Up a Base For Your Business First

You can't join LinkedIn on behalf of your business and instantly start trying to connect with the big names and famous people. You can try, but you're unlikely to get very far, and LinkedIn may even try to stop you from connecting with anybody else.

You should spend at least the first few weeks and months building up a supporter and customer base from regular members of the public and other LinkedIn users. The more your brand is recognized, the more likely you are to be successful with the big names.

Find People With Common Interests

You can try to target whoever you like on LinkedIn, but remember that those most likely to reply and engage with you are those which already have an interest in your industry or niche.

For example, if your business relates to new ways of dealing with waste and pollution, look out for big name activists or politicians which have been heavily involved in these issues.

If you can't find anything in common with somebody on LinkedIn, ask yourself what the value in connecting with them is really going to be. By finding the common interests, you will be able to appeal to them more effectively, increasing the chance of a meaningful connection and future contact.

Take The Time To Make It Personal

It's a well-known fact among those who regularly correspond with big names that if you don't make it personal, it's unlikely that you will get a reply. If you haven't bothered to put any extra effort into writing to them, why should they be bothered to reply and get involved with your ask?

Take a few minutes to research the person beforehand. This enables you to include a couple of relevant details which would be of interest to them or act as a memorable reminder of who you are.

You should also remember or be aware that famous people and well-known industry leaders on LinkedIn receive hundreds of requests to connect, and only connect with completely new requests when they can see a real benefit or something or someone that really interests them.

Whether you're marketing direct to consumers or to other business professionals, LinkedIn can help your business. To get the most out of this potentially game-changing social media site, you need to know how to market "the right way". To learn more on how to expand your circle of influence, grow your business and improve sales and profits download my free LinkedIn Marketing Guide at https://jonallo.com/linkedin

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Top 4 Advantages of Using Social Media Sites

For today's business owners, social media sites have become primary sales and services platforms. If you have not tapped into these resources to grow your business, know that you are missing out on some great opportunities. In this article, we are going to take a look at some advantages of using social media websites to help you expand your business.

1. Demographics Research

All social media platforms have a great deal of information about their users. And the good thing is that plenty of this information is accessible to business owners via special tools like Facebook insights.

With these tools, you can get a better understanding of your demographics, their interests, needs and buying habits. So, you can create better marketing strategies and products.

2. Sales Leads

The primary goal of marketing campaigns is to help business drive sales. By publishing your business ads on these platforms, you can target your niche segments. As a matter of fact, this is the most effective technique as far as getting new customers is concerned.

Today, business owners or their representatives are members of groups on social media networks. This helps them develop credibility and get leads at the same time.

3. Customer Groups

Now, almost every business has a social media group or page for their old or potential customers. The idea is to give feedback, share ideas and achieve a deeper insight into what customers need.

If you want, you can also start private groups in order to offer exclusive deals and promotions. So, all you need to do is invite your returning customers to like or follow your page. This is another major advantage of these websites.

4. Social Proof

Typically, referrals are the best prospects you can get. Joining social media groups can make it easier for your customers to get the word out about your products or services. Aside from this, you can also allow your customers to rate your products or services on these sites. Getting 5-star reviews can do wonders for your business.

Positive reviews and testimonials are the main factors that play a great role in generating leads. In addition, many buyers ask for recommendations online before placing an order to buy something they need. If you have social media presence, your returning buyers will direct their friends to your page.

Some great Networking Platforms

Nowadays, there are many top social media sites. You can sign up on any of them to get started. Listed below are some of the top players in the field:

Facebook: Without any doubt, Facebook is the top network sites. The site allows you to create both personal and business profiles.

Twitter: This is another quite popular platform that allows you to create and post brief posts. You can post breaking news on Twitter, for instance.

Instagram: This platform is all about images and videos. You can use it to highlight your product styles and images, especially if you deal in clothing or electronic items.

Sharfly:

Sharfly is a good alternative to Facebook. However, it offers many new exciting features. For instance, it allows you to create a product store without charging you any fees. Plus, it has a reputation system based on likes and dislikes. So, it's a great social media site.

So, these are some major advantages of using social media sites for businesses. Hopefully, this helps.

If you are looking for a Facebook alternative, you can check out Sharfly. On Sharfly, you can sign up and create your online product store for free.

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Social Media Marketing Plan Example

The Power of Three: Content Marketing + SEO + Social Media

Social Media Growth Hacking Tips That Actually Work

Steps To Create A Perfect Social Media Profile For Your Business

Steps to Create a Perfect Social Media Profile For Your Business. The first step of creating the best possible social media profile for your business would be to understand what needs to be done on the social media website where you are opening the same. The first name that comes to mind in this regard is that of Facebook. You can use Facebook Pages to promote your brand on this particular platform. The following elements need to be there on your Facebook Page: profile photo hours of operation wall or cover photo type of business page name a business summary location After this, you have to provide a call to action. This would be followed by verification of your Facebook Page. Setting up your business profile on Instagram You should start the process of creating a business profile for your organization on Instagram by beginning with a business account profile. You can convert it later on to a business page. There are a few things that you need to create such an account. They may be enumerated as below: logo the URL (uniform resource locator) of your website a description of your business social accounts After you have established your basic business account you would have to change it to a business page. For this, you would have to fill out the profile of that particular page. There are a few steps that are necessary for that process. Setting up your business profile on LinkedIn To start a company page on your personal LinkedIn profile you would have to choose a tab named Work, which is located at the right corner at the top. At the very end of that list, you would find an option named Create a Company Page. In this case, you need to provide the following: URL of your company page logo description of your company a cover image Some conditions also have to be fulfilled by your personal account. Not every personal account on LinkedIn is allowed to create a company page. Setting up your business profile on Twitter There are a few things that you need to provide when you are opening a business profile on Twitter. They may be enumerated as below: profile picture username header photo description Since your company is in the public domain you might as well get verified by Twitter as well. This would take things a few notches higher. Conclusion In the end, it is all about creating a great first impression on people who are using that particular social media website. You need to approach social media wisely and then it can be a fun, profitable, and rewarding experience for you. The first step in these cases is to be careful while filling out your profiles. You need to think of them as landing pages for your company. You need to keep in mind that for many people this could be the first time they see your brand. It has the potential to create a lasting impression. So, you need to take as much time as you want to.

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How to Attract Customers - 5 Marketing Strategies to Dominate Social media

How to Set Social Media Goals in 2020

Create the Most Effective Social Media Marketing Plan

There's a vast sea of social media information out there. Experts are everywhere and there are just so many opinions on best practices and tactics.

Not only that, but the platforms themselves are constantly changing, whether it's adding new features, increasing character limits or otherwise changing the rules.

That's why I've created this guide to help you understand how to set social media goals for 2020. This article is especially good for you if you've never taken stock of your marketing campaigns or created objectives.

Throughout this process, it's really important to be honest about your successes and failures. It's okay to admit that some of what you've done has been a wasted effort-that's why we're here.

Here's my 3-step process to set social media goals for 2020:

1. Check Your Reports

Keeping reports is a must if you want to properly assess the efficacy and efficiency of what you spent time sharing online. There are many ways to configure a report, but if you need direction and inspiration, Smartsheet has a free social media report template to get you started.

You need to learn to look past the number of impressions and understand how your content is really performing. Are people liking it, sharing it, commenting on it?

Pay close attention to metrics like engagement-this valuable info is like your potential leads all telling you what they liked or didn't. So take that into account when planning out 2020's content.

For instance, I make an effort to share valuable content daily on our Twitter account.

From Twitter to Facebook, each platform offers free analytics on the profile's performance, so use it!

This free reporting helps you see what you've shared that's worked well and what's fallen flat. Look for topics that visitors and followers have been consistently interested in, and share more of that content going forward.

If you're up to the challenge, you can do some paid promotion for your business. Remember, you can always contact us and let us manage the heavy lifting so you can focus on running your business.

We're constantly on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. And, we stay on top of the latest trends and tips and love analyzing reports and stats!

2. Study Your Analytics

Yes, you want to look ahead, but it's necessary to look back as well. You can share content left and right, but unless it's leading visitors to your website, it's not serving its purpose. You want to drive people to your site, where they'll hopefully engage further and buy a product or service from you.

Google Analytics is a free tool provided by Google that is key to planning your social media in 2020. It shows you how your actions on social drive traffic to your business, broken down into lots of relevant stats.

To see these results, navigate to your Acquisition section for Social and then click on Network Referrals. You can select the previous year as the date range. Then, you should be able to see how many people have clicked on your posts and subsequently landed on your website.

Read 5 Social Media Marketing Tips for 2020

Is social media marketing not working for you anymore?

Are you wondering what you should be changing in order to get better results?

In our Tea Time Tip: Marketing for Busy Entrepreneurs, I'm sharing 5 valuable tips so you can learn what's working, what's not and what you need to focus on more. Read more on our website.

3. Set Your Goals

The first two steps should give you an understanding of where you are, and now it's time to create your plan. You've got a great idea of what type of content worked, which platforms your target audience is hanging out on and where you should focus your efforts in the upcoming year.

Other things you need to do to reach your goals:

• Track your month-to-month follower growth. If you're not gaining new followers throughout the year, you need to take a look at why that is.
• Keep an eye on which seasons your content is most popular on a particular platform. For example, Pinterest trends show increased usage in the summer and around Christmas, with spring and fall seeing big dips.
• Only share content that has value. You want to sell without driving people away. You also want to give people non-salesy resources like blogs, inspirational quotes, events-whatever makes sense for your brand and audience.

For example, I share articles, events and news on our company's LinkedIn account.

The biggest mistake you can make is to allow your marketing campaigns to become a chore, rather than a positive part of your business. When you're enjoying yourself, you'll find you share more engaging and interactive content.

When you set your goals to conquer social media in 2020, keep in mind that you may not attain all of them. That's not failure! As long as you're prepared with a solid social media marketing plan and what you're sharing is authentic and honest, then you're doing a great job!

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

As a result of working with Susan and her team, clients feel confident and relieved knowing their online marketing is in trustworthy and caring hands so they can focus on building their business with peace of mind at having a perfect support system in place to guide them every step of the way.

Visit http://www.ultimatewebsiteguide.ca and download your FREE "Ultimate Guide to Improving Your Website's Profitability - 10 Critical Questions You Must Ask to Get Maximum Results".

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15 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

Did you know that the average social media user spends 135 minutes every day on social media platforms? As a small business owner, this means that this is a great way to reach your potential and current customers.

But if you haven’t done much social media marketing before, it can be hard to know how to get started. You have so many things on your plate and this can seem like too big of a project to undertake.

The truth is that there are actionable things you can do starting now to begin your social media marketing efforts. And they will pay off!

We’ve compiled the 15 social media tips for small businesses that you need to get started. Check them out below.

1. Focus on One Network to Start

The list of popular social media platforms is long: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn. And the truth is that it keeps growing.

So when you’re just starting out with social media, don’t try and have an active presence on every single network. There are simply too many and so it’s better to focus on quality rather than quantity.

Do some research and see what platform makes the most sense for you as you’re just beginning. Are you interested in sharing photography based posts? Instagram is the best option for that.

If you’re wanting to post multiple short updates every day, Twitter might work for you. LinkedIn is where businesses connect best with other businesses.

No matter your goals, think through these things and then choose which network will be best for you.

2. Decide on Your Goals

With any digital marketing campaign, it’s crucial that you start by deciding your goals. Without clear goals, you will lack direction. The same is definitely true for your social media marketing.

What do you want to accomplish with your social media efforts? Do you want to establish your company as an expert in your field? Do you want to generate leads?

Perhaps you’re looking to keep your customers up to date with product updates.

Decide what your main goals are and then make a plan. Create some SMART goals that will be easily trackable. And then get started!

3. Know Your Audience

This is one of the most important social media tips for business. Knowing your audience will give you direction about what to post and content topics.

You will want to understand your audience’s age, gender, location, goals, and average income. How can you find this information though?

The answer is simple: market research.

Start by coming up with personas for your customers. These are qualities of your ideal consumers.

You can do this by doing surveys, focus groups, and customer interviews. Then once you have this demographic data, look for trends. This will give you an idea of your average consumer’s information.

Then, once you know this, you’ll have a better idea of which networks to use and the type of content that will be most appealing to your audience.

4. Always Engage with Your Audience

When it comes to social media, always remember that it is a two-way street. You will have the ability to send out content but your audience will also be able to comment, leave questions, and send direct messages.

You want to provide great customer service in these situations by quickly responding to all comments and messages. Make sure you set up notifications in your social media apps so you always see when someone engages with your posts.

You’ll also get negative comments from time to time from frustrated customers. Always respond in a positive and helpful way because other people will see your responses.

5. Consistency is Key

One of the biggest questions small business owners ask when starting out with social media is how often they should post. Well, the truth is that there’s not one answer.

Every industry is different and companies have found success with all different types of publishing schedules. The biggest thing is to be consistent.

It’s all about balance. You want to post enough so you stay at the top of your audience’s mind, but you ever want to be annoying.

Also, remember that every social network has different norms for posting. On Twitter, it’s totally okay to tweet multiple times a day. On Instagram, though once or twice is better.

6. Separate Your Business and Personal Accounts

This may seem obvious, but far too many companies don’t follow this simple advice. Always keep your business and personal accounts separate.

This way, your followers or subscribers will only see content related to your company. They don’t want to be updated on your family parties or see all your vacation pictures.

It’s more professional to have everything separate. This will make your business seem much more legitimate.

7. Add a Time Budget to Your List of Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

If you use social media for personal use, you’re probably familiar with how easy it can be to waste time scrolling your news feed.

One second you’re just opening your app and 30 minutes later you look up and realize how long it’s been. While this is fine on your personal time, you don’t want this to happen during the work day when you have a lot of other projects to get done.

Instead, create a social media time budget. Pick a time every day to check your accounts, post new content, and to respond to comments.

8. Take Advantage of Your Bio

Almost every social media network has a bio section. This is where you can display a little information about your business and your contact information. Don’t let this space go to waste!

You should include the following:

• Your logo
• A short description of what you do
• Your phone number
• A link to your website
• Your address is necessary

9. Utilize Visuals

Visuals like photos and videos will make your posts much more engaging. In fact, one study found that tweets with images earned up to 18 percent more clicks, 89 percent more favorites, and 150 percent more retweets.

So whenever you can, include a photo or video content with your posts

Want more help with your social media content? Check out smartsocialkits.com.

10. Remember the 80/20 Rule

Speaking of your content, here’s another thing you should keep in mind. 80% of your posts should provide something of value to your followers.

This valuable content could include an infographic, video interview, or blog post.

It’s okay if the other 20% is more self-promotional. This can include information about current offers, new products, or other company changes.

11. Show Some Personality

In everything you do on social media, remember that it’s a good thing to show some personality. This is where you can humanize your brand.

Don’t get stuck in the rut of using only formal corporate language and instead let your walls down a little.

It’s great to have a sense of humor. You can also show some behind the scenes pictures or videos about your business here.

12. Learn from the Best

One way to get started with social media is to learn from those who are more experienced. Spend some time on your chosen platforms and follow other brands in your industry. What do they do that’s successful?

Also study some of the biggest brands in the world like Coca-Cola, Nike, or Apple. How do they use social media?

You can learn a lot from watching.

13. Don’t Be Confrontational

Even though you should have fun with your social media, you shouldn’t ever be confrontational. On your business accounts, never attack your competitors or vent about your industry.

Avoid political issues as much as possible and don’t engage in confrontations with customers who leave negative comments.

And if you have employees posting for your company, make sure they are well-trained in these areas as well. You don’t want your brand image tarnished by inappropriate social media activity.

14. Don’t Over-Automate

Social media automation software is a great tool you can use. It can help you schedule your posts out in advance and get detailed metrics on your results.

This can be really helpful for your overall social media strategy.

However, be careful to not over-automate. Don’t let your automation software respond to people’s comments. It’s very easy to notice when a computer-generated response is used.

15. Test, Evaluate, and Adjust

With any marketing campaign, you should always evaluate your results and then adjust them. Look at the number of clicks and the number of page visits.

For most businesses, the biggest metric to notice is conversions. Whether you want leads or sales, you should pay attention to your results.

If they’re not that great, make some adjustments and keep testing. It’s important to not give up. A lot of social media marketing is trial and error.

So brainstorm some ideas on how to improve and try them out!

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve read through these social media tips for small businesses, what’s next for you?

It’s time to pick your favorite tips and try them out. And before you know it, you’ll be a social media marketing pro.https://www.articlecity.com/blog/15-social-media-tips-for-small-businesses/

BY DALE HARRIS

How to Make an Affiliate Website That’ll Bring in Six Figures

Affiliate marketing websites are one of the hottest sources of passive side income around.

Of course, you also know how to make an affiliate website.

It’s no small task, but it’s easier than many people make it out to be.

Are you ready to get started on a new journey to financial independence? If so, read on and we’ll dive right in and show you a blueprint for making an affiliate website that shines.

Decide on a Niche and a Business Model

There are a ton of different ways to produce an affiliate marketing website that can lead you to a high income.

The first step is picking a niche.

Many people pick a niche that resonates with them. Some handy with DIY might go for tools, a fitness fanatic may review diets and exercise programs.

Those are admirable, but the real start is in the art of keyword research and finding a microniche. You can expand later, but targeting a low competition sector of a high volume niche can bring things to fruition.

Once you have the niche down, you’ll want to look into the business model you’ll be using.

For programs, e-books, and informational products you may be better off partnering with a big affiliate network, but those who are reviewing hard physical products will often find themselves partnering with a retail network.

Both are completely viable ways to do things, and you can even mix them when you get farther down the line. The important thing is to find something and stick with it early in the lifespan of the website.

Content, Content, Content

Content often gets overlooked by affiliates.

That’s not to say they don’t have content, many of them have tons of content. The problem is that it’s horrible and it doesn’t inspire the user to purchase from the recommended products.

Bad content comes in a few forms. The big ones: stock advertising copy from CPA affiliate networks and using ESL writers with no expertise on the subject to create a site that is full of badly worded reviews.

Neither of these are appealing or effective.

Instead, you need to create a well-balanced blend of information, reviews, and soft advertising copy to help you sell the products that you’re getting paid to promote.

For instance, when you got to an affiliate website like Surf’n’Buy, you’re not just greeted with an endless wall of reviews. Instead, there are a ton of informational articles along with them.

Hire a good writer, or write great content yourself, and your conversion rate will go up.

Semantic search on Google means that many old keyword practices are dead, but it hasn’t quite caught up with some of the marketing agencies out there. As long as the keyword means the same thing, your on-page SEO will be fine.

A good content writer is worth their weight in gold and affiliate marketing websites aren’t free: don’t be afraid to spend a bit more money than you were expecting on an actual expert… or at least someone who sounds like one.

The end result will deliver.

You should also make sure that you have enough internal links to keep a person clicking through your page. This not only helps to increase the chances of a sale, dwell time is actually an SEO metric which will help your page’s rank on Google.

Off-Page SEO

There are a lot of ways to get off-page SEO going, but the most valuable for a beginner is beginning to build backlinks.

There are a few ways to take care of your off-page, but white-hat methods are usually the way to go. That means forming organic backlinks to excellent content and additions like infographics, as well as relatively neutral outreach in the form of guest posts on other web pages.

There are endless ways to build backlinks out there so pick a strategy and persevere.

Grey Hat SEO

Some people insist on doing things the fast way.

If that’s the case, then we recommend not buying links and instead producing a private blog network to promote your site. You can create free pages with WordPress, Blogspot, and more and then begin to interlink them.

Each should have at least 5 pieces of content and it shouldn’t look unnatural or spun. If you have a bad writer somewhere in stock who works cheap this is often what you should have them working on rather than your money site.

Just be aware that this kind of trickery is technically against the rules and you can drop ranks overnight if you’re not careful.

Hit Social Media

Social media can be important to an affiliate website. It’s also overlooked by many of the people running them.

When you’re creating your accounts on social media make sure to create a persona and engage with your customers. What the persona will look like depends on the niche and your own personality but as long as you’re actively talking to customers instead of being rude or using a copy-paste template you’ll be fine.

Paid advertisements can also do well, but make sure that they’re to value content instead of money content.

Social media’s purpose for an affiliate website is simple: it increases the consumer’s trust.

More trust, higher conversion rate, it’s that simple.

How to Make an Affiliate Website? Just Start

If you’re still wondering how to make an affiliate website… well, you need to brush up on the basics. The above is the foolproof guideline that countless websites have used over the years to become big earners for those who own them.

It’s not as complicated as many people make it out to be. The element which is lacking in most people isn’t knowledge: it’s persistence.

Why not get started today and get on your way to the kind of side income you’ve always dreamed of?

If you’d like some more great content, check out our website to see what else we have to offer! 

BY DALE HARRIS